Welcome to Verses Over Variables, a newsletter exploring the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and its influence on our society, culture, and our perception of reality.

Some of Our Favorite Tools

Perplexity: Search, Reimagined

What it is: Step aside, Google. There's a new search engine in town, and it's powered by artificial intelligence. Perplexity is more than just a search engine; it's a conversational interface that harnesses the power of multiple AI models, allowing users to choose their favorite model for their searches. What sets Perplexity apart is its guided search and extensive functionality.

When we say guided search, we mean that Perplexity doesn't just provide a list of blue links. Instead, it offers a comprehensive guide to its results, complete with annotated sources, follow-up questions, and related images and videos. No more worrying about the accuracy of the information or the need to perform additional searches. Perplexity makes it easy to verify the information by providing clickable citations. And the results? They're formatted in a user-friendly way, often with bullet points, insights, and conclusions tailored to your specific needs.

But Perplexity doesn't stop there. It's packed with features that make it a researcher's dream. Collections allow you to organize your searches into related ideas and share them with others. Pages are as a Wikipedia-style in-depth guide on a topic, complete with various media. And Knowledge Cards let you save and share charts and visualizations that automatically update with real-time data.

How we use it: Perplexity has become our go-to research tool, effectively replacing Google as our primary search engine. When we need to discover information and ensure its accuracy and citability, nothing beats Perplexity. We've also leveraged their tools to create our own, streamlining repetitive research tasks and formatting the results exactly how we want them.

Claude: AI Wordsmith

What it is: Like ChatGPT, Claude(built by Anthropic) is designed to generate natural, human-like responses. But what sets Claude apart is its unparalleled writing ability and capacity to process vast amounts of information simultaneously. With a context window of 200,000 words—equivalent to the length of Herman Melville's epic novel, Moby Dick—Claude can easily handle an entire novel upload and engage in a thoughtful discussion about it without breaking a sweat.

How we use it: We've found Claude to be an invaluable asset for our writing needs. Its ability to rewrite our musings in different tones has been a game-changer, allowing us to adapt our content to suit various audiences and platforms quickly. Whether we need a formal, academic tone or a more casual, conversational style, Claude delivers with ease.

We’ll be talking about our favorite tools each week but here is a list of what tools we use most for productivity: ChatGPT 4o (custom GPTs), Midjourney (image creation), Perplexity (for research), Descript (for video, transcripts), Claude (for writing), Adobe (for design), Miro (whiteboarding insights), and Zoom (meeting transcripts, insights, and skip ahead in videos).

Intriguing Stories

Right to Warn: Last week, OpenAI found itself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, as CEO-related issues dominated the headlines. But the bad news didn't stop there. As soon as the company's non-disparagement clauses expired, former employees wasted no time voicing their concerns about AI safety to the public. In a striking example of this trend, current and former employees from several major AI companies collaborated on an open letter titled "A Right to Warn." The letter calls for stronger whistleblower protections, increased transparency, and greater oversight of AI systems, highlighting the potential manipulation risks. These experts frequently point to the dangers associated with AGI (artificial general intelligence), the point at which AI can act, adapt, improve, and function autonomously—think Jarvis from Iron Man or the Terminator. While some predict we'll reach AGI within the next few years, the risks of operating without proper governance or regulation are immense. Coincidentally (or perhaps as a distraction from the negative press), OpenAI chose this moment to release ChatGPT for non-profits and educational institutions. Whether this move was a genuine attempt to promote the benefits of AI or a calculated PR strategy remains to be seen. As the debate around AI safety and regulation continues to heat up, one thing is clear: the stakes have never been higher. With the rapid advancement of AI technology, we must address these concerns head-on and establish a framework for responsible development and deployment. But if the US Congress has anything to do with it, and Big Tech self-governance is any key, we are doomed.

Chip wars heating up: Jensen Huang, the leather jacket-clad CEO of Nvidia, is having a moment. Not only did his company become the third to hit a staggering $3 trillion market value, but he also reached rock star status when a woman asked him to sign a woman’s chest. (We digress.) But that's not the tech world is buzzing about. Taiwan's annual Computex trade show was all about the chips. While CES may have had its fair share of smart home devices, Computex was a battleground for the next generation of processors. NVIDIA stole the show (and a little bit of AMD’s thunder by pre-empting the opening night keynote) by announcing AI-enabled laptops, digital humans, and humanoid robots, all powered by the new Rubin or next-gen Blackwell processors. The catch? These powerhouses consume twice as much energy as their predecessors. Not to be outdone, AMD and Intel fired back with their own devices designed to handle AI tasks more efficiently. As these new chips prepare to hit the market, data centers already feel the strain of increased capacity demands. But there is an unintended consequence. With the crypto market in flux, some miners have found a new purpose: converting their dedicated mining facilities into AI powerhouses. It seems the crypto crowd has finally found a use case!

Apple’s Next Move: Circle June 10th on your calendar, because Apple’s highly anticipated WWDC event is set to take the tech world by storm. Last year's event brought us the Vision Pro, but unless you have a $4,000 hole burning in your pocket, it's probably already a distant memory. This year, the buzzword is AI, and expectations are sky-high for Apple to integrate it across their entire ecosystem. The big question on everyone's mind is whether Apple will partner with Google, OpenAI, or both to power their devices. Regardless of the chosen ally, one thing is certain: Siri is about to get a major AI boost. (we’re hoping Tim Cook got the memo, and keeps Siri firmly in the friend zone.) Beyond Siri, AI is expected to be deeply integrated into updated operating systems for the iPhone, Apple Watch, and MacBook. While this event is all about software, meaning no shiny new devices to drool over, we can't help but dream of a new iPhone designed to showcase these cutting-edge AI capabilities. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait until September for the AI-powered handset to get our screen fixed.

Artists Revolt: In a move to protect their intellectual property, creatives are taking a stand against AI data mining by abandoning platforms like Instagram (owned by Meta) in favor of apps like Cara. This social media newcomer has seen a massive surge in popularity, jumping from 40,000 to 650,000 users in just one week after its AI-blocking features gained traction. Cara's unique selling point is its strict prohibition of AI scraping, employing innovative tools like Glaze and Nightshade to safeguard user content. Nightshade, in particular, is a defensive software that subtly alters digital pixels to confuse AI models, rendering them useless for training purposes. Meanwhile, Adobe found itself in hot water when users discovered a controversial clause in its updated terms of use. The clause stated that Adobe may access user content "in limited ways, and only as permitted by law," to improve their service. However, the quote was taken out of context, leading some users to believe that Adobe could violate NDAs for content moderation and AI training. While this particular concern was unfounded (we believe), there was a potentially problematic section in the new terms. Adobe granted itself a free license to all user content, similar to other social media platforms. This move was met with fierce opposition from professionals using the platform for paid services, as it effectively stripped them of control over their work. Some high-profile designers were quick to call for the boycott of Adobe. It makes it easy to stay silent, when you have a veritable monopoly.

The Real Enemy: This week, we had the privilege of attending two exceptional virtual AI conferences, and a common thread emerged: knowledge workers are afraid of AI taking their jobs. The mere mention of AI in a conference room raises hackles and conjures visions of cost-cutting and layoffs. However, we left with two insights that might help calm your nerves. First, AI isn't about automation; it's about augmentation. AI is a tool, not a replacement. It will make you more productive, faster, and more efficient. Rather than stealing your job, AI has the potential to enhance your capabilities and streamline your workflows. Second, science fiction writer Ted Chiang offers a thought-provoking perspective: "fears of technology are fears of capitalism." Chiang believes, and we tend to agree, that technological anxieties stem from concerns about corporations using technology to increase profits at the expense of workers, rather than from the technologies themselves. This insight sheds light on the root of our collective unease. It's not the AI itself that we fear, but rather the potential for those in power to exploit it for their own gain, leaving workers vulnerable and disposable. So, the next time you want to throw your phone against the wall or hesitate to adopt a new technology, try to separate the tool from the system in which it operates. As a Swiftie might say, don't hate the player (AI), hate the game (capitalism).

— Lauren Eve Cantor

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banner images created with Midjourney.