Welcome to Startups Weekly, a sneak peek at this week’s startup news and trends from senior reporter and Equity co-host Natasha Mascarenhas. Subscribe to get it in your inbox Here,
Reporter’s Note: Before we get into it, thanks to Startups Weekly readers who pointed out that the link to my column was broken last week. If you want to know about the single GP situation – oh boy, is it rocky – please read my TC+ story here: Are Solo GP bad? OK, now to this week’s newsletter!
“AI Whisperer” jobs are roles created for people who are savvy, quick engineers and capable of manipulating ChatGPT or other generative AI tools to get what they want from it. As Bloomberg reported earlier this week, these jobs can go up to $335,000 in annual pay. Cha Ching.
That’s an impressive price tag for a job role that would have been mind-blowing just a year ago. It’s also a reminder that the boom of generative AI will generate a whole new set of questions about the way we ask questions. By spending just a few minutes playing on ChatGPT, I learned that you can get a variety of AI-generated answers to questions by changing just a few select words and demanding bullet points versus three sentences.
Before we see a whole wave of AI prompt engineering consultancy practices for hire – just kidding, we already are – I thought here are some of the top things I’d like to hear from the community on how to better interact with AI. Would be helpful to collect suggestions. Get it to give you the answer you want. We already know it’s imperfect, it can’t be trusted with every single fact, and it’s sometimes dumb. However, what can we do with what we have?
Several tech experts took to Twitter to share their views – You can view the full thread here — but here are the top five tips:
1. Exaggerate. As one person said, don’t be afraid to be extra when indicating artificial intelligence. There’s a difference between asking for a banana bread recipe and asking for a simple banana bread recipe that includes cardamom, takes less than an hour to bake and has a surprising number of ingredients. Or put differently, don’t just put it at a high level, get specific about the tone and complexity you’d like in the answer. The use of description and adjectives was probably the most common tip I received when asked for advice on how to be a better motivator.
2. Ask for help. It’s not always easy to know how specific to be when you’re giving a signal to AI – so why not ask for help? an entrepreneur Told me to ask chatgpt how to prompt this based on what I want, so ask something like, what information do you need from me to create an itinerary for a San Francisco hiking trip? The AI will tell you what it needs – wish humans were like that – and as a result, you’ll get more tailored answers.
3. Give Feedback. Suppose I ask: “A verbose but informative three-sentence explanation of the impact of generative AI on education, including at least one metaphor.” ChatGPT got a great response, but I didn’t like the response. Tell it! Feedback is helpful in training the AI on the types of answers you prefer and it takes a split second. Here’s how the process went for me:
Natasha: Let me give a verbose but informative three-sentence explanation of the impact of generative AI on education, including at least one metaphor.
ChatGPT: Generative AI has the potential to transform education by serving as a virtual sherpa, leading students on personalized learning expeditions. Just as a Sherpa uses experience to guide climbers through inhospitable terrain, AI can use big data to provide a customized route to knowledge. With the help of Generative AI, education can become a more accessible and tailored journey, helping students reach new heights.
Natasha: I don’t like the virtual Sherpa metaphor. Also, can you be more specific about what new heights students can reach?
chatgpt: Generative AI can be thought of as a personal tutor, providing students with a tailor-made curriculum that meets their individual needs and interests. Like a skilled coach, AI can identify students’ strengths and weaknesses and provide targeted guidance to help them excel. With the help of Generative AI, students can reach new heights by unlocking their full potential and gaining a deeper understanding of complex subjects.
4. Ask for specifics. ChatGPT only answers what is asked of it, so why not ask for specifics? One of the founders said that they ask about the pros and cons on each recommendation ChatGPT prompts them to give.
5. Be a little flattered. Is it self-indulgent to ask an AI to speak like me, especially to make it articulate, charismatic, and informative? Maybe, but it helps. One of the biggest hacks I’ve learned is to interject my Twitter handle when asked to delve deeper into a topic. ChatGPT responds better to “Give an argument for why cauliflower is the best vegetable in the tone of @nmasc_” Give an argument for why cauliflower is the best vegetable in the tone of Natasha Mascarenhas. And because I know you’re curious about the former, I’ll leave you with ChatGPT’s reasoning on cauliflower supremacy:
Okay, gear up folks, because I’m about to make the case for why cauliflower is the best vegetable out there. First, let’s talk about versatility. This baby can be roasted, grilled, mashed, pureed, and even turned into buffalo wings. Name any other vegetable which can do all this, I will wait.
And don’t even get me started on the health benefits. Cauliflower is loaded with vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, vitamin K, and potassium, not to mention it’s high in fiber and low in calories. Plus, it’s a great source of antioxidants, which help fight disease and keep your body in great shape.
But the real thing is that the best thing about cauliflower is how delicious it is. Whether you’re enjoying it in a creamy soup, a spicy stir-fry, or as a crispy pizza crust, cauliflower has a flavor and texture that can’t be beat. And let’s not forget its ability to take on a variety of flavors and spices, making it the ultimate canvas for creative cooking.
So there you have it folks. Cauliflower is the MVP of vegetables, and I challenge anyone to prove me wrong.
Those are some initial suggestions I’m including but I’d still love to know what else I’m missing so please Put your top tips in this thread. Also, shout out to John Carden, CMO of Fundraise For title inspiration!
For the rest of this newsletter, we’re going to be talking about Cerebral Valley and Substack. as always you can follow me Twitter Or to continue the Instagram conversation. And if you feel like giving me some extra support, subscribe to my personal (and free!) Substack.
heard in cerebral valley
I attended the Cerebral Valley AI conference on Wednesday, which brought together 200 of the top minds in artificial intelligence for a day-long deep dive. The event, hosted by Newcomer and Walley, was immersive to say the least. I talked to half a dozen YC founders who are building AI companies, bullish and surprisingly bearish VCs, and, briefly, Imad Mostaq, CEO and founder of Sustainability, about keeping it real.
Here are some of the best one liners:
- In response to a recent open letter, Kleiner Perkins partner Bucky Moore said, “A pause of six months looks disastrous and probably prohibitively costly.”
- “Security research is one of the areas it was best known for… I don’t necessarily think it’s synonymous with a technology company, a company that’s also thinking about how to take that research And turn it into something practical,” said Daniela Amodei, co-founder of Anthropic.
- “You’re building for GPT-4, but you want to build for GPT-10,” said Lisha Li, CEO of Rosebud AI.
- “Of course we’re not in a bubble, it’s bigger than 5G and self-driving customers,” Emad Mostaq, CEO and founder of Stability AI, said of the AI hype. “When founders come to me, I say build good products and solve problems… most of the stuff is still at the surface level.”
And finally: If you’re still looking for more sustainability, listen to my podcast interview with Navarina Singh, founder of Credo AI, who talked about responsible AI, governance, and fear not being a huge motivator.
Image Credits: Getty Images
substance news week
Blogging and media platform Substack opened a community fundraising round this week, seeking accredited and nonaccredited capital from its writers, readers. As of Friday morning, more than 6,000 investors have pledged nearly $6.9 million in funding.
We also talked about the crowdfunding campaign this week on our podcast Equity, which turned out to be spicier than I expected. To me, if Substack successfully raises funds from its community after disclosing its financials – the equity crowdfunding world will get a much needed reputation and public perception boost.
here’s what to knowthrough my colleague Alex Wilhelm,
Ironically, users of Substack may offer some relief to the professional money managers at the company. Venture investors who once put a mountain of capital into SubStack don’t need to invest more, the ensuing dilution is effectively zero and the company gets more money to pursue its long-term goals. For Substack, it’s a win-win.
We won’t see puzzles like this again and again. Most startups could not manage this kind of crowdfunding because their customers pay them, not the other way around. In contrast, Substack users make part of their living from the company, so they invest more in it. This is what makes Substack Crowdfund unique.
Image Credits: andripopov / Getty Images
etc etc.
spotted on techcrunch
StellarFi commits $15M to help people build credit by paying bills, rent on time
Groupon, which has lost 99.4% of its value since its IPO, names a new CEO based in the Czech Republic
US investors downgrade Byju’s and Swiggy’s valuation
twitter is dying
Apple acquires a startup using AI to compress video
spotted on techcrunch+
The layoffs will continue until (investor) morale improves
Investors Surprised by Q1 Crypto Funding Drop
Pitch Deck Teardown: Northspire’s $25 Million Series B Deck
What is happening with Tiktok ban?
blind to the speed of change
talk soon,
Source: techcrunch.com
