Home Tech Stay on top of technology: Five ways to take back control, from emails to artificial intelligence

Stay on top of technology: Five ways to take back control, from emails to artificial intelligence

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Stay on top of technology: Five ways to take back control, from emails to artificial intelligence

Make AI work smarter

Asking ChatGPT to write your emails was two years ago. Generative AI tools now go beyond the basic text prompting phase. Take the one from Google NotebookLMan experimental “AI research assistant” that allows you to upload not only text but also videos, links and PDF files. You’ll provide a summary of the content, answer questions about it, and even create a podcast-like “AI overview” if you want, all while organizing your original sources and notes. As AI tools advance, expect more features like this to be incorporated into everyday software. All the usual caveats about using AI apply: the onus is on you to verify the data.

Free yourself from the algorithm

If you’re stuck in a feedback loop of the same music or TV recommendations, refresh. Some platforms, like Netflix, allow you to delete your viewing history, which will help you wipe the slate clean (select “hide all” under “viewing activity” to do this again). Spotify is harder to crack: you’ll have to train it to offer a wider selection by diversifying your listening. Choose playlists that focus specifically on new music, or go old school and ask your friends for advice. Use “private session” mode or select “exclude from your taste profile” to prevent your guilty pleasures (or your kids’ nursery rhymes) from infecting future recommendations.

Learn how to detect AI videos

Manipulated videos, or “deepfakes,” may already be obsolete, but you can expect to see more fully AI-generated videos as text-to-video tools become popular. OpenAI sora and Goal Movie generation They continue to develop, with impressive (or worrying, depending on your stance) results. Look for watermarks that show a video was generated by AI, and watch out for telltale errors, such as anatomy errors or strange physics. The most important thing is to use context clues: if something seems particularly shocking, unlikely or out of place, be on your guard.

Look up, stay tuned, back up

The so-called “thefts by snatches” are at their peak, with the equivalent of more than 200 thefts of this type They happen in England and Wales every day. Thieves, often on bicycles or mopeds, seize phones to sell abroad. There is not much you can do at this time – the Metropolitan Police Council never confront a thief, but you can soften the impact slightly by making sure everything important on your phone is backed up. Many manufacturers offer to automatically sync all your files with a cloud service; Alternatively, you can find options for specific media in the corresponding phone or app settings.

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Face the technological drawer of doom

Everyone has one: the drawer (or closet or box) of discarded devices, broken electronics and tangled wires that accumulate valuable metals. Make this the year you reclaim space from your unwanted e-waste. You can find banks for electrical goods at many recycling points and stores such as Currys and John Lewis offer recycling facilities. Go to recyclenow.com either recycleyourelectricos.org.uk to find your nearest one. If your old things are in good condition, you can also try to sell or donate them; Remember to erase personal data from laptops and phones by performing a factory reset or removing the hard drive.

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