The Download is the edition for today. Our weekday newsletter provides a daily dose on what's happening in the worlds of technology.
AI text detection tools are easy to fool
The News: There were concerns that ChatGPT would be used by students to produce passable essays as soon as it launched. Startups responded by creating products that claim to be able to tell if text is written by a person or machine. According to new research, it is relatively easy to fool these tools and avoid detection.
What happened:Researchers used 14 AI detection tools and found that, while they were able to detect human-written texts, they had difficulty detecting ChatGPT generated text that was slightly rearranged or obfuscated using a paraphrasing software. Students can easily evade detection by simply modifying the AI-generated essays.
Why is it important? Experts believe that a reliance on AI detection systems could lead to false accusations of cheating. This could have serious consequences for the academic career of students. Read the complete story.
–Rhiannon Williams
This great article by Will explains how AI will affect education.
Covid is still around, but it's not as bad as you might think
–Jessica Hamzelou
My colleague just came down with covid-19. She described the symptoms as being "like getting hit by a truck." Another colleague said, "How retro of you!" Another colleague replied, "This is still an issue?"
This question is asked to me on a regular basis as a health journalist who has covered covid from the beginning. There are still many unanswered covid questions, even after more than three full years. Our understanding of the long-term covid virus is patchy and we don't know exactly where it came from. We do know that it causes infections, diseases and death. You can read the entire story.
The Checkup is Jessica's weekly newsletter that gives you all the latest information on biotechnology. Subscribe to receive the newsletter every Thursday.
Must-read
I've combed the internet to find you today's most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Twitter threatens to sue Meta for Threads
Meta allegedly hired former Twitter employees to create the "copycat app". (Semafor)
The number of Threads users has surpassed 30 million. (WP $)
+ It hosts 95 million posts. (The Verge)
+ Threads offers something that other Twitter competitors don't: an existing user base. (Wired $)
2 Oceangate suspends all operations
The two additional trips to the Titanic were scheduled for June 2024. (WSJ $)
3 Reddit moderators have even more requirements
Mods have been told to remove NSFW labeling that makes a subreddit unsuitable for advertising. (The Verge)
ChatGPT users are dropping off.
The number of visits to the website has dropped by 10% in the last month. (WP $)
Alibaba has also created a new AI-based image generator. (Reuters)
(MIT Technology Review) + Inside story on how ChatGPT is built by the people who created it. (MIT Technology Review)
Tesla's New York State factory for solar panels is a failure
Its output, eight years and one billion dollars later, is abysmal. (WSJ $)
Solar cell technology is improving in leaps & bounds. (New Scientist $).
6 Brazil gig critics are competing for jobs
Even fake reviews of the country's economy are highly sought after due to its dire economic situation. Rest of World
Plastic is plastic, even if it's compostable
It's useless if you don't know how to properly compost it. The Atlantic $
8 Apple’s Vision Pro headset can be a hassle to manufacture
Sony, the company that makes its small displays, feels the pressure. (FT $)
9 The worst computer games are being created by these enthusiasts
Pear-Shaped Football and Crap Football were two of the most notable entries in previous years. (The Guardian)
10 Now you can listen to deep space
It is an innovative way to enjoy space images. (Wired $)
How sound can open our eyes to the wonders in the universe. (MIT Technology Review)
Quotes of the Day
"I cringe each time I receive the weekly screen time report on my iPhone."
The Washington Post reports that Evadne Eddins (29), is experiencing app fatigue as she struggles with all of her social media platforms.
The Big Story
TikTok's dementia content is viewed by billions. Whose story is it?
[TAG0]
February 20, 22
The world's perception of someone can be instantly altered by a dementia diagnosis. Internet can be used to make dementia and its effects more visible. For some, the Internet is the only way they can find others who are going through similar things. It's not hard to find videos on TikTok that mock dementia patients or escalate arguments on camera.
The creators are still unsure about the ethics involved in making public material that features someone who is no longer able to give consent. People who have dementia themselves are also raising questions about consent and highlighting the harms that are caused by viral videos which perpetuate stereotypes or misrepresent the true nature of the disease. Click here to read the complete story.
–Abby Ohlheiser
You can still enjoy nice things
This is a place of comfort, entertainment and distraction during these strange times. (Got ideas? Send me an email or tweet me your ideas. )
Sharks win evolutionary arms race
This sitar version Grimes’ Oblivion will get your weekend started in a fantastic way.
Would you like to try fungi bacon?
This is a guide to what you should do and, more importantly, what not to do when flying.
+ I'm in desperate need of some cheesy potato pancakes.
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By: Rhiannon Williams
Title: The Download: tricking AI text-detectors, and covid’s unanswered questions
Sourced From: www.technologyreview.com/2023/07/07/1075994/the-download-tricking-ai-text-detectors-and-covids-unanswered-questions/
Published Date: Fri, 07 Jul 2023 12:10:00 +0000
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