Cover Image is Japanese Artist Yayoi Kusama, read about my love for her in Pop Shop.
When I was a kid, a lifetime ago, there was a cheesy television show called Lost In Space. The show was Gilligan's Island in space, with the Robinson family as the generic protagonists and the stowaway Dr. Smith as the bumbling antagonist. My favorite character was the anthropomorphized Robot. Every week a new set of alien enemies and space conundrums caused the Robot to wave its arms and shout, "Danger, Danger, Will Robinson."
The Robot was the youngest crew member, Will Robinson's dog, and Will was the family's geeky son. So we agree that our Open Ai ChatGTP robot should be shouting Danger. But will letters from Elon Musk and others ask for the impossible - a pause in AI development while we attempt to grasp what our AIvolution means?
What's that saying about Genies and bottles? Oh yeah, they don't go back into them quickly or unless they want to, so asking for a pause in a revolution, at least partly created by many of the "please pause" letter signatories, feels dishonest. Elon's Tesla has a dominant EV market share because his team knows how to use technology other car makers don't have, can't invent, or don't see as important. For Musk to lead a charge against generative AI when most of his fortune rests firmly on technical exploitation feels like a "Do as I say, not as I do" moment.
AIvolution is our term for the AI revolution that's been going on for years quietly in rooms developers knew about and were visiting with increasing frequency as the demand to manage and manipulate large datasets forced us to discover new tools. We've been using ChatGPT-enabled GitHub Copilot for years, but few cared until a generative large language model could sound like a human. Now that everyone cares, there's an enormous land grab.
Real and lasting AI benefits will come from the end-user tools WTE and others are working on furiously; until then, OpenAI's chatbot is a massively helpful universal toy. A toy I use daily and break out in hives when I can't use my subscription because OpenAI is at capacity (as it is as I write this) or ChatGPT4 is slow or not finishing responses as it was last week. Congress, lawyers, and regulators are sure to kill the AI golden goose, so this week in ChatGPT was a Danger, Danger, Will Robinson week.
Use the links below to learn more about what happened this week on our Flipboard magazines.
Furious attempts to stuff the AI genie back in its bottle came from unexpected places this week. A letter from Elon Musk and others asked for a pause in AI development even though ChatGPT5 is on the horizon. Congress has been bloviating about the need for Ai regulation, and Italy has effectively banned ChatGPT accusing OpenAI of "unlawful collection of personal data.
The AI backlash was predictable. Think of lawyers, congress, and Italy as more people wanting to get in on the AI land rush by killing it a little or a lot. OpenAI can collect as much information from me as it wants because I'll trade personal information for a tool as valuable and revolutionary as ChatGPT anytime and anywhere. Oh, and shouldn't I be the one who decides if OpenAi is infringing my data privacy instead of some government bureaucrat? Call me crazy, but I wish we could keep the lawyers and regulators in their boxes while we figure out how to use OpenAI's unique new chatbot. Crazy right? Read our AI Posts Here:
I was surprised my share of Prof G Scott Galloway's video about Blank Street Coffee zigging when others are zagging didn't get more shares. Galloway is a trusted source for me as he speaks truth to power and intelligently supports startups, innovation, and new tech. Of course, it helps that his money is where his mouth is, so watch Prof G's video.
The lesson for startups may be NOT to tout how their innovation is related to ChatGPT or zig while the world zags, but VCs are the original herd animals, so if you aren't riffing ChatGPT-like features, then I'd make sure your startup is making lots of money.
Is it just me or does it seem like Microsoft woke up and decided to play with the big boys again? They make a sizable investment in OpenAI, put ChatGPT in everything and the kitchen sink, and now they're "exploring" ways to share ad money from the new Bing with "select publishers." If you read select publishers to mean not you, me, and everyone we know then great minds do think alike, but for the Big M to even think about sharing could change SEO and search all over again. Too good.
I wasn't aware we could use Google News to drive traffic or that Google News sends more than 24 billion clicks down range. The Search Engine Land post about how to use Google News to drive new traffic into our conent became a "must steal.
How to master Google News optimization to boost content visibility and traffic. Search Engine Land
I flipped a great post by Ivan Popov entitled 90% of Online Business Fail Avoid The Same Fate By Using These Strategies. Ivan points out four reasons online businesses fail.
I'd add no SWOT to Ivan's list. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, which fits his lack of target audience research category. Still, SWOTs speak to market conditions and honest assessments of your startup's positioning, team, and ability to get 'er done.
As I shared in Start with Why, customers buy who you are more than what or how you do what your company does, so sharing your stories, values, and hard-won lessons creates trust and increases the chance you'll succeed by getting a VC to stroke a check or winning customers' hearts, minds, and loyalty.
I'm in love with Yayoi Kusama. She is a highly influential and prolific Japanese contemporary artist known for her unique style of dots, gourds, and rooms. Kusama's paintings, sculpture, installation art, performance art, and literature describe an artist who knows who she is in constant motion.
Kusama's unique visual language is instantly recognizable. She uses bold colors, polka dots, and organic forms to create dreams you can see, feel, and walkthrough. Yayoi is courageous because her art delves into deep and personal themes such as mental health, identity, and our human experience. Immersive and interactive Kusama's versatile art makes me smile, and that's hard to beat.
Kusama's art often delves into deep and personal themes, such as mental health, identity, and the human experience. Through her art, she shares her experiences with mental illness and communicates her inner world, making her work relatable and inspiring to many people.