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AI cracks 2,000-year-old ancient scroll, winning $700,000

Plus: LinkedIn has a new AI chatbot

Author

Nikita Verma
February 08, 2024

Hey everyone! 👋 Welcome back to another hot-piping edition of AI Creator. 

Here’s what you need to know today:

  • AI cracks 2,000-year-old ancient scroll

  • Bumble introduces 'Deception Detector'

  • LinkedIn has a new AI chatbot for jobseekers

Let’s get into the nitty-gritty details!

AI Cracks 2,000-year-old ancient scroll, winning $700,000 📜

For centuries, the Herculaneum papyri, a collection of 800 Greek scrolls preserved by Mount Vesuvius' catastrophic eruption in 79 AD, remained unreadable due to tragical burns. 

But recently, here’s what happened:

  • Three tech students have created an AI model that can unlock secrets from the 2,000-year-old scroll, possibly owned by Julius Caesar's father-in-law. , winning $700,000.

  • The discovery was part of the Vesuvius Challenge, launched in 2023. This competition offered over $1 million to unlock the scrolls using "computer vision, machine learning, and hard work." 

  • The first 2000 words deciphered only comprised 5% of the text, offering a glimpse into the lives of the Roman elite. Discussions of "music, food, and how to enjoy life's pleasures" emerged.

This is just the beginning. The next phase of the challenge aims to decipher 85% of the scroll, it may hold thousands more manuscripts, potentially rewriting our understanding of the ancient world.

Is your Bumble match too good to be true? AI’s ‘Deception Detector’ can now tell

Bumble, the popular dating app, announced their new AI-powered tool: Deception Detector. This innovative feature aims to shield users from fake, scam, and spam profiles before they even see them.

In testing, it successfully blocked 95% of scam profiles identified by Bumble. The impact is immediate: within two months, user reports of fake profiles dropped by 45%.

Why does this matter? Fake profiles and scams plague online dating, causing emotional distress and financial losses. The FTC reports that romance scams on dating apps alone cost victims $1.3 billion between 2017 and 2021. Bumble's research further highlights the issue, with 46% of women expressing anxiety about profile authenticity.

This isn't the first AI move in the dating game. Tinder recently launched its AI-powered warning system to tackle inappropriate behavior. So, next time you’re counting the pros of AI - add a more positive online dating experience. ✅

LinkedIn has a new AI chatbot for jobseekers

LinkedIn is rolling out some new AI-assisted features. 

Now, premium users can use AI’s advice to know whether they would be a good fit for the job or not and how to better tailor their profile to stand out among the sea of applications. 

How is it helpful?

  • You can now make sense of the lengthy, jargon-filled job postings

  • You can highlight the benefits and perks provided by the company, dissect job descriptions to outline both challenges and opportunities, detail the interview process, and address any subsequent inquiries. 

  • Additionally, if requested, it can recommend LinkedIn profiles of employees who could offer insights into job openings. 

  • The answers are scraped from LinkedIn’s treasure trove data of company profiles.

This addition attempts to solve a longstanding problem: Job hunting.

More than 400,00 people have been recently laid off. LinkedIn itself cut more than 600 workers. Job seekers describe job hunting as their biggest nightmare, spending their 9 to 5 applying for new roles for weeks.

What’s more?

AI art to sip your coffee with…

Prompt: Paper quilling geodesic of Rio de Janeiro, in starry night style

-Midjourney

AI deep-dives: Food for thought

Still hungry for more? Here are some curated AI deep dives for you:

Thanks for reading. We’ll see you next Monday! 👋