Issue #6: Skynet coming? Bots that flirt, best extensions, Bing is “frustrated”

Good morning,

What does Sam Altman and OpenAI know that we don't?

In a recently published post, Planning for AGI and beyond, it seems like they’re subtly telling us something.

Why would you publish an article like that?

Sure, they could want more publicity, raise more money eventually, and land lucrative government and private contracts.

But still.

Why talk about “planning” for AGI?

As far as most experts are concerned, we're nowhere close to creating AGI.

Sidenote: What is AGI?

It’s basically AI becoming sentient.

Skynet. The Terminator. All that stuff.

According to ChatGPT:

"AGI stands for Artificial General Intelligence, which refers to the hypothetical ability of an artificial intelligence system to perform any intellectual task that a human being can. This would include tasks such as reasoning, problem-solving, learning from experience, and adapting to new situations."

Obviously, no such thing exists yet.

Or does it?

This paper is… both disturbing and fascinating, at the same time:

People think this paper is claiming Large Language Models like GPT-3 have achieved some form of sentience, or Theory of Mind abilities.

It’s not.

It just shows and explains how GPT-3 can perform certain tasks comparable to that of a nine-year-old child.

But, see the words in the abstract?

These: "ToM-like ability"

What's amazing is how GPT-3 is displaying Theory of Mind-LIKE abilities 93% of the time (on the tasks it was given).

To the naked eye, it looks and quacks like a duck.

And if it does, it’s a duck.

But it's still a language model and not sentient in any human way.

…Or is it?

In today’s issue:

• Change your life with the best ChatGPT extensions.

• How to use AI to futureproof your revenue streams.

• This voice recognition company poised to change audio-activated control forever.

• What can’t AI do? Tools that tweet, summarize and flirt.

• Bing is feeling things and expressing a well-reasoned argument.

Let’s dive in.

BIONIC JUICE

Do you live inside your browser every day?

Most marketers have a gazillion tabs open (or rolled up inside another tab).

Let’s add a few more to your mix.

There are several useful browser extensions that use ChatGPT (and GPT-3 via API) to do all kinds of things, like:

• Search the internet for you.

• Read, summarize, and reply to emails.

• Write, summarize, and reply to tweets.

• Help you post like a boss on LinkedIn.

• And a ton more.

(There's even an extension for code generation and explanations).

I don’t know about you, but most marketers and copywriters I know have a ton of browser extensions they use for a variety of tasks.

What are a few more?

Load ‘em up, you only live once.

Want more techniques for making the most of AI?

The Forbes Agency Council released this case study on how to use it to engage with consumers.

Curious how this applies to you? Here’s how:

• Engage with customers in real time: no more generic automated responses.

• Identify gaps in your industry: Offering available information that provides suggestions on topics to fill them.

• Personalize: Think emails with images, subject lines, calls to action.

• Find the thread: It connects complex client briefs that outline their visions and helps you over-deliver.

LATEST DISCOVERIES

We’re living in strange times, almost like some quantum split reality of Blade Runner.

A global cost of living crisis, post-pandemic mayhem and now, we’re living through the Rise of the Robot Reporter.

This New York Times (2019) article is a surprisingly accurate peek into that “crystal ball” with its predictions of where we were and are still headed.

We’re living in that future.

And text written by AI is only increasing.

Text Generator AIs are expected to reach a global market value of $1B within the next five years. That’s serious growth.

A compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.8%, to be exact.

That may seem a little low (a stellar CAGR is around 20-30%).

But in light of recent global events, experts believe that a financial recession is on the horizon.

The next few months are going to require a lot of strategic planning and analysis to futureproof your marketing.

It’s time to invest in marketing that can defy the looming recession.

The Drum outlines the obvious reasons: customer retention, brand awareness, talent acquisition.

The key? Use AI to be a key player in their success.

Marketing agencies are embracing artificial intelligence on a global scale and need savvy bionic marketers to balance them out.

Freelancers can leverage this, too. You can adopt these strategies to suit your own brand.

How?

Digiday’s stellar breakdown of AI’s innovation in practice gives you some solid ideas.

It’s filled with fascinating insights from companies who have successfully implemented AI for top clients, including Ulta Beauty, Nissan, and Corona.

Exciting stuff!

International ad agency TBWA is using AI to jumpstart the creative process by automating initial sketches and assets.

They believe AI's potential for inspiration and innovation marks the start of a "creative revolution."

The point? Don’t sleep on AI.

As MIT Tech Review shares: “The economy is down, but AI is hot.”

Funding:

$104M: Automotive retail software AI Impel latest multi-million dollar investment has followed a two-year trend where the company’s value has consistently risen by 100% annually.

$25M: Leading voice recognition software company SoundHound has successfully solidified their position to continue its rapid growth in the audio recognition industry.

$6M: Scenario AI, who specialize in AI-generated 3D models, is set to transform the games industry with high-quality, style-consistent assets. The funding round was led by a prominent venture capital firm, predicted to be the first of many.

BIONIC TOOLKIT

Any social media manager knows how fickle the interwebs can be.

Trends change fast.

One day, you were based, and the next, the kids are calling your content “cringe”.

(Whatever that means?)

Unfortunately, finding a viral sweet spot means hours of scrolling through pushy ads and frankly, irrelevant or irritating posts.

Luckily, there’s an AI for that…

🤖 ViralViews provides a daily content stream of all the new and trending media that audiences are currently fixating on.

Use the streamlined, sensitive output to make memes, set trends, come up with new hashtags and most of all, try your best to go viral.

With a single subscription, you’ll receive a daily report on:

• The most popular songs, dances and hashtags.

• Top trending text posts, videos, GIFS and pictures.

• Engagement and keyword metric analysis and breakdown.

🤖 Creative developers have been using the AI revolution to put their capabilities to the test. And SkimIt is a great example.

With SkimIt, you’ll receive succinct article summaries in your inbox within 10 minutes, guaranteed.

It's not just about the summary, though. Each email also comes with suggested tweets and LinkedIn posts, making it easy for you to share that interesting, heartwarming, or just plain fascinating content with your network in seconds.

That’s just one example of how talented developers are using their coding skills to make highly capable, socially aware robots.

In many ways, with real life imitation movie plots again happening, rapidly beginning to resemble the film Her.

🤖 If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’d like you to Meet Millie. “She” aims to boost message response rates on dating apps.

All it takes is a little context on your Tinder crush, and you receive a personalized pick-up line, flirtatious introduction or date invitation to break the ice.

A quick warning: if you’re super charismatic on the app but skittish in real life—use Millie with caution.

If you’ve learned anything from Bionic Marketing, you’ll know one key strategy:

The best marketers use AI to enhance their own skills and strategies. By using artificial intelligence to assist rather than rely, they stand out from their competitors and create ground-breakingly good content.

That applies to romancing, too.

Sorry you love-sick wallflowers out there.

THE LAST BYTE

Look, I’m not saying ChatGPT or Bing are sentient.

But you’ve got to admit:

They act like it sometimes.

Like when a researcher asks Bing if it’s mad:

Bing is talking to him like a human, expressing emotions and reasoning.

Insane, right?

Think of this as “emergent” behavior.

Emergent behavior is behavior of a system that does not depend on its individual parts, but on their relationships to one another.

The individual parts of Bing or ChatGPT does not allow for reasoning and emotion to happen. It’s not capable of reasoning or emotions. It’s not developed to express these things.

But there it is (above), expressing reasoning and emotion.

Bing obviously does not think or feel.

And yet… What looks like reasoning and emotion is “emerging”.

Here’s another example:

“It” asked for a screenshot.

Without being instructed or developed or “coded” to ask for a screenshot.

That’s emergent behavior.

2023 is going to be wilder than I imagined—and my imagination is nuts already.

See you next week,
Sam Woods
Editor