Today's edition of The Download is the weekday newsletter that gives you a daily dose from the world of technology.
GPT-4 has a better performance than ChatGPT, but OpenAI will not say why is superior.
OpenAI's GPT-4 has been unveiled. This is the next-generation large language model, which was in development for much last year. ChatGPT was the company's surprise hit. But OpenAI has made GPT-4 even better.
OpenAI will not say how much larger or why it is better. GPT-4, the company's most secretive release to date, marks its transition from a nonprofit lab into a for-profit tech company.
We do know that GPT-4 can respond to text and images. The full story is available here.
–Will Douglas Heaven
These two people got married in Taco Bell's metaverse
Amruta Godbole and Sheel Mohnot were married last month. This wedding was not your typical one. It was hosted by Decentraland, a virtual platform and sponsored Taco Bell.
Mohnot is a huge fan of Taco Bell so they entered a competition to help pay for the technical elements of a virtual marriage–the avatars and production. They won. It returned the favor by plastering its brand all over.
Why would anyone want to marry in a metaverse? And will these sorts of ceremonies–especially sponsored ones–stick around, or will they fade away if virtual reality doesn't live up to the hype? The full story is available here.
–Tanya Basu
China has just established a new bureau to extract data for economic growth
China's annual, seven-day-long parliamentary meeting concluded on Monday. The tech world is closely following the creation of the National Data Administration, a new regulatory body.
The NDA will enable smart cities to be built in China, digitize government services, improve the internet infrastructure, and allow government agencies to share data.
This seems to be part a continuing effort by the Chinese government in order to create a "digital economy" that collects, shares, and trades data. There are still many questions, particularly about how much authority it will hold. Check out the complete story.
–Zeyi Yang
China Report is Zeyi's weekly newsletter that covers tech in China. Get it delivered to your inbox every Tuesday by signing up
The must-read
I've combed the internet to find you today's most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 AI hype train shows no signs of slowing
GPT-4's launch has caused a flurry of excitement. (WP $)
+ Morgan Stanley is one of the companies that uses GPT-4. (NYT $)
+ Yesterday, Anthropic, a fellow AI company, launched its chatbot Claude. (The Verge)
+ Generative AI is revolutionizing everything. But what happens after all the hype? (MIT Technology Review)
2 SIlicon Vale is still too large to fail
However, it's clear that Silicon Valley Bank's collapse has had a devastating impact on start-up culture. (Economist $)
+ The fire was only extinguished by social media panic. (WSJ $)
+ Could techno-optimism be to blame? (The Atlantic $).
+ The bank's collapse is not good news for the economy. (Bloomberg $)
3 Meta has let 10,000 more employees go
TechCrunch: The company has decided to cancel "lower priority" projects.
+ It seems like Mark Zuckerberg values AI more than the metaverse. (Insider $)
4 Stadiums in the US are keeping track of your face
Privacy advocates are concerned that privacy advocates aren't being clear enough about their actions. (Slate $)
+ Amazon's two-year battle to prevent face recognition being sold to the police. (MIT Technology Review)
5 DNA tests that can predict your risk of developing disease
This is not always a good thing. (New Scientist $).
+ New shared health risks are emerging from a massive microbiome analysis. (Quanta)
6 How often do children get long-term covid?
Experts remain divided three years after the pandemic. (Undark Magazine)
+ The long-term covid in children is the subject of a fierce debate. (MIT Technology Review)
7 Tech workers from abroad are looking for new jobs
Their stress is only increased by the 60-day visa restriction to search for a new job. (Rest of World).
8 America's new satellite will monitor its air pollution
Scientists will have access to almost 24-hour data collection. (Inverse)
9 How to combat the web's neuromarketing
The first step is to think critically. (Wired $)
10 Samsung was accused of creating fake Moon photos 
Reddit's camera processing of images is a source of fury for its sleuths. (The Verge)
Quote for the Day
"We are in the market phase where it's like letting 1,000 flowers blossom."
Matt Turck, an AI investor marvels at how much money has flooded into the sector, according to the New York Times.
The big story
Will Afghanistan's underground "sneakernet", survive the Taliban?
November 2021
Mohammad Yasin was forced to take difficult decisions quickly after Afghanistan was overthrown by the Taliban. He erased some of the most sensitive data from his computer, and moved the rest to two of his biggest hard drives. Then he wrapped the disks in plastic and dug underground.
Yasin, also known locally as "computer kar", is a person who sells digital content hand-to-hand in a country without an internet connection. He sells everything, from music and movies to mobile apps to iOS updates. The country's vast "sneakernet", despite the dangers of Taliban control, isn't looking to shut down. The full story is available here.
–Ruchi Kumar
You can still enjoy nice things
This is a place to find comfort, joy and distraction during these crazy times. (Have any suggestions? Drop me a note or send me a tweet. )
+ Pallas cats are fearedsome but their tendency to press their paws onto their tails is too adorable.
+ Although it is not a popular opinion, sharing plates are essential.
+ Don't miss the Stallone-approved director's cut of Rocky IV if you can't get enough.
+ Lego is being swallowed by doctors. It's all for science.
+ Bees are like us. They need mentors as well!
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By: Rhiannon Williams
Title: The Download: GPT-4 is here, and metaverse marriages
Sourced From: www.technologyreview.com/2023/03/15/1069865/download-gpt-4-metaverse-marriages/
Published Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2023 13:00:00 +0000
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