Oh what a wicked web we weave…

https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/22/24203479/eu-meta-facebook-pay-or-consent-warning-consumer-protection-cooperation-cpc

EU threatens to fine Meta for saying Facebook is ‘free’

… Meta’s “pay or consent” model, which was introduced last year, gives users a choice: pay as much as €12.99 per month to use Facebook and Instagram without ads or consent to letting the company collect and use personal data to serve personalized ads. The EU doesn’t like what it sees as privacy-violating data usage and has already hit Meta separately with Digital Markets Act charges over its model and record fines under the GDPR for transferring user data overseas.

… They also say that calling the ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram “free” is misleading since it still requires users to consent to the use of their data for targeted ads.

Perspective.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91159180/the-first-wave-of-ai-innovation-is-over-heres-what-comes-next

The first wave of AI innovation is over. Here’s what comes next

… This is a cycle in innovation that repeats throughout history: For a long time, an almost undetectable amount of knowledge and craft builds up around an idea, like an invisible gas. Then, a spark. An explosion of innovation ensues but, of course, eventually stabilizes. This pattern is called an S-Curve.

… The AI revolution is following this curve. In a 1950 paper, Alan Turing was one of the first computer scientists to explore how to build a thinking machine, starting the slow buildup of knowledge. Seventy years later, the spark: A 2017 research paper, Attention Is All You Need, leads to OpenAI’s development of ChatGPT, which convincingly mimics human conversation, unleashing a global shock wave of innovation based upon generative AI technology.

… We believe the real breakthrough that will allow humanity to jump to the next S-Curve is data produced at work. Workplace data—e.g. product specifications, sales presentations, and customer support interactions—is of far higher quality than what’s left of public data for training purposes, especially compared to running the dregs of the internet through the transformer mill. (The results of which may be why a lot of AI-generated content is already being called “slop.”)