Free AI Sites (Well, Mostly Free Sort of)
April 1, 2025
Dinobaby says, “No smart software involved. That’s for “real” journalists and pundits.
One of my team generated images of French bulldogs. After months of effort, he presented me with a picture of our French bulldog complete with one floppy ear. The image was not free. I pay for the service because free image generation systems work and then degrade because of the costs associated with doing smart software without oodles of cash.
Another person proudly emailed everyone a link to Best AI Websites and the page “Free AI Tools.” The interfaces, functionality, and the outputs vary. The linked Web page is a directory presented with some of that mobile interface zip.l
There are more than 30 tools anyone can try. Here’s what the “directory” interface looks like:
The first click displays the BestFreeAIWebsites’ write up for each “service” or “tool.” Then a direct link to the free AI site is displayed. There is a “submit” button to allow those with a free AI tool to add theirs to the listing. The “add” function is a common feature of Telegram bot and Channel listings.
Here is a selection of the “free” services that are available as of March 28, 2025, in alphabetical order:
- HUUK.ai, a trip planner
- Metavoice at https://studio.themetavoice.xyz/, a “one click voice changer”
- Presentpicker.ai, a service to help a user choose a gift.
- Remaker.ai, a face swap tool
- Yomii.app, a real estate investing assistant
ChatGPT features numerous times in the list of “free” AI tools. Google shows up a couple of times with Bard and Gemini. The majority of the services “wrap” functionality around the big dogs in the LLM space.
Are these services “free”? Our view is that the “free” is a way to get people to give the services a try. If the experience is positive, upgrades are available.
As one of my team worked through the listings, he said, “Most of these services have been available as Telegram bots from other developers.” If he is correct, perhaps Telegram’s AI functions should be included in the listing?
Stephen E Arnold, April 1, 2025
The Chinese AI PR Keeps Flowing
March 27, 2025
Is China moving ahead in the AI race? Some seem to think so. Interesting Engineering reports, "‘World’s First’ Fully Autonomous AI Agent Unveiled in China, Handles Real-World Tasks." Writer Christopher McFadden tells us:
"A group of Chinese software engineers have developed what they have called the ‘world’s first’ fully autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) agent. Called ‘Manus,’ the AI agent can independently perform complex tasks without human guidance. Unlike AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, or Grok, which need human input to perform things, Manus can proactively make decisions and complete tasks independently. To this end, the AI agent doesn’t necessarily need to wait for instructions to do something. For example, if a human asks, ‘ Find me an apartment,’ Manus can conduct research, evaluate multiple factors (crime rates, weather, market trends), and provide tailored recommendations."
Apparently, Manus works like a contractor directing their subcontractors. We learn:
"Rather than using just one AI model, Manus operates like an executive managing multiple specialized sub-agents. This allows it to tackle complex, multi-step workflows seamlessly. Moreover, the AI agent can work asynchronously, meaning it completes tasks in the background and notifies users only when results are ready, without constant human supervision. This is a significant development; most AIs have relied heavily on humans to initiate tasks. Manus represents a shift toward fully independent AI, raising exciting possibilities and serious concerns about job displacement and responsibility."
A fully independent AI? Perhaps. If so, the escalated threat to human jobs may be real. Manus has some questioning whether the US is truly the unrivaled leader in the AI space. We shall see if the expectations pan out or are, once again, overblown.
Cynthia Murrell, March 27, 2025
From $20 a Month to $20K a Month. Great Idea… or Not?
March 10, 2025
Another post from the dinobaby. Alas, no smart software used for this essay.
OpenAI was one of many smart software companies. If you meet the people on my team, you will learn that I dismissed most of the outfits as search-and-retrieval outfits looking for an edge. Search definitely needs an edge, but I was not confident that predictive generation of an “answer” was a solution. It was a nifty party trick, but then the money started flowing. In January 2023, Microsoft put Google’s cute sharp teeth on edge. Suddenly AI or smart software was the next big thing. The virtual reality thing did not ring the bell. The increasingly weird fiddling with mobile phones did not get the brass ring. And the idea of Apple becoming the next big thing in chips has left everyone confused. My M1 devices work pretty well, and unless I look at the label on the gizmos I can tell an M1 from and M3. Do I care? Nope.
But OpenAI became news. It squabbled with the mastermind of “renewable” satellites, definitely weird trucks, and digging tunnels in Las Vegas. (Yeah, nice idea, just not for anyone who does not want to get stalled in traffic.) When ChatGPT became available, one of those laboring in my digital vineyards signed me up. I fiddled with it and decided that I would run some of my research through the system. I learned that my research was not in the OpenAI “system.” I had it do some images. Those sucked. I will cancel this week.
I put in my AI folder this article “OpenAI’s is Getting Ready to Release PhD Level AI Agents.” I was engaging in some winnowing and I scanned it. In early February 2025, Digital Marketing News wrote about PhD level agents. I am not a PhD. I quite before I finished my dissertation to work in the really socially conscious nuclear unit of that lovable outfit Halliburton. You know the company. That’s the one that charged about $950.00 for a gallon of fuel during the Iraq war. You will also associate Dick Cheney, a fun person, with the company. So no PhD for me.
I was skeptical because of the dismal performance of ChatGPT 4, oh, whatever, trying to come up with the information I have assembled for my new book for law enforcement professionals. Then I read a Slashdot post with the title “OpenAI Plots Charging $20,000 a Month For PhD-Level Agents” shared from a publication I don’t know much about. I think it is like 404 or a for-fee Substack. The publication has great content, and you have to pay for it.
Be that as it may, the Slashdot post reports or recycles information that suggests the fee per month for a PhD level version of OpenAI’s smart software will be a modest $20,000 a month. I think the service one of my team registered costs $20.00 per month. What’s with the 20s? Twenty is a pronic number; that is, it can be slapped on a high school math test so students can say it is the product of two consecutive integers. In college I knew a person who was a numerologist. I recall that the meaning of 20 was cooperation.
The interesting part of the Slashdot post was the comments. I scanned them and concluded that some of the commenters saw the high-end service killing jobs for high-end programmers and consultants. Yeah, maybe. Somehow I doubt that a code base that struggles with information related to a widely-used messaging application is suddenly going to replicate the information I have obtained from my sources in Eastern Europe seems a bit of stretch. Heck, ChatGPT could barely do English. Russian? Not a change, but who knows. And for $200,000 it is not likely this dinobaby will take what seems like unappetizing bait.
One commenter allegedly named TheGreatEmu said:
I was about to make a similar comment, but the cost still doesn’t add up. I’m at a national lab with generally much higher overheads than most places, and a postdoc runs us $160k/year fully burdened. And of course the AI sure as h#ll can’t connect cables, turn knobs, solder, titrate, use a drill press, clean, chat with the machinist who doesn’t use email, sneaker net data out of the air-gapped lab, or understand napkin drawings over beer where all real science gets done. Or do anything useful with information that isn’t already present in the training data, and if you’re not pushing past existing knowledge boundaries, you’re not really doing science are you?
My hunch is that this is a PR or marketing play. Let’s face it. With Microsoft cutting off data center builds and Google floundering with cheese, the smart software revolution is muddling forward. The wins are targeted applications in quite specific domains. Yes, gentle reader, that’s why people pay for Chemical Abstracts online. The information is not on the public Internet. The American Chemical Society has information that the super capable AI outfits have not figured as something the non-computational, organic, or inorganic chemist will use from a somewhat volatile outfit. Get something wrong in a nuclear lab and smart software won’t be too helpful if it hallucinates.
Net net: Is everything marketing? At age 80, my answer is, “Absolutely.” Sam AI-Thinks in terms of trillions. Is $20 trillion the next pricing level?
Stephen E Arnold, March 10, 2025
What Do Gamers Know about AI? Nothing, Nothing at All
February 20, 2025
Take-Two Games CEO says, "There’s no such thing" as AI.
Is the head of a major gaming publisher using semantics to downplay the role of generative AI in his industry? PC Gamer reports, "Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick Takes a Moment to Remind Us Once Again that ‘There’s No Such Thing’ as Artificial Intelligence." Writer Andy Chalk quotes Strauss’ from a recent GamesIndustry interview:
"Artificial intelligence is an oxymoron, there’s no such thing. Machine learning, machines don’t learn. Those are convenient ways to explain to human beings what looks like magic. The bottom line is that these are digital tools and we’ve used digital tools forever. I have no doubt that what is considered AI today will help make our business more efficient and help us do better work, but it won’t reduce employment. To the contrary, the history of digital technology is that technology increases employment, increases productivity, increases GDP and I think that’s what’s going to happen with AI. I think the videogame business will probably be on the leading, if not bleeding, edge of using AI."
So AI, which does not exist, will actually create jobs instead of eliminate them? The write-up correctly notes the evidence points to the contrary. On the other hand, Strauss seems clear-eyed on the topic of copyright violations. AI-on-AI violations, anyway. We learn:
"That’s a mess Zelnick seems eager to avoid. ‘In terms of [AI] guardrails, if you mean not infringing on other people’s intellectual property by poaching their LLMs, yeah, we’re not going to do that,’ he said. ‘Moreover, if we did, we couldn’t protect that, we wouldn’t be able to protect our own IP. So of course, we’re mindful of what technology we use to make sure that it respects others’ intellectual property and allows us to protect our own.’"
Perhaps Strauss is on to something. It is true that generative AI is just another digital tool—albeit one that tends to put humans out of work. But as we know, hype is more important than reality for those chasing instant fame and riches.
Cynthia Murrell, February 20, 2025
LLMs Paired With AI Are Dangerous Propaganda Tools
February 13, 2025
AI chatbots are in their infancy. While they have been tested for a number of years, they are still prone to bias and other devastating mistakes. Big business and other organizations aren’t waiting for the technology to improve. Instead they’re incorporating chatbots and more AI into their infrastructures. Baldur Bjarnason warns about the dangers of AI, especially when it comes to LLMs and censorship:
“Poisoning For Propaganda: Rising Authoritarianism Makes LLMs More Dangerous.”
Large language models (LLMs) are used to train AI algorithms. Bjarnason warns that using any LLM, even those run locally, are dangerous.
Why?
LLMs are contained language databases that are programmed around specific parameters. These parameters are prone to error, because they were written by humans—ergo why AI algorithms are untrustworthy. They can also be programmed to be biased towards specific opinions aka propaganda machines. Bjarnason warns that LLMs are being used for the lawless takeover of the United States. He also says that corporations, in order to maintain their power, won’t hesitate to remove or add the same information from LLMs if the US government asks them.
This is another type of censorship:
“The point of cognitive automation is NOT to enhance thinking. The point of it is to avoid thinking in the first place. That’s the job it does. You won’t notice when the censorship kicks in… The alternative approach to censorship, fine-tuning the model to return a specific response, is more costly than keyword blocking and more error-prone. And resorting to prompt manipulation or preambles is somewhat easily bypassed but, crucially, you need to know that there is something to bypass (or “jailbreak”) in the first place. A more concerning approach, in my view, is poisoning.”
Corporations paired with governments (it’s not just the United States) are “poisoning” the AI LLMs with propagandized sentiments. It’s a subtle way of transforming perspectives without loud indoctrination campaigns. It is comparable to subliminal messages in commercials or teaching only one viewpoint.
Controls seem unlikely.
Whitney Grace, February 13, 2025
Amazon Twitch: Losing Social Traction of the Bezos Bulldozer
February 5, 2025
Twitch is an online streaming platform primarily used by gamers to stream their play seasons and interact with their fanbase. There hasn’t been much news about Twitch in recent months and it could be die to declining viewership. Tube Filter dives into the details with “Is Twitch Viewership At Its Lowest Point In Four Years?”
The article explains that Twitch had a total of 1.58 billion watch time hours in December 2024. This was its lowest month in four years according to Stream Charts. Twitch, however, did have a small increase in new streamers joining the platform and the amount of channels live at one time. Stream Charts did mention that December is a slow month due to the holiday season. Twitch is dealing with dire financial straits and made users upset when it used AI to make emotes.
Here are some numbers:
“In both October and November 2024, around 89,000 channels on average would be live on Twitch at any one time. In December, that figure pushed up to 92,392. Twitch also saw a bump in the overall number of active channels from 4,490,725 in November to 4,777,395 in December—a 6% increase. Streams Charts notes that all these streamers broadcasted a more diverse range of content of content than usual. “[I]t’s important to note that other key metrics for both viewer and streamer activity remain strong,” it wrote in a report about December’s viewership. “A positive takeaway from December was the variety of content on offer. Streamers broadcasted in 43,200 different categories, the highest figure of the year, second only to March.”
Twitch is also courting TikTok creators in case the US federal government bans the short video streaming platform. The platform has offerings that streamers want, but it needs to do more to attract more viewers. Changes have caused some viewers to pine for the days of Amouranth in her inflated kiddie pool, the extremely sensitive Kira, and the good old days of iBabyRainbow. Some even miss the live streaming gambling at home events.
Now what Amazon? Longer pre-roll advertisements? More opaque content guidelines? A restriction on fashion shows?
Whitney Grace, February 5, 2025
Another Bad Apple? Is It This Shipment or a Degraded Orchard?
February 3, 2025
Yep, a dinobaby wrote this blog post. Replace me with a subscription service or a contract worker from Fiverr. See if I care.
I read “Siri Is Super Dumb and Getting Dumber.” Now Siri someone told me had some tenuous connection to the Stanford Research Institute. Then the name and possibly some technology DNA wafted to Cupertino. The juicy apple sauce company produced smart software. Someone demonstrated it to me by asking Siri to call a person named “Yankelovich” by saying the name. That just did not work.
The write up explains that my experience was “dumb” and the new Apple smart software is dumber. That is remarkable. A big company and a number of mostly useful products like the estimable science fiction headset and a system demanding that I log into Facetime, iMessage, and iCloud every time I use the computer even though I don’t use these features is mostly perceived as one of the greatest companies on earth.
The write up says:
It’s just incredible how stupid Siri is about a subject matter of such popularity.
Stupid about a popular subject? Even the even more estimable Google figured out a long time ago that one could type just about any spelling of Britney Spears into the search box and the Google would spit out a nifty but superficial report about this famous person and role model for young people.
But Apple? The write up says from a really, truly objective observer of Apple:
New Siri — powered by Apple Intelligence™ with ChatGPT integration enabled — gets the answer completely but plausibly wrong, which is the worst way to get it wrong. It’s also inconsistently wrong — I tried the same question four times, and got a different answer, all of them wrong, each time. It’s a complete failure.
The write up points out:
It’s like Siri is a special-ed student permitted to take an exam with the help of a tutor who knows the correct answers, and still flunks.
Hmmm. Consistently wrong with variations of incorrectness — Do you want to log in to iCloud?
But the killer statement in the write up in my opinion is this one:
Misery loves company they say, so perhaps Apple should, as they’ve hinted since WWDC last June, partner with Google to add Gemini as another “world knowledge” partner to power — or is it weaken? — Apple Intelligence.
Several observations are warranted even though I don’t use Apple mobile devices, but I do like the ruggedness of the Mac Air laptops. (No, I don’t want to log into Apple Media Services or Facetime, thanks.) Here we go with my perceptions:
- Skip the Sam AI-Man stuff, the really macho Zuck stuff, and the Sundar & Prabhakar stuff. Go with Deepseek. (Someone in Beijing will think positively about the iPhone. Maybe?)
- Face up to the fact that Apple does reasonably good marketing. Those M1, M2, M3 chips in more flavors than the once-yummy Baskin-Robbins offered are easy for consumers to gobble up.
- Innovation is not just marketing. The company has to make what its marketers describe in words. That leap is not working in my opinion.
So where does that leave the write up, the Siri thing, and me? Free to select another vendor and consider shorting Apple stock. The orchard is dropping fruit not fit for human consumption but a few can be converted to apple sauce. That’s a potential business. AI slop, not so much.
Stephen E Arnold, February 3, 2025
How to Garner Attention from X.com: The Guardian Method Seems Infallible
January 24, 2025
Prepared by a still-alive dinobaby.
The Guardian has revealed its secret to getting social media attention from Twitter (now the X). “‘Just the Start’: X’s New AI Software Driving Online Racist Abuse, Experts Warn” makes the process dead simple. Here are the steps:
- Publish a diatribe about the power of social media in general with specific references to the Twitter machine
- Use name calling to add some clickable bound phrases; for example, “online racism”, “fake images”, and “naked hate”
- Use loaded words to describe images; for example, an athlete “who is black, picking cotton while another shows that same player eating a banana surrounded by monkeys in a forest.”
Bingo. Instantly clickable.
The write up explains:
Callum Hood, the head of research at the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), said X had become a platform that incentivised and rewarded spreading hate through revenue sharing, and AI imagery made that even easier. “The thing that X has done, to a degree that no other mainstream platform has done, is to offer cash incentives to accounts to do this, so accounts on X are very deliberately posting the most naked hate and disinformation possible.”
This is a recipe for attention and clicks. Will the Guardian be able to convert the magnetism of the method in cash money?
Stephen E Arnold, January 24, 2025
Microsoft and Its Me-Too Interface for Bing Search
January 22, 2025
Bing will never be Google, but Microsoft wants its search engine to dominate queries. Microsoft Bing has a small percentage of Internet searches and in a bid to gain more traction it has copied Google’s user interface (UI). Windows Latest spills the tea over the UI copying: “Microsoft Bing Is Trying To Spoof Google UI When People Search Google.com.”
Google’s UI is very distinctive with its minimalist approach. The only item on the Google UI is the query box and menus along the top and bottom of the page. Microsoft Edge is Google’s Web browser and it is programed to use Bing. In a sneaky (and genius) move, when Edge users type Google into the bing search box they are taken to UI that is strangely Google-esque. Microsoft is trying this new UI to lower the Bing bounce rate, users who leave.
Is it an effective tactic?
“But you might wonder how effective this idea would be. Well, if you’re a tech-savvy person, you’ll probably realize what’s going on, then scroll and open Google from the link. However, this move could keep people on Bing if they just want to use a search engine.Google is the number one search engine, and there’s a large number of users who are just looking for a search engine, but they think the search engine is Google. In their mind, the two are the same. That’s because Google has become a synonym for search engines, just like Chrome is for browsers.A lot of users don’t really care what search engine they’re using, so Microsoft’s new practice, which might appear stupid to some of you, is likely very effective.”
For unobservant users and/or those who don’t care, it will work. Microsoft is also tugging on heartstrings with another tactic:
“On top of it, there’s also an interesting message underneath the Google-like search box that says “every search brings you closer to a free donation. Choose from over 2 million nonprofits.” This might also convince some people to keep using Bing.”
What a generous and genius tactic interface innovation. We’re not sure this is the interface everyone sees, but we love the me too approach from user-centric big tech outfits.
Whitney Grace, January 22, 2025
6G: The Promise of 5G Actually Fulfilled?
January 20, 2025
Here is an interesting philosophical question: At what point does virtual reality cross over into teleportation? For some of us, the answer is a clear “never.” For LightReading, however, “6G Could Be the World’s First Teleportation Tech“. Would a device that accurately reproduces all five senses be the same as being there? International Editor Iain Morris writes:
“As far-fetched as this might all sound, it is the vision of several academics at the UK’s University of Surrey. Professors Rahim Tafazolli, David Hendon and Ian Corden volunteer it as an example of how a future 6G standard could be far more revolutionary than its predecessors. ‘We are turning the science fiction of teleportation into science fact,’ Tafazolli told Light Reading in a bold pitch.”
So, 6G won’t just mean another speed jump and latency drop? Not if this team has its way. The differences between 5G and 6G are still very much up in the air. Tafazolli believes it is time for a grander vision—and bigger profits. We learn:
“While the idea of virtual teleportation is an obvious attention grabber, there is much more to the vision. In a white paper published last year, the University of Surrey recognized that without progress in areas such as time synchronization, slashing latency to a level inconceivable on even the most sophisticated 5G network, virtual reality will continue to have limits. That same paper notes the importance of foundational technologies, including massive MIMO (for more advanced antennas), more intelligent core networks and even open RAN, an in-vogue radio system designed to improve interoperability between vendors. Many of them figure in today’s early 5G networks. Indeed, Tafazolli’s reference to a ‘network of networks’ is reminiscent of language used to describe older technology ecosystems. He envisages a mixture of short range, wide area and satellite networks as the basis for 6G, implying it will build heavily on existing infrastructure.”
Skeptics point to certain experimental technologies required to make such “teleportation” a reality. Just how far are we from commercially available virtual taste buds or electronic skin? Close enough for this team of academics to stand firm in their conviction, apparently. Just one request: Do us Star Trek fans a favor and come up with a different name for this ultra realistic VR. “Teleportation” is taken.
Cynthia Murrell, January 20, 2025
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