Hello AI Enthusiasts 👋

Welcome to all the new subscribers! It's exciting to have you join over 2,000 other AI enthusiasts who read this newsletter.

It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks in the world of AI. We've seen new AI models released, exciting new audio capabilities, and… (on a slightly different, but hopefully interesting, note)… the release of my FREE 9-week email course ‘The Academic Side Hustle’. It’s not strictly AI-related, but I thought it might be of interest to many of you!

If you’re new, welcome! You might find some of my popular blog posts a great place to start. Or, if you’re a seasoned reader, skip ahead for some recently discovered AI Gems.

Catch Up on Popular Posts From the Blog

• AI Literature Reviews: Exploring Google’s NotebookLM for Analysing Academic Literature

• How to Turn Your Academic Papers into Social Media Posts Using AI Chatbots

• Should I use AI to write my PhD thesis?

💎 💎 💎 Sharing AI Gems 💎 💎 💎

🍓 New ‘Strawberry’ AI Models

New ‘strawberry’ AI models have just been released, developed by OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT). They represent a new artificial intelligence model designed to exhibit enhanced reasoning capabilities. The name ‘Strawberry’ is a humorous reference to mistakes made by previous AI models, which incorrectly counted the number of 'r's in the word ‘strawberry’. Overview:

• Reasoning Abilities: The Strawberry model, officially known as o1, is designed to break down complex problems into smaller logical steps. It uses a technique called ‘chain of thought’ prompting, which considers multiple responses before choosing the best one, similar to human reasoning processes. While I wouldn’t recommend using it for academic writing tasks (it’s rather slow), it does open up new possibilities and use cases.

• Performance: The model has shown impressive performance in various tasks such as solving math problems, and even surpassing human PhD-level accuracy on science problems 😱

• Access: Currently only available on paid ChatGPT Plus subscribers.

To learn more, check out (AI Legend) Ethan Mollick’s recent blog post: Something New: On OpenAI's "Strawberry" and Reasoning and discover some rather shocking statistics on the models capabilities.

🎧 🔈 Transform Academic Papers (and more) into Conversational Podcast Episodes

Google’s NotebookLM product (which I’ve written about previously) has recently introduced a new feature called Audio Overview, which allows you to convert your uploaded documents (or web links) into deep-dive audio discussions. This functionality is designed to enhance the way users interact with their research by simulating a podcast-like experience. Key features include:

• AI-Generated Discussions: The Audio Overview feature uses two AI hosts that engage in a lively conversation based on the user's source materials (e.g., uploaded papers, and website links). The AI hosts summarise key points, make connections between different topics, and even include casual banter to keep the discussion engaging. It’s pretty cool! I used it to generate an audio overview/podcast of the introduction to my new Academic Side Hustle Program. Check out the audio here: https://broneager.com/introduction-academic-side-hustle

• Accessibility and Portability: Users can listen to these audio summaries while multitasking or on the go, making it especially beneficial for those who learn better through auditory means. The audio files can be downloaded for convenience. I can see applications of this in teaching. For example, when providing a journal article for students to read (which, let’s face it, they rarely do) we could now include an engaging and short audio overview of the article.

• Experimental Nature: This feature is still in an experimental phase, meaning it may have limitations such as longer generation times for larger documents and potential inaccuracies in the discussions. Currently, the AI hosts only communicate in English and do not allow interruptions during playback. Additionally, one downside is that you can’t currently edit the audio script.

For a walk-through on how to use this feature, check out the video: NotebookLM: Your Custom Podcast Creator for Professional Learning

NEW (FREE!) COURSE: The Academic Side Hustle

As an entrepreneurship educator and long-term side hustle enthusiast, I’m often asked how I built a business alongside my academic career. The frequency of these queries sparked me to create a FREE COURSE to help other academics start their own business.

The Academic Side Hustle Program is a 9-week email course, designed to guide you, step by step, through building a business that leverages your academic skills and expertise.

Whether you’re seeking extra income, more career flexibility, a pathway to responsibly quit your job, or simply a way to make a bigger impact, this course is tailored specifically for an academic audience.

Note. It’s currently in ‘beta mode’, which means I’m testing it out and making improvements and your feedback is much welcomed so it can continue to grow and improve.

And… That’s a Wrap!

Thanks for your support and for coming along on my AI journey.

Take care and chat soon,

Bron