📢 AI Secrets Exposed: Open-Source Wins & Meta’s Bold Move

Hi all! 👋

Another week, another set of exciting updates from the fast-moving world of AI. From large-scale tech shifts to tools that simplify your day-to-day, we’ve handpicked stories that combine innovation and practicality. Plus, don’t miss the chance to level up your AI skills with our Applied AI course!

It was great to see some of you this week on the virtual EcDev workshop and in person at the Vancouver AI Meetup at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in beautiful Vancouver, BC.

digital collage featuring a close-up portrait of a woman with short hair, pink-framed glasses, and a confident smile, overlaid on a background of a futuristic or sci-fi-inspired setting. The inset portrait has a Polaroid-style border and a reflection effect, adding depth. The larger background showcases a modern, curved architectural structure with a striking metallic sculpture of a geometric crab-like creature in front. The composition gives a layered, artistic feel, blending personal photography with architectural and sci-fi elements.

Museum of Vancouver, a distinctive round building with a futuristic, flying-saucer-like design. In the foreground, a striking metallic sculpture of a geometric crab stands in a reflective water feature, adding an artistic and dramatic element. To the right, a colorful banner with the museum's name, "MOV Museum of Vancouver," is displayed, making the location clear. The composition captures the building’s bold architecture and the interplay of light and shadow at what appears to be early morning or late afternoon.

📢 Meta’s Throwback Move – “OG Facebook” is Back?

This week, Mark Zuckerberg teased a “return to OG Facebook” during Meta’s Q4 earnings call. With Gen Z spending double the time on apps like TikTok compared to Facebook, Meta’s revival plan is set to lean into cultural roots while tackling younger audiences. Will this refresh bring Facebook back to being a core social platform? What does this really mean? Only time will tell.

👉 Will Gen Z Give FB Another Chance?

🏆 Ai2 Shakes AI Industry with Open-Source Model

Seattle-based nonprofit Ai2 just launched Tulu3-405B, an AI heavyweight outperforming rivals like OpenAI’s GPT-4o and China’s DeepSeek V3 on key benchmarks. Best of all, it’s open-source—giving businesses access to cutting-edge tech without breaking the bank.

👀 We’ve tested it. AI tools just got even more accessible.

🤖 ChatGPT Gov & AI for Public Good

Meet ChatGPT Gov, OpenAI’s tailored solution to help U.S. government agencies tackle real-world challenges—from public health (ouch) to infrastructure—with AI-powered tools. With advanced security features and compliance capabilities, it’s setting a new standard for how governments use AI. Will the current politics squash it now? We sure hope not 🙏🏻

🎨 UBC’s Art Meets AI Project

UBC students are working on a fascinating project to support artists intellectual property while allowing them to use AI to create more art. Artists get their own locally hosted model to train on their art only! The new pieces of art produced are owned by the artist which is a novel concept compared to the open creation with no rights.

The Impressive CustomGPTs for Personalization

Last week live lesson check into the dynamic world of custom GPTs, exploring how these tools can help you create AI agents that reflect your unique voice and style. Here are the key takeaways from the session:

1. Crafting Your Custom Voice Agent

Create personalized AI agents in tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.
The focus was on designing agents that mirror individual tone and style, perfect for emails, social posts, and even book writing.

2. Building Effective Voice Descriptions

Extract the natural tone by analyzing past emails, social posts, or documents you’ve written.
To humanize outputs, the addition of famous personalities with similar communication styles (e.g., Bill Gates, Mel Robbins). Leverage the AI’s training on vast, “famous” content to ensure that your written voice sounds human, not like AI!

3. Making Adjustments for Accuracy

Fine-tuning was emphasized as crucial. Whether tweaking opening lines, adjusting formality, or improving sign-offs, iterative updates help perfect AI-generated outputs.

4. Attaching Knowledge for Context

By uploading prior written work or reference materials, you can improve your agents’ understanding of your voice, ensuring consistent results across all outputs.

5. Applications for Everyday Work

From crafting polished email sequences and social posts to enhancing professional documents, agents will save you time, and deliver quality results with fewer edits.

Pro Tip: Continually refine your instructions and test outputs in real-time to ensure your custom agents evolve with your needs.

🛠️ Tools We Loved This Week 🧰

CRM OS – Manage your client interactions through automations with this specialty CRM. Consistent nurturing, outreach, lead sourcing to grow your business without adding more employees.

Gamma – AI tool for creating presentations, documents, and websites quickly.

Runway – Create video with AI text-to-video generator.

📚 Applied AI Course Kicks Off February 11th!

Whether you’re leading a team or fine-tuning your own skills, our Applied AI Course Level 1 is the ultimate toolkit to confidently incorporate AI into your work. Learn strategies and content creation techniques directly from experts and earn your Applied AI Certification!

👉 Reserve Your Spot Today

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See you in the Lab!

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