Weekly Newsletter

Practical AI Strategies

Hi everyone,

First of all, thanks to everyone who responded to last week’s newsletter with their thoughts on “AI;DR” and the trust between readers and writers. I had so many responses that I’m planning a follow up article. It’s definitely a complex topic that a lot of you are interested in!

LLMs are Digital Skeleton Keys

For years now I’ve been exploring the capabilities of large language models like GPT and Claude. Over time, we’ve seen a shift away from text-to-text models towards multimodal agents that rely on an ability to write and execute code.

When you think about it, it’s not that surprising. The idea of LLMs as “writers” (of blog posts, marketing copy, and boring LinkedIn posts) was almost an accident. OpenAI released their chatbot and even they didn’t expect it to do so well.

But writing code is their origin story, and they’ve come full circle. In this week’s article, I explore why LLMs are more like digital skeleton keys than word-machines.

If you’re interested in the future of these technologies, this is where I’m placing my bets.

Australia Just Set the Terms for AI

The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave a speech on Wednesday which hit on two of the most controversial topics in AI: data centres and copyright.

There was a lot to love in the speech if you’re on the side of the artists and creatives. The trick now of course will be turning the speech into legislation, and we’ve got a long road ahead.

That’s it for this week. I’ll definitely follow up on those AI;DR reader comments soon. I use social media less and less these days, and this newsletter is the best way to have conversations with readers who really care about the impact of AI on our work and society.

What do you think of this week’s idea of AI as a digital skeleton key? Does it make sense? Have you used AI in these ways? Let me know by replying to this email.

Cheers,

Leon

PS: The Term 3 cohort of Practical AI for Curriculum Leaders kicks off next Tuesday. We’ve got an international cohort of K-12 and Higher Education leaders and I’m looking forward to meeting everyone. Keep an eye out for an email in a few weeks with the waitlist for the Term 4 (October-December) cohort!

Stay informed.​
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