Employee Performance?

☕️ Greetings! It's Wednesday, September 27th. Welcome back to my daily dive into the AI landscape.

!? A recent study co-conducted by BCG's Henderson Institute and top business schools reveals a double-edged sword with generative AI like ChatGPT-4. When aiding BCG consultants in creative product innovation, the chatbot boosted performance by 40%. However, its involvement led to a 23% dip in business problem-solving tasks. The language model shines in conceptual ideation but falters in nuanced analytical duties. Alarmingly, training on the chatbot's use resulted in overconfidence and worsened performance, signaling a need for more comprehensive instruction. For HR chiefs, it's a call to action for precise AI integration strategies.

Reference: (ChatGPT can boost or tank employee performance, depending on what tasks it’s used for)

🗞️ Today’s Highlights:

• LATEST NEWS & TRENDS — ChatGPT can now see, hear, and speak

• INDUSTRY | FUNCTION — How AI Can Improve Response Time to Potential Infectious Disease Outbreaks

• RESOURCES — Introducing the LLM Mesh: A Common Backbone for Generative AI Applications

• WORK — AI Copilots and the Future of Knowledge Work

• AI TOOLS — TryChatter: Dead simple LLM iteration and testing

• CHARTS — AI Adoption by Industry

🗞️ LATEST NEWS & TRENDS

1️⃣ ChatGPT can now see, hear, and speak

ChatGPT is expanding its interface to include voice and image capabilities, targeting Plus and Enterprise users initially. This marks a shift toward a more interactive user experience, where you can show and tell your AI assistant what you're focusing on. From identifying landmarks in real-time to assisting with dinner recipes and homework, these new features are designed for dynamic, everyday use and will be available across all platforms, including iOS and Android.

Video Source/Credit: The AI Advantage YouTube channel

2️⃣ Erik Brynjolfsson, a Stanford professor and director of its Digital Economy Lab, posits a bright future for human labor in the age of AI. Contrary to fears of mass unemployment, Brynjolfsson believes AI's value lies in augmenting human abilities rather than mimicking them, thereby generating more economic value. His research suggests that AI will not completely automate all tasks in any given job. He cites examples where AI increased worker productivity and sees the technology as a potential "elixir" for the U.S. economy. He also advocates for wider adoption of AI in businesses while maintaining data security.

Reference: (A top economist who studies AI says it will double productivity in the next decade: You need to embrace this technology and not resist it)

3️⃣ Vectara, a leader in Generative AI, has launched Boomerang, an advanced neural information retrieval model integrated into its GenAI platform. Boomerang excels in multilingual benchmarks and significantly mitigates issues of bias, hallucinations, and copyright concerns. It offers low-latency, cross-lingual support for hundreds of languages and dialects. The model enhances operational efficiency by reducing query execution time and improving result relevance, making it a critical asset for enterprises aiming for reliable and responsible AI adoption.

Reference: (Vectara Launches Boomerang: The Next-Gen Large Language Model Redefining GenAI Accuracy)

4️⃣ Amazon has announced a significant investment in Anthropic, a high-profile AI startup, signaling the tech giant's ambition to hold its ground against cloud competitors like Microsoft and Google in the AI arena. With an initial $1.25 billion investment, the deal offers Amazon's employees and cloud customers early access to Anthropic's technology while obliging the startup to primarily use Amazon's cloud services. The partnership promises mutual benefits, such as the improvement of Amazon's in-house AI chips, and provides Anthropic the financial backing to focus on ethical AI development.

Reference: (Amazon steps up AI race with up to $4 billion deal to invest in Anthropic)

5️⃣ Microsoft and Google recently unveiled generative AI tools that aim to revolutionize office tasks, such as attending meetings, writing emails, and project management. These tools are enterprise-focused and are built on technologies like ChatGPT and Dall-E. Microsoft's Copilot, an "everyday AI companion," integrates deeply with Windows 11 and Microsoft 365, simplifying various aspects of office work. These AI-driven advancements indicate a shift toward practical enterprise applications for generative AI, with consumer adoption likely to follow. High-stakes work environments may accelerate the mastery of these tools, potentially leading to broader, everyday use.

Reference: (The Generative AI War Is Being Waged in the Workplace)

🗞️ INDUSTRY | FUNCTION

👩‍⚕️ Bluedot, an AI-driven company, is revolutionizing public health by identifying infectious disease threats in real-time, a task that even governments lag behind in. Partnering with entities like pharmaceutical firms and health agencies, the company sifts through oceans of unstructured text to pinpoint outbreak indicators, enhancing response efficiency. However, they smartly retain the human element, acknowledging that AI isn't foolproof. This integrated approach has led to offerings like their ILI intelligence and bi-weekly reports, which combine both machine and human intelligence to provide more accurate and timely risk assessments.

Reference: (How AI Can Improve Response Time to Potential Infectious Disease Outbreaks)

🗞️ RESOURCES

The LLM Mesh, developed by Dataiku in partnership with leading tech firms like Snowflake and NVIDIA, aims to address the hurdles in deploying Generative AI at scale within enterprises. It offers a secure, cost-efficient, and flexible platform that bridges the gap between various AI models and applications. The Mesh tackles key challenges like application dependency, cost management, and compliance, allowing businesses to safely and effectively implement AI technologies.

Reference: (Introducing the LLM Mesh: A Common Backbone for Generative AI Applications)

🗞️ WORK

💻 Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott views AI as a groundbreaking platform, similar to the PC and smartphone eras. Partnering with industry leaders like OpenAI, Microsoft aims to use AI to boost developer productivity and usher in a new era of knowledge work. A constant query: where to find enough GPUs to meet the demand. The core takeaway? AI copilots could be a pivot point for making knowledge workers, especially developers, far more efficient.

Kevin sees the dawn of AI as a cognitive revolution, similar to how machines transformed physical labor during the Industrial Revolution. He argues that AI tools like Copilot will augment knowledge work, tackling societal deficits and eliminating menial tasks. He emphasizes that the most meaningful applications won't surface immediately but will evolve, much like smartphone apps did. Developer productivity, he notes, should focus on maintaining a 'flow state' for longer periods. Finally, Kevin urges organizations to reach a critical mass of AI adoption and entrepreneurs to focus on solving meaningful problems rather than trivialities.

Reference: Andreessen Horowitz (AI Copilots and the Future of Knowledge Work)

🗞️ AI TOOLS

Inari: Your intelligent AI copilot for business

Listening: Listen to Academic Papers on the Go

BlogToPod: Turn Your Blog Into A Podcast In Minutes

TryChatter: Dead simple LLM iteration and testing

Artie: Artie Transfer is an open source data integration platform that enables real-time data replication between databases and data warehouses.

Disclaimer: 1) The tool descriptions may include messaging from each tool site. 2) Please thoroughly read the site details before using and/or acquiring any of the tools listed above.

🗞️ CHARTS

 👀 A recent study reveals that 50% of organizations have implemented AI in some aspect of their operations. The finance sector leads the way, especially in risk management, reporting increases in revenue and cost reduction. AI job postings have increased in IT, professional services, and finance, signaling a rising demand for AI expertise. This data is part of the three-part Digital Evolution series sponsored by Global X ETFs, emphasizing that we're just scratching the surface of AI's transformative potential.

Source/Credit: Visual Capitalist (AI Adoption by Industry)

Generative AI Use Cases for the Financial Services Industry

Disclaimer: The audio-visual content is courtesy of the source provided above.

Join my community by subscribing to my newsletter below:

🔴 Please reply to the confirmation email sent to you, after submitting your email address to start receiving the newsletter.

My Community

Join my professional communities on LinkedIn

_{I'm not a newsletter expert so you might find my approach a tad different. In my daily dives into the world of AI, I handpick the latest gems, initially to support the AI projects that I’m working on. Realizing that these snippets might resonate with others, I thought, "Why not share this with my community and fellow AI enthusiasts?" I truly want this newsletter to be valuable to you so if there's anything on your mind—praises, critiques, or just a hello—please drop me a note. You can hit reply or shoot me a message directly at my email address: [email protected].}