[Free] Weekly News - 1/15/23

In this newsletter, we will cover, a ton of ChatGPT news, Royal Mail's ransomware attack, Sam Bankman-Fried's secret backdoor, and more.

Nicholas Fasching

Jan 15, 2023 • 14 min read

Image Generated by AI Using Prompt: an astronaut lounging in a tropical resort on the ISS in space, vaporwave

✋

Please read this first! I spend hours a week collecting articles and writing these newsletters. This week I am providing the newsletter for free. A pro membership is only $5 a month and it gives this newsletter with a comprehensive list of all the most important things that happened in tech the past week. Sorry for interrupting, ON WITH THE NEWSLETTER!

Artificial Inteligence (AI)

CNET Has Been Publishing AI-Written Articles for Months

Popular journaling platform CNET has been quietly publishing articles written by ChatGPT since November. CNET says the articles were "generated by automation technology" and have been "thoroughly edited and fact-checked" by their staff before publishing.

VALL-E by Microsoft Can Replicate Any Voice in Seconds

On Thursday, Microsoft researchers announced their new AI dubbed VALL-E. VALL-E just needs 3 seconds of voice recording to synthesize audio of a person saying anything while retaining their emotional tone. This reminds me of my favorite Descript feature, Overdub, which allows you to correct speaking mistakes by using an AI-generated version of your voice.

OpenAI's ChatGPT is Testing a Paid Version

OpenAI is testing a paid version of ChatGPT for professional use. ChatGPT Professional would provide 24/7 availability with "as many messages as you need". It costs OpenAI a few cents per message and they can't keep it free forever (I alone probably have cost them over $5), however, it seems a more limited free version would still be available alongside the premium version. The pricing is yet to be decided, but you can sign up for the ChatGPT Professional waitlist to test this "early experimental" program.

Mobile App Stores are Filled with Fake ChatGPT Apps

Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store are filled with fake, manipulative ChatGPT apps. These apps act as a "wrapper" for ChatGPT in a mobile app. These apps trick users by "offering" a limited, ad-filled version of the ChatGPT and asking users to pay $50 A MONTH for unlimited access. Keep in mind, OpenAI doesn't make a ChatGPT app and ChatGPT is completely free (with no limitations and no ads) on its website. These apps are being actively removed, but one app already got over 100,000 downloads. (I guess my $5/month newsletter doesn't seem so bad 😉)

College Student App Can Detect if AI Created an Essay

A college student at Princeton University has created an app that can detect whether a human or AI wrote some text. GPTZero can pretty accurately detect AI writing using measures such as "perplexity" and "burstiness". I gave ChatGPT the explicit goal to trick GPTZero, but GPTZero still detected it. It is quite cool and can especially be used by educators to prevent cheating. You can play around with it using the public GPTZero Classic version.

Security

ChatGPT is Being Used to Generate Dangerous Malware

Newbie hackers have been using ChatGPT to write fairly complex malicious code. This means malicious software can be created faster than ever, even by inexperienced hackers, meaning current security measures have to keep up.

Norton Password Manager Suffers Attack

NortonLifeLock is warning its customers about a credential-stuffing attack that was used against its password manager. This means that someone tried to brute force user passwords, not that Norton's systems were compromised. However, NortonLifeLock still believed an unauthorized party had access to many accounts. On Saturday, a spokesperson said they secured 925,000 accounts they believed may have been victims of this attack.

Royal Mail Suffers Russia-Linked Ransomware Attack

Royal Mail's overseas deliveries have had a severe disruption due to a Russia-linked ransomware attack. This ransomware software is called "LockBit" and it has encrypted Royal Mail's data while threatening to publicly release it. This is a big deal because Royal Mail is critical to the UK's economy.

Guardian Confirms Ransomware Attack Stole Employee Data

Three weeks ago, the British newspaper "The Guardian" was hit by a ransomware attack. We now know that the attacker accessed the personal details of UK staff members, of which there are about 1,350.

Apple

New Apple Ad Demos iPhone 14 Action Mode and iOS 16 Undo Send

Apple has released 2 new pretty comical ads for its newest phone and operating system. The first features Apple's new undo send feature in iOS 16.

The second features Apple's new iPhone 14 Action Mode with a proud mom recording her son in a race.

Tim Cook Gets 40% Pay Cut, At His Own Request

After some criticism from shareholders, Apple's CEO Tim Cook decided he wanted to take a pay cut this year. Apple's compensation committee decided he will get $49 million this year, down from a target of $84 million last year, totaling about a 40% pay cut.

Apple Brings 3 Apps to Windows 11

For over 3 years, iTunes remained the go-to place for Apple on Windows after its discontinuation on macOS in 2019. Now, Apple is releasing 3 new apps (only for Windows 11) to replace iTunes. Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Devices. However, if you use podcasts or audiobooks, you should continue to use iTunes as Apple hasn't released updated versions for these on Windows (yet).

Apple Maps Gets New Changes

This week, Apple has made 2 significant changes to Apple Maps. The first is an integration with SpotHero that provides parking information for over 8,000 locations with the ability to purchase parking.

The second is called Business Connect. Business Connect allows stores and companies to customize the information that appears when tapping on a location in Apple Maps.

Apple Ruled to Have Infringed Masimo's Pulse Oximeter Patent

In mid-2021, medical technology company Masimo sued Apple for the Apple Watch's blood oxygen sensor. Masimo claimed Apple infringed on 5 of its patents and this week, the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled Apple indeed broke 1 (but not the other 4). The ITC is now deciding whether to impose an import ban on all Apple watches with this feature (Apple Watch 6-8 and Apple Watch SE).

Seattle Public Schools is suing the owners of YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook for "exploit[ing] the neurophysiology" of kids and causing "a youth mental health crisis." Seattle Public Schools claim social media networks profit off of young users (under 13), provide a platform for cyberbullying, and cause mental health issues.

TikTok is Being Banned Across Many State Government Devices

After the House of Representatives ban of TikTok on government devices in the US, many states are following suit. New Jersey, Ohio, Wisconsin, and North Carolina are the latest states to ban TikTok on government devices. These states have also banned many other Chinese companies including Huawei, Hikvision, Tencent, ZTE Corp, and Kaspersky Lab.

Elon Musk

Tesla is Cutting the Price of Their EVs by Thousands of Dollars

In an attempt to recover from a rapidly declining stock and missing its annual production goal, Tesla is cutting the price of its vehicles by up to 20%. Tesla's cheapest model–the Model 3 RWD–dropped to $43,990, a $3,000 savings. Tesla's Model S Plaid is now $21,000 cheaper. Those who bought a Tesla in hopes of selling it at a higher price are going to be pretty disappointed.

Space

First UK Space Flight Ends in Failure

Before Monday, the United Kingdom was excited to go to space, but that excitement has soured. Virgin Orbit's historic "Start Me Up" mission planned to bring the UK to space on January 9th ended in failure due to an "anomaly." This anomaly caused the first burn of the second stage to end prematurely, but we still don't know why. The rocket didn't reach orbit and fell back to Earth. Some analysts believe Virgin Orbit will run out of money in March.

Russia is Going to Send Up a Replacement Soyuz

A few weeks ago, the Russian Soyuz module aboard the ISS started to leak coolant uncontrollably. There were no immediate threats, but the module was the only way to get back to Earth. Technically, the module could fly and be used in emergencies, but the lack of coolant could lead to deadly temperatures on the return to Earth. Officials from NASA and Roscosmos said a replacement Soyuz spacecraft would be sent to the ISS and the damaged Soyuz would autonomously fly back to Earth.

James Webb Telescope Reveals Exoplanet

The James Webb Telescope for the first time ever discovered an exoplanet. The planet is barely smaller than Earth but more still remains to know about it. The planet is a few hundred degrees warmer than Earth. This discovery means that the James Webb Telescope could help us discover more planets, potentially suitable for life.

BMW Recalls 14,000 EVs

BMW has identified some battery-management software issues in some of its EVs. BMW is recalling 14,086 EVs that possibly have this issue, but it believes only 1% of those cars would be affected.

Microsoft

Microsoft Considers Buying 49% Stake in OpenAI

Microsoft is considering buying a 49% stake in OpenAI, one of the hottest companies in Silicon Valley right now. Microsoft would invest $10 billion and get 75% of OpenAI's revenue until Microsoft makes back its money, then Microsoft would keep a 49% ownership of OpenAI. This is not surprising as Microsoft wants to integrate OpenAI's software into its own and Microsoft's subsidiary company GitHub has closely partnered with OpenAI before to create GitHub Copilot.

Microsoft Ends Windows 7 & 8 Security Updates

On Tuesday, Microsoft officially said goodbye to Windows 7 and Windows 8. These influential operating systems will no longer get "extended security support" indicating Microsoft is moving on. To those who loved Windows 7 and dreaded Windows 8, it's time to move on.

Xboxes Will Automatically Switch to Energy-Saving Feature in Future Update

"For every 2 consoles that switch to Shutdown (energy saving) for one year, we will save the equivalent amount of carbon removed by 1 tree planted and grown for a decade." — Source: Xbox

Microsoft is rolling out an update soon (already for beta testers) that will automatically switch your Xbox to "Shutdown (energy saving)" mode instead of the power-hungry "Sleep (Instant On)" mode. Is that instant-on really worth wasting 1 tree grown for a decade every year?

Blockchain

After losing the entirety of his fortune and potentially facing 115 years in prison, Sam Bankman-Fried has decided to start a Substack newsletter. In other news, SBF's "secret" backdoor was found. SBF instructed his FTX co-founder to create a backdoor that would allow his trading firm Alameda to borrow up to $65 billion of FTX's client money without permission. Alameda used FTX's customer's money for luxury purchases like planes, parties, and political donations.

Planes

Flights All Across the US Went Down Due to FAA Issue

On Wednesday, planes across the entirety of the US were grounded for 2 hours due to a damaged database file in the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating what caused this and says there is no sign of a cyberattack. Some point out the root cause of this issue is just the old tech infrastructure with little funding and unnecessary complexity.

Google Meet Gets Emoji Reactions

It has been almost 2 years since announced, but Google has finally started releasing emoji reactions to Google Meet. This allows a non-disruptive way to simply voice your opinion or reaction to something.

Own Your Data

This is not really news, but more of a tip. If you want to own the data a company has about you, you can use Own Your Data to easily send GDPR, CCPA, and LGPD data requests.

LG Recalls 52,000 TVs Due to "Serious" Tipping Hazard

LG Electronics is recalling four models of its 86-inch 4k TVs totaling 52,000 TVs due to a "serious tip-over" hazard. The TVs themselves aren't defective, but when these 100-pound TVs' stands are improperly installed, they can tip over and injure or even kill children.

And That's It!

As always, you have reached the end of this newsletter. I hope you enjoyed it and consider paying for these newsletters as I work hard on them. If you have concerns please email me at [email protected] and I would be happy to help. Anyways, have a great week!