Table of Contents

• This Week

• Business Use Cases

• Things to Pay Attention to

This Week

Bottom Line Up Front

• ChatGPT has grown significantly since its launch in 2022, with an estimated 700 million users and 18 billion messages sent weekly.

• According to OpenAI researchers, AI models can complete tasks roughly 100 times faster and cheaper than experts, but workers still spend 41% of their time fact-checking and reworking AI-generated content.

• The platform has expanded its capabilities, including the integration of text, images, audio, and video, and has become a utility rather than a novelty.

• Despite predictions of achieving Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) soon, the author is skeptical and expects incremental improvements rather than a sudden emergence of AGI, with ChatGPT likely to become more specialized and integrated into daily life.

Business Use Cases

Why is this important

• AI is used to map insights from internal knowledge, such as documents and meeting files, to surface patterns and contradictions.

• AI-powered tools like Gemini Deep Research and NotebookLM help build a "brain library" that grows smarter over time, supporting strategic reflection and scenario planning.

• AI is applied to various tasks, including analyzing meeting transcripts, reverse-engineering success from past projects, automating workflows, and extracting insights from email patterns, to reduce cognitive load and increase productivity.

• Across all the AI-powered hacks, a pattern emerges, where AI has not reduced the workload but has reduced the cognitive load by making decisions easier, planning clearer, thinking more structured, and reflection faster, ultimately helping individuals to hold complexity and maintain creativity.

Bottom Line Up Front

• Microsoft is likely to win a leadership position in the corporate AI market, leveraging its Microsoft 365 install base and deep relationships with IT, with announcements such as WorkIQ, Agent 365, and Microsoft Foundry.

• Google is targeting the software development community and Chief Technology Officers with its AI platform, Gemini, and has a strong position in the market for AI code generators.

• Other companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Oracle, ServiceNow, SAP, and Workday, are also making significant moves in the AI market, with each finding their own niche and strategy to stay relevant.

Bottom Line Up Front

• A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study found that artificial intelligence (AI) can already replace 11.7% of the U.S. labor market, equivalent to $1.2 trillion in wages.

• The study used the Iceberg Index, a labor simulation tool created by MIT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to simulate the impact of AI on 151 million U.S. workers.

• The index provides a detailed map of where disruption is forming, allowing policymakers to identify exposure hotspots, prioritize training and infrastructure investments, and test interventions to address the impact of AI on the workforce.

Bottom Line Up Front

• AI influencers, such as Aitana Lopez, are being created with backstories and personalities, and are gaining significant followings on social media.

• These AI influencers are being used by major brands, including Amazon, Calvin Klein, and Samsung, and are able to produce content without the limitations of human influencers.

• The use of AI influencers is raising concerns in various industries, including music and acting, with some arguing that they are a threat to human creators, while others see them as a new form of animation or digital character.

Things to Pay Attention to

Bottom Line Up Front

• The U.S. Navy must adapt to rapid technological change, including the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic machines, to sustain its sea power.

• The emergence of AI and robotic technologies presents a new challenge, requiring the Navy to adapt quickly, with potential strategies including a specialized technical organization, merging AI responsibilities into the Information Warfare Community, or an educational approach to develop AI expertise across the officer corps.

• The emergence of intelligent machines may prove to be the most important technological development in human and military history, and adapting to this change will require the best minds, machines, and resources, as well as an educated officer corps to solve problems with no historical precedent, with initiatives such as the Secretary of the Navy's Education Board already underway to help the Naval University System adapt to AI..

Bottom Line Up Front

• Kazakhstan can help the United States power its AI revolution by providing secure energy, resilient digital infrastructure, and diversified supply chains.

• The two countries have announced initiatives to deepen cooperation in digital infrastructure and high-performance computing, including a $2 billion regional AI Compute Hub in Kazakhstan in partnership with NVIDIA.

• Kazakhstan's resources, such as uranium, copper, and rare earth elements, can support the development of AI infrastructure, and the country's digital transformation can help the US achieve its goals of expanding trusted AI capacity and diversifying computing resources.

Bottom Line Up Front

• Humanity is struggling to adapt to the rapid pace of technological change, particularly with the arrival of AI, which may lead to an "adaptation gap" where our ability to evolve and make wise decisions is outpaced by the speed of technological advancements.

• The convergence of technological acceleration and human limitations creates an imperative for strategic options, including building adaptive capacity, making wisdom operational, and preserving human agency while using AI as a tool, as discussed by researchers like Grant H. Brenner and Vaswani.

• To address this challenge, it is essential to act before the crisis feels urgent, make wisdom operational through practices like epistemic hygiene and safety frameworks, and build from multiple directions simultaneously while planning together, as suggested by experts like Kosmyna and Brenner.

Bottom Line Up Front

• University of Texas professor Steven Mintz believes that AI didn't break the college system, but rather exposed its existing flaws.

• Mintz argues that the traditional education model, with mass lectures and formulaic essays, had already dehumanized education before AI emerged.

• He suggests that schools should automate rote learning and focus on developing skills that require human thinking and mentorship, such as critical reading, research, and creative problem-solving.

Bottom Line Up Front

• Scammers are using AI to create fake retailer websites, phishing emails, and deepfake videos to trick holiday shoppers, with U.S. consumers losing over $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024.

• According to Larry Zelvin, Head of Security Advisory at BMO, AI-powered scams are more convincing and harder to detect, making it essential for consumers to be more skeptical.

• To protect themselves, consumers are advised to verify sources, avoid clicking on links, and use credit cards for stronger fraud protection, as well as being cautious of "limited time offers" and researching unfamiliar sellers.