Windows Copilot Newsletter #6
OpenAI implodes; ChatGPT talks - and fakes up scientific data; Microsoft begins rolling out Copilot for Windows 10
Welcome to the Windows Copilot Newsletter. This week has been completely dominated by the tsuris at ChatGPT-makers OpenAI, but there’s lots more to cover. Let’s get right into it…
Top Stories
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman got fired by the board of OpenAI on Friday. The rationale for such a precipitous act remains unclear. Was he playing a double game? Working against the best interests of the firm? Was the board worried about the risks of a ‘superintelligence’ OpenAI feel they’re close to creating? At this point all we know is that Altman came back as CEO on Wednesday, and the previous board (excepting one member) stepped down. OpenAI have ordered an investigation - but good luck making sense of this nexus of power, politics, money and mania. Read about it here.
Meanwhile, OpenAI rolled out a major update for ChatGPT: using the iOS and Android mobile apps, it can both talk and listen. That’s a feature previously reserved for the subscribers of ChatGPT+, but now it’s available to everyone - and it’s really quite nice. Read about that here.
Have you heard of Claude? It’s the AI chatbot created by Anthropic, a startup that came out of an earlier fracture at OpenAI. Claude has some big advantages over ChatGPT, including the ability to digest and analyse 200,000 characters at a time - the equivalent of a mid-sized novel. Read all about recent upgrades to Claude here.
Finally, Microsoft - which kept a steady hand as its partner OpenAI spun wildly out of control - has begun the process of releasing Copilot on Windows 10, beginning with the ‘preview editions’ that feature upgrades-to-come. Read about that.
Top Tips
Want to learn how accountants and bookkeepers can use ChatGPT? We’ve got you covered here.
What are banks doing with AI chatbots? Here’s an analysis.
Plus - some prompts to spark innovation!
Safely and Wisely
ChatGPT can do more than fabricate facts - it can be used to fake up scientific data. Read about an emerging threat to science here.
This is a nowhere near comprehensive but still quite sobering list of AI errors, mistakes and failures. Be careful!
Longreads
Nearly four years ago, MIT Technology Review published a profile of OpenAI and its founders. The article highlights stresses in the organisation that blew open this week. Read that here.
Book Updates
My book Getting Started with ChatGPT and AI Chatbots is now at the printers; the next step is to launch the book on the 6th of December. We’re planning a two events in conjunction with that launch - and both are free!
Join us online at 11 am this Wednesday, the 29th of November for an hour-long exploration of AI chatbots, and how you can use them safely and wisely. Please click the button below to register for a free class being offered through Growth Academy.
Join us in Sydney for a book launch event at noon on the 6th of December - and yes, we will have books available for purchase! Please click the link below to register.
We’ll be back next week with lots more news about Windows Copilot and AI chatbots. (Hopefully with less boardroom drama.)
Until then,
Mark Pesce
www.markpesce.com // Need advice on AI?