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☆ OpenAI makes a ChatGPT-like tool called Codex that can write software. Here's why Codex won't replace developers and will instead create more demand for their skills.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The same company is also behind Codex, a tool that automates the writing of software code. Codex is similar, except that instead of writing English sentences, it writes software code. Tell Codex what type of software problem you're trying to solve, and Codex will suggest a solution with a string of code. Similarly, Codex further simplifies certain software engineering tasks. "Then we'll have more engineers, and more software engineering.

☆ Microsoft warns employees not to share 'sensitive data' with ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Microsoft's CTO office told staff they can use ChatGPT at work as long as they don't share "sensitive data." In response, a senior engineer from Microsoft's CTO office wrote that they were allowed, as long as employees don't share confidential information with the AI tool. "Human beings sign NDAs and consequently have incentives to be careful in how they share information. While employees are on the hook for protecting confidential data, it's not clear what exactly Microsoft or OpenAI are doing to address the issue. Is the responsibility on employees to not share sensitive information, or is the responsibility on OpenAI to use information carefully, or some combination?"

☆ Amazon warns employees not to share confidential information with ChatGPT after seeing cases where its answer 'closely matches existing material' from inside the company
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

An Amazon lawyer warned employees about sharing confidential company information with ChatGPT. Others wondered if they were even allowed to use the AI tool for work. She warned employees not to provide ChatGPT with "any Amazon confidential information (including Amazon code you are working on)," according to a screenshot of the message seen by Insider. Overall, Amazon employees in the Slack channel were excited about the potential of ChatGPT, and wondered if Amazon was working on a competing product. For Amazon employees, data privacy seems to be the least of their concerns.

☆ He fled Russia's draft, now he's stranded in a South Korean airport
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 19 (Reuters) - For two months now, 23-year-old Russian Vladimir Maraktayev has been living in an airport departure lounge. After travelling on to the Philippines, he flew to South Korea on Nov. 12, hoping to receive refugee status in what he considered one of Asia’s most stable democracies. He applied for refugee status upon arrival, but South Korean authorities rejected his application on the grounds that fleeing conscription is not a valid reason to be given asylum. He said his days consist of taking walks around the airport lounge and trying to read books and study Korean. Though he has very little money, as Russian bank cards have largely stopped working outside a handful of countries, he receives food from the South Korean justice ministry.

☆ Teachers are adapting to concerns about a powerful new AI tool
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Some teachers said they’ve also heard of students being required to film short videos that elaborate on their thought process. Public schools in New York City and Seattle, meanwhile, have already banned students and teachers from using ChatGPT on the district’s networks and devices. Reid, the professor at Coastal Carolina University, believes teachers should work with ChatGPT and teach best practices in the classroom. Reid said teachers could encourage students to plug an assignment question into the tool and have them compare that result to what they personally wrote. “Like with other new technologies, this could be a tool instructors use to help students express their ideas,” she said.

☆ Fact Check-Coronavirus does not translate to ‘heart attack virus’ in Latin
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Despite the Google translation for “cor ona virus” from Latin to English showing up as “heart attack virus,” language experts consulted by Reuters said this is not an accurate translation of the three words (cor, ona, and virus). While entering these words with this spacing into Google Translate does result in the words “heart attack virus” (bit.ly/3QF10bC), experts told Reuters this is not an accurate translation into Latin. The Latin word “corona,” however, is “actually a borrowing from Greek and has nothing to do with Latin cor, cordis ‘heart’,” he added. Experts told Reuters that “coronavirus” in Latin does not translate to “heart attack virus,” despite a Google Translate query shared on social media. The term is formed by two Latin words, “corona” and “virus” and the etymology stems from the virus’s physical appearance.

By Quoctrung Bui, Sara Chodosh, Jessica Bennett and John McWhorterQuoctrung Bui and Sara Chodosh are graphics editors for Opinion. Jessica Bennett is a contributing editor for Opinion who writes on gender and culture. John McWhorter is an associate professor of linguistics at Columbia University who writes on race and language. There seems to be genuine confusion over what a well-meaning person can say without offending someone. Take our quiz and see how your language use compares, then scroll down for the full results and discussion.

☆ My 'glamorous' van life involved a lot of sacrifices. Here's how I built it and what it's like working on the road.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jen Glantz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Mariah Arianna, 30, lives and works out of a van with her partner as a digital nomad. Arianna says even though van life appears glamorous, the lifestyle requires a lot of sacrifices. I was enamored with living life anywhere but home. I was working with a lot of clients in Frankfurt and was able to get a long-term work visa to stay in the country. I usually work in small coffee shops, local libraries, or inside our van, which is very bright and open.

☆ Why post-interview thank-you notes aren't an equitable way for managers to judge a candidate
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Rachel Durose | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Three HR consultants, managers, and career coaches said a thank-you note shouldn't be a dealbreaker. Here's why post-interview thank-you notes aren't an equitable way for managers to judge a candidate, according to three human-resource consultants, managers, and career coaches. The process is already "exhausting" without adding this unspoken rule of requiring a thank-you note, she added. "I think it's a real problem that anyone would take a candidate out of the running because they don't send a thank-you note." "If you're going to really determine a person's professionalism by a thank-you note, then you have missed an entire interview."

☆ As Cantonese language wanes, efforts grow to preserve it
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Or worse, the Cantonese language and culture won’t survive another generation. Ceci Pang, a former kindergarten teacher, runs classes for children at Rainbow Seeds Cantonese school in London. Some turn to social media for advice and camaraderie — a Facebook group called “Cantonese Parents” has thousands of members sharing tips on everything from Cantonese books to YouTube videos. After more than 20 years, the school opted not to renew her contract, which effectively eliminated the Cantonese language program. Aleyda Poe has been overseeing the Cantonese kindergarten at Merit Chinese School in Plano, Texas, for over a decade.

No one knows what all the sperm whale codas mean, but they can have distinctive rhythms and tempos, known as “dialects,” Hersh said. They’ve now determined that there are at least seven distinct sperm whale “vocal clans” across the Pacific Ocean, each with their own identity codas, Hersh said. And the sperm whale clans may be thousands of years old. Beguš is part of Project CETI — the Cetacean Translation Initiative — which was established last year to decipher the sounds of sperm whales. “As the authors note, we still understand little about the function of sperm whale codas,” she said in an email.

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