Tag Archive for Microsoft

Can You Identify AI Images? Find Out Now!

Can You Identify AI Images? Find Out Now!Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the tech-du jour.  A significant 77% of consumers have already interacted with AI platforms in their daily lives. Nevertheless, when distinguishing between machine-generated images and real ones, only 40% of people are successful. Although some images are straightforward, prepare to be amazed by how realistic AI-generated images can be—or how peculiar real-life photos can appear. To test your AI acumen, Microsoft has designed a quiz. Can you accurately identify AI-generated images from real ones?

Real or Not quiz

SpidermanThe Real or Not quiz features fifteen distinct photos curated by Brad Smith, Microsoft’s Vice Chair and president. To begin with, your task is to determine whether each image is machine-generated or a genuine photograph. Furthermore, the quiz dynamically selects different images for each attempt, allowing you to test your AI senses continually.

My repeated attempts at the quiz yielded no straightforward answers. The BOT’s ability to produce convincing images is impressive. My highest score was 11 out of 15, achieving a commendable 73%. Finally, the results also provide context by comparing your score to other Real or Not participants. You can also include your scores at the bottom of this to see how you score compared to other Bach Seat readers.

Clues to AI

When examining images, watch for subtle clues that reveal whether they are AI-generated or authentic. While the expert AI excels at creating overall authentic scenes, scrutinizing finer details often reveals peculiarities.

AI Yoga Fail Pay attention to:

  • Doors merging.
  • Ladders that lead to nowhere.
  • Heavy machinery that is oddly placed and appears pristine.

Consider the eyes: Are they natural or flat? As for hands, AI still struggles. While improvements have been made, odd-looking fingers persist in AI images. Conversely, complex hand gestures or positions often indicate real photos.

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These Artificial Intelligence-generated images pose a significant threat in political and cultural contexts. Any user can fabricate compromising images of public figures. This underscores the importance of vigilant scrutiny. Those who mindlessly doom scrolling may miss the subtle clues that reveal the true nature of the images they encounter.

Remember, as AI technology continues to evolve, our ability to discern between real and AI-generated content becomes even more critical. Stay curious, stay informed, and always question what you see online. 

Take the Microsoft Artificial Intelligence quiz and post your results here.

View Results

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Ralph Bach has been in IT for a while and has blogged from the Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that has caught my attention since 2005. You can follow me on Facebook or Mastodon. Email the Bach Seat here.

Bill Gates: Broadway Star You Never Knew Existed

Bill Gates: Broadway Star You Never Knew ExistedWho would have thought that the mastermind behind Windows would ever trade coding for choreography? Ernie Smith at Tedium surfaced a video of Microsoft CEO Bill Gates on a Broadway stage. In the fall of 1992, Microsoft spent $2 million to turn Mr. Gates into a Broadway star. The show, “How to Succeed in Business with Workgroup Computing,” opened (and closed) at Broadway’s Gershwin Theater, one of the biggest theaters in New York.

Windows for Workgroups 3.11The show celebrated and promoted Windows for Workgroups. Microsoft released Windows for Workgroups 3.11 in November 1993. It introduced support for 32-bit file access, drive sharing, and group calendaring. It also had built-in fax capabilities.

What’s new in Windows for Workgroups 3.11

Windows for Workgroups 3.11 was the first time Microsoft embraced connectivity on the PC. They added a Winsock package for dial-up connectivity. Winsock is an API that allows Windows network software to access network services, especially TCP/IP. Microsoft later replaced Winsock with a 32-bit stack add-on package that provided TCP/IP support in WFW 3.11. They also increased WFW connectivity with NetWare networks. Microsoft also introduced support for Open Data-Link Interface (ODI) cards and Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) drivers. Additionally, they introduced a Remote access service, allowing users to access their computers remotely.

The commercial play highlights some of the greatest hits of the 1990s: yuppies, dance tunes, the Blues Brothers, 90s clothes, and Bill Gates trying aerobics.

Bill Gates acting debut

miracle of computer networkingAccording to the Washington Post review of the extravaganza. The show cast Gates as a hero computer consultant who saves two employees, Jake and Max, from an impossible deadline. Gates demonstrated the miracle of computer networking to the beleaguered Kitty Carnival Amusement company employees using Windows for Workgroups. One of the actors exclaimed, “We’re not worthy!” in typical “Wayne’s World” fashion. Gates even attempted a dance routine with some performers dressed as the Blues Brothers, resulting in a symphony of misplaced steps and flailing arms. Mr Gates said,

That was so bad, I thought [then Microsoft CEO] Ballmer was going to retch.”

You can watch the entire production on YouTube.

If you don’t want to watch all 62 minutes, here are some links to the best parts:

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Bills Gate’s Broadway debut did not do much for Windows for Workgroups. Microsoft Lore says that the WFW product was called Windows for the warehouse in Redmond. WFW was superseded by Windows NT, which was released while WFW was still available.

Bill’s presence improved, and he is frequently seen on CNBC. Here are some more Gates videos from Wired.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT for a while and has blogged from the Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that has caught my attention since 2005. You can follow me on Facebook. Email the Bach Seat here.

Artificial Intelligence Firms You Should Know

Artificial Intelligence Firms You should KnowOn June 20th, 2024, artificial intelligence darling Nvidia surpassed $3 trillion in market cap. As a result, the chip maker became the most valuable company in the world, beating out Microsoft and Apple. Some are wondering if Nvidia’s current valuation is justified and sustainable. Some are arguing that we’re still just at the beginning of the Generative AI boom. However, others aren’t yet convinced that AI will deliver on the hype that tools like ChatGPT have created.

Generative artificial intelligence

In this context, Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) refers to a trending class of machine learning applications that are able to create new data, including text, images, video, or sounds, based on a large dataset on which it has been trained. Here are some other GenAI firms that could be some alternate firms to check out if NVIDIA is too rich to buy at this level.

Artificial Intelligence vendors

Adobe

Adobe is most famous for its creative software like PhotoShop. However, the company has expanded into artificial intelligence. Adobe planned to acquire Figma in a $20 billion deal announced in September 2022. They called off the deal in December 2023 due to antitrust concerns in Europe. Adobe’s latest image generation model, Firefly 3, announced in April 2024. The model brings a new level of high-quality images and better understanding of prompts given.

  • Key Products: Adobe Sensei, Adobe Firefly, AI Assistant
  • Company value: $200.86 billion

Alphabet (Google)

Google logoGoogle and its parent company Alphabet expanded into artificial intelligence with the formation of its Google AI division in 2017. In 2023, the company announced BARD. The company designed BARD to compete with Microsoft’s integration of ChatGPT into its Bing search engine. The early release was marked by reported internal disapproval of the product. 

  • Key Products: Gemini, Vertex AI, Gemini for Google Workspace
  • Company value: $1.72 trillion

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Amazon Web ServicesKnown for its scalable cloud infrastructure, Amazon has also thrown its virtual hat into artificial intelligence ring. Yet, the e-commerce and cloud giant finds itself playing catch-up in generative AI.

According to Business Insider’s sources, a stealth internal project code-named Metis, is it next step in AI.  “Metis” will be powered by an internal Amazon AI model called Olympus. The latter will power Remarkable Alexa, a new, more capable version of Alexa for a  monthly subscription fee

Metis will reportedly use a technique called retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), according to BI. RAG will enable Metis to retrieve information from beyond the original data used to train the underlying model. This means Metis will offer more up-to-date responses like the latest stock prices or medical reaserach, while other chatbots still produce inaccurate or outdated information.

AWS offers a suite of AI services, including GenAI models for text, speech and image processing.

  • Key Products: Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Q, Amazon CodeWhisperer, Amazon SageMaker
  • Company value: $1.79 trillion

Anthropic logoAnthropic

Anthropic announced the third generation of its Claude generative AI chatbot, which competes with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard. Claude AI is a constitutional chatbot. It has been trained to make judgments based on a set of principles taken from documents including the 1948 UN Declaration and Apple’s terms of service, which expands to issues in the digital domain. Claude 2 has complex choice-making capabilities and scored 76.5% on the multiple choice section of the bar exam. While it hasn’t quite had the publicity of the big artificial intelligence chatbots it looks like Anthropic might have created a worthy competitor.

  • Key Products: Claude 3, Claude API
  • Company value: $15 billion

Cohere

Cohere logoCohere is a company which focuses on building artificial intelligence models for enterprise customers. Enterprise customers can use their own data to train their AI models, without sharing that data. Their primary focus is on creating AI systems that can: understand, generate and, interact with human language.

  • Key Products: Command, Embed, Chat, Generate, Semantic Search
  • Company value: $2.2 billion

IBM

IBM logoIBM’s Watson was the first artificial intelligence language model technology to attain global notoriety, as a result of its 2011 victory on the quiz show Jeopardy!. Watson was question-answering platform, initially developed from 2004-2011. Since then, its deep learning capabilities have been applied to a wide range of industries, including healthcare, cuisine, hospitality, water conservation, and more. IBM has continued to evolve it’s AI capabilities. In the past 5 years, IBM has filed 1,591 AI-related US patent applications. In April 2024, IBM announced its acquisition of HasiCorp. for $6.4 billion.

  • Key Products: WatsonX.ai, Code Assistant, Slate, Granite
  • Company value: $153.76 billion

Jasper

Jasper AIJasper uses artificial intelligence to help businesses write marketing content. They claim it can write the same content much faster than a human being can, in a tone of voice that customers relate to and find familiar. It helps businesses generate consistent and effective digital marketing content, from blog posts to social media updates.

  • Key Products: Jasper, Jasper API, Jasper AI Copilot
  • Company value: $1.2 billion

Meta (Facebook)

Meta logoMeta (formerly known as Facebook) has grown to where 3.14 billion people interact with one of their platform’s daily. The company is known for its social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus. While the company has faced criticisms harmful misinformation, polarizing political content, and data leaks.

For years, Meta has used artificial intelligence to recommend posts in our feeds, moderate content, and target ads behind the scenes in Instagram and Facebook.

  • Key Products: Meta AI, Llama 2.0, Llama 3.0 (coming soon), Seamless Communication models
  • Company value: $1.252 trillion

Microsoft largest artificial intelligence company

Microsoft logoMicrosoft has claimed to be the world’s largest artificial intelligence company. MSFT has made a $10 billion investment in OpenAI in January 2023. They then integrated ChatGPT generative AI chatbot and Dall-E image generation into the Bing search engine and Edge web browser.

  • Key Products: Microsoft Copilot, Copilot for Microsoft 365, Microsoft Copilot Studio, Microsoft Copilot in Bing
  • Company value: $3.01 trillion

Midjourney

Midjourney.comMidjourney AI specializes in creating AI-powered tools that generate realistic and imaginative images from text descriptions. It offers tiered subscriptions and allows users to monetize their AI-assisted artwork. It’s integrated into various platforms, including Discord and Microsoft Edge.

In late March 2023, Midjourney suspended free trials due to people abusing the system.

  • Key Products: Midjourney AI
  • Company value: $10 billion

NVIDIA king of artificial intelligence

NVIDIA logoNVIDIA started working on 3D graphics graphics processing units (GPUs) for multimedia and gaming companies in 1993. The company also began creating artificial intelligence applications back in 2012. Today, NVIDIA is generally considered the leader in AI technology as it is at the forefront of AI and is developing software, chips and AI-related services.The company commands 87% of the GPU market and has had a hand in major AI technology advancements, including ChatGPT, which was trained using 10,000 NVIDIA GPUs. The NVIDIA NeMO LLM’s status as one of the most advanced large language models, along with a new partnership with Microsoft, further cement its place among prominent AI companies.

  • Key Products: NVIDIA AI, NVIDIA NeMo, NVIDIA BioNeMo, NVIDIA Picasso, various chips and GPUs
  • Company value: $2.14 trillion

OpenAI sparked the artificial intelligence boom

OpenAI logoOpenAI continues to lead the GenAI space with its GPT-4 model, widely used across industries for natural language processing tasks. OpenAI’s tools are integrated into numerous applications, from customer service chatbots to creative writing assistants.

In contrast, OpenAI has famously scooped up data from everywhere to train its chatbots, like Reddit. And, when a user uploads information into OpenAI to ask ChatGPT to do a task, OpenAI uses that data to train its models for everyone’s use. Users can opt out of that, but it’s one of the reasons why companies warn their employees not to share data with OpenAI.

  • Key Products: GPT-4, ChatGPT, DALL-E 3, Sora
  • Company value: $80 billion

Stability AI

Stability.ai logoStability AI excels in creating advanced AI models, particularly the Stable Diffusion series, that generate high-quality, realistic images from text prompts. They offer models in multiple languages and for commercial use, emphasizing photorealism and complex prompt processing.

  • Key Products: Stable Diffusion XL, Stable Video Diffusion, Stable Audio, Stable Zero123

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Ralph Bach has been in IT for a while and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow me on Facebook. Email the Bach Seat here.

How to Fight Misinformation on Social Media

How to Fight Misinformation on Social MediaSocial media manipulation is on the rise as we approach the 2024 U.S. elections. Election time makes the battle against misinformation more crucial than ever. Social media platforms not only serve as conduits for information but also as breeding grounds for fake news. Here are some steps you can take to combat misinformation in today’s digital landscape. This guide offers suggestions to analyze social media content to discern its authenticity and how to report fake news on social media platforms.

Analyzing social media content for misinformation

Analyzing social media content for authenticitySource Evaluation – Assess the credibility of the source by considering its reputation, expertise, and potential biases. Rely on official sources and reputable news organizations for accurate information. Ask yourself:

  • Have I heard of the publisher before?
  • Is this the source I think it is, or does it sound a bit like them?

Cross-Referencing – Verify the information across multiple sources to ensure its validity. Consistency among credible sources strengthens the reliability of the information. Check to see who else is writing about the claim.

  • Has this been reported anywhere else?

Fact-Checking websites – Utilize fact-checking websites to verify the accuracy of the information presented in the post. I use:

Check for Consistency – Look for coherence in the information presented across different sources. Inconsistencies may indicate false or misleading information. Ask yourself;

  • Is there more than one piece of evidence for this claim?

Critical Thinking – Critical ThinkingEngage in critical thinking and scrutinize the content of the post. Analyze the language, tone, and context for potential signs of misinformation or manipulation.

  • Can I point to where this happened on a map?
  • Could this be something else?

Reporting misinformation on social media platforms – Most social media platforms have a way for users to flag content. Here is the way to report fake news on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, YouTube and Microsoft.

Reporting misinformation on Facebook

1. To report misinformation on Facebook, click on the three dots (…) in the top right corner of the post.

2. Then select “Find support or report post.”

Report Facebook misinformation

3. Choose the appropriate reason for reporting, such as “It’s false news.”Facebook misinformation categories

4. Facebook will reply.

Facebook

LinkedIn

LinkedIn logoTo report misinformation on LinkedIn, the “professional networking” site from Microsoft, do the following.

1. Click on the three dots (…) in the top right corner of the post.

2. Select “Report post.”

LinkedIn Report this post

3 – Another window appears. Select “Misinformation” (or other reasons as necessary).

4 – Click on “Save.”LinkedIn reasons

Finally, the Submit page will appear.

5 – (Optional) Check the “Receive updates on this report” box, if want LinkedIn to inform you of any action they took.

6- Click the “Submit report” button to send your misinformation report to LinkedIn.

LinkedIn Submit report

Google

Google logoReporting a website to Google will block it from loading in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and other browsers according to wikiHOW. It will also remove the site from Google search, and it will block emails that contain the site’s URL from arriving in Gmail. Reporting will also prevent the website from being linked to other Google products, such as reviews on Google Maps, or on YouTube and Blogger. To report a site to Google, follow these steps:

If you are using Chrome, scroll to the bottom of your search results. To start reporting misinformation to Google, Click on Quick Setting. The process is not the same on Firefox or Edge.Google Quick Seetings The “Settings” side window appears.

1 – Select “Send feedback.”

Google Send Feedback

The feedback window will pop up.

2- Type your feedback to Google in the text box.

3 – (Optional) – Click on “Provide Screenshot” to send a screen capture of the misinformation link.

4- Press “Submit” to complete

Send feedback to GoogleGoogle will acknowledge your report.

Google acknowlegment

Alternately, If you need to report a phishing site to Google, go to Send a Report to Google.

Report a phish to Google

To report misinformation that is represented as an ad on Google, go to their Report an ad or shopping listing site.

Google Report an ad or shopping listingHow to report misinformation on YouTube

YouTube logoStep-by-step instructions for reporting inappropriate YouTube content.

Beneath the video player

1. Click on the three dots (…) and then

2. Click on “Report.”

YouTube Report

The Report Video pop-up appears.

3. Click “Misinformation”

4. Click Submit

The Report Video pop-up appears.

5- Provide a time when the misinformation appears in the video.

6 – (Optional) Provide additional details.

7- Submit

YouTube Report video

YouTube will acknowledge your report.

9 – Click “Close” to be done.

YouTube Thank you for reporting

Microsoft

Microsoft logoReporting a website to Microsoft will block it in Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge. According to WikiHow, reporting misinformation here it will remove links to the site in Bing, Yahoo search, and other search engines that use Bing as a back-end. It will also block emails containing the link in Outlook.com. To report a website to Microsoft, go to the Microsoft SmartScreen report page.

1 – Type the URL into the “Which site do you want to report box”.

2 – Specify which threat you found on the site. If the site is a phishing site, then select that button. For all other malicious sites, select the “Malware or other threats” button.

3 – Specify what language the site is in.

4 – Complete the CAPTCHA.

5 – Click Submit.

Microsoft report Report unsafe site

Microsoft will acknowledge your report.

Microsoft Thank you

While you review sites, remember that some sites may be scams that need to be reported to prevent unsuspecting web users from becoming victims. If you encounter a website that has get-rich-quick claims or sells items at prices that are just too good to be true, you should notify the FBI. The FBI takes reports of online scams at the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

IC3 logo

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The fight against fake news demands a proactive approach. By applying critical analysis of the content and utilizing platform reporting mechanisms, you can contribute to fostering a digital environment where truth and integrity prevail. Together, let’s combat misinformation and uphold the standards of credible information dissemination.

 

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedInFacebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

The Rising Value of IPv4 Addresses

The Rising Value of IPv4 AddressesAccording to an article at CircleID, the value of IPv4 addresses is set to increase. IPv4 is the traditional way to address devices that attach to the Internet. The world has been running out of these addresses, leading to the development of its successor, IPv6, Despite being available on the public internet since 2011, the new protocol has not been widely implemented. Only about a third of the top 1000 websites globally support it. Meanwhile, existing IPv4 networks have become more efficient in their use of IPv4, reducing the drive to implement IPv6.

Impact of COVID-19 on the IPv4 Market

The COVID-19 pandemic brought significant changes to the IPv4 market. Many firms sold off their IPv4 addresses to raise capital. The article says the IPv4 prices have risen over the past three years. Another factor driving up the price of IPv4 networks is the cloud computing giant, Amazon.

Pricing Changes by Cloud Providers

Cloud providersAWS has announced that starting February 1, 2024, they will begin charging at least $40 per IPv4 address per year. It is anticipated that other cloud giants such as Alibaba, Cloudflare, Google, Microsoft, and Oracle will follow AWS with similar pricing structures. Notably, AWS’s new cost per address is 300% higher than what Microsoft paid for Nortel’s IPv4 address range in 2011.

IPv4 Arbitrage Opportunities

Stack of moneyGiven AWS’s price exceeding $40 per address per year, the author expects businesses to purchase addresses on the open market at less than AWS’s $40 and migrate them to the cloud. This will save them some of the AWS costs. This strategy is likely to increase demand for IPv4, further contributing to their value increase.

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Organizations holding even a small pool of IPv4 addresses could monetize this asset. By implementing Network Address Translation (NAT) or transitioning to IPV6 on their internal networks, they can free up IPv4 addresses. These addresses can then be sold to networks grappling with the cost increases imposed by the cloud providers.

 

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedInFacebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.