Latest tech news: March 2023

Here’s the latest tech news and stories for March 2023:

Duolingo Launches New AI-Powered Subscription Tier

Duolingo, the popular language-learning app, has launched a new subscription tier that leverages artificial intelligence to provide more personalised and interactive features for its users. The new tier, called Duolingo Max, costs $29.99 per month or $167.99 per year and includes two new features powered by OpenAI's GPT-4 technology: "Explain My Answer" and "Roleplay".

"Explain My Answer" allows users to chat with an AI tutor that can clarify why their answers are correct or incorrect and provide additional examples to reinforce their learning. "Roleplay" enables users to practise real-world conversations with AI characters on various topics such as ordering coffee, shopping for furniture or planning a vacation.

Grammarly’s New AI Tool, GrammaryGo

Not wanting to miss out on the AI hype, Grammarly will soon hop on the OpenAI-ChatGPT bandwagon, launching its own generating writing technology based on GPT-3 architecture. The system will let users create, edit, and personalise texts for apps, websites, and even college essays, the firm says.

Called “GrammarlyGo,” the new souped-up version of the app will let users generate high-quality writing from simple natural language prompts. For instance, users can tell Grammarly to “write a blog post about ice cream in the style of a Shakespearean sonnet” and it’d happily oblige.

Grammarly says the new tool will be available to users starting in April 2023.

An Upcoming Apple Event

Apple fans are eagerly awaiting the company's spring event, which is expected to unveil some new and exciting products. According to rumours, Apple may announce a 15-inch MacBook Air with an M2 chip, a new Mac Pro tower with an M2 Pro or M2 Max chip, a new iPhone 14 colour option in yellow, and a new classical music app called Apple Music Classical that will offer hi-res and spatial audio.

Apple's goal is to appeal to various segments of its customer base, from casual users to professionals to music lovers. The spring event is likely to take place on a Monday or Tuesday in mid to late March, but Apple has not confirmed the date or time yet. The event will be streamed live on Apple's website and YouTube channel for those who want to watch it online.

U.S Copyright Office Says That Users Can’t Copyright AI-Generated Images

The U.S. Copyright Offices says new AI-generated images in a recent comic book are uncopyrightable. However, it also says the images are the product of “human authorship,” somewhat muddying the waters.

The case concerns Zarya of the Dawn’s text, written by Kristina Kashtanova. Officials recognise her role in the “selection, and coordination” of the visual and written elements, but are holding back from letting her claim exclusive rights over the images. Commentators expect to see many similar cases in the future.

Microsoft Will Bring AI To Microsoft 365

Microsoft has announced that it will use GPT-4 – the next generation of OpenAI’s generative language technology – in its enterprise office applications. The move follows an earlier decision at the start of the year to incorporate GPT-3.5 into its newly-invigorated search engine, Bing.

The new tool, dubbed Microsoft 365 Copilot, will offer the same text-based prompting as ChatGPT, writing entire articles, reports, and emails for users.

However, it’s not all positive. Microsoft is hedging its bets and managing expectations, marketing the new tool as “helpfully wrong” instead of universally correct. The hope is that the new tool will give users a “head start” on their tasks, even if it sometimes churns out nonsense.

China’s ChatGPT Rival Gets Off To A Bad Start

China unveiled its response to ChatGPT on March 16, and it got off to a bad start. Called “Ernie,” short for  “Enhanced Representation through Knowledge Integration,” the tool can perform various tasks, including creating images, writing poems, and solving students’ maths puzzles.

However, Ernie may be a mirage. Most of the early demonstrations were pre-scripted, not live and users haven’t had a chance to put the system to the test themselves.

Meta Switches From The Metaverse To AI

Lastly, troubled tech firm Meta is changing its focus. The company says that the metaverse will no longer be its primary investment recipient. Instead, funds will go into adding value to its AI-driven services.

Unfortunately for workers at the firm, job cuts continue. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a further round of 10,000 cuts and said that he won’t fill the firm’s existing 5,000 vacancies.