Hello all! I’m sending this off as I’m on the way to a funeral. Remember to tell the people that you love them ❤️ - CW

The News

OpenAI will make hardcore ChatGPT users take breaks so they don’t suffer a break from reality

ChatGPT will now tell users to “take a break” during long sessions as part of OpenAI’s response to growing concerns about AI chatbots fuelling psychosis and other delusions (The Verge). At the same time as the ChatGPT maker announced it had raised more money (CNBC), OpenAI says it’s working with expert groups to figure out how to deal with the stories of harmful use. It also says it’ll make ChatGPT “less decisive” in high stakes situations, giving the example of not telling users to break up with their girlfriends.

The Sizzle: Sorry again for leading with AI news, but over the weekend I was reading some of the public ChatGPT conversations that were indexed by search engines. It’s hard sometimes to tell whether someone’s joking or not — like this conversation where someone’s talking about believing the rapture is coming — but it’s ones like this that aren’t full blown crazy but seem to seriously treat AI as if it’s sentient that freak me out. Maybe this isn’t making more people detached from reality, but it certainly seems to be attracting people who might be like moths to a flame.

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Federal government told that its welfare tech stack has “ongoing and increasing problems”

The Senate ordered the Albanese government to hand over a damning technical report that calls to bin a backend welfare system that’s already been rife with problems by today (InnovationAus, $). A Deloitte investigation — completed half a year ago — says that the government’s Targeted Compliance Framework, which has already had incorrectly penalised welfare recipients with $1.2+ million of debts, will continue to have “ongoing and increasing problems unless a new approach is undertaken” (InnovationAus, $).

The Sizzle: InnovationAus’ Joseph Brookes has been doing really great work on this that isn’t getting enough attention. Like so many things in Australian life, it feels like we didn’t learn anything lasting from robo-debt.

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

AI avatars of people is just like doing a robot seance

Former CNN White House correspondent-turned-Substacker Jim Acosta sat down for an “““interview””” with “““Joaquin Oliver”””, a mass shooting victim who was “““reanimated””” using AI (The Guardian). It’s not the first time this has happened in recent memory: an Arizona court let an AI avatar of a deceased road rage victim read out a witness statement (The Conversation)

The Sizzle: I hate this. Not just because it’s tacky to make a AI puppet of someone, but because it fundamentally misrepresents this technology. AI cannot bring someone back to life. It can ape a person using someone else’s commands and decisions. Even if you ignore the flow-on effect of authorities treating AI like it’s magic, I’d much prefer that people drop the veneer of high tech bullshit and speak to someone who can really personally tell you about their grief, about their experiences?

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Leftovers

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Oh, Also

This guy taught a bird to sing a PNG

I don’t know how to sell this better than the title already does, but this YouTuber was able to transmit an image by converting an image to a sound, then teaching a starling to sing and repeat it. I feel like it’s opened up a whole new world of what is possible. Maybe I’ll learn how to whistle www.thesizzle.com.au.

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Bargains

Electrical & Electronics

Computing

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The End

😎 The Sizzle is written by Cam Wilson and emailed every weekday. It was created by Anthony “decryption” Agius.

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The Sizzle is created on Gadigal land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.