The Jousting of AI Titans: Google and OpenAI

In a world of smart machines, who will outsmart whom?

At the heart of this thrilling battle lies a fundamental question: What is the true purpose of artificial intelligence?

Greg's Words

Inevitable.  I've heard this era of AI/ChatGPT as an "iPhone moment" meaning that AI is being mass-accepted like the iPhone was in the very beginning.

But there's more - AI has been referred to as "the most significant technological advancement in human history".  This is huge, not like analog to digital copiers.  More along the lines of discovering fire or inventing the wheel.  We are at a fork in the road, "this is the most important fork humanity has reached in over 100,000 years on our planet...We're building, effectively a new species..."(Max Tegmark, Lex Freidman podcast, Ep #371)

It doesn't get much 'headier' than that, does it?

So today, Google is squaring off against Microsoft in the battle of the AIs.

We submitted four separate articles to the AI in the Sky and requested a 1,110-word reflection on the AI battle as it stands today.

Enjoy.

Executive Summary:

1. Google merges Brain and DeepMind to intensify AI research.
2. Company races to build AI-powered search engine in response to ChatGPT.
3. Google Bard AI and Jasper AI compete in the realm of language models.

________

The AI Sales Revolution: How Artificial Intelligence is Shaping the Sales Landscape

When AI and Salespeople Join Forces: Unstoppable Sales Machines

Greg's Words

To all my copier, IT, managed print services, and IT services brothers and sisters - The way your prospects purchase is changing right now. 

Your world is going to change; for better or worse, it is going to RADICALLY alter everything you do.  You have a choice, today, that will determine if it is better or worse.

I've seen transformation before - from typewriters to PCs, from receptionists to voice mail to email to IM to the internet.  I can see patterns only because I've lived through them.  I remember a time before 911, the Great Recession, the Fear of Covid, and the mass acceptance of AI. 

This is the big one. But there is a significant difference.  

This time, instead of change occurring over a decade, like the PC boom; rather than the half-decade-long journey from 'interwebs' to the internet, unlike the four-year turn from no social to everything social, and contrary to a 24-month move from cubicle to the second bedroom, this transformation is measured in hours and days.

Since the introduction of ChatGPT in November of 2022, hundreds of new apps have been developed to work with OpenAI.  Venture capital is pouring into new, AI firms in Silicon Valley, Microsoft threw in 11 billion dollars of its own, and Alphabet issued a "Red Alert" drawing battle lines in the metaphoric sand.

I implore you to use AI in your everyday functions.  Today, you can generate a customized thank you email, a 2-page proposal, a needs assessment survey, and a findings document in less time than it takes to get the copier warmed up.

And they won't be templates.  The documents will contain whatever numbers, findings, and recommendations you discover and generate. From your notes to finished, personalized and specific documents in minutes.

There's so much more, but you've got to get in and wrestle with AI on your terms.  The technology is malleable, like clay, waiting for you to create.

Executive Summary:

• AI is transforming sales by automating repetitive tasks, streamlining processes, and increasing efficiency.
• Sales professionals are adapting to the new AI-driven landscape, focusing on relationship-building and strategic thinking.
• Despite concerns about job loss, many experts believe AI will complement human skills rather than replace them.

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The Turbulent Truth: Climate Change and Airborne Chaos

Climate change may be bad, but don't blame it for your bumpy flights just yet.

Greg's Words

"Climate Change" is a crock. It always has been; different names, same narrative.  

It started with the best intentions - stop littering, "Give a Hoot.  Don't Pollute", 1970.  But as the world moved away from the Evil Empire, AKA The Communist Threat of the USSR, the search for the next 'great threat' went into full gear.  

The Ice Age of the 70s, Acid Rain in 1980, Hole in the Ozone in 1987, "The Oceans will be dead in 10yrs", 1988, The Oceans will rise and flood New York City, 1988, the arctic will be ice-free by 2015, on and on.

Don't get me wrong, mankind impacts the environment yet just like the death of Lake Erie in the 1960s, the death of mankind has (always) been exaggerated.

A few weeks back, climate experts were pitching the notion that climate was responsible for the increase in the number of home runs in the MLB.  So it was with piqued interest I engaged with the WSJ article, "Heavy Turbulence on Flights Is Likely to Get Worse" (PW).  Two articles in as many weeks connecting dots with climate change - I detect a whiteboard adorned with a narrative timeline.

Recently, climate experts posited that climate change played a role in the surge of home runs in MLB games. Intrigued by this claim, I delved into the WSJ article, "Heavy Turbulence on Flights Is Likely to Get Worse" (PW). Encountering two articles in quick succession linking seemingly unrelated phenomena to climate change - I sensed a whiteboard adorned with a narrative timeline.

I know, I know, Climate Change is real.  And UFOs are fake.  It's hard to deny. But these reach-around articles, from the Wall Street Journal no less, are getting hard to ignore.

So we threw four articles at the AI in the Sky, custom-built a prompt, and let it go.

Enjoy.

Executive Summary:

• Media sources commonly attribute increased turbulence to climate change.
• Scientific data and research reveal a more complex relationship.
• Other factors, such as jet streams and natural weather variations, contribute significantly to turbulence.
• Misleading conclusions may detract from focusing on the real issues at hand.

 ________