OpenAI Heats Up Competition With Google After Launching ChatGPT With Search

The discussions surrounding a decline in Google Search cannot be ignored. And we’ve got the modern internet to thank for that.

However, just when you thought innovation in the search wasn’t possible comes a new rollout by OpenAI. The company just unveiled ChatGPT in Search which could take Google head on. This might be what users were looking for, a breath of fresh air from all the AI spam and SEO junk that Google entails.

The feature was launched yesterday which shows great potential in the form of a new web search feature. The AI assistant gives replies with some source attribution during chats. It’s dubbed ChatGPT with Search, nothing fancy at all.

As per OpenAI, it’s designed to work in an automated manner based on the user’s queries. There is also one option to trigger a search manually via the latest icon for web search. As per the company, it could reduce the need to exploit links and conduct multiple searches. That is commonly observed with classic search engines. Similarly, users come up with follow-up queries as ChatGPT wishes to comprehend text completely before generating a reply.

Every search reply includes a citation link. Users simply click on the to get more detailed views of referenced materials inside the sidebar that is witnessed near chat history.

The latest search system includes a finer version of GPT-4o. As per the AI giant, it was trained using synthetic data only. Before, ChatGPT was searching online and therefore gave outdated results. Now, we could get a new way to explore the web and get real-time content.

There was a demo rolled out that was hosted by the company where reps didn’t specify the real location of the search information. Speculations claim it was either a Bing search or crawling the search index. So it is a blend of different materials which the company has collaborations with.

The latest program also assists the firm in taking advantage of a new kind of partnership for publishing which reframes media links into something other than the usual web data scraping for training AI. This did get the company into a lot of legal trouble.

We must mention here that this firm is not the sole tech giant making the most of AI searches online. We’ve seen similar endeavors by Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity for the AI community. We did see it receive resistance from other names that claim it combined content without getting the green signal. This is where partnerships with OpenAI come in handy.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Apple On A Roll! iPhone Sales Boom As Revenue Hits $95 Billion in Q3 of 2024
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Apple On A Roll! iPhone Sales Boom As Revenue Hits $95 Billion in Q3 of 2024

Apple just rolled out its financial report for the third quarter this year (actually, Q4 for them). It’s safe to say the company is on a roll with iPhone sales soaring and revenue reaching a new high of $95 billion.

It’s been a busy week for the Cupertino firm which just launched the much anticipated Apple Intelligence features amid new Mac devices. What’s interesting is how the sales of iPhones are on the rise, with or without the latest AI endeavor.

While the period only featured the starting sales period of the new iPhone 16 range, it’s definitely worth a mention. Other fun smart gadgets launched included the latest AirPods 4 and Series 10 for the Apple Watch.

The company’s CEO admitted that the sales were certainly greatly for 15 than 14 as witnessed last year and this year, 16 is going stronger than 15. The firm also shared how the revenue stood at $94 billion which is again another record for Apple, a growth of 6% YoY.

There was also discussion about how the highs attained were dampened thanks to a serious income tax charge. Apple was forced to pay this amount to Ireland after entering into a long-standing dispute worth $10.2B.

Every department in Apple saw gains other than its category called wearables, home, and accessories. iPad revenues rose 8% after the firm rolled out the latest iPad Pro and iPad Air this spring.

The latest array of intelligence features that are powered by AI focus on the likes of generating summaries, cleaning up pictures, and using assistants for writing. There is a much hyped-up integration of ChatGPT and an image-generating ability that will be included in this upcoming iOS 18.2 by this year’s end.

So far, Apple is happy as the feedback is great from consumers. We also saw the tech giant revamp its iMac, Mac Mini, and MacBook Pro as a part of its new M4 silicon range. Most of them underwent subtle but acceptable changes in terms of design. This just might give Apple the boost it needs while entering the much-awaited holiday period.

Let’s not forget how Apple is still in the midst of another lawsuit from the Department of Justice and the EU for its antitrust behavior. This has left the company with no choice but to make some major changes to both its App Store and device.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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