Are AI Assistants the Next Big Step for Autonomous Vehicles?

The concept of self driving cars has been around for a long time, but in spite of the fact that this is the case these types of autonomous vehicles have faced a few hurdles when it comes to being implemented in real world settings. The rise of ChatGPT has made a lot of people wonder how AI assistants could factor into the equation, with many stating that they could make these cars safer than might have been the case otherwise.

The trend of integrating various functions into the central display is already ongoing. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that AI assistants could be added to the mix as well. There’s already quite a bit of AI that can be helpful in that regard, with Siri and Google Assistant already responding to natural language in quite an intuitive way.

However, the costs of incorporating AI into self driving cars could be prohibitive because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up making the cars unaffordable and expensive. Regardless, customers are demanding some improvements, and companies might have no choice but to meet them halfway with all things having been considered and taken into account.

There are many other features that customers want as well, such as tactile feedback. Also, it should be mentioned that many customers don’t like the touchscreen control panel. They still prefer the feeling of old school knobs as well as buttons. They aren’t just old fashioned, though. Such fixtures can be more visible since they are not displayed on screens and won’t become obscured by direct light falling on them.

All in all, it seems like companies need to start mixing a bit of the old with a bit of the new. There is no need to fix something that isn’t already broken. Customers might want AI, but that does not necessarily mean that they will also want their cars to start looking like spaceships that they won’t know how to operate with any degree of ease.

H/T: CPR

Read next: Global EV Sales Increased by 65% YoY in 2022
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Top YouTubers Are Sharing Their Payouts With Experiences Regarding The Shorts Monetization Program

It was early last month when we heard about YouTube sharing ad revenue from Shorts with its creators on the app.

The news was adored by plenty as they felt they were finally being treated for their hard work. Through the new Shorts Monetization Program, YouTube is giving creators a share of the ad revenue generated depending on the view count for the content produced.

A lot of creators went public with how much money they managed to earn through such an initiative after just one month. Similarly, they also shared their overall experiences and we’re delineating them for you below.

It was the latter part of 2022 when YouTube went public with the decision to help creators earn more money while promoting its Shorts campaign. In case you did not know, Shorts really does generate a lot of revenue for the app and it makes sense as to why such a paid program was rolled out in the first place.

Similarly, we saw some creators switch from TikTok to YouTube just so they could take part in this great money-making venture, and by the looks of it, things seem to be going great so far.

Creator James Seo happened to be one of those creators who says that he managed to produce a staggering $1455 with his Shorts content after receiving 32 million views. And that’s the equivalent of $0.04 for every 1000 views generated.

He further revealed how he was not overwhelmed by the figure nor did he feel underwhelmed. Moreover, he never relies on the likes of apps for his final income so this served as an added bonus for him.

Moreover, a total of seven different creators were seen sharing how much they ended up earning during the program’s launch. Obviously, the figure was different for each person but as a whole, some felt it was fairly less than what they were really expecting. But still, since the venture is new and it would take time for many to get acclimatized too, the figures were not bad.

As a whole, there was plenty of optimism regarding the endeavor. Meanwhile, two creators were seen speaking about how the revenue generated from Shorts was far less than what they make on longer-form content. But the fact that they end up gaining so much more exposure on Shorts really makes them realize that this sort of posting might really be worth it after all.

Then we had YouTuber Julia McNamee speak about her experience as well. She made around $3 from shorts but $585 from longer-form videos. And that’s interesting because her Shorts were shown at least 83,000 times in the feed and really did give rise to good visibility. Another creator by the name of Riley Lemon agreed with this and she surprisingly has around 92,000 followers on her channel.

Lemon further elaborated on how things like perspective do matter at the end of the day. No one is dumb enough to quit a regular job for the sake of just doing Shorts because that would never generate enough revenue for them. But at the same time, the whole experience is just another great opportunity to make your brand fully grow on YouTube which most creators aren’t able to achieve.

Another creator by the likes of Thomas Walters who happens to be the CEO of the leading influencer-based marketing agency called Billion Dollar Boy spoke about how the real gift at the end of the day has to do with a great earnings potential that arises with different brand deals.

With the right visibility attained through Shorts, you can really get great positivity and attain the right focus to keep you on the track to success.

Read next: There are most in-demand skills for freelancers that can help them earn more than $100 an hour
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Google's AI Speech Models Get a Major Boost with Latest Upgrades

Google has recently shared an update on its ongoing efforts to improve its Artificial Intelligence speech models. The company has been funding heavily in this area, and its latest update highlights some of the progress it has made in recent months.

In a report, the AI team of the tech giant highlighted that it has been focusing on several key areas of investigation to improve its speech models. One of the main areas of focus has been on developing more acceptable ways to handle the variability in speech that exists across different terminologies and dialects.

Another area of priority for Google has been improving the marker of its speech-to-text transcription. In particular, the company has been working on ways to reduce errors and inaccuracies in its transcriptions, which can be a major challenge in certain contexts.

The business revealed information on its AI global speech framework, which can comprehend hundreds of spoken languages, earlier this week. The framework was developed using 28 billion rulings of text and 12 million hours (about 1369 years) of voice in more than three hundred several languages.

The Google Artificial Intelligence team has also been exploring new ways to improve the accuracy of its speech models through better training data. This has included efforts to collect more diverse and representative datasets that can help to improve the model's ability to recognize and transcribe speech from a wide range of sources.

Besides this, there are many challenges that the algorithm is facing currently. As per the investigations and the current competitions, the understanding algorithm must be adaptable, influential, and generalizable for models to enhance in a computationally efficient manner while growing language coverage and rate. Large volumes of information from numerous sources should be able to be used by the algorithm, which should also be able to generalize to new languages and use cases and enable model upgrades without necessitating thorough retraining.

Overall, Google's efforts in this area are part of a broader trend toward improving AI-powered speech recognition and transcription. As voice-based interfaces become increasingly common, these technologies will play an increasingly important role in everything from virtual assistants to customer service bots and beyond.

Of course, there are also concerns about the potential for these technologies to be misused or abused. For example, there are concerns about the accuracy of speech recognition technologies when used in legal proceedings, or when transcribing conversations that contain sensitive or confidential information.

Despite these concerns, it seems clear that AI-powered speech recognition and transcription will continue to be a major focus for companies like Google in the years ahead. As these technologies continue to improve, they will likely become even more widespread and powerful, potentially transforming the way we interact with computers and with each other.

Read next: Fear of Social Rejection Spurs Individuals to Disperse Fake News, Investigation Shows
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Fear of Social Rejection Spurs Individuals to Disperse Fake News, Investigation Shows

As per a recent study, spreading false information is driven by peoples' fear of social exclusion. Researchers' study revealed that individuals prefer to disperse misleading information if they think it is in line with the opinions of their social gathering.

About 51,500 Twitter users in the US were surveyed for the investigation. Participants were asked to rate their likelihood of conveying news stories that either supported or opposed their political views, as well as whether they would be inclined to share articles that were right or wrong.

The discoveries revealed that individuals were more willing to outstretch misleading stories if they thought doing so would retain their standing among their peer group. Those who closely identified with their social gatherings were more vulnerable to this phenomenon.

The analysis also discovered that individuals who cared more about their social status had the additional potential to circulate inaccurate data, even when they were aware of their falsity. This shows that the drive to adhere to social standards and maintain social relationships might overcome the necessity of factual accuracy.

The experimenters next compared a sample of users who were spokespersons of all Twitter users with 10,000 individuals who had transmitted bogus news during the earlier experiment. According to the results of the 2nd research, people who shared phony info were more likely to ban consumers who did not follow up with the same range.

The discoveries have significant ramifications for comprehending how false information spreads in online networks. People might be exposed to a lot of fraudulent information due to the ease with which it can be disseminated on social media platforms, making it challenging to discriminate between truth and fiction.

The investigators hypothesized that encouraging people to consider the repercussions of leaking inaccurate news is one method to stop the leak of fraudulent news. People may be more inclined to think twice before spreading false information if the possible harm associated with doing so is made clear.

The study emphasizes the value of encouraging critical thinking and media literacy, particularly in an era where spreading incorrect news is now simpler than ever thanks to social media. It also emphasizes the necessity for people to be conscious of the psychological and social influences on their conduct and to take precautions to avoid unintentionally aiding in the spread of misinformation.

Read next: 1 in 9 Americans 64 or older still don’t have their lives figured out yet
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Analysis: The most frequently compromised websites are Facebook and Instagram

According to a recent analysis by VPNCentral, Facebook and Instagram are the websites that get hacked the most frequently online. According to the statistics, the three platforms that hackers most regularly target are Spotify, Instagram, and Facebook. These three platforms dominate the monthly searches for phrases linked to hacking.

A significant security incident involving 530 million Facebook accounts in 2021 shook the data infrastructures of top social media corporations. That was just one more instance in a long line of assaults that have changed in quantity and methods over the past few years.

If you have concerns about internet security and privacy, now is the moment to address them. According to a recent VPN Central analysis, Facebook is the most popular search keyword for concerns about hacking, with almost 68,000 monthly searches! That is more than twice as much as Instagram, which came in second with 36k monthly searches related to hacking attempts. Be careful out there and safeguard your password!

Live streaming service Twitch is fourth on the list of websites that are most frequently hacked despite providing two-factor verification. The first non-social media service to rank in the top ten is Spotify, which is in third place. It might be because the service prioritizes music streaming over chat or user interaction and has more complicated password requirements than other services.

With evidence of these mounting malicious campaigns, Instagram took decisive action to mitigate the risks they posed to their users. By late 2022, a specialized online tool was launched ― an interactive resource center that dedicated a webpage of digital resources available at people's disposal if they found themselves with a hacked account.

Because more people than ever are using the internet, hackers are exploiting holes in various websites and services. Businesses must ensure adequate measures to protect user data from malicious attacks, from social media platforms to streaming services.

Social media accounts are the most popular when it comes cyber security searches; Facebook ranks at a high of 67,940 searches. Instagram trails behind close after with 36,220 queries - although not as much as streaming giant Spotify, which had 25,920 people inquiring about its secrets! Twitch followed suit, pushing 10K inquiries regarding their platform, while other long-standing sites such as Amazon (6170), Snapchat (6100), Coinbase (5900), Twitter (5190), Gmail (4920), and Microsoft's 4k trailed, respectively.

The media and tech giants remain at the top of the list for cyber searches, but it is important not to forget about the smaller companies still subject to malicious attacks. Many of these companies may not have the same security measures as larger organizations, leaving them vulnerable to various forms of attack.

Read next: Cyberattacks Increased by 55% in 2022
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Here Are the Biggest Trends and Statistics for Entrepreneurs and Startups in 2023

Entrepreneurship is at an all time high, with an estimated 5.5 million businesses being registered by such individuals in 2022 alone. This means that there are around 31 million entrepreneurs in the US, which indicates that they represent a solid 16% of the overall workforce with all things having been considered and taken into account.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that there are some trends that can be noted as far as entrepreneurs are concerned. Skynova conducted a study which revealed that around 58.5% of entrepreneurs are men, which means that around 41.5% are women

This shows that there is a significant discrepancy among who ends up becoming an entrepreneur from the perspective of gender. However, an even bigger divide can be seen if we widen the lens to take race and ethnicity into account.

For one thing, a whopping 71% of entrepreneurs who are operating in the US are white. 14% of them are Hispanic, 6% are African American, and a similar proportion are Asian or 6% to be precise. This ratio is disproportionate based on the population distribution between these various ethnicities, and it suggests that that playing field is less level than might have been the case otherwise.

Furthermore, a lot of discrepancies can be seen based on age. People who are over the age of 40 represent the majority of entrepreneurs, or 63% to be precise. 30% are between the ages of 30 and 40, and just 7% are between 20 and 30.

This concentration of entrepreneurs among older age groups is telling because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up indicating the advantage that older individuals might have. One potential reason for this is that older people might have had more time to save up, although it should also be mentioned that they grew up during better economic eras which likely gave them more opportunities to explore.

In spite of the fact that this is the case, there are still a lot of opportunities for people who want to become entrepreneurs these days. Startups in the travel sector have increased by a massive 201%, with media following close behind with a 198% increase.

Energy startups have also seen a tremendous growth rate of around 174%, with security startups growing at a healthy rate of 171% as well. Finally we have real estate, with 161% more entrepreneurs entering this field as compared to the previous year.

However, it is essential to avoid the many pitfalls that can make it difficult for startups to stay up and running. For example, 34% of startups that failed were not able to find the right product fit for their market. 22% of them failed due to issues with their marketing, and 18% faced problems with their teams that made it challenging for them to keep going.

All in all, the world of entrepreneurs is getting more and more entrants every year, but only a few of them manage to stay stable. People who want to enter the field must be wary of what could go wrong.

Take a look at below infographics for more insights:

Read next: There are most in-demand skills for freelancers that can help them earn more than $100 an hour

by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Workers Waste 58% of Their Day in Useless Meetings

We’ve all been in situations where we are asked to attend a meeting that adds next to no value to our work days. Many of these meetings seem like they could have easily been replaced by a quick email, but in spite of the fact that this is the case managers around the world seem to be obsessed with them. What sort of impact do these pointless meetings have on worker productivity? A productivity platform known as Asana has the answers.

It turns out that workers end up wasting as much as 58% of their day on meetings that are absolutely useless with all things having been considered and taken into account. This is not just something that is impacting low level workers either. Top level executives also said that these meetings are making them fall behind on the work that they have been tasked to complete.

30% of top ranking executives said that unnecessary meetings made it less likely that they would meet their deadlines than might have been the case otherwise. Physical meetings can be a nuisance, but meetings that are conducted over video calls were also deemed problematic by 32% of the workers who participated in this survey.

All in all, workers can gain an extra six weeks worth of working hours if they no longer had to attend these meetings. Upper management should consider this because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up giving their workers more time to get things done.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the number of apps that need to be used to stay in touch with coworkers has also increased to 9. This leads to around 15% of these messages getting overlooked since there is so much else that employees need to contend with.

Most industries need to streamline communication so that they can unlock productivity. It will be interesting to see if the findings of this study make any kind of difference on such meetings moving forward.

Read next: 4 Day Work Week Improved Sleep Quality for 40% of Workers
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World