Completely happy Friday. I’m again from trip and nonetheless getting caught up on the whole lot I missed. AI researchers transferring jobs is getting lined like NBA trades now, apparently.
Earlier than I get into this week’s difficulty, I wish to be sure you take a look at my interview with Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas on Decoder this week. It’s a very good deep dive on the principle subject of at this time’s e-newsletter. Preserve studying for a scoop on Substack and extra from this week in AI information.
From chatbots to browsers
Thus far, when most individuals consider the trendy AI increase, they consider a chatbot like ChatGPT. Now, it’s changing into more and more clear that the online browser is the place the subsequent section of AI is taking form.
The reason being easy: the chatbots of at this time don’t have entry to your on-line life like your browser does. That degree of context — learn and write entry to your e mail, your checking account, and so on. — is required if AI goes to turn into a device that truly goes off and does issues for you.
Two latest product releases level to this development. The primary is OpenAI’s ChatGPT Agent, which makes use of a fundamental browser to surf the online in your behalf. The second is Comet, a desktop browser from Perplexity that takes it a step additional by permitting giant language fashions to entry logged-in websites and full duties in your behalf. (OpenAI is rumored to be planning its personal full-fledged browser.)
Neither ChatGPT Agent nor Comet works reliably in the meanwhile, and entry to each is at present gated to costly subscription tiers as a result of larger compute prices required to run the reasoning fashions they necessitate. Maybe most frustratingly, each merchandise declare to do issues they will’t, not simply in advertising and marketing supplies, however within the precise product expertise.
ChatGPT Agent is a read-only browser expertise — it may possibly’t entry a logged-in web site like Comet — and that severely limits its usefulness. It’s additionally very sluggish. My colleague Hayden Area asked it to find a particular kind of lamp on Etsy, and ChatGPT Agent took 50 minutes to return again with a response. It additionally failed so as to add objects to her Etsy cart, regardless of claiming it had accomplished so.
Whereas Comet is nowhere close to as sluggish, I’ve had quite a few experiences with it claiming it has accomplished duties it hasn’t, or stating it may possibly do one thing, solely to right away inform me it may possibly’t after I make a request. Its sidecar interface, which locations the AI assistant to the suitable of a webpage, is great for read-only duties, comparable to summarizing a webpage or researching one thing particular I’m . However as I instructed Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas on Decoder this week, the general expertise feels fairly brittle.
It’s straightforward to be a cynic and suppose the present state of merchandise like Comet is one of the best AI can do at finishing duties on the net. Or, you may take a look at the previous few years of progress within the trade and make the guess that the identical development line will proceed.
Throughout our chat this week, Srinivas instructed me he’s “betting on progress in reasoning fashions to get us there.” OpenAI constructed a customized reasoning mannequin particularly for ChatGPT Agent that was educated on extra advanced, multi-step duties. (The mannequin has no public identify and isn’t obtainable through an API.)
Even with the various limitations and bugs that exist at this time, utilizing Comet for just some days has satisfied me that the mainstream chatbot interface will merge with the browser. It already appears like taking a step again to merely immediate a chatbot versus interacting with a ChatGPT-like expertise that may see no matter web site I’m . Standalone chatbots actually aren’t going away, particularly on smartphones, however the browser is what is going to unlock AI that truly appears like an agent.
- What might have been for Substack: Earlier than the e-newsletter platform raised the $100 million round it introduced this week, two sources inform me that Vice founder Shane Smith approached Substack’s co-founders about buying the corporate. It’s unclear how far the talks progressed, although Smith additionally mentioned the concept with potential monetary backers. Substack’s management rebuffed his takeover curiosity however steered he might spend money on the spherical they only closed. It’s unclear if he did. Neither Smith nor Substack responded to my request for remark.
- The top of reverse acquihires? Whereas I used to be out on trip, it was fascinating to look at the intense backlash to the Windsurf/Google reverse acquihire. This sample, the place the founders of a buzzy AI startup parachute into the arms of Massive Tech and depart the remainder of their staff to choose up the items, is nothing new. It’s an unlucky byproduct of the antitrust scrutiny on Massive Tech, which up to now appears to have discovered purchase what it needs by forsaking a husk of a startup and calling its payouts “licensing charges.” However given how Cognition messaged its rescuing of Windsurf’s remaining staff (“each single worker is handled with respect and effectively taken care of on this transaction”), I ponder if the subsequent AI startup founder will suppose twice earlier than leaving their staff behind.
- Mira Murati’s new AI lab can have an enterprise angle. I really feel assured in that prediction after seeing who her financial backers are for her new lab, Considering Machines. ServiceNow and Cisco aren’t investing in a ChatGPT competitor. Given the extent of expertise she has managed to assemble, the trade can be paying shut consideration to no matter “multimodal AI” product the staff releases within the coming months. Is there room for an additional Anthropic-like rival to OpenAI? We’re about to search out out.
- AI researchers can’t get US visas. NeurlPS, the premier AI analysis convention, has skilled such excessive attendance demand for this yr’s occasion in San Diego that they’ve added a second location in Mexico to accommodate roughly 500 extra individuals. The convention’s announcement states that there have been “difficulties in acquiring journey visas” for attendees wishing to attend the principle US occasion. Yikes.
Some noteworthy profession strikes
- Zuckerberg’s new Superintelligence lab is getting significantly greater. This week noticed the addition of OpenAI’s Jason Wei and Hyung Received Chung, which implies that Meta has now poached 5 of OpenAI’s 21 “foundational contributors” to o1. Augustus Odena and Maxwell Nye, co-founders of the Adept AI startup that Amazon reverse acquihired to kickstart its AGI lab, additionally joined, along with Mark Lee and Tom Gunter from Apple. In the meantime, the complete staff behind the voice AI startup PlayAI has officially joined (some corporations are nonetheless sufficiently small for Massive Tech to amass outright). And in what must be an ominous sign to everybody within the broader AI group at present present process DOGE-style interviews with Alexandr Wang’s new staff, VP of Product Connor Hayes has moved over to run Threads.
- Anthropic’s head of engineering, Brian Delahunty, joined Google Cloud to steer AI agent engineering. In the meantime, Boris Cherny and Cat Wu returned to Anthropic after an alarmingly transient tenure in management roles at Cursor. Paul Smith can be leaving ServiceNow to be Anthropic’s first chief industrial officer.
- Reddit CMO Roxy Younger is leaving amid what seems to be a broader management reshuffling.
- Extra mind drain at Tesla: This time it’s Troy Jones, head of gross sales for North America.
- Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and HR chief Kristin Cabot (that couple from the Coldplay live performance) have been put on leave pending an inner investigation.
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As at all times, I welcome your suggestions, particularly when you have ideas on this difficulty or a narrative thought to share. You’ll be able to reply right here or ping me securely on Signal.