- 🗼 Lighthouse — Newsletter by Future Works
- Posts
- Major OpenAI shakeup
Major OpenAI shakeup
Also, Google’s legal setback, and possible signs of Mars life
Matt Leta
August 09, 2024
In partnership with
Welcome to your Lighthouse!
In today's lineup:
🧑🤝🧑 People
Innovation Champion: Yoshua Bengio on guarding the gates of AI safety.
Perseverance Rover’s major discovery in Mars.
New method merges traditional and quantum internet.
🤖 Robots
Open AI co-founder joins rival, deepening focus on AI alignment.
Google's monopoly on search declared illegal.
PaddleBoat revolutionizes sales training.
❤️ Love
Hero’s Journey: Xavier Helgesen’s humble beginnings to energy revolution.
Personal Development: Georgetown’s modern guide to navigating ethics.
Personal Growth: Innovate smarter with the How Now Wow Matrix.
Reading time: 5 min.
PEOPLE 👥
Innovation Champion 🏆
Image: Brian Ach | 2016 Getty Images
Yoshua Bengio is an AI researcher and professor at the University of Montreal for over 30 years. He won the Turing Award in 2018 alongside Geoffrey Hinton for their work in deep learning.
Bengio's research has laid the groundwork for modern AI advancements, including large language models, generative adversarial networks (GANs), and attention mechanisms in neural networks. Bengio has testified before the U.S. Senate and published papers on AI policy and governance. Bengio plans to shift his research focus towards technical AI-safety research to develop safeguards against potential risks.
NASA's Perseverance rover has discovered a rock on Mars named Cheyava Falls, which possesses chemical compositions and structures potentially formed by ancient microbial life. While not conclusive evidence of life, the presence of organic compounds, calcium sulfate veins suggesting water flow, and "leopard spots" similar to fossilized microbes on Earth make it a significant finding.
Why this matters: The need for further analysis of Martian samples underscores the importance of AI and robotics in future space missions. This discovery highlights the importance of collaboration between space exploration, AI, and tech industries.
Researchers from the Institute of Photonics at Leibniz University Hannover developed a new method for transmitting entangled photons over optical fibers, paving the way for a more secure and integrated internet experience.
Why this matters: This innovation allows for the simultaneous transmission of quantum and conventional data through a single optical fiber, addressing a key challenge in the development of hybrid networks.
ROBOTS 🤖
John Schulman, co-founder of OpenAI, to join rival AI startup Anthropic. Schulman aims to deepen his focus on AI alignment research. Despite controversies surrounding OpenAI's approach to AI safety, Schulman states his decision is personal and driven by his career goals. His departure leaves only three of the original eleven founders at OpenAI.
Why this matters: Schulman’s move could foster new collaborations and cross-pollination of ideas between OpenAI and Anthropic. This can potentially accelerate advancements in AI safety and alignment research, benefiting the broader tech community.
A federal judge ruled that Google violated US antitrust law with its search business, marking a significant legal setback for the tech giant. The judge deemed Google a monopolist that engaged in anti-competitive practices to maintain its dominance in the search market.
Why this matters: This ruling has the potential to reshape how millions of Americans access information online and could impact Google's dominance in the market. The case underscores the growing scrutiny of Big Tech and its market practices, which could have far-reaching implications for the tech industry as a whole, including the development and deployment of AI technologies.
One Process 💡
Build a Support Bot with Markprompt in 5 Steps
Markprompt makes it easy to build a support bot that interacts with customers and resolves their issues using your knowledge base.
1. Create a Project
Start by heading to the Markprompt dashboard and creating a new project.
2. Connect Data Sources
In the data tab, connect your data sources, such as websites, Salesforce, Zendesk, Notion, or GitHub. This ensures the bot has access to relevant information.
3. Set Up the Assistant
Go to the Markprompt playground to give your assistant custom instructions, including branding, tone, and behavior in specific situations. Test it by asking questions to ensure it performs as expected.
4. Deploy Your Assistant
Deploy your assistant as a chatbot on your website, a Slack bot, a Salesforce or Zendesk assistant, or a Raycast extension. Follow the step-by-step guides provided for easy setup.
5. Monitor and Improve
Once live, monitor real-time conversations and data in the threads tab. Use the insights dashboard to track performance, identify issues, and continually improve your assistant for better customer support.
Learn more here
Tool Spotlight 🔧
PaddleBoat is a platform designed to enhance sales training through hyper-realistic AI roleplays, allowing sales teams to practice and perfect their pitches in a risk-free environment.
AI Roleplays: Practice realistic sales scenarios with AI-driven roleplays.
QuicKraft: Quickly create custom training programs using your business context.
SCORM Compliance: Easily integrate ready-made courses.
Learn more here
Your Personal Board of Directors is here.
Being a leader is hard. And every day, there’s a ton of things you’d love advice on, but there’s no one to ask.
Enter Sidebar. A staggering 93% of users say Sidebar has been a game-changer in their professional path. Using their matching engine and a unique vetting process, Sidebar finds your people. Think of it like a personal board of directors. Sidebar’s small groups are led by world-class facilitators, so you’re never wasting time. Get the advice you need and get back to crushing your goals.
Nerd Corner 🤓
Reinforcement Learning
Reinforcement Learning (RL) is a learning paradigm where agents learn by interacting with their environment. Through trial and error, the agent takes actions to maximize cumulative rewards, adapting its strategy based on feedback.
Key Characteristics:
Interaction-Based: Agents learn through environment interaction.
Trial and Error: Explores different actions to find the best strategies.
Maximizes Rewards: Focuses on accumulating the highest rewards over time.
LOVE ❤️
Hero’s Journey ☄️
Xavier Helgesen
Xavier Helgesen, Co-founder and CEO of Off Grid Electric, grew up in a low-income family and faced early funding challenges. Despite obstacles, his dedication to renewable energy led him to deploy sustainable solutions in developing countries.
Helgesen's leadership has made Off Grid Electric a leader in transforming energy access. His journey from humble beginnings to innovative energy solutions showcases his resilience and vision, marking him as a hero in sustainable energy.
Personal Development 📚
Understand the ethics behind decision-making with this self-paced, introductory course from Georgetown University. Learn about the ethical concerns facing international corporations today and how to assess necessary restrictions.
Key learnings:
Ethical concerns in international business
Manipulative marketing practices
Cultural and environmental impact assessment
Effective leadership through ethical decision-making
Personal Growth 🌱
How Now Wow
The How Now Wow Matrix is a tool designed to categorize and evaluate ideas based on their originality and ease of implementation. It helps prioritize innovative solutions effectively, balancing creativity with practicality to drive organizational success.
Key Components:
How: Innovative but challenging to implement ideas.
Now: Familiar and easy to implement ideas.
Wow: Both innovative and easy to implement ideas.
Using the How Now Wow Matrix, leaders can focus on high-value, feasible ideas, fostering a culture of innovation within their organizations.
In Culture 🤌
THAT’S A WRAP!🚀
Spread the Light!
If you enjoyed this week’s newsletter, why not share it? Forward it to colleagues, friends, or anyone who might benefit. Help us grow our informed community!
Hot Deal Alert: Refer 5 friends and get $1000 credit towards a project with us.
P.S. Every share matters. Thank you for being a vital part of our journey! 💙
And if you want daily insights to help you thrive in the Age of AI, follow me on LinkedIn.
Do you have suggestions or thoughts related to the above, just reply to this email.
💡 How are we doing? |
THANK YOU!
— Matt and the Future Works team
Reply