Weekly Link Roundup #54
The news is just coming too fast......multiple newsletters coming....
ChatGPT's AI agent Operator is now available for most Pro users: Think about what will happen to compliance training when I can just have an AI agent take that InfoSec awareness training for me > > “The tool is powered by a model called Computer-Using Agent (CUA) that's trained to see and interact with the buttons, menus and text fields people see when they visit a website. It can click buttons, type on text fields and basically interact with those elements "using all the actions a mouse and keyboard allow." And more: Google’s powerful ‘Deep Research’ Gemini AI arrives in Workspace.
A.I. Is Prompting an Evolution, Not Extinction, for Coders (gift link): If you want an upstream signal for how things will change, here you go. Remember, change is inevitable, adaptation is not > > “The skills software developers need will change significantly, but A.I. will not eliminate the need for them,” said Arnal Dayaratna, an analyst at IDC, a technology research firm. “Not anytime soon anyway.”
Microsoft’s new AI agent can control software and robots: This is what I mean when I talk about the importance of doing future modeling, strategic foresight work, and/or experimenting with AI right now. The tech will be there and if you wait until you see it, you’ll be miles behind the competition who is exploring > > “On Wednesday, Microsoft Research introduced Magma, an integrated AI foundation model that combines visual and language processing to control software interfaces and robotic systems. If the results hold up outside of Microsoft's internal testing, it could mark a meaningful step forward for an all-purpose multimodal AI that can operate interactively in both real and digital spaces.” More on this: Microsoft Researchers Present Magma: A Multimodal AI Model Integrating Vision, Language, and Action for Advanced Robotics, UI Navigation, and Intelligent Decision-Making.
Building an Ideation Agent System with AutoGen: Create AI Agents that Brainstorm and Debate Ideas: This might be fun > > “Ideation processes often require time-consuming analysis and debate. What if we make two LLMs come up with ideas and then make them debate about those ideas? Sounds interesting right? This tutorial exactly shows how to create an AI-powered solution using two LLM agents that collaborate through structured conversation.”
Brace yourself: The era of 'citizen developers' creating apps is here, thanks to AI: I don’t think many orgs are even close to being ready for this- not the CIO, not the CEO, and certainly not the CHRO > > “Generative AI (Gen AI) has eliminated much of the grunt work of building applications for professional software developers. Now, the question is: can citizen developers also benefit from this new paradigm in code creation? Some experts certainly think so. Over the coming year, citizen developers will deliver 30% of Gen AI-infused automation apps, predicted Craig Le Clair, principal analyst with Forrester.”
Mistral's new AI model specializes in Arabic and related languages: More of these will be needed > > “Paris-based AI startup Mistral is focusing on providing large language models (LLMs) that understand regional-specific languages and are tailored to grasp the cultural nuances sometimes overlooked in larger, more general-purpose models trained to be versed in multiple languages.”
Microsoft’s Muse AI can design video game worlds after watching you play: “Microsoft researchers have achieved what many in artificial intelligence considered a distant goal: teaching AI to understand and interact with three-dimensional spaces the way humans do. The breakthrough comes in the form of Muse, an AI model that can comprehend and generate complex gameplay sequences while maintaining consistent physics and character behaviors.” Here’s the lede > > “The main limitation for applications beyond gaming is access to high-quality data,” Hofmann told VentureBeat.”> > Think of what kind of data MSFT can already access within your corporate environment. I’m not saying this to scare monger or saying they’d do anything nefarious - the opposite but just think if you have M365 deployed, that means email, Word, PPT, Teams, Excel….all become ingestible…maybe it leads to an office redesign, maybe it leads to better data on WFH vs RTO, maybe a lot of things but these potential/possible/probable futures need exploration and now.
OpenAI's 'Operator' Shows Why They'll Build a Web Browser: Don’t sleep on the browser, its still our main interface to the world > > “To me, the most interesting aspect of OpenAI's new 'Operator' product – their first real agent – is not what it can do, but how it does it. Unlike the early iterations of similar products from Anthropic and Google, 'Operator' doesn't take over your computer, it outsources the work you want to do to OpenAI's computer in the cloud. And like so many of us these days, that computer really is just using one app: the web browser.”
Understanding AI decision-making: Research examines model transparency: I’m saying now, I feel some sort of trustworthiness stamp or seal of approval coming - don’t know how meaningful it will be but I think it will show > > “Are we putting our faith in technology that we don't fully understand? A new study from the University of Surrey comes at a time when AI systems are making decisions impacting our daily lives—from banking and health care to crime detection. The study calls for an immediate shift in how AI models are designed and evaluated, emphasizing the need for transparency and trustworthiness in these powerful algorithms.” Like this > > New AI framework aims to remove bias in key areas such as health, education and recruitment.
How DeepSeek And ‘Knowledge Distillation’ Will Reshape Medicine: This applies to not just DeepSeek but all open models > > “However, DeepSeek’s greatest impact on medicine won’t come from its model alone. Instead, it will come from how healthcare innovators leverage its open-source availability to build a new generation of AI-powered medical tools.”
We don't need startups, we need Digital-Mittelstand: The anthropologist in me loves this insight (with no value judgement attached) “The reason is simple: Silicon Valley isn’t merely a hub of companies, tax breaks, and venture capital—it’s a unique ecosystem driven by culture” coupled with “In Germany, the cultural landscape is strikingly different.” > > The article is an interesting read but I do wish more people would get that clue that different cultures are actually different.
Effect of swearing on physical performance: a mini-review: Noted. > > “Swearing, or using taboo language with the potential to offend, has been shown to improve physical performance during short and intense tasks requiring strength and power development.”
#swearing lol!!