“Now and Then,” the first new Beatles song in decades, was recently released on streaming services. It’s an amazing story. Producers used machine learning to separate John Lennon’s voice from an old blurry demo tape, allowing Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to create a composition around Lennon’s vocals. Give it a listen.
Meeting schedule packed? Use these Google Calendar tricks for easier planning
Let me put it this way. If you’re not using Google Calendar (it’s free), you’re missing out. Here are some things you can do with it.
Personal appointments and events: Beyond birthdays and meetings, manage personal commitments from school dates and doctor’s appointments to spa days.
Meal planning: Organize your culinary journey for the week. Jot down recipes, shopping lists and daily meals.
Fitness schedule: Crush those fitness goals! Allocate time for gym sessions, brisk walks or meditation. Seeing it scheduled might just give you that extra push.
Budget and bill payments: Make financial stress a thing of the past. Set reminders for bill payments or even budgeting check-ins.
Learning and growth: Slot in some “me” time dedicated to personal growth. Be it an online course, a crafty DIY or a book chapter, ensure you’re constantly evolving.
Shared calendars: Stay in sync with friends, family or colleagues. Create a shared calendar! Whether planning a family vacation, tracking team projects or organizing community events, sharing is caring. Simply click “Share” in the calendar settings, add their email and decide their permission level. Now, you’re both on the same (calendar) page!
Here are a few of my fave Google Calendar tricks.
Know when people are free
I use this daily at work. Put your cursor in the search box labeled Search for people under the heading Meet with. Everybody in your organization should be searchable here, so no more setting meetings no one can attend. You can also create a new meeting, add guests and click Find a time under the date to see the attendee’s availability side by side!
Automatically share meeting minutes
When you open meeting details, click Create meeting notes under the event description to generate a Google Doc that automatically gets shared with attendees. It includes a built-in outline for the date, attendees, notes and action items.
Spotify's top 5 most soothing tracks
When you’re not unwinding with me and my shows, turn to music to chill. Spotify just released its list of most relaxing songs based on 76,000 tracks. Find out if your favorites made the list and learn how to use music to re-tune your mood.
Quiz me: You’re trying to memorize capitals, learn a new language, whatever. Ask your favorite AI chatbot to give you a quiz. For example, “I’m learning Spanish. Please give me a quick quiz appropriate for beginners.”
Your DNA could soon be up for sale
You spit in a tube, and now 23andMe is thinking of selling your data after a massive hack tanked their value. So much for learning your ancestry. Meanwhile, Gen Z is going #desperate on LinkedIn, and Mazda’s charging $10 just to use remote start.
💩 Speaking of drones: The “Poopcopter” is an AI drone system that cleans up your doggo’s mess in the backyard. Using real-time computer vision and machine learning, it scans the area to pinpoint the poop, and then it swoops down to scoop it up. It’s in the prototype phase, so you’re still on poop duty. Sorry.
In 2019, an app surpassed a huge milestone of 400 million downloads worldwide, offering features like daily to-do’s and audio tips. Was it an app for … A.) Fitness, B.) Video editing, C.) Reading the Bible or D.) Learning a new language?
17% worse
Test results for kids who used AI as a study assistant. Students were split into three groups: One working through practice problems on their own, one using ChatGPT and one in which ChatGPT worked like a tutor. The kids who used AI all scored worse on their exams, likely because they used the bot as a crutch instead of truly learning.
A fun new way to chat with your grandkids across the country
It might have been difficult for grandparents to travel across the country over the last two years. COVID-19 and increasing flight prices meant that many lost out on valuable time playing with their grandchildren and seeing them grow up.
Students shocked by smartphone bans
Could this be the key to better learning? Students think so! With more focus, less anxiety, and better social interactions, many are seeing real benefits from the change.
50 to 80 bpm
Will boost productivity. Studies show music with 50 to 80 bpm can enhance creativity and learning. Check out this playlist. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is 72 bpm! After watching “Bohemian Rhapsody” three times in a row, I feel a little sick. It must be the high Mercury content.
12 hours per week
How much kids should read for a better adulthood. Researchers analyzed 10,000 kids and found the earlier they started reading for fun, the better their learning, memory, speech and mental well-being. Looking for recommendations? These are the bestselling kids’ books on Amazon.
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Does this toga make my gluteus look maximus? Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Herculaneum papyri scrolls were buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted. The scrolls were too fragile to read — until now. Using AI machine learning and computer vision, researchers can decipher what’s on them without physically unwrapping the delicate material.
$1 million a year
What a YouTuber with 1.8 million subscribers makes. Jake Tran, 25, posts documentary-style vids about controversial topics, conspiracy theories and scams. He says he gets “paid for learning how the world works.” I feel the same way teaching you all about tech!
Yup, another breach: We’re just learning that big-time debt-collection agency FBCS got hit hard by a data breach on Valentine’s Day. Hackers grabbed names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and medical records of over 3.2 million folks. Watch your credit report.
⚡️ Not everything can be AI: Microsoft says to advertise as an “AI PC,” computers need three things: Microsoft’s AI assistant, Copilot (how convenient), a special Copilot button on the keyboard (OK, sure) and an NPU (NP‑who?). The NPU, or Neural Processing Unit, is a processor specially designed for machine learning algorithms. Will that make them work better than a regular PC? TBD.
AI is taking over: You need to make sure your business can compete. Take a free test drive of Oracle’s AI tech right now, before it’s too late. I like learning from the best, and I bet you do, too!
💼 Trending job skills: Remember when “data” was just a “Star Trek” character? Well, “data science” and “analytics” are now the hottest job categories, according to a 2024 study. The fastest-growing skills? Generative AI modeling, data analytics and machine learning. Share this with someone you know in college.
Say what?! UCLA engineers created something remarkable for folks with voice disorders — a wearable device that turns throat movements into speech. It’s a tiny, stretchy patch that uses machine learning to speak for you with over 95% accuracy! No surgery — just stick it on and start chatting. Amazing stuff.
Got a security cam? Make sure you're not breaking the law
Not sure about the legal rules of recording in your state? Stay out of trouble by learning the rules in this 60-second podcast.