Welcome, humans.
We attended a business conference last week and everyone was talking about AI. Marketers. Salespeople. Customer support. Writers. Janitors.
(not even kidding about the last one … nerding out in the loo was the closest I’ve ever been to euphoria)!
Here’s what you need to know about AI today:
- Roblox’s AI assistant generates 3D assets from text prompts.
- Humans still create more novel ideas than AI.
- Our take on Google's AI search so far: it's decent.
- AI requires a lot of water to cool down data centers.
AI Lowers Technical Barriers, Makes Creativity More Important.
Video game platform Roblox’s AI assistant lets creators generate virtual items and backgrounds with text prompts. Here’s how it works:
User says: “Create a spooky nighttime atmosphere” → Roblox adds a spooky color palette, fog and haze, and a larger moon.
Spooky indeed. Another cool feature at Roblox’s developer conference was the ability to create an avatar using just a photo and text prompt. Expect these tools by EOY or early ‘24.
Why it matters: AI is lowering the technical barrier to create new things. With a simple text prompt, ChatGPT can code a website. Code Interpreter can analyze data. Roblox can build games.
This doesn’t mean AI makes technical skills obsolete (sigh, CS majors). What it does mean is that AI supercharges technical people who are ALSO very creative.
With AI, any developer can instantly create any new Roblox experience. The differentiator, then, becomes the type of experience a creator decides to manifest.
The takeaway? Creativity will set you apart in the AI era. Plus, creativity is something humans are still better than AI at: research shows that humans produce more original ideas than AI…
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Google’s AI Search “SGE” Is Rolling Out.
We’ve been testing Google’s new AI-powered search “SGE” for weeks. For context, instead of generating a list of clickable links, SGE spits out a summarized answer with options for follow-ups.
The verdict? SGE is strong as a search engine, but mid as a chatbot. Like cold-pizza-mid.
The positives: In many instances, SGE outshines the OG Google Search. It delivers answers quicker, guiding users to websites or videos only when necessary. We’ve used it for:
- Definitions / synonyms.
- Searching people / places.
- Researching history / concepts.
The bad: SGE shines for research but not task execution. When compared to ChatGPT, it has:
- A slower response time.
- Difficulty with long prompts.
- A cluttered user interface.
Why it matters: It’s early, but our bet is that AI-powered summaries and interactive chat are the future of online search. Early feedback on SGE indicate that users love snapshot responses with the ability to probe further.
Right now, we only have access to the AI search part of SGE. Two upcoming features we’re eagerly anticipating:
- AI-powered summaries of webpages.
- Understanding and debugging code.
Around the Horn.
- How to hire a great COO for your company in the AI era.
- ChatGPT is giving some users multiple responses to learn which one is better.
- Microsoft’s water consumption rose 34% last year in large part due to AI.
- Reid Hoffman on how to shape AI to create a better world.
Treat To Try.
Everyone always asks up how we find the AI gold. One answer: Hacker News. It’s where all the tech-y nerds hang out.
A different tool, HackYourNews, uses AI to summarize all the top Hacker News stories and comments in one place.
Great way to keep up with the latest innovations / trends.
We curated the top 27 tools you need for work in our “Top Tools For Business”!
Monday Meme.
A Cat's Commentary.
That’s all for today, for more AI treats, check out our website.
See you cool cats on Twitter: @nonmayorpete & @noahedelman02