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AI Sidequest

@aisidequest.bsky.social
19 followers 84 following 60 posts

I'm a newsletter about AI for writers, editors, marketers, and educators. No hype. No hate. ai-sidequest.beehiiv.com

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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Cool!
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
I had that feeilng a lot when I was a professor. A smart person told me, "You can help a lot of people a little or a few people a lot. You have to decide which feels more meaningful to you." (Or you can try to do both.)
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
This also reminded me of a study I saw last year that got better results by asking for a word-based rating than a numerical rating. They needed a "scale of 1-5" number, so they asked it for a narrative assessment first and then converted to a number.
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Claude recently started adding confidence levels to a data clean-up project without being asked to. They're so-so. Probably useful 70% of the time. I definitely check all the "lows," but I also notice "highs" that are wrong.
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Speaking of movies, I'd love to see an analysis of the environmental cost of making video content. If streaming is like inference, then making the content seems kind of analogous to training.
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Is there a way for other people to access this? Link? I'd love to take look.
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
Came here to say the same thing: as a mostly-lurker, I will miss your posts quite a bit.
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
I'm glad to see this! Looking forward to listening.
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
That's hilarious. I haven't had time to test it much myself yet, but my husband's early opinion is that 5.2 is "a lazy mf'er."
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
I feel this so much.
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
Preach. I’ve been complaining about tests that seem designed to fail.
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
OMG, I'm dying 🤣
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
😂 That was my exact reaction
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Ethan Mollick @emollick.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
On AI & water usage, it looks like all US data center usage (not just AI) ranges from 628M gallons a day (counting evaporation from dam reservoirs used for hydro-power) to 200-275M with power but not dam evaporation, to 50M for cooling alone. So not nothing, but also a lot less than golf courses.
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
This guy has all the answers (i.e., recipes) you seek: www.instagram.com/p/DPjlJt7AJ7P/
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
A 20/80 rule for AI in education. And what that looked like yesterday in my classroom. [An interesting example of how a teacher is using AI in the classroom.] aiwaypoints.substack.com/p/a-2080-rul...
aiwaypoints.substack.com
A 20/80 rule for AI in education
And what that looked like yesterday in my classroom
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Nicole Hennig @nic221.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Meta Ray-Ban Display Sells Out As Early Adopters Struggle To Buy www.uploadvr.com/meta-ray-ban-displ… #AI #glasses
Text Shot: After just two days, Meta Ray-Ban Display is now sold out in almost every store it was available in.
Restocks are "coming", Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth says, and the company plans to double the number of stores where the glasses are offered.
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alice @alice.mosphere.at · 01/10/2025
they literally gave sonnet 4.5 context anxiety cognition.ai/blog/devin-s...
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TechCrunch @techcrunch.com · 30/09/2025
PayPal's Honey will now with with ChatGPT to find shopping deals.
techcrunch.com
PayPal's Honey to integrate with ChatGPT and other AIs for shopping assistance | TechCrunch
PayPal's Honey will now with with ChatGPT to find shopping deals.
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Amanda Silberling @amanda.omg.lol · 30/09/2025
OpenAI is launching a social app where you can generate deepfakes of you and your friends and obviously nothing will go wrong here at all ever techcrunch.com/2025/09/30/o...
techcrunch.com
OpenAI is launching the Sora app, its own TikTok competitor, alongside the Sora 2 model | TechCrunch
The social app Sora will let users generate videos of themselves and their friends, which they can share in a TikTok-like feed.
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Ars Technica @arstechnica.com · 30/09/2025
arstechnica.com
Critics slam OpenAI’s parental controls while users rage, “Treat us like adults”
OpenAI still isn’t doing enough to protect teens, suicide prevention experts say.
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ellie lockhart (she/they) @eleanor.lockhart.contact · 30/09/2025
The entire structure of how OpenAI presents ChatGPT is deceptive. There’s nothing wrong with having safety precautions but this is basically a magic trick where they are attempting to both foist an experimental language model on consumers and have them humanize it the-decoder.com/chatgpt-quie...
the-decoder.com
ChatGPT quietly switches to a stricter language model when users submit emotional prompts
OpenAI's ChatGPT automatically switches to a more restrictive language model when users submit emotional or personalized prompts, but users aren't notified when this happens.
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
OpenAI’s New Sora Video Generator to Require Copyright Holders to Opt Out [This is not how copyright works.] www.wsj.com/tech/ai/open...
wsj.com
Exclusive | OpenAI’s New Sora Video Generator to Require Copyright Holders to Opt Out
Executives at the company notified talent agencies and studios over the last week.
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Buy it in ChatGPT: Instant Checkout and the Agentic Commerce Protocol openai.com/index/buy-it...
openai.com
Buy it in ChatGPT: Instant Checkout and the Agentic Commerce Protocol
We’re taking first steps toward agentic commerce in ChatGPT with new ways for people, AI agents, and businesses to shop together.
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Nicole Hennig @nic221.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Beyond AI Deepfakes & the Uncanny Valley nettricegaskins.medium.com/beyond-a… #AI #deepfakes #history
Projects such as "Conversations with Bina-48" are examples of creative
engagement, which is not only cognitive but also participatory where the learner is a creative agent, producing (or making) generative acts or artifacts. In MidJourney, for example, users can add the "Raw" parameter to their prompts in order to turn off "auto-pilot" and control the final look of their images. Passive consumption and interaction does not necessarily result in becoming more Al literate. A person frequently using generative Al technology is likely more able to spot a deepfake. Artists like Stephanie Dinkins are pushing towards a more expansive use of AI.
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
New from 404 Media: we've closely been following the wave of lawyers getting caught using AI. But now we know why: here 18 lawyers explain why they used AI. They blame IT, family emergencies, their own poor judgment, their assistants, illness, and more. www.404media.co/18-lawyers-c...
404media.co
18 Lawyers Caught Using AI Explain Why They Did It
Lawyers blame IT, family emergencies, their own poor judgment, their assistants, illness, and more.
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Sung Kim @sungkim.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Paper: Towards an AI-Augmented Textbook ( arxiv.org/abs/2509.13348 )
arxiv.org
Towards an AI-Augmented Textbook
Textbooks are a cornerstone of education, but they have a fundamental limitation: they are a one-size-fits-all medium. Any new material or alternative representation requires arduous human effort, so ...
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Cartoon Brew @cartoonbrew.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
French filmmaker groups have penned an open letter opposing OpenAI’s plan to debut an AI-generated animated film at Cannes, urging the protection of human-led artistry. www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film...
cartoonbrew.com
French Filmmaking Orgs Condemn OpenAI-Backed Animated Feature
French creators’ groups oppose OpenAI’s reported plan to debut an AI-generated animated film at Cannes, urging protection of human-led artistry.
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AI News Updates @ai-latestnews.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Are deepfakes reshaping our news reality? Explore how AI transforms satire and journalism in today’s media landscape. #Deepfakes www.theguardian.com/technology/2025…
theguardian.com
From South Park v Trump to AI slopaganda: deepfakes are now part of the news cycle, for better and for worse | Anna Broinowski
Deepfakes come with risks that demand urgent regulation. But it is vital their potential as a creative and satirical tool isn’t stifled
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AI News Updates @ai-latestnews.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Spotify removed over 75 million tracks deemed 'spammy' in an AI music crackdown. How much do you think AI will change music? #MusicIndustry www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/spot…
musicbusinessworldwide.com
Spotify has deleted 75m+ tracks in ‘spammy’ AI music crackdown
Spotify introduces a suite of new policies for managing AI generated content on its service
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TechCrunch @techcrunch.com · 25/09/2025
A new test from OpenAI aims to understand how close AI is to outperforming humans at economically valuable work.
techcrunch.com
OpenAI says GPT-5 stacks up to humans in a wide range of jobs | TechCrunch
A new test from OpenAI aims to understand how close AI is to outperforming humans at economically valuable work.
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Sung Kim @sungkim.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Replacing humans with AI is harder than it seems. "The algorithm will see you now" worksinprogress.co/issue/the-al...
worksinprogress.co
The algorithm will see you now - Works in Progress Magazine
Radiology combines digital images, clear benchmarks, and repeatable tasks. But replacing humans with AI is harder than it seems.
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Alex Heath @alexeheath.com · 25/09/2025
SOURCES: OpenAI is planning to bring ads to ChatGPT. Also: In a message to employees, Sam Altman says he wants 250 gigawatts of compute by 2033. He calls OpenAI's team behind Stargate a "core bet" like research / robotics. "Doing this right will cost trillions." sources.news/p/openai-ads...
sources.news
OpenAI is looking for a head of ads
Fidji Simo is on the hunt for someone to oversee all monetization efforts, including bringing advertising to ChatGPT. Plus: Sam Altman's internal note to employees about Stargate.
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
It was inevitable. ChatGPT-selected stocks beating professional money managers. @reuters.com www.reuters.com/business/fin...
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Sung Kim @sungkim.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
how likely a bond will trade at a given price. HSBC and the US technology giant applied quantum processing to an anonymized set of European bond trading data and found it could significantly enhance the efficiency of the market." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
HSBC Says New Quantum Computing Trial Beat Wall Street Rivals
HSBC Holdings Plc said it’s achieved a world-first breakthrough in deploying quantum computing in financial markets, as a race intensifies among some of Wall Street’s biggest firms to embed the cuttin...
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AI News Updates @ai-latestnews.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
UK's new AI tool has recovered nearly £500m lost to fraud in just a year. How do you think AI can further tackle financial crimes? #FraudPrevention www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpd92gpld…
bbc.com
AI tool used to recover £500m lost to fraud, government says
Ministers say software developed by the Cabinet Office has helped to ramp up fraud detection.
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LSE Impact @lseimpactblog.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
💥New: ChatGPT is blind to bad science ✍️ @yelusikuata.bsky.social & @mikethelwall.bsky.social #AcWri #SciComm #ChatGPT #Retractions
blogs.lse.ac.uk
ChatGPT is blind to bad science - Impact of Social Sciences
A new study finds ChatGPT fails to take into account retraction notices across a wide range of research.
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Christine Wenc @clearwing3.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
thewalrus.ca
I Used to Teach Students. Now I Catch ChatGPT Cheats | The Walrus
I once believed university was a shared intellectual pursuit. That faith has been obliterated
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AI News Updates @ai-latestnews.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Excited about Facebook's new AI dating assistant? How do you think it’ll change the dating game for users? #AIDating techcrunch.com/2025/09/22/facebook-…
techcrunch.com
Facebook is getting an AI dating assistant | TechCrunch
Facebook Dating s AI assistant is supposed to help users build their profiles and find the matches they re looking for.
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Nicole Hennig @nic221.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
AI can walk through all the doors at once - Mike Caulfield mikecaulfield.substack.com/p/ai-can… (& a fun Letterman clip) #AI #usefulness
Immediately after I demonstrate a cool way to use Al to research something, someone usually asks "But couldn't you do this without
Al?"
It's a weird question in a way. The most honest answer is that I don't generally choose technologies that make my life harder, and so if I am using Al it's because I am getting some benefit from it. It's making me faster, more accurate, more thorough, or getting me to better answers. It's true that sometimes people delude themselves, but I am not a person with no knowledge of research suggesting these tools might help. This is actually my area of expertise.I think about someone explaining the advantages of WordPerfect for DOS back in the day to someone who had never used it. So what can you do with it that you couldn't do with a typewriter? In a way, nothing. The end result is a sheet of paper with words on it. If anything the dot matrix copy looks worse. But you can edit! Sure, says the person, I can do that with an 89 cent bit of white-out. I can print multiple copies! Sure, says the person, ever heard of a photocopier? Maybe you convince the person to use WordPerfect. They try it and complain it takes them 10 times longer to get a simple memo typed. They joke they have to type a bunch of things that are going on a page on a screen and then have to go to a different machine to put them on a page. Efficiency!
And so on. My point here isn't so much whether Al is useful or not, it's more that with any technology, good or bad, there's a point where talking isn't going to help. The people who find it useful will use it, some people won't,
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AI News Updates @ai-latestnews.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Are teen innovators shaping the future of tech in San Francisco? Discover their role in the AI gold rush! What do you think? #AIFuture nymag.com/intelligencer/article/san…
nymag.com
The AI Kids Take San Francisco
Brilliant, workaholic teenagers are flooding the city — and reshaping our future in their image.
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AI News Updates @ai-latestnews.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
Curious about how The New York Times and The Washington Post are leveraging AI in journalism? Discover their innovative strategies! #AIinJournalism www.niemanlab.org/2025/09/a-look-in…
niemanlab.org
A look inside the AI strategies at The New York Times and The Washington Post
Digiday held the most recent edition of its Digiday Publishing Summit in Miami last week, and it
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New Scientist @newscientist.com · 07/09/2025
Not only is solar more than capable of supplying all the world’s energy, in the long term it’s the only power source that won’t fry the planet.
newscientist.com
Why solar power is the only viable power source in the long run
Not only is solar more than capable of supplying all the world’s energy, in the long term it is the only power source that won’t fry the planet
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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Wow, I'm just seeing that the judge denied the class-action settlement in the Anthropic copyright case! "Without prejudice" means the parties can "file another motion to fill in the details Judge Alsop found lacking." chatgptiseatingtheworld.com/2025/09/08/s...
chatgptiseatingtheworld.com
Shocker: Judge Alsup denies preliminary approval of class settlement in Bartz v. Anthropic, without prejudice.
As first reported by Annelise Levy of Bloomberg Law, Judge Alsup denied the motion for preliminary approval of the Bartz book authors’ proposed settlement at today’s hearing in San Fran…
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Bill Resh @billresh.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
I'm grateful to the folks at IBM for platforming our work assessing impacts of genAI on the fed workforce. This work was designed before the draconian, ham-fisted cuts that were (partly) based on an absurd faith in AI as a replacement to labor. This work refutes that premise in full relief.
businessofgovernment.org
GenAI and the Future of Government Work | IBM Center for The Business of Government
On behalf of the IBM Center for The Business of Government, we are pleased to present this new report, GenAI and the Future of Government Work by Professor William G.Resh, Andrew Young School of Polic...
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AI Sidequest @aisidequest.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
What the heck! I tried it and got something similar, but I’ve never seen anything like this before. What is going on?!?!
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Simon Willison @simonwillison.net · 06/09/2025
The previously sensible advice to never use ChatGPT for search needs to be rethought - GPT-5 in thinking mode is shockingly good at running searches now simonwillison.net/2025/Sep/6/r...
simonwillison.net
GPT-5 Thinking in ChatGPT (aka Research Goblin) is shockingly good at search
“Don’t use chatbots as search engines” was great advice for several years... until it wasn’t. I wrote about how good OpenAI’s o3 was at using its Bing-backed search tool back …
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AI News Updates @ai-latestnews.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
Are rising electricity bills a price we pay for AI’s growth? Explore how massive data centers are impacting our wallets! #AIBusiness www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-ai-in…
pbs.org
How AI infrastructure is driving a sharp rise in electricity bills
Electricity bills are climbing nationwide, rising faster than inflation in many places. The explosive growth of AI and the massive data centers behind it are driving demand and straining the grid. To explain how this hits consumers, and what can be done, Geoff Bennett spoke with Ari Peskoe, director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School.
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TechCrunch @techcrunch.com · 05/09/2025
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings met with and sent an open letter to OpenAI to express their concerns over the safety of ChatGPT, particularly for children and teens. 
techcrunch.com
Attorneys general warn OpenAI ‘harm to children will not be tolerated’ | TechCrunch
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings met with and sent an open letter to OpenAI to express their concerns over the safety of ChatGPT, particularly for children and teens. 
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