Tech Round Table Meeting 4/19/23

Mouse with cheese, crescent moon and AI nodes generated by DALL-E
Mouse with cheese, crescent moon and AI nodes generated by DALL-E

April 19, 2023 Tech Round Table meeting on Zoom

The topics included my project accessing OpenAI’s DALL-E image generation API, Mini PCs that could run Windows 11, Boston Dynamics Dog used by NYC Fire Department, $3.5 billion is stolen Bitcoin, Google Multisearch, Syllable and equivalent operating systems, Google search panic to counter Microsoft AI chat Bing and Amazon entering the AI chat race.

Windows 11 Mini PC

Bruce Arnold was looking for an inexpensive computer to run Windows 11 so he could better assist people requesting support.

We looked at a couple of offerings on Amazon. Bruce liked the Bkouen Metal MINI PC AK7Pro and plans to demo it at our next meeting.

DALL-E Image Generation Project

I created two examples of using PHP to access OpenAI’s DALL-E image generation API. I demoed these at the meeting.

According to OpenAI, DALL-E “is an AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language.” The name “DALL-E” is a combination of the artist Salvador Dalí and the Pixar character WALL-E. The name is a playful reference, and it doesn’t stand for a specific acronym or phrase.

I used ChatGPT GPT-4 to help with coding. Some of the code was rusty because the API interface has changed since the September 2021 knowledge end date of the GPT-4 model and there were changes to the API.

The API can generate an image and provide a URL to the image or return the base64 data for the image. The URL is kept for 1 hour according to the documentation.

I posted two articles describing the code and where you can download the code. One shows the return of a URL to the image. The other the return of base64 data for the image.

This post’s feature image was generated from DALL-E using the code I wrote.

Mouse with cheese, crescent moon and AI nodes generated by DALL-E
Mouse with cheese, crescent moon and AI nodes generated by DALL-E

A possible implication here is the impact on graphics industry. One could be the stock image and photo companies perhaps needing to look into having AI generated images as part of their services. Also graphic workers may find their employment skills changing.

AI Chat Stampede and Panic

The rising awareness of OpenAI ChatGPT and Microsoft new Bing that uses the OpenAI ChatGPT GPT-4 AI model is getting the attention of some of the biggest tech names. Mainly as they seem woefully behind.

First we have Musk’s interview with Tucker Carlson where he expressed worries about AI and in particular with OpenAI’s models. Musk was a part of OpenAI but separated from it for his concerns about content bias and potential bad actor usage. That got a lot of attention since there is a inherent bias of the content based on its sources which are the same sources you might find in a web search. Musk however is building his own AI called “TruthGPT”.

Amazon had announced its plans for more AI tools making two new AI language models available through its cloud platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS customers will be able to use these models to build their own AI apps. This has wide implications for creating more targeted AIs that met specific application needs. See the Amazon article in the links section.

Then we have Google panicking when according to the New York Times “Samsung was considering whether to replace Google as the default option on its devices in favor of Microsoft’s Bing”. Bing is a minor search engine competitor with Google. However the OpenAI chat AI integration into Bing and Microsoft Office Pilot has demonstrated how far ahead they are in deploying AI to its use base. Google is in the game with Bard, but Bard is admittedly a work in progress. See the article about Samsung in the links section.

It does not stop there are many companies are introducing AI into their offerings. One example is MailChimp”

Screenshot of MailChimp ad on GPT AI in their offering.
Screenshot of MailChimp ad on GPT AI in their offering.

Another, Teachable, a course hosting web service, has added AI for generating course curriculum.

Teachable ad for their new AI powered curriculum generator feature.
Teachable ad for their new AI powered curriculum generator feature.

Google “Multisearch”

This Google App feature allows you to combine images and text for search. It is called Google “Multisearch” and became available in 2022. With the feature, you can for example query about an object in front of you with refinements such color, brand or visual attributes. Google claimed when first released that “Multisearch” would be best used for shopping. The Google App is available on Android and iOS. Take care in using it as Google is notorious for tracking.

Robot Dog and NYC Fire Department

The NYC Fire Department purchased Boston Dynamics Robot dogs at $75,000 each to measure the concentration of dangerous gases, gauge structural integrity and descend deep underground after a fire or building collapse.

They used the robot dog in the April 18th 2023 parking garage collapse. Articles are in the links section.

Bitcoins

If you were inclined and able to steal Bitcoins where would you hide them?

According to federal prosecutors, James Zhong, 32, stole 50,000 Bitcoin worth 3 billion dollars and hid them in an underground floor safe on a single-board computer under popcorn in a Cheetos popcorn tin. The article is posted in links section.

After Hours

In the after hours segment Ken Powell was curious about all the operating systems available besides Windows, Mac and Linux. We looked around on the internet and found there are many. We picked one at random called Syllable.

Syllable 0.5.6 OS user interface screenshot from the Syllable website.
Syllable 0.5.6 OS user interface screenshot from the Syllable website.

According to the website, Syllable is 20 years old and is still maintained. They claim that “It can make a new or tiny computer extremely fast and an old computer usable again.”

It appears there is a small dedicated community to Syllable and that seemed amazing to me.

By Lon Hosford

Internet and Mobile Development Educator and Consultant Independent software developer with practical engineering project experience for clients such as AT&T, Avis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Ortho BioTech, Chanel, Avaya, Green Birdie Video, Aztec Learning Systems and Verizon Wireless. Lon is well known for translating client needs into useful applications. An interesting aspect of Lon's consulting work was the creation of industry jobs that did not exist before. That lead to hiring and training college students who were taught dead technologies at a time academia was woefully behind on the paradigm shifts in personal computing, the internet and today the distributed device environment often called mobile. Lon has taught thousands of students internet web development, animation and programming topics over two decades both privately and academically. He developed Multimedia Associated Degree program and courses for Raritan Valley Community College in the 1990s at a time when Macromedia Authorware and Director were tools. He is the founder, developer and educator for Raritan Valley Community College Web Developer Certification program also having its roots in the 1990s at the dawn of the internet. He also was a key curriculum developer and instructor for one of the Nation's first Web Developer Certification program offered through New Jersey Institute of Technology. Lon was also a technology instructor at the University of Phoenix Online. Lon over the years has produced educational video for topics including Paradox, Cobol, Java, Jasmine, C, C++, Linux, Flash, Cocos 2d and HTML. These courses were distributed and taught in Universities internationally when global was an emerging term.