Newsletter: the power struggle at openAI

Hello there,

The one-year anniversary of ChatGPT this week felt like an additional milestone due to all the turmoil we have seen at OpenAI in recent weeks. It is the right time for news publishers to broaden their horizons when it comes to their deployment of artificial intelligence…

The current state of affairs is as follows: Sam Altman is back as CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, after a power struggle. Microsoft has claimed a position on the board but officially has no vote. And there are still positions to be filled that will help determine the course of the fastest growing tech company ever. Authorities are watching the developments closely, as it is now clear that this company, among others, is changing the world.

“No publisher that I’ve spoken with is in any doubt that they need to start using this new technology and get on the AI train as fast as possible,” said Saša Vučinić, a media investor and managing partner at North Base Media in an article on INMA. “Their hesitations are limited only to how to do it safely, responsibly, and without violating anyone else’s rights.”

It is essential to critically examine the architecture of AI tools. And, for example, not to make yourself dependent on just one foundational model (such as that of OpenAI).

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If you want to know what to look out for when assessing AI tools, it pays to reread the following blog about how we at smartocto bridge the gap between a foundational model and the knowledge gained from collecting data. The core lies in the fact that there is a wall between the data and the input that a foundational model has to work with.

This makes smartocto.ai not only a safe system, but also an agile one. Currently, smartocto uses Claude, but it is easy to switch to another, regardless of whatever reasons may arise in the future. Given the novelty and potential excitement of this technology, our CEO Erik van Heeswijk believes it's crucial to roll out the technique gradually and always in consultation with clients.

CLIENT CASE: Read depth, an essential metric

'Read depth' is a metric designed to gauge the extent to which a visitor engages with a piece of content - and how far through it they get before losing interest, clicking or scrolling away.

DailyCoin, a news site about cryptocurrency, has recently focused on 'read depth' by devising a challenge for their editors.

"We organised a 'king of the hill' competition”, says Heather Budrevičienė, their editor in chief. “The writer with the highest score was crowned the king. When someone surpassed them, they received a cash prize. We also maintained weekly leaderboards where the top performer received an additional reward. The most enjoyable aspect was seeing them analyse what made an article successful. They shared tips to enhance their content. Since they all work remotely, this fostered a sense of camaraderie."

Check our newest client case below to see the results.

WEBINAR: Ask Me Anything

We want to make sure that you haven't missed the announcement for this webinar. As Dmitry Shishkin becomes the CEO of Ringier Media International, he will be less available in the coming year to teach others about news user needs. This is therefore a golden opportunity for anyone who still has important questions. And he will answer them along with Rutger Verhoeven.

A large part of the webinar will consist of answering questions. Many have already been submitted. But to make it even more interesting for all participants, we have decided to give them an assignment. The person who performs the assignment best will receive a free personal consultation on user needs for their news organization.

Read more about the webinar and sign up via the button below.

With that, we have come to the end of this newsletter. In two weeks, there will be a new one, including a fresh list of reading recommendations from our own platform and the highlights from other sites that our editorial team has compiled.

Have a great weekend!

Team smartocto