Technology & AI, page 4
Tech, internet, AI, software, gadgets and their impact. 178 links, newest first. Page 4 of 4.
Links 151 to 178
Quillbot: AI Writing and Paraphrasing Tools
Tool · quillbot.com · Issue #58
Quillbot is a suite of AI writing tools from Learneo, Inc., including a paraphraser for rewording text, a grammar checker, summarizer, translator and citation generator.
Summary
Quillbot is a suite of AI writing tools from Learneo, Inc., including a paraphraser for rewording text, a grammar checker, summarizer, translator and citation generator. It also covers a plagiarism checker, AI image and presentation creators, and PDF tools. Sign-up is free, and a Premium upgrade is offered.
Better Analyst (formerly Formula Bot)
Tool · excelformulabot.com · Issue #57
Better Analyst, formerly Formula Bot, is an AI data analyst where users connect spreadsheets or databases and ask questions in plain English.
Summary
Better Analyst, formerly Formula Bot, is an AI data analyst where users connect spreadsheets or databases and ask questions in plain English. Answers come with a chart and the SQL or Python behind them, and dashboards and scheduled reports can refresh automatically. A free plan is offered with no credit card, and paid plans start at $20 per month.
Terms of Service; Didn't Read
Tool · tosdr.org · Issue #56
ToS;DR is a volunteer project that summarizes website terms of service and privacy policies.
Summary
ToS;DR is a volunteer project that summarizes website terms of service and privacy policies. Contributors flag key points as good, neutral, bad or blocker, and each service receives a grade from A (treats users fairly) to E (raises very serious concerns). The project began in June 2012 and offers a public API and a donate link.
Hypnogram: Text-to-Image AI
Tool · hypnogram.xyz · Issue #55
A site that generates images from text descriptions using AI.
Summary
A site that generates images from text descriptions using AI. The newsletter mentions it as an example of a new AI engine that creates images from text.
Algorithms as IKEA-Style Instructions
Tool · idea-instructions.com · Issue #52
IDEA is a series of wordless, IKEA-style assembly instructions that explain how popular algorithms work, so they can be followed across languages.
Summary
IDEA is a series of wordless, IKEA-style assembly instructions that explain how popular algorithms work, so they can be followed across languages. The collection covers public key cryptography, quick sort, bogo sort, merge sort, gift wrapping, binary search, AVL trees, graph scan and Euler paths. The instructions are free under Creative Commons licenses and can be downloaded as one PDF. They were created by Sándor P. Fekete and blinry.
Anonymity Online Is Winning
Read · theatlantic.com · 6 min · Issue #51
An Atlantic article from 2022 on Gen Z's shift away from building a personal brand online.
Summary
An Atlantic article from 2022 on Gen Z's shift away from building a personal brand online. The newsletter notes that the article suggests younger users prefer to stay anonymous on the internet.
Otter.ai: Voice Meeting Notes and Real-Time Transcription
Tool · otter.ai · Issue #50
Otter.ai is an AI meeting assistant that transcribes meetings in real time with speaker recognition, then produces summaries with decisions and action items.
Summary
Otter.ai is an AI meeting assistant that transcribes meetings in real time with speaker recognition, then produces summaries with decisions and action items. It works with Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams through desktop, mobile and Chrome apps, and it offers pre-call briefings built from earlier discussions. A Basic plan is free and includes automated summaries and unlimited meetings. The Business plan starts at $19.99 per user per month.
Neural networks learn from examples, not rules
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #49
The speaker says nobody really knows how a neural network works internally
Summary
Building AI is easy: a neural network learns from examples, and the speaker compares its layers to steps in alchemy.
The speaker explains that a neural network learns from millions or billions of input and output examples rather than from explicit rules. Using pictures of numbers as the classic example, the speaker describes network layers and compares the process to alchemy, saying nobody fully knows why it works. Convolutional layers are presented as better than basic linear layers.
Key points- The speaker says nobody really knows how a neural network works internally
- Linear layers work but poorly, while convolutional layers work better
- A basic example maps pictures of numbers as inputs to the number as output
Faster and Better Reading (Bionic Reading)
Tool · bionic-reading.com · Issue #48
The homepage of Bionic Reading, a branded reading method owned by Bionic Reading AG.
Summary
The homepage of Bionic Reading, a branded reading method owned by Bionic Reading AG. The company sells fonts as a one-time purchase and offers apps for iOS, macOS, Android and Windows, a Chrome extension, and a web app that converts uploaded text, files or websites. The apps and web app have a free version with paid upgrades. The page cites self-reported testimonials about faster reading and better attention.
How to Bypass a Paywall
Read · bardeen.ai · Issue #47
A Bardeen blog post by Jason Gong listing 18 ways to get past article paywalls, including browser extensions, web archives such as the Wayback Machine and archive.ph, and reader modes.
Summary
A Bardeen blog post by Jason Gong listing 18 ways to get past article paywalls, including browser extensions, web archives such as the Wayback Machine and archive.ph, and reader modes. The author notes that paywalls are either soft or hard, and that bypass methods should be used only where permitted. Bypass Paywalls Clean is described as open source.
Two Hidden Ways to Get More From Gmail
Tool · gmail.googleblog.com · Issue #46
A 2008 post on the official Gmail blog by a Google product marketing manager describing two ways to change a Gmail address while it still delivers to the main inbox.
Summary
A 2008 post on the official Gmail blog by a Google product marketing manager describing two ways to change a Gmail address while it still delivers to the main inbox. Adding a plus sign and a label, such as hikingfan+bank@gmail.com, lets you filter or auto-delete mail sent to that variant. Gmail also ignores periods, so hiking.fan@gmail.com reaches the same inbox as hikingfan@gmail.com.
Social Media and Teen Mental Health: Haidt's Senate Testimony
Read · judiciary.senate.gov · 11 min · Issue #45
Jonathan Haidt of NYU Stern told a Senate subcommittee in May 2022 that smartphones and social media are a major cause of the rise in teen depression and anxiety.
Summary
Jonathan Haidt of NYU Stern told a Senate subcommittee in May 2022 that smartphones and social media are a major cause of the rise in teen depression and anxiety. He cites mood disorder rates up 50% to 150% from 2009 to 2019, and nearly all studies linking heavy use to poorer mental health. He recommends researcher data access and raising the internet adulthood age from 13 to 16.
Alfred makes Mac tasks faster
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #44
Alfred searches the web, Amazon, files and folders from one bar
Summary
Alfred is a Mac search tool that makes everyday computer tasks about three times faster than clicking through Finder.
The speaker recommends Alfred, a Mac app they install first on any new computer. It works like Spotlight on steroids, searching the web, Amazon, files, and folders, and opening URLs directly. The speaker says it makes their computer work about three times faster than clicking through Finder.
Key points- Alfred searches the web, Amazon, files and folders from one bar
- Typing a URL into Alfred is quicker than clicking through Finder and Safari
- The speaker says he installs Alfred first on every new Mac
What Historical Figures Might Look Like Today
Watch · youtube.com · 8 min · Issue #43
Mystery Scoop's February 2022 video, 8 minutes 24 seconds long, shows modern versions of historical figures created with AI by Brazilian digital artist Hidreley Diao.
Summary
Mystery Scoop's February 2022 video, 8 minutes 24 seconds long, shows modern versions of historical figures created with AI by Brazilian digital artist Hidreley Diao. Each image keeps the figure's main facial features and imagines how modern life might have changed their appearance. Figures include Julius Caesar, Leonardo da Vinci, Joan of Arc, Beethoven, and Marcus Aurelius.
The Entire History of r/place
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #41
Ludwig Ahgren's April 2022 gaming video, 8 minutes 46 seconds long, traces the history of Reddit's r/place, the collaborative pixel canvas where users placed one pixel at a time.
Summary
Ludwig Ahgren's April 2022 gaming video, 8 minutes 46 seconds long, traces the history of Reddit's r/place, the collaborative pixel canvas where users placed one pixel at a time.
AI Predicts Sudden Cardiac Death Better Than Doctors
Read · hub.jhu.edu · 3 min · Issue #41
Johns Hopkins researchers led by Natalia Trayanova built SSCAR, an AI system that predicts whether a heart disease patient will die of sudden cardiac arrest and when.
Summary
Johns Hopkins researchers led by Natalia Trayanova built SSCAR, an AI system that predicts whether a heart disease patient will die of sudden cardiac arrest and when. It combines two neural networks: one reads scar patterns in cardiac images, the other 10 years of clinical data across 22 factors. The team reports it beat doctors' predictions and was tested on an independent cohort from 60 U.S. health centers.
Electricity Maps
Tool · app.electricitymap.org · Issue #39
Electricity Maps is a site with real-time and historical electricity data worldwide, covering energy production sources, CO2 emissions, prices, and cross-border exports.
Summary
Electricity Maps is a site with real-time and historical electricity data worldwide, covering energy production sources, CO2 emissions, prices, and cross-border exports. It also offers an API with a 14-day trial, after which access appears to be paid.
TinyWow: Free Online PDF, Image, Video and Text Tools
Tool · tinywow.com · Issue #30
TinyWow is a website with online tools for PDFs, images, video, text, and files, including PDF merging and compression, background removal, video to GIF conversion, CSV to JSON, and a YouTube transcript generator.
Summary
TinyWow is a website with online tools for PDFs, images, video, text, and files, including PDF merging and compression, background removal, video to GIF conversion, CSV to JSON, and a YouTube transcript generator. The page presents the tools as free with no sign-up, and promotes a paid Premium tier that removes ads and CAPTCHAs. It says uploaded files are deleted after one hour.
Weaponizing Data: How Location Data Exposes People
Read · vice.com · Issue #29
Joseph Cox, writing for VICE in 2021, argues that phone app location data has become a tool for exposing individuals, since data brokers sell it cheaply.
Summary
Joseph Cox, writing for VICE in 2021, argues that phone app location data has become a tool for exposing individuals, since data brokers sell it cheaply. He describes how The Pillar used Grindr-linked location data to trace Msgr. Jeffrey Burrill, who then resigned, and cites a $11.7 million Norwegian fine against Grindr and re-identification research. Senator Ron Wyden called on the FTC to investigate the data broker industry.
How People Read Online: Scanning, Not Reading
Read · nngroup.com · Issue #24
Kate Moran of Nielsen Norman Group summarizes five eyetracking studies over 13 years, which found that people mostly scan online content rather than read it.
Summary
Kate Moran of Nielsen Norman Group summarizes five eyetracking studies over 13 years, which found that people mostly scan online content rather than read it. The 2016 and 2019 studies included participants in the US and Beijing. Newer patterns include the pinball pattern on search results, while the core scanning habits from 2006 still appear. Recommendations include clear headings, front-loaded key information, and plain language.
A short take on Web 3.0
Short · m.tiktok.com · Issue #23
A short TikTok about Web 3.0.
Summary
A short TikTok about Web 3.0.
Michael Saylor on What You Aren't Being Told About Bitcoin
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #22
A 27-minute video by Evan Carmichael presents Bitcoin's advantages over other assets, drawing on Michael Saylor and other investors and commentators, including Raoul Pal, Robert Kiyosaki, and Cathie Wood.
Summary
A 27-minute video by Evan Carmichael presents Bitcoin's advantages over other assets, drawing on Michael Saylor and other investors and commentators, including Raoul Pal, Robert Kiyosaki, and Cathie Wood. The description lists investing lessons such as buying when prices are low, protecting purchasing power, and staying patient.
Notion: AI Workspace for Teams and Agents
Tool · notion.so · Issue #21
Notion presents itself as an AI workspace where teams and agents capture information, find answers with citations, and automate tasks.
Summary
Notion presents itself as an AI workspace where teams and agents capture information, find answers with citations, and automate tasks. Custom Agents can search across apps, and the page lists uses such as triaging product feedback, resolving Slack support tickets, and automating weekly reports. The site offers a free signup and a pricing page.
The Future of Art on Blockchain: Crypto Art and NFTs
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #18
Crypto artist Gordon Berger describes NFTs and the CryptoArt movement in a TEDx talk given at the Museum of London in 2018.
Summary
Crypto artist Gordon Berger describes NFTs and the CryptoArt movement in a TEDx talk given at the Museum of London in 2018. He argues that art can help people make sense of technologies that shape their lives. The description lists the tools behind NFTs, including IPFS, Ethereum smart contracts, and ERC-721 tokens, and says Berger has worked with blockchain since 2011.
Jasper: AI Platform for Marketing Content
Tool · jasper.ai · Issue #14
Jasper is an AI platform for marketing teams that creates on-brand content at scale.
Summary
Jasper is an AI platform for marketing teams that creates on-brand content at scale. Its features include Canvas, Chat, agents for workflows such as research and translation, a brand-voice store called Jasper IQ, and integrations with Gmail, WordPress, and HubSpot. The Pro plan costs $59 per month billed annually after a 7-day free trial, and Business pricing is custom.
Connected Papers: A Visual Tool for Finding Related Research
Tool · connectedpapers.com · Issue #13
Connected Papers is a visual tool that helps researchers and applied scientists find academic papers relevant to their field.
Summary
Connected Papers is a visual tool that helps researchers and applied scientists find academic papers relevant to their field. It builds a graph of related publications from a starting paper, which the newsletter notes suits students writing academic work.
HyperWrite: AI Writing Assistant
Tool · hyperwriteai.com · Issue #10
HyperWrite, built by OthersideAI, is an AI writing assistant with autocomplete, drafting, email replies, research with citations, and a Chrome extension.
Summary
HyperWrite, built by OthersideAI, is an AI writing assistant with autocomplete, drafting, email replies, research with citations, and a Chrome extension. It offers hundreds of tools, including a rewriter and summarizer, and targets writers, students, and professionals. Four free tools are listed, while Premium costs $19.99 per month ($16 billed annually) and Ultra costs $44.99 per month ($29 billed annually).
A viral 2050 roadmap for civilization
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #8
By 2030 the image shows asteroid mining tied to global GDP
Summary
A viral 2050 roadmap image ties asteroid mining, synthetic science and cryptocurrencies to future milestones, and the speaker finds some plausible.
The speaker discusses a viral image that they say shows an anonymous roadmap for civilization to 2050, linked to ISO 20022, a global payment system. According to the speaker, the image ties asteroid mining to global GDP by 2030, synthetic science and robotics to later decades, and cryptocurrencies to metals such as gold and copper. The speaker does not know who made it but finds the asteroid mining prediction plausible.
Key points- By 2030 the image shows asteroid mining tied to global GDP
- By 2040 it ties synthetic science to regenerative medicine and robotics to delegated work
- The speaker says the owner of the image is unknown
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