 |
| By Chris Graebe |
AI probably won't be taking your job anytime soon, but it may make your job easier.
Many fear that the AI tools we have today — like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and so on — will advance so fast that their skills and talents will no longer be in demand.
However, most of the workforce is not at risk of being replaced … at least not anytime soon.
On the one hand, the type of AI that could replace the average human worker is years, if not decades out, from being made. On the other hand, as a product, that’s simply not what people are interested in today.
The overwhelming demand in AI right now is for collaborative tools that help humans do things they already do better, smarter and safer.
AI Automation Versus Augmentation
An automatic AI task, by definition, is one that a human doesn't need to influence. The AI has been built, it has everything it needs and it can perform complex, dynamic tasks without human guidance.
That isn’t what this AI boom is about.
Right now, virtually all the top AI tools available are programs that help make you better at what you already do. This is augmentation.
AI tools like virtual assistants are designed to work alongside humans, offering them increased productivity, a break from repetitive tasks, a piece of advice and so on.
An office full of empty cubicles with AIs inside every computer performing every task is far away in the future at this point.
However, an office full of human workers working alongside AI is already here. The latter is something we all need to get accustomed to, because the tech is here, it works, it’s convenient and it’s already shaping industries.
Where AI Augmentation Shines
Customer service is currently being revolutionized by AI copilots.
By now, whether we knew it at the time or not, we have all interacted with an AI chatbot on a webpage or over the phone.
And while we may have mixed feelings about it, the data is in …
Forbes published a study that showed that a customer service AI improved a company's customer service efficiency by 40%.
The AI handled the routine questions and easy-to-solve problems. And when that didn’t work, it passed the customer to a human representative.
Similar solutions can be found in sales and marketing.
The use of AI assistants in coding is another transformative breakthrough. Just like with spoken language, some AI models have become well-versed in coding languages.
Just recently, a funny story came out about the coding tool Cursor AI.
A user asked the AI to write some code. But instead, it offered some advice: Go learn to code yourself.
It turns out that this platform, whether internationally or not, is limiting how users can use Cursor AI to code.
This comes after months of debate over the trend of "vibe coding," in which large sections of code can be generated by AI based only on users' regular language prompts … even if they have no idea how to code.
Among other things, vibe coding shows just how powerful some of these tools are.
An AI startup is trying to take this to the next level, folding in a novel form of “reasoning” to prevent bad code from being generated.
The startup is called Imandra, and its “Imandra Core reasoning engine” converts code into mathematical models. It then runs equations on that translated code to check for errors.
This is another point for augmented AI. The better these tools get, the better people are at producing code, whether they know programming or not.
Imandra has raised over $21 million in private funding — most recently a $9 million convertible debt round in 2024.
AI in Your Passenger Seat
Qualcomm (QCOM), the global mobile and processor giant, has acquired MovianAI from VinAI, a Hanoi-based startup that makes an actual copilot.
VinAI is known for its augmented AI tools for drivers, making operating a motor vehicle safer than ever.
Tools such as smart parking, in-cabin monitoring, drunk impairment detection and fatigue and drowsiness monitoring — all powered by AI — make driving more secure than ever … and protect irresponsible drivers from themselves.
The deal went down for an undisclosed amount and was announced just this month.
VinAI’s founder and CEO, Dr. Hung Bui will join Qualcomm. What was actually purchased was VinAI’s generative AI, machine learning, computer vision and natural language processing capabilities … not the unique car AI tools.
This comes as Qualcomm and other tech industry leaders eagerly search for and acquire startups — and even pieces of startups — that bring some AI solutions to the table.
The demand has never been higher. And there is a kind of arms race between competing companies to establish themselves first as major AI players.
Startups will be key pieces in this other AI boom.
Happy hunting,
Chris Graebe
P.S. About 17 hours from the time this email hits your inbox, we will be forced to shut down access to a strategy that does — and is doing — better in highly volatile markets like the current one.
Demand is too high, and spots are limited. So, it has to come offline at 12 midnight Eastern tonight. I urge you to watch this important interview right now, before that happens.
