We were live for another Wildcard Wednesday!

Quick recap

Eric led a meeting covering various technology-related topics, including AI tools, digital security, and collaborative challenges. He demonstrated the use of AI for music generation, writing enhancement, and research, while also discussing privacy concerns and the evolution of technology. The meeting included discussions on specific apps and tools, as well as personal anecdotes and questions from participants Ruth and Diana.

Summary

Eric's Meeting on Technology and Music

Eric led a meeting where he discussed various topics, including a song by Kenny Burrell and a small crowd. He encouraged participants to ask questions, but none were raised. Ruth expressed her frustration with technology and her desire to become more educated about it. Eric acknowledged her concerns and offered to help her navigate these issues.

Google Account Authentication and Security Issues

Ruth and Eric discussed their recent issues with Google. Ruth had problems signing into Google and updating her account, while Eric explained the new security measures Google has implemented, including the use of QR codes for authentication. Eric also suggested checking the security settings on Google accounts to ensure recovery phone numbers and emails are up to date. Ruth mentioned a similar issue where she was asked to go to her iPad to respond to a prompt, but couldn't find it. Eric suggested checking the account settings in YouTube to ensure the right account is being used. 

AI Tools and Security Measures

Eric discussed the challenges of security measures in their team's international collaboration. Diana raised a concern about formatting issues when copying text from Chat GPT. Eric provided solutions, including using the 'paste as plain text' feature and adjusting GPT's output settings. He also shared his experience with various AI tools, including GPT, Claude, Sonnet, and Microsoft's co-pilot. Eric emphasized the importance of saving effective prompts for future use and demonstrated how to use GPT for sound design in a podcast episode. He encouraged the team to share any issues or comments about the industry. 

Digital Security and Privacy Risks

Eric discussed the importance of digital security and privacy, highlighting the risks of leaving digital footprints. He used the example of Venmo, a social payment app, to illustrate how personal data can be exposed. Eric also mentioned the Signal app, emphasizing the potential for open-source intelligence to be used against users. He stressed the need for caution when using apps, as they may query personal data without consent. Eric concluded by emphasizing the importance of privacy and the need for legislation to protect  

AI Tools for Image Generation

Eric discussed his experiments with AI tools, including Google AI Labs and GPT. He demonstrated how GPT has improved its ability to generate images with text, and showed how to use the Whisk tool for style transfer. Eric also shared his preference for Claude's writing style over GPT's and explained how he uses Claude to improve text generated by GPT. 

AI Agents for Deep Research

Eric discussed the development of AI agents that can perform tasks and answer questions by reasoning and gathering information from various sources. He demonstrated the use of an agent for deep research, which can take up to 30 minutes to complete, but can provide a semester's worth of research. Diana asked about the comparison with Chat GPT, and Eric explained that while GPT can answer simple questions, it lacks the depth and source provision of the agent. He also mentioned the importance of reasoning in AI models and the ongoing improvements in image and music generation. 

AI Tools Enhance Podcast Music

Eric discussed his use of AI tools to generate music for his podcast and enhance the writing of a non-native English speaker. He demonstrated how he used GPT to create a prompt for a song and Sudo to generate the music. He also mentioned using 11 labs to generate an AI voice for the podcast, which improved the narrative value without altering the original story. Diana and Ruth participated in the discussion, with Diana asking about the improvement in inflection and pauses, and Ruth sharing a personal anecdote about a Russian couple with the same names as the characters from Rocky and Bullwinkle. 

Technology Topics and Random Musings

Eric discusses various technology-related topics, including Zoom transcription, the Wise money exchange app, and an app that pays users to stay off social media. He mentions Standard Books, a project that reformats public domain books into ebooks. Eric warns about toll road text scams and shares information about a virtual keypunch simulator. He also talks about a Wikipedia "black hole" created to confuse AI training. Eric discusses a book he read about magic and mentions a study on random number generators potentially being affected by world events. He shares information about a declassified CIA flying robot from the 1970s and reflects on how much technology has evolved, comparing a 1980s Radio Shack ad to modern smartphones.

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See you next month for another great discussion!