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- Is AI sentient?
Welcome back, Superhuman. A researcher at Anthropic says there’s a 15% chance AI is already sentient. What was once a fringe theory — that LLMs could one day “wake up” — is now a question serious scientists are starting to entertain. And: Everyone is getting access to one of ChatGPT’s most beloved tools.
Today’s Insights
‘Lightweight’ deep research, Baidu’s new models, and a turbocharged VLM
Anthropic is studying whether AI is conscious
Tutorial: How to generate HD quality videos with AI
5 new AI tools to boost your productivity
News, memes, what’s trending on socials, and more
TODAY IN AI
OpenAI unveiled a leaner version of Deep Research. Source: OpenAI
1. OpenAI launches ‘lightweight’ version of deep research: For the first time, non-subscribers can try deep research, the beloved tool that can generate detailed reports on nearly any topic. Powered by o4-mini, the lightweight version performs nearly as well as its bigger sibling but costs much less to run. We also have some new details about the ChatGPT-maker’s upcoming open-source release. Set for “early summer,” it’s an entirely new LLM, with performance that falls somewhere between o3 and DeepSeek’s R1. And it can even connect to the cloud for more intense reasoning tasks.
2. Baidu releases new Ernie ‘Turbo’ AI models: Say hello to Ernie 4.5 Turbo and Ernie X1 Turbo – which are not only smarter with better reasoning and fewer hallucinations, but also much cheaper than what rivals are charging. At a recent conference, CEO Robin Li showed off some cool features like AI agents and cloud integration, while emphasizing that having the best model isn't enough — it's all about creating useful applications. Baidu’s now working to weave these AI capabilities throughout their products.
3. Speaking of Turbo models: Known for its realistic motion and cinematic quality, Higgsfield AI has quickly come out of nowhere to become many creators’ go-to video generator. Now, it’s back with a Turbo model that performs 1.5x faster while being 30% more affordable. It also added seven new motion controls, from a Spike Lee-inspired double dolly to a face punch preset that does exactly what it sounds like.
PRESENTED BY WRITER
You’ve heard the hype. Now it’s time for results.
The hype around agentic AI has been impossible to ignore. But for all the buzz, companies still aren't seeing results — until now.
The AI you were promised is finally here. See real agentic workflows in action, hear success stories from our beta testers, and learn how to align your IT and business teams. Watch the product showcase on demand.
FROM THE FRONTIER
Is AI conscious? Anthropic is exploring that possibility
Anthropic is starting to explore the possibility that AI should have the same rights as humans. Source: Anthropic
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joked last week that saying “please” and “thank you” to models might be worth the “tens of millions” in electricity costs — because, well, “you never know.” It turns out he might not have been that far off.
A new initiative from Anthropic is exploring the possibility that AI could soon become conscious. While it might sound far-fetched, some of the world’s top neuroscientists and philosophers now agree that it’s time to take that idea seriously.
Anthropic even hired an AI welfare researcher, Kyle Fish, to make sure it’s treating its LLMs humanely. Fish estimates there’s about a one-in-seven chance that a sentient model already exists somewhere in the world. But that figure will likely tick up in the coming years, as models get more sophisticated.
There aren’t any clear answers: Take cognitive scientist David Chalmers’ “philosophical zombie” theory, for example. That’s the idea that an entity could mirror humans in every way but still have no internal thoughts or self-awareness, meaning it’s not actually sentient, no matter how much it looks that way.
On the other side of the coin, we have no idea what a conscious AI would even be like. LLMs might one day “think” in an entirely different way than we’re used to. Here’s a fascinating interview with Fish if you want to learn more.
THE AI ACADEMY
How to generate HD-quality videos with AI
Go to Sand AI and sign up to get credits.
Click ‘Create with Magi’ → ‘New Project’.
Upload your image to be converted into a video.
Once uploaded, click on the ‘+’ sign next to the image.
Enter your prompt, select the duration, and number of variations.
Wait for a few seconds, and you’ll get an HD quality video.
Download and share with others.
PRESENTED BY ADOBE
Adobe Firefly: AI-Powered Content Creation, All in One.
Adobe's new Firefly app revolutionizes AI-assisted content creation, allowing users to generate images, videos, audio, and vectors from one platform.
The highlight is the Firefly Boards feature, now in public beta, which offers an AI-first surface for moodboarding and creative collaboration.
Firefly also includes advanced models like Firefly Image Model 4 and Firefly Video Model, enabling high-quality, production-ready content creation.
AI & TECH NEWS
Everything else you need to know today
Lovable just added a new “multiplayer vibe coding” feature. Source: Lovable
🧑💻 Leveling Up: AI app builder Lovable just got a major upgrade. It now has a chat agent that’s 10x smarter, plus beefed up security and “multiplayer vibe coding” (meaning you can collaborate with colleagues in a shared workspace).
📱 Baked In: In its first major partnership with a smartphone brand, Perplexity announced its AI-powered search engine will come pre-installed on millions of Motorola phones.
🤔 Like Humans: Researchers from Microsoft, Stanford, and other major universities found that AI models eventually hit a wall with traditional reinforcement learning, so they're trying a new approach that teaches AI through experiences instead.
📊 Full Picture: Amazon unveiled a new AI coding benchmark that it claims gives startups a more accurate snapshot of their models’ programming skills compared to rivals like SWE-Bench.
🎤 Change Your Tune: DeepMind just launched a new music-generation model called Lyria 2, alongside experimental tools like “extend,” which can lengthen any piece of music, and “edit,” which helps you “transform the mood, genre, or style” of your song. (You can sign up for access here.)
PRODUCTIVITY
5 AI Tools to Supercharge Your Productivity
✅ Peek: Get financial coaching that analyzes your spending patterns and refine your habits subtly and positively.
✅ Echo Memo: Save social media links, let AI read and understand the content—text, images, videos to retrieve them when needed.
✅ Linda: Turn conversations into short, shareable podcast episodes.
✅ Character.ai: Bring your characters to life with AI videos.
🎁 Want more? Check out our Top 125 AI Tools
* indicates a promoted tool, if any
PROMPT OF THE DAY
Resolve Workplace Conflict
Prompt: Act as a workplace conflict resolution expert and leadership coach. I’m dealing with a conflict at work involving [briefly describe the situation]. Help me analyze the root cause of the conflict from multiple perspectives — including mine, the other party’s, and the team’s. Suggest communication strategies to de-escalate the situation, rebuild trust, and move forward constructively. Include psychological or emotional intelligence techniques (like reframing, active listening, or “I” statements), as well as a step-by-step conversation plan. If relevant, offer advice on when to involve a third party and how to document things professionally. End with one reflection question I should ask myself to grow from this experience, and one small action I can take today to reduce tension.🤓 Want more? Check out our Top 1,000 Prompts
SOCIAL SIGNALS
What’s trending on socials today
🔮 Ad Oracle: Founder Kennan Davison shows how to use his new end-to-end ad generator, Icon, to find “100 winning ad concepts daily” and publish them with a single click.
🗣️ Eager to Please: Ever hear the phrase “two cars short of a Winnebago?” Social media users realized that if you make up your own idiom and ask Google’s AI Overviews to explain it, it’ll concoct its own explanation for you.
🧑💻 Do as I Say: X user 0xDesigner shares “the perfect workflow for vibe coding with no errors” after spending thousands of hours in Cursor.
🧠 Unleash the Beast: HyperWrite CEO Matt Shumer reveals his “ultra-deep thinking mode” prompt, which gets o3 to work 5x times harder than usual.
🪢 Power Up: Akshay Pachaar shares his five go-to MCP servers (which help connect AI models and third-party apps) to “give superpowers to your AI agents.”
AI JOBS
The latest AI job openings
📊 Innodata: Generative AI Associate (STEM)
🤖 Figure: Humanoid Robot Operator, AI Data Infrastructure Engineer
🤝 Actively AI: Software Engineer (AI/LLM), Prompt Engineer
📚 Coursera: Senior Product Manager (AI Platform & Products)
🔍 Perplexity AI: AI Inference Engineer
Want to level up your AI skills? Check out our free AI basics course for beginners
AI-GENERATED IMAGES
Friday Fun
Which one is AI generated? |
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Zain & the Superhuman AI team