Powered by artificial intelligence, the cross-platform Elephas writing app works seamlessly with apps you already use. Image: Elephas
People in almost any business must write from time to time, whether they like it or not. But whatever the project — like a marketer’s blog post, a business leader’s executive summary or a developer’s technical use case — there’s a tool out there that makes writing easy and effective.
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It’s the Elephas app, which runs on Macs, iPads and iPhones. It’s powered by artificial intelligence, and it works seamlessly with all the apps you already use. Sound like a useful tool? You can try Elephas for free, and get 20% off when you sign up for an annual plan.
Boost your website with AI by grabbing this discounted ChatGPT plugin for WordPress. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Looking to take your WordPress endeavors to the next level? OpenAI’s increasingly popular product ChatGPT is an effective way to amplify your site, and can open up a whole new world of possibilities, and now you can bring its AI talents to your very own website.
Typically $299, this lifetime license for a ChatGPT plugin is available for only $59. It’s the perfect opportunity to boost your creative content, overall online presence and so much more.
Hone your ChatGPT skills with this AI training bundle, now under $20 for Presidents' Day. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
There’s been a lot of talk about the AI chatbot ChatGPT, and with every passing week, we find out a new use for it. While tech giants like Microsoft put it to work overhauling their flagship tools, let’s try to remember that this powerful technology is still free and available to anyone who can sign up for an OpenAI account.
So, if you’re behind the curve on this revolutionary AI, there’s never been a better time to catch up. This ChatGPT AI training bundle includes four courses that will demystify the subject. And it’s on sale for only $19.99 in honor of Presidents’ Day, but you’ll have to act fast since this deal ends tonight.
This copywriting app takes AI to the next level for businesses, now only $39. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Even if you somehow haven’t heard of ChatGPT, you’ve probably read the AI chatbot’s “work.” OpenAI’s resourceful text generator and others like it have been used to write everything from chicken recipes to term papers. While many users still regard these tools as curiosities, entrepreneurs are already putting artificial intelligence to work in a field it’s tailor-made for: marketing.
SalesKingPin is the perfect example of how far this tech has come in a very short time. And it could be just the thing your business needs for greater growth. Right now, this AI-powered software is on sale for only $39 (Growth Plan) and $49 (Professional Plan).
Hack your taxes with the power of AI thanks to this $49 app. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
T.S. Eliot had it right: April really is the cruelest month, especially if you’re a freelancer, small business owner or independent contractor. That April 15 tax deadline means you’re either scraping together proof for all your deductions, or paying an accountant to shave a few extra dollars off what you owe.
Being your own boss certainly has its benefits, but the time you spend jumping through IRS hoops is not one of them. Luckily, it was only a matter of time before app developers brought the power of AI to ease the problem of taxes — and FlyFin is a compelling solution that’s tailor-made for the self-employed.
With this easy-to-use AI art generator, the only limitation on your imagery is your imagination. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
As processors improve, AI art is becoming more and more accessible. Yet one fundamental question remains: How do you best use it? This art tool from Wombo lets you turn your ideas and words into incredible art in mere seconds, and is now on sale for $49.99.
Listen to romance novels with a soothing robot voice. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac/Mads Dyrmann/John Salatas/Anna Schroeder/Wikimedia Commons
It’s annoying when a book you want to read doesn’t have an audiobook version — they’re great while you’re driving, doing dishes or folding laundry. Apple is now offering authors AI-generated audiobooks of their work. Novels you otherwise wouldn’t be able to hear, you can now find in the Apple Books app. Let me show you how you can find and listen to them if you’re curious.
Are we the only ones standing around with slack jaws wondering how Apple can make this headset desirable? Photo: Original photo: Uriel Soberanes/Unsplash License/Modified by Cult of Mac
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The more we hear about Apple’s upcoming AR/VR headset, the more we’re perplexed about who is actually going to buy one. We take a long, hard look at the latest leaks — and come up shaking our heads.
Also on The CultCast:
We might get a raft of exciting new Macs — including the first Mac Pro powered by Apple silicon — at a March event.
Apple’s Pro Display XDR and Studio Display get some high-end competition.
Sorry, voice actors. AI narrators look like the future of audiobooks (and Apple leads the charge).
Our final best-of-2022 picks.
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
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With an AI-based voiceover generator like Micmonster, you can narrate your own scripts in various styles and languages. For a limited time, you can purchase a lifetime subscription at the best price available on the web: just $59 (regularly $119).
Enabot's slogan for the Ebo Air and Ebo SE robots is "always together." Photo: Enabot
Talk of artificially intelligent personal robots may make some people think of Terminator and “the rise of the machines,” but relax, there’s likely plenty of time before they take over. All nervous kidding aside, in the meantime, companies like Enabot are putting out affordable robots with practical uses. The company launched one on Tuesday.
Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, the company released its Ebo Air “social companion robot.” The little rolling orb is designed to keep the home safe and loved ones entertained and connected, from pets to kids to grandparents, the company said. If you’re interested in learning more about the latest advancements, check out theEbo robot and its enhanced features.
Fight writer’s block forever with this top-rated AI article generator. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Whether you write for work, need SEO-targeted product descriptions, or want to drive more traffic to your website, turning around top-quality content quickly is essential. Now, incredible AI writing software is available to help you eliminate the time it takes to write.
You can generate articles in flash with Autowriterpro — it’s one of the highest-rated artificial intelligence-powered writing apps around. If you’d save a ton of time having your copy generated for you, now’s the time to try it out. A lifetime subscription to Autowriterpro is on sale for just $39.99.
The SpotCam Pano 2 AI security camera offers full-time continuous cloud recording -- forever. Photo: SpotCam
SpotCam recently unveiled its new SpotCam Pano 2, a smart, 5-megapixel cloud security AI camera with free, full-time, continuous cloud recording to make sure you always have your footage. The company, founded in Taiwan in 2013, said it’s the only camera brand to offer that.
Podz launched its "Audio Newsfeed" on iOS in February. Photo: Podz
As part of the podcasting arms race between tech giant, Spotify has acquired Podz, an AI podcast discovery service for an undisclosed amount of money. Podz generates (or generated) short audio clips that populated a Instagram Stories-style timeline users could flip through to find podcasts they were likely to enjoy listening to.
Bengio has been working in machine learning for more than 30 years. Photo: LinkedIn
Apple recently hired ex-Google machine learning scientiest Samy Bengio, making him the latest artificial intelligence expert to jump ship for Cupertino.
Nuance tech helped give rise to tools like Siri. Image: Apple
Microsoft has acquired Nuance Communications, the speech recognition AI company which helped* power Siri.
Microsoft snapped up Nuance for a massive $16 billion ($19.7 billion, inclusive of Nuance’s net debt). That’s the most it has spent on a company since buying LinkedIn for $26 billion in 2016.
A slew of AI-related acquisitions might make Siri less of a nimrod. Which is important considering it’s built into so many products, like HomePods. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple reportedly bought more companies developing artificial intelligence technology over the past five years than anyone else. A prime goal is to make the Siri voice assistant smarter, according to GlobalData, the market-research firm that compiled a list of AI-related acquisitions by many companies.
It's likely an example of AI run amok. Photo: Apple
iOS 14’s built-in pornographic content blocker stymies searches that include the word “Asian,” according to a computer science student.
This means searches for “Asian food” or “Asian countries” are blocked if the adult content filters are enabled. Similar blocks aren’t in place for search terms including “black,” “white,” “Arab,” “French” and other national or racial descriptors.
This could be a game-changer for those who need it. Photo: Voiceitt
For people with non-standard speech — such as those who have experienced strokes, neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, or developmental disorders — communicating with an AI assistant like Amazon’s Alexa isn’t quite as seamless as it is for many.
With that in mind, a speech recognition startup for atypical speech, called Voiceitt, has developed an accessibility app for iOS that improves Alexa. Here’s how it works.
Making videos smarter and more easily searchable. Photo: ADAM Elements
Apple earlier this year snapped up an AI video company, Bloomberg reports. The Barcelona-based Vilynx uses AI technology to help analyze videos to understand what it shows by looking at text, visuals, and audio. This can be used to make the videos more easily searchable.
According to the report, Apple could use this tech to make its Photos app better by allowing users to search videos for people and objects the same way they currently can search photos. It could also help make Siri smarter or improve recommendations in the TV app and more.
Apple is ramping up its focus on artificial intelligence. Photo: Scott Schaut/Mansfield Memorial Museum
Apple has launched a new artificial intelligence and machine learning residency program for people from other STEM disciplines wanting to “dip their toe” into the world of cutting edge machine learning.
Michael Rennaker, manager of Apple in Research Academia (ARIA), announced the new initiative on Twitter. The program seeks experts in fields like design, linguistics, neuroscience, and psychology whose interests may cross over with AI.
Apple's AI boss says machine learning is being used in more places than ever. Photo: Apple
Apple is using machine learning technology in more and more of its features, John Giannandrea, the company’s senior vice president for machine learning and AI strategy, reveals in a new interview with Ars Technica.
Giannandrea, who joined Apple from a job at Google, said “there are increasingly fewer and fewer places in iOS where we’re not using machine learning.” This stands in strong contrast to a few years ago — and even the point at which Giannandrea landed his Apple job.
Core ML is a major part of Apple's push into AI. Photo: Apple
Apple has upgraded its Core ML machine learning framework, adding the ability for developers to update their machine learning models on the fly, the company revealed Wednesday.
The ability to update artificial intelligence models outside of the usual app update cycle means that devs can quickly improve the machine learning smarts of particular apps without having to push out an update. That’s huge news for any app developers who feature AI components within their apps.
Machine translation isn't easy. But Apple's working to solve it. Photo: Romain Vignes/Unsplash
Apple is seemingly looking to step up its work in speech translation, showing one more way that Cupertino is looking to incorporate cutting-edge approaches to artificial intelligence into what it does.
In a recent paper, published to the pre-print server arXiv, two Apple research scientists describe the challenges in the field, carrying out a fundamental survey of the problems with current speech translation.
No, they don’t have a magical solution. But the fact that Apple gave them such a task suggests the company takes seriously the need to hone its tools in this area.
Apple's latest acquisition could help Siri level up. Photo: Voysis
Apple has acquired Voysis, an artificial intelligence startup the high-tech company is expected to use to improve Siri and its natural language technology, based on published reports Friday.