WEEKLY WHEATIES #2410
AI Capabilities, Apple, Tesla, Meta, Time
In this newsletter:
Post: What can AI Really do?
ICYMI: Apple, Tesla, and Meta Updates
POTW: Where do we get the time from?
What can AI Really do?
With the term AI used in some way everywhere we look, it’s almost too much to take in. It’s like, “Okay, we get it, you’re using AI…” But what does that even mean for businesses to use AI. And why do we care? Or more to the point, what can it do for us?
After researching and using some tools myself, I wanted to share in 4 ways how the layman can use AI. Granted, this will change based on your personal interest and professional role. But, I’d bet there’s at least one thing AI can probably assist you with in one of those areas. If not, I hope you will at least gain a new understanding and appreciation of what AI can actually do in application.
Below are some practical examples and tools in four main areas you may could find useful: text, audio, images, and video.
Text
I’m sure you’ve all heard of ChatGPT. However, what you may not know is ChatGPT was not the first to market in this space. Arguably, they have become the market leader and have the best overall product, but as mentioned last week - these have been around for years. That said, there are alternatives and other tools that dominate in their respective space.
Generic text-based chat AIs include:
Text tools with niche applications or features include:
Weekly Wheaties example:
Most, not all, of my blog post titles have a little help from Microsoft’s Copilot. I send the entire blog post to the chatbot under the Notebook feature and ask for fun titles. I’d guess only 10% of them are straight copy and paste as opposed to me mixing a few or adding my own flair - if I even use any suggested. For better or worse, this week’s newsletter title is all me!
I should also mention, I don’t use any text tools to write for me, summarize any articles, or even curate what articles I do decide to share and write about. This is partially my way to keep up to date with the tech space, make sure what I share is accurate, and to put my spin on any headline or story.
Audio
I’ve shared a few versions of cool audio AIs in the past - both duplicates of current and past celebrities. But, this can be done for anyone. There are some unique tools regarding audio in the editing space, too. Some can help shorten long forms of audio by removing silence or ‘ums’ and ‘ahs.’ Some can help summarize or transcribe long audio, too. Others specialize in finding snippets, or allow you to change what was originally said by modifying the transcript and re-exporting.
Zoom/Teams/Google Meet Plugins: Supernormal and MeetGeek
Weekly Wheaties example:
Most, but not always all, of my newsletters have a voice-over portion to them posted on my site, with the audio or video posted to YouTube or on your Podcast app of choice. Being that I want the audio to be of great quality and have the most consistent quality week in and week out, I do in fact use a voice cloning app - Voice Air. To make it work and sound as well as it does, I uploaded 5 minutes of a high-quality recording I did reading a script. While it’s not perfect to the people I talk to every day, I have tricked a bunch of close friends into thinking it was me at first. You know who you are!
While it may seem lazy or deceiving, I promise that’s not the case. I am a one-man show, and voice cloning is something I can do whenever and wherever I am. It is also fairly quick to do and doesn’t require a quiet setting for recording. It also doesn’t matter if I’m sick or not feeling well and can be completed at any time of the day. Please understand I know it’s not perfect and sometimes words sound funny or incorrect. It’s my version of the 80/20 rule in action!
Images
When DALL-E first jumped on the scene, it was crazy to think that one of the first things AI would take over is the creative side of things. Most people thought AI would first overtake the mundane and repeatable tasks - to which it partially has, too. Instead, AI started on the other end of the spectrum, creating crazy new artistic images based on random prompts. Even moreso, it was able to help create new images of things that no one could have ever imagined.
Presentation Tools
Weekly Wheaties example:
Every newsletter I share comes with what’s called a Hero Image as the picture to go along with the post. The same image included in my blog post is also used as the background for the YouTube video. Every week, this image is generated by Microsoft’s Copilot. The title of the blog post is entered as a prompt, and four images are then created. I choose one of the four or generate four new ones for a time or two until the image fits the topic.
Video
Not to be outdone by ChatGPT and DALLE, OpenAI recently released teaser videos of their new model - Sora. In theory, typing in a prompt would yield a video up to a minute long. Since this version appears to still be in testing, it’s currently not available to the public, and some of the videos shown do two things. At first - knowing it’s AI - the videos will blow you away. Secondly, the more you pay attention to it, and upon rewatches, discrepancies start to appear. This is not a knock on the tool, as I first mentioned - it is amazing. There is something similar with Runway, but I bet over time, they both will only get better. In the near future, I’m sure we’ll see our first AI generated movie with a plot, videos, and audio.
On the other hand, there are other multiple types of video style AI tools. Some generate avatars with audio, including in other languages, but most are pulling in stock videography to match with a transcript or prompt. Many times, this may include subtitles and audio, too.
Weekly Wheaties example:
I don’t use it as often as I’d like, but I do have a subscription to Pictory. Every once in a while, I come across a news article that is either timely or isn’t something I’d normally share about in my newsletter. For these, I take the article and turn it into a short video summary. They have an AI generated voice over, as well. You may have seen some of these, as I typically post them on my social media pages or as a Short on YouTube.
Besides the four categories mentioned above, there are also tons of other AI tools that have a niche and are doing some amazing things. If you really want to get into the weeds and find an AI tool for something not listed here, check out Fastpedia. There’s tons to dig through, and it’s always updated.
For some out of the box AI examples, check out the following articles or tools:
What are you looking forward to AI helping with?
ICYMI: Apple, Tesla, and Meta Updates
After 10 years of development, Apple abruptly cancels an electric car project they never publicly announced. It appears there were around 2,000 employees working on this top-secret project that invested over $10 billion. The car looked to have over 450,000 miles logged, which shows their intent. However, some note the price of the car would have to be priced at a higher price point, with minimal margins, to make it worthwhile moving forward. There is the consideration they made waves with the automation side regarding AI, because Tim Cook commented during a shareholder’s meeting that they will break new ground on AI.
Years after being announced in 2017, Elon tweeted about an update to the Tesla Roadster, including a collaboration with SpaceX and a 0-60 time in under 1 second. While many have noted Tesla’s timing isn’t always great, they at least do what they say they will do - within reason. And while some think it’s funny 1,000 people paid $250,000 upfront for a Founders Edition, I think it’s funny for a completely different reason. If someone bought that much in stock (at a rough price of $20 a share for the end of 2017), today it would be worth roughly $2.5 million. In other Tesla news, their Superchargers are now open to other manufacturers, providing another revenue stream.
In his interview with the Morning Brew Daily on YouTube, Mark Zuckerberg talks about the current and future paths for their AI glasses as compared to their Meta Quest AR/VR headsets. There’s a chance they may be demoed later this year. Mark mentioned that the glasses will be the “next computing generation’s phone.” They will still require a phone, but work along side the phone as the primary mobile device. He discusses the Meta Quest headset a bit more, too, and states it is the “next generation’s computer or TV screen.”
POTW: Where do we get the time from?
But before that, where do we get any measurement from? In a snippet from Star Talk on YouTube, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice discuss how we measure height, distance, and weight. And how it isn’t as accurate as we believe. Only as accurate as we can agree on. To quote a close friend, carpenters measure to the quarter inch, woodworkers measure to the sixteenth. It’s all about what you’re measuring and for what purpose.
In regard to time, Tony Finch discusses the topic of, “Where does my computer get the time from?” in a blog post taken from a talk he gave. The short answer is from GPS. Then from the Space Force Base. Then from the United States Naval Observatory. Then from multiple other places… You’ll have to read or listen to catch the whole story.
This is a great breakdown of the simple ways AI can benefit a tech outsider like myself. Most non-techies understand the basic concepts of AI, but can't break it down into individual applications. This issue gives us a great starting point to experiment at a basic level and integrate the technology into our own sphere. I probably won't use it that often, but it's interesting and entertaining to be able to apply some of this to my personal applications!