🗣️ New ChatGPT Voice Mode - how to activate it in the EU

AI-HOI AInauts,

The last few days have been extremely eventful and will be formative for the future - not only for us, but also for Sam Altman and OpenAI. So today we have an important tip for our European readers and a summary of the most exciting news (and memes 😁).

Here's what we have in store for you today, let's go!

• 🦸🏻‍♀️ How to unlock ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode in the EU!

• 🫨 Drama at OpenAI again? A lot is happening ...

• 📰 AI news quickie: The HAI highlights from the industry

🦸🏻‍♀️ How to trick the system: Unlock ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode in the EU in 5 minutes!

We don't like to use the word because it sounds like hype. But it's true: the new ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode is a quantum leap! It feels intelligent and magical.

But once again, if you're living in the EU, you’re left out in the cold... While the whole world gets to enjoy the latest AI features, the EU is left out for now. And this time it really hurts, because it's a new level of interaction. See for yourself:

But don't despair, ask the AInauts!

Hopefully the ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode will soon be available in the EU and Switzerland. But instead of relying on the "principle of hope", we'd rather use a little trick. The best thing about it: it's easier than you think - you'll be up and running in 5 minutes!

All you need is a ChatGPT Plus or Team subscription and a VPN for your mobile phone. VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) disguise your real IP address and make it look like you're surfing from another country.

How to set up ChatGPT Advanced Mode in the EU

1. Install the VPN of your choice (e.g. FreeVPN or ProtonVPN).

2. Connect to a server in a country where Advanced Voice Mode is available (tip: USA or Canada).

3. Important: Update the ChatGPT app or reinstall it (Android, iPhone from version 1.2024.261)

4. Open the ChatGPT app and the "Advanced Voice Mode" option should now appear in the settings. You will recognize it by a blue orb effect.

ChatGPT's advanced speech mode inherently understands speech. This creates an experience that is smoother and more authentic than any other voice interaction you've ever had with a computer. In our tests, it parsed easily in High German and even spoke some Swiss German dialects!

Some clever ChatGPT Voice use cases for everyday life

The possibilities are endless, and X is full of creative ideas. Here are a few:

• Simulate conversations: ChatGPT simulates job interviews, sales pitches, speeches and presentations. Explore specific industry questions or arguments and practice your reaction.

• Coach: Get tips on difficult situations, be it in your relationship, family, parenting, etc. Or have conversations to deal with stress and worries.

• Translation and language training: Communicate with people worldwide without language barriers - ChatGPT translates everything instantly. Or learn any foreign language and get feedback on pronunciation and grammar.

• Technical support for all cases: "Hey ChatGPT, why isn't my printer connecting?" Have technical problems explained to you verbally.

• Tutor for children: No idea how to do algebra with your kids? ChatGPT explains everything. Or have stories read aloud and ask interactive questions to help with text comprehension.

• Further education: Make learning an experience for yourself as well or keep your brain fit with memory exercises and brain games.

• Productivity with style: Create to-do lists, dictate emails, ideas for articles or get help with brainstorming - all by voice, multitasking 2.0.

• Podcasting partner: Do you need a co-host? ChatGPT can record your podcast with you.

Helpful tips for using the ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode

There are a few things you should know to get the most out of it:

• Custom instructions: You can define your preferences in the settings.

• Limited use: The daily quota is limited. You will receive a notification 15 minutes before it expires. So don't leave the voice mode running in the background! Custom GPTs and existing chats with images or documents still use the old voice mode.

• Desktop app on Mac: Unfortunately, the new voice mode is not yet activated for the desktop app. Pro Tip: You can use the iPhone Mirroring feature.

• Privacy tip: Make sure to deactivate the data sharing options in the ChatGPT app so that your voice clips are not saved for training purposes.

• The previous voice mode: Registered users of the free ChatGPT version can still use the standard voice via the iOS desktop and mobile apps.

Our take: What's next?

Why has the EU been locked out so far? Apparently it's because of the EU AI Act, which restricts emotion recognition.

The EU has concerns about data protection and emotional manipulation through AI. Of course, these are important issues - but not embracing new technologies and opportunities will set Europe back in the global AIcompetition.

We are curious to see whether OpenAI will present solutions in the future that meet the legal requirements in Europe without sacrificing the fantastic voice functions.

🫨 Drama at OpenAI again? A lot is happening ...

Let's stay with OpenAI, because they haven't been out of the headlines in the last few days.

The timeline of the most important events

• Sam publishes a rare post on his blog about how he sees the future: The age of intelligence - absolutely worth reading. *For those who prefer to see a new interview, either here or here at David Perell. And he puts his money where his mouth is!

• The new o1 models (codename: 🍓) are smarter than most people and beat all other models - our article here. (Sidenote: The 4o-mini model can now also handle files and generate images).

• The ChatGPT Advanced Voice mode is rolled out widely and heralds a new era of interaction.

• Immediately after the rollout, however, three top executives threw in the towel: CTO Mira Murati, Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew and VP Barret Zoph resign almost simultaneously. Material for the next Hollywood Silicon Valley soap opera? This Wall Street Journal article gives you a look behind the scenes…

• And then the next headline: according to Reuters, OpenAI is to be transformed from a non-profit organization into a for-profit company.

• Apparently, Sam is to receive a 7% share, which would be over 10 billion US dollars. He denies this. He also recently signed the Giving Pledge = a large part of his fortune is to be donated to charity.

• It is undisputed that OpenAI is burning money and urgently needs a cash injection. And this is set to be finalized this week - 6 billion US dollars at a valuation of 150 billion US dollars! Microsoft and NVIDIA are among those on board, Apple withdrew at the last moment.

• But not only that, more - MUCH more - electricity is also needed. They are even lobbying at the White House for this. Microsoft, on whose infrastructure the OpenAI models run, has incidentally just made an exclusive deal to restart a nuclear reactor.

Our take: Sam is playing 4D chess - hopefully to the benefit of humanity

Sam's blog post and the reports of the last few days show that he has long been playing 4D chess - strategically, technologically, financially and politically. Whether this is an ingenious strategy or desperate gambling remains to be seen.

What is certain is that he wants to bring his vision of the "age of intelligence" to reality - even if that means OpenAI has to turn its back on its original mission. You remember: to ensure that AI benefits all of humanity. OpenAI, for example, has just launched the OpenAI Academy to support developers in low-income countries.

The for-profit transformation is not an isolated case and this does not automatically have to be a bad thing. Other leading companies in the AI environment are also operating as for-profit companies.

Sam has clearly stated that he wants to be more involved in the technology - presumably to align everyone towards achieving artificial superintelligence. There's no room for anyone who wants to step on the brakes. No wonder that OpenAIs researchers have been falling by the wayside. Almost half of the AGI security team has left OpenAI …

For us consumers, this means that there will be more products, faster releases and exciting features - but also less time for in-depth security checks and long-term thinking. OpenAI wants to become the Google of AI and have a monopoly on the key technologies of the future. But with such power comes responsibility, and the tricky question is: how much responsibility is left when the focus is on revenue and profit at the expense of security? We will see…

📰 AI news quickie: hAI-lights from the industry

There are plenty of exciting updates!

• Wow, Meta has been busy and Zuck presented a lot at Meta Connect - from Meta AI to Quest to Llama 3.2 and more! We already love our Ray Bans and are looking forward to the new AR Orions. At some point, maybe next year…?

Google

• NotebookLM is now even better! In addition to Google Docs etc., you can now also add YouTube links (only the transcript is used) and upload audio files.

• Pro tip: You can also add a Google Doc, and then simply put your notes into the Google Doc on an ongoing basis, and the notebook updates itself (... which can also be automated via Make or Zapier).

• There are already some alternatives, some of which are open source. For example: Lettercast.ai, PDF2Audio, Podcastgen, Pocketpod.app, ...

• Google Vids is a new AI video app: create videos from text or documents and add images and AI voices. Try it out - in Google Drive under "New" you will find "Vids".

• Two new Gemini models are here, with >2x higher rate limits, >50% discount on Gemini 1.5 Pro and more - a good day for developers!

The future

• Joe Biden tells the UN that there will be more technological changes in the next 2-10 years than in the last 50 years.

• The United Nations proposes addressing AI with the same urgency as climate change.

• Pope Francis again calls for a universal basic income and higher taxes for billionaires to promote social justice.

• Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, on the other hand, believes that a comprehensive AI monitoring system will ensure that citizens behave in an exemplary manner.

• ARK forecasts a sales potential of 24 trillion dollars for humanoid robots (like Neo) in households and factories!

• AI investor Vinod Khosla published a long and readable essay on the future of AI - and ChatGPT thinks he's downplaying the risks...

• California Governor Newsom has vetoed the controversial AI bill SB1047 , which would have required AI providers to meet strict safety requirements.

Models & Tools

• Use the free Google Sheets addon GPT Unleashed for Sheets and integrate ChatGPT, Claude and over 100 other models directly! It’s really good.

• Facecam AI gives you a new face in real time - on any device. And you can now read lips with AI - just upload a video.

• Airtable has unveiled a new AI platform designed to help companies integrate AI into their business processes at scale.

• Mistral AI offers a free chat and API and is lowering the prices for their models. Give it a try!

• Hugging Face has cracked the 1,000,000-model mark!

• OpenRouter has added five Llama 3.2 models, including a free Vision Llama model.

Research

• AI has discovered over 300 new Nazca lines in Peru - by comparison, 430 lines have been found so far in the last 80 years.

• A new AI model from Harvard Medical School identifies existing drugs to treat rare diseases and offers hope.

• AI novel experiment: The first attempt to have AI write a novel without supervision went wrong. But with more human help, it got better! Here you can download the PDF for free without optin.

We made it! But no need to be sad. The AInauts will be back soon, with new food for thought.

Reto & Fabian from the AInauts

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