Increase focus 7x with soundscapes + Image-to-Game AI from Google // Stay Ahead #15

Welcome to Stay Ahead #15 from FlexOS!

Every Tuesday, we share the latest tools and tips to help you work smarter, not harder. 

In this week’s edition:

1. Innovation News of the Week: Google’s Genie image-to-interactive (playable) environments generation
2. Productivity Tools: A browsing behavior tracking and customized soundscape to increase your focus
3. Must-read News: A software engineer has been arrested for stealing Google’s AI data for Chinese companies
4. Job Board: Future-forward roles at Amplify, EsquireX, Remote, and more.

Let’s dive in!

Google DeepMind’s Genie: Generative Interactive Environments

We’ve had text-to-image, text-to-video, image-to-video, and audio-to-video, and now we have AI-generated games.

Google DeepMind announced Genie, a foundational model that can generate interactive, playable (action-controllable) environments from still images, photographs, and sketches. 

What sets Genie apart is that it does not learn from text labels but from visual representations.

The model was trained with 30,000 hours of Internet videos, and it can predict suitable movements for different objects. For example, a car runs forward, and a dog runs. 

Genie is an internal project and will not be published. 

The team is working on turning it into a game-making tool. However, the researchers believe that its potential exceeds game creation. 

It could usher in an era of open-ended learning, where AI-controlled bots can learn through trial and error and collaborate with other bots, evolving the AI.

FEATURED ARTICLE

The 9 Best Contractor Management Software to Ease Your Workload

Working with talent nationally or globally? 

Then you need a solid Contractor Management solution.

This software can help you streamline paperwork and processes with your contractors, allowing the team to focus on the actual work. 

Check out the best Contractor Management Software here. 

Best Productivity Tools To Try Out This Week

Avoid distractions with Mindful Browsing

Have you ever fallen into a rabbit hole after watching one YouTube video, or had a 5-minute break turn into a 30-minute one? 

Then, this extension is for you.

Mindful Browsing can identify distracting browsing behavior and make you think twice about whether you really need or want to visit a site. 

Moreover, you will constantly be reminded of your goal and can choose to complete a small challenge to access the site. 

Price: Free!

Increase 7x your focus with Endel.io

Endel.io employs AI to create, neuroscience-based, customized soundscapes to maintain your focus. 

These soundscapes react to the weather, time of day, heart rate, and location to personalize your soundscape and maximize your concentration period. 

Price: Freemium.

Need more AI tools? Check out:

• NEW! The Top 40 HR AI tools
• The best AI Recruiting Software, AI Marketing Tools, AI Accounting tools.
• 10 AI Websites for Common Work Tasks Anyone Can Use (Writing, Powerpoints)
• 10 AI Productivity Tools (Meeting Notetaking, Writing, Brainstorming.) 
• And check our full 100 Top AI Tools
• Use our Prompt Generator to create 10x more powerful prompts and see more value from your ChatGPT usage.

In the News 

Every week, we pick must-read articles about the future of work so you can stay ahead. 

This week, a software engineer was arrested for stealing Google’s AI data for Chinese companies:

Ex-Google engineer arrested for alleged theft of AI secrets for Chinese firms

A software engineer was arrested for uploading confidential information from Google’s network to his personal Cloud while secretly working for two Chinese AI companies. 

Researchers jailbreak AI chatbots with ASCII art -- ArtPrompt bypasses safety measures to unlock malicious queries

Researchers have developed ArtPrompt, a tool that can create ASCII art for banned keywords and bypass restricted topics in ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Llama2.

5 Ways to Make Conference Networking Easier

Networking can be intimidating. These tips can help you overcome the initial anxiety and make the process more natural. 

Microsoft engineer warns company’s AI tool creates violent, sexual images, ignores copyrights

Shane Jones, an artificial intelligence engineer at Microsoft, filed an internal report and later an open letter on LinkedIn about DALL-E 3 that it can generate violent, sexist, and abusive images. The company acknowledged the problem but refused to take it down. 

Klarna Replaces 700 Roles with AI. How Should Leaders Approach AI Workforce Planning?

Read our guide on integrating AI into the workforce, based on Klarna's press release about replacing 700 customer service roles with AI.

Jobs to Level Up

We want you to make the change we need in this world of work. And do it from wherever is best for you. Here are some jobs that caught our attention:

Emerging Talent (1-5 years of experience)

1. EsquireX: Remote Sales And Marketing Executive
2. Used Conex LLC: Remote Digital Marketing Specialist
3. Yoko Co: Remote Digital Project Manager

Experienced Leaders

1. Amplify: Director of People and Operations
2. Remote: Manager, Sales AMER - Global Payroll
3. G2i Inc.: Remote Team Lead Manager for AI Training Data

Need more options? WeWorkRemotely, FlexJobs, Remote, and Jobgether are great places to get vetted remote-friendly roles. 

Also, check out our guide on “How to Get a Remote Job Today.”

How did we do?

That’s it for this edition of Stay Ahead, the newsletter that keeps you ahead in the future of work.

We’re here for you, truly.

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– Daan and the team at FlexOS​

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