WAPObots Roll Out 📰🔎

👀 TLDR:

In this week’s What’s Appening, we cover The Washington Post’s new AI chatbot. Called Climate Answers (for the moment), it will initially only deal with questions on climate change, but as it rolls out new topics, we think the Post’s model of containing the bot within its own body of reporting over the decades may be a blueprint that other legacy media outlets soon follow. In other news, we look at the EU taking umbrage at Elon Musk’s verification system on X, Apple allowing PC emulators, Samsung’s new smart ring, and AWS’s new AI app builder. Our Stat of the Week covers the whys and wherefores of OpenAI’s revenue, and What’s dAppening tells the tale of an Aussie landing in hot water for claiming to be the founder of Bitcoin.

Our Top Take 🎬

📰🌎 AI - Spotlight on The Washington Post’s New AI Chatbot

While we’ve been hard at work bringing AI magic to Newspaper Front Pages, our neighbors over at the Washington Post have been just as busy. They just launched an AI chatbot, an interesting development, given many legacy media outlets have decried bots as a clear and present danger to their craft. The Washington Post (and WAPO Labs) are constantly pushing the boundaries of tech, and this the latest fantastical experiment — particularly exciting if you’ve ever wanted to ask more from an article. The crucial aspect is the bot will only retrieve information from articles published in The Post (and right now, limited only to climate news). If the information doesn’t exists, it won’t give you an answer. The bot is being framed as a “truth provider” backed by quality reporting and verified sources. Yes, we live in an era where legacy media is questioned, but there is a logic in containing AI to a specific data set in media reporting, even if critics will maintain it will only ever provide the Post’s version of the “truth”. Yet, we note The Post has also added a user feedback program to constantly monitor the veracity of answers. We’d not be surprised at all if big outlets like The NYT and BBC follow suit. If you can’t beat AI, maybe join it. #WaPoBot Read more here.

📍 Meanwhile at 3Advance

Science News is LIVE! 🥳 After working with Demian Perry, then Director of Mobile at NPR many years ago, we worked together again as he drafted the 3Advance team to redesign and relaunch the Science News Magazine mobile apps. While this was a smaller project than we usually undertake, the opportunity was relished. Science News is an incredible publication bringing exceptional writing for over 100 years, but the apps, well, they needed some love. So we gave them the love they deserved. These beautiful new apps showcase the articles with an exceptional user experience and even allow the print versions to be browsed through too. Check it out now on iOS and Android.

🦾 GPT of the Week: SelfSpeak Affirmation Mentor

Jeffery Bradley wants to "empower Your Thoughts and harnes the unique power of your voice for positive change". Jeffery, who had manually recorded personal affirmations for years decided to turn his wellness solution into a product, hiring the team at 3Advance to prove the concept through an AI R&D sprint using voice-cloning and LLM-generated affirmations. After a successful prototype was developed, the team got to work on the app itself, that goes live next month! Paul talks to Jeff about the app, his story and his experience with 3Advance, while also introducing his very own custom GPT that offers a sneak peak into the power of SelfSpeak. Check it out on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcast & Amazon Music.

🧐 Stat of the Week: $3.4B ARR

📈📉 OpenAI – Revenue Report Lifts Lid on ChatGPT Subscriptions

Amid all the arguments over whether OpenAI should be run for profit or not, it is interesting to see how - and where - it is making money. Overall, it’s said to be taking in around $3.4B annually from ChatGPT subscriptions, with around 7.7 million subscribers paying 20 bucks a month. There are also about 1.2 million enterprise subscribers paying $50. But while we all know there is huge room for growth, as those subscriber numbers could rise 100-fold, it’s worth noting that operational costs for running ChatGPT are astronomical. #OpenAIRevenue Read more here.

🗞️ Other Stories

🕸️ What’s d’Appening

🪙🥸 Bitcoin – “Satoshi” Impersonator Will Face UK Court Charges

When Bitcoin was launched back in 2009, its founder – known under the mysterious pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto – disappeared soon after. In the years since, there have been wild theories that it could be anyone from Hal Finney to Elon Musk. However, one Australian man, Craig Wright, went to extraordinary lengths to claim it was he who, in fact, created the token. Wright was eventually sued in court to provide proof, with a judge finding his claims were false. He has now been referred to the UK Crown Court on a series of perjury charges and is facing possible jail time. There’s a lesson there, folks. #WhoIsSatoshi Read more here.

📣 Promos

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