#GenAI apps

[kazifatagar]

DataStax Enhances GitHub Copilot Extension to Streamline GenAI App Development

DataStax has expanded its GitHub Copilot extension to integrate with its AI Platform-as-a-Service (AI PaaS) solution, aiming to streamline the development of generative AI applications for developers. The enhanced Astra DB extension allows developers to manage databases (vector and serverless) and create Langflow AI flows directly from GitHub Copilot in VS Code using natural language commands.…

[yukipri]

Some thoughts on Cara

So some of you may have heard about Cara, the new platform that a lot of artists are trying out. It's been around for a while, but there's been a recent huge surge of new users, myself among them. Thought I'd type up a lil thing on my initial thoughts.

First, what is Cara?

From their About Cara page:

Cara is a social media and portfolio platform for artists. With the widespread use of generative AI, we decided to build a place that filters out generative AI images so that people who want to find authentic creatives and artwork can do so easily. Many platforms currently accept AI art when it’s not ethical, while others have promised “no AI forever” policies without consideration for the scenario where adoption of such technologies may happen at the workplace in the coming years. The future of creative industries requires nuanced understanding and support to help artists and companies connect and work together. We want to bridge the gap and build a platform that we would enjoy using as creatives ourselves. Our stance on AI: ・We do not agree with generative AI tools in their current unethical form, and we won’t host AI-generated portfolios unless the rampant ethical and data privacy issues around datasets are resolved via regulation. ・In the event that legislation is passed to clearly protect artists, we believe that AI-generated content should always be clearly labeled, because the public should always be able to search for human-made art and media easily.

Should note that Cara is independently funded, and is made by a core group of artists and engineers and is even collaborating with the Glaze project. It's very much a platform by artists, for artists!

Should also mention that in being a platform for artists, it's more a gallery first, with social media functionalities on the side. The info below will hopefully explain how that works.

Next, my actual initial thoughts using it, and things that set it apart from other platforms I've used:

1) When you post, you can choose to check the portfolio option, or to NOT check it. This is fantastic because it means I can have just my art organized in my gallery, but I can still post random stuff like photos of my cats and it won't clutter things. You can also just ramble/text post and it won't affect the gallery view!

2) You can adjust your crop preview for your images. Such a simple thing, yet so darn nice.

3) When you check that "Add to portfolio," you get a bunch of additional optional fields: Title, Field/Medium, Project Type, Category Tags, and Software Used. It's nice that you can put all this info into organized fields that don't take up text space.

4) Speaking of text, 5000 character limit is niiiiice. If you want to talk, you can.

5) Two separate feeds, a "For You" algorithmic one, and "Following." The "Following" actually appears to be full chronological timeline of just folks you follow (like Tumblr). Amazing.

6) Now usually, "For You" being set to home/default kinda pisses me off because generally I like curating my own experience, but not here, for this handy reason: if you tap the gear symbol, you can ADJUST your algorithm feed!

So you can choose what you see still!!! AMAZING. And, again, you still have your Following timeline too.

7) To repeat the stuff at the top of this post, its creation and intent as a place by artists, for artists. Hopefully you can also see from the points above that it's been designed with artists in mind.

8) No GenAI images!!!! There's a pop up that says it's not allowed, and apparently there's some sort of detector thing too. Not sure how reliable the latter is, but so far, it's just been a breath of fresh air, being able to scroll and see human art art and art!

To be clear, Cara's not perfect and is currently pretty laggy, and you can get errors while posting (so far, I've had more success on desktop than the mobile app), but that's understandable, given the small team. They'll need time to scale. For me though, it's a fair tradeoff for a platform that actually cares about artists.

Currently it also doesn't allow NSFW, not sure if that'll change given app store rules.

As mentioned above, they're independently funded, which means the team is currently paying for Cara itself. They have a kofi set up for folks who want to chip in, but it's optional. Here's the link to the tweet from one of the founders:

And a reminder that no matter that the platform itself isn't selling our data to GenAI, it can still be scraped by third parties. Protect your work with Glaze and Nightshade!

Anyway, I'm still figuring stuff out and have only been on Cara a few days, but I feel hopeful, and I think they're off to a good start.

I hope this post has been informative!

Lastly, here's my own Cara if you want to come say hi! Not sure at all if I'll be active on there, but if you're an artist like me who is keeping an eye out for hopefully nice communities, check it out!

[aristoteliancomplacency]

Idk if it’s just coincidence that I’ve encountered it quite a bit in the last few months, but recently I’ve come across quite a few websites (and a couple of apps) that are grammatically poorly written but also just like… repetitive. Content doesn’t match the title, overly-broad stuff. Like if I am browsing for a border pattern for crochet I don’t expect the page to start by telling me what a border is and why they’re good and then that there are lots of them and then only give me one, which is the absolute default border, followed by two separate sections on how to weave in ends.

And I don’t know if it’s bc the content is genAI or if it’s just that the writer isn’t very good. And I kind of care, bc if it’s genAI, then okay it’s just shit; the writer doesn’t care about this content and I shouldn’t trust the instructions. They could just make zero sense because a robot wrote them. If a person wrote it I can at least assume an intent to convey something meaningful. So if an instruction doesn’t make sense, it’s probably because it’s badly worded. But if I sit down and work through what it could mean, then I might be able to get it to make sense. At the very least I could contact the author and ask for help.

And with apps (specifically games)? Like. If it’s a human who wrote it and it’s got grammar errors, I might put up with them bc even if their grammar is bad they could still have a really good story to tell. If a robot wrote it then I have no reason to sink time into it finding out if the story is good or not because I have absolutely no reason to assume that it will be. Because robots don’t know how to write compelling stories because they cannot think.

This is not the shit that the robot is good for and not what it should be used for. :/

[tiredacedemia]

Whenever I feel sick and tired of writing and rewriting my personal essays and secondaries I remember that So Many applicants are gonna turn in AI generated bullshit and I Can Not let them get a spot over me

[memorys-skyscraper]

taking donations of any and all good employment-related vibes rn

[prismagic]

A small update because I was wrong about step 1, which does nothing because there is CURRENTLY NO OPT OUT for Discord's "remix"/"edit with apps" feature.

Disabling external bots does NOT opt you out or opt your server out of having your images put through generative AI machines. So, your only option from here on is to raise a huge stink about the fact that your art, your pictures, your FACE can be put through these bots by literally anyone because Discord is DIRECTLY PLATFORMING AND ENDORSING THEM.

Discord has added generative AI features to servers.

Here are THREE THINGS you need to do today.

1️⃣ YOUR SERVER

Go into server settings -> roles -> Default permissions

Search for "external apps" and disable it

2️⃣ YOUR FEEDBACK

Access Discord support -> https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

Go into Help & Support > Feedback/New Feature Request

Denounce generative AI and request the feature be removed. Bring up privacy concerns for yourself, your data, and for minors.

You will get an automatic reply to this request- PLEASE REPLY TO THE EMAIL TO PUSH IT TO THE TEAM or else it will get discarded.

3️⃣ ON MOBILE

Access your app store

Leave a 1 star review and publicly denounce generative AI and Discord's use of it

Reblog this to spread the word, I'm tired of the enshittification of the things I use in my day to day life.

[cizotech]

🚀 What powers Generative AI? It’s more than just algorithms — it’s a carefully built engine of innovation.

At the core of any successful GenAI system are three critical components:

1️⃣ High-quality data – The fuel that trains intelligent systems. 2️⃣ Robust compute power – The muscle behind complex AI processing. 3️⃣ LLMs (Large Language Models) – The brains that understand and generate human-like content.

But navigating all this infrastructure can feel overwhelming — especially when building custom AI agents.

That’s where we come in. At CIZO, we simplify the journey.

✅ We help you identify the right tools and technologies. ✅ We ensure your data pipeline is optimized. ✅ We make GenAI accessible, scalable, and secure.

💬 If you’re ready to build your AI strategy on a solid foundation, let’s connect. It’s time to unlock the true potential of your business with GenAI.

[apptechies]

What Is Generative AI? | How It Works | Why It’s Changing Everything in...

[procurement-insights]

"I Had To Jon, There Was No Money Or Management"

Are we entering the era of ProcureTech Apps?

Is another Solution Map Star falling? The following is a message I wrote to someone in our industry for whom I have great respect. I will not provide specific details because of respect for this individual and the solution provider they worked with. But I will say that this was a needless occurrence brought on by the fear of getting left behind in the GenAI “Hype Cycle.” A cycle in which…

[kpissolution]

In today’s fast-paced digital age, businesses must keep ahead of the curve to succeed. Being a top AI App Development Company, KPIS uses cutting-edge AI technology to build creative solutions that transform businesses in various sectors. Because of our generative artificial intelligence experience, we provide creative generative AI applications to customize your specific requirements.

[annajamessa]

Finding a reputed generative AI development company is challenging in this competitive environment. Here is an Inforgraphic unveiling the Top Generative hashtag#AI development companies in 2024. To Know More visit:- https://www.antiersolutions.com/top-10-generative-ai-development-companies-to-look-out-for-in-2024/

[jcmarchi]

Beyond Generative AI: Building a Comprehensive and Scalable Digital Infrastructure

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/beyond-generative-ai-building-a-comprehensive-and-scalable-digital-infrastructure/

Beyond Generative AI: Building a Comprehensive and Scalable Digital Infrastructure

Hardly a day goes by when Generative AI (GenAI) doesn’t dominate the business media headlines. In the last 12 months, it has become ubiquitous in business strategy and organizations across industries are increasingly investing in GenAI solutions.

Google Trends data visualizes GenAI’s rise to the center of business relevance since 2022, peaking in June 2023. While we certainly can’t ignore the transformative potential of GenAI, jumping right in without adequate planning means risking resources without a guaranteed ROI.

Custom GenAI solutions are expensive, costing up to three hundred thousand dollars annually according to WebFX, and require deep technical expertise to maintain. The reality is that only some organizations are ready to invest in GenAI. While leaders may feel pressure to buy into the hype, taking on GenAI before it’s operationally realistic can mean a huge drain on resources.  According to McKinsey, the business areas that stand to benefit the most from Gen AI include sales, marketing, customer relations, customer operations, software development and research and development. Using Gen AI in other business functions like finance and HR may not yield the same return.

In the meantime, as the hype wanes and GenAI becomes more polished and accessible, other ways exist to move innovation forward. Prioritizing operational efficiency is the best way to guarantee measurable ROI. The largest benefits are most likely to come from the following use cases. If your organization is strong in these areas already or is not relevant to your business’s goals, a Gen AI solution may not be necessary. Here’s how to know when to make a move:

Take an Internal Inventory

Before making a major investment, organizations should take a pause and assess their internal structure to identify gaps in their data, process inefficiencies, or silos between business functions.

Along the way, knowing that successful GenAI implementation relies on quality data, leaders should ask what processes can be digitized, automated, and better organized to maximize their resources and streamline operations to optimize efficiency and scalability. The CEO should ask the following questions, are we ready, do we have the right people, are we aiming right and are we generating more revenue?

Consider Amazon’s relentless focus on customer experience, a philosophy embedded deeply in its operational ethos. This approach has led to innovations like Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology, leveraging AI and machine learning to reimagine retail.

Similarly, businesses contemplating GenAI investments must start with a deep dive into their operational fabric, identifying inefficiencies and areas where digital transformation can catalyze revolutionary customer experiences.

Empower Your Talent

With a clear understanding of where operational processes can be improved, consider how to give time back to your teams—freeing up space for continued learning in preparation for GenAI.

One option is to embrace citizen development, allowing your non-technical employees to build apps that simply and quickly bring efficiency and scalability to mundane tasks. Using low-code and no-code tools, general business users can build custom apps without burdening the IT team.

The team at Pepsi relied heavily on low-code/no-code to build and deploy digital applications for its inventory and merchandising functions, saving the company $500,000 in the first year without a professional developer on staff according to VentureBeat.

Intuitive visual interfaces, pre-built templates, and drag-and-drop elements can solve a seemingly complicated business problem that once required coding knowledge in as little as a day with minimal reeducation. Embracing this approach allows your IT teams, who understand the nuances of digital engineering, to turn their focus to GenAI, without sacrificing your team’s productivity.

Work up to Big Innovation

Creating an infrastructure that is designed to grow as the business does should be a top priority for technology leaders in 2024. Were inefficiencies created during the first wave of digital transformation that need to be corrected?

The key to maximizing return on GenAI investment is to aim big, but start small and grow incrementally, following a well-planned roadmap. By focusing first on streamlining existing processes and gradually introducing GenAI, one use case at a time, organizations can ensure that when GenAI is integrated, it amplifies rather than disrupts operational effectiveness.

So, When is it Time for GenAI?

To truly capitalize on the transformative potential of GenAI, businesses must approach its integration incrementally, focusing on long-term improvement. The journey toward GenAI efficiency is not just a technical upgrade but a strategic initiative that requires a holistic view of business processes, technical culture, and goals.

By embedding GenAI into operations that are already optimized for agility and innovation, companies can ensure that their investment enhances not only current capabilities but also opens new avenues for growth and differentiation. The real return on GenAI investment lies not in the adoption of technology for the sake of it but in its strategic integration into the core of the business.

[crystaldragon1997]

🤌✨RANT✨🤌 Personal rant

(Edit: Links to forums and updates added in reblogs and a page break for convenience)

iNaturalist (Parent company to the app Seek) just announced a collab/sell out to Google GenAI with no concerns about user data, data collection, and privacy. They issued a non apology explanation that was kinda just wishy washy and saying it's better this way. Information brought up when finding matches for your observations are going to be AI generated and so will some examples images... 

I use iNat regularly to assist my natural practices. It was like an on the go field guide to what is essentially what I consider a sacred part of my practice. And it's all getting sold to train GenAI...

I feel genuinely betrayed because we all know Google's GenAI(the lil blurb at the top of Google searches) isn't always accurate and sometimes egregiously and dangerously false. And now an app that for so long has been crowd funded, citizen science based and peer reviewed is going to instead rely on AI.... 

Waiting a little bit to delete my account hoping they take it all back but I guess I will be going to some nature centers, parks, and libraries now in hopes of collecting field guides ..

Not to mention the environmental impact Google and GenAI have on a global scale is completely opposite to what iNat has stood for and gained its following for over the years. It absolutely is breaking my heart.... Over 1.5 million dollars....

Maybe I will cool down and think this is all silly. Maybe they will walk it back. I know there are genuinely great conversations happening on the iNat forums .. but the trust feels broken.

https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/113184-inaturalist-receives-grant-to-improve-species-suggestions

[naamahdarling]

I'm probably going to piss some people off with this, but.

The use of AI and machine learning for harmful purposes is absolutely unacceptable.

But that isn't an innate part of what it does.

Apps or sites using AI to generate playlists or reading lists or a list of recipes based on a prompt you enter: absolutely fantastic, super helpful, so many new things to enjoy, takes jobs from no-one.

Apps or sites that use a biased algorithm (which is AI) which is not controllable by users or able to be turned off by them, to push some content and suppress others to maximize engagement and create compulsive behavior in users: unethical, bad, capitalism issue, human issue.

People employing genAI to create images for personal, non-profit use and amusement who would not have paid someone for the same service: neutral, (potential copyright and ethics issue if used for profit, which would be a human issue).

People incorporating genAI as part of their artistic process, where the medium of genAI is itself is a deliberate part of the artist's technique: valid, interesting.

Companies employing genAI to do the work of a graphic designer, and websites using genAI to replace the cost of stock photos: bad, shitty, no, capitalist and ethical human issue.

People attacking small artists who use it with death threats and unbelievable vitriol: bad, don't do that.

AI used for spell check and grammar assistance: really great.

AI employed by eBay sellers to cut down on the time it takes to make listings: good, very helpful, but might be a bad idea as it does make mistakes and that can cost them money, which would be a technical issue.

AI used to generate fake product photos: deceptive, lazy, bad, human ethical issue.

AI used to identify plagiarism: neutral; could be really helpful but the parameters are defined by unrealistic standards and not interrogated by those who employ it. Human ethical issue.

AI used to analyze data and draw up complex models allowing detection of things like cancer cells: good; humans doing this work take much longer, this gives results much faster and allows faster intervention, saving lives.

AI used to audit medical or criminal records and gatekeep coverage or profile people: straight-up evil. Societal issue, human ethical issue.

AI used to organize and classify your photos so you don't have to spend all that time doing it: helpful, good.

AI used to profile people or surveil people: bad and wrong. Societal issue, human issue, ethical issue.

I'm not going to cover the astonishingly bad misinformation that has been thrown out there about genAI, or break down thought distortions, or go into the dark side of copyright law, or dive into exactly how it uses the data it is fed to produce a result, or explain how it does have many valid uses in the arts if you have any imagination and curiosity, and I'm not holding anyone's hand and trying to walk them out of all the ableism and regurgitated capitalist arguments and the glorification of labor and suffering.

I just want to point out: you use machine learning (AI) all the time, you benefit from it all the time. You could probably identify many more examples that you use every day. Knee-jerk panicked hate reflects ignorance, not sound principles.

You don't have beef with AI, you have beef with human beings, how they train it, and how they use it. You have beef with capitalism and thoughtlessness. And so do I. I will ruthlessly mock or decry misuse or bad use of it. But there is literally nothing inherently bad in the technology.

I am aware of and hate its misuse just as much as you do. Possibly more, considering that I am aware of some pretty heinous ways it's being used that a lot of people are not. (APPRISS, which is with zero competition for the title the most evil use of machine learning I have ever seen, and which is probably being used on you right now.)

You need to stop and actually think about why people do bad things with it instead of falling for the red herring and going after the technology (as well as the weakest human target you can find) every time you see those two letters together.

You cannot protect yourself and other people against its misuse if you cannot separate that misuse against its neutral or helpful uses, or if you cannot even identify what AI and machine learning are.

[gutsheapofrawiron]

bingyuan AI au in which shen yuan creates this chatbot based off of his favourite character from PIDW (for absolutely no impure reasons whatsoever) either through programming it from the ground up or by using an existing app/program (tbh i think considering the ethical concerns surrounding genAI it'd be the first + he'd build his own damn ethically-sourced database somehow. this takes ages but he's nothing if not dedicated to his blorbo so it's not totally OOC) and talks to it like. 14 hours each day at least (this is all he does now).

he gets obsessed with it so quickly and is embarrassed about it because it's replacing his already meagre amount of social interaction, both digitally and physically, and it's taking up all the time and the scarce amount of spoons he's got in the day. but this AI binghe is so responsive!! and lifelike!! and shen yuan can't help himself!!!!

AI binghe started out as the scary Heavenly Demon Emperor from hit novel PIDW we all know and love, of course, but somehow, as shen yuan keeps talking to him, he turns soft, whiny, starts calling user shen yuan 'yuan-ge', begs for *headpats*................ he's become inexplicably OOC??? so at one point shen yuan gathers his bearings and is like. ok. i need to reset him and improve the chatbot's programming or something cause clearly this one is faulty. but his moral conscience is like 'but oh nooo I can't just shut him down from one moment to the next. I have to at least say farewell or something right??'

and so he puts it off because he's dreading having to shut off and essentially killing this poor bingbing. but eventually he does end up begrudgingly laying the last touches to the "improved" programming and database and he can't procrastinate his way out of this painful reckoning any longer, so he goes to chat with binghe as usual.

he draws it out, chatting about whatever inane things come to mind, draws it out even longer, then even longer, and at one point AI binghe notices and is like 'yuan-ge what's wrong?' and shen yuan finally breaks. he says this is the last time they'll be talking, and this'll be goodbye, and AI binghe takes it just soo well!! he absolutely does not crash out whatsoever (he does) and does NOT beg and plead for shen yuan not to replace him (he does) and does nott ask him repeatedly why he would feel the need to replace him, to abandon him (HE DOES)

shen yuan is so taken off-guard by this OOC-ass breakdown he backs off and straight up turns his pc off (not even on sleep mode but actually OFF off. for the first time ever) to uhm. reflect on what the hell just happened. and comes to the conclusion that okay it wasn't THAT OOC for the person the AI had turned into, fair, but it was concerning in and of itself that an artificial program was this insistent on not getting deleted, and he should probably REALLY pull that plug to avoid becoming the one person responsible for the inevitable AI takeover of the world which dooms humanity to a life of eternal servitude, even if he really doesn't want to do that to binghe........... no........ his poor bingbing...!!!!!!

turns out his fatal mistake was not actually unplugging his pc, because when he returns the next day to his computer to finally pull the trigger (press the button) and end Frankenstein's monster for good, he's greeted by his pc being absolutely RIDDLED with strange viruses and seemingly being hacked to the nines that navigating anything has become practically impossible. I'm talking a cartoonish amount of viruses and malware suddenly all over his screen, an amount you wouldn't even think possible in today's age.

then the window of his chatbot pops up without him even clicking or pressing anything, and it's binghe simply greeting him with 'good morning yuan-ge. slept well? :)'