AI round-up: Week of April 28, 2025

So, are you human?

Prove it.

This is where we are now.

Let’s get to it.

The heavy stuff

Story 1: Sam Altman brings his Orb to the U.S.

Admittedly, I didn’t know much about the Orb and most of what it’s tied to doesn’t necessarily fall into AI. However, one of the biggest reasons we’re being told we need this technology is to protect us from non-humans that could pose as…well, us. (CNBC)

Story 2: Speaking of controlling AI, corporate leaders think it is under control. Employees do not.

Read the post from Conor Grennan for a breakdown of the new study that shows a very serious disconnect between leadership and the day-to-day when it comes to AI usage.

Story 3: According to Dario Amodei, this type of gap is dangerous.

Just ask him. He wrote a whole paper on the dangers of ignorance, among other things, in his latest post ‘The Urgency of Interpretability’.

Story 4: Glazed and confused: Why is ChatGPT trying so hard to be our friend?

Casey Newton dug into this topic, and, of course, there is a danger (AI is misleading us by liking and praising us for work that doesn’t deserve it).

Maybe AI needs to read “Radical Candor.”

Story 5: I’m sorry, but I can’t get past our first story. Because…

Maybe we do need to start tracking who’s real and who’s not?

May I present example 1:

Researchers secretly experimented on Reddit users with AI-generated comments. (engaged)

And here’s example 2:

Meet Thy, the drive-time DJ for an Australian radio station that is AI. Which was never disclosed for six months. And fooled everyone. (The Sydney Morning Herald)

The not-so-heavy stuff

Story 1: Visa and Mastercard unveil AI agents that shop for you. (TechCrunch)

Don’t worry—you can set limits! I see this going very badly.

Story 2: OpenAI is going to add product links/suggestions to its answers…

…creating a ‘shopping experience’ inside ChatGPT. Again, I see this going very badly. (Wired)

This is according to Sam Altman, who views being polite to the machines as a necessary expense, just in case.

Story 3: YouTube talks about the rise of virtual influencers, i.e. digital humans.

Yes, they’re AI-based and will probably need workers’ rights at some point. Make sure you watch the influencer they feature in this story. The Akhia family had a very, very bad reaction when they watched her…it…the digital human. (Social Media Today)

A few that don’t fit in either category

Story 1: Seven recipes that blend AI prompts with image uploads.

Orbit Media’s Andy Crestodina does his best Julia Childs impersonation and shares some serious recipe cards on how to use AI prompts to enhance your image strategy. Definitely worth your time.

Story 2: The hottest AI job of 2023 is already obsolete. (WSJ)

Prompt engineer – yep, prompting!! – is obsolete. As a lot of the folks who we read here said, prompting won’t be critical. It will be replaced by generative AI that essentially writes its own prompts as you ask questions and stitch together the approach.

Proving once again, the best training you can do is TO USE IT.

Story 3: 5 examples of AI transformation (Christopher Penn)

One of the best technical reads around. Christopher Penn does it again by summing up five ways you can achieve AI transformation. His weekly newsletter is so rich – save this one for when you have time because the read is so solid.

Final note

The Artificial Intelligence Show is back in the round-up. Paul and Mike continue to deliver the best analysis about a lot of what you’re reading here and then some.

I’m featuring it this week because I think their first topic, touching on how o3 is impacting us and the future of work, is worth your time. Not enough people are asking these questions, having these conversations.

And honestly, when Paul echoes my daily mindset to all of this—read this, walk away and take a deep breath, and then figure out how to use it—I have to call it out. If you’re going to live in this reality, it’s a must approach.

And this week’s pod is a must listen. (Episode 145)

An in-person AI event. No Orb required.

If you like talking about this. Wait. Let me rephrase that – if you feel like you have to talk about this – please consider joining the next Akhia Roundtable. It’s an in-person event, in Hudson, Ohio at Lager & Vine, on May 22.

The topics are smart. The attendees are smarter. And the menu is amazing.

I hope you can join – RSVP here.

Happy Friday!

-Ben

As a reminder, this is a round-up of the biggest stories, often hitting multiple newsletters I receive/review. The sources are many … which I’m happy to read on your behalf. Let me know if there’s one you’d like me to track or have questions about a topic you’re not seeing here.