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  • 🤖 Klarna Realizes AI Can't Do It All Alone

🤖 Klarna Realizes AI Can't Do It All Alone

Plus: OpenAI's Code Agent and Middle East's AI Power Play

May 22, 2025

Hello AI Enthusiast,

This week shows us AI's different faces: Klarna backpedals on their "humans optional" strategy, OpenAI launches Codex for cloud-based coding tasks, and tech giants back UAE's massive Stargate data center. From customer service reality checks to geopolitical AI investments, let's dive in.

The Big Picture 🔊

OpenAI Launches Codex Cloud Coding Agent

OpenAI has launched Codex, a cloud-based software engineering agent that can work on multiple coding tasks in parallel. Powered by their codex-1 model, Codex can write features, answer questions about codebases, fix bugs, and propose pull requests. The agent runs each task in separate cloud sandbox environments and provides evidence of its actions through citations. It's currently available to ChatGPT Pro, Team, and Enterprise users, with Plus and Edu access coming soon.

Gianluca Mauro
Gianluca MauroFounder and AI Rockstar

Codex sits in a strange spot in the AI coding world. It uses developer language like "pull requests" but doesn't let you edit code directly - you can only accept or reject changes. This might work for offloading tedious tasks like testing, but reviewing AI code without being able to fix issues on the fly feels limiting.

While OpenAI claims this lets developers focus on "fun" parts of coding, we're left wondering who exactly will find this approach genuinely useful as projects grow more complex.

Klarna Brings Humans Back to Customer Service

Klarna is recruiting humans back into their customer service after previously claiming AI could replace 700 representatives. While AI still handles two-thirds of inquiries, CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski admits they went "too far" by prioritizing cost-cutting over quality. They're now launching a flexible work program to provide the human empathy their automated system lacks.

Andrea Mattiello
Andrea MattielloCM and Board Lover

After boasting their chatbot could replace 700 jobs, they've discovered the hard way that customers still want human connection for complex issues. This expensive experiment cost them in severance, recruitment, and likely customer satisfaction.

The lesson? AI works best augmenting humans, not replacing them - something our training programs have emphasized from day one.

Don't be the next Klarna. Our training helps you identify where AI adds real value versus where humans remain essential. Skip the expensive trial-and-error and build a strategic AI adoption map that balances efficiency with customer satisfaction. Learn to augment your team with AI rather than replace them - and avoid the costly U-turn Klarna just made.

Tech Giants Join UAE Massive AI Data Center Project

Nvidia, Cisco, Oracle, and OpenAI are supporting the "UAE Stargate" AI data center in Abu Dhabi. Built by Emirati firm G42, this 5-gigawatt project will collaborate with the U.S. Stargate initiative announced by Trump in January. Simultaneously, Nvidia announced it would sell 18,000 Blackwell chips to Saudi company Humain for their 500-megawatt data centers, with AMD also committing to supply chips for the $10 billion project.

Helin Yontar
Helin YontarCPO and Polyglot

These AI data center deals look like high-stakes geopolitics in action. Countries are racing for computing power like they once did for nuclear capabilities, with the UAE getting the full Stargate treatment while Saudi Arabia just gets the chips.

The same financial players keep appearing at both announcements. As our founder bluntly put it: "Trump gets airplanes, they get chips and stuff."

Bits and Bobs 🗞️

  • Google showcased a range of AI tools at I/O 2025, including the premium Gemini Ultra subscription ($250/month), Deep Think reasoning, and Project Mariner for automated web browsing. We'll break down these announcements next week.

  • At Build 2025, Microsoft unveiled over 50 new AI tools as part of its bold strategy to lead the emerging “agentic web,” and since the event is still unfolding, we’ll dive deeper into its implications next week as well.

  • Perplexity partners with PayPal to enable one-click purchases with PayPal by handling payment, shipping, and invoicing within the chat itself.

  • OpenAI has made GPT-4.1 and GPT-4.1 mini available in ChatGPT, with access for Plus, Pro, and Team users now and for Enterprise and Edu users coming soon.

  • Gemini Advanced now integrates with GitHub, allowing users to interact with their codebases for tasks like editing, explaining, and debugging code.

  • Notion announced AI upgrades including automated meeting notes, enterprise-wide search, enhanced document drafting, and multi-model chat options.

On the Podcast 🎧

In this week's podcast, we speak with Imelda Garcia, who used our AI Agent Bootcamp to create "Luie" - an assistant that supports her autistic son when she can't be there. Her journey from tech layoff victim to AI innovator shows how personal challenges can spark meaningful solutions, even with zero coding experience. Listen to the episode

From Our Founder’s Channels 🤳

Watch Gianluca try to make sense of Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia and the deal giving them access to Nvidia's newest AI chips.

@gianluca.mauro

The US - Saudi Arabia AI deal #Ai #learnontiktok #artificialintelligence #business #machinelearning #product #ux #entrepreneur

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

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Catch you next week! 👋