AI for Consumers - 20250429

What went on this week with AI, and how it affected (non-)consumers.

ChatGPT has generated most of the text.

Top 10-ish Articles

Society

Over half of UK businesses who replaced workers with AI regret their decision
Craig Hale, TechRadar
55% of the businesses that made AI-induced redundancies regret it; 38% of leaders still don't understand AI’s impact on their business; Humans are essential, but AI investments continue to rise.

Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence?
D. Graham Burnett, The New Yorker
The essay explores the impact of AI on higher education and the humanities, highlighting initial resistance among students and faculty due to concerns over academic integrity. However, it reveals that AI tools like ChatGPT can deepen intellectual engagement, prompting a reimagining of humanistic inquiry focused on lived experience and moral decision-making.

Here’s why we need to start thinking of AI as “normal”
James O'Donnell, MIT Technology Review
As technologists frame AI as either utopian or dystopian, two researchers offer a third option.

Researchers Secretly Ran a Massive, Unauthorized AI Persuasion Experiment on Reddit Users
Jason Koebler, 404 Media
Researchers from the University of Zurich conducted an unauthorized experiment on Reddit’s r/ChangeMyView, deploying AI bots that impersonated individuals such as a sexual assault survivor and a Black man opposed to Black Lives Matter. These bots analyzed users’ posting histories to tailor persuasive comments, raising significant ethical concerns.

Jobs

Forget Prompt Engineering: Companies Are Now Hiring These AI Specialists
Megan Crouse, TechRepublic
The article discusses the decline of prompt engineering as a viable career path due to advancements in generative AI, which now requires less human input to function effectively. See also Experts Don’t Believe AI Tools Will Lead to Mass Job Losses [Infographic].

The Jobs That Will Fall First As AI Takes Over The Workplace
Jack Kelly, Forbes
The article explores how AI is rapidly transforming the job market, with roles involving repetitive tasks—such as data entry, customer service, and basic accounting—being most susceptible to automation. Conversely, professions requiring human judgment, creativity, and interpersonal skills, like skilled trades and healthcare, are less likely to be replaced by AI. See also Generative AI is not replacing jobs or hurting wages at all, say economists and The CEO’s guide: McKinsey’s latest insights on AI.

Government

Inside the First Major U.S. Bill Tackling AI Harms—and Deepfake Abuse
Andrew R. Chow, TIME
On April 28, 2025, the U.S. Congress passed the bipartisan Take It Down Act, criminalizing non-consensual AI-generated deepfake pornography and mandating its removal from platforms within 48 hours. Inspired by teen victims Elliston Berry and Francesca Mani, the bill garnered widespread support, including from First Lady Melania Trump, and is expected to be signed into law by President Trump. See Congress Passes TAKE IT DOWN Act Despite Major Flaws and House Passes Bill to Ban Sharing of Revenge Porn, Sending It to Trump.

Trump pushed out AI experts despite saying he wants to advance AI
Kevin Ryan, Quartz
Despite President Trump’s public commitment to advancing AI, his administration dismissed most of the over 200 AI experts hired during the Biden era’s “National AI Talent Surge,” undermining federal innovation efforts. These terminations, led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, have raised concerns about wasted resources and the future stability of AI initiatives in government.

Technology

AI-generated code could be a disaster for the software supply chain. Here’s why.
Dan Goodin, Ars Technica
The article discusses the potential risks of using AI-generated code in software development, highlighting concerns that such code could introduce vulnerabilities and make the software supply chain more susceptible to attacks.

Dangers

AI, Automation & Dark Web Fuel Evolving Threat Landscape
Elizabeth Montalbano, Dark Reading
Cybercriminals are increasingly leveraging AI, automation, and dark web resources to scale and sophisticate their attacks, enabling faster reconnaissance, vulnerability exploitation, and the deployment of advanced phishing and ransomware campaigns. This trend is eroding traditional defensive advantages, compelling organizations to rapidly enhance their cybersecurity measures to counter these evolving threats. See also An AI Customer Service Chatbot Made Up a Company Policy—and Created a Mess.

Artificial intelligence elicits concern, uncertainty, even as many see potential benefits — CBS News poll
Kabir Khanna and Anthony Salvanto, CBS News
A CBS News/YouGov poll reveals that while 60% of Americans believe AI will have a greater societal impact than the internet, many express concern that it may create more problems than it solves, particularly regarding job displacement and economic effects. The survey highlights a divide in perceptions based on education level, with college graduates more optimistic about AI’s benefits compared to those without degrees.

International

Israel’s A.I. Experiments in Gaza War Raise Ethical Concerns
Sheera Frenkel and Natan Odenheimer, The New York Times
Israel developed new artificial intelligence tools to gain an advantage in the war. The technologies have sometimes led to fatal consequences.

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Apps to check out

AI Bots

Grok

5 things Grok AI can do for you: A quick guide
Bijin Jose, The Indian Express

Meta

Meta launches standalone AI app to take on ChatGPT
Ashley Capoot, CNBC
Meta has introduced a standalone AI assistant app powered by its Llama 3 model, offering text and image generation capabilities alongside a web experience. This move expands Meta AI’s presence beyond integration with Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, positioning it as a direct competitor to ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. See also Meta’s ChatGPT competitor shows how your friends use AI.

OpenAI / ChatGPT

OpenAI Unleashes ChatGPT's Personality Customization: Now 'Gen Z', 'Chatty', or Whatever You Want!
Mackenzie Ferguson, OpenTools

New ChatGPT ‘glazes too much,’ says Sam Altman
Gaby Del Valle, The Verge

Agents

Latitude
Latitude is an open-source platform designed for prompt engineering and the development of autonomous AI agents. It enables teams to design, evaluate, and deploy prompts and agents with features like version control, batch testing, LLM-as-judge evaluations, and automatic refinement. The platform supports integration via SDKs and APIs, facilitating seamless incorporation into existing workflows.

Applications

Lovable.dev
Lovable.dev is an AI-powered platform that enables users to create full-stack web applications by simply describing their ideas in natural language. It offers features like real-time collaboration, visual editing, and integrations with tools such as Supabase and GitHub, allowing for rapid prototyping and deployment without requiring coding expertise.

Audio

Unreal Speech
11x cheaper than Eleven Labs. Stream audio in 300ms. Request up to 10 hours of audio. Includes per-word timestamps.

Coding (for beginners)

phind
Phind is an AI-powered search engine specifically optimized for developers and technical professionals. Unlike traditional search engines, it combines large language models with real-time internet searching to provide precise, contextual answers rather than just links to potentially relevant pages.

Education

YouLearn
YouLearn is an AI-powered personal tutor that transforms educational materials—such as PDFs, YouTube videos, and recorded lectures—into interactive learning experiences, including summaries, quizzes, flashcards, and conversational study sessions. Designed for students, researchers, and lifelong learners, it offers features like voice mode, personalized exams, and real-time AI tutoring to enhance comprehension and retention.

Jobs

How to Use ChatGPT at Work
HubSpot
This free guide offers professionals a comprehensive overview of leveraging ChatGPT to enhance workplace productivity, covering key use cases, best practices, and advanced prompt techniques.

Personal assistant

MyAudioJournal
MyAudioJournal — the audio journal that listens, organizes, and helps you grow. Beta.

Reading

2Read: AI Kindle Reading Buddy
Jishnu Sai
Whether you're syncing highlights from your Kindle, reflecting on your favorite passages daily, setting reading milestones, or exploring quick insights from best-sellers, 2Read is here to elevate your reading experience.

Shopping

ChatGPT is getting better for shopping
Jay Peters, The Verge
OpenAI has enhanced ChatGPT’s shopping capabilities by introducing product cards that display images, prices, star ratings, and direct purchase links, all presented in an easy-to-read format. These organic, non-sponsored results are complemented by a sidebar offering additional details and user reviews from platforms like Amazon and Reddit, allowing users to ask specific questions about listed products.

Travel

Delta Concierge
Delta Concierge is built into the Fly Delta app, giving customers more control and confidence navigating their travel experience. The experience uses generative AI to create seamless and personalized moments while making a customer’s journey easier.

Video

Movie Uncover
Find movies and series to watch just by describing!

QuickVideo
QuickVideo is an advanced AI Video Generator that simplifies video creation. Create professional studio-quality Videos using AI avatars and voiceovers.

Pictory
Pictory is an AI-powered video creation platform that enables users to transform text, URLs, or long-form content into professional-quality videos with minimal effort. It offers features like script-to-video conversion, automatic summarization of webinars and podcasts, and AI-generated voiceovers, making it ideal for marketers, educators, and content creators seeking efficient video production solutions.

Web

Fronty
Convert image to HTML CSS. Get the HTML CSS code of your project in no time! AI-Powered tool to create a website in few minutes.

Wegic
Share your website vision, and we'll build it in 1 minute..

60sec.site
Our AI generates the perfect landing page for you. No developer needed! Unique photos, colors and themes. Site ready in under 60 seconds.