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😺 You're NOT competing with AI

😺 You're NOT competing with AI

PLUS: an open letter to teachers on AI

Noah Edelman & Pete Huang
August 21, 2023

Welcome, humans.

We’ve all come to know AI as meaning “artificial intelligence.” Here are some alternative meanings that give the classic definition a run for its money: Afternoon Iced-Tea, Artisan Ice-Cream, & Avocado Invasion. 🥑

Here’s what you need to know about AI today:

40% of the workforce will need to reskill due to AI.
GPT-4 scored a 3.57 GPA o a collection of Harvard essays.
A judge ruled that AI artwork cannot be copyrighted.
AI2 open-sourced a 3-trillion token dataset.

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It’s Not AI vs. Humans. It’s AI + Humans vs. Humans.

AI won’t replace humans, but humans with AI will replace humans without AI — HBR.

We agree.

Despite popular opinion, AI is largely incapable of doing entire jobs (like data analyst). However, it is great at doing specific tasks within many jobs (like data cleaning).

Take this example. In March, designers freaked out over a software called CTRHero claiming to be the “AI to replace thumbnail artists.” Reality check: the tool was mid (we can confirm).

Meanwhile, thumbnail artists who have embraced AI tools like Midjourney and Generative Fill are producing superior thumbnails way faster:

Why it matters: The lesson here is to learn how to use AI to do your job better.

This means reskilling. In fact, execs surveyed by IBM predict that 40% of their workforce will require reskilling due to AI.

Reskilling will differ based on profession, but we recommend starting with Google Cloud’s intro AI courses and our Intro To ChatGPT course (biased but true!) and then figuring out where AI is relevant in your daily tasks.

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Reskilling Needs To Happen In Schools, Too.

Dear Wonderful Teachers,

As the skills required for success in the workplace evolve, so too must the skills you teach in the classroom.

Here's the challenge, though. With many kids back in class this week, schools seem more preoccupied with catching AI cheaters than considering whether their teaching is even up to date.

Just last month, GPT-4 score a 3.57 GPA in a series of Harvard essays, aligning with the average Harvard GPA due to their renowned grade inflation!

There’s no easy answer for educators, but we think step #1 is welcoming AI in the classroom, not ignoring it.

Two Wharton Professors published 7 strategies for integrating AI into education, such as using it for feedback, explanations, and simulations.

Plus, here’s the prompting strategy they use in the paper (bookmark for later):

Role: Tell the AI who it is.
Goal: Tell the AI what to do.
Step-by-step instructions.
Examples.
Personalization.
Add constraints.
Try & refine the prompt.

Around the Horn 🦄

AI artwork cannot be copyrighted, a US District Court judge ruled.
Big advertisers are using AI to cut costs and boost output.
Microsoft might offer Databricks’ software in Azure to help customers build AI apps.
Celebrities are trying to “claim” and profit from AI-generated recreations of themselves.
AI2, an AI research nonprofit, released an enormous dataset — 3 trillion tokens — for public use.