New frontiers for AI in education, social media, and personal apps
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AI comes to schools
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was the first state to acquire a licence for the edTech platform Fobizz, which offers teachers AI tools like ChatGPT for the classroom. Through Fobizz, teachers can also use online training and share teaching materials. Dr Diana Knodel from Fobizz emphasises the importance of AI in education and the need to prepare students for a technology-driven future.
More education for all
The "10 Minute School" (10MS) from Bangladesh wants to make education accessible to students nationwide. Originally a YouTube channel, 10MS offers live classes and lessons via app. It recently received pre-series A funding of USD 5.5 million, bringing its total capital to USD 7.5 million. More than half of its users are from rural areas. With the capital, 10MS plans to invest in technology and content to adapt the national curriculum and promote AI-powered learning.
Thought inspires
Henri Bredt's new app, Thoughts, allows users to collect and organise inspirational quotes and ideas. In addition to ready-made content, users can add their own sources of inspiration. A widget displays selected quotes on the mobile phone main screen. The app features an intuitive design and unique organisational functions, supports iCloud synchronisation and Siri integration. There is an ad-free basic version and extended functions for a fee.
X only lets people comment
The former Twitter, now "X", has introduced a feature that only allows comments from verified accounts, regardless of "X Premium" membership. Elon Musk hopes this will help against spam bots. This change builds on a Twitter feature from 2020. Despite the focus on verified accounts, an NBC News report warned of fake news from such accounts about US President Joe Biden and military aid to Israel.
Avatars talk to each other
Character.AI, backed by a16z, has launched a group chat feature where users can chat with multiple AI characters. Users can create group chats with AI characters or a mix of humans and AI. Other platforms offer similar services. Initially, the feature is available to c.ai+ subscribers for $9.99/month. At launch, the feature was only available on the Character.AI app for iOS and Android. The app has nearly 30 million monthly users worldwide.