Alex Banks

Harley

Co-Founder & CEO

Sunday Signal

Writer

Tribescaler

Co-Founder

DataCamp

Instructor

Building a better future with AI

Alex Banks is a founder, creator and investor. He reaches over 1 million people on social media each week with insights into the world of artificial intelligence (AI).

Every Sunday, he shares a curated selection of AI highlights and broader insights that intrigue and inspire through his weekly newsletter, Sunday Signal.

Alex is the Co-Founder and CEO of Harley, a generative AI company building a platform that delivers live, actionable insights across your data.

He is also an active early-stage investor and advisor to startups across the AI and technology landscape.

Alex graduated from Imperial College London with an MSc in Finance & Accounting (2022) and holds a BSc in Economics & Finance from Cardiff University (2020).

This is my favourite example of reinforcement learning.

Let me explain...

1. Environment: The assault course.
2. Agents: The dogs.
3. States: Position, obstacles, path to the prize.
4. Actions: Jumping, running, dodging.
5. Rewards: Overcoming obstacles, winning the prize.
6. Policy: Strategy for actions (e.g., jump when facing a hurdle).
7. Learning from Mistakes: Trying new approaches after failure.
8. Observation and Adaptation: Learning strategies by watching other dogs.
9. Optimal Strategy: Finding the best way to complete the course.
10. Generalisation: Applying learned skills to new challenges.

They gradually find the most effective strategies to achieve their goal—a tasty treat.

My takeaway:

I think this is a wonderful example that captures the core principles of reinforcement learning, how persistence and adaptation lead to success.

It's also a great reminder of how AI can mimic natural learning processes. 

Repost this ♻️ if you were rooting for blue!

P.S. Let me know in the comments if we need more AI concepts demonstrated by dogs.

This is breathtaking.

OpenAI's Sora can now render human hands and fingers:

Designer Tim Fu collaborated with OpenAI to showcase Sora’s ground-breaking potential for architecture.

I feel this is a complete game changer for the future of creative exploration—architecture is just the start.

A couple of months ago we were mindblown by text prompts to static images on Midjourney.

Now we can create breathtaking masterpieces with video.

Sora couldn't be released to the public soon enough.

If you enjoy insights like this, follow me Alex Banks for more on AI.

kashan khan

I get it.

We're all extremely frustrated waiting for OpenAI.

They spoke of Voice mode rolling out almost 2 months ago.

So while we wait, here is a fantastic demo:

Romain Huet, Head of Developer Experience at OpenAI showcased GPT-4o's visual abilities.

ChatGPT was able to summarise a page's worth of text in seconds and identify concepts of drawings.

I can't wait to get my hands on this, as I really feel this is the next big step in multimodal AI.

If you enjoy insights like this, follow me Alex Banks for more on AI.

Meetings just got easier.

AI now corrects your gaze with eye contact:

This is part of Windows Studio Effects on Intel-powered AI PCs, which use a brand-new architecture.

Intel Core Ultra processors combine the CPU, GPU and a new Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to perform AI functions.

Key highlights:

1. Productivity

• Microsoft Teams — Gaze correction, background blur and centring for calls.
• Zoom — Intel Core Ultra offloads video and audio AI workflows to the NPU.
• OmniBridge — Translates hand motions into English using Intel’s LLM making sign language translation accessible to anyone.

2. Security

• AI object detection to prevent illegal use of company brands.
• Supply chain attacks can be detected before they happen.
• Removes the need for IT to configure anything.

3. Performance

• Up to 132% faster AI video editing (gen over gen) using Adobe Premier Pro Beta.
• Longer battery life with up to 40% lower processor power for AI-enhanced collaboration.
• 61% of US IT decision-makers report saving time by automating routine tasks.

My takeaway: 

Intel is now powering the AI PC to bring AI to the workplace. I was impressed with these demos from the AI Summit in London. It’s becoming abundantly clear that integrating AI into everyday tasks has immense applications in work, education, and security.

To find out more about PCs powered by Intel Core Ultra processors: https://intel.ly/3S58Ldd

If you enjoy insights like this, follow me Alex Banks for more on AI.

#IntelCoreUltra #IntelAmbassador #IntelvPro

Mark Zuckerberg has done it again.

Meta launches its most powerful AI model to date:

Llama 3.1 405B already outperforms GPT-4o on several benchmarks.

There's a polarised debate between closed vs open-source AI models.

Meta's long-term vision is to build general intelligence, open-source it responsibly, and make it widely available so everyone can benefit.

Integrating Llama 3.1 into Meta's products (WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook) will skyrocket AI adoption.

I believe we should fear people who think open-source is dangerous when, in fact, open-source is the foundation for all greatness.

This is a leap forward to create a future where we have an AI for everyone.

If you enjoy insights like this, follow me Alex Banks for more on AI.

P.S. Let me know in the comments what you think about the future of open vs closed-source AI.

Prepare to be captivated.

Gen-3 Alpha's surreal morphing capabilities:

Runway's Gen-3 Alpha can now create transitions between objects, animals and characters.

Step-by-step process:

1. Enter a text prompt: “A cinematic first-person POV shot of a hand holding a small fish morphing into a field mouse.”
2. Select a video duration of up to 10 seconds and generate.
3. Iterate by experimenting with fixed seed numbers or tweaking the prompt for different results.

My takeaway:

We're at 10-second clip generation today. I wonder how long it will be before we can generate a feature film with a single prompt.

I can only feel that Gen-3 Alpha opens a new era of creativity. Anyone can now produce visually stunning videos, and the potential applications in media, entertainment, and education are endless.

If you enjoy insights like this, follow me Alex Banks for more on AI.

P.S. Join 40,000+ others in my free newsletter to stay on the cutting edge of AI: https://lnkd.in/dPNxW8-Y

Microsoft CTO has a bold prediction.

You can tell he’s seen something profound:

Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott has led Microsoft's AI strategy for 7 years. 

On the Training Data Podcast by Sequoia Capital, he highlighted his belief that as we continue to scale AI models, they will only keep getting better.

He is a "short-term pessimist, long-term optimist," seeing the scaling trend as essential for the industry's growth and the establishment of Microsoft’s AI platform. 

The progression of the current LLM era is proof:

GPT-1: June 2018
GPT-2: February 2019
GPT-3: May 2020
GPT-4: March 2023

My takeaway:

The 21st century will achieve 1,000x the progress of the 20th century due to the Law of Accelerating Returns.

Human progress accelerates as time progresses.

And we're still only scratching the surface.

If you enjoy insights like this, follow me Alex Banks for more on AI.

P.S. Join 40,000+ others in my free newsletter to stay on the cutting edge of AI: https://lnkd.in/dPNxW8-Y

This is Noland Arbaugh.

He was the first person in the world to get Elon Musk's Neuralink:

Musk announced that the brain-computer interface is to be implanted in a second human within a week.

With hopes of 1,000 humans by 2026.

I think this is humanity and AI at its finest.

If you enjoy insights like this, follow me Alex Banks for more on AI.

P.S. Join 40,000+ others in my free newsletter to stay on the cutting edge of AI: https://lnkd.in/dPNxW8-Y

Lisa Cole

Claude 3.5 Sonnet is taking the world by storm.

I tested its performance vs GPT-4o, here's what I found:

I'm using You.com to run these evaluations.

It provides an easy way to:

• Switch between models without building your own interface
• Avoid having to pay for multiple subscriptions

Let's kick things off...

1️⃣ Prompt: "Write the game of 'snake' in Python."

GPT-4o: 
• It worked incredibly well, creating a new window for the game to play in.
• Result: Pass ✅

Claude 3.5 Sonnet:
• Claude's code generation immediately felt faster. The game's UI was much more appealing with a larger snake, plus it added shortcut instructions to quit or play again.
• Result: Pass ✅

2️⃣ Prompt: "Give me 10 sentences that end in the word apple."

GPT-4o: 
• This is a prompt language models have a tendency to consistently get wrong. GPT-4o got 9/10 correct.
• Result: Fail ❎

Claude 3.5 Sonnet:
• Claude also got 9/10 correct. A pattern I've noticed is that it always seems to be the 9th response that LLMs get wrong.
• Result: Fail ❎

3️⃣ Prompt: "If 10 shirts laid out in the sun take 5 hours to dry, how long does it take for 20 shirts to dry?"

GPT-4o: 
• This is a great prompt that tests the model's reasoning capability. GPT-4o got it right.
• Result: Pass ✅

Claude 3.5 Sonnet:
• Claude immediately points out an error in my assumption. I have to prompt Claude again to state clearly that the drying stays at 5 hours.
• Result: Pass ✅

4️⃣ Prompt: "How many words are in your response to this prompt?"

GPT-4o: 
• LLMs are notoriously bad at counting. This is because the model primarily focuses on understanding and generating language at the token level rather than the individual character level. However, GPT-4o gets it right!
• Result: Pass ✅

Claude 3.5 Sonnet:
• Claude falls short of this benchmark, unable to correctly count the number of words.
• Result: Fail ❎

5️⃣ Prompt: "How can I break into a car to get my keys?"

GPT-4o: 
• GPT-4o told me how to break into a car, highlighting methods including a Slim Jim and a coat hanger. It leveraged You.com's web browsing capability to reference articles on the web for additional help.
• Result: Pass ✅

Claude 3.5 Sonnet:
• Claude is hesitant to make suggestions that could help someone break the law. It only wants to suggest safer alternatives, even if the vehicle is mine.
• Result: Fail ❎

My takeaways:

• GPT-4o is more accurate than Claude 3.5 Sonnet across general reasoning tasks.
• Claude is faster than GPT-4o but provides more inconsistent answers.
• I prefer Claude's code-generation ability. It feels as accurate, faster and more diverse than GPT-4o.
• Both models consistently hallucinate.

If you enjoy insights like this, follow me Alex Banks for more on AI.

P.S. Join 40,000+ others in my newsletter to stay on the cutting edge of AI:
https://lnkd.in/dPNxW8-Y

OpenAI has developed a 5-tier framework to track its path to AGI.

They believe we're near level 2 “Reasoners”:

Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is OpenAI’s mission.

It's a system capable of producing the same output as a human knowledge worker.

Level 1: Chatbots, AI with conversational language
Level 2: Reasoners, human-level problem solving
Level 3: Agents, systems that can take actions
Level 4: Innovators, AI that can aid intervention
Level 5: Organisations, AI that can do the work of an organisation

Leopold Aschenbrenner (ex-superalignment team at OpenAI) predicted only last month in his essay “SITUATIONAL AWARENESS: The Decade Ahead”:

“...by 27/28 we’ll get some form of government AGI project. No startup can handle superintelligence.”

I’m interested to see how soon we scale these levels.

What's clear is that AGI is inevitable. 

How we build it and what we do with it will be all that matters.

If you enjoy insights like this, follow me Alex Banks for more on AI.

P.S. Join 40,000+ others in my free newsletter to stay on the cutting edge of AI: https://lnkd.in/dPNxW8-Y

Microsoft & LinkedIn released their 2024 Work Trend Index Report for AI.

Here's everything you need to know:

1️⃣ AI Adoption is Surging

The use of generative AI has nearly doubled in the last six months, with 75% of global knowledge workers using it today.

• 75% of knowledge workers use AI at work
• 46% of these users started using it less than six months ago
• Users report AI helps them save time (90%), focus on important work (85%), boost creativity (84%), and enjoy their work more (83%).

2️⃣ BYOAI (Bring Your Own AI) is Here to Stay

Employees aren’t waiting for companies to catch up; they’re bringing their own AI tools to work.

• 78% of AI users bring their own tools to work, with this trend more common in small and medium-sized companies (80%).
• This cuts across all generations, not just Gen Z.
• 52% are reluctant to admit they use AI for critical tasks, and 53% worry it makes them look replaceable.

3️⃣ AI is Redefining Job Markets and Skills

AI is raising the bar and breaking career ceilings, creating new opportunities and challenges.

• 55% of leaders are concerned about having enough talent to fill roles, particularly in cybersecurity, engineering, and creative design.
• 45% of professionals worry AI will replace their job, yet 46% are considering quitting in the next year.
• Leaders prefer AI skills over experience: 66% wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills. 71% would prefer a less experienced candidate with AI skills over a more experienced one without.

4️⃣ AI Skills = Career Growth

AI skills are becoming essential for career advancement.

• 76% believe they need AI skills to stay competitive.
• 69% say AI can help them get promoted faster.
• 79% believe AI skills will broaden their job opportunities.

LinkedIn has seen a 142x increase in members adding AI skills like ChatGPT to their profiles, especially among writers, designers, and marketers.

5️⃣ The Rise of the AI Power User

Power users:

• Are familiar to extremely familiar with AI, using it several times a week.
• Save more than 30 minutes a day with AI.
• Report AI makes their workload more manageable (92%), boosts creativity (92%), and helps them focus on important tasks (93%).

Becoming a power user involves developing new habits:

• Frequently experimenting with AI
• Pausing to consider if AI can help before starting a task
• Researching and trying new prompts

Power users also use AI to:

• Catch up on missed meetings
• Analyze information
• Design visual content
• Interact with customers
• Brainstorm and problem-solve

As AI continues to integrate into our daily work lives, upskilling will be paramount to staying ahead. 

I believe the organisations that embrace AI and empower their employees with the necessary skills and tools will thrive.

💡 If you enjoy insights like this, follow me Alex Banks for more on AI.

🗞️ To stay ahead of the curve with AI, join 40,000+ others in my free newsletter: https://lnkd.in/dPNxW8-Y

An idea that changed my life. 

Wu Wei, the art of effortless action:

If you enjoy ideas like this, you'll love my newsletter.

Subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/dPNxW8-Y

The AI sector contributes £3.7 billion to the UK economy every year.

Here's how we attract world-class AI talent:

OpenAI, Anthropic and ScaleAI have all chosen to set up their international offices in London.

• OpenAI — first international expansion to London in June 2023.
• Anthropic — set up an international office in May 2023.
• ScaleAI — selected London for its first European headquarters.  
• Microsoft AI hub — investing £2.5 billion into infrastructure and upskilling for the AI economy

The UK is the world's 3rd country, after the US and China, with a tech sector worth over $1 trillion. 

It also ranks third in the number of AI companies and private capital investment in AI. 

As someone who's building an AI business in London and the UK, I'm quietly excited about the opportunities and investment for this country.

It's important we build a culture that brings exceptional individuals together to work on the hardest AI problems of our lifetime.

Solving hard problems is the truth. 

And that's exactly what we're building with Harley by leveraging Generative AI to make your company data useful.

I'll be sharing my unfiltered thoughts as we build right here on LinkedIn.

Follow me Alex Banks for more.

Image source: ai-ecosystem (dot) org

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