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Sam Altman recently called GPT-4 the “dumbest model any of you will ever have to use again.” Why would the OpenAI CEO downplay his own company’s industry-leading LLM? It might be because he’s laying the groundwork for something bigger: The launch of the company’s next flagship model.
Today’s Insights
OpenAI is officially training its GPT-4 successor
Prompts for automation and copy generation
A school system gets an AI upgrade
5 new AI tools to boost your productivity
Everything else you should know today
AI-Generated Images: Skeleton Samurai
NEXT IN AI
OpenAI is working on its next model
Source: Getty Images
Readers noticed a tantalizing detail on OpenAI’s website Tuesday morning. Hidden in a blog post about the company’s new Safety and Security Committee was what is apparently the first confirmation that it’s begun training its long-awaited GPT-4 successor. “We anticipate the resulting systems to bring us to the next level of capabilities on our path to AGI,” or the point at which AI can perform all tasks at the same level as humans, the company wrote.
The model is probably still a ways off:
GPT-5, or whatever OpenAI decides to call its new LLM, will likely go through months of training and fine-tuning before it’s ready
While the recent release of GPT-4o was all about making interactions more intuitive and seamless, OpenAI’s next frontier model is expected to get a big power boost
Analysts believe it’ll be able to think through multi-step problems and could even make decisions that affect the real world
What about the new safety team? The committee will spend 90 days looking into OpenAI’s safety and security vulnerabilities. Then, it’ll send a report to the company’s board of directors and give the public an update about which recommendations it wants OpenAI to implement before releasing GPT-5.
But there’s a catch: The new committee is made up of OpenAI’s own executives, including Altman himself. Skeptics, including former members of the company’s board, argue that’s the wrong move. They say an independent watchdog — one that doesn’t have a stake in the company’s success — should make sure OpenAI is keeping safety in front of mind.
The company disbanded its safety-oriented “superalignment” team earlier this month after several members resigned, raising concerns about OpenAI’s security standards. Adding to the controversy, the team’s former co-leader, Jan Leike, just announced he’s joining competitor Anthropic “to continue the superalignment mission” there.
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AI AT WORK
How to use AIDA in ChatGPT to create better ads
PROMPT OF THE DAY
Time-saving automation
Prompt: My business is [describe your business] and my tasks include [describe the tasks in your role]. For each task, ask how this task is currently being completed and ascertain if this task could be automated. Once we identify tasks that might benefit from automation, create a 3-column table with these column headers: task, process now, process with automation. In column 2, outline these processes in detail, and in column 3 create a plan for how each task could be automated. This structured approach will help me automate my business or prepare to work with an AI expert to implement time-saving automation.You can adapt the prompt to your specific needs.
Source: Jodie Cook / Forbes
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Over 40% of startups surveyed have found AI tools to be most impactful in marketing
38% of founders say they use AI-powered chatbots or virtual assistants
59% of startup founders feel that AI has helped them reach qualified prospects
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AI & BUS LINES
How AI is helping school systems get kids to class
Source: Getty Images
At the start of the school year, Colorado Springs’ District 11 realized it had run into a big problem: It was dozens of bus drivers short and had no way to get some students back and forth from school. The district tried offering higher salaries, but still, there weren’t enough qualified drivers to go around.
It’s a problem for a growing number of school districts across the country: There were 15% fewer drivers working nationwide in 2023 compared to 2019, according to CBS News. Those shortages have put an added strain on parents, who often have work conflicts that prevent them from carpooling their kids to school each day.
An unconventional approach: Desperate for a solution, District 11 tested out a new platform from the rideshare company HopSkipDrive that uses AI to make bus routes more efficient. The company’s RouteWise AI system analyzes a district’s resources, then creates an optimized plan, using specially-trained rideshare drivers to fill in the gaps.
The district’s superintendent told CBS the plan ended up working out on multiple fronts: Even though there are fewer drivers, there’s now enough money in the budget to compensate each of them a little bit more. Also, during budget cuts, teachers are often the first to go — but in this case, District 11 was able to protect around 10 teachers’ positions. All told, the district saved half a million dollars thanks to the new AI-powered setup.
PRODUCTIVITY
5 AI Tools to Supercharge Your Productivity
✅ Opinion Stage: Create a form, survey, or quiz with AI in order to boost engagement and gather leads.
✅ Browsebuddy: Empower your store with an AI shopping assistant that understands your catalog.
✅ Equals: Write, edit, and fix SQL queries, formulas, charts, and more right inside your spreadsheet.
✅ Eververse: Ideate solutions, prioritize features, and plan roadmaps with the help of AI.
✅ Lawformer: Create, modify, and negotiate. complex legal documents in one place with the help of AI.
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AI & TECH NEWS
Everything else you need to know today
Source: Shutterstock
Privacy Maze: Meta has started using public posts and photos to train its AI models. Users can opt out, but critics say the multi-step process is so complicated that it’s virtually impossible to do so.
Brainpower on a Budget: The next iteration of Chromebook Plus laptops will reportedly feature a wallpaper creator, a writing assistant, and other AI tools.
Character Clash: Meta and xAI are reportedly battling over a potential partnership with Character AI, a startup that builds chatbots with unique personalities.
Silicon Home: Malaysia is allegedly working to secure more than $100 billion in investments for its burgeoning semiconductor industry.
Sing to Search: A new YouTube Music feature will let Android users search for a song by humming or whistling the tune into their microphone.
AI GENERATED IMAGES
White Samurai
Source: @fabiotattooartist on Midjourney
Prompt: super realistic, white samurai mask with gold half skull, cinematic shoot
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