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🤖 Google Wants Your AI to Take Action

Plus: OpenAI Makes ChatGPT Search Free for Everyone

December 19, 2024

Hello AI Enthusiast,

The last days of 2024 have been packed with exciting AI announcements especially from Google, OpenAI, Meta, and Apple. While each of them deserves attention, we're focusing on what we think are the most significant developments: Google's push towards agentic AI with Gemini 2.0 and OpenAI's 12 Days of Christmas updates so far.

But first, a quick heads up: we're taking a break for the holidays! Our next AI news roundup will land in your inbox on the second week of January 2025. Time to recharge our neural networks. 🎄 

Now, let's dive in...

The Big Picture 🔊

Google Pushes Towards Agentic AI for Everyone

Google made two significant announcements this week: Gemini 2.0, their next-generation AI model featuring enhanced multimodal capabilities, native tool use, and several experimental projects like Project Astra for mobile and Project Mariner for browsers; and Google Agentspace, a new enterprise platform that brings AI-powered search and automation to businesses. Both releases emphasize AI's ability to take actions on users' behalf.

Gianluca Mauro
Gianluca MauroFounder and AI Rockstar

Google has a clear edge with their massive user base, and now they're opening up to other work tools too.

They're calling these "AI Agents", a marketing term that technical AI people don't like. In reality, it's just existing AI automation features made easier to use, with the security that companies need.

How do you feel about the rise of "AI Agents"?

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OpenAI Expands ChatGPT Features for Everyone

OpenAI announced two major updates to ChatGPT this week: free web search capabilities for all users (including voice search) and a new Projects feature for organizing conversations. The search update prioritizes webpage links in results and integrates with mobile maps, while Projects offers folder-like organization with customizable settings for different conversation contexts.

Gianluca Belloni
Gianluca BelloniCMO and Marketing Nomad

OpenAI is pushing hard to make ChatGPT your go-to search tool, but using such a powerful AI model for simple searches like "Netflix", as shown in a demo video, feels like overkill.

Not only does it waste energy, but it shows OpenAI's real strategy: they want to be the default way people interact with the internet, no matter how simple the task.

Bits and Bobs 🗞️

  • Google unveiled Veo 2 for enhanced video generation, an upgraded Imagen 3 for better images, and Whisk, a new image remixing tool.

  • Google announced Willow, its latest quantum chip, marking significant advancements in quantum error correction and performance.

  • Meta released new AI research tools for virtual agents, video watermarking, and improved vision-language understanding.

  • Meta added three new features to Ray-Ban smart glasses: live AI assistance, real-time language translation, and Shazam song recognition.

  • Apple released iOS 18.2 with new AI features including Image Playground for image creation, Genmoji for custom emojis, and ChatGPT integration for Siri and Writing Tools.

  • ChatGPT is now accessible via phone call at 1-800-ChatGPT (1-800-242-8478) in the U.S., and globally through WhatsApp at the same number.

  • The ChatGPT mobile app is rolling out video, voice, and screensharing features, allowing users to interact with ChatGPT in real-time.

  • OpenAI released emails showing Musk proposed making the company for-profit in 2017, contradicting his current lawsuit against the company's transition from non-profit status.

  • Midjourney is launching a new tool called "Patchwork," which allows users to create digital worlds with elements like characters and scenes on an infinite canvas.

  • Pika released version 2.0 with Scene Ingredients feature for customizing AI-generated videos.

  • Remember Devin? the all-purpose AI tool for engineering teams, is now available for $500 a month.

Tribal News🫂

This week we had some holiday fun with our AI Academy members! We challenged them to create the best AI-generated video in just 20 minutes, with a Christmas twist and an AI Academy connection. The results? Let's just say there were quite a few laughs during the judging! 😄 

Congratulations to our winners Marcos Daniel Martinez and Paul Romero who took home the prize with their hilarious video of Santa, inspired by our founder Gianluca's past life as a karate athlete. Who knew Santa could throw such a mean punch? 🎅🥋

While this video challenge was a great way to wrap up the year, we're preparing a packed 2025 calendar of practical sessions for our members. From AI tools to automations, from ethics to enterprise applications, our live sessions will help you navigate every aspect of AI. Want to be part of this journey?

On the Podcast 🎧

In the final episode of our EU AI Policy series, we sit down with Cesar Herrero from the Joint Research Center to unpack how research shapes education policies in Europe. He reveals the fascinating process of turning research findings into real actions and why investing in teachers matters more than ever in our digital age.

From Our Channels 🤳

After covering ChatGPT Pro in our last newsletter, here's Gianluca explaining whether it's actually worth the upgrade.

@gianluca.mauro

Should you spend $200 a month on ChatGPT Pro? ##greenscreen##Ai##learnontiktok##artificialintelligence##business##machinelearning##produc... See more

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Merry Christmas! 🎄