Hi
Hope you had excellent weekends one and all. Mine was spent actively trying to avoid any and all news about the US Presidential election – I am a political junkie but even I am done after the madness of this 2024 cycle. Anyway, let’s turn from that to the “relative calm” of the world of AI:
Game Over for Chatbots: Big Tech’s AI Agents Mean Business 🤖
Turns out it’s Enterprise AI dropping October Surprises – with both Salesforce’s launch of Agentforce and Microsoft dropping game-changing updates to its Copilot platform within days of each other. We’re way past chatbots here – these are decision-making powerhouses that can take independent action across entire business operations. The numbers? Mind-blowing: Wiley sees a 40% jump in case resolution, Honeywell gets productivity equivalent to 187 new employees, and Microsoft’s sales teams are closing 20% more deals. This isn’t just another tech update – it’s a fundamental shift in how work gets done.
This evolution in enterprise AI builds on what we’re seeing across the industry (including Claude’s wild new computer skills we covered last week). The future? AI that doesn’t just crunch numbers – it actively jumps into complex business workflows. Whether it’s Salesforce’s Atlas Reasoning Engine making calls across customer data or Microsoft’s Copilot Studio orchestrating business processes, we’re watching AI transform from helpful assistant to active workforce participant. The era of AI just taking notes from the sidelines? That’s officially dead. Welcome to the age of AI getting stuff done! 💪
OpenAI’s Search Revolution: ChatGPT Just Changed the Game Forever 🔍
OpenAI just transformed ChatGPT into a search powerhouse, backed by heavyweight partnerships with AP, Reuters, and major global publishers. While the rollout shows some early teething issues (as expected with any AI launch), early anecdotal tests suggest reduced hallucinations thanks to direct publisher feeds. The platform turns search into a fluid, contextual conversation, and this is just the beginning – with OpenAI’s cutting-edge o1 series, voice search, and visual canvas integration all in the pipeline.
Shopping and travel features are coming too, suggesting a massive expansion beyond traditional search. And with free access rolling out to all users in the coming months and accuracy improving by the day, Google’s search monopoly is facing its most serious challenge yet! ⚡
New desktop apps for Claude and OpenAI 💻
Big week for AI nerds (you know who you are 🤓):
- Claude has a desktop app (here for Mac and Windows). No fancy bells and whistles – it’s essentially the web version in app form – but still, no more browser-hopping to chat with your AI bestie! And for mobile users? They’re adding voice dictation to both Android and iOS apps. (Speaking of voice… )
- ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode has come to the desktop as well (process for accessing it here). This isn’t your standard voice assistant – we’re talking about an AI that can pick up on your emotional tone, let you cut it off mid-sentence (finally!), and even adjust its responses to match your vibe. Enjoy!
AI’s Dark Side: Tech Giants Caught Promoting Racist Pseudoscience 🚨
In a massive tech industry fumble, Google, Microsoft, and Perplexity AI have been caught amplifying dangerous racial pseudoscience through their cutting-edge search tools. When users search for national IQ data, these AI powerhouses serve up thoroughly debunked “research” claiming genetic superiority between races – work so flawed it bases entire country’s intelligence scores on as few as 19 people! 🤯
The implications are seriously concerning. While Google rushed to patch this massive oversight after being exposed, we’re seeing a disturbing pattern of how AI systems can accidentally mainstream extremist ideologies. The message is clear: as AI gets more powerful, its potential to amplify harmful misinformation grows exponentially. Time for Big Tech to step up its game!
Minimax Mayhem: When AI Gets Accidentally Hilarious 🎬
While everyone’s chasing perfect prompts, the real gold here is in the gloriously awkward fails (like here from Midjourney/Minimax master Rory Flynn ) with what feels like an absurdist film festival generator 🎨
Want to try it yourself? Here’s the secret sauce:
- For MidJourney vibes: Think “movie that should never exist” (add –chaos 20 for extra weirdness) or “found footage of [insert unlikely creature]” with –stylize 75
- For Minimax magic: Just remember [camera motion] + [characters] + [action]. Think “shaky cam of Bigfoot doing awkward wave” or “tracking shot of dudes offering ice cream to confused cashier”
Pro tip: Forget trying to make it perfect. The wonky animations and unintentionally hilarious outcomes are where the real fun lives. After all, sometimes the best art is the art we never meant to make! 🎪
What a week! We’ve seen enterprise AI flex its muscles with Salesforce and Microsoft’s autonomous agents, ChatGPT evolving into a serious search contender, desktop apps making AI more accessible than ever, and important reminders about AI’s current limitations. But hey, at least Minimax is keeping us entertained with its accidental masterpieces! From business transformation to unintentional art – AI continues to surprise us in both planned and unplanned ways. 🎭