Spending our Lives
/How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. -Annie Dillard
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
Showing AI skills in your job search
/Given the emerging and quickly developing nature of AI tools, it can be tricky to display your expertise in a particular skill as a job candidate. Job applicants can build up their AI skills and stand out from the competition in three key ways:
Stay on top of developments. Find online resources and sign up to email lists to read about the latest trends and developments. The technology is moving so fast, the challenge is staying up to date. It is important to try and build a fundamental knowledge of what’s going on behind the scenes with AI news.
Use AI in your own work. Seek out opportunities in your work to try and use these tools. That’s when you really start to understand the strengths and weaknesses and can learn to write smart prompts to get the best application out of them.
Show how you’ve used AI successfully to achieve a specific goal. Indicate that you’ve added commercial value to your organization by using it.
Adopted from a CNBC article by Jennifer Liu
The Top 8 AI Image Creation Tools
/Adobe Firefly
An all-in-one AI solution for video and photo production from the people who brought you. Easy to use, it can do AI video editing, 3D modeling, text-to-image and text-to-video generation, photo editing, AI-enhanced scene transitions, auto-resizing and color correction. Of course, it has a smooth integration with Adobe Creative Cloud. Because it was trained on Adobe Stock images, there are no copyright issues. All the generated images safe for commercial use. The downside: it doesn’t do well with complex queries and is not consistent when generating text within images. Free version provides 25 monthly generative credits or $4.99 a month.
Bing AI Image Creator
This feature in Microsoft’s search engine Bing is powered by OpenAI’s DALL-E. It allows users to generate realistic and creative images from text prompts. Free but with a limit of 25 images each day.
Canva
The graphic design platform has integrated generative AI into all its products including: image, and text creation, photos, audio, and video editing. Use Canvas drag-and-drop to create social media graphics, headers, slides, flyers, photo collages, posters, infographics, even mind maps for concepts. Share to social media straight from the app or download for posting. Limited editing tools so it’s more for beginners. Free. $12 a month gets you more options.
DALL-E
OpenAI’s tool that turns written text into images using AI. Named after painter Salvador Dali and Disney Pixar’s WALL-E. Understands long, complex queries. Includes a helpful edit feature. Select an area of a generated image and prompt it to change that part. However, not as reliable at generating accurate text than Ideogram or Flux. A limited number of images are free. $20 per month for ChatGPT Plus.
Ideogram
An excellent AI image and video generator. A paid account isn’t needed to get quality images, this one is easier to use for beginners than tools like Midjourney. It has a simple to use interface. Text in the images comes out more readable than most AI image creators, which is important for social media graphics, thumbnails, logos, etc. Ten credits a day free (about 5 images). Free users can only download a 70% quality JPEG image, not the full-resolution version. Images are public when using the free version. Paid accounts starts at $7 monthly for more images and quicker rendering than the free version along with advanced features like Canvas, which lets you modify images. Paid accounts can use negative prompts (what you don’t want in the image).
Microsoft Designer's Image Creator
One of the best image creators, it is powered by DALL-E 3. Accessible in the same place that you access Microsoft's AI chatbot Copilot. Free (though you must create a Microsoft account).
MidJourney
One of the best AI image generators, it uses machine learning to create high-quality pictures based on text. The interface has been improved since it first launched. There is a limited free version but paying the monthly cost will avoid annoying ads. You’ll find a good prompt book here and a guide to get started here.
Stability AI's DreamStudio
A more accessible version of Stable Diffusion, which requires some technical skills. Users can create images through AI with many customizations, such as telling it what to avoid. An account must be created sign in with Google or Discord accounts. $1 for 100 credits, one image costs two credits.
Others worth Considering
Leonardo.AI
Originally meant to help folks create gaming assets, it produces impressive and clear images. Useful but limited editing tools. There’s no post-editing on the free plan and the privacy plan is weak. Free plan allows up to 150 images each day.
Flux AI
Use this AI image generation tool for free through HuggingFace or Freepik. It creates gorgeous images and doesn’t require any special prompting lingo.
Whisk
Google’s new AI tool Whisk uses image prompts instead of text. Input a collection of images without a prompt and choose a style to generate a new image. Unlike traditional AI image generators, which allow users to specify exactly what they want, Whisk enables users to experiment and draw inspiration without the constraints of text inputs. Users can tweak the final image. Intended as a fun AI feature, rather than a refined professional work tool.
The Top 7 Chatbots for Writing
/ChatGPT
Trained on the most data so it is the most powerful overall AI. Faster than other chatbots and can answer more difficult, complex questions than many other chatbots with better memory. Processes up to 25K words and can use both images and text as inputs. It doesn’t do sourcing and does not pull from the most recent info. Can browse the internet with Bing. Performed faster than other chatbots in tests, offering more-thorough answers, and answers more-difficult, complex questions. The advance voice mode makes it easy to chat with while you are on the go, making it a useful replacement for search quires. There’s a feature that allows users to customize the tone and voice to their own style of writing. There is a limited free version or pay $20 a month for ChatGPT Plus.
Perplexity AI
A good research option among the generative AI tools when accuracy is critical. It acts like a search engine but includes results from the web (unlike ChatGPT).Automatically shows where the information came from, so it’s more reliable than ChatGPT. Users can specify where they want the information to be drawn from among a few categories such as academic sources or YouTube. Users can also upload documents as sources and ask it to rewrite prompts. It suggests follow-up questions you might not have considered. Less useful for creative writing. In tests, it was better at summarizing passages, providing information on current events and do coding better than other chatbots. Unmatched speed and accuracy in processing millions of data makes it very useful to data scientists for advanced predictive models. The free plan allows 3 pro searches every four hours. Video tutorial here.
ChatSonic
Created by WriteSonic built on top of the same technology that powers ChatGPT. Can assume personas such as a philosopher or stand-up comic. Create up to 100 AI-generated images each month for free. Connected to the internet, so it can provide real-time, up-to-date answers, which ChatGPT cannot do. Free.
Claude
Writing, coding, in-depth analysis AI. Designed to be inoffensive. Like ChatGPT, it can act on text or uploaded files. Useful for summarizing long transcripts, clarifying complex writings, and generating lists of ideas and questions. Can analyze huge documents, up to 75K words at a time. In tests, it is more conversational, gives direct answers, sometimes links to sources, and offers better creative writing suggestions than other chatbots but can be slower. It can mimic your writing style and users have the option of three presets: formal style, concise, or explanatory style. Trained on the AP Stylebook. Free plan allows up to 40 messages a day.
Gemini
Google claims this large language model is better at math, coding and other tasks than many other programs. It provides real time responses with the help of Google’s search engine. Besides text, it can take commands that come as videos, images, voice and code. It has access to more timely and updated information than ChatGPT. Gemini Advanced costs $20 a month after the trial period ends.
Jasper AI
AI story writing tool for fiction and nonfiction. Pick a tone of voice for style. Pre-built templates available. A more business-focused AI that is particularly helpful for advertising and marketing. Remembers past queries, However, no sources are provided and limited to pre-2022 information. Short free trial. $29 month.
Poe (Platform for Open Exploration)
Created by Quora, this AI lets users create a personalized chatbot using one of 70 bots (such as OpenAI or Anthropic). Poe lets you compare and contrast models to find the right fit for your specific need in any given moment. (Poe doesn't have its own large language model.) Free.
AI Text Tools for Everyday
ChatGPT for quick inquiries
Claude as an everyday workhorse
Perplexity for research
NotebookLM to condense large amounts of information
Infography.in for text to infographics
Napkin AI to convert text into visuals and charts.
AI Weather Forecasting
/GenCast, a new model from Google’s DeepMind artificial-intelligence lab that can provide accurate forecasts up to 15 days in advance, a leap beyond current predictions. The public will be able to see real-time forecasts from the model within the first few weeks of 2025, says a company spokesman. -Wall Street Journal
Honesty
/How desperately difficult it is to be honest with oneself. It is much easier to be honest with other people. -Edward Beson
How to Know Someone is Still Young
/If they talk about the past and they talk about all the things that happened that they did, they've gotten old. If they think about their dreams, their aspirations, what they're still looking forward to — they're young." -Ric Elias
212 Movies about Journalism
/
(or a little about journalism)
2024
Black Box Diaries - A Japanese journalist investigates her own rape leading to accusations against a prominent TV executive, triggering Japan’s #MeToo movement. Personal and compelling.
Civil War - In a dystopian future America, a team of military-embedded journalists race against time to reach DC before rebel factions descend upon the White House.
Impulse - A journalist uncovers a cult and shadow government. Low production, poor acting, and not much in the way of journalism.
Lee - (Kate Winslet) A fashion model becomes an acclaimed war correspondent during World War II. Based on a true story. Conventional and melodramatic but well-acted.
Monolith - A disgraced Australian journalist starts a podcast and follows a conspiracy theory that leads to herself. A slow-burn sci-fi flick set in one location.
Players - A group of single Brooklyn reporters spend their evenings scheming for short-lived hookups until one of them falls for one of his targets. Predictable.
2023
Boston Strangler - Two underestimated female journalists battle sexism as they are the first to connect the 1960s Boston Strangler murders.
Freelance - An ex-special forces operative hired to protect a journalist becomes involved in a coup in South America.
The Good Mother - (Hilary Swank) A journalist works with her murdered son’s pregnant girlfriend Paige to track down the killers. A talented cast with an underwhelming script.
Line of Fire (aka Darklands) - An Australian blogger and amateur journalist pursues her relentlessly for an interview, unwittingly endangering her family.
Origins - The personal and professional journey of Pulitzer Prize-winner Isabel Wilkerson
The Night Doctrine - When an Afghan journalist tries to discover who murdered her family 30 years ago, she uncover hundreds of civilians killed in a secretive American-backed program. This short animated documentary was produced by ProPublica.
The Test
/Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished. If you're alive, it isn't. -Richard Bach
What Would You Do?
/You have applied for a job and the interviewer asks you a question that lands like a bombshell: do you have a boyfriend? Then another: do people find you desirable? And a third: do you think it is important for women to wear bras to work? If you are a woman you probably know what you would do. Perhaps you would refuse to answer, complain or walk out. You would certainly be furious.
This is how 197 female American undergraduates, asked to imagine such an interview, said they would react. But they—and probably you—were wrong. The psychologists who asked them, Marianne LaFrance and Julie Woodzicka, orchestrated a real-life version of this ordeal, by advertising for a research assistant and arranging for male accomplices to interview the first 50 women who applied.
Half were randomly chosen to be asked those three questions. Not one refused to answer, let alone complained or walked out. When they were asked afterwards (and offered the chance to apply for a real job), they said they had felt not anger, but fear.
Videos of the interviews showed how much this supposedly minor sexual harassment threw the women off their stride. They plastered on fake smiles.
In a final twist, the researchers showed clips of the videos to male MBA students. Fake smiles are fairly easy to tell from real ones: they involve fewer facial muscles and do not crinkle the corners of the eyes. But many of the men saw the women as amused, even flirtatious.
9 Free Webinars This Week about Media, AI, & Journalism
/Tue, Jan 7 - 5 Things you should do in 2025 to leverage AI for Learning Speaker
What: In this forward-looking session, you'll gain actionable insights on five critical steps to harness AI's power for learning; Build a Personalized Learning Coach with LLMs; Implement Adaptive Content Engagement Systems; Create Immersive AI-Driven Simulations for Skill Development; Establish an AI Ethics Framework for Learning Initiatives Integrate AI-Enhanced Performance Support Tools
Who: Margie Meacham Founder and Chief Freedom Officer, Learningtogo.ai
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: OpenSesame
Tue, Jan 7 - Social Media Boot Camp, part 1
What: Why social media is critical for your organization. The fundamentals of thought leadership Content pillars – what they are and how to use them. Top 6 social media platforms to help you create awareness for your organization. 12 key metrics to measure 5 tips for optimizing your social media presence.
Who: Kiersten Hill, Firespring
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Firespring
Tue, Jan 7 - The AI Metadata Assistant in the Metadata Editor
What: The AI Metadata Assistant uses a Large Language Model generative AI to process information about a library resource, and suggest relevant metadata to the cataloger to help make the cataloging process quicker and more efficient. The cataloger can then review the suggested data and accept, correct or dismiss it, as well as add more complex, expert metadata and library-specific metadata.
Who: Yoel Kortick, Senior Librarian, Ex Libris; Lili Daie, Product Manager Ex Libris
When: 10 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: PQ Training Ops
Tue, Jan 7 - Exploring AI’s Impact on California Publishers
What: This interactive webinar will set the stage for the series, fostering conversation and collaboration among California publishers about the impact of AI on our industry.
When: 12 pm, Pacific
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: California News Publishers Association
Wed, Jan 8 - 2025 B2B Digital Marketing Predictions & Resolutions
What: Insights from marketing leaders about what we should expect to encounter in 2025.
Who: Lou Cohen Director, Digital Marketing & Demand Generation Leader, Digital Marketing Professor NYU, Yeshiva University, & CUNY Baruch College
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Association of National Advertisers
Wed, Jan 8 - Social Media Boot Camp, part 2
What: Use social media to connect with constituents. Monitor conversations to stay ahead of the curve. Get people to advocate on your behalf. Navigate social media advertising and understand when to use it.
Who: Kiersten Hill, Firespring
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Firespring
Thu, Jan 9 - Generative AI And Academic Integrity: Some Considerations
What: Ways that you can limit dishonest use of these tools, whether in academic writing, computer code assignments, or other fields. We will discuss various digital tools and pedagogical techniques that have been proposed to combat dishonest behavior with AI, and we will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each.
When: 11 am, Central
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free (with a UChicago ID)
Sponsor: University of Chicago
Thu, Jan 9 - The Future of Learning: AI-Driven Personalization Speaker
What: Through real-world examples and research, attendees will gain actionable insights into measuring learner states, leveraging AI’s predictive capabilities, and designing content for an AI-enabled ecosystem. Learn how to embrace emerging technologies like chatbots as one-on-one tutors and prepare for the future of instructional design.
Who: Josh Cavalier Founder, JoshCavalier.ai
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Training Magazine Network
Thu, Jan 9 - Using AI Tools To Promote Meaningful Learning
What: The objectives of this one-hour workshop are to consider the impact AI tools are having or stand to have on teaching and learning in your various fields of study; articulate your vision for AI’s role in your teaching; and explore ways you might integrate AI into meaningful learning activities. We’ll review some best practices and some suggestions for using AI as part of your learning environment that have resulted from the larger pedagogical conversation thus far.
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free (with a UChicago ID)
Sponsor: University of Chicago
Luck
/I am a great believer in luck. The harder I work the more I seem to have of it. (attributed to Thomas Jefferson but not found in his writings)
Making a Mistake
/He who never made a mistake never made a discovery. -Samuel Smiles
Chatbots & Health Care
/It’s not that chatbots can’t do some impressive things in health care. The problem is that they’re designed to respond with an “average” answer, says Rachel Draelos, a physician and computer scientist who founded the health tech start-up Cydoc. “But nobody’s an average. What makes medicine really interesting is that every patient is an individual and needs to be treated that way.” - Washington Post
Laughter and Madness
/He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad. (the opening line of Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini)
In Five Years
/If you kept going the way you are now, who would you be in five years? Instead of focusing on what you’ll become, in terms of work and social success, think about what you are learning and what kind of person you are turning into.
23 Articles from December about AI & Data Science
/AI Definitions: Artificial General Intelligence
Agentic AI cannot survive without data scientists
AI Definitions: Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)
Agentic AI will require data scientists to frame problems, not just solve them
These mistakes can ruin your machine learning project
How to Clean Your Data for Your Real-Life Data Science Projects
An AI-enabled weapon systems center and create a working group under the U.S. Cyber Command
Geospatial analysis advances as AI uses auditory prompts to create relevant images
What Is Agentic AI, and How Will It Change Work?
AI Definitions: Natural language processing
Scaling laws have shaped AI’s past, but they no longer define its future
The US Central Command is employing large language models for some of its processes
Inducing anxiety in large language models can produce bias
Military takes on question of when AI is the right thing to do
Air Force continues to expand its version of ChatGPT following summer launch
A 'Not-to-Do List'
/New Year's Eve is time to resolve what you want in the year ahead. Rather than creating a list of resolutions, Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, sits down and does the opposite. Before setting down any strategic objectives, he comes up with three corresponding things to stop doing. So if he decided he wanted to read more, he first determined to unplug the TV.
He suggests you ask yourself what you're:
a) passionate about
b) good at
c) able to make a living doing.
Then consider how you're spending time. How much of it falls outside those three factors? If the answer is most of it, a not-to-do list could be a valuable tool.
AI Definitions: Artificial General Intelligence
/Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) – A machine that has the capacity to understand or learn any intellectual task that a human being can. Rather than focusing on solving specific problems (like Deep Blue, which was good at chess), this type of AI has broader uses and may possess seemingly human-level intelligence to learn and adapt. Most experts say AGI is at least decades away. Beyond AGI lies the more speculative goal of "sentient AI," where the programs become aware of their existence with feelings and desires.
More AI definitions here
The daily battle
/The daily battle hasn't been good versus evil. Most days, my real battle is doing good versus doing nothing. -Deirdre Sullivan