At the core of Capitalogix's existence is a commitment to systemization and automation.
Consequently, I play with a lot of tools. I think of this as research, discovery, and skill-building. There is a place for that in my day or week. However, few of those tools make it into my real work routine.
Here is a list of some of the tools that I recommend. I'm not saying I use them regularly ... but in some cases, I should (it reminds me of some exercise equipment I have).
Since the late 90's, I've been collecting tools to make my business more efficient and my life easier.
It's a little embarrassing, but my most popular YouTube video is an explainer video on Dragon NaturallySpeaking from 13 years ago. It was (and still is) dictation software, but from a time before your phone gave you that capability.
Today, I have more tools than I know what to do with, but here are a few that keep coming up in conversations.
Daily.AI - AI Newsletters
We've launched a new newsletter that is AI-curated by Daily.ai. It matches the tone and style of my newsletters, gets good engagement, and (honestly) looks much better than what we put out.
Our handwritten newsletters still do better on some metrics - but it's a nice addition and a promising technology.
For transparency, our handwritten newsletters get around 45% opens, and 10% click-throughs and our new AI newsletter is averaging around 38% opens but around 30% click-throughs. Our normal newsletter isn't focused on links - which is why the click-through isn't as good.
That said, Daily.AI is a great tool that creates compelling two-way communication with your audience way easier and cheaper (time, money, and effort) than something similar done manually.
This is an example of how people won't get replaced by AI ... people will get replaced by people who use AI better.
Opus.pro - AI Video Repurposing
Opus.pro takes your long-form video content and cuts it into short-form content that you can post as teasers to other channels like YouTube Shorts, TikTok, or Instagram Reels.
For me, I tend to do more long-form content naturally. I go on a podcast, speak at a conference, or to a mastermind group. I end up with a 30-minute+ video that I don't have the time or interest in using. This tool allows me to find the best parts quickly - and still allows editing to make it perfect.
For someone interested in really pursuing video, it's not worth it. If you're interested in being present online, and not worried about making it your career, this is a great tool to streamline and systematize your process.
Type.AI
Type.AI is an interesting AI-first document editing tool. At its core, Type is a faster, better, and easier way to write.
A lot of people are using chat GPT for some editing. Type is a good example of a next-generation tool that incorporates ChatGPT and other LLMs under the surface. It is aware of what you are doing and lets you know what it can do.
Type jumpstarts the creative process and banishes the blank page. Underneath its gorgeous UI are powerful features for generating ideas, querying your document, experimenting with different models, and easily formatting your work.
The point is that with a tool like this, you don't have to be good at prompt engineering. The tool does that for you – so you can focus on the writing.
GetVoila.AI
Voilà is an all-in-one AI assistant in a browser extension. That means it goes with you everywhere you go on the web and supercharges your browser by making it use ChatGPT to do what it does best without you having to do more than check what is available.
Voilà simplifies the process of working with the content of websites and URLs, making it easy to convert them into various types of content, summarize them, or extract key information. For example, if I am watching a YouTube video, I can right-click and choose "Summarize" - it creates a short video summary from the transcript. Or, while writing this sentence, a simple right-click lets me choose: Improve, Fix grammar, Make longer, Make shorter, Summarize, Simplify, Rephrase, or Translate.
This is more useful than I thought. I use it well ... then forget about it. When I use it again, I often find that it got better. I think you will find that with a lot of the tools these days.
Don't worry about how well you use tools like this. It is enough that you get better at using tools like these to accomplish what you really want.
Explore a little. Then, let me know what you found worth sharing.
Futurism and The Epidemic of Impossible Statistics
I can’t pretend this is a new phenomenon, but I also can’t pretend it’s not becoming a pet peeve of mine.
If you’ve been following me for any amount of time, you’ll know I love the future, and I love random statistics. If I’m not talking about AI or entrepreneurship, it’s generally because I’m sharing some interesting chart or statistic.
At the intersection of my two loves comes a pretty severe issue ...
Bullshit statistics.
Futurists can’t help themselves. If you repeat something enough times, it begins to feel true. This is a key part of the reality distortion field that surrounds charismatic leaders. Their “functional fiction” becomes useful - not because it’s grounded in fact, but because it enables us to envision what’s possible and work to make it real.
In their defense, nobody minds if you talk about the future broadly. However, a problem arises when directional belief masquerades as fact or science. For example, if someone has thought about something many times, there is a tendency to confidently discuss or project exponential growth with specific timelines and metrics (rather than broadly discussing what will eventually come).
This tendency can make intelligent people seem delusional (or at least out of touch).
Elon Musk is a great example. While he has undeniably been a significant force for innovation and progress in the world, here are a few of the outlandish claims he’s made recently.
Some of those may be true, and all of them might turn out to be right ... but they are still wild-ass guesses.
Elon is by no means the only one doing this.
I routinely make up statistics to help me simplify or understand things better. The key is to acknowledge these “shortcuts” are still essentially educated guesses. Here’s an example. When I imagine how advanced AI will become by the end of my lifetime, I have to consider my current age (and expected lifespan) and how rapidly AI is improving. If I assign the number “100” to how good AI will be at the end of my life, what value would I assign to it now? Turns out, I’d give it a value of three. Of course, there’s always the possibility I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. I’m not a scientist. I haven’t done detailed research about chips or when we move to quantum computing. Realistically, I don’t have to. The precise numbers aren’t what matters here. I don’t take that statistic literally. It’s directional, and it gives a sense of the rate of change and the velocity of invention. In that sense, even though it isn’t factual, it’s useful.
I’d say any serious scientist knows that you can’t reliably predict the future with that level of precision – but it doesn’t take a scientist to know that.
First, the statistic or shortcut has to pass a simple “sniff” test. Then, you have to account for likely bottlenecks or constraints. Too many of these crazy estimates assume almost infinitely scaling results with no setbacks or limitations in materials or energy.
Don’t underestimate the value of a good rule-of-thumb or mental model. Moore’s Law is a great example of that. It stemmed from an observation and prediction about the semiconductor industry made by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore in 1965. A grossly simplified version is that computing power doubles every two years. That has held true for more than 50 years.
I have two Gaping Void illustrations that express fundamental truths about this: “First, Bring Order to Chaos” and “Wisdom Comes from Finer Distinctions.”
Here’s the reality. The future is exciting ... and it’s coming fast. In many ways, it will likely be bigger and cooler than you could have imagined. In other ways, it will radically underperform your expectations.
I can say that not because I know any more than you, but because I’m focused on what doesn’t change. We’ve had many periods of innovation ... each bigger than the last. It’s likely there will be aspects of the next 20 years no one can predict. But, we know what innovation looks like.
We’ve been here before.
As a reminder, if it sounds too good to be true ... there’s a good chance it is. Yet, to pretend there’s not a chance outlandish claims will come true would be to make too precise a claim again.
In many ways, predicting how your business or product will change is much easier than how the world will change.
The best way to predict the future is to create it - and the most effective way to create it is to focus on the elements within your control.
While it’s important to play an exponential game ... you can start “locally”.
Food for thought!
Posted at 07:32 PM in Art, Business, Current Affairs, Gadgets, Ideas, Market Commentary, Personal Development, Science, Trading, Trading Tools, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)
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