Today’s Highlights

• AI: OpenAI’s 12-Day Binge Launch

• Design: What Will UX Be Like in 2025?

• Science & Tech: New GPS Alternative: Uses Terrain 'Fingerprints'

• Founding: If your Self-Service Model Ever Fails, the Reasons Would Be…

• Product: Insights from Data > Reliance on Data: Don’t Blindly Anchor Your Decisions to Data

• Today’s AI image: OpenAI’s Models Ticking Off Dates

• Quote for the day: Truth in Simplest Form

AI

OpenAI’s 12-Day Binge Launch

OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, just dropped some big news at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit, spilling the beans on a 12-day product launch spree starting today.

A few tidbits from the chat:

• ChatGPT now boasts 300 million active users every week, sending more than a billion messages daily. Plus, a whopping 1.3 million developers across the US are getting stuck into OpenAI's tools.

• When the conversation turned to OpenAI’s relationship with Microsoft, Sam dodged it with finesse, noting there’s a bit of tension but that, in the grand scheme, the two companies are on the same page in terms of goals.

• As for AI safety, Sam reckons the real concerns won’t hit the moment AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) arrives but will creep up as we edge closer to superintelligence.

• He sees deep learning as almost a law of nature and believes AI will eventually be as common as sliced bread. While a few companies have the first-mover advantage, it will soon be everywhere—something that’ll be hard to imagine living without.

• When asked about Elon Musk suing OpenAI, Sam didn’t hold back: “Tremendously sad.”

  He explained how he grew up idolising Elon, and how Musk made everyone think bigger—including Sam himself.

  He reckons the lawsuit is less about the actual claim and more about Musk seeing OpenAI as a competitor he wants to take down using legal means instead of the usual marketplace competition.

Why is this a big deal?

The product drops OpenAI’s been hinting at all year are finally coming. Word on the street is that Sora will make its long-awaited debut.

And if you’re keen to catch every moment live, tune into OpenAI’s livestream, kicking off at 10am PT.

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Also in AI

• Google DeepMind’s Genie 2: A multimodal AI generating playable 3D environments from image prompts, complete with real-time physics, lighting, and player controls

• AI Weather Forecasting, GenCast: Surpasses traditional systems for 15-day forecasts in minutes, including accurate extreme weather predictions

• Recraft: Tool for creating professional thumbnails by combining images, text, and AI styles

• Amazon & Anthropic are Together Developing Project Rainer, the largest AI supercomputer

• Anduril + OpenAI: Collaboration on AI-powered aerial defence systems

• HuggingFace CEO warns China could lead the AI race by 2025

• OpenAI is Hiring top DeepMind experts for new Zurich office

Design

What Will UX Be Like in 2025?

The Shift in Power

Design is no longer the driving force it once was. Instead, it's increasingly shaped by business goals, algorithms, and automated tools.

Designers are handing over more control to machines and data-driven decisions, while their influence is being diluted.

AI’s Role

Tools like Figma, Canva, and Vercel are altering the landscape of design, making AI an essential partner. Some fear these tools will replace designers; others believe they’ll boost productivity. Either way, they’re reshaping how we think about design and its value.

The Growth Trap

UX is being increasingly driven by growth metrics rather than user needs. Companies are focused on clicks, not clarity, prioritising profit over user experience.

It's a shift from meaningful design to performance-driven, engagement-maximising systems.

From Empathy to Algorithms

Personalisation is now more about complex algorithms than human empathy. User research is being replaced by automated A/B tests, and data is starting to dictate design decisions.

It's a trade-off between creating thoughtful, human-centric products and following the machine’s lead.

Change is Inevitable – and Opportunity

While the role of designers is evolving, it's not all doom and gloom. New opportunities are emerging for those willing to adapt.

Whether it's embracing leadership, diving into strategy, or simply going back to the basics, there’s always room for passion and creativity in design.

UX is in flux, with increasing reliance on AI, business metrics, and fast-paced decision-making. While some see this as a threat, others see it as an opportunity to rethink their roles, hone new skills, or even return to the craft of design itself. Whatever the future holds, one thing’s for sure: it’s never boring.

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Also in Design

• World Labs’s Interactive 3D from Photos: $230M funding aims at gaming, film, and design applications, with a 2025 product release goal

• Apple Faces Employee Surveillance Lawsuit

• Spotify Wrapped Backlash: New AI features like "Your Music Evolution" fall flat, with users missing top genres and albums

• Human-centred AI: Designers can influence ethical, transparent AI by engaging early in the process

• Pablo Sánchez's Design Philosophy: Advocates speculative, unconventional design to foster exploration and creativity

• Negative Space in Design: Master this art for clarity and minimalism, taking cues from Google, Nike, and Apple

• Kids-Centric Design: Highlights child-friendly innovations

Science & Tech

New GPS Alternative: Uses Terrain 'Fingerprints'

The GPS Problem

While GPS has been the go-to for aircraft navigation, it’s far from perfect. Weather, interference, or even deliberate signal jamming can throw it off course, making it unreliable in some situations.

A New Solution

Enter the next-gen navigation system, developed by Australian company Advanced Navigation in collaboration with MBDA. Instead of relying on satellites, it uses a neuromorphic camera that reads the terrain's unique "fingerprint" below.

How It Works

This camera, part of MBDA’s NILEQ system, captures subtle variations in light and dark, letting it work even in low light or over snow. These "fingerprints" are cross-referenced with a global database to pinpoint the aircraft's location.

While it’s still in development, the system will be tested in Australia next year, with a commercial rollout to follow soon after. This new tech might just change the way we navigate the skies.

All in all, forget GPS—soon, planes may be able to "read" the ground beneath them for a more reliable flight.

Read More

Also in Science & Tech

• DeepMind's Weather AI: Outperforms traditional forecasting methods for up to a week

• Zepbound: Eli Lilly's Weight Loss Drug that is 50% more effective than its competitor Wegovy

• Meta Eyes Nuclear Power for Data Centres: Aiming for sustainable AI-driven infrastructure

• The world’s oldest known wild bird, a 74-year-old albatross, is set to give birth to another chick

• Samsung Smart Glasses: Preview in January alongside the Galaxy S25; release expected Q3 2025

Founding

If your Self-Service Model Ever Fails, the Reasons Would Be…

1. The Disconnect
Your self-serve motion might lag behind enterprise sales due to misaligned customer targeting, poor user journeys, or clunky pricing. Identify and fix these gaps to unlock growth.

2. Attracting the Wrong Crowd
Enterprise sales hook ideal customers ready to invest, while self-serve often lures casual users who won’t convert. Analyse what drives your top deals and tweak your funnel to draw similar users earlier in their journey.

3. The Journey Gap
Sales reps guide prospects, but self-serve users fend for themselves. Bring sales' best moves—like feature highlights and onboarding help—into your product through automation and smart prompts. Sprinkle in human touch-points when the data says, “Now!”

4. Tricky Pricing
Enterprise pricing thrives on negotiation, but self-serve needs simplicity and alignment with user value. Avoid over-generous free plans, confusing upgrade paths, and limits that frustrate users before they’re hooked.

Your Self-Serve Turnaround Plan

• Match the Right Users: Analyse sign-ups and adjust your acquisition strategy to attract prospects who resemble your enterprise customers.

• Optimise the Journey: Map self-serve drop-offs and add guided flows to keep users engaged.

• Align Pricing: Test plans that balance value, encourage upgrades, and scale naturally with customer needs.

Big Picture: Your enterprise playbook holds the secrets to self-serve success. Adapt those winning strategies into scalable, product-led experiences. Remember, today’s self-serve users could be tomorrow’s enterprise clients—if you set them up for success.

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Also in Founding

• Fluffy Concepts < Concrete Outcomes

• Why Some IPOs Fail: Key factors for IPO success include profitability, revenue diversification, and market differentiation

• Listen to your customers’ requests. Figure out why did they make these requests.

• The Context Matrix: Creating the right context involves gathering data on trends, capabilities, and goals, and interpreting this data effectively for decision-making

• Building AI Moats: ElevenLabs' strategy focuses on enterprise solutions and community engagement

Product

Insights from Data > Reliance on Data: Don’t Blindly Anchor Your Decisions to Data 

Data-driven decision-making might sound like the holy grail, but it’s riddled with traps. Here’s how to dodge them and make smarter choices by being data-informed instead.

Why Data-Driven Falls Short

• Bias Creeps In: Data isn’t as objective as it seems. We introduce biases when we collect (selection bias), interpret (recency bias), or analyse it (confirmation bias).

• False Objectivity: Labelling subjective decisions as “data-driven” just adds a veneer of credibility to gut instincts. Cue pretty slides but no real change.

• Over-Reliance: Blindly trusting numbers without context can steer decisions astray. Data’s role is to inform, not dictate.

The Case for Being Data-Informed

1. Data Guides, People Decide: Use data to spark discussions, validate hunches, and explore surprises.

2. Qualitative Meets Quantitative: Pair user stories with stats. When the two clash, qualitative often reveals the truth.

3. Strategy Trumps Spreadsheets: Data enhances decision-making but doesn’t replace vision, creativity, or empathy.

Steps to Sharpen Decision-Making

1. Cross-Functional Collaboration:

Break silos—get inputs from designers, engineers, and business folk.

Involve diverse voices to balance desirability, feasibility, and viability.

2. Falsify, Don’t Confirm:

Test ideas as if they’re flawed. Adopt Netflix’s mantra: “Why is this idea terrible?”

Challenge assumptions to expose hidden flaws and refine solutions.

3. Seek Multiple Data Points:

Triangulate insights using various sources—quantitative analytics, user interviews, direct observation, and frontline feedback.

Conflicting data? It’s a clue to dig deeper.

Data is a tool, not a crystal ball. While being data-driven might be a step up from gut instinct, it’s no substitute for strategic thinking. Let the numbers inform your choices, but don’t forget the human element.

Or as Ronald Coase put it, “If you torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything.”

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Today’s AI Image

OpenAI’s Models Ticking Off Dates

Quote of the Day

Truth in Simplest Form

"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone."

Blaise Pascal

What we’re working on

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