United News of Bangladesh

Artificial intelligence has been advancing day by day. Programmers and researchers are innovating new tools, software, and programs to help humans in diverse sectors. Recently, the advent of ChatGPT has created a buzz among tech specialists as well as general people. Let’s find out what is ChatGPT; how to use it; its pros and cons; and how to apply ChatGPT for career development. What is ChatGPT An artificial intelligence research organization called Open AI has invented ChatGPT. Previously, Open AI created GPT-3 and GPT-3.5 which are able to create human-like texts. ChatGPT is a GPT-3 based AI tool that can process natural language. This AI tool can help to create human-like conversations between a user and an AI chatbot. In simple words, ChatGPT is like a digital helping hand for the user to solve different problems. How Does ChatGPT Work? ChatGPT is a large language model, based on GPT3 and GPT 3.5. Utilizing machine learning algorithms and human interventions, the ChatGPT can formulate human-like texts to answer the queries or solve problems of the users. ChatGPT can improve its efficiency through Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF).  Read More: AI & Future of Jobs: Will Artificial Intelligence or Robots Take Your Job? How to Use ChatGPT To use ChatGPT, developers must first sign up for an OpenAI API key, allowing them to access the model and use it for their own applications.  The process of installation and setup of ChatGPT AI Bot:  -First, create an account on OpenAI’s official website -Generate a new API key-Access the ChatGPT using this API key-Install OpenAI's relevant package to access the ChatGPT model. For example, to use the Python language for coding, the user needs to install the OpenAI Python package for accessing the Python code’s ChatGPT model. After installation, the ChatGPT model can respond to natural language queries.-ChatGPT’s language model is able to produce text and code to answer queries in sensible ways. Advantages and Disadvantages of Chat GPT Pros: -ChatGPT is efficient in programming, coding, and written languages. -It can write mathematical proofs and solve coding problems.-This AI-based tool makes it easy for users to have conversations with AI in a natural way.-It is free of cost and simple to use.-It can serve as an AI assistant to create content or develop software. Read More: How Can Artificial Intelligence Improve Healthcare? Cons: -Unlike Search engines like Google, ChatGPT does not display articles, news, or other credible sources while answering the queries of the users. In simple words, the ChatGPT AI chatbot does not provide any citation or source of information. -This AI tool can devalue the effort and hard work of talented professionals, programmers, writers, or specialists. When any individual provides original work, utilizing that knowledge any user of ChatGPT can write codes, articles, or solve math problems without much hard work. -While responding to queries for elaborate content, the ChatGPT overuses certain phrases and creates wordy verbose content. -This AI chatbot tool provides the same responses to all users for the same queries. When two users ask ChatGPT to write essays on the same topic, they will get the same content. Therefore, personalization is not available in ChatGPT. The Different Applications of ChatGPT in Professional Works Solve Coding Problems and Developing Apps ChatGPT can understand and write code efficiently. It is a primary advance over the ancestor language models. The user can instruct this AI chatbot to address diverse coding problems and assist in the debugging process. Besides programming solutions, the tool can provide examples of codes to develop apps.  Read More: Ai and Future of Content Writing: Will Artificial Intelligence replace writers? Writing Contents and Blog Posts ChatGPT can be utilized to produce any kind of text, including essays, and blog posts. This AI chatbot can enhance the style and quality of writing. The users can also create catchy titles for blog posts and articles.  Searching Information Unlike search engines, ChatGPT can find straightforward, and uncluttered responses to diverse queries. Thus, AI chatbots can explain complex issues in an easy way. Answer Customer Questions Diverse Businesses can utilize AI-based ChatGPT tools to provide helpful responses to customer queries and improve customer experience. ChatGPT can understand and assist companies to address customers’ needs effectively.  Alternative to Google Search ChatGPT has the ability to serve as an alternative to search engines like Google search. However, it is a matter of concern that whether or not this AI chatbot can be used as an ideal substitute for Google depends on the user's precise needs and preferences. For instance, ChatGPT is helpful for users who prefer a conversational search experience. Read More: Top 10 Most Exciting Innovations of 2022 in Technology

Universal Parks & Resorts is bringing a theme park to Texas that will focus on entertaining young children, officials announced Wednesday. The “one-of-a-kind” park in the Dallas suburb of Frisco will include attractions, interactive shows and opportunities for meet-and-greets with characters, the company said in a news release. It is expected to be about a quarter of the size of the company's large Orlando theme parks, according to Page Thompson, the company’s president of new ventures. “Even though it may be smaller in terms of acreage than our other parks, the quality of it, the level, worthy of the Universal name," Thompson said during a news conference in Frisco. Universal Parks & Resorts recently purchased 97 acres (39 hectares), where the park and a 300-room hotel will be located, officials said. Read more:  Also on Wednesday, the company announced a new permanent entertainment experience in Las Vegas that will “bring to life Universal’s vast library of classic horror films and today’s most terrifying tales,” according to a news release from the company. The company said this is the first time it has created “a permanent horror experience beyond its theme parks.” The experience will occupy a 110,000-square foot (10,219-square meter) space. It will be the anchor tenant in a new 20-acre (8-hectare) expansion of the city's AREA15 entertainment district, which opened to the public in 2020. The company didn't give a timetable for when the projects will be completed. Universal Parks & Resorts, part of Comcast NBCUniversal, has theme parks around the world, including Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort in the U.S. In 2021, the company opened a theme park in Beijing, becoming the company's fifth park worldwide. There are also parks in Japan and Singapore.

World's largest and most influential tech event Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023 in the US drew to a close recently. The four-day exhibition took place from January 5 to 8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  CES is a global platform where the tech giants exhibit the latest innovation in consumer technology, the automotive industry and digital healthcare. AI, smart health, driverless cars, smart homes and the metaverse had been the centre of attractions for visitors, entrepreneurs and suppliers of technology products at this year's CES. The metaverse was a big theme at CES 2023. Many companies had unveiled their latest offerings in virtual reality and augmented reality. There were many unusual inventions on display, from a speech privacy mask to smart golfing tools, a smart punching bag cover and even electric inline skates. One start-up, OVR Technology, presented a headset that allows users to smell in the metaverse. The device could have applications beyond gaming, for example in health and wellness. A part of the show floor had been dedicated to Web3 technology. Also, Microsoft and the carmaker Stellantis teamed up to create a showroom in the metaverse. At this year's CES, Sony exhibited a prototype of a new electric car built with Honda. The vehicle, Afeela, has self-driving capabilities and a LED screen on the front of the bonnet. In addition, South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai's stall had seen a large crowd of visitors for its driverless car. This year Walton became the first Bangladeshi company to join the world's mega tech event. Focusing on people's smart living, food and health safety, and environmental protection, the company showcased a wide range of green and sustainable smart home and tech products with AI technologies at the CES. The products include a smart fridge, TV and educational display, air conditioner; washing machine, table, and LED light. At the CES, Walton finalised negotiations with many business houses of the US, Canada, Mexico, France, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Azerbaijan, the UAE, Liberia, Oman, Jordan, and Senegal, according to a media statement. Also, it finalised a deal with a distributor in Canada's Ontario to supply hotel mode solutions. Read more: CES 2023: Walton's smart AI products get huge response  

Youth-centric brand realme has come up with discount offers on Daraz's New Year celebration campaign. Buyers can buy certain models of realme smartphones at a discount of up to Tk3,400. The campaign started on January 6 and will continue till January 23. Read more: realme brings C30 to Bangladesh During this campaign, customers can enjoy various offers on realme phones, including realme C30, realme C11 (4GB/64GB), realme C25Y (4GB/64GB), realme C31, narzo 50A Prime, realme C35 (4GB/128GB), realme narzo 50 (4GB/64GB), realme 9i (6GB/128GB), realme C35 (6GB/128GB), realme Pad Mini, realme narzo 50 (6GB/128GB), realme 8, realme 9, realme 9 Pro, realme GT Master Edition, realme 9 Pro+, realme GT Neo 2, realme C33 (3/32GB) and realme C33 (4/64GB).

RFL Group's electronics brand Vision has brought OLED TV to the local market. RN Paul, managing director of RFL Group, unveiled the cover of VISION OLED TV at a programme at a hotel in the capital recently. "Compared to LCD and LED TVs, OLED TVs have several benefits. The crystalline layers in OLED TVs are thinner, lighter and more flexible than those in LED or LCD TVs. This allows significantly broader viewing angles and is ideal for situations when many people watch TV at once." Shaikh Mahabubur Rahman, head of marketing at Vision Electronics, said, "Vision OLED TV comes with 4.8mm thickness and 4K resolution. It has a Chameleon process engine, and a 120Hz refresh rate which is required for perfect picture and gaming." Read more: Vision brings TV exchange offer "Also, this TV has Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos sound effect features with a 20-watt speaker." Vision Pico Pixel 55-inch OLED TV is now available across the country at Tk290,000.  

Dhaka, Jan 09 (UNB) – ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) brought a wide range of "full blast, performance-focused" laptops during the "For Those Who Dare: Maxed Out" online launch event for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023, which drew to a close Sunday. Here is a rundown of all the laptops that ASUS ROG recently showcased at CES 2023: ROG Strix SCAR, Strix G The new ROG Strix SCAR 18 (G834) is designed with esports enthusiasts in mind. It has an 18-inch Nebula Display, with a maximum QHD 240Hz specification. ROG Strix SCAR is also available in 16 or 17-inch models. The 16-inch and 18-inch models are equipped with up to 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13980HX processors with 24 cores. ROG Strix SCAR 17 comes with up to an AMD Ryzen 9 Zen 4 processor. ROG Strix SCAR 16 has a 16-inch Mini LED QHD 240Hz Nebula HDR Display. All Strix models have up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series laptop GPU with advanced Optimus. The laptops have Conductonaut extreme liquid metal on the CPU, tri-fan technology, full-surround vents, and intelligent cooling for the best performance under heavy workloads. Also, the devices are equipped with Dolby Atmos virtual surround for crystal-clear sound. The two-way AI noise cancellation filters out background noise for incoming and outgoing communications so that everyone's voice comes through clearly. Strix models come with a 64Wh or 90Wh battery, plus 100W Type-C charging for on-the-go usage too. WiFi 6E and an ethernet port provide "cutting-edge networking for minimal lag on both wired and compatible wireless networks." ROG Zephyrus series ROG Zephyrus G14 is a 14-inch gaming laptop featuring a ROG Nebula HDR Mini LED QHD 165Hz Pantone Validated display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, powered by a 76Wh battery. Additional panel options include QHD 165Hz or FHD 144Hz versions. There is a vapour chamber covering the CPU and GPU, a liquid-metal thermal compound on the CPU, as well as dual 84-blade Arc Flow Fans. All Zephyrus models come with Dolby Atmos speakers, a 3D mic array with multiple modes, and two-way AI noise cancellation for clear communication. G14 and M16 come with an FHD IR camera, and G16 comes with an HD 720P IR camera. The displays are Pantone validated and have Dolby Vision support. Zephyrus models have a 180-degree ErgoLift hinge to ensure comfort. The connectivity options include a 100W USB Type-C port with DisplayPort 1.4 and power delivery, PD charging support, and WiFi 6E. ROG Zephyrus G16 comes with up to a 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900H processor and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series laptop GPU with a 120W maximum TGP, MUX Switch, and NVIDIA advanced Optimus. Read more: Asus ROG Phone 6D Review: Worth the price tag? ROG Zephyrus G14 comes with up to an AMD Ryzen 9 Zen 4 CPU and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series laptop GPU with a 125W maximum TGP, MUX Switch, and NVIDIA advanced Optimus. ROG Zephyrus M16 comes with up to a 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900H processor and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series Laptop GPU with a 145W maximum TGP, MUX Switch, and NVIDIA advanced Optimus. M16 and G14 come with a customisable AniMe Matrix display to showcase the user's personality. ROG Zephyrus G16 has a ROG Nebula Display with a 94 percent screen-to-body ratio and extended 16:10 aspect ratio, as well as a 90Wh battery and HDMI 2.1. ROG Zephyrus M16 comes with up to a QHD Mini LED 240Hz, 3ms ROG Nebula HDR display with G-SYNC and a 92 percent screen-to-body ratio and a 16:10 aspect ratio. It also has ROG Intelligent Cooling tri-fan technology with a full-width heatsink, as well as a fast-charging 90Wh battery with Power Delivery 3.0. ROG Flow X13 (GV302), ROG XG Mobile (GC33) ROG Flow X13 has up to an AMD Ryzen 9 Zen 4 CPU and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series laptop GPU. It has a 360-degree convertible design that has four modes: laptop, tablet, tent, and stand. It has an optional XG Mobile external GPU with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series laptop GPU. It also comes with a 75Wh battery, 100W USB Type-C fast charging, and a 130W AC adapter. The ultra-compact 13-inch chassis offers perfect mobility. ROG Flow X13 has a QHD 165Hz Nebula display or an FHD 120Hz panel and offers Dolby Vision support, Corning Gorilla Glass DXC touchscreen, G-SYNC, and advanced Optimus technology. Read more: ASUS ZENFONE 9 Review: Does this mini powerhouse offer value-for-money? Additional features include an FHD IR camera, a 15-inch keyboard for comfortable typing, an expanded touchpad, Dolby Atmos sound, and two-way AI noise cancellation. ROG Flow X16 (GV601) ROG Flow X16 has a 360-degree convertible design with four distinct modes: laptop, stand, tent, and tablet. It includes robust touch support for tablet mode and stylus support. Gamers can expect a good performance from up to 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900H processor, up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series laptop GPU, up to 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD storage, and a maximum of 16GB DDR5-4800 memory. The display has up to Nebula HDR 1100 nits mini LED display with up to 1,024 individual dimming zones, QHD resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, 3ms response time, and extended 16:10 aspect ratio. It also has Pantone validated colour rendering, Dolby Vision HDR, and a next-gen HDMI 2.1 port. The new tri-fan system comes with Arc Flow fans. Large skived-fin heat sinks allow for maximum surface area. There are also dust filters for consistent performance and stability. ROG Flow Z13 (GZ301) ROG Flow Z13 (GZ301) gaming tablet has up to a 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900H processor and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series laptop GPU, with G-SYNC and DDS 2.0 support, all in a 13-inch chassis that weighs 1.1kg and is 12mm thick. Gamers can enjoy console gaming power on the go, with multiple viewing angles providing up to 170-degree of adjustment, as well as support for XG Mobile external GPUs. ROG Flow Z13 has a 13-inch Nebula Display, a 16:10 aspect ratio, and 100 percent DCI-P3 coverage with a QHD 165Hz panel. There is a Gorilla Glass DXC touchscreen and FHD IR camera with Windows Hello. Also, the device has a detachable 15-inch full-size RGB keyboard and USB-C power delivery from a 130W charger or power bank. The premium Dolby Atmos sound, Hi-Res Audio, smart amp, Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation, and Thunderbolt 4 support provide game-ready sound.

World's largest and most influential tech event Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023 is going on in the USA's Las Vegas. CES is a global platform where the tech giants exhibit the latest innovation in consumer technology, the automotive industry and digital healthcare. AI, smart health, driverless cars, smart homes and the metaverse have been the centre of attractions for visitors, entrepreneurs and suppliers of technology products at this year's CES. The metaverse is a big theme at CES 2023. Many companies have unveiled their latest offerings in virtual reality and augmented reality. There are many unusual inventions on display, from a speech privacy mask to smart golfing tools, a smart punching bag cover and even electric inline skates. One start-up, OVR Technology, is presenting a headset that allows users to smell in the metaverse. The device could have applications beyond gaming, for example in health and wellness. A part of the show floor has been dedicated to Web3 technology. Also, Microsoft and the carmaker Stellantis have teamed up to create a showroom in the metaverse. Read: Walton opens special showroom in Narayanganj At this year's CES, Sony is exhibiting a prototype of a new electric car built with Honda. The vehicle, Afeela, has self-driving capabilities and a LED screen on the front of the bonnet. In addition, South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai's stall has seen a large crowd of visitors for its driverless car. This year Walton has become the first Bangladeshi company to join the world's mega tech event. Focusing on people's smart living, food and health safety, and environmental protection, the company is showcasing a wide range of green and sustainable smart home and tech products with AI technologies at the CES. The products include smart fridge, TV and educational display, air conditioner; washing machine, table, and LED light. Walton Hi-Tech Industries Managing Director and CEO Golam Murshed said, "Participation in the CES fair will help Walton expand its export markets in different countries around the globe, including America, Canada and Europe." "Businessmen from Mexico, Brazil, Liberia, Qatar, Oman, Libya and Nigeria are showing great interest in importing Walton products from Bangladesh to their countries," the company said. "We have already finalised a business deal with one of the largest online marketplaces in America. Through this marketplace, Walton products will be available for sale in the American market from February or March this year." The four-day fair will draw to a close Sunday.  

Ask the new artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT to write an essay about the cause of the American Civil War and you can watch it churn out a persuasive term paper in a matter of seconds. That’s one reason why New York City school officials this week started blocking the impressive but controversial writing tool that can generate paragraphs of human-like text. The decision by the largest U.S. school district to restrict the ChatGPT website on school devices and networks could have ripple effects on other schools, and teachers scrambling to figure out how to prevent cheating. The creators of ChatGPT say they’re also looking for ways to detect misuse. The free tool has been around for just five weeks but is already raising tough questions about the future of AI in education, the tech industry and a host of professions. WHAT IS CHATGPT? ChatGPT launched on Nov. 30 but is part of a broader set of technologies developed by the San Francisco-based startup OpenAI, which has a close relationship with Microsoft. It’s part of a new generation of AI systems that can converse, generate readable text on demand and even produce novel images and video based on what they’ve learned from a vast database of digital books, online writings and other media. But unlike previous iterations of so-called “large language models,” such as OpenAI’s GPT-3, launched in 2020, the ChatGPT tool is available for free to anyone with an internet connection and designed to be more user-friendly. It works like a written dialogue between the AI system and the person asking it questions. Millions of people have played with it over the past month, using it to write silly poems or songs, to try to trick it into making mistakes, or for more practical purposes such as helping compose an email. All of those queries are also helping it get smarter. WHAT ARE THE PITFALLS? As with similar systems, ChatGPT can generate convincing prose, but that doesn’t mean what it says is factual or logical. Its launch came with little guidance for how to use it, other than a promise that ChatGPT will admit when it’s wrong, challenge “incorrect premises” and reject requests meant to generate offensive answers. Since then, however, its popularity has led its creators to try to lower some people’s expectations. “ChatGPT is incredibly limited, but good enough at some things to create a misleading impression of greatness,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on Twitter in December. Altman added that “it’s a mistake to be relying on it for anything important right now.” “It’s a preview of progress; we have lots of work to do on robustness and truthfulness.” CAN IT BE USED FOR WRITING SCHOOL PAPERS? This is what ChatGPT said when The Associated Press asked it to answer that question in all caps from the perspective of a principal shouting a brief message through a school’s PA system: “DO NOT USE CHATGPT OR ANY OTHER AUTOMATED WRITING TOOL FOR SCHOOL PAPERS. THIS IS CHEATING AND WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT USING CHATGPT OR ANY OTHER AUTOMATED WRITING TOOL FOR SCHOOL PAPERS, THERE WILL BE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES.” But when asked to answer the same question on its own, ChatGPT offered this more measured warning: “As a general rule, it is not appropriate to use ChatGPT or any other automated writing tool for school papers, as it is considered cheating and does not benefit the student in the long run.” WHAT DO SCHOOLS SAY? Many school districts are still scrambling to figure out how to set policies on if and how it can be used. The New York City education department said Thursday that it’s restricting access on school networks and devices because it’s worried about negative impacts on student learning, as well as “concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content.” But there’s no stopping a student from accessing ChatGPT from a personal phone or computer at home. “While the tool may be able to provide quick and easy answers to questions, it does not build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for academic and lifelong success,” said schools spokesperson Jenna Lyle. HUMAN OR AI? “To determine if something was written by a human or an AI, you can look for the absence of personal experiences or emotions, check for inconsistency in writing style, and watch for the use of filler words or repetitive phrases. These may be signs that the text was generated by an AI.” That’s what ChatGPT told an AP reporter when asked how to tell the difference. OpenAI said in a human-written statement this week that it plans to work with educators as it learns from how people are experimenting with ChatGPT in the real world. “We don’t want ChatGPT to be used for misleading purposes in schools or anywhere else, so we’re already developing mitigations to help anyone identify text generated by that system,” the company said. DOES THIS THREATEN GOOGLE? There’s been some speculation that ChatGPT could upend the internet search business now dominated by Google, but the tech giant has been working on similar technology for years — it’s just more cautious about releasing it in the wild. It was Google that helped jumpstart the trend for ever-bigger, ever-smarter AI language models that could be “pre-trained” on a wide body of writings. In 2018 the company introduced a system known as BERT that uses a “transformer” technique that compares words across a sentence to predict meaning and context. Some of those advances are now baked into Google searches. But there’s no question that successive iterations of GPT — which stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer — are having an impact. Microsoft has invested at least $1 billion in OpenAI and has an exclusive license to use GPT-3. HEY CHATGPT, CAN YOU PUT ALL THIS IN A RAP? “ChatGPT’s just a tool, But it ain’t no substitute for school. You can’t cheat your way to the top, Using a machine to do your homework, you’ll flop. Plagiarism’s a no-no, And ChatGPT’s text is not your own, yo. So put in the work, earn that grade, Don’t try to cheat, it’s not worth the trade.”

A 38-year-old retired NASA satellite is about to fall from the sky. NASA said Friday the chance of wreckage falling on anybody is “very low.” Most of the 5,400-pound (2,450-kilogram) satellite will burn up upon reentry, according to NASA. But some pieces are expected to survive. The space agency put the odds of injury from falling debris at about 1-in-9,400. The science satellite is expected to come down Sunday night, give or take 17 hours, according to the Defense Department. Read more: NASA says spacecraft succeeded in changing asteroid’s orbit The California-based Aerospace Corp., however is targeting Monday morning, give or take 13 hours, along a track passing over Africa, Asia the Middle East and the westernmost areas of North and South America. .The Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, known as ERBS, was launched in 1984 aboard space shuttle Challenger. Although its expected working lifetime was two years, the satellite kept making ozone and other atmospheric measurements until its retirement in 2005. The satellite studied how Earth absorbed and radiated energy from the sun. The satellite got a special sendoff from Challenger. America's first woman in space, Sally Ride, released the satellite into orbit using the shuttle's robot arm. That same mission also featured the first spacewalk by a U.S. woman: Kathryn Sullivan. It was the first time two female astronauts flew in space together. Read more: NASA Orion capsule safely blazes back from moon, aces test It was the second and final spaceflight for Ride, who died in 2012.

More than a thousand startups are showcasing their products at the annual CES tech show in Las Vegas, hoping to create some buzz around their gadgets and capture the eyes of investors who can help their businesses grow. But amid the slew of layoffs in the tech industry and an economic landscape battered with high inflation and interest rates, many may be met with cautious investors looking for products that can deliver quick returns instead of hype. Analysts say the event this year has somewhat of a muted tone compared to prior shows, when many companies routinely unveiled pie-in-the-sky projects that never saw the light of day. Carolina Milanesi, president and principal analyst at the consumer tech research firm Creative Strategies, said this time around, many of the tech items displayed during the show’s media preview days, which occurred Tuesday and Wednesday, have been less “flamboyant” compared to prior years, which showcased things like talking microwaves and smart jeans that vibrate to direct users. “The economy — and I think the mood in general — is a little bit negative around tech,” Milanesi said. “It’s really getting companies to focus on real value for customers.“ CES, the most influential tech gathering in the world, officially begins on Thursday to attendees in the industry. Roughly 3,000 companies have registered to attend the event, including big companies like Amazon that are laying off thousands of employees and axing unprofitable areas of their business amid uncertainty in the wider economy. Simultaneously, many startups are attempting to find their wings at a time when consumers are tightening their belts and being more picky about how to spend their money. And experts note the somber economic climate can be particularly difficult for companies who make hardware products — they typically require robust investments to manufacture their gadgets and often encounter challenges with securing the money they need. Marco Snikkers, founder and CEO of OneThird, a startup that tests produce ripeness, said investors have been much more critical this year about which companies to fund. Securing investments for his own company took much longer than anticipated but luckily, he said, some existing investors stepped up to help and the company didn’t run out of cash. They were able to secure more funding last month. “We can hopefully survive 2023 with what we have today,” Snikkers said, adding the Netherlands-based company, which also has an app, hopes to expand their products to the U.S. Another CES attendee, Mohamed Soliman, founder of the French electric skates startup AtmosGear, said investors have been more fearful about putting money into projects during the entire pandemic and are asking for a higher level of maturity from companies before they put some skin in the game. “I think CES could be a ‘do or die’ time for many startups,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. “The clock struck midnight in terms of tech investors just giving away free money. There’s a lot more competing for capital.” Saving money has now become a big priority for the tech industry, a shift from the past when more analysts and investors were more focused on how companies were growing. Ives said unlike products that received a lot of buzz during prior shows but didn’t have a clear revenue path, like drones, investors are now looking to fund things that can be deployed, such as artificial intelligence, chip technology and electric vehicles. More transformational tech themes, such as broader use of virtual reality and immersive experiences in the metaverse, are also being showcased at the show. Though the metaverse has its skeptics, Ives said he believes all these technologies could lay the groundwork for what’s likely to be a fourth industrial revolution. But as of now, a recession is potentially on the doorstep, he said. “And I think that’s the elephant in the room at this year’s CES.” Event organizers for their part say excitement hasn’t dampened. Brian Comiskey, the director of thematic programs at the Consumer Technology Association, the trade group putting together the show, said many startups are excited to be back at the event and mingle in person with investors after COVID kept many of them away for the past two shows. The organization also has a program, called CTA Match, that pairs startups with investors who might be interested in their products, he said, adding many companies have showcased items that can be rolled out soon, or are innovations that could be deployed if they meet the right investors. But even entrepreneurs that raise money are facing higher costs due to inflation. That, coupled with a more challenging investment scene could mean more companies won’t be able to make it — or won’t be able to make it with the cash they have on hand, a scenario that could lead to more mergers with big companies, said Peter Csathy, chairman of the media and tech advisory firm Creative Media. Still, startups are trying to get the most out of the show and will attempt to create buzz around their products in an effort to grab some headlines and get free marketing, Csathy said.