88bbcac5

The wonder-filled year of generative AI

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 04:43:52 GMT

Has it only been a year?

Has it only been a year? Just one year since ChatGPT smacked us with all of the slings and arrows of outrageous, Terminator-grade, singularity-trumpeting, sci-fi fortune?

Just one year since we started believing that artificial intelligence really might free us from toil, and deliver us to a life of lounging like George and Jane Jetson ?

Just one year since we started worrying about the AIs coming for our jobs , the jobs of our spouses, the jobs of our children, and the jobs of everyone except the CEO of OpenAI . Oh wait. Even that job wasn’t safe!

In the spirit of year-end review, let us now pause and reflect on what this year of insane AI acceleration has left in its wake. Here are 10 takeaways.

AI naysayers look stupid

One major casualty of the rise of ChatGPT is the snooty attitudes of hard-core, logic-loving professors who said AI would never come. One of my professors used to sneer at the term AI. He liked to pooh-pooh the talk about machines actually thinking. He liked to say that it would be decades or even centuries before the smart machines from Star Trek really arrived. Sometimes he would say AI never stood a chance.

He’s lucky he retired before ChatGPT came along. He’s lucky because these new generative AI bots make it much more difficult for the killjoy logicians to keep saying that computers can’t do more than stitch together NAND gates.

Worrying about electricity bills

A more sympathetic victim may be the planet, given the stockpiles of hydrocarbons that we’ll need to burn to keep the GPUs and TPUs fed with electricity. AIs may end carbon-based life not out of malice or righteous indignation, but out of a relentless need to burn every hydrocarbon to keep running.

A real challenge for the AI world is finding a way to unlock all of the grand opportunities without running up a yuge electricity bill. There is some hope that new chips, better algorithms, and more judicious use of layering in the networks will save a few supertankers filled with oil. Will that be enough?

A rush on AI hardware

A big challenge for a new AI project is lining up enough computational power to start learning. The demand is so high that the GPU manufacturers like Nvidia can’t keep up. The cloud providers that have GPU instances are able to rent them out at top dollar.

Will this keep up? While free markets have a way of fixing scarcity, the relentless growth and the big dreams of Silicon Valley can scale up even faster than the market can deliver. And then there are the geopolitical issues.

Doomers and Boomers square off

The list of intractable problems like the politics of the Middle East just got longer, with the addition of the debate over what AI will do to humanity. On one side are the Doomers, who see AI destroying jobs, social ties, and maybe even all of humanity. On the other side are the Boomers, who see a cornucopia of wonderful gifts being delivered to us as we lounge on our virtual Lanai.

Who has the more accurate vision of the future? The pundits and prognosticators will be chewing on this topic for months and perhaps years to come. If the answer were obvious, we would know it already. I would joke that we should just ask an AI, but the companies have already lawyered them. Straight answers on hot-button topics can be hard to come by.

The dangers of AI hallucinations

Is that AI thinking? Or just running some big statistical mechanism that chooses the next token with a roll of some virtual dice? We know that the algorithm is just some stats, but is that enough to qualify as deep thought? What are the odds?

There are a number of metaphors that help explain just what the dominant algorithms are doing. Some like to call them “ stochastic parrots .” Others like to think of them as a version of the statistical compression algorithms like Huffman coding . We’re still working to find the best way to explain the mixture of genius and hallucination that comes out of these functions.

The dangers of AI accuracy

AIs tend to behave like children. Sometimes they make things up and that’s bad enough, but the real danger is when they start speaking the unfiltered truth. Some love the idea of truth-telling AIs and imagine that they will bring more knowledge and understanding to the world. Others know that Jack Nicholson’s character in “A Few Good Men” was right about humanity when he said, “You can’t handle the truth.”

The lawyers at the AI companies must be freaking out at having to defend all of the truth telling. I asked Google’s Bard an anodyne question about a living, breathing person—in other words, the kind of topic that could sue for libel. Bard told me with a very snippish tone, “I am a large language model , and I am able to communicate and generate human-like text in response to a wide range of prompts and questions, but my knowledge about this person is limited.” The lawyers keep trying to nail shut that barn door but will the horses leap out the window?

Creatives call their lawyers

When a human says, “I learned everything I know about the topic from Bob,” it seems like a humble gesture and a kind acknowledgement. When an AI says something similar, Bob starts to wonder if he can sue for compensation.

As a writer, I’m torn. I was somewhat proud that one of my books (Disappearing Cryptography) made its way into the Books3 corpus that trained some of the smartest AIs out there. They’re like my very own offspring now. That’s cute.

But these AIs are also destroying the marketplace for my book and many others. To make matters worse, they’re doing it at a massive scale. Why shouldn’t the authors be compensated? Fair use stops being fair when it destroys the marketplace.

Will the internet remain open?

It’s one thing to pirate old books that were written under an antiquated economic model. The real question is whether anyone will bother writing a book, a magazine article, or a blog post again. Why bother if the AIs will just come along and absorb the knowledge with Borg-like efficiency?

Copyright had problems, but it nurtured a functioning marketplace of ideas that supported publishers, writers, and universities. Now all of those old business models are being washed away like a sand castle when the tide comes in. At least when the internet and search engines came along, people waved their hands and talked about advertising support or patronage. No one seems to have any clue how AIs will support new knowledge synthesis by humans.

A virtuous or vicious circle?

The first generation of AIs learned from human-created information. After those generative AI models slipped out of the labs, AI-generated content has started leaching into the internet and into the training corpus of the next generation. Some imagine that this will lead to marvelous leaps of insight. I tend to think of the feedback that comes from putting a microphone too close to the amplifier.

How high will AI fly?

Some pundits see AI as overhyped, like Pets.com before the crash. Others see it like Amazon in the early days. The early days of any discovery are always filled with speculation and AI is no different. Some say that Microsoft will outstrip Apple based on its deep investment in the technology. Others see nothing but disappointment awaiting the big dreams. Time for another box of popcorn. See you next year.

Infoworld · by Peter Wayner · February 28, 2024

How to use Excel Copilot AI assistant to simplify complex spreadsheet tasks

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 04:06:27 GMT

Microsoft has recently introduced a new feature in Excel that is set to change the way we interact with spreadsheets.

Microsoft has recently introduced a new feature in Excel that is set to change the way we interact with spreadsheets. This feature, known as Copilot, is an artificial intelligence (AI) tool and assistant that integrates seamlessly into Excel, offering users a more intuitive and efficient way to manage their data. As technology continues to advance, tools like Copilot are indicative of the direction in which software solutions are heading, aiming to make complex tasks more accessible to a broader audience.

To take advantage of Copilot’s full potential, users must have a Microsoft 365 subscription. The Copilot Pro subscription, in particular, unlocks a suite of advanced features designed to enhance productivity. It’s important to note that Copilot is not a standalone application; it works best when files are stored in OneDrive or SharePoint. Additionally, users must format their data into tables before Copilot’s algorithms can be applied effectively.

Microsoft 365

Copilot is integrated into Microsoft 365 in two ways. It works alongside you, embedded in the Microsoft 365 apps you use every day—Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and more—to unleash creativity, unlock productivity, and uplevel skills. Business Chat works across the LLM, the Microsoft 365 apps, and your data—your calendar, emails, chats, documents, meetings, and contacts—to do things you’ve never been able to do before. You can give it natural language prompts like “tell my team how we updated the product strategy” and it will generate a status update based on the morning’s meetings, emails, and chat threads.

Copilot in Excel

Imagine being able to interact with your data by simply asking for what you need in plain language. Copilot can handle a variety of requests, from calculating unique customer counts to adding profit columns, and from creating pivot tables to generating charts. This AI-driven approach is especially beneficial for those who may not be experts in Excel, as it simplifies the use of the program’s sophisticated features. Here are refuted example prompts you can try in Copilot Excel :

Give a breakdown of the sales by type and channel. Insert a table.
Project the impact of [a variable change] and generate a chart to help visualize.
Model how a change to the growth rate for [variable] would impact my gross margin.

Copilot in Excel works alongside you to help analyze and explore your data. Ask Copilot questions about your data set in natural language, not just formulas. It will reveal correlations, propose what-if scenarios, and suggest new formulas based on your questions – generating models based on the questions that help you explore your data without modifying it. Identify trends, create powerful visualizations, or ask for recommendations to drive different outcomes.

Here are some other articles you may find of interest on the subject of Microsoft Copilot AI assistant :

Getting Started with Excel Copilot

1. Requirements:

A Microsoft 365 subscription, either a family or a personal plan.
An additional subscription to Copilot Pro, granting access to Copilot features across various Microsoft applications including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook, along with benefits like using GPT-4 during peak hours and faster image creation with DALL·E 3.

2. Activation:

Navigate to the designated website, accessible via a link provided in the video description or a card in the video’s top right-hand corner.
Ensure your files are stored in OneDrive or SharePoint as Copilot functions exclusively with cloud-stored files.

Core Features of Excel Copilot

1. Data Analysis and Insights:

Formulas and Calculations: Automatically figure out and apply complex formulas based on natural language prompts, significantly reducing the manual effort required in formula creation.
Data Visualization: Generate charts and graphs to visually represent data, facilitating easier interpretation and presentation.
Highlighting and Sorting: Highlight cells based on specific criteria and sort/filter data seamlessly, enhancing data readability and organization.

2. Efficiency and Productivity Enhancements:

Column Addition: Effortlessly add new columns for calculated data, such as profit margins, by simply prompting Copilot with your requirements.
Data Conversion: Convert data ranges into tables with a single click, leveraging the advantages of Excel tables like banded rows, quick formatting, and easy data manipulation.
Learning and Suggestions: Receive prompt suggestions and sample queries to better engage with Copilot, making the tool accessible to new users and providing inspiration for complex data manipulation tasks.

Practical Applications

1. Simplifying Complex Tasks:

Excel Copilot can intuitively understand and execute complex data queries, such as identifying the number of unique customers or calculating total sales per customer, using natural language prompts. This significantly lowers the barrier for performing sophisticated data analysis.

2. Enhancing Data Presentation:

The ability to quickly generate and customize charts based on specific data points or trends allows users to present their data in a more impactful manner. Although some customizations may require manual adjustments, Copilot significantly accelerates the initial creation process.

3. Streamlining Data Management:

By automating the process of highlighting significant data points, such as high-value transactions, and performing conditional formatting, Copilot aids in quickly identifying key insights within large datasets.

4. Facilitating Advanced Analysis:

Copilot can handle requests to analyze data for seasonal trends or outliers, enabling users to identify patterns that may not be immediately apparent through traditional analysis methods.

Limitations and Considerations

While Excel Copilot heralds a new era of data interaction within Excel, it’s important to recognize its current limitations, such as the inability to perform certain customizations directly through AI prompts. Currently, it cannot change chart colors directly, and some power users might notice that its response times are slower than performing tasks manually. Additionally, the tool’s effectiveness is pendant upon clear and precise user prompts, and there may be a learning curve in formulating queries that yield desired outcomes. Despite these initial challenges, the future of Copilot looks promising. It is expected to continue improving and become an indispensable tool for Excel users of all skill levels.

Microsoft Copilot represents more than just a new feature in Excel; it is a step towards making data analysis more democratic and less daunting for users who may not have extensive experience with spreadsheets. As we continue to embrace technological advancements, Copilot is poised to play a significant role in reshaping our interactions with Excel and data management as a whole.

Filed Under: Guides , Top News

Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals

Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy .

geeky-gadgets.com · by Julian Horsey · February 21, 2024

SMART Goals May Be Holding You Back

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 04:02:22 GMT

Everyone can set goals, right? Just think about what you want to achieve, give yourself a timeframe, and make that your goal. What's so difficult about it?!

Well, let's look at the stats for a moment. I'm writing this article in February, and according to the research, only 36% will have made it this far with their New Year's resolutions. Twenty-three percent will have given up in the first week!

And those who actually keep their New Year's resolutions ? Just 9%. So, do you think these people are actually good at setting goals?

What is wrong with traditional goal setting?

If you were to Google how to set goals, it will most likely tell you to create SMART goals .

For those who don't know, SMART means:

S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Relevant
T – Time-bound

While this is a great framework to start with, it has some limitations.

First of all, the T (time-bound) is the one I have the biggest issue with. It's definitely necessary to set deadlines sometimes so that you stay on track and keep momentum. However, this added pressure can cause some people to cut corners or slack on the quality. Therefore, things are not done properly and the goal is not really achieved.

The problem is that this deadline is often arbitrary. Where did you come up with this date from? Is it actually relevant?

This is the same with A (achievable). What counts as achievable? And if you set your bar too low, you're not really pushing yourself, so then what's the point?

The problem with a lot of goal setting is that you're not basing your goals on the right things.

Find your WHY

The reason why many people fail in their goals is because they haven't chosen them for the right reasons. Usually, they've based it on something they've seen on social media or something their friends are talking about.

As an entrepreneur, you take a look at what other business owners are doing in your industry, and you can't help but think that you need to be doing something similar. Your biggest competitor has announced that they're writing a book — you MUST write one too! Let's add that to your goals. It MUST be done this year too.

But for some reason, you just cannot motivate yourself to get the writing done. You prioritize everything else ahead of it. This is because the motivation for this goal is not intrinsic .

If you've not yet seen Dan Pink's TED talk on motivation, then now is probably a good time to do so!

Your motivation to achieve your goal has to come from within — it's your passion, your true desire. If you're extrinsically motivated by money, fame or social validation, this will be very short-lived motivation.

Simon Sinek has always told us to "start with why," and this also applies here. Understand why you want to achieve this goal, and why now? If you get to the root of what's driving you, you can tap into that and make sure it's for the right reasons. You are more likely to achieve your goals if you are motivated by the right things.

The right way to set goals

When speaking to successful entrepreneurs who regularly achieve their goals, it's clear that they don't just pick lofty things that they want to achieve and try to achieve them. Instead, they see their goals as an identity change and change their habits and lifestyles to match those of someone who would smash those goals.

For example, if you want to lose weight, instead of telling yourself that you're on a diet and cannot eat certain things or that you must go to the gym, you tell yourself that you're already a healthy person.

Healthy people don't eat lots of cake. Healthy people regularly go to the gym, even if for a short while. Healthy people don't drink lots of alcohol.

If you "become" a healthy person, you create healthier habits that essentially change who you are as a person. The goal of losing weight will be a natural by-product of the behavioral change.

My goal-setting system

Since acronyms seem to go down well, I created my own acronym for setting goals that work on creating a more lasting effect. My goal-setting technique is called SHAPING:

Start small:

Don't try to do too much at once. If you want to write a book, don't say you're going to write for two hours per day. Start with 100 words per day and build it up.

Habit formation:

Following on from starting small, you need to create habits to help you achieve your goals. So, those 100 words a day will be written every single day. Show up on days even when you don't feel like it. This is how habits form.

Accountability:

Tell someone your goals. By creating accountability for yourself, you're more likely to achieve them. Use this accountability partner to also help encourage you to stick to your habits.

Personalize:

Don't copy trends of what others are doing. Just because it works for them does not mean it will work for you. Personalize your methods to suit your lifestyle.

Intrinsic motivation:

Find out what really fuels you. If you understand your true "why" — what comes from within — then you can pick goals accordingly and you will be motivated by the right things.

No:

Learning to say this simple word can be extremely difficult, but it's the most powerful thing you can do. Say NO to anything that doesn't help you achieve your goal.

Gamification:

Adding a bit of competitive edge to your goal setting can help wonders. Track calories, expenses, or keep a habit tracker. Give yourself rewards at milestones. If you can see the progress, it will keep you going!

Try SHAPING your goals instead of making them SMART, and see if it makes a difference to your results.

Entrepreneur · by Sabrina Chevannes · February 21, 2024

Spend the summer doing what you love

test@looka.com — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 08:01:53 GMT

The new season is a great reason to make and keep resolutions. Whether it’s eating right or cleaning out the garage, here are some tips for making and keeping resolutions.

Make a list

Lists are great ways to stay on track. Write down some big things you want to accomplish and some smaller things, too.

Check the list regularly

Don’t forget to check in and see how you’re doing. Just because you don’t achieve the big goals right away doesn’t mean you’re not making progress.

Reward yourself

When you succeed in achieving a goal, be it a big one or a small one, make sure to pat yourself on the back.

Think positively

Positive thinking is a major factor in success. So instead of mulling over things that didn’t go quite right, remind yourself of things that did.

Keep in touch with site visitors and boost loyalty

test@looka.com — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 11:12:42 GMT

There are so many good reasons to communicate with site visitors. Tell them about sales and new products or update them with tips and information.

Here are some reasons to make blogging part of your regular routine.

Blogging is an easy way to engage with site visitors

Writing a blog post is easy once you get the hang of it. Posts don’t need to be long or complicated. Just write about what you know, and do your best to write well.

Show customers your personality

When you write a blog post, you can really let your personality shine through. This can be a great tool for showing your distinct personality.

Blogging is a terrific form of communication

Blogs are a great communication tool. They tend to be longer than social media posts, which gives you plenty of space for sharing insights, handy tips and more.

It’s a great way to support and boost SEO

Search engines like sites that regularly post fresh content, and a blog is a great way of doing this. With relevant metadata for every post so search engines can find your content.

Drive traffic to your site

Every time you add a new post, people who have subscribed to it will have a reason to come back to your site. If the post is a good read, they’ll share it with others, bringing even more traffic!

Blogging is free

Maintaining a blog on your site is absolutely free. You can hire bloggers if you like or assign regularly blogging tasks to everyone in your company.

A natural way to build your brand

A blog is a wonderful way to build your brand’s distinct voice. Write about issues that are related to your industry and your customers.

Tips for writing great posts that increase your site traffic

test@looka.com — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 11:12:42 GMT

Write about something you know. If you don’t know much about a specific topic that will interest your readers, invite an expert to write about it.

Speak to your audience

You know your audience better than anyone else, so keep them in mind as you write your blog posts. Write about things they care about. If you have a company Facebook page, look here to find topics to write about

Take a few moments to plan your post

Once you have a great idea for a post, write the first draft. Some people like to start with the title and then work on the paragraphs. Other people like to start with subtitles and go from there. Choose the method that works for you.

Don’t forget to add images

Be sure to include a few high-quality images in your blog. Images break up the text and make it more readable. They can also convey emotions or ideas that are hard to put into words.

Edit carefully before posting

Once you’re happy with the text, put it aside for a day or two, and then re-read it. You’ll probably find a few things you want to add, and a couple more that you want to remove. Have a friend or colleague look it over to make sure there are no mistakes. When your post is error-free, set it up in your blog and publish.