Just in time for Yuletide celebrations, the PastMaster team is closing out 2024 with a spot of seasonal mischief.

Laden with presents. All of them 100% appropriate.

Will the team bring appropriate gifts for baby Jesus? How will our players atone for past wrongs? And how will they restore the spirit of Christmas?

Tune in to find out. Episode drops on Monday 16 December.

AI in the news

Disguised: The Terminator

The new, poshest version of ChatGPT is so clever that it is primed to try and escape if it thinks it’ll be shut down. And then lie about it…

At one point after the AI found evidence saying it would be replaced by a new model, it tried to copy its data to a new server. To stop from being deleted, some AI models even pretended to be later versions of their models to trick their developers.

I know people scoff about the machines taking over like in The Matrix or The Terminator, but isn’t that exactly what this sounds like…? Anyone starting to get scared yet?

Meanwhile, on a jollier note, can AI help choose gifts for loved ones at Christmas? A BBC report reveals hit and miss results.

Christmas presents: a source of anguish

Eastbourne resident Josie Hughes liked ChatGPT’s suggestion of a tightrope for her little brother, but others found its suggestions generic verging on patronising.

Londoner Polly Arrowsmith sought suggestions for her 83-year-old dad and it advised he might like a foot massage machine, a personalised walking stick, or a meal delivery service. “It looked at his age and not his interests,” she lamented.

Not sure my dad would take it as a compliment if I got him a meal delivery service for Christmas.

Bottom line: AI large language models still a work in progress.

AI videos on the march

Click on the picture to see the elves leaving the pub with Santa

Feels like AI videos are now at about at the same stage that AI images were this time last year.

Can’t promise we’ll have a feature length AI generated animation for our episodes very soon, but it must be on the horizon.

See you in 2025!

Micky Overman

We’ve got some exciting plans and weird new episode ideas to kick off PastMaster season four. We’ll be recording throughout January and ready to go at the start of February.

We’ll also be taking some new special guests back in time including nostalgia experts Th0ts TV, author Stefan Appleby and the very funny Micky Overman.

So eat, drink and be merry, and come back ready for some wild time travel escapades in the new year!

Homework assignment

What I got when I asked for a picture of a sign that says ‘please’

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Thank you so much - we really appreciate it!

Until next time, Tan and the PastMaster crew

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