Survey Reveals Journalists Are Worried About Freedom of Expression

A recent report from the research institute Pew shows the extreme crises of American journalists regarding the future of press and speech freedom in the country.

Some alarming figures regarding the future of speech freedom in the US show a staggering 57% of those surveyed voiced significant concern about possible press restrictions. Additionally, 23% of reporters expressed some level of apprehension about the future of their profession. Furthermore, considering various age groups, the fact that 40% plus senior skilled reporters in the age bracket of 60-65 are highly tense about the future of their profession adds concerns to this matter, smudging a notion of uncertainty and fear among those in the occupation.

Interestingly, however, more young journalists seem to be somewhat less alarmed, with only 20% of those in the 18-29 demographic expressing extreme concern and 28% of those aged 30-49 communicating this view. These statistics demonstrate the need for action to protect speech freedom and the part of reporters in society. These numbers paint a stark picture of the anxieties and fears that are prevalent among news reporters within the United States.

When it comes to the year of domination, age is a major convention. In particular, as journalists have greater experience in the domain, a maximum of them express significant anxiety. For instance, for people who worked in this field for five years or shorter, 24% are quite troubled; in contrast, for reporters with 8-10 years of mastery, this figure increases to 28%. In the same way, the proportion of reporters who voice serious anxiety rises to 31% for those with 11 to 20 years of exposure, along with 39% for those with 20 years.

These statistics demonstrate the need for measures to protect freedom of expression and the part of reporters in society.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Apple Hits New Record As The Average Selling Price For iPhones Stands At An All-Time High

The success of Apple’s iPhones cannot be underestimated and a new report by the CIRP is showcasing that point in another great way.

After a follow-up of the report speaking about the most loved iPhones of 2023, the CIRP mentioned how Apple is breaking some serious records, despite it being a challenging quarter.

The iPhone currently stands at an all-time high average selling price. And the CIRP mentioned through a new report how things like this aren’t usually witnessed in unlikely quarters such as the one we're currently in.

Usually, the quarters of the holiday season and that of September always turn out to be the most profitable ones of them all. The average iPhone selling prices during this time are high because most people are so eager and anxious to get their hands on the device. After all, these are premium models and you’ve got to flaunt the purchase as soon as it’s released, right?

Today, Apple was really able to make some great increases in terms of iPhones and the average sellout prices arising during the quarter of March in 2023 were no exception. With time, the price has increased from the likes of just $882 to a whopping $988.

The data from CIRP showed how alongside the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro turning out to be the most popular variants of them all for 2023, this was bound to be a huge factor in terms of the rise in average selling price.

Furthermore, the CIRP noted how there would be an upgrade in storage and clients would be going more for variants like iPhone 14 or 14 Plus in comparison to a 13 mini from a year back as two further tailwinds arose.

In conclusion, the CIRP noted how the current global market strength for iPhones that are used is supporting the huge trade-in figures. As a result, this would automatically cause a reduction in the expense of the new device and slowly encourage the purchases of models that are more exclusive or from the premium range.

This came with further confidence linked to how it would end up retaining more value with time so this is always a great start and one that the Cupertino tech giant won’t mind.

We'd love to know what are your thoughts on this.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Microsoft Rolls Out New Bing Chat Without A Waitlist For Those Who Download Its Edge Browser

If you happen to be a fan of the new Microsoft Bing chatbot but still haven’t quite managed to get a hold of it, thanks to the big waitlist, well, we’ve got some great news for you.

The software giant is rolling out the new Bing without any waitlist attached. This would be for all those that have the Edge browser installed.

Just to give you an idea about how popular this venture is, well, that’s linked to more than half a billion individual chats being conducted across Bing Chat since it was carried out a whopping three months back.

But the question is why this is being called out as new? Is there really something that we might be missing here? And the answer is yes!

For starters, there’s no waiting list. So you don’t have to worry about attaining the limited preview. Instead, you’ll only get an open preview. So at the end of it all, you’ll attain some more visual answers for the Bing Chat that entails rich pictures and some great videos.

Similarly, you’ll see some multi-session experiences on offer that entail great chat histories and some persistent chats inside the Edge browser as well. Lastly, Microsoft says you can benefit from more developer access to create third-party applications across the new Bing Chat.

Digging down deep into what each feature means, we’ve written out some interesting details over here. For starters, there is no more waitlist. The Bing Search has gotten rid of it so it accesses the Bing Chat and still, you need it to make use of the browser, the Edge, and also the mobile app of Bing so that you can access the Bing Chat.

Similarly, you even need to get logged into the account of Microsoft while using Bing Chat as it’s seen in the Edge Browser as that’s needed for it to function.

The Bing Chat is certainly more visual and now, it’s updating the responses within the Bing Chat to be more appealing visually by enhancing formatting and the total layout. This just adds richer pictures and videos and even adds charts with graphs that are relevant.

Now, users will similarly benefit from the app’s Image Creator. This is up for grabs in different languages that entail nearly 100 different kinds, which is just a good idea of how things are now becoming so much more visual.

The company adds how the new Edge has been redesigned to enable a chat display that is better and more visual in the appearance of formats. This entails some streamlined looks with rounder edges, organized containers, and visual elements that are partly transparent.

Bing Chat can also give users answers by adding pictures as a part of the chat for easier understanding of the system. After updating the image, the chat would search online for something similar, giving users exactly what they want in no time.

Microsoft says it’s also making Bing’s capabilities greater for long-form documents, across both the PDF as well as the HTML format design.

We’ve also been hearing for so long how the software giant has been on the move to add chat history for so long. Finally, Bing Chat is getting this feature too, thanks to Microsoft. Users will be able to make use of it and pick up from where you last left off your document or work. Then, users would also be able to go back to previous chats seen across the app’s search history.

So as you can see, there are plenty of new and exciting changes in store for users, thanks to Microsoft.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Top Software Engineer Confirms Google Is Losing Its Edge In AI To The Open-Source Community

A leading software engineer who happens to be working at Google is sharing his two cents on the matter related to the tech giant losing its edge in the current competitive AI race.

Luke Sernau did not shy away from mentioning how the top search engine giant is not doing enough and that is making it fall behind drastically against the open source community. The latter is where so many researchers make use of AI to produce quick and unprecedented advances.

The engineer that goes by the name of Luke Sernau mentioned in a recently published document regarding the internal systems functioning at Google during the start of April. He claims that in the past couple of weeks, this document was passed around thousands of times among people using the search engine. And one person who was familiar with the matter added that it was concerning for obvious reasons.

The paperwork was published by another consulting company called SemiAnalysis and it was seen making the rounds at Silicon Valley too.

As a part of the engineer’s analysis, it was observed how Google had an intense rivalry with other leading startup giants including OpenAI and that was a clear distraction from huge developments arising in the world of open-source advancements.

He added how Google has really spent a lot of time overlooking the shoulders of others including the ChatGPT makers but it’s time the firm crosses its own goals and milestones. They felt it was time to see what the next decision would be.

The current uncomfortable truth was linked to being in a position where Google was losing this arms race and it needed to act quickly. Google’s Sernau did not entertain any comments but he feels that others are eating a lot of its hard work including the open-source community.

A lot of progress has been done in AI and as that accelerates, many employees at the company and other places continue to engage in internal discussions both internally and externally. It has to do with technology and how that remakes the industry.

Google has been in the spotlight for a while now regarding this pressure and how ChatGPT’s popularity is a lot to handle. Therefore, Google has lost its advantage in this AI race and that’s shocking because it was really once deemed to be a leader of this industry.

The real threat linked to Google was coming through open source communities and that’s where so many engineers are advancing ahead with great speed. They’re rivaling the big tech giants’ quality and they can be produced at a cheaper cost.

These types of models are not only quicker and more efficient but can be customized and considerably more useful that the tech giant’s own model.

They don’t have any form of a secret sauce but there is great hope that Google might collaborate or learn from what other people in the industry are doing. He similarly set out some concerns about how clients were no longer willing to set out funds for models having high technology offerings for free.

While Google is yet to provide its own two cents on the matter, it did reveal through a recent earnings call that the CEO of Alphabet felt Google was making its fair share of investments and breakthroughs in the world of AI in the past ten years. This has kept it in a great position and there was certainly so much progress being made in making the right models and collaborating with others.

H/T: Semianalysis | Chart: lmsys

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Tech Bosses Summoned To White House And Told To Protect Public From Dangers Of AI

Bosses of leading tech giant companies were recently summoned to the White House where they were briefed and requested to protect the public against a great many threats from AI.

The list of those who made their way to the US Capital included Google’s Sundar Pichai, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, and Sam Altmann from OpenAI. They were all informed about how they had a huge moral responsibility that rest on their shoulders in terms of protecting and safeguarding the society.

It was very clear how The White House would be required to control that sector further and it only recently set out an array of AI products including ChatGPT and Bard and how they’ve really grabbed a hold of the public’s perception.

The products in question are providing regular users with the chance to chat with the likes of Generative AI and which can provide a summary of data from several sources in a span of a few seconds only. Similarly, they could debug computer codes, produce presentations, and even come up with poetry that sounds appealing and acceptable, just like it was generated by humans.

This rollout has really set out a new debate regarding the AI role in this world and it continues to offer a very tangible illustration regarding the huge line of risks and rewards that pops up with such technology.

Tech executives were all gathered on Thursday at the high-profile meeting in the White House where they were told that it was all up to them to firmly ensure the safety of other citizens who had complete trust and reliance upon them.

The number of products in question is plenty and the White House administration also confirmed how they were more than open to carrying out new laws and regulations on how to better cover the subject of AI so it’s a safety matter for all involved.

This rollout really ended up sparking a new debate regarding what role artificial intelligence plays in today’s world. It’s a very tangible illustration of the huge risks involved and the great rewards that such technology possesses in this day and age.

Sam Altman of OpenAI spoke to reporters recently where he added how he was pleasantly surprised to see regulators being on the same page in terms of what is needed to happen.

Meanwhile, the country’s VP, Kamala Harris was also seen issuing a statement on this ordeal. She revealed how this had a huge potential to enhance other people’s lives.

• Also read: AI Tools Such As Chatbots Boosted Worker Productivity By 14 Percent, New Research Proves

The tech sector had many roles to play and that includes ethical, legal, and moral responsibilities to make sure there was enough security and safety of products.

At the moment, the current Biden administration has set out a mega $140 million investment that will see the launch of research institutes that are based on AI.

There is definitely a huge call for the massive rise in emerging AI and the fact that it needs to be regulated further is one call being made by tech leaders as well as the country’s politicians.

The news comes as the man dubbed ‘godfather of AI’, Geoffrey Hinton recently bid farewell to Google citing claims that he had huge regrets about his work. He similarly spoke to the BBC during a recent interview about how AI was a scary world and it came with huge dangers that cannot be ignored. And seeing someone who helped the technology evolve mention this and also reveal how much he regretted his work in allowing it to come forward shows how serious the situation is.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Closer Look At The World Of Copywriting And Why It Might Be A Skill Worth Having

In the modern tech world of today, having a great skillset can really do wonders for those in search of something a little extra. And copywriting is the perfect example of a field that is bringing fruitful returns for those that have mastered the skill.

But what are copywriters and what are the things that they do? To gain a more insightful understanding, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at the field that people are calling a money-making endeavor.

The news comes to us thanks to a recent survey conducted by Semrush who took into consideration 400 different job postings from Indeed and also glanced over some findings from State of Content Marketing: A global report. This was related to a whopping 85,000 job posts and the survey which comprised 1700 marketers.

The authors of the research claim to have found copywriters have a huge number of responsibilities that went above and beyond the likes of making copies and that entails creating a brand voice and taking part in collaborations with others. Meanwhile, you could research some great ideas and understand marketing strategies too.

But what are the leading skills that people want from the likes of copywriters is a point worth pondering upon. The answer is simple, you are expected to produce exceptional written and verbal communication skills. In the same way, your creativity and four years' worth of experience are necessary.

Among the top degrees enlisted in postings for jobs for such individuals, you’ve got marketing, journalism, and even writing. Other than that, you’ve got English and communications as well. These should be a part of your top skills and ones that you’re great at if you wish to make your bosses happy.

The study proved how you not only have to come up with content of your own but also edit copies for emails, webpages, brochures, blogs, pages on social media, and more. You must make sure you’re well-versed in marketing because understanding a business’s voice the right way and being able to project that in your work is key.

Other smaller expectations include learning more things about the target audience, meeting the content’s needs, and also taking part in proofreading, SEO strategies, and research keywords.

For qualities, you need to be able to work well in groups, and take directions while working independently is equally pivotal. Someone that’s creative, strong, pays attention to detail, and has exceptional leadership qualities are other qualities worth a mention.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

AI Tools Such As Chatbots Boosted Worker Productivity By 14 Percent, New Research Proves

The world of AI has taken off with a bang in the tech world and beyond, with more and more sectors making the most of recent tools like chatbots.

While some might be a little apprehensive at first in terms of the usage of these offerings, the latest study by MIT and Standford is proving why you shouldn’t be shy to implement the endeavor into your workforce.

As reported by Bloomberg recently, we’re talking about a new study that is known to be the first biggest real-world application of generative AI at the workplace. Plenty of researchers took part and carried out measurements for the productivity of nearly 5,000 people working as experts in customer support.

Most of these agents were based in nations like the Philippines where they were a part of the leading Fortune 500 enterprise software company. The study went on for a span of one year.

The agents working in tech support were reported as utilizing AI tools for things like the development of conversational scripts or chats whose productivity was greatly enhanced. This happened to be measured by the number of issues resolved each hour. And on average, it was outlined to be 14%. But the improvement was more pronounced for workers that were novices as well as those that were poorly skilled. The latter ended up getting their work done nearly 35% faster than others.

There were a few situations where making use of AI went above having real-life work experience. In other words, those using AI support did a better job when compared to agents working without the facility of AI, over a timeframe of six months.

On the other hand, such AI tools ended up showcasing a small impact on experienced workers having great skills. And there were also times when it ended up serving as a huge distraction.

One of the Ph.D. candidates added how support for AI could be quite helpful in terms of workers at the entry-level and those outlined as having early careers with not a lot of experience in the field. Therefore, the study showed how those employees with less experience benefited more from AI by taking on recommendations so they could attain speed and receive training in skillsets that arise with experience in the field.

Keeping that aside, the research proved how AI tools benefited the best and brightest of the industry where workers classified as the best and brightest of them all were training the AI alone. They are among those that turn these into recommendations so others can benefit.

Therefore, such studies claim that firms need to realize how changes in productivity are a signal that those performing at their best need to be rewarded for their great behavior and setting out solutions so others may benefit.

As a whole, the study also shows how AI assistance enhances customer satisfaction, betters rates for retention of employees, and also limits requests for interventions of the managerial position.

The authors started to explain how such research is not designed to predict if AI can or will replace a business’s workforce. However, it can conclude that technology assists workers in a more effective manner in terms of multitasking and handling more complex issues at a faster pace.

And as we all are well aware, better results that arise at a faster pace than usual are bound to make customers happy. And they end up being really nice to agents in the customer service industry while enhancing retention rates of employees.

Remember, the authors also quoted how such endeavors like AI tools end up making individuals more effective at the workplace, and that makes the general environment a more pleasurable and stress-free place to carry out duties.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World