Spring is trying it's very best to spring so far this month. There's daffodils all about the place, but then there's also a freezing fog which hasn't cleared in what feels like weeks. Overall, I'm keeping everything crossed that I'll see the sun sometime in the next fortnight.
But something bright is still on the horizon - next week (19 March) is the Let's Get Real: AI conference! And even better, you can still grab last minute tickets. We've got some excellent keynote speakers and you'll hear from some cracking case studies. It would be lovely to see you there.
đź“° Latest news
- European governments are starting to ditch some of the US tech services, primarily over security fears. They are instead opting for domestic or open-source alternatives.
- And somewhat related, there's been a significant backlash against ChatGPT and OpenAI over the last week, due to a recent deal with the US military.
- The V&A has acquired the first ever video uploaded to YouTube. They fully reconstructed the early YouTube watch age and it took the digital conservation team 18 months to rebuild the design and experience of the original platform.
- Ministers are being urged to abandon plans to let tech firms use creative works without permission (you know, basically the whole basis of copyright law for the last forever).
🤓 Useful / shareable
- This is an interesting look at AI based job losses in the professional sector and how some people are moving towards more traditional trades. Within the article there's an example of an individual who was made an editor, polishing up AI generated content. Her fee was halved, as it was assumed that editing content already written was quicker than creating it from scratch. But in the end, it took her twice as long due to all of the fact-checking and re-writing.
- Here's a useful write-up of the 'Test and Learn' approach. It's a cyclical way of working, and similar to our experimental approach that we promote and develop through our Let's Get Real programme, which you can hear all about at our conference did you know.
- The Harvard Business Review is currently researching the impact of AI tools on work and productivity. Early findings suggest that AI tools aren't reducing work, they are instead intensifying it. One to keep an eye on!
- TikTok could be forced to change the app’s design by the European Commission, due to its addictive nature.
đź’Ą Distracting / entertaining / inspiring
- This is some lovely content from Historic Royal Palaces, designed to fill the gap whilst the social media team is off - but it utilises a behind-the-scenes and people centred approach that works well (particularly on Instagram).
- That post reminded me of a similar, equally effective post by Theatr Cymru.
- There's a great documentary series with Hannah Fry, exploring some of the human stories emerging from the world of AI. I would recommend checking out some of the clips, at the very least.
- Here's some more lovely content, this one from the Wellcome Collection on TikTok. It's an exploration of the sketchbook of a Victorian girl. H/T to Adam Koszary for sharing in his Content of the Week newsletter. Funnily enough, the post by the Wellcome really reminds me of the Chicken in Trousers post that Adam created when at the MERL, back in 2018.
đź‘Ť Something good
- Slightly digital, but this is more just a nice story from my town. Two YouTubers helped my local club to smash its crowd record this weekend, with 1,205 people attending the game against Gorleston (we're talking non-league football here!). People came from all across the UK for the game, as well as from Sweden, Toronto and Chicago. It's a nice example of the positive side of social media.
And that’s all for this edition.
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