Latest news with #PowerPoints
The Star
3 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
ChatGPT will soon shop online, make PowerPoints on your behalf
FILE - The OpenAI logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen displaying output from ChatGPT, March 21, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File) OpenAI is rolling out new options for chatbot ChatGPT to carry out a variety of increasingly complicated tasks on a user's behalf, part of its push to bring so-called AI agents to the mainstream. ChatGPT agent, set to be unveiled during a livestreamed event on Thursday, is designed to streamline personal and professional projects, such as planning a meal and ordering ingredients for it online, or creating a slideshow for a business meeting. The tool works through OpenAI's flagship chatbot and combines the capabilities of two AI services it rolled out earlier this year: Operator, which can browse, type and click on the internet much in the way a human would; and Deep Research, which is meant to handle time-consuming online research. The San Francisco-based company said the agent features will be available immediately to its paid Pro, Plus and Team subscribers, with plans to release it later this summer to other enterprise and education customers. Some of the details of the software were previously reported by the Information. A growing number of tech companies, including OpenAI backer Microsoft Corp and rival Anthropic, are focusing on agents, or AI software that can complete multistep tasks for users with minimal supervision. OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman previously said agents will be "the next giant breakthrough' for AI. The hope is that such tools can save users time and thereby live up to the long-held promise that AI will make people more productive. For now, however, the software can still be frustrating and slow. In a demonstration of the ChatGPT agent this week, Neel Ajjarapu, OpenAI's product manager for the software, gave the chatbot a detailed prompt: Browse Etsy for vintage-style lamps that are under a couple hundred dollars and available with free shipping, then put the best-looking items in his online shopping cart and provide a URL for each one. OpenAI has also experimented with using the tool to make presentations and PowerPoints, Ajjarapu said, though he cautioned it's more for making "very early rough drafts' of presentations people can then refine. Microsoft, the company that makes PowerPoint, also offers AI tools to help professionals draft presentations. Ajjarapu said the AI model that powers the tool uses a computer and web browser to complete assignments. It can also take in feedback from the user while a task is underway and alter its approach, he said. While users are accustomed to chatting in nearly real time with ChatGPT, it can take much longer – several minutes at least – for the chatbot to complete agent-like tasks. AI agents present new safety and security risks, given the potential for AI to make mistakes or be misused by bad actors. The company said ChatGPT agent is meant to turn down some tasks, including those related to finances or legal advice. There are also a number of actions the tool will seek permission for before carrying out, including making purchases, the company said. For some tasks, such as writing emails, the service will require a user to supervise it. As with the launches of Operator and Deep Research, the company acknowledged its latest agent effort still needs work. "It is far from perfect,' said OpenAI Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil during the demonstration. "But I think if we had gone back six months ago or 12 months ago and said this was going to be possible today, we would have been pretty excited about it.' – Bloomberg
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Business Standard
13 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
OpenAI unveils ChatGPT agent to shop online, create slides for users
OpenAI is rolling out new options for chatbot ChatGPT to carry out a variety of increasingly complicated tasks on a user's behalf, part of its push to bring so-called AI agents to the mainstream. ChatGPT agent, set to be unveiled during a livestreamed event on Thursday, is designed to streamline personal and professional projects, such as planning a meal and ordering ingredients for it online, or creating a slideshow for a business meeting. The tool works through OpenAI's flagship chatbot and combines the capabilities of two AI services it rolled out earlier this year: Operator, which can browse, type and click on the internet much in the way a human would; and Deep Research, which is meant to handle time-consuming online research. The San Francisco-based company said the agent features will be available immediately to its paid Pro, Plus and Team subscribers, with plans to release it later this summer to other enterprise and education customers. Some of the details of the software were previously reported by the Information. A growing number of tech companies, including OpenAI backer Microsoft Corp. and rival Anthropic, are focusing on agents, or AI software that can complete multistep tasks for users with minimal supervision. OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman previously said agents will be 'the next giant breakthrough' for AI. The hope is that such tools can save users time and thereby live up to the long-held promise that AI will make people more productive. For now, however, the software can still be frustrating and slow. In a demonstration of the ChatGPT agent this week, Neel Ajjarapu, OpenAI's product manager for the software, gave the chatbot a detailed prompt: Browse Etsy for vintage-style lamps that are under a couple hundred dollars and available with free shipping, then put the best-looking items in his online shopping cart and provide a URL for each one. OpenAI has also experimented with using the tool to make presentations and PowerPoints, Ajjarapu said, though he cautioned it's more for making 'very early rough drafts' of presentations people can then refine. Microsoft, the company that makes PowerPoint, also offers AI tools to help professionals draft presentations. Ajjarapu said the AI model that powers the tool uses a computer and web browser to complete assignments. It can also take in feedback from the user while a task is underway and alter its approach, he said. While users are accustomed to chatting in nearly real time with ChatGPT, it can take much longer — several minutes at least — for the chatbot to complete agent-like tasks. AI agents present new safety and security risks, given the potential for AI to make mistakes or be misused by bad actors. The company said ChatGPT agent is meant to turn down some tasks, including those related to finances or legal advice. There are also a number of actions the tool will seek permission for before carrying out, including making purchases, the company said. For some tasks, such as writing emails, the service will require a user to supervise it. As with the launches of Operator and Deep Research, the company acknowledged its latest agent effort still needs work. 'It is far from perfect,' said OpenAI Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil during the demonstration. 'But I think if we had gone back six months ago or 12 months ago and said this was going to be possible today, we would have been pretty excited about it.'
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
ChatGPT Will Soon Shop Online, Make PowerPoints on Your Behalf
(Bloomberg) -- OpenAI is rolling out new options for chatbot ChatGPT to carry out a variety of increasingly complicated tasks on a user's behalf, part of its push to bring so-called AI agents to the mainstream. The Dutch Intersection Is Coming to Save Your Life Advocates Fear US Agents Are Using 'Wellness Checks' on Children as a Prelude to Arrests LA Homelessness Drops for Second Year Manhattan, Chicago Murder Rates Drop in 2025, Officials Say ChatGPT agent, set to be unveiled during a livestreamed event on Thursday, is designed to streamline personal and professional projects, such as planning a meal and ordering ingredients for it online, or creating a slideshow for a business meeting. The tool works through OpenAI's flagship chatbot and combines the capabilities of two AI services it rolled out earlier this year: Operator, which can browse, type and click on the internet much in the way a human would; and Deep Research, which is meant to handle time-consuming online research. The San Francisco-based company said the agent features will be available immediately to its paid Pro, Plus and Team subscribers, with plans to release it later this summer to other enterprise and education customers. Some of the details of the software were previously reported by the Information. A growing number of tech companies, including OpenAI backer Microsoft Corp. and rival Anthropic, are focusing on agents, or AI software that can complete multistep tasks for users with minimal supervision. OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman previously said agents will be 'the next giant breakthrough' for AI. The hope is that such tools can save users time and thereby live up to the long-held promise that AI will make people more productive. For now, however, the software can still be frustrating and slow. In a demonstration of the ChatGPT agent this week, Neel Ajjarapu, OpenAI's product manager for the software, gave the chatbot a detailed prompt: Browse Etsy for vintage-style lamps that are under a couple hundred dollars and available with free shipping, then put the best-looking items in his online shopping cart and provide a URL for each one. OpenAI has also experimented with using the tool to make presentations and PowerPoints, Ajjarapu said, though he cautioned it's more for making 'very early rough drafts' of presentations people can then refine. Microsoft, the company that makes PowerPoint, also offers AI tools to help professionals draft presentations. Ajjarapu said the AI model that powers the tool uses a computer and web browser to complete assignments. It can also take in feedback from the user while a task is underway and alter its approach, he said. While users are accustomed to chatting in nearly real time with ChatGPT, it can take much longer — several minutes at least — for the chatbot to complete agent-like tasks. AI agents present new safety and security risks, given the potential for AI to make mistakes or be misused by bad actors. The company said ChatGPT agent is meant to turn down some tasks, including those related to finances or legal advice. There are also a number of actions the tool will seek permission for before carrying out, including making purchases, the company said. For some tasks, such as writing emails, the service will require a user to supervise it. As with the launches of Operator and Deep Research, the company acknowledged its latest agent effort still needs work. 'It is far from perfect,' said OpenAI Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil during the demonstration. 'But I think if we had gone back six months ago or 12 months ago and said this was going to be possible today, we would have been pretty excited about it.' How Starbucks' CEO Plans to Tame the Rush-Hour Free-for-All What the Tough Job Market for New College Grads Says About the Economy Forget DOGE. Musk Is Suddenly All In on AI The Quest for a Hangover-Free Buzz How Hims Became the King of Knockoff Weight-Loss Drugs ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Recorder
24-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Beyond growth: Pakistan's war against poverty, privilege, and the digital divide
Let's not sugarcoat it — Pakistan is a land of jarring contrasts. In one part of town, a billionaire is escorted in a bulletproof Land Cruiser. Across the bridge, a child rifles through garbage for dinner. And no, this isn't just bad luck or a temporary dip in fortunes. This is by design. We've been sold a story: that if GDP grows, the rising tide will lift all boats. But what if the boats are chained to the bottom while the yachts float higher? Dr Mahbubul Haq, the brilliant mind behind the Human Development Index, called this bluff long ago. He reminded us that real development isn't about numbers — it's about people. It's about whether children go to school, whether mothers survive childbirth, and whether families eat more than once a day. Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics, once said that inequality isn't just a moral issue — it's a threat to economic stability. And he's right. In Pakistan, we see the same story playing out every day. The top 1 percent hoards wealth while 40 percent of the population lives in multidimensional poverty. Add to that a broken education system, crumbling hospitals, and a state that often behaves more like a gatekeeper than a service provider. You don't need to crunch numbers to feel it — the anxiety in a working-class mother's eyes says more than any economic report ever could. There's a reason why the rich are building taller gates while the poor are digging deeper wells. It's not just the volume of poverty that's alarming — it's the architecture of inequality that makes it so resilient. This isn't a temporary misstep; it's a well-entrenched design. A tax system that punishes consumption but falls short of addressing direct taxation, a labour market where informal workers form the backbone but remain invisible in policymaking, and a state obsessed with optics over outcomes. We've had enough of the Power Points; what we need now is power to the people. And that power begins with reform that doesn't pretend. For decades, elites have perfected the art of capturing growth while outsourcing the consequences. Landowners who haven't planted a seed in years still enjoy subsidies. Powerful elite amassed wealth over generations operating on tax holidays on generational wealth and inheritance while daily wage workers queue for overpriced sugar. Somewhere along the way, Pakistan confused privilege with productivity. We gave the keys to the country to those least interested in steering it forward. The tragedy is not just economic, it's existential. Inequality of wealth quickly becomes inequality of dignity. When a student in a far-off village has to walk ten kilometres for a teacher who rarely shows up, and a minister's child gets an international education with state perks, we're not just failing at governance — we're violating the social contract. And this social contract isn't frayed — it's in tatters. Ask any young Pakistani why they want to leave. They'll give you a look. It's not just about jobs. It's about fairness, trust, and the hope that if you work hard, you'll get ahead. Right now, that ladder looks more like a wall. There is a way out, but it needs political courage and moral clarity — both in short supply. Start with taxation. We have to tax the rich. Yes, it's politically difficult. But so was eradicating polio — and yet we did it. The time has come to shift the burden away from consumption to capital. We need to close loopholes, digitise land records, and ensure that wealth — especially inherited, unproductive wealth — pays its due. Then there's public spending. For every rupee spent on a ribbon-cutting ceremony, there are children dying of preventable diseases in rural Sindh. This is not just a misallocation — it's a moral failing. Health and education need to be seen as rights, not privileges. That means not just building more schools, but ensuring teachers show up. Not just importing ventilators but maintaining basic sanitation. It's boring work, unglamorous work — but it's the work that actually matters. Social safety nets must be expanded and modernised. BISP was a good start, but it's time to link cash transfers to measurable outcomes — school attendance, vaccination records, and nutritional benchmarks. No more handouts for the sake of headlines. Let's fund dignity, not dependence. And yes, we must confront the oldest taboo of all: land. Land reform remains the elephant in Pakistan's living room. We know the numbers. A small elite owns the lion's share of arable land, often leaving it underutilised while sharecroppers barely survive. This is not just a rural issue. It's an issue of justice. If we can't talk about land, we can't talk about equality. Full stop. But here's the twist. Amid all this dysfunction, a quiet revolution is taking place — in the palm of your hand. The digital revolution might just be the great equaliser we've been waiting for. Tech doesn't care about your last name. Mobile banking has brought financial inclusion to places the state never reached. Platforms like Easypaisa and JazzCash are letting rural women bypass patriarchal gatekeepers to access and move money. They're doing it from their homes without getting perturbed how they will go to a bank and how they will find someone ready to help them. Digital classrooms are making it possible for children in Jhang to learn from the same curriculum as those in Lahore. Telemedicine is bringing diagnostics to Balochistan. Agricultural apps are helping farmers in Rahim Yar Khan get fair prices without relying on exploitative middlemen. But for all this to work, we need not just devices, but digital literacy. A 4G tower in a village means nothing if the people under it can't afford data or don't know how to use it. Infrastructure must walk hand in hand with inclusion. This is where the state can play a constructive role — not as a provider of patronage, but as a platform of possibility. Let it ensure connectivity, regulate fairly, and then get out of the way. Let entrepreneurs, students, nurses, and small farmers innovate their way forward. Just as Mahbubul Haq once asked us to measure what matters, we must now build what empowers. Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson in their influential book, 'The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better', showed how inequality poisons even the wealthy. In deeply unequal societies, no one feels safe. And in Pakistan, that's tragically evident. Gated communities, security guards, surveillance systems — the rich are just as trapped in fear as the poor are in hardship. It's not a society. It's a siege. But it doesn't have to be this way. We're not poor because we lack money — we're poor because we lack justice. We don't need more donor reports or imported models. We need to look inward, build bottom-up, and trust our own people. Reform isn't rocket science — it's just will power plus empathy. And if we don't find both soon, we'll keep spinning in circles, watching each new 'vision' document fade into irrelevance. The choice before us isn't between socialism and capitalism, or tradition and modernity. It's between fairness and chaos. Between a digital future that empowers, or a digital dystopia that deepens divides. If we want to build a Pakistan where opportunity isn't inherited like a family asset, we have to act — and act boldly. So let's not be the generation that downloaded every app but forgot to upgrade the lives of the poor. Let's be the generation that saw the fault lines — and chose to fix them, not flee from them. Let's move beyond growth. Let's grow fair. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Al Etihad
09-06-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
Abu Dhabi offers strategic launchpad for global businesses
10 June 2025 00:30 MAYS IBRAHIM (ABU DHABI)Abu Dhabi is an ideal base for startups with global ambitions, as seen in companies like Atiom - a gamified training platform that has evolved from navigating uncertainty to securing deals across the Middle East and Hub71, Abu Dhabi's flagship tech ecosystem, Atiom's co-founder and CEO Matt Spriegel tapped into a powerful investor network, joined a vibrant entrepreneurial community, and leveraged the emirate's strategic location to bridge Asia, Europe, and Africa."The support we received - from mentorship to market access - was unlike anything we'd experienced," said Spriegel. "Abu Dhabi took us from wandering in the dark to landing major clients and investors across the region."Since joining Hub71, Atiom has rapidly scaled across the GCC and now operates in 70 countries Dhabi offers a strategic and highly efficient base for running a global business, according to Spriegel."What stands out to me is how well-connected the UAE is," he said. "We have clients in Paris and London, and I can be there in six to eight hours. The same goes for key markets in Asia like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangkok."The favourable time zone, he noted, also reduces the need for late-night or early-morning calls."It's a practical advantage that really adds up." Beyond the logistics, the startup co-founder described Abu Dhabi as safe, welcoming, and reminiscent of Asia in its cultural warmth. "There's a real sense of openness and helpfulness here; it's a very supportive environment for entrepreneurs." Gamification SuccessAtiom, which Spriegel co-founded with Ali Nosrati in Shanghai, was born out of a personal pain point: trying to absorb complex, technical training content in Mandarin. Drawing on the way he taught himself Chinese through consistent daily 10-minute sessions, Spriegel began working on a new kind of corporate learning built on habit experience became the basis for Atiom, a platform that turns long, stagnant training material into bite-sized, gamified learning experiences designed for frontline staff, especially in to Atiom's success is its use of gamification. Staff are encouraged to engage with short Q-and-A-based lessons, earning points, badges, and recognition from peers through a live leaderboard."The content itself, like health and safety procedures or SOPs, is not naturally engaging," Spriegel explained. "But with game mechanics, it becomes something they come back to every day."He noted that the habit-building structure mirrors what makes language learning platforms sticky, and it's especially effective for non-desk workers like housekeepers, maintenance staff, and front desk intelligence is now playing a major role in Atiom's continued evolution, according to Spriegel. The platform's backend tools allow clients to upload vast sets of training content in PowerPoints, Excel files and automatically transform them into multilingual, interactive learning modules."We're using AI to build entire training playbooks, support peer-to-peer recognition, and even create content for mystery shopping and internal audits," said tools not only streamline knowledge transfer but also help companies mobilise internal knowledge that might otherwise sit idle in shared drives, he explained. Looking ahead, Atiom is set to go deeper in the Middle East and Europe while expanding into adjacent sectors such as airlines and high-end healthcare. Source: Aletihad - Abu Dhabi
