Web/Tech

  • AI Tools For Your Business

    Last week, I talked about the time value of time – and the benefit of quality peer groups. 

    On Friday, one of those peer groups spent hours talking about the promise and peril of generative AI. While some people remained skeptical or in fear of what tools like ChatGPT made possible. 

    One of the members shared an AI tool directory that I thought was worth sharing as well. It's called Futurepedia.io 

    Screen Shot 2023-01-13 at 9.39.19 PM

    via futurepedia.io

    My contribution to the discussion was brief, but it amounts to this … Nothing you're hearing about AI should scare you. It should scream opportunity.  You don't have to rush.  AI is at the beginning of a long upwards sloping cycle of impact and capability. However, AI isn't duct tape, and for most, it's not a business … it's a tool to help you create a bigger future that wasn't possible before.  Much like "internet" companies came and went in the late 1990s … yet almost every company uses the internet in ways that were unimaginable at the beginning of the cycle.

    People often get stuck searching for 'something' (often a singular goal or result). But, in their myopia, they miss the possibility of 'or something better.' 

    In my business, I'm rarely happy to settle for less than I'm aiming for … but I am willing to happily take the 'or something better'. Nonetheless, it is hard to see (let alone be open to) other targets or possibilities when you myopically focus on achieving the lesser (but specific) goal or target you initially chose to focus upon.

    So, here is a thought to ponder …

    What is opportunity, and when does it knock? It never knocks. You can wait a whole lifetime, listening, hoping, and you will hear no knocking. None at all. You are opportunity, and you must knock on the door leading to your destiny. You prepare yourself to recognize opportunity, to pursue and seize opportunity as you develop the strength of your personality, and build a self-image with which you are able to live — with your self-respect alive and growing. ~ Maxwell Maltz

    Imagine what you believe this tipping point indicates is possible personally and professionally.

    Hope that helps. 

  • How’d These 2022 Predictions Fair?

    As we brought in 2022, I asked the question:

    What's going to happen as a result of the continuing pandemic, inflation, interest rates, the ongoing supply chain issues, and the growing anxiety and unrest brewing underneath the surface of the new normal? In January, we'll get to see VC's predictions. Before that, what do you expect to happen in 2022? - How'd These 2021 Predictions Fair?

    I proceeded to share visualcapitalist's 2022 predictions: 

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    via visualcapitalist

    Well, there was undoubtedly increased volatility. 

    While the whole board isn't correct, there's a surprising amount of prediction accuracy. On some level, predictions benefit from being generally vague. Also, many of the predictions that may not seem as accurate "today" seemed more accurate at some point this year. For example, we heard a lot about NFTs in the first half of the year, and while Big Tech is currently laying off employees, there was massive growth this year. 

    What are you surprised they got right? In what areas were the predictions most off-base? Why?

    And, of course, what are your mega-trend predictions for 2023?

    Interesting stuff! 

  • OpenAI’s ChatGPT is Pretty Cool

    One of my go to claims about AI is that it can do almost anything … but it can't do everything. Specific AI systems are becoming incredibly robust. Last year, I wrote an article emphasizing how big of a jump GPT-3 was from past language processors.  I also shared a Seinfeld sketch created by GPT-3 that was so good it was almost unimpressive … it just felt like a Seinfeld sketch. 

    It feels like every week, there's a new breakthrough in pop AI. OpenAI just released ChatGPT (for free) to the public. The promise of ChatGPT is to give a cogent reply to conversational discussions. It can help you code, it can write a poem, can answer your questions, and more. The code it produces is stellar, and it can even create a convincing romantic comedy using characters from various famous shows. It does a lot very well, but it does have some failings. 

    Screen Shot 2022-12-16 at 1.09.55 PM
    ChatGPT via OpenAI

     

    GPT-3 is 100x bigger than any previous language AI model and comes pre-trained on 45TB of training text (499 billion words). It cost at least 4.6 million US dollars (some estimated as high as $12 million) to train on GPUs. The resulting model has 175 billion parameters. This was impressive enough, but ChatGPT is actually not based on GPT-3 but GPT3.5 an even more robust model that improved on the ability to answer in a way that feels natural. 

    ChatGPT can talk about almost any topic you can think of, and even create prose that feels human; however, it's not perfect yet. 

    Unfortunately, this chatbot fails in many of the same ways as its predecessors. To start, it can present false information as true because it's essentially a "stochastic parrot" basing its answers on statistical regularities in its data sources, not on an actual understanding of the world. As well, a lot of its answers can include meaningless fluff that sounds good but doesn't actually answer the question meaningfully … almost like a high schooler that forgot to read the book before writing an essay. It also can't produce ASCII art despite the advancements in AI art we've recently discussed. 

    Regardless of ChatGPTs faults, it's a very impressive piece of software. It can answer trivia like Google, write poetry and dialogue, it can pretend to engage in philosophic discussion, and it can help you correct your code or improve your writing. 

    Here's a sonnet I had it write about Artificial Intelligence:

    AI, the future's shining light,
    A force that shapes our world anew,
    A source of endless possibility,
    A tool that cuts our burdens in two.

    From language translation to deep learning,
    AI's capabilities are vast and grand,
    It helps us solve problems, find solutions,
    And gives us new ways to understand.

    But with great power comes great responsibility,
    As AI transforms our world and lives,
    We must ensure that it's used ethically,
    That it helps, rather than subverts or deprives.

    So let us embrace this technological marvel,
    And use it wisely, for the common good,
    For AI has the power to unravel
    Our deepest mysteries, as well as hurdles.

     

    It does what it is supposed to do very well. It is much more conversational and robust than previous chatbots. Obviously, it doesn't do everything well, and I doubt a chatbot will any time soon. Nonetheless, it is a step forward … and it will create ripples of progress.

    What do you think?

  • Tech Company Layoffs

    For all the drama at Twitter, they're not the only ones experiencing layoffs in the tech industry. Though, Elon is now (supposedly) trying to renege on his severance packages.  

    Tech-layoffs-2022-MAIN-1via visualcapitalist

    Meta and Amazon saw even steeper layoffs than Twitter. Is this a result of overhiring during the tech boom, or a sign of dire times? Time will tell.  

    Stated reasons are economic uncertainty and poor performance, we're also seeing unsuccessful departments downsize – like Alexa. 

    To help allay economic fears, payroll and wage data from the U.S. government are exceeding expectations, and the country’s unemployment rate is close to a half-century low. As well, tech jobs account for 3% of the workforce – and many of those laid off will be picked up by smaller companies. 

    Even if the layoffs represent a short term reaction to what tech companies are seeing, hearing, or otherwise experiencing … they won't necessarily translate to long term bad news for our economy. 

  • The Rise of the Intangible

    In the past, most profitable companies built or sold some sort of tangible product. The Titans of industry were automobile manufacturers, oil producers, land owners, etc.

    Over the past 20 years, the Titans have changed dramatically. Now, the leaders are in tech, IP, and other intangible assets. Here is a chart showing the changing weight of tangible and intangible assets as part of the S&P 500’s total assets between 1975 and 2020.

     

    Ds-tangible-vs-intangible-assets-1

     via visualcapitalist

    By VisualCapitalist’s definition, intangible assets are holdings that don’t carry any physical or financial embodiment. This includes R&D, intellectual property, and computerized information such as data and software. Today, intangibles are worth over $21 trillion.

    With technology becoming more ubiquitous, I think the trend will continue – which makes protecting your intangibles even more important. 

    Patents and trademarks are a great way to build a moat between you and your competitors. Remember, however, that anything you get a patent on becomes public knowledge – so be careful with your trade secrets. 

  • Another AI Art Gimmick

    There's a new trend of AI-generated profile pictures – using tools like avatar.ai.

    Below are some sample results my son, Zach, got after downloading an iPhone app called Lensa.  The company that makes it also offers a product called Prisma that is worth looking at as well.  He paid $4 within Lensa to generate these AI photos (for context, avatar.ai charges more than 5x as much).  He uploaded 17 photos from different angles (and with different expressions), and the app promised 50 pieces from 4 styles.

    What do you think of the results?  I thought some of them were surprisingly good. 

     

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    Some were not so good … (or at least outside my zone of artistic preferences).

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    After seeing his, I'll admit I got curious and made my own. 

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    To be honest, these apps are still volatile … meaning, sometimes they are good enough to seriously impress – but they also can underwhelm from time to time.  Check out DALL-E for more examples of the dynamic range of possibilities and results.

    Regardless, I am impressed with AI art's progress and momentum.  Recently, generative AI has gotten a lot of hate (along with the hype), nonetheless, people are talking about it (meanwhile AI art is still not as polarizing as Kanye). 

    The reality is, most of these tools still are an elegant use of brute force.  Nonetheless, I am bullish.  Hardware and software are getting better … and when fed more data, generative art depictions get better as well. 

    The uses continue to get more elegant and complex as time passes … but we're still coding the elegance. 

    For more on this topic: 

  • The Social Media Universe

    We recently dove into what's happening at Twitter. Since that article, Elon wrote an ultimatum e-mail to his employees saying that if they wanted to stay, they would have to work harder and longer than before … and that they would get three months severance if they chose to leave. In a result that might have surprised Elon, thousands of Twitter employees quit.  In response, Elon locked the doors, cut badge access, and attempted some damage control.

    On top of that, you also have Meta having its own issues. 

    With that, it's probably a good time to take a look at the social media landscape.  Here is an infographic that shows the relative popularity of various social media properties. 

     

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    via visualcapitalist

    If you rank the top 10 social media by monthly users, Twitter isn't even on the list. Nor is it on the list for driving clicks. 

    Meta and YouTube top the list – by a mile. 

    As well, there's a growing network of smaller social media vying for a spot in the global paradigm, like Parler, Mastodon, or even Onlyfans.

    Meaning there's a lot more chaos in the system. 

    As always, chaos creates opportunity – in this case, both for new media and for brands to capitalize on the change in trends. 

    The question is, will Facebook and Twitter survive the storm, and if not, what will take their place?

  • What’s Up With Twitter?

    Everyone knows that Elon Musk was sued by Twitter and 'forced' to buy Twitter for $44B.  Since then, the now-private company has made a lot of confusing decisions. 

    To start, Musk publicly announced that the company was hemorrhaging money.  To try and remedy this, he began by firing approximately half the employees.  Key executives were fired.  Later, many more executives left on their own.  After the massive exodus, Elon supposedly reached out to some former employees asking them to come back.  He also ended remote work for employees. 

    In an attempt to increase the company's profitability, he announced Twitter Blue, a paid subscription service that would give you a checkmark, and push your content to the top of users' feeds. 

    Screen Shot 2022-11-11 at 5.54.04 PMvia twitter

    Unfortunately, users were quick to abuse the new verification system by pretending to be public figures and even public companies.  As a result, there was real tangible damage to stock prices. 

    That-fake-verified-tweet-cost-eli-lilly-billions-v0-txbw9br3edz91
     via Twitter

    Eli Lilly's drop also brought down its competitors.  Other companies got hit, including Lockheed Martin. 

    Do you think those are the most influential 8 dollars ever spent in history?

    As a result of the turmoil, advertisers are leaving Twitter in droves, and Twitter has paused Twitter Blue in America – though it remains up in some different geographies. 

    On the surface, it looks like Twitter is being run into the ground.  It seems like Musk is throwing a lot of darts at the board and seeing what sticks.  He said as much when he promised that Twitter would do many dumb things as part of his strategy to innovate and find smart things to do.

    Are the foibles simply the cost of the innovation needed to revitalize the company … or signs of trouble for Twitter's future?

    Even though I'm prone to bet on Musk, I think it's too early to believe you can predict the outcome.

    What do you think?

  • Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading – October 16th, 2022

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    Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

    Lighter Links:

    Trading Links:

  • The Swish Machine

    Rube Goldberg machines impress me more often than not. Here's a 70-step outdoor machine that covers a lot of ground … all to put a basketball in a hoop. It took a month to create, and another month to get working. 

     

    via Creezy

    I love stuff like this because it reminds me of life. Looking backward, you see how all the pieces go together. As you're going through it, it feels random and sometimes like you're moving backward or that your effort isn't directly contributing to your goal.

    Nonetheless, it all comes together in the end.

    Onwards!