OpenAI is letting some users use a new ChatGPT feature that uses the AI to browse the web for the users…letting it book trips, buy groceries, bargain hunt, and do some other online chores. Wired.com reports that the new tool is dubbed ‘Operator,’ and it is one of the ubiquitous AI ‘agents’ that everyone in AI is pumping out. Operator comes on the heels of similar AI agents from Google and Anthropic. Salesforce has also lately been touting its agents to help salespeople, advertising on multiple billboards in San Francisco. Agents are considered a step beyond chatbots. Still, they are quite limited in what they can do…and basically only automate tasks that can normally be done with regular software. That considered, it makes me quite skeptical that AI will surpass humans by 2027, or even 2030. The hype seems to be far outstripping reality. 

The first public beta of Android 16 is out, and with it come iOS style live notifications on the lock screen…very much like Live Activities on Apple’s iOS. According to techcrunch.com, another new feature is Advanced Professional Video…a codec for high quality video recording. They claim that the new APV will give users what they call a ‘perceptually’ lossless quality, closer to raw footage. Besides these changes, Android 16 has improvements for accessibility. Apple has been a leader in this area for years, it will be nice to see better accessibility features on Android phones. 

Subaru has patched a security hole that had allowed millions of vehicles to be unlocked and started via an easily-hacked employee web portal. Engadget.com says after gaining access, crooks could remotely control a test vehicle and see a year’s worth of location data. The hack worked over Subaru’s Starlink suite of connectivity features….by the way, no relation to the SpaceX satellite internet service with exactly the same name. The vehicle tested with the hack was a 2023 Subaru Impreza. Security researchers found they could access ‘pretty much any Subaru in the United States, Canada, or Japan.’ This according to researcher Sam Curry. He could also query and retrieve personal info on any customer…emergency contacts, authorized users, home address, last 4 digits of their credit card, and vehicle PIN. Let’s hope that after this, it moves not only Subaru, but other vehicle makers to tighten the security on their back ends that allow employees to access car and owner info. 

Spotify remains the cheapskate streaming service, paying artists less than the others…in fact paying half what Apple pays artists. Bgr.com notes that of the big streaming platforms, actually Amazon pays the best…followed by Apple Music and YouTube. The largest platform, Spotify, pays less than half what Apple Music does! According to Duetti, Amazon pays royalties at the rate of $8.80 per 1,000 streams (as of 2024), while Apple Music pays $6.20 per 1,000, YouTube forks over $4.80, and Spotify pays a scrooge-like $3.00 per 1,000 streams. It should be noted that Amazon Music is bundled with Prime memberships. One reason for Spotify’s lower payments is its Discovery Mode program, which is supposed to let indie artiest see more discoverable through the Spotify algorithm. the rub is, they have to accept a 30% reduction in payouts. Currently, over 26% of artists opt into that program. Although Spotify has called Duetti’s report ‘ridiculous and unfounded.’ The numbers do square with those I have seen from a copyright attorney and musician who practices in this area, so I’m saying they are accurate and that Spotify ought to step up.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.