Welcome to Lead with AI, the only executive AI brief for busy leaders. Every edition, I deliver the latest AI updates through real-world insights and discussions from our community of 150+ forward-thinking executives.
OpenAI Has Its Next Big Stop: Superintelligence
Sam Altman had an X to gather community input for OpenAI's 2025 goals:
The results make perfect sense: AGI is the big question we’re all curious about, agents are poised to transform (once again) how we collaborate with AI, and the rest is a wish for tools that work smarter, faster, and more intuitively.
Is yours one of these? Or do you have something else on your wishlist for AI in 2025?
Maybe it’s a ChatGPT feature, an upgrade to another chatbot you use more frequently, or even a brand-new AI built for your specific needs.
Share with us here.
I’m curious to know and eager to understand you better! In return, I’ll keep an eye out for them and alert you if any of them come to life.
For this week’s issue, I have news and inspirations for you to apply AI in your work, team, and organization:
- “Your AI Team” Updates: 5 Tips You Should Be Using to Level Up ChatGPT
- AI Implementation Case Study: How Ikea Makes AI Work at Scale
- The Executive AI Brief: OpenAI Has Its Next Big Stop: Superintelligence
- Weekly Quick Hits: Microsoft’s $80B AI Data Center, 10x Cheaper Chinese AI Chatbot, Claude 3.5 Sonnet Tops New Benchmarks, and more.
And other interesting sharings from the Lead with AI PRO community.
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“Your AI Team” Platform Updates
Essential updates from our core AI platforms can mean big changes in your and your team's productivity. Here's what's new from the essential AI tools that most Lead with AI leaders are using:
After the wave of year-end feature pushes from major AI players, the first week of 2025 feels like a calm after the storm. Perfect time to catch your breath and maximize the tools at hand!
Here are five ways to level up ChatGPT usage, as agreed by OpenAI's Head of Product, Nick Turley:
- Try Voice Mode: A “completely different way” to use ChatGPT. It can now even see what you’re talking about, respond in a very human-like manner, and is available across web browsers, desktops, and mobile apps.
- Make ChatGPT Remember You: Skip repeating yourself. Teach ChatGPT about your job, preferences, or favorite topics. The ‘Project’ feature also lets you train the bot on specific projects with files and prompts.
- Create Your Own GPT: Got a favorite prompt? Build a personal GPT for tasks like data analysis, language learning, or writing. It’s easy and takes seconds, see my step-by-step guide here.
- Upload Files for Analysis: Unless you have a powerful NotebookLM workflow in place, ChatGPT is helpful with heavy reading tasks. Upload papers, handbooks, or spreadsheets to summarize, generate insights, or compare details.
- Text + Visuals: Most of us focus on ChatGPT’s text tools, but with DALL-E now integrated, you can effortlessly generate high-quality images or combine visuals with your writing. Just look at the stunning Zoom background sets we created for reference.
Do you have any further ChatGPT productivity tips to offer? It could benefit others too!
Lead, Don’t Follow—Master AI Now
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What's included:
- Expert guidance: Live masterclasses every month to help you integrate AI into your workflow and make an impact.
- A connected community: Join sub-communities of senior leaders across industries to exchange actionable insights.
- Valuable resources: Stay informed with 30+ video lessons and cutting-edge research on AI tools and applications.
Over 170 leaders from companies like Apple, Gartner, and Toyota have already transformed how they work with AI. Will you be next?
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How Companies Implement AI
The Inside Story of Ikea’s AI Integration
Under Francesco Marzoni, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Ingka, the company has trained over 30,000 employees in AI fundamentals, with some completing a year-long full-time training in data analysis.
The goal? To embed AI expertise directly into teams like sales and HR for seamless integration into everyday processes.
AI powers their recommendation engines, supply chain optimization, and even interior design tools. Not stopping there, Ikea hosts hackathons and initiatives like the World Data Games to blend data innovation with social impact.
Marzoni emphasizes that AI success hinges on robust data management and collaboration, saying, “AI is very much about data, and data is largely in people’s heads.”
It’s a solid reminder: AI adoption isn’t just about tools—it’s about building a workforce ready to embrace them.
>> Read the full story here.
The AI Executive Brief
OpenAI Has Its Next Big Stop: Superintelligence
We haven’t really seen AGI (AI that matches human intelligence), and OpenAI is already setting its sights on superintelligence (AI that could surpass human capabilities)!
In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg, Sam Altman was candid about the company’s wild ride—from the ChatGPT explosion to internal upheavals—but it was the future of superintelligence that’s grabbing attention.
Altman believes these systems could transform industries, supercharge science, and reshape global prosperity.
Is this hype or the dawn of something extraordinary? Time will tell.
>> Read or listen to the full interview here.
Quick Hits
- Microsoft plans an $80B investment in AI data center infrastructure by 2025. Dubbed a “golden opportunity” for American AI dominance, it’s a strategic bet on the future.
- Google’s new whitepaper shows it’s gearing up for AI agents capable of autonomously using APIs, databases, and reasoning frameworks to perform real-world tasks.
- New benchmarks reveal AI agents can autonomously complete 24% of workplace tasks. Claude 3.5 Sonnet leads in admin, coding, and project management. Details here.
- OpenAI’s $200/month ChatGPT Pro plan is losing money despite its premium price, with heavy usage outpacing revenue. A surprising twist for such a high-end offering.
- AI systems are unlocking real productivity, but one Washington Post analysis warns: the next leap may demand deeper access to your digital life. Read the catch.
- “Writing better code” works! Data Scientist Max Woolf put Claude 3.5 Sonnet to the test, proving it can refine its outputs and optimize code with just iterative “improvement loops” and no further explanations.
- Everything the world can do, China can do cheaper. Chinese AI firm DeepSeek just released the V3 model that is 10x cheaper than GPT-4o, and a tester concludes that you can safely switch from there. Try it here and let me know your thoughts.
From The Lead with AI Community
Every day, Lead with AI members discuss practical ways to benefit from AI in their work and organizations.
This week's highlights include:
- I shared a demo from an OpenAI user showcasing how they produced an animation over a weekend using Sora, in which the tips for maintaining character consistency are particularly valuable.
- I also shared Ethan Mollick’s post with a striking closing note: “AI helps everyone, but expertise amplifies its benefits considerably!”
- Anthony Onesto shared Gary Marcus’ blog on 25 AI Predictions for 2025, offering a counterpoint to all the AI hype.
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If you have any other questions or feedback, just reply or inbox me.
See you next week,
Practical Tips for the AI-Driven Workplace
Get real strategies AND implementation guides from business leaders delivered to your inbox every Tuesday.