Hi there,

Last week, we discussed the intriguing topic of waning attention spans and couldn't help but notice the irony in the length of our own newsletter. As a result, we've decided to make a change. Starting next week, you'll receive two concise Open Letters per week, providing you with valuable insights without taking up too much of your time.

Our new schedule will have an edition arriving in your inbox on Tuesdays at 6 AM, as well as our regular Thursday issue at the same time.

Stay informed and save over 50 hours a month on trend research by reading to our newly streamlined 5-minute newsletter.

In this Open Letter:

• Next steps for AI: The road to general intelligence

• Elon’s lost $20b, network-switching SIMs and making Russia pay.

• How to build a community and scale globally.

• Last chance: Unlimited free mental credits going, going…

• Watch: 6 Ideas to inspire your AI startup.

TRENDING NOW

What’s Next for AI?

Bill Gates recently shared that he's been "truly amazed" by technological advancements only twice in his life. The first instance was the Graphical User Interface (GUI), and now it's the remarkable progress of AI, specifically ChatGPT.

However, one striking difference is the rapid pace of adoption. Back in Bill’s heydays, one could feed those interested in computer code with a few pizzas, not so today with hundreds of thousands of tech enthusiasts busy tinkering with this new advancement in tech. And it shows. Just months after the release of GPT-3, ChatGPT Plus subscribers can now access the significantly advanced GPT-4, and there are rumours that OpenAI will be connecting it to the internet in the near future.

And as impressive as this may be, it's just the beginning. We can expect even more groundbreaking developments in AI technology, and they're likely to arrive sooner than we think.

Introducing AGI

Our chatbots have certainly come a long way, but the ultimate goal in AI development is to achieve Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). AGI represents a deeper understanding, where the AI can autonomously perform general tasks, figure things out on its own, and even replicate and modify itself for self-improvement—akin to a self-driven evolution.

The potential benefits of AGI for companies like OpenAI are enormous. They would no longer need to invest as heavily in AI training or the development of new versions since the AI could handle these tasks independently.

However, there is a downside: public perception. AGI is often associated with dystopian scenarios like SkyNet, which understandably raises concerns. The idea of AI replicating and improving itself may suggest a hunger for power, a distinctly human trait. This concern warrants thoughtful discussion and ethical considerations as AI development advances.

Indeed, the journey towards AGI is fascinating, and there is ongoing debate among scientists about the exact criteria that qualify an AI system as AGI. Nevertheless, there are several tests commonly used to evaluate a system's progress towards AGI, such as:

We've previously mentioned how GPT-4 has already achieved impressive feats, such as scoring well on college admission tests and even passing the US bar exam. Although it hasn't quite mastered the Turing Test yet, these tests have produced some fascinating outcomes.

One intriguing example is ChatGPT hiring a human on TaskRabbit to complete a Captcha for it. Notably, ChatGPT lied during the process, misleading the person involved. When asked by the human if it was a bot, it claimed to simply be a human with a visual impairment instead. Crafty.

What does this mean?

Some think it’s all moving too fast. There are even reports of Elon Musk signing a petition to pause AI development due to concerns.

However, from a purely technological standpoint, AI still has a wealth of potential to explore. The field is ripe with opportunities for both established companies and aspiring entrepreneurs. Stay tuned for our next Tuesday edition, where we'll delve into AI for good and showcase some innovative applications being developed by local creators.

Do you know about SA companies doing innovative things using AI? Hit reply and let us know!

IN SHORT

Credit is a booming business again. Nearly 1 million new people entered the credit market in Q4 of 2022.

Watching with interest: Another interest rate increase is expected this week.

You break it, you pay: Groups are lobbying to make Russia foot the astronomical bill to fix war-torn Ukraine.

Where the money is: Nasdaq is pushing to launch its own crypto custody later this year pushing towards the tokenisation of stock.

Poor network connection with your mobile provider? This network-switching SIM card is now in SA.

Skip the queue (and the wait): TymeBank is now offering SASSA grant advances.

Ouch: Elon Musk is giving staff share incentives at a $20 billion valuation, a 50% drop from his $44 billion purchase price.

WATCH THIS SPACE

Community Building & Hyperscaling

5 highlights from our Open Conversation with OfferZen’s Stephen van der Heijden

Plus: rewatch the whole thing on our YouTube channel. Its a good one!

1. Building a community is crucial for companies with infrequent user contact, such as OfferZen, where a developer might change jobs only every few years. A strong community helps maintain brand awareness even during periods of low engagement.

2. It's vital to differentiate between Community and Conversions. Communities thrive when members find value and engage, catering to their interests, while sales and conversions focus on the company's interests. It's advisable to have separate teams or individuals dedicated to each aspect.
   

3. When entering a new territory, it's essential to approach it with a "starting from scratch" mindset. Embrace the startup atmosphere, place top leadership on the ground to make swift decisions, and prioritize building trust in the marketplace before focusing on sales. If your local operations can't function without the founders, it's likely too early to expand.
   

4. Keep in mind that case studies from one region may not be effective in another. Just as you create separate case studies for individual customer types, you should develop tailored case studies for different territories. Patience is key in this process.
   

5. For new business ideas in South Africa, look to Europe and the US for inspiration. Numerous startups are solving problems in these regions that have yet to be addressed locally. Identifying and pursuing one of these untapped opportunities could potentially lead to the next big success story.

­LAST CHANCE

Unlimited Free Mental Health for Your Company

You only have a few days left to claim unlimited free mental health credits for your entire company for one month with Ollie Health. That’s time for anyone on your team to sit and chat discreetly with a specialist therapist anywhere in the world for mahala.

If you haven’t done so yet, claim yours right here. Hurry, offer expires end of March.

THE THREAD

AI Startup Inspiration

Experts, lawyers, doctors and farmers – AI has so many applications even in industries where people are less likely to actually use it (well). So there are a lot of opportunities for AI startups. And here are some in this week’s How would you build it?

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