Progress, Pitfalls, and Shifting Paradigms

Shards from the brave new world await you. Grab a cozy spot, pour a tall one, and let this radical Weekend dispatch transport you to the thrilling precipice of tomorrow.

Apr 26, 2024

AI Index 2024: U.S. Dominates, Costs Skyrocket. The latest AI Index Report is out, and the numbers don’t lie: The AI race is heating up, but the US is still leading the competition. Although developing foundational models seems to come at jaw-dropping training costs, in the context of a nation-state, the required investments seem pretty manageable—which makes you wonder why we don’t see more government-funded development in this space.

Amazon’s Robot Army Surges, Human Workforce Shrinks. Amazon’s robotic workforce has skyrocketed to over 750,000, while its human employee count has dipped by 100,000 since 2021. As the company deploys advanced bots like Sequoia and Digit to streamline operations, concerns arise about the future of human labor in an increasingly automated world. Meanwhile UK’s online grocer Ocado already packs 15% of all products using robots.

Zipline’s Million Milestone: Drones Delivering Mainstream. Drone-delivery company Zipline just hit 1 million commercial drone deliveries. From novelty to necessity, autonomous delivery is taking off. While skeptics scoff, visionaries see a future where drones are as common as delivery trucks. Personally I doubt you will see mass deployment of drones in urban areas, but rather see them complement and partially replace other forms of last mile delivery in areas which are hard(er) to service. The skies are opening up…

AI Beauty Queens: Fake Progress, Real Harm. A new AI beauty pageant, “Miss AI,” claims to be a leap forward but instead reinforces unrealistic and sexualized beauty standards. Despite promises of inclusivity, the competition’s AI judges and contestants epitomize the toxic norms that brands and creators seem all too eager to exploit. Flawless, fake influencers fueled by toxic norms—is this really the best we can do with AI’s potential?

What We Are Reading

💸 A Baby Born This Year Could Lose $1 Million Over Their Lifetime Because Of Climate Change The cost of climate change is affecting our wallets now, but future generations will bear the brunt. A new study reveals that an American born in 2024 could lose $1 million over their lifetime due to climate change, highlighting the urgent need for action to protect our children’s financial future. @Jane

🦗 An Animated Guide To The Rare 2024 Cicada Co-emergence The news of cicadas emerging is everywhere. This animated article shows us exactly what will happen and how the nymphs will live underground for a minimum of 13 years! @Mafe

⚡️ Tesla Is Not The Next Ford. It’s The Next Con Ed. With its EV business struggling, Tesla looks increasingly likely to find its best future—and greatest impact—as an energy company. @Jeffrey

📊 Diversity Goals Are Disappearing From Companies’ Annual Reports Changes in how companies report on their DEI efforts in their annual reports hint at the complexity that teams are navigating. Not only do they have to find the best ways to invest in DEI, but they also need to properly report about it. @Julian

🔍 Adam Grant On How To Identify And Develop High-potential Leaders Identifying and developing high-potential leaders requires a clear understanding of the capabilities required for strategic problem-solving in today’s complex and fast-paced environment. @Pedro

📱 End The Phone-based Childhood Now A generation in crisis: How the rise of the “phone-based childhood” has led to a mental health epidemic among Gen Z. Discover the urgent steps we must take to save our youth from the perils of the digital age. @Pascal

Bits & Pixels

Disruption: Meta’s Llama 3 narrows the divide between proprietary and open-source AI, shaking the foundations of the industry. In the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, can any company maintain a lasting edge?

Gamechanger: Move over, massive LLMs. The real magic is happening with small, locally-run models like Microsoft’s Phi-3. Packing a punch that rivals giants, this is the future of accessible AI.

Infrastructure: Wondering how to actually deploy your fine-tuned LLM? Navigating the complex landscape of GPUs, serverless providers, and cost-efficient strategies. Experts on HackerNews weigh in on the challenges and solutions for bringing your AI to life.

Learning: AI is set to revolutionize education, and this paper by Ethan Mollick shows how, using just some clever prompts. From personalized simulations to AI-powered mentoring, instructors can now create tailored learning experiences like never before.

Misguided: Morpheeus creates and reads AI-powered bedtime stories in your own voice. While the tech is impressive, we can’t help but wonder if outsourcing imagination is really the best way to inspire the next generation.

Reinvention: Bayer’s bold move: slashing bureaucracy, empowering employees, and saving billions. Self-organized teams, 90-day project cycles, and the removal of middle managers... Will this radical reinvention cure what ails the pharma giant? Time will tell but one thing is for sure—the status quo wasn’t working. However, if as the Fortune headline suggests, this move is primarily motivated by cost-cutting then I have a sense of where this will go…

Stagnation: Excited about the revamped Calculator in macOS 15? Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice. But when a calculator update is the highlight, it might be time to rethink our definition of innovation.

Some Fun Stuff

Move over, Spot. Bittle, the palm-sized, open-source robodog, is here to steal hearts, not break the bank. 🐶💰 For a fraction of the cost, this pint-sized powerhouse packs a punch. The future of robotics just got a lot more accessible—and adorable. 🤖

Some random fun links:

What We Are Up To

Check out Jane’s new initiative, “Common Ground,” focused on reviving and reinventing civil discourse. Read her latest article, “How AI Can Make Political Discussions More Civil”.

If you are interested, you can get “Common Ground” as a weekly newsletter here.