Loud Deskmates, Rarity Revived, & The Drift 🦄

Ever notice your colleagues chattering endlessly about work, yet results remain scarce? 

They might be the "loud laborers” — aptly dubbed the noisier cousin of quiet quitters. The term ranks among the buzziest workplace lingo.

How to identify the loud labourer at work? 

• They will likely spend more of their time discussing work than actually doing it.
• They see their core task as telling everyone or publicizing the work they have done. 
• According to a CNBC interview, they are often quite politically savvy and are very active on professional social networks. 
• And according to this Guardian article, getting work done is an "afterthought" of the loud laborer.

After applying the above signs, if you still can’t spot the loud laborer in your workplace, then chances are, you are one yourself. Time for introspection? 

Our smartphone addiction is real. AppAnnie's State of Mobile Report reveals almost three out of four of us (71%) check our phones within 10 minutes of waking up (image below).

This startup has capitalized on this trend with their earn-as-you-go app for side hustlers and entrepreneurs. 

Mode Mobile lets users earn extra income, up to $600 annually, by engaging in everyday activities like listening to music and playing games. With 30 million installs and 500,000 daily earners in 185+ countries, the app targets budget-conscious individuals seeking supplementary income. 

And now, they’ve even started a pre-IPO investment round for those you want to invest in the idea and not just the side hustle. 

How does it work? 

• The company generate revenue by displaying ads during music playback and on device lock/charge screens. 
• Users can accrue points by completing surveys, watching videos, playing games, and installing apps. 
• These points can be redeemed for valuable items, including gift cards. 

What’s the catch? 

For one, you need to be okay with invasive ads and content showing up on your screen if you want the extra income. Second, not all apps on the play store have an earning potential. Only the ones that Mode Mobile suggests. So while you may be used to tracking your fitness activity or listening to music daily, you can’t continue to do those on just about any app that you prefer. You have to download the ones that has the Mode Mobile earning scheme. 

And finally, if you’re an apple loyalist, tough luck!

Whether you have experienced it yourself or read about it, the rumors are true — ChatGPT is getting progressively dumber. 

Why? The answer may lie in a concept called “drift."

A "drift" refers to when large language models (LLMs) behave in unexpected or unpredictable ways that stray away from the original parameters. This may happen because attempts to improve parts of complicated AI models cause other parts to perform worse. 

Researchers from the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University conducted a study to evaluate drifts and examine how ChatGPT's language models changed over time. 

The study compared the ability of the LLM to solve math problems, answer sensitive questions, answer opinion surveys, answer knowledge-intensive questions, perform code generation, and complete visual reasoning tasks in March and June. GPT-4's March version outperformed the June version in many instances. GPT-4 also worsened at code generation, answering medical exam questions, and answering opinion surveys. 

According to the researchers, all of these instances can be attributed to the drift phenomenon. 

🥪 Where Food is Cheap - In China's deflation, you can get breakfast for 40 cents.