• AI Academy
  • Posts
  • 🌓 The AI Year's Defining Moments

🌓 The AI Year's Defining Moments

Plus AI Academy’s Evolution

December 20, 2023

Hello AI Enthusiast,

As 2023 draws to a close, we're bringing you a special edition of our newsletter, journeying through the year's most significant AI developments, month by month. It's also a moment for us to reflect on our own evolution.

We began as 'Tech Pizza', blending our founder Gianluca Mauro's insightful opinion pieces with the latest in AI and tech. Today, we're the AI Academy Newsletter, your go-to source for all things AI, packed with easy-to-understand explanations, events, and initiatives of our company. This year we've sent out 50 emails, which have been opened a whopping 140.000 times! And Gianluca? He's still sharing his AI escapades in his engaging Diaries of an AI Trouble Maker. If you haven't checked it out yet, you're missing out!

Meanwhile, we've been growing our team – from a duo in 2022 to a dynamic group of six in 2023.

This year, we made AI less scary and more fun for loads of people. We counted roughly 4.000 people trained (!). Our efforts in assisting companies to embrace AI have been incredibly fulfilling. Plus, our Master in Prompt Engineering course has been a hit, selling out all first four editions. The innovative projects our students have developed during the program are a testament to the magic everyone can create with AI even without coding.

The foundation of a vibrant, global community of AI enthusiasts has been laid, and we're eager to see this family grow even more in 2024.

Aaaand… we've just launched our new podcast today, "I'm not a robot".

This series delves into the transformative power of AI in organizations, featuring real-life integrations and inspiring stories.

Let us know what you think.

So, as we take a short break and gear up for January, we want to express our heartfelt thanks for your trust and support. It means the world to us.

Now, settle in with your favorite cup of coffee and dive into the world of AI with our year in review.

Best Bytes 2023 🗞️

January

  • In a noteworthy event in January, Microsoft announced an extension of their partnership with OpenAI, injecting a significant multi-billion-dollar investment. This strategic collaboration set the stage for an exponential boost in OpenAI's growth, revolutionizing the landscape of Generative AI throughout the year, while also bringing AI-powered experiences to Microsoft's consumer and enterprise products.

February

  • The Microsoft-OpenAI alliance led to major strides in February. OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Plus, a subscription service offering quick access and premium features. Showing the partnership's real power, Microsoft also showcased innovative integrations of ChatGPT with Bing and Edge for interactive searches and content generation.

  • Meanwhile, the competition experienced a hiccup, with Bard, Google’s AI language model, losing some steam after an error in their demo day.

March

  • March was bustling with AI advancements. Major tech companies, Meta and Anthropic, marked their territory in the AI space by launching their respective models, LLaMA and Claude. Meanwhile, several companies, such as Snapchat and Zapier, jumped on the AI bandwagon by integrating AI technology into their product lines.

  • The highlight of the month was OpenAI's release of their most advanced model to date, ChatGPT-4, which was swiftly integrated into Microsoft's newly introduced Copilot 365.

  • Amidst these developments, tech magnate Bill Gates emphasized the significance of artificial intelligence in a letter, further underlining AI’s pivotal role in shaping the future.

  • The month concluded with a thousand people, including Elon Musk, signing an open letter demanding to “immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4.”

April

  • April saw MIT release an enlightening study demonstrating the dramatic impact of ChatGPT. The AI tool increased task speed by 37%, improved performance by 20%, and reduced grading inequality by half. This signified a major step forward in enhancing productivity with AI.

  • In the entertainment industry, an AI-generated song "Heart on My Sleeve", falsely attributed to Drake and The Weeknd, went viral, highlighting the synthetic media's growing reach.

May

  • In May, AI ethics took the center stage. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's Congress appearance signaled the platform's intention to encourage responsible use of AI. Altman proposed licensing and testing requirements for development of AI models, showing OpenAI's commitment to dealing with AI related misinformation.

June

July

August

September

October - the last slice of tech pizza 🍕

  • October served as a significant turning point for enhanced user experience in the AI world. Google took a leading stride by announcing "Assistant with Bard", which seamlessly integrates with Google's suite, including Gmail and Docs.

  • Following suit, ElevenLabs launched an AI Dubbing tool, offering voice translations in over 20 languages, further breaking down language barriers.

November

  • November was packed with unexpected events at OpenAI. It began with the sudden dismissal of CEO Sam Altman. The tech world was abuzz with conjecture about the underlying reasons. Other tech companies like Microsoft and Salesforce seized the opportunity to offer positions to OpenAI employees, demonstrating the high demand for AI talent. Remarkably, almost all of OpenAI's employees signed a letter calling for the board's resignation. In a whirlwind resolution, Sam Altman was ultimately reinstated as OpenAI CEO, alongside sweeping changes in the board.

  • Amidst this drama, OpenAI showed resilience and innovativeness by introducing GPTs, readily customizable chatbots, underscoring the company's commitment to technological advancement.

December

LOLgorithms 😂

What we believe are the two best AI-themed memes of 2023.

We need your help to decide which one reigns supreme.

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

From our community 🤝

At our recent networking event with Master in Prompt Engineering alumni, we dove into a funny storytelling session. The theme? Historical figures landing in 2023. The result was a fascinating mix of tales:

In one, Cleopatra becomes a digital empire leader, trying to recreate Julius Caesar using modern technology.

Another story brought Leonardo da Vinci to 2023, where he's captivated by modern AI and ends up creating Christmas art.

Then there's the tale of Genghis Khan, confounded by a smartphone with Alexa integrated who offers directions to a Mongolian restaurant instead of aiding his conquests.

It was a truly fun moment!

As we close this edition, and with it, the year 2023, we want to thank you for being part of our journey. Your enthusiasm and curiosity about AI make all of this worthwhile.

Cheers to an AI-mazing 2024! 🍾