The Biggest AI Stories of 2024

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It’s now been 2 years since ChatGPT took the world by storm and kicked off the AI boom. If the first year was all about OpenAI, this year was about the competition catching up to OpenAI — and even exceeding it in some areas.

AI audio went mainstream, video is finally ripe, open-source became a powerful alternative, and so much more happened. Today is a recap of all the big AI news from 2024. You’ll also find our list of the Top AI Apps from 2024 in today’s email.

2024 RECAP

The biggest developments in AI this year

OpenAI’s rearview mirror is getting crowded: Gone are the days when OpenAI dominated the AI landscape. Now, players like Anthropic and Alphabet are hot on its heels, with Alphabet’s Gemini model snagging top spots on the Chatbot Arena leaderboard ahead of the ChatGPT maker. Claude has also created a loyal following, with many users preferring it over OpenAI’s models for writing and coding tasks.

But OpenAI isn’t going anywhere just yet: The company levelled up in 2024 by dropping not one but two reasoning models. The o1 model, which launched in September 2024, excels at solving complex scientific and math problems. But it’s the o3 model, which was unveiled a few days ago, that cements the company far ahead of the competition. It crushes nearly all benchmarks, scoring 96.7% on the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME). Reasoning appears to be the next big paradigm for AI model development.

Open-source has finally caught up to closed models: Open-source models, like Meta’s Llama series and Mistral, have gained significant ground against closed models this year. Though open models still trail closed models in some areas, Llama 3.1 has shown major improvements compared to GPT-4. And with Llama 4 on the horizon, the gap is expected to shrink even further.

xAI became a major player in no time: Elon Musk’s AI venture is ramping up at an incredible speed. Musk secured billions in funding for xAI, and was able to build a 100k GPU cluster in just 19 days — an unbelievable feat of engineering. The company looks set to launch a cutting-edge AI model soon that could exceed OpenAI’s best, leveraging data from Musk’s other ventures. With big bucks and bold moves, xAI is positioning itself as a major AI contender.

AI video and audio are finally usable: Two years ago, AI models were struggling to produce realistic images. Fast forward to 2024, and AI models can now generate high-quality videos and audio in seconds. This year, OpenAI dropped Sora, which lets users whip up lifelike videos from text prompts. Alphabet’s Veo-2 came along shortly after and seemed to have beat it with 4K resolution and more natural movement. Meanwhile, ElevenLabs and NotebookLM are putting AI audio on the map, with applications like realistic voice generation and AI-generated podcasts that users love.

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2024 RECAP

The biggest developments in AI this year (continued)

AI makes waves in coding and marketing: Coding and marketing emerged as the two biggest AI use cases this year. In coding, Cursor was the breakout tool of the year and a favorite among developers and engineers, with v0 by Vercel coming in as a close second. On the marketing side, tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and Canva AI cemented their place in the tech stack.

AI is flipping the script on search: For years, Alphabet's Search reigned over the internet. Now, AI's got it looking over its shoulder. Perplexity is possibly the biggest hit among consumers since ChatGPT, ditching the endless links with short and accurate answers. But OpenAI hasn’t been content to watch from the sidelines, as it announced Search in ChatGPT a few months back, bringing live search results straight to the chat.

AI is getting comfy on your devices: It’s growing more consumer-friendly by the day, with OpenAI and Anthropic dropping desktop apps for ChatGPT and Claude, bringing the chatbots to Windows and Mac. Meta’s making waves by weaving AI into WhatsApp and Instagram, while Apple and Samsung upgraded their mobile devices with advanced AI features. Features like Artifacts also proved to be a big hit in the Claude web app.

Agents finally started to deliver on their hype: Agents are autonomous software programs powered by large language models that can perform complex tasks on behalf of users. Think of it as an AI that can order food, send emails, and perform other tasks on your behalf. Early demos from OpenAI, Alphabet, and Anthropic look promising, and agentic tools like Lindy are gaining traction among users.

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PRODUCTIVITY

The Best AI Apps of 2024

1. Perplexity: An AI-powered search assistant that provides concise answers and insights by summarizing information from multiple sources, streamlining the research process.

2. Claude: A powerful conversational AI tool that excels in understanding context and delivering nuanced responses. Helps with a variety of tasks, from writing emails to reviewing code.

3. ChatGPT: An advanced AI chatbot designed to assist users in generating human-like text for various applications, enhancing creativity and productivity.

4. Cursor: A coding assistant that helps developers write and debug code efficiently, enhancing productivity through intelligent suggestions and real-time feedback.

5. ElevenLabs: A voice synthesis tool that produces realistic speech from text, enabling applications in audiobooks, virtual assistants, and more.

6. HeyGen: An AI tool that generates personalized video content from text prompts, allowing users to create engaging narratives without extensive video editing skills.

7. Gamma: An AI-driven platform that enables users to create stunning presentations and visual content, transforming ideas into engaging visuals effortlessly.

8. Suno: An AI music generation platform that composes original tracks based on user-defined parameters, catering to diverse musical styles and preferences.

9. Midjourney: An AI art generator that transforms textual descriptions into visually stunning artworks, pushing the boundaries of digital creativity.

10. NotebookLM: A smart note-taking application that organizes and summarizes information effectively, helping users retain knowledge and streamline their study processes.

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Zain & the Superhuman AI team