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🤖 Harvard Releases Million Ancient Books for AI Training

🤖 Harvard Releases Million Ancient Books for AI Training

Plus: Amazon CEO Says AI Will Eliminate Some Positions

June 26, 2025

Hello AI Enthusiast,

This week Harvard University opened its historic vaults to AI companies, releasing nearly a million books spanning centuries for training data, while Amazon's CEO bluntly told employees that AI efficiency gains will reduce their workforce. Meanwhile, Midjourney launched affordable video generation for everyone. From preserving ancient wisdom to transforming modern jobs and creative tools, let's explore what these developments mean.

The Big Picture 🔊

Libraries Open Historic Collections to AI Training

Harvard University has released nearly one million books from its collection to AI researchers, spanning works from the 15th century in 254 languages. The initiative, funded by Microsoft and OpenAI, focuses on public domain works to avoid the copyright lawsuits plaguing AI companies. Boston Public Library is also preparing to release historical newspapers and government documents.

Gioele MottarliniCOO and Image Addict

Smart win-win: universities get expensive digitization funded while AI companies access higher-quality data than Reddit or Wikipedia. The language diversity could help models become less English-centric.

The challenge is outdated content like debunked theories and racist narratives. We think keeping historical content unfiltered is right - people learn from understanding how thinking evolved. Modern AI training already handles this through reinforcement learning.

Amazon CEO Says AI Will Reduce Company Workforce

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees in a memo that AI "will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains" over time. While some jobs will disappear, he said Amazon will need "more people do other types of jobs." The company employs over 1.5 million people worldwide and plans to spend $100 billion this year on AI services and data centers, up from $83 billion last year.

James VarnhamCEO and Rainmaker

At least Jassy's being honest about job cuts, unlike other CEOs who dance around the topic. The memo encouraging employees to "educate yourself" sounds nice, but most corporate AI training is generic and boring.

The real challenge is giving people proper time to learn. Expecting employees to train outside work hours isn't fair to those with families. Companies investing in AI transformation need to give people dedicated work time to actually learn these skills.

Amazon's honest approach shows transformation is inevitable, but success depends on preparation. Our Corporate AI Training helps you identify where AI adds value versus where humans remain essential. Don't let employees figure it out alone. Learn how we can help.

Midjourney Launches Video Model

Midjourney has released its V1 Video Model, making AI video generation accessible at $10 per month - 25 times cheaper than existing market options. The image-to-video feature lets users animate their Midjourney images with automatic or manual motion prompts, producing four 5-second videos per job. The company positions this as a building block toward "real-time open-world simulations" where users can interact with AI-generated environments in 3D space.

Andrea MattielloCM and Board Lover

We appreciate Midjourney's transparency - they're honest that quality isn't as good as competitors, but it's way cheaper. The image-to-video approach feels limiting compared to text-to-video models.

Midjourney has always been the choice for artists wanting granular control, but with their web version and now V1 video, they're trying to make things easier for everyone and stay relevant.

Bits and Bobs 🗞️

Meta’s new $399 Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses feature a camera, open-ear speakers, and Meta AI for music, photos, and interactive assistance.
The US Department of Defense has contracted OpenAI for a pilot program with an award that could reach $200 million, aimed at developing "frontier AI" to address national security challenges.
Google is packing its Chromebook Plus line with AI tools like screen-based search, text simplification, and NotebookLM, plus a free year of AI Pro.
Perplexity has launched an AI-powered video generation feature on X, allowing users to create eight-second videos by tagging @AskPerplexity with a prompt.
Pope Leo XIV is focusing on the potential threats of AI to humanity, emphasizing its challenges to human dignity, justice, and labor.
Replit has achieved a significant milestone, reaching a $100 million annual recurring revenue with 10x growth in just 18 months.

Tribal News🫂

Last week we wrapped up our 12th AI Agent Bootcamp, and Demo Day showcased incredible solutions - from voice-first systems capturing stories for people with memory impairments to automated e-waste collection analyzers for NGOs. It's amazing to see non-technical professionals build functional AI agents that solve real-world problems.

That's a wrap on our newsletter! Before you go, here’s a quick recap of our offerings:

AI Academy Membership: Get 12 months of access to all our cohort-based programs, live webinars, on-demand courses, and tutorials.
AI Agent Bootcamp: Accelerate processes and solve business problems by mastering prompts and building AI Agents, without coding.
Practical Introduction to ChatGPT: A free course on using ChatGPT confidently, understanding its workings, and exploring its potential.
Customized Corporate Training: Equip your team with the skills they need to unlock the potential of AI in your business.

Catch you next week! 👋