Good Monday Morning

It’s December 12. Wednesday is the 10th anniversary of the massacre at Sandy Hook. Those murdered children would be busy talking about driver’s licenses and school dances right now. Learn how to join the vigil and protest outside the NRA at 10 a.m. Wednesday if you’re in the DC area.

Today’s Spotlight is 895 words — about 4 ½ minutes to read.

Spotlight On … ChatGPT

As technology continues to advance, chatbots have become an increasingly useful tool for businesses and organizations looking to improve customer service and streamline their operations. One of the key factors in the success of chatbots is the use of large language models to train them. These models allow chatbots like ChatGPT to understand and respond to a wide range of human inputs, making them a valuable asset for many different applications.

1. Customer service: One of the most common uses for chatbots trained on large language models is customer service. By using these chatbots, businesses can provide quick and accurate responses to customer inquiries, helping to resolve issues and improve the overall customer experience. This can be especially useful for handling common questions or issues that may arise, allowing customer service representatives to focus on more complex tasks.
2. Order processing and tracking: Another common use for chatbots trained on large language models is in the processing and tracking of orders. By using these chatbots, businesses can automate many of the tasks associated with order fulfillment, such as verifying information and updating customers on the status of their orders. This can help to improve efficiency and reduce the workload of human staff, allowing them to focus on more important tasks.
3. Personal assistants: In recent years, chatbots trained on large language models have also been used as personal assistants. These chatbots can assist with a wide range of tasks, such as scheduling appointments, setting reminders, and providing information on a variety of topics. This can be especially useful for individuals who may have difficulty managing their own schedules or who need help with daily tasks.

Overall, chatbots like ChatGPT that are trained on large language models are a valuable tool for businesses and individuals alike. By leveraging the power of these models, chatbots can provide quick and accurate responses to a wide range of inputs, making them a valuable asset for many different applications.

P.S. ChatGPT wrote this. Here is a link to a short video showing you how amazingly fast ChatGPT writes.

3 More Stories to Know

1) Epson announced that it will no longer make laser printers after 2026. The company says that inkjet printers are more eco-friendly.

2)  TikTok is continuing negotiations with the Biden administration regarding ways that the company can continue operating in the U.S. FBI director Christopher Wray has made multiple public statements about TikTok which he calls it a threat to national security.

3) San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors quickly reversed their decision that would have allowed law enforcement agencies to use robots armed with lethal weapons in hazardous conditions.

Trends & Spends

Trends and Spends has the week off because Google published its Year in Search feature that includes global searches in multiple categories as well as a drop down to show top searches in individual countries.

Did That Really Happen? — Electric Bike Graveyard

A hoax photo purports to show an electric bike dump in France filled with abandoned bikes whose owners didn’t want to pay for replacement batteries.

Snopes did some great research (read it here) and discovered that the bikes were in China and had been abandoned by a company going out of business.

Following Up — Log4j Exploits Continue

We wrote extensively about the Log4j hacks that occurred last December. At the time, government and large organizations warned that hackers would attempt to exploit this vulnerability affecting hundreds of millions of devices.  Last week, security firm Arctic Wolf disclosed that more than 800 of its commercial customers had been targeted using this exploit during 2022.

Protip — A Chrome Browser Setting to Save Memory

For years, Google Chrome’s browser has suffered from overusing memory that caused it to slow down or even stop. Now the company has released a new version with a feature called “Memory Saver”. Read about how you can install it now ahead of its rollout date in a few weeks.

Screening Room — Uber Eats’ New Guarantee & the NFL’s OBJ

Science Fiction World — Smart Bandages

There’s news about an international group of researchers who have created a smart bandage that uses microelectronics that transmit data wirelessly and report back to medical teams on the amount of healing, presence of certain cells, or infection.

Coffee Break — The World Cup of Microsoft Excel

Mama, your boy can finally be an international competitor. We told you last year about the Excel Championships. This delightful article in The Atlantic takes a close look at this year’s spreadsheet championship complete with TV coverage on ESPN 3.

Sign of the Times

Good Monday Morning

Welcome back. It’s November 28. Breaking late Sunday was news of yet another mass shooting. One person is dead and four others are injured at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. There have been 652 mass shootings nationwide since Jan. 1, an average of one every 12 hours.

Today’s Spotlight is 805 words — about 4 ½ minutes to read.

Spotlight On … Companies Behaving Badly

A new year often prompts us to reexamine our financial decisions. We have compiled a list of warnings and examples of companies behaving badly online.

Internet pricing is confusing and suffers from a lack of competition. 

A Consumer Reports study published just before Thanksgiving found that internet service providers often charge additional, confusing monthly fees that can reach $9.95 and may be avoidable. About half of the bills they studied came from companies with no competitors.

Websites disguise ads, hide terms, or make it difficult to cancel.

In October, the FTC warned about all companies behaving badly using the jargony term “dark patterns”, citing subscriptions that are hard to cancel, opt-outs that protect private data being hidden, and disguised ads. Despite being owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the Washington Post created an impressive graphic showing disguised ads on Amazon.  

According to the FTC, Credit Karma falsely represented that 90% of consumers would qualify or were pre-approved for credit cards when only about 33% did. Those who didn’t also experienced credit score penalties. 

Tax software sites shared data with Facebook

The Markup reported that H&R Block and Tax Act returned user income, tax filing status, scholarship information, and refund amounts to Facebook despite Facebook’s program allowing advertisers to easily avoid sending that information.

Auto companies are building features into cars, but only enabling them with ongoing subscriptions.

Mercedes is the latest carmaker to demand subscriptions. It costs $100/month to activate the enhanced acceleration already installed in some Mercedes models. In the past, BMW offered a similar subscription program requiring $18 monthly to activate heated seats that were also already installed.

 3 More Stories to Know

1)  Google will pay $392 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a coalition of 40 states over its Location History data collection policies.

New and inconclusive: security researchers from Mysk claim that Apple usage data includes a permanent, unchangeable ID number assigned to each consumer.

2)  Ransomware hackers targeting a Belgian local government instead hacked a Belgian police department. The police claim that only administrative or personnel records were exposed. Apparently unrelated was a cyberattack on the European Parliament’s website last Wednesday that made it unavailable for several hours.

3) Anti-vaccination content is gaining traction on Twitter under new ownership, as entities have purchased the once-prestigious “verified” status for $8. According to The Guardian, vaccine scientist Peter Hoetz criticized the move for promoting anti-vaccine disinformation.

Trends and Spends

Did That Really Happen? — Sen. Cornyn Signs Tweet As Sen. Cruz

The Twitter account belonging to Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) posted a Thanksgiving greeting from fellow Texas Republican Ted Cruz and Mrs. Cruz. The jokes were funny and many pointed out that the lawmakers might share a digital firm that committed the error or that the senator or someone on his staff did a sloppy copy and paste job.

Following Up — 1Password Buying Passkey Company

We wrote last week about passkeys, the next evolution of security beyond passwords. Now there’s news that password manager software company 1Password is buying Passage to also offer passkey products.

Protip — Remove Your Home’s Image from Google Maps

You’ve probably seen street-level views on Google Maps that show you pictures of each building. Now there’s an easy way to request that Google blur the image of your house from its Maps software.

Screening Room — US Cellular’s Poignant “Right Number”

Science Fiction World — Robots Cleaning Skyscraper Windows

Israeli firm Skyline Robotics has introduced Ozmo, a window cleaning robot for skyscrapers that operates without people aboard or the previous 10 story height restriction. This articles shows Ozmo in action at the 15 story RXR plaza in Uniondale, NY.

Coffee Break — Free Palm Pilot Apps Online

The amazing Internet Archive strikes again with a new Palm Pilot emulator and access to more than 500 apps that will work on your smart phone. Sean Hollister at The Verge says it best: “You can reach out and touch a 1996 pocket computer with your 2022 pocket computer and it works like a charm. It’s a tiny interactive window into the pre-iPhone era.”

Sign of the Times

Passkeys are safer and easier to use than passwords.