corporate / business world

Expanding Bard’s understanding of YouTube videos — via AI Valley

What: We’re taking the first steps in Bard’s ability to understand YouTube videos. For example, if you’re looking for videos on how to make olive oil cake, you can now also ask how many eggs the recipe in the first video requires.
Why: We’ve heard you want deeper engagement with YouTube videos. So we’re expanding the YouTube Extension to understand some video content so you can have a richer conversation with Bard about it.

Reshaping the tree: rebuilding organizations for AI — from oneusefulthing.org by Ethan Mollick
Technological change brings organizational change.

I am not sure who said it first, but there are only two ways to react to exponential change: too early or too late. Today’s AIs are flawed and limited in many ways. While that restricts what AI can do, the capabilities of AI are increasing exponentially, both in terms of the models themselves and the tools these models can use. It might seem too early to consider changing an organization to accommodate AI, but I think that there is a strong possibility that it will quickly become too late.

From DSC:
Readers of this blog have seen the following graphic for several years now, but there is no question that we are in a time of exponential change. One would have had an increasingly hard time arguing the opposite of this perspective during that time.

Nvidia’s revenue triples as AI chip boom continues — from cnbc.com by Jordan Novet; via GSV

KEY POINTS

Nvidia’s results surpassed analysts’ projections for revenue and income in the fiscal fourth quarter.
Demand for Nvidia’s graphics processing units has been exceeding supply, thanks to the rise of generative artificial intelligence.
Nvidia announced the GH200 GPU during the quarter.

Here’s how the company did, compared to the consensus among analysts surveyed by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:

Earnings: $4.02 per share, adjusted, vs. $3.37 per share expected
Revenue: $18.12 billion, vs. $16.18 billion expected

Nvidia’s revenue grew 206% year over year during the quarter ending Oct. 29, according to a statement. Net income, at $9.24 billion, or $3.71 per share, was up from $680 million, or 27 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

DC: Anyone surprised? This is why the U.S. doesn’t want high-powered chips going to China. History repeats itself…again. The ways of the world/power continue on.

Pentagon’s AI initiatives accelerate hard decisions on lethal autonomous weapons https://t.co/PTDmJugiE2

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) November 27, 2023

Amazon aims to provide free AI skills training to 2 million people by 2025 [Sivasubramanian]

On 11/22/2023, in Amazon, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, corporate / business world, education, platforms, programming, skills, training / L&D, United States, youth, by Daniel Christian

Amazon aims to provide free AI skills training to 2 million people by 2025 with its new ‘AI Ready’ commitment — from aboutamazon.com by Swami Sivasubramanian

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the most transformative technology of our generation. If we are going to unlock the full potential of AI to tackle the world’s most challenging problems, we need to make AI education accessible to anyone with a desire to learn.

That’s why Amazon is announcing “AI Ready,” a new commitment designed to provide free AI skills training to 2 million people globally by 2025. To achieve this goal, we’re launching new initiatives for adults and young learners, and scaling our existing free AI training programs—removing cost as a barrier to accessing these critical skills.

From DSC:
While this will likely serve Amazon just fine, it’s still an example of the leadership of a corporation seeking to help others out.

From DSC:
The recent drama over at OpenAI reminds me of how important a few individuals are in influencing the lives of millions of people.

We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo.

We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) November 22, 2023

The C-Suites (i.e., the Chief Executive Officers, Chief Financial Officers, Chief Operating Officers, and the like) of companies like OpenAI, Alphabet (Google), Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Netflix, NVIDIA, Amazon, Apple, and a handful of others have enormous power. Why? Because of the enormous power and reach of the technologies that they create, market, and provide.

We need to be praying for the hearts of those in the C-Suites of these powerful vendors — as well as for their Boards.

LORD, grant them wisdom and help mold their hearts and perspectives so that they truly care about others. May their decisions not be based on making money alone…or doing something just because they can.

What happens in their hearts and minds DOES and WILL continue to impact the rest of us. And we’re talking about real ramifications here. This isn’t pie-in-the-sky thinking or ideas. This is for real. With real consequences. If you doubt that, go ask the families of those whose sons and daughters took their own lives due to what happened out on social media platforms. Disclosure: I use LinkedIn and Twitter quite a bit. I’m not bashing these platforms per se. But my point is that there are real impacts due to a variety of technologies. What goes on in the hearts and minds of the leaders of these tech companies matters.

Some relevant items:

Navigating Attention-Driving Algorithms, Capturing the Premium of Proximity for Virtual Teams, & New AI Devices — from implactions.com by Scott Belsky

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

No doubt, technology influences us in many ways we don’t fully understand. But one area where valid concerns run rampant is the attention-seeking algorithms powering the news and media we consume on modern platforms that efficiently polarize people. Perhaps we’ll call it The Law of Anger Expansion: When people are angry in the age of algorithms, they become MORE angry and LESS discriminate about who and what they are angry at.
…
Algorithms that optimize for grabbing attention, thanks to AI, ultimately drive polarization.
…
The AI learns quickly that a rational or “both sides” view is less likely to sustain your attention (so you won’t get many of those, which drives the sensation that more of the world agrees with you). But the rage-inducing stuff keeps us swiping.

Our feeds are being sourced in ways that dramatically change the content we’re exposed to.

And then these algorithms expand on these ultimately destructive emotions – “If you’re afraid of this, maybe you should also be afraid of this” or “If you hate those people, maybe you should also hate these people.”
…
How do we know when we’ve been polarized? This is the most important question of the day.
…
Whatever is inflaming you is likely an algorithm-driven expansion of anger and an imbalance of context.

WOW!!! “The [OpenAI] board no longer has confidence in [Sam Altman’s] ability to continue leading OpenAI.”

On 11/17/2023, in Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, change, corporate / business world, Daniel S. Christian, ethics, hearts -- matters of the heart, leadership, morals/values, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

OpenAI announces leadership transition — from openai.com
Chief technology officer Mira Murati appointed interim CEO to lead OpenAI; Sam Altman departs the company. Search process underway to identify permanent successor.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

The board of directors of OpenAI, Inc., the 501(c)(3) that acts as the overall governing body for all OpenAI activities, today announced that Sam Altman will depart as CEO and leave the board of directors. Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, will serve as interim CEO, effective immediately.
…
Mr. Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.

…
As a part of this transition, Greg Brockman will be stepping down as chairman of the board and will remain in his role at the company, reporting to the CEO.

From DSC:
I’m not here to pass judgment, but all of us on planet Earth should be at least concerned with this disturbing news.

AI is one of the most powerful set of emerging technologies on the planet right now. OpenAI is arguably the most powerful vendor/innovator/influencer/leader in that space. And Sam Altman is was the face of OpenAI — and arguably for AI itself. So this is a big deal.

What concerns me is what is NOT being relayed in this posting:

What was being hidden from OpenAI’s Board?
What else doesn’t the public know?
Why is Greg Brockman stepping down as Chairman of the Board?

To whom much is given, much is expected.

Also related/see:

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman ousted, shocking AI world — from washingtonpost.com by Gerrit De Vynck and Nitasha Tiku
The artificial intelligence company’s directors said he was not ‘consistently candid in his communications with the board’

Altman’s sudden departure sent shock waves through the technology industry and the halls of government, where he had become a familiar presence in debates over the regulation of AI. His rise and apparent fall from tech’s top rung is one of the fastest in Silicon Valley history. In less than a year, he went from being Bay Area famous as a failed start-up founder who reinvented himself as a popular investor in small companies to becoming one of the most influential business leaders in the world. Journalists, politicians, tech investors and Fortune 500 CEOs alike had been clamoring for his attention.

OpenAI’s Board Pushes Out Sam Altman, Its High-Profile C.E.O. — from nytimes.com by Cade Metz

Sam Altman, the high-profile chief executive of OpenAI, who became the face of the tech industry’s artificial intelligence boom, was pushed out of the company by its board of directors, OpenAI said in a blog post on Friday afternoon.

From DSC:
Updates — I just saw these items

After learning today’s news, this is the message I sent to the OpenAI team: https://t.co/NMnG16yFmm pic.twitter.com/8x39P0ejOM

— Greg Brockman (@gdb) November 18, 2023

.
Sam Altman fired as CEO of OpenAI — from theverge.com by Jay Peters
In a sudden move, Altman is leaving after the company’s board determined that he ‘was not consistently candid in his communications.’ President and co-founder Greg Brockman has also quit.

As you saw at Microsoft Ignite this week, we’re continuing to rapidly innovate for this era of AI, with over 100 announcements across the full tech stack – from AI systems, models, and tools in Azure, to Copilot. Most importantly, we’re committed to delivering all of this to our…

— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) November 17, 2023

Where a developing, new kind of learning ecosystem is likely headed [Christian]

On 11/17/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, career development, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, distance education, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, faculty, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, lifelong learning, love of learning, marketplaces, microlearning, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, platforms, professional development, reinvent, skills, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, society, streams of content, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, training / L&D, trends, ubiquitous learning, United States, universities, using teams, vendors, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, vocational / trades, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
As I’ve long stated on the Learning from the Living [Class]Room vision, we are heading toward a new AI-empowered learning platform — where humans play a critically important role in making this new learning ecosystem work.

Along these lines, I ran into this site out on X/Twitter. We’ll see how this unfolds, but it will be an interesting space to watch.

From DSC:
This future learning platform will also focus on developing skills and competencies. Along those lines, see:

Scale for Skills-First — from the-job.beehiiv.com by Paul Fain
An ed-tech giant’s ambitious moves into digital credentialing and learner records.

A Digital Canvas for Skills
Instructure was a player in the skills and credentials space before its recent acquisition of Parchment, a digital transcript company. But that $800M move made many observers wonder if Instructure can develop digital records of skills that learners, colleges, and employers might actually use broadly.
…

Ultimately, he says, the CLR approach will allow students to bring these various learning types into a coherent format for employers.

Instructure seeks a leadership role in working with other organizations to establish common standards for credentials and learner records, to help create consistency. The company collaborates closely with 1EdTech. And last month it helped launch the 1EdTech TrustEd Microcredential Coalition, which aims to increase quality and trust in digital credentials.

Paul also links to 1EDTECH’s page regarding the Comprehensive Learning Record

From the military to the workforce: How to leverage veterans’ skills [mckinsey.com]

On 11/11/2023, in business, career development, change, corporate / business world, skills, United States, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From the military to the workforce: How to leverage veterans’ skills — from mckinsey.com
Traditional ways of hiring make it harder for many service members to land civilian jobs. A new approach could help veterans transition to the workforce—and add $15 billion to the US economy.

This is where military veterans can make a difference. Veterans represent a source of labor potential that is untapped relative to the breadth of experience and depth of skills that they acquire and develop during their service. Members of the military receive technical training, operate under pressure in austere environments, and develop strong interpersonal skills throughout their service, making them well qualified for numerous civilian occupations. While not every military role is directly transferrable to a civilian job, most skills are—including those that correspond to US industries experiencing labor shortages, such as infrastructure and manufacturing.

Learning Corporate Learning — Newsletter #70 [Arenaza & Narea]

On 11/11/2023, in business, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, learning ecosystem, simulations, tools, training / L&D, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Learning Corporate Learning — Newsletter #70 — from transcend.substack.com by Alberto Arenaza and Michael Narea
A deep-dive into the corporate learning-edtech market for startups

The Transcend Newsletter explores the intersection of the future of education and the future [of] work, and the founders building it around the world.

Lastly, we look at four product categories within L&D:

Content: libraries of learning content covering a wide range of topics (Coursera & Udemy for Business, Pluralsight, Skillsoft). Live classes are increasingly a part of this category, like Electives, Section or NewCampus.
Upskilling: programs focused on learning new skills (upskilling) or relocation of talent within the company (reskilling), both being more intensive than just content (Multiverse, Guild).
Coaching: support from coaches, mentors or even peers for employees’ learning (BetterUp, CoachHub, Torch).
Simulations: a new wave of scalable learning experiences that creates practice scenarios for employees (Strivr, SimSkills)

Why Kindness at Work Pays Off [Swinand]

On 11/11/2023, in business, collaboration, communications, communities of practice, corporate / business world, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, ethics, hearts -- matters of the heart, ideas, marketplaces, morals/values, productivity / tips and tricks, relationships, society, vendors, vocational / trades, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Why Kindness at Work Pays Off — from hbr.org by Andrew Swinand; via Roberto Ferraro

Summary:
Whether you’re just entering the workforce, starting a new job, or transitioning into people management, kindness can be a valuable attribute that speaks volumes about your character, commitment, and long-term value. Here are a few simple routines you can integrate into your everyday work life that will spread kindness and help create a culture of kindness at your organization.

Practice radical self-care. The best way to be a valuable, thoughtful team member is to be disciplined about your own wellness — your physical, emotional, and mental well-being.
Do your job. Start with the basics by showing up on time and doing your job to the best of your ability. This is where your self-care practice comes into play — you can’t do your best work without taking care of yourself first.
Reach out to others with intention. Make plans to meet virtually or, even better, in person with your colleagues. Ask about their pets, their recent move, or their family. Most importantly, practice active listening.
Recognize and acknowledge people. Authentic, thoughtful interactions show that you’re thinking about the other person and reflecting on their unique attributes and value, which can cement social connections.
Be conscientious with your feedback. Being kind means offering feedback for the betterment of the person receiving it and the overall success of your company.

“When anxiety is high and morale is low, kindness isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity. With mass layoffs, economic uncertainty, and geopolitical tensions, kindness is needed now more than ever, especially at work.”

From DSC:
The following item from The Washington Post made me ask, “Do we give students any/enough training on email etiquette? On effective ways to use LinkedIn, Twitter/X, messaging, other?”

You’re emailing wrong at work. Follow this etiquette guide. — from washingtonpost.com by Danielle Abril
Get the most out of your work email and avoid being a jerk with these etiquette tips for the modern workplace

Most situations depend on the workplace culture. Still, there are some basic rules. Three email and business experts gave us tips for good email etiquette so you can avoid being the jerk at work.

Consider not sending an email
Keep it short and clear
Make it easy to read
Don’t blow up the inbox
…and more

From DSC:
I would add to use bolding, color, italics, etc. to highlight and help structure the email’s key points and sections.

“13 Nuggets of AI Wisdom for Higher Education Leaders” [Klitgaard Stricker] + other AI-related items for our learning ecosystems

On 11/10/2023, in 21st century, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, education, education reform, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, IT in HE, law schools, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, liberal arts, library / librarians, lifelong learning, Microsoft, platforms, teaching & learning, trends, universities, by Daniel Christian

A future-facing minister, a young inventor and a shared vision: An AI tutor for every student — from news.microsoft.com by Chris Welsch

The Ministry of Education and Pativada see what has become known as the U.A.E. AI Tutor as a way to provide students with 24/7 assistance as well as help level the playing field for those families who cannot afford a private tutor. At the same time, the AI Tutor would be an aid to teachers, they say. “We see it as a tool that will support our teachers,” says Aljughaiman. “This is a supplement to classroom learning.”

If everything goes according to plan, every student in the United Arab Emirates’ school system will have a personal AI tutor – that fits in their pockets.

It’s a story that involves an element of coincidence, a forward-looking education minister and a tech team led by a chief executive officer who still lives at home with his parents.

In February 2023, the U.A.E.’s education minister, His Excellency Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, announced that the ministry was embracing AI technology and pursuing the idea of an AI tutor to help Emirati students succeed. And he also announced that the speech he presented had been written by ChatGPT. “We should not demonize AI,” he said at the time.

Fostering deep learning in humans and amplifying our intelligence in an AI World — from stefanbauschard.substack.com by Stefan Bauschard
A free 288-page report on advancements in AI and related technology, their effects on education, and our practical support for AI-amplified human deep learning

Six weeks ago, Dr. Sabba Quidwai and I accidentally stumbled upon an idea to compare the deep learning revolution in computer science to the mostly lacking deep learning efforts in education (Mehta & Fine). I started writing, and as these things often go with me, I thought there were many other things that would be useful to think through and for educators to know, and we ended up with this 288-page report.

***

Here’s an abstract from that report:

This report looks at the growing gap between the attention paid to the development of intelligence in machines and humans. While computer scientists have made great strides in developing human intelligence capacities in machines using deep learning technologies, including the abilities of machines to learn on their own, a significant part of the education system has not kept up with developing the intelligence capabilities in people that will enable them to succeed in the 21st century. Instead of fully embracing pedagogical methods that place primary emphasis on promoting collaboration, critical thinking, communication, creativity, and self-learning through experiential, interdisciplinary approaches grounded in human deep learning and combined with current technologies, a substantial portion of the educational system continues to heavily rely on traditional instructional methods and goals. These methods and goals prioritize knowledge acquisition and organization, areas in which machines already perform substantially better than people.

Also from Stefan Bauschard, see:

Debating in the World of AI
Performative assessment, learning to collaborate with humans and machines, and developing special human qualities

13 Nuggets of AI Wisdom for Higher Education Leaders — from jeppestricker.substack.com by Jeppe Klitgaard Stricker
Actionable AI Guidance for Higher Education Leaders

Incentivize faculty AI innovation with AI.

Invest in people first, then technology.

On teaching, learning, and assessment. AI has captured the attention of all institutional stakeholders. Capitalize to reimagine pedagogy and evaluation. Rethink lectures, examinations, and assignments to align with workforce needs. Consider incorporating Problem-Based Learning, building portfolios and proof of work, and conducting oral exams. And use AI to provide individualized support and assess real-world skills.

Actively engage students.

Some thoughts from George Siemens re: AI:

Sensemaking, AI, and Learning (SAIL), a regular look at how AI is impacting learning.

Our education system has a uni-dimensional focus: learning things. Of course, we say we care about developing the whole learner, but the metrics that matter (grade, transcripts) that underpin the education system are largely focused on teaching students things that have long been Google-able but are now increasingly doable by AI. Developments in AI matters in ways that calls into question large parts of what happens in our universities. This is not a statement that people don’t need to learn core concepts and skills. My point is that the fulcrum of learning has shifted. Knowing things will continue to matter less and less going forward as AI improves its capabilities. We’ll need to start intentionally developing broader and broader attributes of learners: metacognition, wellness, affect, social engagement, etc. Education will continue to shift toward human skills and away from primary assessment of knowledge gains disconnected from skills and practice and ways of being.

AI, the Next Chapter for College Librarians — from insidehighered.com by Lauren Coffey
Librarians have lived through the disruptions of fax machines, websites and Wikipedia, and now they are bracing to do it again as artificial intelligence tools go mainstream: “Maybe it’s our time to shine.”

A few months after ChatGPT launched last fall, faculty and students at Northwestern University had many questions about the building wave of new artificial intelligence tools. So they turned to a familiar source of help: the library.

“At the time it was seen as a research and citation problem, so that led them to us,” said Michelle Guittar, head of instruction and curriculum support at Northwestern University Libraries.

In response, Guittar, along with librarian Jeanette Moss, created a landing page in April, “Using AI Tools in Your Research.” At the time, the university itself had yet to put together a comprehensive resource page.

From Dr. Nick Jackson’s recent post on LinkedIn:

Last night the Digitech team of junior and senior teachers from Scotch College Adelaide showcased their 2023 experiments, innovation, successes and failures with technology in education. Accompanied by Student digital leaders, we saw the following:

AI used for languagelearning where avatars can help with accents
Motioncapture suits being used in mediastudies
AI used in assessment and automatic grading of work
AR used in designtechnology
VR used for immersive Junior school experiences
A teacher’s AI toolkit that has changed teaching practice and workflow
AR and the EyeJack app used by students to create dynamic art work
VR use in careers education in Senior school
How ethics around AI is taught to Junior school students from Year 1
Experiments with MyStudyWorks

Almost an Agent: What GPTs can do — from oneusefulthing.org by Ethan Mollick

What would a real AI agent look like? A simple agent that writes academic papers would, after being given a dataset and a field of study, read about how to compose a good paper, analyze the data, conduct a literature review, generate hypotheses, test them, and then write up the results, all without intervention. You put in a request, you get a Word document that contains a draft of an academic paper.

A process kind of like this one:

What I Learned From an Experiment to Apply Generative AI to My Data Course — from edsurge.com by Wendy Castillo

As an educator, I have a duty to remain informed about the latest developments in generative AI, not only to ensure learning is happening, but to stay on top of what tools exist, what benefits and limitations they have, and most importantly, how students might be using them.

However, it’s also important to acknowledge that the quality of work produced by students now requires higher expectations and potential adjustments to grading practices. The baseline is no longer zero, it is AI. And the upper limit of what humans can achieve with these new capabilities remains an unknown frontier.

Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: Trick or Treat? — from tytonpartners.com by Kristen Fox and Catherine Shaw
.

Innovative growers: A view from the top [Banholzer, Doherty, Morris, & Schwaitzberg]

On 11/10/2023, in business, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, culture, higher education, innovation, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Innovative growers: A view from the top — from mckinsey.com by Matt Banholzer, Rebecca Doherty, Alex Morris, and Scott Schwaitzberg
McKinsey research shows that a focus on aspiration, activation, and execution can help companies out-innovate and outgrow peers.

To find out, we identified and analyzed about 650 of the largest public companies that achieved profitable growth relative to their industry between 2016 and 2021 while also excelling in the essential capabilities associated with innovation.3 Some of these companies outgrew their peers, others were more innovative than competitors, but 53 companies managed to do both. The 50-plus “innovative growers,” as we call them, are a diverse group, spread across four continents and ten industries. They include renowned brands with a trillion-dollar market capitalization as well as smaller companies that are just starting to make a name for themselves, some as young as three years old (see sidebar, “Where do innovative growers come from?”).

For all their diversity, these companies consistently excel in both growth and innovation—and they share a number of best practices that other companies can learn from.

Do innovative growers perform better than others?

In a word, yes.

From DSC:
I’m adding higher ed to the categories of this posting, as we need to establish more CULTURES of innovation out there. But this is not easy to do, as those of us who have tried to swim upstream know.

Also see:

The eight essentials of innovation — from mckinsey.com by

New models and developer products announced at DevDay — from openai.com
GPT-4 Turbo with 128K context and lower prices, the new Assistants API, GPT-4 Turbo with Vision, DALL·E 3 API, and more.

Today, we shared dozens of new additions and improvements, and reduced pricing across many parts of our platform. These include:

New GPT-4 Turbo model that is more capable, cheaper and supports a 128K context window
New Assistants API that makes it easier for developers to build their own assistive AI apps that have goals and can call models and tools
New multimodal capabilities in the platform, including vision, image creation (DALL·E 3), and text-to-speech (TTS)

Introducing GPTs — from openai.com
You can now create custom versions of ChatGPT that combine instructions, extra knowledge, and any combination of skills.

I’m genuinely blown away by this.

The leap from text descriptions straight to 3D models? It’s next-level.

Think about the possibility: a stream of prompts turns into a treasure trove of 3D pieces. Gather them, and you’ve got a full scene ready to come to life.

The thought… pic.twitter.com/x79WEeY1iq

— Linus (???) (@LinusEkenstam) November 8, 2023

It’s only been 11 hours since OpenAI Dev Day

Here are 12 of the craziest things people have already built already

Including AI Sports narrator and website roaster.

? Thread below

— Linus (???) (@LinusEkenstam) November 7, 2023

OpenAI’s New Groundbreaking Update — from newsletter.thedailybite.co
Everything you need to know about OpenAI’s update, what people are building, and a prompt to skim long YouTube videos…

But among all this exciting news, the announcement of user-created “GPTs” took the cake.

That’s right, your very own personalized version of ChatGPT is coming, and it’s as groundbreaking as it sounds.

OpenAI’s groundbreaking announcement isn’t just a new feature – it’s a personal AI revolution.

The upcoming customizable “GPTs” transform ChatGPT from a one-size-fits-all to a one-of-a-kind digital sidekick that is attuned to your life’s rhythm.

Lore Issue #56: Biggest Week in AI This Year — from news.lore.com by Nathan Lands

First, Elon Musk announced “Grok,” a ChatGPT competitor inspired by “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” Surprisingly, in just a few months, xAI has managed to surpass the capabilities of GPT-3.5, signaling their impressive speed of execution and establishing them as a formidable long-term contender.

Then, OpenAI hosted their inaugural Dev Day, unveiling “GPT-4 Turbo,” which boasts a 128k context window, API costs slashed by threefold, text-to-speech capabilities, auto-model switching, agents, and even their version of an app store slated for launch next month.

The Day That Changed Everything — from joinsuperhuman.ai by Zain Kahn
ALSO: Everything you need to know about yesterday’s OpenAI announcements

OpenAI DevDay Part I: Custom ChatGPTs and the App Store of AI
OpenAI DevDay Part II: GPT-4 Turbo, Assistants, APIs, and more

OpenAI’s Big Reveal: Custom GPTs, GPT Store & More — from news.theaiexchange.com
What you should know about the new announcements; how to get started with building custom GPTs

Incredible pace of OpenAI — from theaivalley.com by Barsee
PLUS: Elon’s Gork

? OpenAI just dropped a HUGE update.

This is the biggest update since the launch of GPT-4.

Here are 9 things you need to know (with use cases): ? pic.twitter.com/Kc2nD6HNFm

— Barsee ? (@heyBarsee) November 7, 2023

Upskilling Workers to Match Workforce Demands [Koch]

On 11/02/2023, in adult learning, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, business, competency-based learning/education, corporate / business world, emerging technologies, skills, training / L&D, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Upskilling Workers to Match Workforce Demands — from learningguild.com by Brad Koch

If the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence by the general public in 2023 has taught us anything, it’s that much of the world is growing more comfortable with this technology and businesses will soon follow in individuals’ footsteps. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2023 published earlier this year reinforces the trend: More than 75% of companies are looking to adopt big data, cloud computing, and AI in the next five years.

At the same time, the report notes that 44% of workers’ core skills are expected to change in the next five years. Not only will workplaces need to equip their employees with the necessary skills to use the technologies being implemented, but they will also need to make sure employees have the skills to fill the roles that artificial intelligence cannot. Here’s how companies can prepare their workers for shifting demands in the next five years.

Expand industry-relevant training and partnerships with educational institutions

Also from learningguild.com, see:

Two L&D Trends to Follow: Personalization & Social Learning — by Pamela Hogle

Accenture Life Trends 2024 [accenture.com]

On 11/02/2023, in Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, business, change, corporate / business world, creativity, society, technology (general), trends, United States, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Accenture Life Trends 2024 — from accenture.com; via Mr. Bob Raidt on LinkedIn
The visible and invisible mediators between people and their world are changing.

In brief

The harmony between people, tech and business is showing tensions, and society is in flux.
Five trends explore the decline of customer obsession, the influence of generative AI, the stagnation of creativity, the balance of tech benefits and burden, and people’s new life goals.
Opportunity abounds for business and brands in the coming twelve months and beyond – read Accenture Life Trends 2024 to find out more.

5 Trends

01 Where’s the love?
Necessary cuts across enterprises have shunted customer obsession down the priority list—and customers are noticing.
02 The great interface shift
Generative AI is upgrading people’s experience of the internet from transactional to personal, enabling them to feel more digitally understood and relevant than ever.
03 Meh-diocrity
Creativity was once about the audience, but has become dependent on playing the tech system. Is this what creative stagnation feels like?
04 Error 429: Human request limit reached
Technology feels like it’s happening to people rather than for them—is a shift beginning, where they regain agency over its influence on daily life?
05 Decade of deconstruction
Traditional life paths are being rerouted by new limitations, necessities and opportunities, significantly shifting demographics.

“Shocking AI Statistics in 2023” [Makadia] + other items re: AI

On 11/01/2023, in 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), business, computer science, corporate / business world, data related items, emerging technologies, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, psychology, society, the downsides of technology, tools, trends, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Shocking AI Statistics in 2023 — from techthatmatters.beehiiv.com by Harsh Makadia

Chat GPT reached 100 million users faster than any other app. By February 2023, the chat.openai.com website saw an average of 25 million daily visitors. How can this rise in AI usage benefit your business’s function?
45% of executives say the popularity of ChatGPT has led them to increase investment in AI. If executives are investing in AI personally, then how will their beliefs affect corporate investment in AI to drive automation further? Also, how will this affect the amount of workers hired to manage AI systems within companies?
eMarketer predicts that in 2024 at least 20% of Americans will use ChatGPT monthly and that a fifth of them are 25-34 year olds in the workforce. Does this mean that there are more young workers using AI?
…plus 10 more stats

People are speaking with ChatGPT for hours, bringing 2013’s Her closer to reality — from arstechnica.com by Benj Edwards
Long mobile conversations with the AI assistant using AirPods echo the sci-fi film.

It turns out that Willison’s experience is far from unique. Others have been spending hours talking to ChatGPT using its voice recognition and voice synthesis features, sometimes through car connections. The realistic nature of the voice interaction feels largely effortless, but it’s not flawless. Sometimes, it has trouble in noisy environments, and there can be a pause between statements. But the way the ChatGPT voices simulate vocal ticks and noises feels very human. “I’ve been using the voice function since yesterday and noticed that it makes breathing sounds when it speaks,” said one Reddit user. “It takes a deep breath before starting a sentence. And today, actually a minute ago, it coughed between words while answering my questions.”

From DSC:
Hmmmmmmm….I’m not liking the sound of this on my initial take of it. But perhaps there are some real positives to this. I need to keep an open mind.

Working with AI: Two paths to prompting — from oneusefulthing.org by Ethan Mollick
Don’t overcomplicate things

Conversational Prompting [From DSC: i.e., keep it simple]
Structured Prompting

For most people, [Conversational Prompting] is good enough to get started, and it is the technique I use most of the time when working with AI. Don’t overcomplicate things, just interact with the system and see what happens. After you have some experience, however, you may decide that you want to create prompts you can share with others, prompts that incorporate your expertise. We call this approach Structured Prompting, and, while improving AIs may make it irrelevant soon, it is currently a useful tool for helping others by encoding your knowledge into a prompt that anyone can use.

These fake images reveal how AI amplifies our worst stereotypes — from washingtonpost.com by Nitasha Tiku, Kevin Schaul, and Szu Yu Chen (behind paywall)
AI image generators like Stable Diffusion and DALL-E amplify bias in gender and race, despite efforts to detoxify the data fueling these results.

Artificial intelligence image tools have a tendency to spin up disturbing clichés: Asian women are hypersexual. Africans are primitive. Europeans are worldly. Leaders are men. Prisoners are Black.

These stereotypes don’t reflect the real world; they stem from the data that trains the technology. Grabbed from the internet, these troves can be toxic — rife with pornography, misogyny, violence and bigotry.

Abeba Birhane, senior advisor for AI accountability at the Mozilla Foundation, contends that the tools can be improved if companies work hard to improve the data — an outcome she considers unlikely. In the meantime, the impact of these stereotypes will fall most heavily on the same communities harmed during the social media era, she said, adding: “People at the margins of society are continually excluded.”

ChatGPT app revenue shows no signs of slowing, but some other AI apps top it — from techcrunch.com by Sarah Perez; Via AI Valley – Barsee

ChatGPT, the AI-powered chatbot from OpenAI, far outpaces all other AI chatbot apps on mobile devices in terms of downloads and is a market leader by revenue, as well. However, it’s surprisingly not the top AI app by revenue — several photo AI apps and even other AI chatbots are actually making more money than ChatGPT, despite the latter having become a household name for an AI chat experience.

ChatGPT can now analyze files you upload to it without a plugin — from bgr.com by Joshua Hawkins; via Superhuman

According to new reports, OpenAI has begun rolling out a more streamlined approach to how people use ChatGPT. The new system will allow the AI to choose a model automatically, letting you run Python code, open a web browser, or generate images with DALL-E without extra interaction. Additionally, ChatGPT will now let you upload and analyze files.

Learning Ecosystems

“History repeats itself…again. The ways of the world/power continue on.” [Christian] + other items re: AI