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Posts tagged "takes"

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Brave Summarizer takes on Bing and ChatGPT at the AI search results game
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Hopping on the AI train, Brave is incorporating its own AI-powered search function to its web browser called Summarizer – similar to what Microsoft recently did to Bing.

The new feature “provides concise and to-the-point answers at the top of Brave Search results”. For example, if you want to learn about the chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, Summarizer will create a one paragraph summary of the event alongside some sources for you to read. Unlike Microsoft which only uses ChatGPT for Bing's chatbot, Summarizer uses three in-house large language models, LLMs for short, based on retrained versions of the BART and DeBERTa AI models to create the search-results snippets.

Retraining AI

To simplify the technology behind them, BART and DeBERTa are generative writing AIs like ChatGPT that have been specially trained to take into account word positioning as well as context so the text output reads well. What Brave did is take those models and retrain them using its own search result data to develop Summarizer.

Summarizer’s training regiment is a three-step process, according to the announcement. First, Brave taught the LLMs to prioritize answering the question being asked. Then, the company utilized “zero-shot classifiers” to categorize results so the given information is relevant. The final step helps the models rewrite the snippet so it’s more coherent. The result is an accurate answer written succinctly with multiple sources attached.

Be aware the feature is still in the early stages. Brave states Summarizer only utilizes about 17 percent of search queries to formulate an answer, but there are plans to scale that number even higher for better paragraphs. Its accuracy needs some work, too. The company admits Summarizer may produce what it calls “hallucinations” which are unrelated snippets mixed in with results. Plus there's the possibility of the feature throwing in some “false or offensive text” into an answer.

Availability

Summarizer is currently available to all Brave Search users on desktop and mobile with the exception of the Brave Search Goggles. It’s disabled there. You can turn it off anytime you want by going into the browser’s settings menu. The company is also asking users to give some feedback on how it can improve the tool. 

We tried out Summarizer ourselves, and as cool as it is, it does need some work. Not all search results will give you a snippet as it depends on what you ask, as well as which news topics are making the rounds. The East Palestine, Ohio chemical spill, for example, is currently a hot button issue so you get Summarizer working just fine there. However when we asked about the recent cold snap in Los Angeles and what’s going on with certain video game developers, we either got no summary or outdated information. But the latter did come with sources so it was at least accurate. Still better than having ChatGPT throw a temper tantrum or lie to your face.

Be sure to check out TechRadar’s list of the best AI writer for 2023 if you’re interested in learning what AI creativity can do for you. 

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TikTok takes on YouTube with 10-minute videos – but will people watch?
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TikTok has enabled the ability to create videos that can last for up to 10 minutes, an increase from three and five minutes for different creators.

Over the last 18 months, the company has been testing different length videos that creators could publish, with a limit of five minutes that's been in place since 2019.

However, some creators wanted TikTok to extend the length, to better compete with YouTube and Instagram Reels. Now that it's here, though, one wonders if TikTok users want 10-minute videos to scroll through in their 'For You' feed.

Analysis: 10-minute videos may be a niche appeal

TikTok is a social platform where you scroll vertically to watch videos. While you can watch videos from users you follow, or another called 'For You' where TikTok's algorithm curates new videos from creators you don't follow, the app's appeal is to watch short videos to pass the time.

10-minute videos may be a stretch. We're getting perilously close to the range of a web movie or TV show. The 2003 series Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a good example here, where episodes could range between three and twelve minutes. To be fair, we rather enjoyed that series. With the new 10-minute-range, TikTok could start bringing more episodic series to the platform

In the near term, though, TikTok's new competitor is clearly YouTube, a platform that's already attracting some TikTok creators anxious for more time on the digital stage.

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Longer videos on TikTok may help some creators in the topics they create, such as making pancakes, throwbacks to old TV shows, or a documentary on certain topics.

But 10-minute videos will require users to sit down and focus on what they're watching, instead of mindlessly scrolling through. On the other hand, these longer videos are entirely optional. It's possible that you won't see 10-minute TikToks in your feed. You might also choose to help the algorithm filter them out for you by not pausing to watch any of them. After all, who has an hour to spare for TikTok?

As for Tiktok, these extended videos are a sign that it wants some of its creators to cover topics that can only be explained in relatively long-form videos. Their success in that effort will depend on how users will respond to the change.

And as TikTok comes for YouTube, YouTube is coming for TikTok, too. YouTube has its own take on TikTok called Shorts, where creators can release shorter content, but it's a feature still in its early stages.

While TikTok takes on the video giant, it's also tackling its own monetary issues, making sure creators feel compensated so they don't jump to the potentially more lucrative YouTube.

The monetization efforts compared to YouTube are reportedly very small, which has meant that creators such as hankschannel are moving away from TikTok for more income on Google's video platform.

Essentially, TikTok's faced with a multi-pronged effort to excite and keep active creators: longer videos for more creative freedom and new monetization efforts to match the creators' extra effort with better revenue streams.

It's only then that the company has a chance to go head to head with YouTube, but it also depends on whether more creators and users will jump ship to TikTok and its new 10-minute video opportunity.

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Google takes aim at Microsoft 365 with small but important update
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Google is taking the fight to Microsoft with an update for Workspace that introduces new synergies between its productivity and collaboration apps.

As detailed in a new blog post, Google Workspace users will soon be able to launch into various applications easily from within messaging platform Chat.

“While you’re having a conversation in Google Chat, you can now more easily take actions in other Google Workspace products. The options vary by context, and can include Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Photos and Calendar,” explained Google.

“This will make it easier to take action across Google Workspace and enable a faster and more seamless workflow.”

The update will begin to take effect for Android and desktop users over the next couple of weeks, but won’t land on iOS until the new year.

Google Workspace update

Since the birth of G Suite in 2006, Google has competed directly with Microsoft in the office software space, going up against the famous Microsoft 365 suite, which houses the likes of Word, PowerPoint, Excel etc.

One of the defining features of Microsoft’s offering is tight integration between apps and services, extending all the way out to the Windows operating system on which most business devices run. And although Google stole the march on Microsoft when it came to the cloud-based model, individual G Suite apps have historically felt much more isolated.

When Google rebranded its productivity suite as Workspace last year, however, the company announced it would make a concerted effort to create a more “deeply integrated user experience”, by improving the level of interoperability between its various productivity apps.

The latest Workspace update takes steps towards achieving this goal, but is just one of a number of improvements Google has made in recent months where interoperability is concerned.

In June, for example, the company announced an integration between Chat and Calendar, which helps users connect quickly with co-workers ahead of or after an upcoming meeting. This was later followed by a separate integration that allows users to share documents and messages with meeting attendees from within the calendar marker.

At its annual Cloud Next event, meanwhile, Google announced it will invest heavily in the Workspace Marketplace, the third-party app library that services its product suite. The goal is to create ways to expand the functionality of its services and cut the number of apps workers are required to juggle at once.

While these updates might appear insignificant in isolation, each contributes to the goal of stitching together Google Workspace in a way that will make the user experience feel less disjointed and more coherent.

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