Your weekly briefing on all things AI
Presented by Clark Valberg

A recent interview with Marc Andreessen shed some light on the numerous tech leaders who endorsed Trump in this election. He shared startling insights about the government’s ambitions to classify and regulate AI so tightly that only 2-3 (controlled) companies could survive. Yet, while regulatory barriers loom, technology marches forward, making AI cheaper, more powerful, and more accessible than ever. This juxtaposition raises big questions: Can regulation hold back a tidal wave of accessibility? Or are we witnessing the democratization of AI despite efforts to consolidate its control?

Let’s dive in… 

> OpenAI Giving More Bang For Buck

> Powerful AI Dev Kits Under $250 Each

> DemoStack: Create Product Demos That Speak to Each Customer

> Crusoe’s $600M Funding Boosts AI Infrastructure Expansion

> Step-by-Step Guide to Using ChatGPT Projects

OpenAI has launched its most advanced model yet, making AI more accessible and affordable for businesses. The o1 model uses 60% fewer reasoning tokens and costs as little as $15 for 750,000 words (1 million tokens), while the budget-friendly o1-mini starts at just $3. Dramatic price cuts of up to 87.5% for GPT-4o with voice could also speed up the use of voice-based AI in areas like customer service and education. For businesses, this means building custom AI solutions is now more affordable, turning once "too expensive" projects into realistic opportunities.

More Stories

• ChatGPT- o1 Attempts To Deactivate Oversight Mechanisms 5% of the Time (futurism)

• Meta Joins Musk's OpenAI Battle: Letters Fly, Receipts Dropped (techcrunch)

• OpenAI Whistleblower Found Dead Amid Copyright Clash (mercurynews)

• ChatGPT Can Now Process Real-Time Video, Seven Months Following OpenAI’s Initial Demo. (techcrunch)

• Meta Unveils Live AI, Translation, and Shazam Integration in Smart Glasses. (theverge)

• Head of Design at ElevenLabs Uses Google’s Veo2 To ReImagine Game of Thrones. (ammar-reshi)

• Google Introduces Project Mariner: AI Agents to Browse the Web for You. (techcrunch)

• Cohere Teams Up with Palantir to Deploy AI Models. (techcrunch)

• Google Tests New Image Generator That Combines Three Images into One. (techcrunch)

Real Estate | Protecting Homes from AI Scams

In a recent incident in Florida, scammers employed AI-generated deepfake technology in an attempt to fraudulently sell real estate. Posing as "Margaret McCartney," the perpetrators used a deepfake video during a Zoom call with Florida Title and Trust to impersonate the property's owner. Lauren Albrecht, the company's president, noted several red flags, including inconsistencies in the seller's claimed location and tax records. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the image used in the deepfake belonged to Margrit Pritchard, a 76-year-old woman missing from California since May 2018. (local10)

Healthcare & Biotech | From Blindness to Perfect Sight

A blind woman now sees sharper than 20/20 after undergoing revolutionary AI-assisted eye surgery. The procedure not only restored her sight but enhanced it to levels beyond natural human vision. This breakthrough marks a new chapter in medical technology, showcasing AI's potential to transform lives and redefine healthcare possibilities. (telegraph)

Finance & Banking | Financial Services Gobbling Up Computer Science Graduates

Recent tech graduates are increasingly drawn to the financial services sector, with 22% of Cornell University’s 2023 computer science graduates and 19% of Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz College master’s graduates entering the field (19-37% increases from prior years). This trend highlights how finance is leveraging tech talent to innovate in areas like algorithmic trading, AI-driven risk analysis, and digital banking solutions. (wsj)

Technology | More AI Power - Half the Price 

Nvidia’s $249 Jetson Orin Nano Super Developer Kit democratizes AI development with 67 trillion operations per second (TOPS) and 102GB/s memory bandwidth, offering unmatched performance at a low cost. This compact AI supercomputer targets small businesses and startups, enabling rapid prototyping in robotics, visual AI, and automation. By lowering entry barriers, Nvidia is poised to accelerate AI adoption, giving industry leaders a cost-effective tool to gain competitive advantages and scale innovation. (theverge)

Retail & E-commerce | AI Agent Shopping- The Numbers Are In

Salesforce reported that AI and AI agents drove $14.1 billion in online sales globally on Black Friday this year, with the usage of AI-enabled online chat services growing 31% year over year. Additionally, traffic to retail sites from chatbots on Black Friday increased by 1,800% compared to Black Friday last year, according to Adobe Analytics. (retailtouchpoints)

Media & Entertainment | 10 Minute Videos in Under 10 Minutes

Higgsfield has launched ReelMagic, an AI-driven platform that turns story concepts into cohesive 10-minute videos in under 10 minutes. Using specialized AI agents and partnerships with firms like ElevenLabs, it automates scriptwriting, casting, filming, and editing. Currently tested by Hollywood studios, ReelMagic aims to revolutionize video production by enabling seamless, long-form storytelling. (X)

Showcase Your Product the Smart Way with Demostack

Demostack, a Tiferes portfolio company, is a cutting-edge platform that helps businesses create personalized product demos that connect directly with potential customers. Using AI, it tailors the demo experience to highlight features that matter most to each viewer, making the sales process more engaging and effective. With easy-to-use tools, seamless integrations, advanced analytics and real-time collaboration, Demostack ensures that your product demos not only captivate your audience but also drive conversions.

More Tools:

• Animate AI: all-in-one AI video generator that creates animated series quickly and cost-effectively.

• Twelve Labs: creates AI to analyze and search videos like humans. 

• AI Quiz Generator: quickly creates custom quizzes from any text or topic.

• SynthID by Google Deepmind: identifies AI-generated images through invisible watermarks.

• Deta Surf: AI assistant that helps you organize, access, and manage your digital life efficiently.

• iMemo: records audio notes and uses AI for transcriptions, summaries, and translations in over 100 languages.

• QRDex.io:  user-friendly tool for creating and customizing QR codes with options for tracking and branding.

• Crusoe raises $600M to transform AI data centers. (siliconangle)

• Vultr raises $333M at a $3.5B valuation to buy more GPUs for it’s AI cloud. (wsj)

• Liquid AI raises $250M to develop next-gen, energy-efficient AI models. (techcrunch)

• Fleet Space secures $100M to expand satellite-powered mineral exploration tech. (techcrunch)

• Anybotics raises $60M to advance autonomous industrial robotics in the U.S. (techcrunch)

• iRobot co-founder’s new home robot venture targets $30M in funding. (techcrunch)

• Microsoft’s M12 invests an additional $22.5M in NeuBird, following its $22M seed funding. (techcrunch)

_. Prompting Tip _.

Step-by-Step Guide to Using ChatGPT Projects

OpenAI's "Projects" feature in premium ChatGPT accounts is designed to help you organize tasks, files, and conversations more efficiently, making it easier to manage multiple projects. Whether you're handling research, client work, or team collaborations, this feature groups everything you need in one place for better workflows and productivity. (full walkthrough here)

How to Use Projects in ChatGPT:

1. Create a Project: Set up a new project with the + symbol in the lefthand navigation.

   

2. Add Files & Chats: Upload relevant documents such as PDFs, spreadsheets, images, and any conversations linked to the project.

3. Organize: Categorize documents by type or topic, like sorting tasks, meeting notes, or research into separate folders for easy access.

4. Collaborate: Invite others to join the project if desired.