Your Tech Story

News

API

Twitter to start charging developers for API access

Twitter will stop providing free access to the Twitter API on February 9 and instead will release a paid version as the mini-blogging platform owned by Elon Musk tries new ways to profit from the platform.

The Twitter Developer account announced in several tweets that the company will be discontinuing assistance for both the legacy v1.1 as well as the latest v2 Twitter APIs. It did not say how much it intends to begin charging for API usage right away.

API
Image Source: cnbc.com

The change comes after Twitter suddenly changed the conditions of its API over the past weeks, the API seems to have been used by many famous Twitter service users, including Tweetbot and Twitterrific. The majority of third-party Twitter applications have discontinued their mobile apps.

Twitter data are among the world’s most powerful data sets. We’re committed to enabling fast & comprehensive access so you can continue to build with us,” the Twitter Dev account said Thursday. “Over the years, hundreds of millions of people have sent over a trillion Tweets, with billions more every week.”

Source: techcrunch.com

In light of recent modifications which saw Twitter shutter third-party customers, several other application developers became wary of how they progressed development atop the Twitter API. This new change may force some devs to give up their brands or pass the expense on to their consumers.

Also Read: Why major advertisers are leaving Twitter?

Large numbers of developers use the Twitter API for a variety of purposes, including monitoring Twitter accounts and providing alerts. These are enjoyable side projects for those who are unwilling to pay service charges for something which they are not monetizing.

Then there’s yet another type of Twitter API user, the researchers. Twitter’s latest revelation could have an influence on research in a wide range of sectors, such as hateful speech and online harassment.

Academic institutions frequently use Twitter to understand human behavior in various regions. Limiting free API usage could also deter companies from developing methods to detect the dissemination of false information on Twitter.

Ever since its founding, Twitter has had an odd relationship with developers. But, even though there was an inconvenience, both parties benefitted from the relationship.

Also Read: What Does Twitter 200 Million User Email Leak Actually Mean?

Third-party companies were frequently the ones releasing new services and features for Twitter, and the social media platform helped by not charging people for API usage.

Twitter has even aimed to improve relationships with developers in recent times by introducing new programs such as the Twitter toolkit for app discovery. Several of these initiatives have been halted under the new administration.

mixed-reality platform

Samsung, Google & Qualcomm team up on mixed-reality platform

The newest tech behemoth to embrace augmented and virtual reality is Samsung. The smartphone manufacturer claims that it will collaborate with Qualcomm and Google on a future mixed-reality platform.

The information was released on Wednesday during Samsung’s Unpacked event and comes after rumors that Apple may launch the first ever-virtual reality headset this year. Hiroshi Lockheimer, SVP of Android at Google, and Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm, both took the stage to jointly announce the partnership.

mixed-reality platform
Image Source: techweekmag.com

No specific products were mentioned by Samsung as being under development. Additionally, it didn’t offer a release date for any planned mixed-reality services or products.

Technology that combines the traits of augmented and virtual reality is referred to as mixed reality. Similar to Google Glass, augmented reality combines software and the physical world by superimposing graphics on the user’s surroundings.

Also Read: The iPhone may get a microLED display. What does that mean?

In contrast, virtual reality technologies like the Meta Quest 2 immerse the user in a 360-degree virtual environment. Passthrough cameras, a method that enables AR and virtual reality technologies to merge into one product line, are helping a new generation of VR headsets advance mixed reality, nevertheless.

This is possible with the Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets from Meta and the future Vive XR Elite. The identical idea should be used in Apple’s anticipated headset.

The development arrives at a time when virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality platform are receiving more attention. According to Bloomberg, Apple is planning to unveil a mixed-reality headgear in 2023 that might cost $3,000 or more.

Google unveiled a new pair of AR glasses at Google I/O last year with a focus on language translation, and Sony’s PlayStation VR 2 and HTC’s Vive XR Elite are both set to debut this month. Before the year is out, Meta’s Quest 3 will be released.

With the exception of the Gear VR device, which it released in multiple incarnations between 2015 and 2017, Samsung has been very quiet regarding virtual reality.

Given that Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm already collaborate to develop smartphones, the alliance makes logical. Samsung creates the physical components of its Galaxy devices, while Qualcomm provides the processor and Google is in charge of the Android operating system’s supporting software.

Also Read: Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 2023 Event: What to expect?

Since many of the leading VR and AR headsets use Qualcomm chips, the company has been driving the development of phone-compatible AR and VR headsets for many years. Additionally, Qualcomm is working with Meta on upcoming smartphones and Microsoft on the hardware for its next augmented reality glasses. It’s unclear if this new partnership will work with Qualcomm’s current Snapdragon Spaces technology for phones and headsets.

Samsung unveiled its plans for mixed reality alongside the release of its latest Galaxy Book and Galaxy S23 smartphone range. The new range, which comes in three versions—standard, Plus, and Ultra—offers a number of enhancements and is currently up for preorder.

chatGPT

ChatGPT creator made a free tool for detecting AI-generated text

The firm behind the renowned ChatGPT, OpenAI, has launched free software, that it claims can differentiate between text written by humans & text created by AIs. In a press statement, it warns that the classifier is not yet fully reliable.

So, we should not use it as a main decision-making tool. As per OpenAI, it can be useful in determining whether an individual is intending to pass off the obtained text as human-written text.

ChatGPT
Image Source: thejakartapost.com

The tool which is known as a classifier is easy to use, but you require a free OpenAI account to begin using it. Simply insert text into a box, press a button, and it will show you if the content is very unlikely, unlikely, unclear if it is, possibly, or likely generated by AI.

Also Read: China’s Baidu to launch ChatGPT-style bot in March

In its press release, OpenAI says it trained the model powering the tool using “pairs of human-written text and AI-written text on the same topic.”

Source: theverge.com

However, It includes a variety of concerns regarding how to use the tool. The firm stated some drawbacks above the text box:

A requirement of a minimum of 1,000 characters, or roughly 150-250 words, is placed.

The classifier may not always be correct; it can classify both AI-generated as well as human-written text incorrectly.

AI-generated content can be easily edited to avoid detection by the classifier.

Since it was trained mainly on English text written by grownups, the classifier is susceptible to errors when reading text written by kids or text written in a language other than English.

The firm also claims that it will occasionally imprecisely but confidently Identify human-written content as AI, particularly if it deviates greatly from any of the training data. It emphasizes that the classifier is currently a work in progress.

Also Read: BuzzFeed will use ChatGPT bots instead of writers

OpenAI is not the first to create a tool that could detect ChatGPT-created text. Some websites such as GPTZero, created by a student named Edward Tian to identify AI plagiarism, appeared nearly quickly after the chatbot hit the internet.

One area where OpenAI is concentrating its efforts with this detection technology is education.

According to the press release, identifying AI-generated text has been a main concern among educators, as education systems have reacted to ChatGPT by prohibiting or embracing it. According to the firm, it is interacting with educators in the United States to learn what they perceive from ChatGPT in their schools and is asking for feedback from anybody associated with education.

facebook

Facebook Bug Allows 2FA Bypass Via Instagram

A flaw in Meta’s latest centralized system for users to maintain their Facebook and Instagram account logins might have permitted cybercriminals to disable a user account’s two-factor authentication merely by knowing one‘s mobile number.

facebook
Image Source: technologistan.pk

Gtm Mänôz who is a Nepalese security researcher discovered that Meta did not impose a limit on how many attempts whenever a user inputs the two-factor code utilized to log into one‘s accounts on the latest Meta Accounts Center, which allows users to connect all of their Meta accounts, which include Instagram and Facebook accounts.

A hacker would access the centralized accounts center, enter the victim’s mobile number, connect that phone number to their own Fb or Instagram account, and afterward using brute force can guess the two-factor authentication code. This was the most important step since there was no constraint to how many tries somebody could make.

Also Read: Why major advertisers are leaving Twitter?

When the attacker correctly entered the code, the victim’s phone number was connected to the hacker’s Facebook account. A successful attack still would lead to Meta sending a notification to the victim stating that their two-factor authentication had been disabled because their phone number had been linked to a different account.

Basically the highest impact here was revoking anyone’s SMS-based 2FA just knowing the phone number,” Mänôz told TechCrunch.

Source: techcrunch.com

Provided that the target no longer had two-factor activated, a hacker might possibly attempt to obtain the victim’s Facebook account simply by spoofing the password.

Also Read: Will the metaverse be good for society?

Last year, Mänôz discovered the flaw in the Meta Accounts Center & revealed the issue to the firm in mid-September. A few days back, Meta resolved the bug and provided 27,200 USD to Mänôz for disclosing it.

“If the phone number was fully confirmed and 2FA enabled in Facebook, then the 2FA will be turned off or disabled from victim’s account,” Mänôz wrote. “And, if the phone number was partially confirmed (that means only used for 2FA), it will revoke the 2FA, and also the phone number will be removed from [the] victim’s account.”

Source: darkreading.com

According to Meta spokesperson Gabby Curtis, the login system was still in the early stages of a limited public test at the time of the flaw. Curtis also stated that once the bug was revealed, Meta carried out an investigation and discovered no indications of mistreatment in the wild, as well as no sudden increase in the utilization of that particular function, indicating that nobody was misusing it.

Baidu

China’s Baidu to launch ChatGPT-style bot in March

As per a person with knowledge of the matter, Baidu is preparing to launch an artificial intelligence chatbot system similar to ChatGPT by OpenAI, possibly becoming China’s greatest influential entrance in a race sparked by the tech trend.

According to the person who requested anonymity to describe personal information, China’s biggest search engine firm plans to launch a ChatGPT-style software in March, at first incorporating it within its primary search services. The unnamed tool will provide users with chat-style search results similar to OpenAI’s popular service.

Baidu
Image Source: tribune.com.pk

Baidu has invested billions of dollars in artificial intelligence research in a multi-year attempt to transform from internet advertising to profound technology.

According to the source, the Ernie system is a big-scale machine-learning framework that has been specialized in data for several years. It will serve as the foundation for its impending ChatGPT-like tool. A delegate for Baidu declined to answer questions.

Also Read: BuzzFeed will use ChatGPT bots instead of writers

Since its public debut in November, ChatGPT which is the OpenAI’s artificial intelligence software has captured the internet, accumulating over a million users in days as well as sparking a debate about the importance of AI in schools, offices, and homes.

Firms such as Microsoft are putting in billions of dollars to try to develop practical applications, while others are using a lot of buzz to obtain financing. Buzzfeed’s stock massively increased this month just after the company unveiled its plans to include ChatGPT within its content.

Baidu, Tencent Holdings, Alibaba Group Holding, and ByteDance control a large portion of the Chinese internet. The search company has been attempting to resurrect progress in the mobile world, after falling behind its larger competitors in areas such as mobile advertising, video, as well as social media. Aside from AI research, Google is now working on technology for autonomous driving.

Also Read: Quora introduces Poe, a way to talk to AI chatbots like ChatGPT

ChatGPT caught the attention of Chinese online consumers, who, like others, disclosed screenshots of unexpected discussions with the Artificial Intelligence bot on local social networking sites.

Even after a highly censored residential internet which is largely disconnected from the remaining of the world, businesses like Baidu have thrived as native alternatives to Google, Amazon, as well as Facebook.

Aside from Baidu, many Chinese start-ups are experimenting with generative Artificial Intelligence and have captivated shareholders including Sequoia & Sinovation Ventures.

BuzzFeed

BuzzFeed will use ChatGPT bots instead of writers

Based on a memo sent out to staff by Cheif executive officer, Jonah Peretti & answers provided to The Verge, BuzzFeed will be using Artificial intelligence technology provided by ChatGPT maker OpenAI to strengthen and “personalize” the data.

Jonah Peretti claims in the document that AI will be among two significant developments establishing the future of digital media and the other being creators.

BuzzFeed
Image Source: nytimes.com

So, as per Peretti, BuzzFeed’s AI-influenced content will debut on the site in 2023 which will be improving the trivia experience, guide our pondering, and customize our information for the public. The Wall Street Journal broke the story about the memo.

“Our industry will expand beyond AI-powered curation (feeds), to AI-powered creation (content),” says Peretti. “AI opens up a new era of creativity, where creative humans like us play a key role in providing the ideas, cultural currency, inspired prompts, IP, and formats that come to life using the newest technologies.”

Source: theverge.com

AI could be utilized to create customized rom-com pitches for readers, according to one example cited by the Wall Street Journal but not mentioned in the memo. They would indeed be asked a variety of questions, along with private details such as naming an alluring flaw or picking a favorite rom-com trope, and the results would be universally accessible.

In the memo, Peretti stated that he’ll share a sneak peek of the material he’ll be introducing in February at an all-hands gathering later.

Also Read: Chrome Adds Fingerprint Unlock to Incognito Tabs on Android

When questioned if BuzzFeed was thinking about the use of AI in its news department, the firm’s, Matt Mittenthal, VP of communications, denied it and said they will be using OpenAI for sure.

The escalating ability of AI-based tools such as ChatGPT to compose prose has created the technology, appealing to media companies suffering from declining advertising rates. BuzzFeed, in specific, has experienced a bumpy market ride until coming out publicly in December 2021.

By June 2022, the firm’s stock price already had dropped 40 percent and has continued to drop since. Following the announcement, that BuzzFeed will use AI to create content, the company’s stock price had increased well over % at the moment of writing.