Tag: Snapchat

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Snapchat’s new AI chatbot exposed for using slurs, gaslighting users

If you haven’t heard already, Snapchat is getting in on the recent AI chatbot craze with its own model known as “My AI.” Now, users are reporting some bizarre and inappropriate behaviour from the chatbot, including its use of racial slurs and even instances of it pleading with users to turn themselves in to the authorities.

Screenshots were posted to Twitter showing My AI responding with an anti-Black slur when asked to create an acronym with the first letter of the user’s corresponding sentence. The chatbot then tried to backtrack by stating that its own answer was against the company’s policy towards hateful content.

Although concerning, this looks more like a case of users baiting My AI into saying something controversial rather than a genuine problem with the chatbot. Many similar instances have surfaced online, with cases of Snapchat’s AI ‘gaslighting’ users.

The first time that the “My AI” conversation is opened, users must acknowledge a disclaimer about the bot’s capabilities and limitations. It reads, “My AI may use information you share to improve Snap’s products and to personalize your experience, including ads. My AI is designed to avoid biased, incorrect, harmful, or misleading responses, but it may not always be successful, so don’t rely on its advice.” 

The strange responses from the bot have taken over the internet, with cases of My AI pleading with users to turn themselves in when they confess to murders and even reacting harshly to bomb threats.

Snapchat’s My AI was developed using OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which has been known to get facts wrong regularly and spread misinformation accidentally. OpenAI founder Sam Altman went on record to say that ChatGPT is a “horrible product.”

While the chatbot’s legitimacy is concerning, Snapchat is being questioned on why it would bring the product to its audience, which often consists of minors. In most of the above cases, inappropriate and fake prompts are given to the bot in order to elicit a similar response.

A Snapchat spokesperson said that users who intentionally misuse the service could be temporarily restricted from using the bot.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: @tracedontmiss Via: Vice

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Mobile Syrup

Snapchat rolls out My AI for all users, details subscriber growth, at annual Snap Partner Summit

Snapchat users across the globe can now use artificial intelligence to fuel conversations with their friends. The company says My AI is available to all users for free.

Developed using OpenAI’s ChatGPT, users can activate the chatbot in conversations by mentioning @MyAI in chats.

The company originally started testing the feature with subscribers in the U.S. in February. CEO Evan Spiegel says 99.5 percent of the responses the chatbot produces conform to the company’s community guidelines. “My AI certainly makes plenty of mistakes, so you can’t rely on it for advice, but it’s definitely entertaining,” Spiegel said during the company’s annual summit.

More than 750 million people across 20 countries use Snapchat every month. Its subscription service, Snapchat+, has more than three million subscribers, marking a period of growth. Back in August, only one million users were using the service.

Othe new features

Snap wants its users to have small blasts from the past with its new Friendship Flashbacks feature. This will allow the platform to resurface saved snaps in conversations, similar to the way Google Photos reminds users of photos from years ago.

“At Snap, we know that Friendships are based on shared experiences, and we’re always looking for ways to help our community celebrate the people closest to them,” Jack Brody, vice president of product, said.

The company will also introduce a new shared Story type called After Dark. It will allow users to add snaps to the Story after 8pm. Only those who posted the night before can access the Story the next morning. A feature “for the early birds” will also be making its way to the app soon, Brody said but didn’t provide further details.

Starting today, users can also access Live Location — a feature that will allow friends to track each other on Snapchat. “This makes it easy to see each other when you’re both on the go,” Brody said.

Image credit: Snap

In the music and entertainment world, the company is working with Disguise to bring Snap’s AR to music venues and tours, allowing users to see AR visuals through the Snapchat camera.

The company is also collaborating with Kygo to bring the feature to his concerts in the summer. The move builds on Snap’s AR partnerships, which include Samsusng’s decision to integrate Snap AR in the native camera on Galaxy A, F, and M series phones.

Image credit: Shutterstock

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Mobile Syrup

Snap rolls out new way to let users keep their Snap Streaks going

Is there anything worse than losing a Snap Streak?

While the obvious answer is yes, teenage me didn’t always see it like that.

Snap Streaks are a feature on Snapchat that track how often users send each other daily snaps. According to the company’s website, you and a friend are on a streak if you’ve sent snaps to each other for three consecutive days. Doing so leads to a fire emoji next to your friend’s account name.

The rules have been strict; miss one day and the streak expires. But now the company has rolled out a new feature that could change the rules of the game.

“We’re making it easier to take a break with a new feature we’re testing to let you reignite the spark and restore one streak for free with just one tap,” the company writes in a blog post.

Users will only be able to restore their streak once. According to TechCrunch, it’ll cost American users an additional 99 cents (roughly $1.36 CAD) to add more restores. It’s unclear what the pricing for Canadian users will look like.

The company will further roll out the benefit under its subscription program Snapchat+ “soon.”

“We’ll also be adding a new way for Snapchat+ subscribers to freeze their Streaks, putting things on pause when they know they’re going off the grid,” the company says.

The news follows the company’s jump on the ChatGPT bandwagon. Snap will soon introduce its own chatbot called My AI.

Source: Snap, TechCrunch 

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Mobile Syrup

Snapchat incorporates ChatGPT tech for its ‘My AI’ chatbot

Following in Spotify’s footsteps, Santa Monica, California-based Snapchat is also borrowing OpenAI’s ChatGPT and integrating it into its app.

Snapchat is introducing a ChatGPT-powered chatbot, and according to Snap’s CEO Evan Spiegel, the move is a bet on AI chatbots becoming a more prevalent part of people’s lives in the coming years.

Snapchat’s bot called “My AI” resides reside in the app’s chat tab, right above conversations with your snapchat contacts. The feature will be limited to Snapchat Plus subscribers at first, but according to Spiegel, in a statement given to The Verge, he wants the feature to be available to all Snapchat users for free in the future.

“The big idea is that in addition to talking to our friends and family every day, we’re going to talk to AI every day,” said Spiegel. “And this is something we’re well positioned to do as a messaging service.”

My AI reportedly answers questions in a way more restricted manner, when compared to regular ChatGPT. Snap’s employees have trained the bot to adhere to the company’s trust and safety guidelines and not give responses that include swearing, violence, sexually explicit content, or opinions about topics like politics.

So no, answering the Snapchat AI chatbot to do your homework for you wouldn’t work well. Instead of a productivity tool, My AI will function more like a persona that you can talk to. My AI is meant to be a virtual friend inside of Snapchat for users to hang out with, and not a dedicated search engine.

My AI is rolling out to Snapchat+ subscribers in the U.S. today, with a broader rollout to come sometime later.Read more about My AI here.

Image credit: Snap

Source: Snapchat Via: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Snap rolls out Ray Tracing technology to developers worldwide

Snap’s ongoing work in the world of augmented reality has led to a new development.

The company has introduced Ray Tracing to developers. Described as a “technical capability,” it can enhance realism in AR experiences by “reflecting light on digital objects.” This means lenses that feature AR diamond jewelry, for example, will look more realistic.

Since we’re talking about diamonds, it only makes sense that Tiffany & Co. be the first to levrage Ray Tracing. With the Tiffany Lock Lens, Snapchatters can try on the company’s Lock bracelts and even purchase them through the app.

Head to their website for the QR code. The lens is available to iOS and Android users around the world.

Image credit: Snap

Source: Snap

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Mobile Syrup

Toronto Raptors fans at Scotiabank Arena can shoot virtual hoops in real-time

Toronto Raptors fans attending a Welcome Toronto game at Scotiabank Arena can access a limited-time Raptors AR Lens on Snapchat.

The Bell and Snacp Inc. partnership will allow users with a 5G device to join virtual teams and shoot hoops in real time.

The Bell 5G Shot Clock Challenge on Snapchat uses the speed, latency and bandwidth power of 5G to allow thousands of people to connect at once while leveraging Snapchat’s AR technology.

“There is a highly engaged community watching and talking about sports on Snapchat — and with our more than six billion AR Lens plays per day, we see a demand for more immersive experiences to complement and enhance the real world,” Matt McGowan, the general manager of Snap Canada, said.

The experience is available at four Welcome Toronto games and launches at 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT on January 6th. It will also be available at the January 21st, February 10th, and March 18th games.

Those without a 5G capable device will still be able to enjoy the experience, but on a smaller scale. A single-player version is available on 4G and LTE-connected devices.

Image credit: NBA

Source: Bell

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Mobile Syrup

Snapchat’s Avatar face filter isn’t quite movie quality….

Snapchat, never one to miss a trend, is hopping aboard the Avatar: The Way of Water hype train with a full Na’vi face filter.

The filter works great, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the same tech James Cameron is using in the next Avatar movies since the ears, eyes and nose look like an Avatar, but the rest looks like a painted blue human face.

The face filter should be located within your Snapchat carousel, but mine was buried far in, so you might have to scroll for a while to find it. That said, it’s pretty funny and looks slightly better than expected.

Snapchat is available on iOS and Android.

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Mobile Syrup

You can mute the annoying Team Snapchat notifications

If you’ve ever used Snapchat, you know how annoying it is when Team Snapchat messages you on holidays and special events. However, I found out recently that you can mute them.

It’s straightforward and just like muting any other conversation on Snap, but because these messages were messages and not actual notifications, I never considered it. To mute the chat, all you need to do is tap and hold on the conversation, then select the ‘Chat Settings’ option.

From there, turn off ‘Message Notifications’ and ‘Game and Mini Notifications.’

Voila, welcome to life unbothered by random chats from a bot you care nothing about.

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Mobile Syrup

Snapchat rolls out new Director Mode feature worldwide

Snapchat users around the world can now access ‘Director Mode.’

Available to iOS and Android users, Director Mode features new cameras and editing tools, giving users further control over the creative process.

It can be used alongside Dual Camera, another feature Snapchat recently launched that allows users to simultaneously use the front-facing and back-facing cameras.

Director Mode can be accessed through the ‘Director Mode’ icon in the camera toolbar. Alternatively, users can select the ‘create’ button in Spotlight to begin.

See how it works in the video below.

Image credit: Snapchat 

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Mobile Syrup

Snapchat rolls out more Snapchat+ exclusive features, including spooky backgrounds

Snapchat has released four new features for its Snapchat+ subscription service.

Custom Story Expiration allows users to set when they want their stories to expire, which can last anywhere from one hour to one week.

Custom Notification Sounds allow users to select separate tones for their friends, so they know who sent them a Snap without having to look down at their phone.

Camera Color Borders lets users pick a colour for borders as they capture content. And, just in time for spooky season, Snapchat has also released three eerie Bitmoji Backgrounds for people to use on their profiles.

These additions bring the exclusive feature count for Snapchat+ subscribers to 12. The subscription service was first introduced in June and has more than one million subscribers.

Image credit: Snapchat

Source: Snapchat