Vacation planning with AI and miniature models

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How to use AI to plan your next vacation

Planning a vacation should be fun in theory, but it can also be time-consuming and stressful, especially if you don’t know where to start.

Luckily, tech companies are racing to develop tools to help you with everything from creating travel itineraries to booking flights to brushing up on your language skills. While we’re still a long way from AI agents that can manage the entire vacation planning and booking process for you, the current generation of AI tools is still pretty useful.

Here are some ways to make your vacation a little easier and give you more time to enjoy it. Read the full story.

—Rhiannon Williams

Must-read

I’ve scoured the internet to find today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories in tech.

1. AI models are getting smaller
Big models are being ignored, replaced by faster, less powerful software. (WSJ $)
+ These words are conclusive evidence that the text was produced by LLM. (Wired$)

Two small arms startups are changing the face of Ukraine’s war
They are leaving more established players behind. (FT$)
+ Inside the troubling ethics of using machines to wage war. (MIT Technology Review)

3 How to trick scammers
AI bots are the first line of defense against phone scams. (The Guardian)
+ Cryptocurrency theft through hacking is on the rise. (Reuters)
+ Also beware of card skimmers. (insider$)

4 Saudi Arabia is using esports to launder its reputation
He has been accused of trying to sportswash his record of human rights abuses. (CNN)

5 What would happen if Russia detonated a nuclear bomb in space?
This will cause indiscriminate damage all over the world. (WP$)
+ How to Fight (and Escape) a War in Space (MIT Technology Review)

6 Ferrari is working on its first fully electric car
Other luxury automakers are struggling to make the switch. (NYT $)
+ Why the world’s largest EV manufacturer is entering the shipping industry. (MIT Technology Review)

7 How an Australian couple persuaded regulators to approve MDMA therapy
Despite having no medical or scientific background. (Bloomberg)
+ People who ate microdosed candy may have died. (Ars Technica)
+ Advisers to the US FDA have opposed the use of MDMA as a therapeutic agent. (MIT Technology Review)

8 Google’s repair policy is broken
Good luck getting your Pixelbook Go working again. (Wired $)

9 This drug helps treat alcoholism
But doctors seem reluctant to prescribe it. (Slate $)

10 great and good people in Silicon Valley ready to mingle
AI and Donald Trump are at the top of the agenda at this year’s Sun Valley rally. (The Information $)

Quote of the Day

“You can’t ring the bell, you can’t scream at the bell, you can only leave the area immediately.”

—San Francisco cyclist Reed Martin spoke to The Washington Post about the eerie feeling of sharing the road with self-driving cars.

The big story

ChatGPT is going to revolutionize the economy, we need to decide what that will look like.

March 2023

The gold rush to profit from generative AI models like ChatGPT is underway, and you can almost hear cries coming from office corners around the world asking, “What’s ChatGPT’s strategy? How are we going to make money on this?”

But while businesses and executives are eager to reap the benefits, the impact of generative AI on workers and the economy as a whole is less clear.

Will ChatGPT exacerbate the income and wealth inequality that is already a problem in the United States and many other countries, or could it actually bring about some much-needed productivity gains? Read the full story.

A place that’s comfortable, fun, and light-hearted enough to brighten your day. (Any ideas?) Contact me or Tweet me.

+ The most exciting thing about the Olympic Games return is the return of the Rave Horses.
+ Mmm, s’mores.
+ This disco ball picture is truly mesmerizing. 🪩
+Charisma: It’s not something we all have, but it’s something we all want.