McKinsey: “Products like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot, as well as the underlying AI models that power such systems (Stable Diffusion, DALL·E 2, GPT-3, to name a few), are taking technology into realms once thought to be reserved for humans. With generative AI, computers can now arguably exhibit creativity. They can produce original content in response to queries, drawing from data they’ve ingested and interactions with users. They can develop blogs, sketch package designs, write computer code, or even theorize on the reason for a production error. This latest class of generative AI systems has emerged from foundation models—large-scale, deep learning models trained on massive, broad, unstructured data sets (such as text and images) that cover many topics. Developers can adapt the models for a wide range of use cases, with little fine-tuning required for each task. For example, GPT-3.5, the foundation model underlying ChatGPT, has also been used to translate text, and scientists used an earlier version of GPT to create novel protein sequences. In this way, the power of these capabilities is accessible to all, including developers who lack specialized machine learning skills and, in some cases, people with no technical background. Using foundation models can also reduce the time for developing new AI applications to a level rarely possible before.”
Gloria Mark: “Our online behavior is greatly influenced by the wider culture and the ever more sophisticated tools of digital technology, but we can’t just blame our short attention spans on algorithms and notifications. We still own our attention, and rather than simply submit to its further attenuation, we can take change into our own hands. Human beings created the internet, and it’s up to us, in the end, to decide how much we want to be absorbed by it.”
Mohit Satyanand: “It is true that you can no longer produce cars without robots, or erect skyscrapers with bricks carried by the headload, but this deflection is not even deft. Whether cars or buses, skyscrapers or budget housing, India needs more economic activity at every level, with more people wielding shovels, operating cranes, or installing high capacity routers. Rather than finding excuses for low growth, our government needs much more potent plans to energise economic activity. For the last couple of years, the Indian government has tried to buoy the economy by a high level of capital expenditure, in infrastructure. The most visible sign of this is the build-out of roads across the country. However, this has come at the cost of high government deficits…Between the fiscal constraints of the government, the wary stance of corporates, and the beaten-down confidence of the Indian consumer, it’s going to be another slow year for the Indian economy.”
HBR: “There is an easily accessible way to solve [the] problem [of validating product-market fit]: online advertising as market research. Responses to a digital ad — clicks, likes, email sign-ups — are more reliable indicators of purchase intent because they reflect how consumers behave when nobody’s watching. Testing via advertising captures real-life data about how customers respond to new product concepts, rebrands, and other big strategic moves. We call this type of research “heat-testing” — finding that spark between offering and audience that is the genesis of product-market fit.”
Richard Hamming: “The great scientists often make this error. They fail to continue to plant the little acorns from which the mighty oak trees grow. They try to get the big thing right off. And that isn’t the way things go.” Shane Parrish: “A question to ask yourself: What seeds are you planting today for next month? Next year?”
Shantanu Narayen: “Every year I try and say: What are one or two big areas where it feels like I can have an impact and I can influence where the organization should be headed both in terms of learning from the talent that exists within the company and outside the company? And then, having the ability to use that to change priorities. I think way too often people do what they’re good at, rather than perhaps where the company wants them to make an impact.”
