Generative AI Boom Could Trigger Millions of Tons in E-Waste, New Research Shows

According to a new study at Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Urban Environment , generative AI is going to produce million tons of e-waste in the upcoming year. The researchers said that they tried to add every device like batteries, circuit boards and other hardware that is being used to power generative AI applications in their study.

We all know that ChatGPT has taken over the world but there is a lot of hardware associated with it that is used to run the models. GPUs are used to run these applications, mostly in data centers and server farms. Generative AIs need energy and resources to work and they are also run on batteries in case of power outages because they are important for many users. But all the hardware and power equipment has a limited time under which it can work. After the time is over, this hardware can become e-waste.

The researchers studied the e-waste produced by AI applications and tried to estimate how much e-waste can be generated until the end of this decade. The researchers estimated the hardware which is used by AI applications and the data centers which are responsible for running many AI models. They also predicted how much the demand for AI applications is going to increase in the upcoming years.

The researchers said that if everything goes according to their estimates, AI is going to produce 1.2 to 5 million metric tons of e-waste. Right now, AI is producing 2.6 thousand metric tons of e-waste but it can increase to 2.5 million by the end of the decade. The researchers suggested recycling hardware if AI companies want to avoid such amounts of e-waste.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: AI Job Growth Accelerates: Top Industries Seeking Skilled Professionals
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Meta Shares Strong Performance Update For Q3 of 2024 With Massive Revenue Increase

Meta is on a roll. The company just shared its latest earnings insights for Q3 of 2024, which featured a strong performance during this period.

This included a massive revenue increase with a smaller rise in active users across all of its platforms. Let’s not forget its investments throughout several different projects that must be appreciated.

For starters, Meta reports a rise in users across Threads, WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram. A total user count of 3.29 billion was outlined which is a small but notable rise in previous figures that stood at 3.27 billion in the second quarter of this year.

It might not seem like a lot at first but considering how there are 8 billion people in this world and out of those over 3 billion are on Meta is major. To be more specific, close to 40% of the world’s population is using Meta each day.

This obviously excludes the 1.4B individuals in China who have blocked the company. Despite that, the tech giant continues to grow in users. So you can see the understanding of Meta’s operations in this regard is worth a mention.

We must also mention how the figures are not stagnant and continue to grow with time. The apps keep hitting the saturation mark in several markets but Meta still sees a rise in users signing up to its platforms. This certainly proves that it has great potential and can really mean a lot for its cord ads activities.

Meta never discloses the ARPP results like that was seen in the past but its overall revenue is on the rise. This keeps on increasing as the holiday rush continues during the fourth quarter.

Most of the company’s user base comes from North America and the EU where it generates the greatest amount of revenue. It is slowly but surely rising in places like Asia Pacific too. This saw it post strong revenue results during the time.

The company is currently investing a lot of funds in AI and VR but the most amount of revenue is generated through ads seen on its apps. They also reported here a 7% rise YoY in ads with pricing for ads undergoing a 11% rise.

Read next: Threads Soars: Meta's Rising Force in Social Media with 275 Million Users
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

This Game-Changer in Google’s Code Writing Could Mean Big Changes for Everyone

AI now writes over 25% of Google’s new code—yep, one in four lines of fresh, shiny code comes from machines, not humans. Sundar Pichai recently broke it down in Google’s earnings call, showing how AI is becoming a powerhouse in software development. It’s all supervised, of course, by engineers guiding this digital workforce, turbocharging productivity and efficiency while also letting teams get more done faster.

A quarter of Google’s code isn’t small potatoes, and Google isn’t alone. According to Stack Overflow, more than three-quarters of developers worldwide are already using or planning to use AI to help with software development. GitHub’s survey reveals even higher numbers: 92% of US developers are already harnessing AI coding tools.

But here’s the rub: AI isn’t just taking on tasks; it’s quietly changing the landscape. As AI cranks out more code, the human skill base could shrink. What happens when the errors start popping up, glitches buried deep in code written by AI that itself was born from AI? It’s a recipe for an endless loop of confusion—think an AI-driven bug hunt where humans struggle to keep up.

And we’re just warming up. AI coding tools began their rocket-fueled journey in 2022 with GitHub’s Copilot. Since then, Meta, Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic have all jumped on board, releasing their own AI-powered coding platforms. GitHub even stepped it up recently, opening Copilot to work with models from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI. In other words, AI is coding the future, and it’s moving faster than we think.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Study Finds Age Assurance Methods Fail to Protect Children from Online Harm and Privacy Risks
by Asim BN via Digital Information World

Study Finds Age Assurance Methods Fail to Protect Children from Online Harm and Privacy Risks

A recent study published in The International Journal of Children’s Rights says that age assurance of children should also ensure that children are using positive opportunities online, instead of restricting them from it. In the Digital Services Act and the UK Online Safety Act 2023, the age assurance methods provide low level ages to meet legal obligations. The study also says that the age assurance isn't doing any work to keep children safe from online harm. Additionally, it is also risking their civil rights and privacy.

There have always been legal age restrictions for children but these restrictions often expose children to inappropriate and harmful content. Some age restrictions also limit children from using goods and services that are helpful for them. The researchers of the study said that where age assurances are protecting children, they are also subjecting them to discrimination, lack of protection, no freedom of speech and exposing their privacy.

An age assurance should be designed in such a way that it doesn't restrict children from age appropriate activities that are good for their learning and development. For the study, the researchers examined afe assurances in Europe for online sale of alcohol and tobacco, online gambling and online content. They found that there are no clear guidelines for appropriate age assurances. Most of these guidelines just exclude children, but do not provide the exact ages for these restrictions.

One of the researchers of the study, Professor van der Hof, said that many of the digital services companies do not impose appropriate and reliable age assurances but expect children and parents to keep a check of what they consume online. The study emphasizes how important it is to hear children and their rights in designing these age assurance models. Right now, age assurances are exploiting the rights of children so they shouldn't be fully trusted.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: New Alert For Google Users As Hackers Break Into Chrome 2FA Security Encryption
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Reddit Boasts Its First Profitable Earnings Report In 20 Years As Profits Hit $29.9M

It’s the success that Reddit has been waiting for 20 years and it looks like 2024 is the year.

The company just rolled out its quarterly earnings report for Q3 and it’s safe to say it’s finally made a profit. The very long wait saw the app attain $384M in revenue which is a massive 68% growth YoY.

Profits hit $29M for the company which is yet to make such a declaration in two decades of existence. After going public for the first time, the firm spoke about losing $575M during Q1 but the loss went down $10M in Q2 of this year. Now, it’s finally seeing green as displayed in the latest report.

Reddit also spoke about growth in daily users which reached 97M in just a few months. This again is a 47% rise from the same time period of 2024. The figures went above 100M on a few days during this quarter, it adds.

The advertising revenue rose to $315M while its revenue reserved for the ‘Other’ category hit $33 million thanks to data licensing documents signed during the year’s start. Let’s not forget how Google and OpenAI cut deals with apps like Reddit that will be training AI models on similar posts.

Another letter was rolled out to shareholders where Reddit’s CEO contributed to a rise in users on the app’s translation feature. Reddit also began letting users translate posts into the French language in the past before an expansion to others was noted. Reddit now hopes to expand on this further to include 30 more nations by next year.

Reddit’s impact also rises around the world and today the company says it’s the sixth most commonly searched word on Google in the US alone. So people searching for replies, advice, and more on Google do turn to Reddit. It’s also interesting to note how Reddit is making the search feature simpler and intuitive in use.

Reddit has made a series of changes to the platform which is the main reason behind its success. The goal was to produce more revenue and entail more ad deals with famous sports leagues while upgrading posts like ‘Ask Me’. it also hopes to crack down on web crawlers who take information from its website for free and without consent.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Google Reports 15% Revenue Growth In Q3 of 2024 As AI Features Expand on Search and Cloud
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

British Couple Wins Legal Case Worth Billions Against Google Over Search Manipulation

A small startup firm located in the UK has come out victorious in a legal battle against search engine giant Google.

The couple who own the firm Foundem accused the search giant of search manipulation and managed to prove their claims, winning a legal battle worth billions. As a result of the ordeal, Google must now pay a staggering 2.4 billion Euro fine to the company which says it destroyed their price comparison firm.

The news of Google being proven guilty of its search practices is certainly a major win for many small-scale organizations in the digital world.

The founders of Foundem claim they first began their website in June of 2006 and during its launch, the spam filters on Google hit the page. This pushed it deep down the list for search results which meant it couldn’t attain its main traffic source.

As per the owner Shivaun Raff, Google literally made the company vanish from the web. Therefore, such search penalties weren’t removed despite the organization getting the title of the UK’s best price comparison firm on Channel 5’s leading TV show.

Hence, what began as a small complaint soon took the shape of a mega lawsuit. The battle lasted two years when Google refused to answer to the firm’s appeals and that’s when the case was handed over to regulators for assessment.

The complaint caused an investigation by the EC to arise in 2010 that showed similar issues with more than 20 different shopping services that compared pricing such as Yelp and Kelkoo.

While this investigation ended up completed in the year 2017 with the Commission ruling how Google illegally marketed the service and demoted archrivals, it’s now that we’re seeing a fine directed in the Google’s direction.

The legal battle lasted seven long years and it certainly highlights the mega challenges that small firms face in today’s day and age where Google’s illegal search practices are concerned. Despite having so much clear evidence, the couple is happy that the result arose after a long struggle.

Google shared its insights on the matter with a statement published by its spokesperson. The company says the changes they made worked successfully for nearly seven years. It generated billions in terms of clicks for some of the top shopping services offering comparison pricing.

While it has been successful in proving its claims, it might be too late to make a difference for the startup that shut down in 2016. The EC rolled out another investigation into the firm’s current practices under the DMA.

Such a decision confirms how Google’s search rankings could be subjected to regulations and legal battles in the future. This case has already impacted new regulations in the Digital Marketplace such as the DMA. As far as Foundem is concerned, its chapter might have been closed years ago but the legal victory remains.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next:

• Meet Christie Wu, Concept-Driven Digital Designer

• AI Job Growth Accelerates: Top Industries Seeking Skilled Professionals

• The 25 Companies That Have Changed the Game in Startup Acquisitions Over 20 Years!
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

The 25 Companies That Have Changed the Game in Startup Acquisitions Over 20 Years!

The good pals over at Mind the Bridge have ranked the top 25 companies with the most startup acquisitions between 2000 to 2024. The data shows that 18 of these top 25 companies are based in the USA. The biggest company with most startup acquisitions is Alphabet with 222 acquisitions. It is followed by Microsoft with 140 acquisitions.

Coming in third position with 140 acquisitions is Cisco Systems which is also based in the USA. The fourth position goes to Accenture, an Irish company, with 119 acquisitions. Accenture is the only company in the top ten which isn't based in the USA. While most top companies are in the USA, like Apple, Meta, IBM, Amazon and Oracle.

Siemens, based in Germany, has 40 acquisitions making it the top 13th company with the most acquisitions. Roche Group (Switzerland) and Samsung Electronics (South Korea) are the top fourteenth and fifteenth companies with most acquisitions respectively. Accenture is the only non-tech company in the top ten. Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and South Korea are the only non-American companies in the top fifteen companies.

Company (Country)	Startup Acquisitions	Total Deal Value
Alphabet (USA)	222	$16.6B
Microsoft (USA)	140	$50.1B
Cisco Systems (USA)	134	$59.8B
Accenture (Ireland)	119	Undisclosed
Apple (USA)	102	$6.5B
Meta Platforms (USA)	98	$23.5B
IBM (USA)	93	$21.5B
Amazon (USA)	76	$10.7B
Oracle (USA)	76	$7.6B
Salesforce (USA)	63	$61.5B
Intel (USA)	57	$4.9B
Siemens (Germany)	40	$2.5B
Qualcomm (USA)	34	$3.1B
Roche Group (Switzerland)	32	$20.3B
Samsung Electronics (South Korea)	32	$1B
Alibaba Group Holding (China)	29	$21B
Merck (USA)	27	$26.7B
Johnson & Johnson (USA)	26	$31.3B
HP (USA)	25	$5B
SAP (Germany)	25	$13.4B
Comcast (USA)	24	$0.3B
Novartis (Switzerland)	24	$20.8B
Thermo Fisher Scientific (USA)	21	$6.4B
Walmart (USA)	21	$21.7B
Broadcom (USA)	20	$1.8B

Looking at the data above, one might ask: Why do U.S. companies dominate startup acquisitions?

Opportunity is everywhere. In the U.S., the startup ecosystem thrives. Here, innovation isn’t just a buzzword; it’s the lifeblood of business. Companies know that to stay ahead, they must acquire, not just compete.

Risk is embraced. American culture celebrates failure as a stepping stone. This mindset encourages entrepreneurs to take risks, leading to a wealth of startups ripe for acquisition.

Resources are abundant. With access to vast financial resources, U.S. companies can make bold moves. They don’t just wait for opportunities—they create them, scouring the landscape for the next big idea.

Collaboration is key. Partnerships between established firms and startups flourish, resulting in a continuous flow of innovation. The synergy enhances growth for both, creating a powerful ecosystem.

Speed and agility define today’s landscape, and the U.S. leads the way. It’s about more than acquisitions; it’s about creating a future. The winners? They see possibilities where others see risks.

Read next: These Are the Media Giants Reshaping 2024: Google and TikTok at the Forefront
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Google Launches AI Overviews In Search To More Than 100 Countries

Google has just expanded AI Overviews to more than 100 countries around the globe. This means the popular search feature will have AI Overviews embedded with the AI offering.

In the past, it was limited to just a few nations including the United Kingdom, the US, India, Mexico, Japan, Brazil, and Indonesia. Now, users from so many different destinations can benefit from it, the search giant confirmed.

Google also explained how it has major plans to extend the language support feature. So if you are in any nation with AI Overviews, you can attain them in any of their native languages as Google will provide support.

Google also shared more details on how this project is one of its biggest expansions to date. The fact that more than 100 countries can benefit means making the most of search like never before. So if a curious explorer is looking for something, they no longer have to restrict the search to a few questions.

The launch already began during the week’s start and Google says it’s a slow process. But it does hope to see success with time, seeing the great demand for AI Overviews. As per Google, the goal of reaching out to one billion users each month is slowly turning into a reality.

Meanwhile, Google also mentioned the list of popular languages that are available right now. This includes English, Japanese, Spanish, Hindi, and Indonesian. If you’re based in the US and speak Spanish, you’ll see this as a regular offering in your native language.

The news comes as the search engine giant and other arch-rivals in the industry try to innovate AI and Search. It’s important to understand how AI features such as Overviews affect businesses and websites. As per Google, if you do own a brand, it always helps to see how it can impact it on Search, how clicking can change, and also what difference it brings to impressions.

Also, a stark reminder to all that the search landscape keeps on changing. So what users might see on Google Search today in terms of AI might contrast with what’s seen in the future. It all sounds very interesting and we hope users are just as keen to use AI as Google is in terms of implementing it.

Read next: OpenAI's 250M ChatGPT Users Fuel Consumer-Driven Revenue Surge to 75%
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Men Beware: Your Smartphone Might Be Making You Feel More Alone!

Smartphones shape our social lives in unexpected ways, sometimes subtly cutting into our sense of connection. A recent study took a close look at how phones influence well-being across everyday situations—meals, waiting rooms, moments with friends and family, and even time spent finding directions. Across these, the research found that while phones help us stay connected to the world, they often disrupt the immediate connections with the people around us. This effect is strongest when phones pop up in social settings, especially for men, who seem to experience a threefold increase in feeling socially disconnected compared to women.

Why the difference? It may come down to habits and norms. Women, according to the study, often use their phones in ways that keep them linked to others—texting a friend, sharing a photo, or a quick update on social media. Men, on the other hand, may use their phones less deliberately in social situations, which can interrupt the flow of interaction, making them feel further apart. This gender difference is a key piece the study highlights, though researchers note that more exploration is needed to truly understand it.

The study was no small feat—it analyzed data from eight experiments with over 1,700 participants, each designed to bring out the nuanced ways phones impact social connection. The settings ranged widely: a friendly lunch, a room of strangers waiting in silence, or even moments when participants navigated new spaces. By comparing those allowed phone use to those asked to set them aside, researchers found that phones consistently diminished a feeling of closeness during shared experiences. However, if the phone was only used for practical reasons, like finding directions, the impact on well-being was minimal. This “when and how” factor of phone use could explain a lot about our social experiences.

Still, there are limitations. Most participants came from similar backgrounds—students and parents from British Columbia—leaving open questions about how different age groups or cultures might experience these effects. Plus, the study didn’t dive into specific phone activities. Future research could look at how various types of phone use—checking social media, replying to messages, or navigating apps—differently affect well-being and social connectedness.

The takeaway? Phones may support our social lives from afar, but the closer we are to others, the more they can interfere. This new study sheds light on what’s often an unseen influence, helping us understand how our constant connectivity could be quietly shaping our relationships.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: TikTok Takes the Lead: Gen-Z's Go-To Source for News and Product Discovery
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

These Are the Media Giants Reshaping 2024: Google and TikTok at the Forefront

It's a known fact that over the years the global media brands have shifted from traditional broadcast media to tech companies. The consumers are now shifting towards online streaming and many TV brands are losing their worth because of them. Social media has also played an important role when it comes to attracting mass audiences.

According to the Brand Finance's 2024 rankings, Google remains the top valuable media brand with a brand value of $333 billion. It is followed by TikTok with $84 billion brand value and Facebook with $76 billion brand value. Instagram has increased its value by 49% ($70 billion) and has become the fastest growing media brand at fourth position in 2024. Disney got its value down by 6% and has the brand value of $46.7 billion now.

In this rankings, we note that most of the media brands are not only focusing on broadcasting but are now distributing user generated or third-party content on their platforms too. YouTube, Netflix and LinkedIn are also among the top ten most valuable media brands in 2024. The top ten media brands in 2024 are all from the USA with three being from China – TikTok, WeChat and Tencent.

Name	Country	2024 Value (M)	2023 Value (M)
Google	U.S.	$333,441M	$281,382M
TikTok/Douyin	China	$84,199M	$65,696M
Facebook	U.S.	$75,716M	$58,971M
Instagram	U.S.	$70,443M	$47,439M
Disney	U.S.	$46,717M	$49,508M
WeChat	China	$41,794M	$50,247M
Tencent	China	$36,055M	$38,059M
YouTube	U.S.	$31,721M	$29,710M
Netflix	U.S.	$22,815M	$24,150M
LinkedIn	U.S.	$18,812M	$15,507M

Read next: TikTok Takes the Lead: Gen-Z's Go-To Source for News and Product Discovery
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

TikTok Takes the Lead: Gen-Z's Go-To Source for News and Product Discovery

If we say that TikTok is Gen-Z’s most favorite social media app, then it wouldn't be wrong. TikTok has dominated Gen-Z’s time and mind, not only in terms of entertainment but also for information and news consumption. According to a recent survey by Sprout Social of 4,400 participants from the UK, Canada, Ireland, US and Australia, all these respondents have at least one social media account and they follow at least five brands on social media platforms.

Gen-Z use TikTok the most. 63% said that they use it for news while 77% said that they use TikTok to know about the products. Instagram is the second most used, with 62% Gen-Z using it for news and 74% using it to get information about products. 48% Gen-Z using Facebook for news, making it the third most used app by Gen-Z for news. But for products, the third most used app by Gen-Z is YouTube (41%). Facebook is the fourth most used app by Gen-Z (39%) for product reviews.

Some Gen-Z (36%) use X for news. Gen-Z say that they like short-form videos of 15-30 seconds the most on these social media platforms.

In terms of consumer care, most Gen-Z prefer Instagram (72%), Millennials use Facebook the most (71%), Gen-X use Facebook (72%) and Baby Boomers also use Facebook (79%). TikTok is the second most preferred social media app for Gen-Z (62%). To compel users to buy their products, most brands post original content showing their products, post content from real consumers or target users with ad or promo codes.

Read next:

• The Real Reason Instagram Lowers Video Quality—And It’s Not What You Think!

• Is Elon Musk’s X Falling Flat? Surprising Stats Reveal a Major Engagement Problem
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

The Real Reason Instagram Lowers Video Quality—And It’s Not What You Think!

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, recently explained why some videos on Meta platforms look low quality after a while.

For starters, it is all about performance. When asked about older stories appearing "blurry" in highlights, Mosseri shared that they aim for high-quality playback. But, if a video goes unwatched for too long—since most views happen right after posting—Instagram will downgrade its quality to save resources. If the video gets popular again, they’ll restore its original quality.

In general, we want to show the highest quality video we can when someone is watching a story, reel, or photo. In that case, it's a photo, but still, if something isn't watched for a long time—because the vast majority of views are in the beginning—we will move to a lower quality video. Then, if it's watched again a lot, we will render the higher quality video. Also, if we are serving a video to someone on a slow internet connection, we will serve a lower quality video so that it loads quickly, as opposed to giving them a spinner. It depends; it's a pretty dynamic system, but the goal is to show people the highest quality content that we can.

He added that Instagram prioritizes higher quality (more processing and storage) for creators with larger view counts. This sparked some frustration among smaller creators who feel it puts them at a disadvantage. Meta has explained that they use different video processing based on popularity to manage computing power effectively.

It works at an aggregate level, not an individual viewer level. We bias to higher quality (more CPU intensive encoding and more expensive storage for bigger files) for creators who drive more views. It’s not a binary threshold, but rather a sliding scale.

The system isn’t tailored to each viewer, Mosseri explained, but works on a sliding scale. When a smaller creator questioned its fairness, Mosseri noted that viewers often focus on the content, not quality. Quality tends to matter more to creators themselves, who might delete videos if they appear poor, while viewers rarely notice. Still, not everyone agrees with his assessment.

H/T: @lindseygamble / Threads.

Read next:

• Google's John Mueller Encourages Adaptation to AI, Predicts Decline in Hype and Rise of Practical Uses

• Is Elon Musk’s X Falling Flat? Surprising Stats Reveal a Major Engagement Problem
by Asim BN via Digital Information World

Is Elon Musk’s X Falling Flat? Surprising Stats Reveal a Major Engagement Problem

When Elon Musk first thought of acquiring Twitter in 2022, he introduced many of his plans regarding the platform. He called Twitter “the digital town square” where all the discussions about humanity and related things happen. But soon he found out that Twitter is flooded with robots and many debates and discussions that happen there are mostly not human. So, he changed his mind about Twitter acquisition and backed out from the deal. But soon, he again changed his mind and acquired Twitter in October 2022.

Even after the acquisition, Elon Musk couldn't see anything digital town square on Twitter. Even though Twitter or X has more than 600 million monthly users, they are not still anywhere near monthly users of Facebook or Instagram. This means that Twitter shouldn't be called digital town square because it isn't as widely used as most people think.

Statista Consumer Insights find out that there aren't many daily active users of Twitter around the world. For instance, only 24% of US adult consumers use Twitter daily, while in the UK daily Twitter users are 30%. The percentage of daily active users of Twitter is even less in European countries like France (20%) and Germany (15%). Spain has the most daily active Twitter users (32%). If we compare Twitter users from these countries to users of other apps from the same countries, we find out that there are 70% daily active users of Facebook in the USA, 50% use Instagram regularly and 40% are active users of TikTok daily.

Country	2021/2022 Usage (%)	2023/2024 Usage (%)
Spain	40%	32%
United Kingdom	33%	30%
United States	28%	24%
Canada	28%	23%
France	24%	20%
Germany	16%	15%

Read next: Is Your Mindset Holding You Back? Find Out with This Simple Eight-Question Quiz!
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Google's John Mueller Encourages Adaptation to AI, Predicts Decline in Hype and Rise of Practical Uses

Google’s John Mueller has a message for the world, especially those who aren’t huge fans of AI.

According to him, AI is here to stay and the quicker we accept this reality, the better. Secondly, he feels that taking a stance against AI won’t benefit you. And lastly, he wants everyone to know that the hype surrounding AI will likely be a bit different in the near future.

In case you haven’t noticed, many are starting to feel more insecure now about their future thanks to AI. But as per Mueller, you cannot hate or fear something when you’re not using it. The world of tech keeps on getting more advanced and the sooner you accept AI, the more you can benefit.

John predicted the AI hype will slow down soon as people will feel it’s monotonous. Similarly, he hopes those uses of AI that aren’t beneficial will die down but at the same time, they would be compensated with better or more advanced ones.

John further added how these aren’t his personal beliefs but the number of amazing advances in the field of technology since the past couple of years says so much and would continue to evolve.

To get better at AI, you need to play with it and see what makes sense and what gets those desirable results. This way, you won’t be left behind, he explained. John did acknowledge how the hype can be a lot for some to deal with and getting insecure is normal. A lot of misinformation does exist about AI and tools. This is why it’s easy to get insecure by feeling the hype is right.

With time, this too will settle down but for now, it’s hard to avoid falling into the pressure of AI. Things do evolve with time and this technology will do so as well, he feels. So where are all of these trains of thought coming from, if you might ask?

The answer is simple. It’s coming from understanding how systems work. He’s taken out time to understand what’s real and what’s the hype, encouraging others to do so. At the start, there’s always a lot of buzz. We saw that with Bing Chat, Google’s AI Overviews, and then ChatGPT. With time, things did calm down in terms of hype.

Image: Google Search Central/Youtube DIW-Edited

Read next:

• Study Reveals Positive Creator Emotions in Video Thumbnails Boost YouTube Viewer Engagement

• 57% of Small Businesses Leverage AI in Marketing; Facebook Leads Channels with High Satisfaction in Ads

by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Researchers Flag Accuracy Concerns in OpenAI's Whisper Transcription Tool

Researchers are worried about mistakes in OpenAI's Whisper, a tool that transcribes audio into text. According to the Associated Press, engineers and researchers found that Whisper sometimes “hallucinates,” meaning it adds extra details that aren’t actually in the audio. This is odd for a transcription tool, which should just capture what’s said.

Instead, Whisper sometimes throws in unexpected comments, like racial remarks or made-up medical advice. This is especially concerning if it’s used in hospitals or medical settings where accuracy is critical.

A University of Michigan researcher saw these mistakes in 8 out of 10 transcriptions from public meetings. A machine learning engineer reviewed over 100 hours of Whisper transcripts and found that more than half contained “hallucinations.” Another developer found issues in nearly all of the 26,000 transcriptions he created with the tool.

OpenAI says they’re actively working to improve Whisper's accuracy and reduce hallucinations. They also remind users that Whisper isn’t meant for high-stakes contexts, like medical decisions. “We thank researchers for sharing their findings,” an OpenAI spokesperson said.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Instagram Tests New ‘Expand Your Image’ Feature That Uses AI To Adjust Pictures on Stories
by Asim BN via Digital Information World

Instagram Tests New ‘Expand Your Image’ Feature That Uses AI To Adjust Pictures on Stories

Have you ever noticed how uploading images from a smartphone to Instagram can be a struggle? We’re talking about making sure the picture fits into the desired aspects and outline of the app.

Since you’re mostly clicking using your smartphone’s camera, the dimensions are different from the platform's classic 4:5 aspect ratio. Instagram needs you to fulfill this requirement before publishing. Hence, it’s not always easy to make sure the picture looks good and no visible borders are seen.

In case you don’t do it yourself, the app crops or includes white borders to ensure everything is good to go in the FIT option. To be honest, many users were complaining and it looks like Meta has listened to feedback.

Now, users will soon be able to benefit from AI-based photo expansion, thanks to this new feature. The popular platform is testing Expand Your Image which uses generative AI for expanding photo edges to fill up Stories. Pictures get analyzed before uploading and undergo expansion using the right content.

But the question on many people’s minds is whether it will work seamlessly in all scenarios or not? As per experts, the answer is sadly no. Who knows, it just might thanks to rapid developments in the world of AI.

The feature is definitely worth a watch but in other news, the app is already using AI for editing pictures. For instance, there is a Restyle feature where users get to reimagine pictures by adding visual styles described. You can transform clicks through prompts such as watercolor. Similarly, you can use effects like collage styles from magazines or a newspaper with added torn-edge effects.

There will be another Backdrop feature that alters how a scene or background is witnessed through a prompt like ‘put me in front of a rainbow’ or ‘surround me with rose petals’. It’s amazing how much creativity is included thanks to AI. However, if and when you do plan on using assistance from AI, the image will feature watermarks towards the bottom left-hand side. This makes users differentiate AI from content designed by humans.

For now, this expand your image feature is in testing but we’ll let you know once it goes live so stay tuned.

Image: Sam Sheffer / X

Read next:

• LinkedIn Reveals Monthly Active User Counts in EU: France Outpaces Germany, Italy, and Spain

• Is Your Mindset Holding You Back? Find Out with This Simple Eight-Question Quiz!
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Is Your Mindset Holding You Back? Find Out with This Simple Eight-Question Quiz!

Scientists from Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have introduced a test to measure growth mindset in people. They put forward a reliable eight question scale which measures growth mindset according to beliefs of the individual on learning, efforts and persistence. The scientists tested this scale on 723 participants from ages 16-85 and found that it is reliable and gives accurate results.

Growth mindset has become an important term across all areas of life. People with a growth mindset have an ability to put their mind and efforts to grow in their life and to achieve their goals. On the other hand, people with a fixed mindset believe that their basic life qualities cannot be changed with some effort. The "eight statements" determine an individual's beliefs and thoughts about growth and developing mindset by asking them to agree or disagree with the statement.

The statements ask individuals if they think they can improve their skills and knowledge through efforts, if they are able to change their influence and development, if they can change their skill and knowledge through practice and statements related to it. The participants who took the test were asked if these statements define them, or if they are like them or not very like them.

The growth mindset questions.

1. I know that with effort I can improve my skills and knowledge

2. I can influence and change my development in general

3. I can change my skills and knowledge through practice

4. I like to take challenges and try new things

5. I see learning as my goal

6. Effort makes me stronger

7. I have faith in my own skills and my possibilities

8. I want to spend more time/work on an area to develop my skills/knowledge

The most interesting thing about the study was that men scored higher (4.36 out of 5) than women (4.27 out of 5). The researchers say that this might be due to gender gap or difference in their brain chemistry. This scale is very helpful in understanding a person's mindset and it is very useful in today's time when growth mindset is being regarded as a good quality.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Study Reveals Positive Creator Emotions in Video Thumbnails Boost YouTube Viewer Engagement
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Google Under Pressure From Climate Advocates To Demonetize Environmental Disinformation

Search engine giant Google is under pressure from climate advocates to help stop the growing number of inaccuracies published about the environment.

As per reports from civil society groups, the company is getting told to rigorously enforce policies that demonetize such kinds of disinformation online. There are so many ads put alongside inaccurate climate posts that keep popping up.

Now this is not the first time that the Android maker is getting called out for the act. The company did pledge to bring an end to the growing trend but despite its efforts, content of this sort is on the rise.

Recently, a new open letter was rolled out to the head of Google Sundar Pichai. Endorsed by so many signatures, they’re asking for quicker and stricter implementation of the act. The news comes as a growing number of weather concerns rocked the country recently.

Hurricanes are on the rise in the US, which gave rise to mountains of disinformation. This was just a short while before the much anticipated UNCOP29 climate summit was set to occur.

We are already aware of Google rolling out another policy in 2021 that stopped ads against content of this kind which ignored climate change. Anyone wishing to make money by lying on leading platforms wouldn’t have the content monetized. And YouTube was a part of the list.

Meanwhile, another letter from a number of groups such as the Union of Concerned Scientists confirmed that monetization hasn’t stopped and it’s still on the rise. This is why regulators are now speaking up against the issue and want Google to take immediate action before it’s too late. A lot of communities keep getting affected.

The letter also acknowledged Google’s efforts on this front and how some ads were stopped but others continue to align with misleading content related to climate change. Last month, another round of scrutiny against Google for the same reason arose. The campaign dubbed Global Witness saw $1.5M in revenue generated for the Epoch Times on the website in the past year.

Video streaming giant YouTube enabled monetization of such content where influencers were given high payrolls to promote the fake news. So it’s like doing wrong and getting masked with Google ads that reward the creators with huge sums of money, the reports show.

As of now, Google has yet to respond to all the allegations on this matter.

Read next: Study Reveals Positive Creator Emotions in Video Thumbnails Boost YouTube Viewer Engagement
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Study Reveals Positive Creator Emotions in Video Thumbnails Boost YouTube Viewer Engagement

The face-focused thumbnails have become a widespread trend on YouTube. But new creators are confused about which type of face to show on their YouTube video thumbnail. Should they look happy, sad or shocked? What type of pose should they make? Kapwing teamed up with a marketing agency NeoMam Studios to find the answers to these questions.

They used AI facial recognition technology to categorize common thumbnail faces of biggest YouTube creators. The thumbnails were categorized into six groups: sad, surprised, fearful, happy, confused and calm. These categories were then calculated according to the highest to lowest thumbnail faces used. MrBeast is the one who started the trend of face-focused thumbnails and study found that his thumbnails contained all six emotion categories. PewDiePie and KSI were also among the YouTubers with thumbnails in all categories.

Some creators were also using only some specific face focused thumbnails. For instance, all of Mark Rober’s thumbnails are calm and happy, while Ludwig’s thumbnails show happiness, confusion and fear. Overall, most of the thumbnails by YouTube creators were showing happy emotions, with surprise and happiness being used mostly. Calm faces in the thumbnails came at third spot, followed by sadness. The Stoke Twins also frequently used fearful emotions in their thumbnails.

It was thought that angry or sad thumbnails would get more views, cofounder of Kapwing Eric Lu said. But it turns out that happy or surprised thumbnails gets the most clicks and views. It means that viewers like consuming positive content.

Read next:

• 57% of Small Businesses Leverage AI in Marketing; Facebook Leads Channels with High Satisfaction in Ads

• Social Media Overuse Fuels Political Fights, Mindfulness Reduces Hostility

• Amazon's Q3 Ad Growth Hits 15% Amid Prime Day Surge, Outpacing Google's Declining Ad Revenue
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

57% of Small Businesses Leverage AI in Marketing; Facebook Leads Channels with High Satisfaction in Ads

Small Business Marketing Trends Report by LocaliQ explored different marketing trends among SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses), their growth and what challenges small business owners are facing nowadays. The report was based on a survey of 730 small businesses. The report highlights the marketing channels and tactics SMBs are using nowadays. 52% said that they are focusing on social media marketing, 47% are using social media ads and 40% are search advertising. SEO and email outreach isn't as popular among small businesses.

The survey also found out what social media channels small businesses are most interested in nowadays. Facebook (76%), was the top social media channel used by SMBs, followed by Instagram (63%) and LinkedIn (43%). Facebook makes sense as it has the highest number of users among social media channels, but LinkedIn being this popular among SMBs didn't make sense.

76% of SMBs said that they are very satisfied with the results they get by search advertising. 74% were satisfied with video marketing, 75% with content marketing and 73% were satisfied with the results of social media ads. Even though only 29% SMBs use video marketing, it still came second for the most satisfactory marketing tactic. 58% SMBs said that they are very interested in using social form videos for marketing. 48% and 30% also want to try influencer marketing and podcast marketing respectively.

SMBs were also asked if they have tried AI for marketing or not. 57% answered with yes, while 33% said no. 10% said that they are not sure about AI. 61% said they are using AI to save time while 50% are using it to generate ideas. AI is mostly being used for content creation (52%), social media management (39%) and chatbots (34%) by SMBs.

Take a look at the charts below for more insights:

Read next: AI Growth in 2024 Coupled with Data Quality Issues: A Challenging Landscape for Companies
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

LinkedIn's Data Scandal: The Alarming Truth Behind Your Information and Targeted Ads

Popular networking platform, LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft, was accused of targeted advertising by Ireland’s Data Protection and therefore fined a staggering amount of money as punishment.

The company was said to be involved in the processing of users’ personal information to target them accordingly with ads on the app. This penalty will come with an investigation into how fair and lawful the practice was when data was processed.

It all began with a complaint from the French non-profit La Quadrature company a few years back. As per the DPC, the app failed to meet the standards to get the consent of users. The list of articles the company breached was also outlined as per the GDPR. This includes failing to get third-party consent, using its legitimate rights and overtaking users’ rights, invalid data processing, and not being transparent about its activities. It also violated fairness principles by processing data in a way users didn’t understand.

This is why it’s now getting orders to be more transparent about its workings so they are compliant with the EU’s legal requirements. This will come with a whopping $335M fine (or €310 Million to be exact).
 
As a whole, LinkedIn was fined with three administrative fines. The full decision would be published later on and entails all details regarding the app’s data practice findings.

LinkedIn tried to respond to media outlets’ requests for comments. It spoke about assuming they were in compliance with the GDPR but now after seeing all of this, it’s changing its practices. It will work on bettering ad systems so it’s more compliant with the regulation.

The company’s spokesperson says it was never aware that it was violating the GDPR but it hopes to bring changes as outlined by regulators before the stated deadline.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: A Long-Awaited WhatsApp Update Just Made Reactions So Much Easier!
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

A Long-Awaited WhatsApp Update Just Made Reactions So Much Easier!

WhatsApp beta for Android update 2.24.22.16 is here and now users will be able to react to messages using recent emojis. WhatsApp had been working on a feature that would enable users to react with emojis they have recently used. This feature is helpful for users to react quickly to messages with their recently used emojis. This feature is now available for beta users and will be soon available on Google Play Store.

Previously, users had to react to a message by choosing an emoji on the reaction tray. All the emojis were commonly used but if someone wanted to use a different emoji, they had to search for it in the tray (ugghh a lot of those extra taps). With the addition of this feature, all the recently used emojis will be available in the reaction tray which will make it easier to react to messages. Thank you whatsapp engineers and Meta platforms🫡.

When the reactions were first introduced on WhatsApp, they only consisted of six emojis. WhatsApp then updated this feature and made all emojis available for users to react. Now this new feature is also going to prove itself useful. In other news, WhatsApp is also rolling out a video autoplay feature for channels for beta users. It is going to be available to more people soon.

Read next:

• AI Growth in 2024 Coupled with Data Quality Issues: A Challenging Landscape for Companies

• Read This Before It's Too Late: A Guide to Highest Paying Academic Fields
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Read This Before It's Too Late: A Guide to Highest Paying Academic Fields

Education is the most empowering and the greatest blessing one can receive in this world and life. The more educated a person becomes, the more aware they know what's right or wrong and can navigate their life through its ups and downs. However, this definition of education acting as a gospel to a human being is old. In the 21st century, education means getting educated formally and seeking employment to make as much money as possible, at least for most people.

Since the accumulation of materialistic wealth is the new paradigm, it often conflicts with which path to take on their education journey will fulfill their wish to make six monthly figures.

If you’re in high school and have a conflict of opinion of which major to select, then this post is for you, or if you’re a parent and want to help your kids choose the right degree in 2024 for the highest salaries in the world, then continue reading.

The following statistics are from the analysis of CollegeNPV from the evaluation of data gathered from the U.S. Department of Education and Bureau of Labour Statistics. These stats depict the average return on investment of a degree in the U.S.

The highest-paying field is engineering, which comprises majors like electrical engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, software engineering, and chemical engineering. The average return on investment in the engineering field is $570,616.

Next up in the second place, we got Computer and Information Science fields like IT, cyber security, and data science. The average return on investment for computer science is $477,229, and it is more likely to increase in the coming decade due to the high demand for computer scientists. As for Computer Science, Harvard’s CS program ranked number 1 on the CollegeNPV list with the highest return on Investment. Computer science graduates have a return of over $4 million of what they invested $256,539 as median income and a median debt of $14,000.

• Also read: New Research Shows AI Can Take Over High Paying Jobs that Require Years of Training Easily

Next up, we got Mathematics with the average return on investment of $340,875. Business fields have a RoI of $205 191, and Architecture brings $196,711 of RoI. Fields related to social sciences are at the lower end, with fewer job opportunities, and the RoI is $118,454.

Humanities field with degrees like performance arts, English literature, theology, and the most least valuable degrees in terms of opportunities and lifetime earnings. Humanities degrees have a negative return on investment of $39,000, and majors like English have the highest decrease in graduates, with 32% of students likely to even complete their degree.

Field of Study	Average return on investment
Engineering	$570,616
Computer and Information Sciences	$477,229
Mathematics	$340,875
Engineering Technicians	$311,141
Business	$205,191
Architecture	$196,711
Nursing and Health Professions	$194,756
Physics, Chemistry and Geology	$168,822
Social Sciences	$118,454
Interdisciplinary Studies	$69,656
Biology	$63,913
Agriculture	$59,556
Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender and Group Studies	$42,959
Legal Studies	$38,999
Natural Resources and Conservation	$28,985
Communication and Journalism	$28,654
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement and Firefighting	$27,284
Foreign Languages	$25,750
Public Administration and Social Services	$7,787
Philosophy and Religious Studies	$6,011
History	$4,938
Fitness, Parks and Recreation	-$1,078
Liberal Arts and General Studies	-$13,337
Psychology	-$15,644
Education	-$20,075
Family and Human Sciences	-$24,540
Communications Technologies	-$28,911
English Language	-$39,057
Theology	-$91,749
Visual and Performing Arts	-$104,015

Read next: 2024 Global Peace Index: A Comprehensive Look at the World’s Most and Least Peaceful Nations
by Ahmed Naeem via Digital Information World

Google Open Sources Its SynthID Text Tool For Watermarking To Better Identify AI Text

Google has confirmed that its SynthID Text tool will soon be open-sourced. The company says the goal is to make it generally available for the masses.

The tool can be installed from the leading AI app Hugging Face and also through the company’s Responsible GenAI Toolkit. This was confirmed in a post through X which signaled its free use by developers and brands. Hence, many can now better identify content made from AI.

For those still wondering how the tool works, here’s a little breakdown. When a prompt is added in the form of a query, the model predicts the sequence of tokens. This could be a single term or a character and can be looked at as building blocks to process data.

Every model assigns tokens a score which is the likelihood that it would be a part of the output. The tool will add more data if needed by modulating the probability of token generation.

The final design of scores for every model’s choice of terms is totaled with the probabilities to give a watermark. So the pattern for scoring varies for watermarked content and those without a watermark. So this helps SynthID detect when and if content is made using AI or if a combo of different sources was used to give the output.

As per Google, it’s been a part of Gemini since the start of Spring. Hence, it won’t compromise quality, accuracy, or even the speed at which text is generated. It also works great for text that’s cropped or paraphrased.

However, the firm even admits that the watermarking approach does come with its a fair share of restrictions. For instance, it doesn’t do a great job when short text is considered. The same is the case for text rewritten from other languages or replies to factual queries.

In terms of replies to actual prompts, there are fewer chances to make adjustments for tokens without impacting the real accuracy. For instance, asking for the capitals of certain cities or content where little variation can be seen will give inaccuracies.

Google is not the only firm working on AI text watermarking. We’ve seen the makers of ChatGPT experiment with different watermarking methods for a while now. There is a delay in the release, thanks to commercial and technical considerations.

As per experts, this kind of tool can assist in removing inaccuracies in content and better detect AI. today, a growing problem is the rise of AI detectors that falsely flag content when they use generic terms. So if this new tech is adopted, it could be a revolution.

Today, we’ve seen the government of China make watermarking tech a mandatory option for all AI content. The same goes for the state of California which is trying to adopt similar tech. And given the urgency of the matter, more nations will follow. As per the EU, predictions from research studies go as far as to claim that 90% of all online content could be synthetically generated by 2026.

Read next: AI’s Limitations in Storytelling: What This Study Reveals About Reader Preferences
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

AI’s Limitations in Storytelling: What This Study Reveals About Reader Preferences

A new research published in Journal of Communication says that many readers do not like stories if they assume that they are written by AI. Even if a story is written by humans but they were told that it's AI written, they think of it poorly. This shows that many people still don't trust AI and anything produced by it. The author of the study, Haoran Chris Chu, says that AI is good at writing logical and consistent things, but it is still not the best at creating stories that can engage people. That's why people don't like AI written stories.

• Also read: OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman Confirms AI Won't Replace Human Writers Anytime Soon

AI can help write narratives for people like public health workers and encourage people to come towards healthy lifestyle and behavior but it cannot create compelling stories to keep the interest of readers. Researchers did a survey by giving participants two stories– one written by ChatGPT and the other by a human. They were then asked to rate the stories according to how engaging they were.

The researchers also changed the labeling of some stories by changing AI-written to human-written and vice versa. The survey focused on counter arguing and transportation in the stories. Counterarguing refers to picking apart a story while transportation refers to feeling engrossed in a story. The results of the survey showed that AI-written stories lacked transportation which didn't engage the users. Some AI-written stories showed counterarguing but not perfectly. For now, this survey is good news for many storytellers and writers who were afraid of AI and AI-written content.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: 

• Turn Your Device Off And On Again, NSA’s Advice To Smartphone Users Gains Traction

• New Survey Shows 2 in 3 Individuals have Experienced Online Hate Speech

• Facebook Marketplace Dominates with 49 Percent of Shoppers—But TikTok Isn’t Far Behind at 41 Percent!
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Facebook Marketplace Dominates with 49 Percent of Shoppers—But TikTok Isn’t Far Behind at 41 Percent!

According to a survey of 2,000 Americans by Chime, most people tend to shop online on Saturday at 2:30 pm the most. The survey found that 42% of Americans shop on Saturday, followed by 41% who shop after seeing something on social media. Gen X tends to shop on Sundays too (24%) while Gen-Z also shop online on Mondays (17%). 63% of the respondents said that they browse products online during weekdays, with millennials being the generation to do it the most (72%).

The survey was part of State of Social Sending Report which was about online shopping habits of Americans. According to the report, Americans browse products on social media thrice a week, but some also do it every day (18%). There are different channels Americans shop from. Facebook is the top marketplace for shopping for Americans. 49% shop through Facebook Marketplace but sometimes when they are scrolling for entertainment, it also turns into a purchase if they see something worthy of buying (32%). Other shopping channels for Americans include TikTok Shop (41%), Instagram (19%) and Craigslist (11%).

45% say that they are also comfortable in saving their debit or credit card information on social media sites as compared to other brands or websites (21%). Americans also spend three hours on average for window shopping and have full carts on different sites. But there are some reasons why they don't purchase the items in the cart. Those reasons include: Waiting for sale (45%), indecisiveness (31%) and forgetting about the things they have added in the cart (14%). 40% of the Americans make the purchase in the afternoon while 39% do it at night. 74% of Americans have bought a product from social media in the last month with $168 average spent on a product from social media in the last six months. Most of the purchases are of clothes, fashion accessories, tech gadgets and beauty products.

The survey found that 32% Gen-Z shop for personal hygiene products, 20% baby boomers purchase pet supplies and 26% Gen-X are likely to buy home goods from social media. The things that are least likely to be purchased online are food, drinks and kid supplies.

The survey also found what social media shoppers think of ads. 43% find them helpful as compared to 41% who find them concerning. Baby boomers found ads the most concerning (50%). 44% of Americans also try to create targeted ads. 93% of Americans have experienced targeted ads one way or another.

Read next: Do You Rely Too Much On GPS? Here's Why It Could Be Destroying Your Navigation Skills
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World