The saying, "May you live in interesting times," is a backhanded compliment since it may be a translation of a traditional Chinese curse. The expression is ironic; life is better in uninteresting times of peace and tranquility instead of the chaos and trouble of exciting times. From Elon's Twitter dumpster fire, continued tech layoffs, and last week's botched Google Bard launch, tech's fascinating chaos and trouble continue. There was a lot to Flip this week. Here's our weekly summary by Flipboard magazines and our @MiddleEarthX (RAVENX) follower profile.
We love MiddleEarthX's Flipboard magazines scope, breadth, and creativity curated by RavenX. I had to stop writing to flip RavenX's share of Apple's play for world domination into our Sign of the Times magazine. Apple’s Quest for Total Control from Trend In Tech confirmed a sneaking suspicion - Apple is about to make a big play. From luxury iPhones to Apple AI we're betting Tim Cook's team is about to challenge us all to think different again.
"The future won't be an AI - it'll be many AIs" is a crucial statement. I share Joshua Benton's ChatGPT frustrations after waiting hours for the crowd to thin and the tool to be available again. And there's a waitlist to pay $20 a month, so OpenAI's new tool is helpful and frustrating in almost equal measure. Joshua's Is the future about one all-knowing AI or many? The new app Poe gets you ready to chat with them all for niemanlab.org had me putting my email on yet another waiting list. Waiting is a good word to describe the state of AI. We're waiting to see what other tech giants can do with OpenAI's tool; we're coding like mad banshees to see what we can do with those same tools and waiting for our turn to use the most human-like chatbot ever created once again thwarts our growing addiction.
Speaking of frustration, Google's Paris launch of Bard fell flat. Giving a competitor such as OpenAI months of free PR without a response and then launching Bard with an embarrassing public mistake summarizes the Google gang that can't seem to shoot straight.
We made progress on the WTE startups incubator this week. Our goal is to publish details about how to share your business plan to earn website, software, and app development support by the middle of March.
Tron, a blockchain-based operating system underpinned by the native token TRX created by Justin Sun, announced a $100M AI development fund focusing on four areas:
Since I wasn't sure what "AI-infused oracle was, I asked ChatGPT:
An AI-infused oracle is a type of oracle that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to provide more accurate and intelligent data, insights, and predictions. In this type of oracle, AI algorithms used to analyze large amounts of data, identify patterns, and make predictions based on the insights derived from the data. These predictions inform decision-making in various fields, such as finance, healthcare, and retail. An AI-infused oracle aims to provide more accurate, reliable, and actionable insights and predictions compared to traditional oracles that rely solely on human experts or statistical models.
We're interested in and working on three of those four ideas (payments, data, content), so in addition to managing our startup incubator, we may apply to Justin's fund too.
Stay tuned.
Three things dominated this week's Techno beat: lawyers, Apple, and Alibaba. Wired's Will Wright wrote about a lawsuit sure to have copyright implications for generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. Speculation that Apple is up to something is running rampant. Let me modify that, speculation Apple is up to something is running even more rampant than usual. And Alibaba says they've been testing a ChatGPT alternative without sharing details or a release date. Heck, Alibaba, everyone we know is trying to create a ChatGPT alternative, so welcome to a crowded club. Some details would be good. Call us crazy.
Nick Barclay's "color meanings" posters were our most shared CTA flip this week. Nick's posters illustrate how great design educates, informs, and entertains. Too good.
My favorite flip came from the Harvard Business Review. HBR's instructions on becoming a "digital nomad" captured my aspirations and dreamed more than the current reality. I asked if anyone was a digital nomad and had yet to hear from anyone. What about you? Would you like to be a digital nomad?
Amazon's new Buy with Prime and Seller Fulfilled Prime dominated our ecosystem this week with Amazon Buy With Prime Merchant Guide on the WTE Tech News blog and How Amazon Buy With Prime Changes Ecommerce on LinkedIn. Amazon realized they couldn't build fulfillment centers fast enough, so they're offering direct-to-consumer (DTC) and third-party sellers the ability to use Amazon's cart and logistics. However, shipping and customer ownership remain with DTC and third-party sellers. Discover specific recommendations for how to make money with Amazon Buy with Prime.
I wish I could see the blockbuster Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum because the economics of such a show means it will only happen sometime soon. The Vermeer exhibition may travel. One can hope.
I Love Marie de Villepin's sweeping abstract paintings (image above). I also loved Josh Gluckstein's animals made from recycled cardboard. I would have an entire zoo at my house if there were a way to buy these innovative sculptures.