EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Flesh-eating parasite spread by sand flies has foothold in U.S., scientists say.
OpenAI Finally Allows ChatGPT Complete Internet Access
Gizmodo: “OpenAI’s world-famous chatbot is free to rummage through the internet’s darkest corners. The company declaredTuesday that the “Browse with Bing” feature is ready for prime time for those ChatGPT users paying for Plus or Enterprise editions.
This lets ChatGPT access up-to-date information, rather than being limited to the training data that was cut off before September 2021. There are several existing plugins and applications that give ChatGPT access to the internet though this official release signals the company thinks its AI’s ethical constraints can withstand open access to the best and worst the internet has to offer.
The new feature is available on both web and mobile version to those customers who pay the $20 monthly subscription. ChatGPT is already a feature in Microsoft’s Bing browser, so there’s quite a lot of cross-pollination going on. In that vein, OpenAI’s new AI image generator DALL-E 3 already has ChatGPT integration. The company said Monday it would stick DALL-E 3 in ChatGPT letting users create all the deepfakes and silly art they want through the chatbot’s UI.”
The Online Maze of Job Applications
CareerFair-Shikhar Sachdev: “Applying to jobs online is like navigating a maze. Amidst the special torture that is resume parsing software, the inability to reuse information across different application tracking systems (ATS), and the existence of a certain company that rhymes with every day of the week, it can get pretty frustrating.
I wanted to explore what factors make a job application more or less frustrating. For example, what industries have the worst application processes? Do big companies ask for more information than small companies? What is it about websites like Workday that make them really hard to use? To answer these questions, I applied to 250 jobs. One by one. Click by click. No Linkedin Easy Apply, no shortcuts – just straight from the careers page. I timed how long it took me to go from “apply to job” to “submit application”.
- See also Wired – Job Hunting Sucks. This Programmer Filled Out 250 Applications to Find Out Why – Shikhar Sachdev wanted to reveal what made the process so draining—so he spent 11 hours filling applications. Now he has tips for both job seekers and hiring managers.
Trustworthy Data for Social and Economic Research
Association of Public Data Users – Melissa C. Chiu, Director, Committee on National Statistics, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: “Trustworthy, reliable, and widely available statistics are essential for making informed decisions in the public and private sectors, including policy makers, government agencies, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.
The federal statistical system plays a crucial role in producing trustworthy data for the common good, providing statistics that are accurate, relevant, and timely. In addition, research relies on credible authoritative sources of information. The federal statistical system provides a vast array of reliable data that enhances the accuracy and depth of research on many issues such as employment, economic growth, cost of living, crime victimization, physical and mental health, educational attainment, energy use, and the environment.
And in an age of misinformation and the proliferation of social media, the need for unbiased and accurate information has never been greater. Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) highlights the important public good provided by strong federal statistical agencies and provides a core set of principles and practices for producing trustworthy statistics.
These principles and practices benefit federal agencies and the research enterprise by providing a clear, consistent, and ethical foundation for this work and are designed to ensure that the federal statistical system maintains objectivity and independence.
They also ensure that data produced by federal agencies undergo rigorous quality checks, use appropriate measures to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of individuals and organizations, and are free from bias and political influence.”
