Given that this is the year when more people have the right to vote in a single calendar year than at any previous point in history, and that this week marks the annual World Economic Forum discussions in Davos, much of the focus has been on the potential abuse and misuse of AI. We look at that today, but also report on some positive information from Davos and further afield as well. Let’s dive in…

News

Optimus now able to do laundry: the speed at which the fusion of AI and robotics is improving the performance of humanoid robots is really impressive. Tesla’s Optimus was shown just this week folding clothes from the laundry basket. A year ago it was barely walking. What next? Check it out here.

WEF Report ranks global risks: at Davos this week the WEF ranked the top 10 global risks over both a two and a ten year period. AI induced election disruption was ranked number one in the two year window ahead of climate change and wars. Here’s the list.

Energy breakthrough necessary for AI future: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has said this week at Davos that AI development will consume far more energy than people currently project and that a major breakthrough in energy is necessary for the future of AI. Read all about it here.

AI to transform global economy affecting 40% of jobs: a recent IMF study has found that in the developed world nearly half of all jobs will be disrupted by AI in the short term. The world economy will see huge productivity gains but will require balanced policies to minimise the disruption. A very thoughtful IMF article can be found here.

Continuing the theme of jobs being affected…: Ava is an artisan and a sales rep, capable of doing everything your best in class sales rep can do. Except, she’s entirely digital and driven by AI. This is just the beginning of this type of multi-functional digital employee capable of interacting with your whole business. Find out more here. Disclaimer: if you click the link on the X page, you will likely go down the same rabbit hole that I have!

Tool

Not a tool as such, more some thoughts on the aspect of AI which ranks as the most troubling in the World Economic Forum Global Risks Register in 2024: deepfakes and misuse in an election year. From this standpoint, 2024 has come at the wrong time for AI. Regulation takes time and by this time next year, we will probably still be grappling with the “how much is too much” regulation as well as many other questions around freedom of speech and who is responsible when things go wrong. This year however, around 4 billion people across the world have the right to vote in elections that will have the capability of changing the direction of their respective nations. Ai is largely unregulated or, where there are regulations in the pipeline, are untested. This will be a problem and promises mayhem at elections throughout the year. I read a balanced, albeit American centric, article from the Boston Globe this week that I’ll share here, that outlines the many dangers but also suggests how we can prepare. Well worth a read. No doubt we will revisit this as the months (and the elections) go by.

Prompt

Each week in this section, I’m going to share a GPT that I’ve either built myself or have been recommended and used. This week I’ve used DesignerGPT to build and host a simple website using just a simple text prompt. Simple, but perfectly functional. You should give it a try here.