NEWS

Coronavirus cannot be cured by drinking bleach or snorting cocaine, despite social media rumors

Published

5 years ago

March 9, 2020

(CBS News) – In the wake of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, Facebook and Twitter have been forced to respond to the proliferation of fake news on their platforms. And while many probably assume the bulk of that misinformation is political in focus, trolls and bots on social media have actually been linked to the marketing of vaping products, the anti-vaccination movement and now, fake cures for coronavirus.

A quick glance at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or TikTok will provide a slew of these fake cures: garlic, masturbation, bleach, even cocaine.

Prominent QAnon YouTuber Jordan Sather, for example, tweeted to his more than 121,000 followers that a “miracle mineral solution,” which effectively involves drinking bleach, can wipe out COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

“Not only is chlorine dioxide (aka ‘MMS’) an effective cancer cell
killer, it can wipe out coronavirus too,” he wrote. “Big Pharma wants
you ignorant.”

The FDA has long warned that drinking chlorine dioxide products can lead to “severe vomiting, severe diarrhea, life-threatening low blood pressure caused by dehydration, and acute liver failure.” Yet, with each new outbreak or high-profile illness that arises, these products are seemingly promoted on social media and sold by independent distributors anew.

Sadly, drinking bleach isn’t the only dangerous “cure” that
bad actors are peddling online to a population increasingly anxious
about the current outbreak. The most recent rumor spreading at a rapid pace is that cocaine will counteract COVID-19.

On
Facebook — where a third-party fact-checking program is in place — many
of these posts now have false information warnings that serve both to
warn users of the content’s unreliability and to deprioritize them in
the platform’s algorithm. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also addressed the issue
in a March 3 post, saying the company is working with national
ministries of health and organizations “to help them get out timely,
accurate information on the coronavirus.”

On Twitter, however, some of the most prominent posts spreading dangerous misinformation have gone unchecked — even from verified accounts. Bizzle Osikoya, for example — a Nigerian music and entertainment developer with more than 190,000 followers — tweeted a doctored image, which purports to be a screenshot of a breaking news segment on TV. It has gotten nearly 6,000 likes and almost 3,000 retweets, and has remained on the platform for more than a month without any sort of warning the content’s falsehood.

For the first time Sunday, Twitter rolled out a “manipulated media” label. However, as CNET senior producer Dan Patterson
points out, this label can still be problematic in that it may give
users a false sense of security that all posts without it are accurate.
As illustrated by Bizzle Osikoya’s tweet above, that is clearly not the
case.

In fact, according to the Washington Post,
an investigation by the U.S. State Department found that a staggering 2
million tweets in circulation during a three-week period between
January 20 and February 10 propagated coronavirus conspiracy theories
and misinformation. That means that 7% of all coronavirus content on the
platform was false.

To make matters worse, many of those tweets reportedly linked to YouTube videos, signaling that the current deluge of coronavirus misinformation has spread well beyond Twitter and Facebook.

On
Sunday, in an effort to combat such viral disinformation, the French
Ministry of Health tweeted a firm rebuttal: “No, cocaine does not
protect against COVID-19. Cocaine is an addictive stimulant drug. Using
it can seriously harm people’s health and create undesirable effects.”

In perhaps the most stunning sign of the times, the World Health Organization created a TikTok account
to combat all of the misinformation there and give teens the real facts
on what is rapidly becoming the most popular social media platform
among that demographic.

Incredibly, their TikTok on when and how
face masks should be worn already has more than 40 million views. Their
first video on how to protect yourself from coronavirus has more than 33
million. So, there may be hope for the truth yet.

When
asked for comment, a Twitter spokesperson told CBS News, “We continue
to expand our dedicated search prompt feature to ensure that when you
come to the service for information about COVID-19, you are met with
credible, authoritative content at the top of your search experience. We
have been consistently monitoring the conversation on the service to
make sure keywords — including common misspellings — also generate the
search prompt.”

“Our global Trust & Safety team is continuing
its zero-tolerance approach to platform manipulation and any other
attempts to abuse our service at this critical juncture,” the
spokesperson continued. “At present, we’re not seeing significant
coordinated platform manipulation efforts around these issues. However,
we will remain vigilant and have invested substantially in our proactive
abilities to ensure trends, search, and other common areas of the
service are protected from malicious behaviors. As ever, we also welcome
constructive and open information sharing from governments and
academics to further our work in these areas — we’re in this together.”

NEWS

OpenAI Introduces Fine-Tuning for GPT-4 and Enabling Customized AI Models

Published

1 month ago

August 21, 2024

Max

OpenAI Introduces Fine-Tuning for GPT-4 and Enabling Customized AI Models

OpenAI has today announced the release of fine-tuning capabilities for its flagship GPT-4 large language model, marking a significant milestone in the AI landscape. This new functionality empowers developers to create tailored versions of GPT-4 to suit specialized use cases, enhancing the model’s utility across various industries.

Fine-tuning has long been a desired feature for developers who require more control over AI behavior, and with this update, OpenAI delivers on that demand. The ability to fine-tune GPT-4 allows businesses and developers to refine the model’s responses to better align with specific requirements, whether for customer service, content generation, technical support, or other unique applications.

Why Fine-Tuning Matters

GPT-4 is a very flexible model that can handle many different tasks. However, some businesses and developers need more specialized AI that matches their specific language, style, and needs. Fine-tuning helps with this by letting them adjust GPT-4 using custom data. For example, companies can train a fine-tuned model to keep a consistent brand tone or focus on industry-specific language.

Fine-tuning also offers improvements in areas like response accuracy and context comprehension. For use cases where nuanced understanding or specialized knowledge is crucial, this can be a game-changer. Models can be taught to better grasp intricate details, improving their effectiveness in sectors such as legal analysis, medical advice, or technical writing.

Key Features of GPT-4 Fine-Tuning

The fine-tuning process leverages OpenAI’s established tools, but now it is optimized for GPT-4’s advanced architecture. Notable features include:

Enhanced Customization: Developers can precisely influence the model’s behavior and knowledge base.
Consistency in Output: Fine-tuned models can be made to maintain consistent formatting, tone, or responses, essential for professional applications.
Higher Efficiency: Compared to training models from scratch, fine-tuning GPT-4 allows organizations to deploy sophisticated AI with reduced time and computational cost.

Additionally, OpenAI has emphasized ease of use with this feature. The fine-tuning workflow is designed to be accessible even to teams with limited AI experience, reducing barriers to customization. For more advanced users, OpenAI provides granular control options to achieve highly specialized outputs.

Implications for the Future

The launch of fine-tuning capabilities for GPT-4 signals a broader shift toward more user-centric AI development. As businesses increasingly adopt AI, the demand for models that can cater to specific business needs, without compromising on performance, will continue to grow. OpenAI’s move positions GPT-4 as a flexible and adaptable tool that can be refined to deliver optimal value in any given scenario.

By offering fine-tuning, OpenAI not only enhances GPT-4’s appeal but also reinforces the model’s role as a leading AI solution across diverse sectors. From startups seeking to automate niche tasks to large enterprises looking to scale intelligent systems, GPT-4’s fine-tuning capability provides a powerful resource for driving innovation.

OpenAI announced that fine-tuning GPT-4o will cost $25 for every million tokens used during training. After the model is set up, it will cost $3.75 per million input tokens and $15 per million output tokens. To help developers get started, OpenAI is offering 1 million free training tokens per day for GPT-4o and 2 million free tokens per day for GPT-4o mini until September 23. This makes it easier for developers to try out the fine-tuning service.

As AI continues to evolve, OpenAI’s focus on customization and adaptability with GPT-4 represents a critical step in making advanced AI accessible, scalable, and more aligned with real-world applications. This new capability is expected to accelerate the adoption of AI across industries, creating a new wave of AI-driven solutions tailored to specific challenges and opportunities.

GOOGLE

This Week in Search News: Simple and Easy-to-Read Update

Published

3 months ago

June 30, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

This Week in Search News: Simple and Easy-to-Read Update

Here’s what happened in the world of Google and search engines this week:

1. Google’s June 2024 Spam Update

Google finished rolling out its June 2024 spam update over a period of seven days. This update aims to reduce spammy content in search results.

2. Changes to Google Search Interface

Google has removed the continuous scroll feature for search results. Instead, it’s back to the old system of pages.

3. New Features and Tests

Link Cards: Google is testing link cards at the top of AI-generated overviews.
Health Overviews: There are more AI-generated health overviews showing up in search results.
Local Panels: Google is testing AI overviews in local information panels.

4. Search Rankings and Quality

Improving Rankings: Google said it can improve its search ranking system but will only do so on a large scale.
Measuring Quality: Google’s Elizabeth Tucker shared how they measure search quality.

5. Advice for Content Creators

Brand Names in Reviews: Google advises not to avoid mentioning brand names in review content.
Fixing 404 Pages: Google explained when it’s important to fix 404 error pages.

6. New Search Features in Google Chrome

Google Chrome for mobile devices has added several new search features to enhance user experience.

7. New Tests and Features in Google Search

Credit Card Widget: Google is testing a new widget for credit card information in search results.
Sliding Search Results: When making a new search query, the results might slide to the right.

8. Bing’s New Feature

Bing is now using AI to write “People Also Ask” questions in search results.

9. Local Search Ranking Factors

Menu items and popular times might be factors that influence local search rankings on Google.

10. Google Ads Updates

Query Matching and Brand Controls: Google Ads updated its query matching and brand controls, and advertisers are happy with these changes.
Lead Credits: Google will automate lead credits for Local Service Ads. Google says this is a good change, but some advertisers are worried.
tROAS Insights Box: Google Ads is testing a new insights box for tROAS (Target Return on Ad Spend) in Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns.
WordPress Tag Code: There is a new conversion code for Google Ads on WordPress sites.

These updates highlight how Google and other search engines are continuously evolving to improve user experience and provide better advertising tools.

FACEBOOK

Facebook Faces Yet Another Outage: Platform Encounters Technical Issues Again

Published

6 months ago

March 20, 2024

Max

Uppdated: It seems that today’s issues with Facebook haven’t affected as many users as the last time. A smaller group of people appears to be impacted this time around, which is a relief compared to the larger incident before. Nevertheless, it’s still frustrating for those affected, and hopefully, the issues will be resolved soon by the Facebook team.

Facebook had another problem today (March 20, 2024). According to Downdetector, a website that shows when other websites are not working, many people had trouble using Facebook.

This isn’t the first time Facebook has had issues. Just a little while ago, there was another problem that stopped people from using the site. Today, when people tried to use Facebook, it didn’t work like it should. People couldn’t see their friends’ posts, and sometimes the website wouldn’t even load.

Downdetector, which watches out for problems on websites, showed that lots of people were having trouble with Facebook. People from all over the world said they couldn’t use the site, and they were not happy about it.

When websites like Facebook have problems, it affects a lot of people. It’s not just about not being able to see posts or chat with friends. It can also impact businesses that use Facebook to reach customers.

Since Facebook owns Messenger and Instagram, the problems with Facebook also meant that people had trouble using these apps. It made the situation even more frustrating for many users, who rely on these apps to stay connected with others.

During this recent problem, one thing is obvious: the internet is always changing, and even big websites like Facebook can have problems. While people wait for Facebook to fix the issue, it shows us how easily things online can go wrong. It’s a good reminder that we should have backup plans for staying connected online, just in case something like this happens again.