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Another Crazy Day in AI: Writing help at hand

Oct 28, 2024
3 min read

Hello, AI Enthusiasts.

We hope you had a refreshing weekend! Now that Monday is coming to a close, let’s check out the latest happenings in the AI world.

Gmail’s 'Help me write' feature, powered by Gemini AI, is expanding to the web after its successful mobile launch, assisting users with everything from quick messages to professional correspondence. ✉️

Plus, learn to prompt like a pro with Google’s new five-step course. And check out how xAI, Elon Musk’s AI company, has enhanced its chatbot Grok with image understanding.

Here’s to a productive and enlightening week ahead! ✨

Here's another crazy day in AI:

Gmail expands AI features to assist with email writing on the web
Learn to prompt like a pro 5 steps with Google’s new course
xAI’s Grok adds visual understanding for X users
Some AI tools to try out

TODAY'S FEATURED ITEM: Gmail's Writing Assistant Goes Web

Image Credit: Wowza (created with Ideogram)

How many times have you stared at a blank email, trying to find the right words?

After successfully launching on mobile, Gmail's "Help me write" feature is now making its way to the web version. Emma Roth from The Verge reports on this Gemini AI-powered addition that aims to assist users with email composition, whether you're crafting a quick response or a detailed business message.

With Gemini AI powering it, “Help me write” allows Google One AI Premium subscribers and Workspace users with the Gemini add-on to draft and refine emails effortlessly. Whether you’re starting from scratch or polishing a draft, this feature provides quick editing support that can help you tailor emails to fit various tones and lengths.

What's coming to your Inbox:

AI-assisted drafting and editing: Generate, polish, or refine emails with ease, right within Gmail.
Tone adjustments: Options to formalize, elaborate, or shorten content depending on the context.
“Polish” shortcut on the web: In drafts with over 12 words, users can now refine content quickly with a click or by pressing Ctrl + H.
Refined mobile experience: The “polish” function on mobile now replaces “Refine my draft,” offering an automatic refinement when you swipe.

Writing emails has always been about finding the right balance - professional yet personable, clear yet concise. While AI assistance can help streamline this process, the essence of good communication still relies on human judgment and understanding of context. This feature isn’t just about drafting faster; it’s about adding flexibility to communication. You decide whether you need a concise update or a polished, professional email.

As email continues to be our primary method of professional communication, tools like these reflect how technology can support our daily tasks. However, it's worth remembering that the most impactful emails often come from genuine human insight and understanding - something no AI can fully replicate. Whether this feature becomes part of your regular workflow will likely depend on your writing habits and how you prefer to craft your messages.

Read the full article here.

Check out Google Workspace Updates here.

OTHER INTERESTING AI HIGHLIGHTS:

Learn to Prompt Like a Pro 5 Steps with Google’s New Course

/Lisa Gevelber, VP of Grow with Google

Google’s new course, Prompting Essentials, guides users on maximizing AI’s potential with five clear steps, requiring no prior experience. Designed by AI experts, the course equips learners with techniques to adapt AI prompts for real-world tasks, from summarizing documents to analyzing data. Participants will also gain a reusable prompt library and receive a certificate upon completion, enhancing their skills for everyday and professional applications. Published by Google.

Read more here.

xAI’s Grok Adds Visual Understanding for X Users

/Ivan Mehta, TechCrunch

Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, has added image understanding to its chatbot, Grok, allowing users on X to upload images and ask related questions. Musk announced this new capability, hinting at rapid improvements. Initially released with text and image generation abilities, Grok is evolving quickly, with upcoming updates aimed at document comprehension. This expansion is part of X’s goal to add valuable features for its Premium+ subscribers. Published by TechCrunch.

Read more here.

SOME AI TOOLS TO TRY OUT:

PreCog - Smartly selects the best AI model to answer your questions.
Moonbeam - AI-powered tool for crafting essays, stories, articles, blogs, and more.
Loomos - Instantly convert screen recordings into polished videos, editing transcripts and enhancing engagement. Here's an example result.

That’s a wrap on today’s Almost Daily craziness.

Catch us almost every day—almost! 😉

EXCITING NEWS:

The Another Crazy Day in AI newsletter is now on LinkedIn!!!

Leveraging AI for Enhanced Content: As part of our commitment to exploring new technologies, we used AI to help curate and refine our newsletters. This enriches our content and keeps us at the forefront of digital innovation, ensuring you stay informed with the latest trends and developments.

Another Crazy Day in AI: AlphaChip’s role in next-gen hardware

Sep 27, 2024
3 min read

Hello, AI Enthusiasts.

Welcome to Friday night! As you wind down and reflect on your week, how did everything go for you?

Before diving into the weekend, let’s take a look at what Google is spotlighting this edition with their DeepMind, Gemini, and Workspace.

Tonight's highlight is their AlphaChip—which optimizes chip layout design, slashing the time needed from months to just hours! Make sure to also snag a free handbook to master prompting with Gemini, and explore how over 185 GenAI use cases are empowering different sectors to drive innovation and enhance productivity. 🚀

Wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead. ✨

Here's another crazy day in AI:

The AI behind next-gen chips
A free handbook to mastering prompts with Gemini
101+84 real-world GenAI use cases across sectors
Some AI tools to try out

TODAY'S FEATURED ITEM: How AI is Building Superhuman Chips

Source: Google DeepMind + Canva Mockups

What if the chips powering our devices were designed by AI?

Google DeepMind researchers Anna Goldie and Azalia Mirhoseini have introduced AlphaChip, an AI-driven tool that's transforming the way computer chips are designed.

This AI-powered method uses reinforcement learning to design chip layouts in just hours—a task that used to take months of human effort. These layouts are already being used in Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), fueling some of the most advanced AI systems today, and they’re quickly being adopted by the wider chip design industry.

Here’s what AlphaChip has made possible:

Dramatically speeds up chip layout design from months to hours.
Plays a key role in designing Google’s TPUs, which power AI models like Gemini and Imagen.
Industry leaders like MediaTek are using AlphaChip to build next-gen mobile chips.
It learns and improves with each layout, resulting in increasingly efficient chip designs.
Paving the way for AI to enhance even more stages of the chip design process.

Left: Animation showing AlphaChip placing the open-source, Ariane RISC-V CPU, with no prior experience. Right: Animation showing AlphaChip placing the same block after having practiced on 20 TPU-related designs.

The impact of AlphaChip is both impressive and far-reaching. By automating one of the most intricate tasks in chip design, it has reduced the time required to create complex layouts from months to mere hours. Since its inception, AlphaChip has been instrumental in designing multiple generations of Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), the hardware behind powerful AI models like Gemini. Major industry players, including MediaTek, have adopted this technology to enhance the efficiency of their mobile chip designs.

But AlphaChip is more than just a tool for speeding up chip design. It’s inspiring new research into how AI can optimize other stages of the chip creation process, from logic synthesis to manufacturing. As the technology advances, it’s poised to improve the performance and efficiency of chips across various sectors, paving the way for faster, more energy-efficient devices. By addressing long-standing challenges in engineering, AlphaChip shows how AI can revolutionize real-world problems in practical, measurable ways.

Read the full blog here.

OTHER INTERESTING AI HIGHLIGHTS:

A free handbook to mastering prompts with Gemini

/Google Workspace

Discover how to write effective prompts to enhance your productivity using Gemini for Workspace. This quick-start handbook offers foundational skills organized by role and use case, allowing you to master the basics efficiently. Whether you’re looking to save time or focus on high-impact work, this guide helps you harness the power of AI to streamline your daily tasks.

Read more and download the handbook here.

101+84 real-world GenAI use cases across sectors

/Brian Hall, Google Blog

Explore how top companies, governments, and startups leverage Google's AI solutions to drive innovation and enhance productivity. This comprehensive update expands on 101 use cases by adding 84 more, showcasing the versatility of generative AI across sectors like customer service, data analysis, and creative production. Notable examples include Alaska Airlines' chatbot and General Motors' AI assistant, illustrating the transformative potential of AI in real-world applications.

Read more here.

SOME AI TOOLS TO TRY OUT:

Replio - Turn surveys into AI-driven conversational interviews.
Fluency - Automatically generate process documentation while you work.
Nuvio - Manage income, expenses, and cash flow with an AI-powered platform.

That’s a wrap on today’s Almost Daily craziness.

Catch us almost every day—almost! 😉

EXCITING NEWS:

The Another Crazy Day in AI newsletter is now on LinkedIn!!!

Another Crazy Day in AI: NotebookLM turned Mollick’s book into a podcast—and more

Sep 19, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Sep 20, 2024

Hello, AI Enthusiasts.

End your Thursday on a high note with tonight’s newsletter!

Ethan Mollick has put Google’s NotebookLM to the test, creating an AI-generated podcast from his book that feels like a genuine conversation. Plus, we’re sharing the latest on Google’s AI ad tools and Sam Altman’s predictions about upcoming advances in AI reasoning.

There’s plenty to explore, so enjoy the read! 🌙

Here's another crazy day in AI:

The AI tool that can turn your book into a podcast and more
Google boosts AI ad tools with new features
Sam Altman predicts big leap in AI reasoning with o1 model
Some AI tools to try out

TODAY'S FEATURED ITEM: How NotebookLM Transformed Mollick's Work

Image Credit: Wowza (created with Ideogram + Canva magic expand)

What if AI could turn a book into a podcast, study guide, and interactive chat in just minutes?

Google's NotebookLM has caught the attention of Ethan Mollick, author of "Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI." Shared in a recent X post, he used his own book to put the platform to the test. The results were surprising: NotebookLM didn’t just summarize the book; it created a podcast, a study guide, a timeline, an FAQ, and even allowed for a conversational interface about the book's content.

But here's the kicker: the AI-generated podcast actually sounds like a real conversation between two people discussing the book's ideas.

Let's break down what makes this interesting:

NotebookLM transforms text into various formats: a podcast, study guide, FAQ, timeline, and even a conversational chat interface.
The AI-generated podcast has a natural, conversational flow that's surprisingly engaging.
It's a glimpse into how quickly AI can process and repurpose large chunks of information.
Users can likely tailor the generated content to suit their needs.

This kind of technology is pushing the boundaries of what we thought was possible with content creation. It's not about replacing human creativity, but rather opening up new ways for us to interact with information. Imagine being able to "read" a book by listening to an AI-generated discussion about it, or having a conversation with an AI that's digested an entire textbook. It's not science fiction anymore - it's happening now.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. While this is impressive, it's important to remember that AI is a tool, not a magic wand. The real power comes from how we use it, the questions we ask, and the human touch we bring to the table.

The challenge now lies in how we integrate these tools into our workflows and learning processes. As AI continues to evolve, so too must our approach to using it effectively and responsibly.

Watch it on X here.

OTHER INTERESTING AI HIGHLIGHTS:

Google boosts AI ad tools with new features

/Andrew Hutchinson on Social Media Today

Google is rolling out advanced AI updates for Google Ads, announced at DMEXCO. New features include AI asset generation, expanded AI language support, and improved reporting. These updates allow advertisers to customize ads in more languages, generate images using AI, and gain better control over AI-generated content. The integration of omnichannel bidding and campaign-level negative keywords into Performance Max campaigns further boosts ad performance.

Read more here.

Sam Altman predicts big leap in AI reasoning with o1 model

/Tsarathustra (@tsarnick) on X

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, shared that AI reasoning remains at the GPT-2 level, but a rapid advancement is expected with the new "o1" model. This model represents a new era in AI development, focusing on improving complex problem-solving through the "Chain of Thought" method. Altman believes o1 will significantly enhance decision-making capabilities by mimicking human cognitive strategies.

Read more here.

SOME AI TOOLS TO TRY OUT:

Zivy - Organizes Slack and email into prioritized stacks, reducing notification overload
Before Sunset - AI personal assistant that automatically generates daily schedules
Remini - Transforms old photos into high-definition images

That’s a wrap on today’s Almost Daily craziness.

Catch us almost every day—almost! 😉

EXCITING NEWS:

The Another Crazy Day in AI newsletter is now on LinkedIn!!!