AI Buttons and Breakthroughs

Hello, and happy Sunday! There are only 12 hours left to sign up for our new course, How to Write With AI. Join 87 students on Thursday, September 19, when Evan Armstrong will kick off a four-week class about how the foundations of online writing and new AI tools go hand in hand. Learn more about it and sign up before registration closes tonight. Otherwise, read on for everything we published last week and our take on the latest tech news.—Kate Lee

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Knowledge base

"OpenAI's o1 Model, Explained" by Dan Shipper/Chain of Thought: A new model from OpenAI is nerd Christmas. Dan Shipper has been playing with this latest present and has some thoughts: It isn’t AGI, but it does represent new capabilities and a new tree of research that could maybe get us there. Read his initial review if you want to understand how AI is getting better at thinking things through, and why that means you might soon be asking ChatGPT to spend hours on your toughest problems.

🎧 "How to Use AI to Become a Learning Machine" by Dan Shipper/AI & I: Simon Eskildsen, CEO of AI startup turbopuffer, is one of the best learners we know. He’s pushing the boundaries of AI-assisted learning, from converting freezers to refrigerators with ChatGPT to learning new languages with AI walruses (we promise it makes sense when you read it). 🖥 Watch the latest episode of AI & I on X or YouTube, or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, if you want to see how one of the smartest founders in tech is using AI to supercharge his already impressive learning habits. 🔏 Paid subscribers get access to Simon's custom Raycast AI commands and Anki flashcard template.

"The Button Problem of AI" by Evan Armstrong/Napkin Math: AI was supposed to change everything…right? Well, instead of a revolution, we got...buttons. Lots of buttons. Evan Armstrong argues that the real reason AI hasn't lived up to the hype is that most of its capabilities have been reduced to simple, clickable features in existing software. Read this if you want to understand why your fancy AI tools still feel like glorified spell-check, and what it'll take for startups to truly disrupt the tech giants in the age of AI.

"AI Journaling Changed My Life" by Dan Shipper/Chain of Thought: Dan takes a look back at how he began using GPT-3 as a supercharged journaling tool. He discovered that it was like having a therapist, life coach, and empathetic friend rolled into one AI package. Channeling Socrates and interpreting dreams, AI companions are pushing the boundaries of personal development. Read this if you want to explore how AI could revolutionize your self-reflection practice—or if you're just curious about what happens when you spill your guts to a robot.

"1,500,000 Files Organized and Counting" by Brandon Gell: Sparkle, Every's AI file organizer, hit a milestone: 1.5 million files sorted for just $36.66. It's like having a Ph.D. in organization at your fingertips, tackling tasks too menial for humans but too valuable to ignore. Read this for updates on Sparkle's new features, including organizing any folder on your computer and a 15-day free trial to test it out.