Hey Reader,

Computing in 2025 is going to look nothing like computing in 2022. There’s no escape from AI – so we should embrace it and make sure we’re using it to help us get better at what we do.

With that in mind, I’m going to show you the three big things that are coming in AI in 2024. Each one would have been unfathomable just a couple years ago.

But first, I just posted the replay of Demo Day, last week’s event where six Innovating with AI students launched their brand new products and processes to the world. We had 392 live attendees, plus the tens of thousands of people who’ll read this email – a huge launch audience for these brand-new ideas.

Here are some key moments from the video:

• 00:00 – AskWP from Keanan, a new plugin that tells you anything you want to know about your WordPress site with natural language.
  ​
• 18:55 – Erich shows how he uses Custom GPTs to generate new TV show ideas that he can pitch to big studios, so he can go from four pitches a year to dozens.
  ​
• 35:05 – José demos Productivitree, a no-code tool to improve prioritization, focus and project management.
  ​
• 54:18 – Matt shows Intwelligence, his new personalized wellness program, and how he’s using AI to create reports and recommendations in a few minutes instead of 10+ hours per client.
  ​
• 1:08:07 – Karl shows Nakkara, the new tool that turns AI images into real-life, 3D printed objects, paints them, and mails them to you! My son and I are ordering one this weekend :-)
  ​
• 1:23:57 – Yane and Simon show 1Blosm, their new AI childcare assistant that complements their software business, 1Core, which serves childcare centers around the country.

As a teacher, it was incredible to see how far everyone had come in less than two short months. I’d been working personally with everyone via our Slack community and Zoom sessions as part of the program, and the transformation from their first day to Demo Day blows my mind. Day one – “I don’t have an idea yet” or “I don’t know how to build what’s in my head.” Demo Day – “this thing is ready to show to tens of thousands of people!”

What really inspires me is all the rapid progress I’ve seen among the hundreds of students who joined our programs in 2023. AI is always going to be evolving at top speed – you can never “know everything” because there’s so much new stuff every day. But if we can help our students keep up with that pace and exceed their peers, we’re putting them in an incredible position to be leaders in the AI-powered future. That changes careers, lives, families, and the world for the better.

We’re opening up a new cohort of the Innovating with AI: Launch Your AI Idea program in January. If you want to be the first to know when it’s available, join the waitlist here.

What’s coming in 2024?

Alright, let’s dive into some predictions and planning for next year. Needless to say, ChatGPT changed everything in 2023. I still meet a lot of people who don’t “believe in” AI – but I think they’re going to be forced to acknowledge the seismic shift in the industry and rapidly adapt next year. By December 2024, there will be no way to deny or ignore the fact that tech has permanently changed.

Big Change #1 – More players in the market

Google has been repeatedly humiliated this year, but don’t expect that to last forever. By the end of 2024, we’ll see at least three competitors who are providing services that are equal to or better than what OpenAI is providing today. These are likely to be a combination of:

• Meta
• Amazon
• Google
• Anthropic
• IBM
• Yahoo! (just kidding)

If I had to guess, I’d say that the biggest surprise breakthrough will come from Amazon. Their dominance in cloud computing (Amazon Web Services) is often unnoticed by non-coders. I think they’re the ones who are best placed to pump a huge amount of money and expertise into creating a really good, commoditized large language model that usurps OpenAI for the throne next year.

Big Change #2 – Video and audio that is indistinguishable from the real thing

We’ve already started to see breakthroughs here with HeyGen’s custom avatars (make an AI video version of yourself) and Meta’s expressive translations (make yourself talk in multiple languages in what sounds like your voice and style). And it’s already possible to replicate a celebrity’s voice very accurately.

Next year, we will see so much video and audio progress that it will become nearly impossible to distinguish AI-generated video from “real” video. And many celebrities and influencers will embrace this, allowing them to create things like Instagram Reels and advertisements with nearly zero actual recording required.

We’ll also see faster and better video and audio editing, something that Descript has already revolutionized for me. Not long ago it would take 8+ hours and hundreds of dollars to clean up the audio on a podcast – now it is literally an automatic process for $30/month.

Big Change #3 – The ‘Early Majority’ arrives in AI

If you’re not already familiar with the Technology Adoption Curve from Crossing the Chasm, it looks like this:

This year, everyone is either an Innovator or an Early Adopter. But in 2024, we will start to see more of the Early Majority join the party – in other words, AI is about to cross the chasm.

This means more customers for your future AI products. It also means more competition from people who are already using AI to improve their processes and workflow in their existing jobs. And it makes it all the more important that you stay ahead of the game by experimenting, learning and growing as rapidly as possible.

Questions? As always, just reply to any email – I’m here to help you accelerate your AI adoption.

See you next time,

– Rob

–

Quick question: What did you think of today’s email?

• ​🤩 It was awesome!​
  ​
• ​😐 Meh​
  ​
• ​🤮 It was awful​

–

PS. If you haven’t yet, be sure to watch the replay of Demo Day to see what our students are launching. If you want to a chance to be featured here in the future, join the waitlist for the January cohort of the ‘Launch Your AI Idea’ program.