Matthias Bastian

Matthias is the co-founder and publisher of THE DECODER, exploring how AI is fundamentally changing the relationship between humans and computers.

Matthias Bastian

Mar 23, 2024

AI in practice

Apple is in preliminary talks with Baidu about using the Chinese company's generative AI technology in its devices in China. Apple has already been in talks with Google and OpenAI about using their technology for its mobile AI capabilities, but their models are not available in China. The company needs a local provider of generative AI models, as China requires AI models to be vetted by its Cyberspace Administration and comply with policy guidelines. Samsung's latest Galaxy smartphone uses Google Gemini outside China and Baidu Ernie in China for some generative AI capabilities. Apple already stores its data in China in a cloud operated by a government partner to comply with local customer data storage laws.

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Matthias Bastian

Mar 23, 2024

AI in practice

A British man used ChatGPT to scam 100 free meals at McDonald's. He collected receipts with unique feedback codes and used ChatGPT to write 1,200-character complaint messages. Within twelve hours, a McDonald's employee offered him two to four meal vouchers. After nine months, however, he was discovered by a restaurant and the scam was exposed. The British man defends his actions as harmless, but the example shows how AI can be misused for fraud. The biggest victim in this story, apart from the restaurant, is probably the British man himself, who put his health at risk for this experiment.