iOS Integration – That’s What OpenAI Brought You On The Their 5th Day Of Innovation. Remember When I Said Sundar Pichai And Google Had To Come Up With Something Really Amazing. They Did. And “Don’t Click The Link.” Avoid Package Delivery Text Scams
Welcome to Hashtag Trending, I’m your host, Jim Love. Let’s get into it.
IoS Integration – that’s what OpenAI brought you on the their 5th day of Innovation.
If you’ve lost track of where Apple is on its AI integration. You aren’t alone. And frankly, that might include the people who work for Apple. There were rumours of a OpenAI and Apple partnership earlier this year. OpenAI even did a pretty credible IoS app and released ChatGPT advanced voice on the iPhone.
But then Apple was sort of going to revive Siri and there was less talk about OpenAI and ChatGPT.
But this announcement from OpenAI is a big move forward for AI aficionados and a smart competitive move – especially if you catch the next story in the podcast.
So what is this? Well as Sam Altman said, “We love Apple Devices” and it showed.
You can now invoke ChatGPT directly from the IoS or Mac apps. There are applications that integrate with Siri, with writing tools and with Apple’s Visual Intelligence.
The relationship with Siri is curious. Siri isn’t replaced by OpenAI, but Siri can ASK OpenAI when things are complex. There are also direct buttons that allow you to call OpenAI yourself. Hitting the Command key twice on a Mac or using the two buttons on the side of the new iPhone can also be used.
ChatGPT makes some things possible like showing a picture and having ChatGPT identify it, search for it and provide information about it is a big step.
The demo illustrated how GPT 4o takes this a step further than search or identification and providing additional information. The three presenters, all wearing Christmas sweaters were part of a contest for ChatGPT to decide which sweater was the most “fun.” It was a lighthearted example, but it showed that ChatGPT could apply reasoning to unstructured problems like relative importance. This means it has to construct its own relevant criteria and assess even a visual image. And it not only did that, but it could explain its reasoning. Impressive.
ChatGPT also integrates with documents on Mac or iPhone and can do analysis of large PDFs and other documents. The example in the demo was a 30 plus page PDF of OpenAI’s new releases and the question – remember I told you they use these really effectively to get their competitive messaging across? Of course, their question was to analyze the document and tell us why ChatGPT was so good at coding – it shows the ability of 4o to analyze and answer questions, but also gets their marketing message across.
Of course, you need Apple intelligence for this, so they’ve done Apple a real favour, finally providing some reason why people would upgrade to the new iPhone 16 which has had rather lackluster sales especially in this all important pre-Christmas shopping time.
I have to say that having seen the demo, I almost thought about upgrading my iPhone. Almost. But, if you don’t have money to burn, take heart because you can load Apple intelligence onto any Mac that will take the new Sequoia OS and that includes machines from 2019 and beyond.
Not to be outdone:
Remember when I said, I think yesterday, that Google’s CEO Sundai Pichar better come up with something really amazing this year to compete with Microsoft’s new AI driven conversational search? And at that point I hadn’t factored in OpenAI’s announcement from today.
Well, I’m always suspicious of a demo, and particularly a google demo, given recent experience, but today’s announcement of Google’s Gemini – which they call “enabling the agentic era – with multi-modal agents” is impressive.
Although they haven’t been making a lot of noise about it, Google has been busily working on agents – those specialist AI applications that can think, plan, act and —- this is important – remember.
They call it Project Astra – and it’s officially presented as a “research prototype” which is Google’s way of hedging its bets.
Astra offers true multi-modal features along with a reasoning capability and – don’t forget – memory as well.
The actual best example of this was not in Google’s official release video, but in another video that I found where a Googler takes a tour of London with an Android phone. The visual identification and search allows you to get facts and analysis on a range of topics as well as real time search information. From, what are these flowers and could they grown in New York to a question about a bike route through London all the way to finding your London accommodations and remembering the door combination – it really does take the phone to a different level.
But Google didn’t stop there with their announcement. They also introduced Project Mariner adds a whole new dimension to Gemini 2.0 It features agents that can do tasks in multiple steps, planning and reasoning as it goes. To show how far this can be taken, one of the examples was what they called “cross domain” applications, where Mariner could understand a video game and help with strategy.
This “cross domain” application also applies to real world 3D environments and Google is claiming that Mariner will enhance the reach and usability of Robots and not just software agents.
All in all, it’s a huge advance IF Google can deliver. And if anything, today’s announcement has huge implications for transforming how we use our phones and how we use AI.
I said yesterday that having real competition in search was a great thing for the user. Likewise, if Gemini really steps forward we could see some big competition in AI.
And I don’t want to be “Debbie Downer” here, but one thing we should keep in mind is that when this competition heats up in the area of autonomous agents, traditionally the first thing to be sacrificed is safety. Just sayin’
And now, for something really different.
I don’t believe in Santa anymore. I barely believe in demos. But one thing I hope we can all share in – don’t believe in package delivery messages.
Or at least be suspicious. This is a story that I’d normally put into our Cyber Security Podcast, but two scams are rampant right now. First is a scam that will send you invoices to pay. They will have done a lot of research and these will look normal and some of them will even have an employee’s approval of the invoice appended recommending that they send it to accounting.
The second, and this one is especially concerning with the postal strike in Canada, but even without that it’s still a big deal.
“Don’t Click the Link”: Avoid Package Delivery Text Scams
With holiday shopping in full swing, scammers are ramping up efforts to trick consumers through fake delivery notifications. These scams, which often impersonate USPS, UPS, or FedEx, aim to steal personal and financial information via text and email.
Delivery scams, known as smishing (text-based phishing), are on the rise. In 2023 alone, Americans lost $1.3 billion to scams involving government or tech support impersonations. According to Consumer Reports, one in five scam attempts begins with a text or messaging app like WhatsApp or iMessage.
Scammers send messages claiming a delivery issue, urging you to click a link or provide sensitive information. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) warns it does not send unsolicited texts or emails unless the customer initiates contact.
Here are steps to avoid falling victim to delivery scams:
Verify Information Independently
Avoid clicking on links in texts or emails about missed deliveries. Instead, visit the official website of the delivery service or use tracking tools provided by the retailer.
Use Secure Delivery Options
Request a signature for deliveries.
Use secure lockers or deliver to a workplace or trusted friend.
Avoid leaving packages unattended on doorsteps.
Inspect Deliveries
Open packages immediately to check for signs of tampering or damage.
If you are in the US
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advises consumers to report scam messages:
- Forward the text to 7726 (SPAM).
- Report spam directly in messaging apps by marking the message as junk.
- File a complaint at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
If someone has any information on what to do in Canada, please let me know.
And that’s our show for today.
Reach me at editorial@technewsday.ca
I’m your host Jim Love, have a Thrilling Thursday
