Tech Brew Ride Home - Tue. 04/11 - China's ChatGPT Competitors Are Here

Episode Date: April 11, 2023

Alibaba revealed its ChatGPT-style bot, and mere hours later the Cyberspace Administration of China announced plans to require security reviews of generative AI tools before they’re released. The Winklevoss twins made a $100 million loan to their crypto exchange, Gemini Trust, after it failed to raise enough from outside investors. The FBI has warned against using any public USB charging ports. And YouTube has announced new Premium features and also announced the pricing for their NFL Sunday Ticket packagers and they’re not cheap. Sponsors: Bloomberg.com/careers go.tech/tm Links: China slaps security reviews on AI products as Alibaba unveils ChatGPT challenger (Ars Technica) China proposes measures to manage generative AI services (Reuters) Winklevoss Twins Lend $100 Million to Their Gemini Crypto Platform (Bloomberg) Juice jacking rising, FBI says don't use airport USB outlets (Android Authority) YouTube Premium adds more perks with SharePlay support, higher quality video and more (TechCrunch)  NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube starts at $249 for the 2023 season (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the tech meme ride home for Tuesday, April 11th, 2020. I'm Jackson Bird filling in for Brian McCullough today. Alibaba revealed its chat GPT-style bot, and mere hours later, the Cyberspace Administration of China announced plans to require security reviews of generative AI tools before they're released. The Winklevoss Twins made a $100 million loan to their crypto exchange Gemini-Truise. trust after it failed to raise enough from outside investors. The FBI has warned against using any public USB charging ports, and YouTube has announced new premium features as well as the pricing for their NFL Sunday ticket packages, and they're not cheap. Here's what you miss

today in the world of tech. Well, we've been waiting to see when the big Chinese tech companies would release their AI chat bots or even if they could give in strict government regulations. In the last month and last few hours, a slew of them have arrived, as have proposals for security checks on the bots from the cyberspace administration of China. Quoting Reuters, China's cyberspace regulator unveiled draft measures on Tuesday for managing generative artificial intelligence services, saying it wants firms to submit security assessments to authorities before they launch their offerings to the public. The Cyberspace Administration of China, or CAC, said that China supports AI innovation and application and encourages use of safe and reliable software tools and data resources, but content generated by generative AI had to be in line with the country's core socialist values.

providers will be responsible for the legitimacy of data used to train generative AI products and measures should be taken to prevent discrimination when designing algorithms and training data, it said. The regulator also said service providers must require users to submit their real identities and related information. Providers will be fined, have their services suspended, or even face criminal investigations if they fail to comply with the rules. If inappropriate content is generated by their platforms, the companies must update the technology within three months to prevent similar content from being generated again, the CAC said. End quote. Meanwhile, just hours before the announcement of these new proposed security reviews, tech giant Alibaba became the latest Chinese company to announce a chat GPT-like competitor. Quoting Ars Technica, earlier on Tuesday, Alibaba chief executive Daniel Zhang said,

Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen, which roughly translates to truth from a thousand questions, would be incorporated as an AI bot in Workplace Collaboration Tool, Ding Talk, and the company's Timaljini smart speakers before being integrated into all its products at some point in the future. Shuli, chief executive of Chinese AI software leader SenseTime, unveiled its Sense Chat bot on Monday with a live demonstration when it was able to write an email and tell a story about a cat catching a fish. Baidu last month unveiled its chatbot Ernie to mixed reviews. Users said the chatbot could create vivid pictures,

but it struggled with basic logic and was unable to write code like OpenAI's GPT4 could. Tongyi was opened to corporate clients for testing last Friday. Early user feedback posted online showed the chatbot could write poems in Chinese and French and solve basic mathematical problems, but struggled with simple logic. When one user asked Tongyi how to stir fry, reinforced concrete to make a tasty dish, it offered a recipe that included slicing the concrete into small pieces. Baidu's Ernie similarly told users to mix concrete with garlic, onions, and peppers, and noted that concrete was a very special ingredient with a unique texture.

When ChatGBT was asked the same question, it said it did not understand the requirement, and that concrete was not edible. Other Chinese user tests showed Ernie and Tongyi making up facts about non-existent people. CAC's new rules would prohibit the chatbots from generating false information, end quote. So concrete recipes may be the new AI fingers, unless the CAC has anything to say about it, that is. The Winklevoss twins seemed to be in hot water, with what could be the early, signs of another crypto blow-up? Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss recently made a $100 million loan from their own pockets to their crypto exchange Gemini Trust Co. This, according to Bloomberg,

who is citing private anonymous individuals familiar with the matter. Quoting Bloomberg, the move came after Jim and I had informally sought funding from outside investors in recent months without coming to any agreements, according to three people. Venture funding, for crypto startups has cratered following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and slowdowns in the tech and crypto industries, plummeting 80% to $2.4 billion in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, according to data from research firm Pitch Book. Gemini has experienced its own troubles during the crypto bear market, a sharp contrast to when it raised $400 million at a valuation of $7.1 billion in November 2021.

Fallout from the implosion of FTX led to the bankruptcy of crypto lender Genesis Global Holdco, severely bruising Gemini in the process. Genesis Global had been Gemini's sole partner on its Gemini Earn lending product, and when Genesis froze withdrawals in November, that forced Gemini to pause redemptions on Earn accounts. The move left $900 million of customer money in limbo and sparked a heated spat between the Winklevost twins and Barry Silbert, chief executive officer of Digital Currency Group, the parent company of Genesis. In February, the two parties reached an agreement in principle to resolve the dispute under which Gemini would kick in as much as $100 million. The Winklevoss loan won't go toward

that, but rather to fund operations, one person familiar with the matter said. The Securities and Exchange Commission has sued Gemini and Genesis alleging that the earned product broke securities laws. Gemini also faces a lawsuit from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which alleges that Gemini misled the derivatives regulator in a bid to launch the first U.S. regulated Bitcoin futures contract. In January, Gemini shed 10% of its workforce, adding to a wave of layoffs in June. The exchange also lost its chief operating officer Noah Perlman, who went to rival Binance as chief compliance officer, end quote. And on this $100 million personal cash injection from the Winklevye, Drew Olenoff tweeted, quote, I'm not an expert, but that sounds very not good,

end quote. The FBI is straight up telling people not to use the USB outlets at airports to charge your phones and other devices. The official FBI Denver, Twitter account wrote last week, quote, Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels, or shopping centers. Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices. Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead, end quote. So these are specifically the kinds of charging ports increasingly attached to, like, the seats

at gates or at workstations or hotel lamp, not the charge. traditional wall outlets. Quoting Android Authority, unfortunately, using these freely available USB outlets isn't the best idea. The reason for this is juice jacking, a hacking method that uses illegally altered USB outlets to skim smartphone data. While this isn't the first time we've heard official government organizations warn about juice jacking, this is the first time we've heard any of them say we should avoid public

USB outlets altogether. Generally, you're most at risk of getting jacked from a provided USB cable, i.e. a station with multiple cables you can directly connect to. However, hackers can also compromise traditional USB outlets, i.e. one in which you provide your own cable, so you should try to avoid them as well. The best way to avoid juice jacking is to simply not use public USB outlets. If you need a top-up, plug directly into a traditional outlet using your own wall adapter, use a portable power bank or hold off as long as possible until you're near an outlet you can trust. End quote.

This is a good PSA for us all, especially Brian, who almost certainly plugged into one of these outlets at JFK on his way to Ireland this week. Don't do it on the way back, man. YouTube Premium, the ad-free version of YouTube, announced five new features to help attract and retain subscribers to the 1190. a month service. Features include higher quality video for web and iOS, support for Apple's shareplay, and more controls for queuing. From TechCrunch, quote, YouTube will begin rolling out an enhanced bitrate version of 1080p HD video quality to premium subscribers on iOS and then the web in the weeks ahead. While all YouTube users will continue to have access to 1080P, the enhanced

1080P quality setting will make videos look extra crisp and clear, YouTube says, including those that have lots of detail and motion, like sports and gaming. If successfully implemented, this could help YouTube premium to better live up to its name

in terms of providing a premium experience to subscribers, not just a less annoying one by removing ads. Another key addition is support for Apple's SharePlay, first introduced at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference in 2021. Though other video services have long supported SharePlay, including competitors like Disney Plus, Hulu, HBO Max, and TikTok, YouTube will limit access

so only paying customers can use the co-viewing feature. That positions the service in a different space from rival TikTok, which was among the first to support Apple's co-watching feature for FaceTime users. Of course, SharePlay to some extent now feels more like a pandemic era, solution designed to connect people who can't be together in real life. Netflix, for instance, never even bothered to launch its own official co-viewing option after apparently betting on declining usage for such a thing as COVID restrictions lifted. So it's interesting to see YouTube try to market share play as a perk rather than standard functionality, particularly when its in-house co-viewing solution within Google Meet already allows YouTube co-viewing without the

premium upgrade for all users. YouTube says premium users, are the only ones who can initiate in Google Meet, but anyone including non-subscribers can view. Another new feature provides more controls over your queue when subscribed to YouTube Premium. Starting today, premium users will be able to add videos to their queue when watching on phones and tablets. While today, YouTube-free users can save videos to playlists, including watch later. Queuing lets users control what video they want to play next during their current viewing. session, end quote. I will say that's a feature that sort of exists for free users on devices like Chromecast, so if it sounds familiar to you, that may be why. This version apparently works

within the app itself. TechCrunch also points out that adding more features will help market the subscription to consumers who generally don't know that premium provides anything beyond just removing the ads. And while that's enough to sway many people, the subscription also gives you access to YouTube music premium, offline downloads, and background play for watching when your screen is locked. All features, I will add, that are particularly helpful if you watch or listen to podcasts via YouTube, which is a vertical YouTube is finally starting to pour some real energy and features into. Interesting reply to YouTube CEO Neil Mohan's announcement of these features from YouTube creator Westie on Twitter, quote,

in the future, could we get a feature like Twitch Prime, a free membership to a channel each month as part of each premium subscription, would be great added value for subscribers to support their favorite channels, end quote. Intriguing proposal. But on the opposite end of creator support, some other YouTube news today about their upcoming NFL Sunday ticket package. After almost 30 years at DirecTV, Sunday ticket, the way to watch all out-of-market Sunday regular season NFL games, will now be distributed by YouTube, and they've just announced the pricing. From The Verge, quote, if you're a YouTube TV subscriber, you'll pay $249 for the basic season-long package of out-of-market games if you sign up during the presale that starts today and ends June 6th. $289 if you also want the Red Zone channel, $349 for the basic package if you miss the pre-sale, $389 for the package including Red Zone if you miss the pre-sale.

You can also just get Red Zone through your YouTube TV subscription by purchasing the Sports Plus add-on for $1099 a month, end quote. Now, that's all if you are a YouTube TV subscriber, which with the latest price hike is now $729 a month. If you are not, you'll be getting Sunday ticket through YouTube's new primetime channels feature, and all those prices I just spouted will be $100 more. So $349 for the base package during pre-sale, $489 for the full package after the presale, etc. Now, that is a lot of money to pay in one go, but The Verge points out three things. quote, YouTube is paying a reported $2 billion a year for this package after a hotly contested battle with Apple and others to win the rights. This is a statement move for YouTube as it

continues to try and become a traditional entertainment giant. Some people hoped that YouTube might offer an artificially low price in order to bring more users into its orbit, but that was always pretty unlikely. A $2 billion growth hack won't get you very far. The price is also fairly close to what Sunday ticket has cost in the past. Last year when the package was distributed by DirecTV, the base Sunday ticket package cost $293.94. And the Max Plan, which included the Red Zone channel and a DirecTV made Fantasy Zone channel, was $395.99 for the season. End quote. Plus a bonus price justification from YouTube's official blog. When Sunday ticket was distributed by direct TV, you had to have a satellite cable subscription. This is the first time ever you can get this

even if you have no cable package whatsoever. And the final reason the price could make sense is if YouTube does this well and actually innovates. First, they just have to make it work, something DirecTV was struggling with in the end, like actually struggling to get the streams themselves to function. And as The Verge points out, Amazon had some bumps with Thursday night football and Apple has had the same with their MLB broadcasts. The pivot to streaming has not been entirely smooth thus far, but, quoting again, YouTube is also building some platform-specific features for football, including a way to watch multiple games at once, tools for buying team merch, and YouTube-y things like live chat and

polls. If you subscribe through primetime channels, you'll see live games in your YouTube feed, and there will be highlights and fantasy data all over the platform. Given that DirecTV carried Sunday ticket from 1994 to 2022, there haven't been many or any chances to rethink the package, and there's a lot YouTube could do over time. If YouTube can get it right, it can infuse football all over its platform and do things for NFL viewers that no traditional cable company ever could.

But first, it just has to stream football perfectly to a lot of people paying a lot of money to watch the Packers lose from thousands of miles away. That's not a small task, end quote. And I will say as a Cowboys fan living in New York, I love Sunday ticket in theory, but I just don't know if I could pony up that much money on top of my YouTube TV subscription, even with all those added features. That's all I've got for you today, trying to keep it a little bit shorter.

Brian will be back on Monday, and I will talk to you again tomorrow.