Yikes, Bait! Only Tessa, Dear Content 🪤

Who doesn’t want a clickbait-free news experience? 

Artifact, the new app from Instagram’s co-founders that’s kind of like a TikTok for text will now rewrite clickbait-y headlines in real time.

Why do we need this?

Clickbait exists because of the competitive social media environment, where attention-grabbing headlines are used to entice clicks. However, on a news-focused app like Artifact, these ambiguous headlines feel out of place since users are already there to read the news.

Not only are clickbait headlines annoying for users, but they can also disrupt an app's recommendations to its users. Sometimes, these headlines mislead the systems into thinking users are interested in certain topics when they're actually not. 

How the rewrite works: Users can mark articles as clickbait, and if enough people do so, Artifact might show an AI-rewritten headline to everyone. The new headline will then show up in feeds. The app team will also manually review a queue of the most rewritten headlines and may push revised headlines to all users. 

In the image below, you can see a headline that has been rewritten by AI. (Hilariously, as Artifact was refining the feature, it seems to have actually written some clickbait itself because it was used to seeing those types of headlines online.)

Did you know that traditional wooden or metal coffins and caskets can actually cause pollution in the soil and water near cemeteries? Well, fear not! There's a cool Dutch company called Loop Biotech that's tackling this issue by making coffins and cremation urns from fungi. And get this, these eco-friendly creations can biodegrade in just 45 days. So basically, your loved ones can enrich nature or turn into a beautiful tree after they pass away. 

Here's how it works: Loop uses hemp fiber and mycelium, which is basically the underground root structure of fungi. Mycelium is fantastic at breaking down waste and cleaning up soil, so when bodies are laid to rest in these coffins, they essentially become compost for new life. 

These eco-friendly alternatives are much more affordable than your typical metal casket, ranging from around $212 to $1,000. That's a steal compared to the average cost of $2,500 for a metal casket.

Below is an image of an an urn that has been made from living material. Consumers can bury the urn with a sapling so that it turns into a tree over time. 

NEDA, the leading U.S. nonprofit for eating disorders, has stirred controversy by replacing its entire helpline staff with a chatbot named "Tessa" from June 1. Critics argue this move undermines the unionization efforts of the helpline workers, who were fired after winning an election with the National Labor Relations Board.

Tessa, the wellness chatbot, follows predetermined pathways and lacks decision-making abilities. While based on therapeutic methods, it offers a limited range of responses, raising concerns about the loss of human empathy and personalized support for individuals with eating disorders.

The decision has sparked a broader discussion about the use of technology in mental health support and the potential impact of AI on human jobs. Interestingly, NEDA is now hiring a human candidate for the position of Chatbot Specialist to handle the functionings of the AI.