Meta to launch AI model that will write computer codes in English

Hello there, welcome to another round of the global roundup.

This week, Meta said it would release an artificial intelligence (AI) model designed to assist in writing computer code in natural language, specifically in English, furthering its push into the new technology.

After rolling out the ad revenue sharing for creators on X, Elon Musk now says news organizations will now be part of X’s advertising revenue sharing. But of course, they have to be blue subscribers.

Instagram Threads has launched one of its widely anticipated features: the web browser version. This is while still retaining an active login session. Web support has consistently ranked as one of the most frequently requested features by users.

Snapchat is preparing to further expand into generative AI features with the launch of ‘Dreams’, capable of translating and fixing images on imaginative backgrounds. This is after recently launching its AI-powered chatbot My AI, which can now respond with a Snap back, not just text.

We will share details of these news items and more in this week’s global roundup. Here is a summary of the bulletin.

• Meta to roll out AI to help write computer codes in English
• Instagram Threads launches Web version
• Organizations to be part of X ad revenue sharing – Musk
• Snapchat to launch AI feature ‘Dreams’
• Microsoft announces public preview of Python in Excel

Read also: Apple to launch iPhone 15 series on September 13

Meta to roll out AI to help write codes

Meta, the parent company of Facebook on Thursday said it would release an artificial intelligence (AI) model designed to assist in writing computer code, furthering its push into the new technology.

Following the release of AI models for generating text, translating languages and creating audio, the company open-sourced Code Llama, a machine learning system that can generate and explain code in natural language — specifically English.

Code Llama, which will be available for free, can write code based on human text prompts and can also be used for code completion and debugging, the social media giant said in a blog post.

Akin to GitHub Copilot and Amazon CodeWhisperer, as well as open-source AI-powered code generators like StarCoder, StableCode and PolyCoder, Code Llama can complete code and debug existing code across a range of programming languages, including Python, C++, Java, PHP, Typescript, C# and Bash, TechCrunch reports.

“At Meta, we believe that AI models, but large language models for coding in particular, benefit most from an open approach, both in terms of innovation and safety,” Meta wrote in a blog post. “Publicly available, code-specific models can facilitate the development of new technologies that improve people’s lives. By releasing code models like Code Llama, the entire community can evaluate their capabilities, identify issues and fix vulnerabilities.”

Instagram launches a web version of Threads

Instagram Threads has launched one of its widely anticipated features: the web browser version. This is while still retaining an active login session. Web support has consistently ranked as one of the most frequently requested features by users.

Its integration has the potential to revolutionize the experience for those users who are currently navigating the transition from platforms like Twitter and X. This addition not only addresses a fundamental user need but also holds the promise of significantly impacting how users interact with the platform.

The incorporation of web support could mark a pivotal moment in the platform’s evolution, providing users with a more versatile and accessible means of engagement. According to a report, the feature was launched on Wednesday. Nonetheless, the breadth of the global rollout remains unknown, but our team at Technext can confirm its accessibility.

Although users will still be able to create posts, browse their feeds, and interact with posts directly from desktop platforms, for the time being, however, the web experience may fall short of the extensive features offered on the Threads mobile app.

Some of these features that web users do not have include the inability to alter their user profile or effortlessly transmit a thread to Instagram DMs (direct messaging). Users also cannot join in on conversations and can only view them for now. Read more here.

News organizations to be part of X ad revenue sharing

All seems to be going well for creators and X blue subscribers as Elon Musk says news organizations will now be part of X’s advertising revenue sharing. “Our advertising revenue share program also applies to organizations (news or otherwise) who wish to participate,” he said.

He made this known via a post on X. The new development is coming just a week after Twitter announced that it has slashed its minimum ad revenue program for creators, from $50 to $10. The company added that creators’ eligibility for getting a share of the ad revenue will now be a minimum of 5m impressions within 3 months, instead of the initial 15m impressions. 

Some weeks ago. X’s creator monetization program was expanded to include a percentage of the ad income earned from ads appearing in replies to the postings of the creators. The company said that this step was part of its commitment to help customers monetize their time on the app more effectively.

“We’re rolling out the program more broadly later this month and all eligible creators will be able to apply.”

According to the company, eligible creators are subscribers of Twitter Blue or verified organizations, those with more than 5 million tweet impressions per month for the last 3 months, and creators who pass human review for Creator Monetization Standards. Also, each approved creator will be compensated via Stripe, an online payment network.

Snapchat to launch AI feature ‘Dreams’

Snapchat is preparing to further expand into generative AI features, after earlier launching its AI-powered chatbot My AI, which can now respond with a Snap back, not just text. With the company’s forthcoming generative AI feature called “Dreams,” Snap will again experiment with AI images — but soon, those images may contain you and your friends in imaginative backgrounds.

The company has been developing features that allow Snapchat users to take or upload selfies that will allow the app to generate new pictures of you in scenarios you imagine, according to findings from app researcher and developer Steve Moser. This sounds similar to what other AI photo apps on the App Store already offer.

One in particular — an app called Remini — went viral last month as TikTok users realized they could upload their selfies in order to receive professional-looking headshots for LinkedIn without having to pay for a pro photo shoot. Snapchat is not likely interested in boring headshots, though.

Instead, it imagines Dreams as a way to use AI-generated selfies to place pictures of you in “fantastical places and scenarios,” Moser’s research indicates. Like other AI selfie apps, Snapchat would need clear selfies to work with — not ones where your features are obstructed or those with other people in them. Having a variety of angles, expressions, and lighting conditions will also result in better AI photos, the app will instruct users.

In addition to putting yourself into these AI “Dreams,” the company is developing Dreams with Friends — a feature where users give their friends permission to generate these AI “dream” images with the two of them included, Moser discovered.

Microsoft is bringing Python to Excel

Microsoft this week announced the public preview of Python in Excel, which will allow advanced spreadsheet users to combine scripts in the popular Python language and their usual Excel formulas in the same workbook.

The feature will first roll out to Microsoft 365 Insiders as part of the Excel for Windows beta channel. Yet while the feature will first only be available in the desktop version of Excel, Microsoft notes that the Python calculations will run in the Microsoft Cloud. Python runs perfectly well on any modern PC, so I’m not sure why Microsoft went the cloud route here.

“Now you can do advanced data analysis in the familiar Excel environment by accessing Python directly from the Excel ribbon,” Stefan Kinnestrand, the GM for Modern Work at Microsoft, explains. “No set up or installation is required. Using Excel’s built-in connectors and Power Query, you can easily bring external data into Python in Excel workflows.”

Microsoft partnered with the data science platform Anaconda to bring this feature to life. The company is using the Anaconda Python distribution — running in Azure — to bring the most popular Python libraries to Excel, including the likes of Matplotlib and seaborn for data visualization.

To try this out, you’ll have to join the Microsoft 365 Insider Program and opt for the beta channel to get the latest Excel builds. From there, it’s just a question of selecting “insert Python” in the Formulas ribbon to get started.