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Daily Digest #340

Hello folks, here’s what we have today;

PICKS

1. Google Maps is the next app getting generative AI upgrades⁷¹¹ (after Chrome, YouTube and Workspace). The goal is to make it a powerhouse for discovering new spots—whether you want a day out with friends with all sorts of preferences or just looking for something unique.🍿Our Summary¹⁵ (also below)

2. [LEAK] Bard is rebranding to Gemini + Gemini Advanced release date.⁶⁸⁹ I was getting attached to Bard but Gemini’s got that dawg in it.😏

   • Gemini Advanced (the to-be GPT-4 killer) is to launch on 7th Feb—this Wednesday.

   • Gemini’s also getting an Android app with a potential merge of Google Assistant.

   Exciting stuff ahead.

3. 9 AI-vy league companies⁶⁷⁴ that are leaving Ivy schools behind. There’s a shift in AI hiring—from Ivy League degrees to real-world experience at top AI startups. Top AI talent is now found in startups like OpenAI, Cohere etc., not just Stanford PhDs or ex-Googlers.🍿Our Summary¹¹ (also below)

TOP TOOLS

• HuggingFace Assistants⁷⁰⁴ - Custom chatbots (like GPTs) with different LLMs like Llama and Mixtral.🤗

• Delphi Adapt⁴⁰⁷ - Create multiple versions of your clone, each suited for its intended audience.

• Grammarbot⁷⁰⁶ - Flawless English on Mac, local and no subscriptions.

• ADues⁴³² - AI wearable but think open-source.

• Instant Summaries by Shortwave²⁷⁵ - Smart TL;DRs for every email.

• Alvea⁴⁰³ - Dynamic UIs tailored to user’s tasks.

• MGIE by Apple⁴³⁹ - Take random pictures with iPhone & edit with language.

• LlamaBot for Discord²⁰⁸ - Let it listen to your discord channels and answer your questions later.

• Sheet Copilot^630† - Run tasks in Google Sheets using AI.

View more →²¹¹

NEWS

• New AI features⁶⁷⁴ from Arc and ChatGPT.

• What led to Quora's decline³⁸⁰, and how AI is the next step?

• AI lobbying spikes 185%¹⁵² as calls for regulation surge.

• Nvidia’s next big customers²⁶² - Nations demanding AI chips.

• Do shoppers actually want Amazon’s GenAI?²⁵⁵

• The pain points of building a copilot.³⁹⁷

View more →⁹⁸

QUICK BITES

Google Maps is the next app getting generative AI upgrades⁷¹¹ (after Chrome, YouTube and Workspace). The goal is to make it a powerhouse for discovering new spots. Whether you want a day out with friends with all sorts of preferences or just looking for something unique, Maps wants to help with all types of queries.

What is going on here?

Google's rolling out AI magic in Maps to suggest places based on your vibe or needs, starting with a select group of Local Guides in the U.S.

What does this mean?

Imagine you're craving some vintage shopping in San Francisco. Ideally, you want to hop around different types of shops: clothes, jewellery and trinkets, or maybe electronics. The basic Maps search doesn’t do a good job at that.

With generative AI over ratings, reviews, and photos from Maps’ community, Google’s trying to serve up some top-notch recommendations. You get the results similar to a normal Maps query but you can now also create a thread by asking follow-up questions.

Why should I care?

I’ve tried to use Bard for similar use cases. Bard’s much better than ChatGPT at this but still I’ve had two troubles: a) it’s limited in options and stops after 3-4 recommendations and b) it’s detached from the navigation functions of Maps (though it’s been improving on it). With Gen AI inside Maps and follow-up questions, I can see it being a regular use case for many people.

It’s first coming to Local Guides in the US, but the recent speed of Google’s product integrations is somewhat refreshing—I’m not holding this one against them.

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QUICK BITES

There’s a shift in AI hiring⁶⁷⁴—from Ivy League degrees to real-world experience at top AI startups. Top AI talent is now found in startups like OpenAI, Cohere etc., not just Harvard, Stanford PhDs or ex-Googlers.

What is going on here?

SignalFire's data shows a new source of AI talent emerging, dubbed AI-vy league.

What does this mean?

The report says that since 2015 there’s been a drop in the importance of traditional degrees for AI roles. The same trend follows for people who went to top schools like Ivy-leagues or big tech companies like Meta or Google.

But then what type of talent is being hired, and where do they come from? Turns out the focus is on practical AI skills and achievements, not just academic credentials. And this top talent is concentrated in the “AI-vy League" i.e. 9 AI startups. These are:

Open AI, Anthropic, Inflection AI, Mosaic ML (acquired by DataBricks), Cohere and AI21 laps, Stability AI, Midjourney, and Hugging Face. (in no order)

Though the de-credentialization is in part due to necessity—the tech world needs so much AI talent that demand may outstrip supply from top universities.

Why should I care?

Big tech companies are now targeting these startups for recruitment, indicating a shift in what's valued in AI talent. This trend democratizes the field, making it more about ability and less about educational background. Useful signals if you’re hiring or want a job in the AI space.

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