Sunday Signal: ElevenLabs releases text to SFX, accepting life, and asking for referrals

Hey friends 👋 Happy Sunday.

Here’s your weekly dose of AI and introspection.

AI Highlights

1. ElevenLabs releases text-to-sound effects.

Their new AI audio model can generate sound effects, short instrumental tracks, soundscapes, and even character voices, all from a simple text prompt.

Alex’s take: This will be a game changer for content creators, video game developers, and film and television studios who rely on sound to create immersive experiences. The limiting factor is no longer copyright issues; it’s your creativity.

2. OpenAI makes GPT-4o free for everyone.

OpenAI released GPT-4o on May 13th. Just over two weeks later, they’ve made their flagship model, which includes browse, vision, data analysis, file uploads, and GPTs, available to everyone for free.

Alex’s take: I can only feel this will catalyse the adoption of generative AI—we must remember that many people are still blissfully unaware of ChatGPT. This also points to OpenAI releasing something more for paid users soon (GPT-5?).

3. Kai-Fu Lee predicts 50% of jobs will be displaced by AI within 3 years.

In 2018 Kai-Fu Lee wrote an essay highlighting that 50% of all jobs will be replaced by AI within the next 15 years. In 2024, he recently doubled down on this belief in a conversation with Fortune Magazine.

Alex’s take: While the media is full of fearmongering about "You'll lose your job to AI," consider the millions of jobs it will complement and create. Goldman Sachs predicts that for current US employment, only 7% will be substituted, 63% will be complemented, and 30% will remain unaffected.

1 Article I Enjoyed

Carl Jung on accepting what life presents us with.

This excerpt from Carl Jung came across my timeline this week. I thought it was brilliant.

“People do not realize just how much they are putting at risk when they don’t accept what Life presents them with, the questions and tasks that Life sets them… In old age it is not the wonderful things that we perhaps missed out on seeing or experiencing that we will regret, but rather the moments when we let Life pass us by.”

It reminds me of what Epictetus famously said, “How long are you going to wait before you demand the best from yourself?” In a world of uncertainty, we must put nothing off.

1 Idea I Learned

How to build a big business: ask for more referrals.

1. Deliver tremendous value to customers

2. Check-in on them frequently to make sure they’re happy

3. Call them on the phone and ask for referrals

You can’t jump to step 3 without doing steps 1 and 2.

Customer satisfaction and personal connections drive growth.

This idea was inspired by Nick Huber.

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1 Quote to Share

Ross Edgley on hard work:

“Hard work is so often the answer, the question is so often irrelevant.”

In the past, I would have a tendency to overanalyse.

It could be a question that needs answering, a message that needs responding to, or a project that needs my attention.

I would be in search of the most optimal course of action.

As I’ve learned, the answer is instead so simple: start.

Start by taking action. The result will become clearer with every unit of work you allocate to getting the job done.

Source: Ross Edgley, the World’s Longest Sea Swim

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1 Question to Ponder

What are you avoiding?

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💡 If you enjoyed this issue, share it with a friend.

See you next week,

Alex Banks

P.S. The problem is not the problem, the problem is your attitude about the problem.