Month: February 2023

China plays catch-up to ChatGPT as hype builds around AI

Tech giants tout innovations but are disadvantaged by data sets, computing power.

Baidu is leading the ChatGPT AI charge in China with plans to incorporate its Ernie chatbot into its search engine from next month.

Enlarge / Baidu is leading the ChatGPT AI charge in China with plans to incorporate its Ernie chatbot into its search engine from next month. (credit: SOPA Images via Getty)

China’s tech giants, including Baidu, Alibaba, and NetEase, are racing to match the West’s recent developments in artificial intelligence, touting projects that they hope will achieve the same buzz created by the release of ChatGPT.

After months of announcing cost cuts and headcount reductions, big groups are now optimistically presenting investment plans to rival OpenAI’s chatbot, while trademark trolls are lining up to claim words related to ChatGPT’s achievements.

Zhou Hongyi, head of Internet security company Qihoo 360, characterized ChatGPT, a program that produces realistic text answers to questions posed by humans, as the start of the artificial intelligence revolution. “It has shortcomings but also unlimited potential,” he said in a talk-show discussion last week.

Read 22 remaining paragraphs | Comments

TCP: Die versteckte Netzwerkbremse in Windows 10 und 11

Microsoft liefert Windows 10 und 11 mit Voreinstellungen eines Internet-Profils für TCP aus, die TCP/IP-Netzwerkverbindungen arg verlangsamen können. Es gibt aber Möglichkeiten, die Netzwerkdurchsätze zu verbessern. Von Günter Born (Windows 11, Server)…

Microsoft liefert Windows 10 und 11 mit Voreinstellungen eines Internet-Profils für TCP aus, die TCP/IP-Netzwerkverbindungen arg verlangsamen können. Es gibt aber Möglichkeiten, die Netzwerkdurchsätze zu verbessern. Von Günter Born (Windows 11, Server)

Viral Instagram photographer has a confession: His photos are AI-generated

Artist wants to “come clean” and highlight a new media process.

Jos Avery uses Midjourney, an AI image synthesis model, to create images that he then retouches and posts on Instagram as photos.

Enlarge / Jos Avery uses Midjourney, an AI image synthesis model, to create images that he then retouches and posts on Instagram as "photos." (credit: Avery Season Art)

With over 26,000 followers and growing, Jos Avery's Instagram account has a trick up its sleeve. While it may appear to showcase stunning photo portraits of people, they are not actually people at all. Avery has been posting AI-generated portraits for the past few months, and as more fans praise his apparently masterful photography skills, he has grown nervous about telling the truth.

"[My Instagram account] has blown up to nearly 12K followers since October, more than I expected," wrote Avery when he first reached out to Ars Technica in January. "Because it is where I post AI-generated, human-finished portraits. Probably 95%+ of the followers don't realize. I'd like to come clean."

Avery emphasizes that while his images are not actual photographs (except two, he says), they still require a great deal of artistry and retouching on his part to pass as photorealistic. To create them, Avery initially uses Midjourney, an AI-powered image synthesis tool. He then combines and retouches the best images using Photoshop.

Read 15 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Kriminalität: Ransomware will Versicherungspolice

Die Ransomware Hardbit 2.0 verlangt die Versicherungspolice der Unternehmen, um die Lösegeldforderung anzupassen. Nicht ungefährlich für die Betroffenen. (Ransomware, Malware)

Die Ransomware Hardbit 2.0 verlangt die Versicherungspolice der Unternehmen, um die Lösegeldforderung anzupassen. Nicht ungefährlich für die Betroffenen. (Ransomware, Malware)