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   CONSPRCY      How big is your tinfoil hat?      2,445 messages   

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   Message 1,276 of 2,445   
   Mike Powell to All   
   Avoiding ChatGPT won't ke   
   15 Apr 25 13:51:00   
   
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   Avoiding ChatGPT won't keep OpenAI from infusing its AI models into your life   
      
   Date:   
   Tue, 15 Apr 2025 03:00:00 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   OpenAIs new GPT-4.1 models are designed for developers to embed seamlessly   
   into everyday apps, meaning even AI skeptics may soon be using advanced AI   
   without realizing it.   
      
   FULL STORY   
   ======================================================================   
      
   If youve managed to steer clear of ChatGPT all this time, just know you might   
   be using an OpenAI AI model soon without even realizing it.    
      
   OpenAI unveiled a new suite of models aimed at developers looking to embed   
   some AI into their software. The GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, and GPT-4.1 nano   
   models might not declare themselves, but they seem purpose-built for subtle   
   inclusion in other products.    
      
   These arent the chatbots you open for conversation and then close after   
   getting your trivia question answered to go back to your email inbox. These   
   models power your inbox, to-do list, or budgeting app. They could fuel a   
   recipe manager and adjust ingredient portions for any last-minute additions    
   to the dinner party.    
      
   What makes GPT-4.1 and its smaller, slightly speedier siblings different from   
   past releases is that it is explicitly designed for developers rather than    
   for developers in addition to a role with ChatGPT. These are workhorse models   
   optimized for instruction-following, coding, and reasoning from vast chunks    
   of information.    
      
   That means they are very good at doing exactly what you tell them to do in a   
   format familiar to any software developer. OpenAI also boasts about its speed   
   and cost relative to its power, making it even more enticing for developers   
   with an ingenious app idea but limited resources.    
      
   OpenAI has ideas about apps getting much smarter thanks to its models and the   
   clever way developers can deploy them. Picture your expense tracker   
   automatically and accurately, immediately categorizing purchases or your    
   notes app, producing a summary of everything that happened during a   
   particularly chaotic day at work. Your photo editor might offer captions that   
   dont sound like they were written by a robot or at least like a robot that    
   has spent some time around people.    
      
   This is AI as infrastructure  not a product, not a personality, but a quiet   
   presence that makes everything run smoother and better.   
      
   OpenAI inside    
      
   Weve seen glimmers of this before. Gmails autocomplete, Photoshop's image   
   suggestions, and other tools have plenty of AI underlying their features.   
   However, what OpenAI is semi-obliquely promising with GPT-4.1 is that    
   plugging AI into an app will be easy, fast, and cheap.    
      
   Of course, relevant questions are raised about whether users should be    
   alerted about the AI model since they might consciously avoid it in its more   
   visible form. Plus, the usual privacy questions about apps get more complex   
   with AI involved. If your grocery app starts predicting your purchases before   
   you search, is that convenience or surveillance?    
      
   Many apps might never tell you theyre using GPT-4.1 under the hood if they   
   don't have to, especially if its just powering something like a search   
   function or summarizing your reading list. Theres a good chance millions of   
   people will be using OpenAI models every day without ever realizing it, for   
   good or ill.    
      
   Broad adoption of the models by developers might actually help with public   
   acceptance. If AI is more like a utility and not an in-your-face feature,   
   people might be more comfortable with it. It could be like Wi-Fi.    
      
   You dont think about the Wi-Fi noting your location when you check the   
   weather; you simply expect it to work. AI moves from spectacle to plumbing,   
   annoying when it fails and invisible when it works.    
      
   That also means who we define as an AI used will change. Instead of someone   
   who opens ChatGPT or Midjourney, an AI user will just be someone using an    
   app, like how everyone using an app is technically a software user.    
      
   For OpenAI, there's also a possible shift in power in their favor. By moving   
   away from direct engagement and toward app integration, youre ultimately   
   relying on OpenAI whether you signed up for ChatGPT or not. Smarter tools are   
   often more helpful, less annoying, and better at dealing with whatever task   
   they're assigned.    
      
   But it also means more of your digital life will be shaped by a handful of   
   foundational models operated by companies that arent always transparent about   
   how those models are trained, what data theyve consumed, or what they might   
   get wrong.    
      
   So, if youve been proudly avoiding AI tools, get ready to either massively   
   extend your list of software to avoid or be prepared to parse some user   
   agreements to check for GPT-4.1's quiet reshaping of your digital world.   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/computing/artificial-intelligence/avoiding-chatgpt-w   
   ont-keep-openai-from-infusing-its-ai-models-into-your-life   
      
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