Christmas and New Year Holiday Spree LFG! 🎆 

It's a pretty short week for the holiday season. But what does 2024 have in store for us? 🌑 

• Bill Gates: The Road Ahead Reaches a Turning Point in 2024

• Big Tech Outspends Venture Capital Firms in AI Investment Frenzy

• Weekly productivity hacks

• Quick snips of other AI updates

Read time: 5 minutes

Bill Gates: The Road Ahead Reaches a Turning Point in 2024

The latest blog post by Bill Gates highlights his major concerns in global issues such as resolving limited medical access and malnutrition in third-world countries, as well as global climate issues.

Looking ahead to 2024, he has high hopes for AI to make the world a more equitable place by leveraging AI to answer the following questions:

• Can AI combat antibiotic resistance?

• Can AI bring personalized tutors to every student?

• Can AI help treat high-risk pregnancies?

• Can AI help people assess their risk for HIV?

• Could AI make medical information easier to access for every health worker?

Gates speculates that developed countries like the US are 18–24 months away from the general public embracing AI to a large degree, whereas the same would take African countries at least three years. He also notes that while there is still a remarkable difference, this gap is much shorter than the lag times with other innovations in the past.

⚡️Insights:

We chose to cover this piece because while leveraging AI for business is glamorous and all, it’s important to bring attention to how it can be used for “philanthropic” purposes. The world probably does not need thousands of ChatGPT wrappers or Midjourney artists.

Big Tech Outspends Venture Capital Firms in AI Investment Frenzy

According to PitchBook, Microsoft, Google and Amazon accounted for two-thirds of the $27 bn raised by AI companies in 2023. (Recall the $10 bn blockbuster deal between Microsoft and OpenAI)

⚡️Insights:

Compared to the traditional VC model, where companies have milestones to hit, the current AI frenzy does seem like easy funding is raining down for start-ups. Tech firms, especially, have a strong incentive to invest due to their natural synergy, and their proprietary VC teams (for the lack of a better term) likely have better tools and knowledge to identify which projects are good investment opportunities and which ones are not.

About Imposter Syndrome

Research has shown that up to 82% of people have suffered from imposter syndrome. Harvard Business Review quoted a research from the late ‘70s which narrows down behaviors of imposter syndrome:

• Thinking that people have an exaggerated view of your abilities

• The fear of being exposed as a fraud

• The continuous tendency to downplay your achievements

Since more likely than not you have suffered from it, here are some tips of how to make your life easier:

1. Keep a positive mindset and focus on the task at present, not from the past or future. Whether you got accepted to a university or a company that you feel you don’t deserve, believe that they probably know how to evaluate people better than you can.

2. Celebrate your wins, this could be publicly on Linkedin or privately on the down low by treating yourself. While it’s a fine line to tread, celebrating your successes (without sounding like a douche) counters the fear of being exposed directly.

3. Make a plan and prioritize your self-improvement campaign. Assess what’s the most important goal that you need to work on and focus on that, instead of overwhelming yourself with a list of goals.

ByteDance when they saw OpenAI’s white paper on superalignment: (click here if you missed it!)

Nvidia CEO Jensen dishes out career tips for the fast-changing AI era, suggests not wearing a wristwatch - Link

The Unified Future of AI, Blockchain and Virtual Worlds in 2024 - Link

Humane AI Pin orders will start shipping in March - Link

That’s It For This Week, Catch Y’all Same Time Next Week!