Sam Altman’s singularity speculation

Good morning, AI enthusiasts. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman just stirred social media with a six-word tweet on nearing the singularity—which is sometimes called the purpose at which AI surpasses human intelligence and sparks unstoppable progress.

With recent o3 breakthroughs and other cryptic posts from researchers, is something big brewing behind closed doors?

In today’s AI rundown:

• Altman posts cryptic singularity commentary

• Microsoft plans $80B AI infrastructure investment

• Solve complex problems with advanced AI reasoning

• Patients control AI and robotics with thought

• 4 recent AI tools & 4 recent AI jobs

• More AI & tech news

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

OPENAI

🔮 Altman posts cryptic singularity commentary

The Rundown: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman kicked off 2025 with a mysterious six-word tweet suggesting humanity is likely to be closer to and even past the technological singularity — with one other researcher also hinting at the power to create superintelligence.

The small print:

• Altman’s tweet read “near the singularity; unclear which side”, with the event typically referring to a degree during which AI advances turn out to be uncontrollable.

• He later clarified the message might be interpreted through either a simulation hypothesis lens or commentary on identifying the precise moment of AI takeoff.

• The commentary comes on the heels of OpenAI’s o3 model announcement, which reached recent highs across math, reasoning, and coding benchmarks.

• OpenAI researcher Stephen McAleer added to speculation with a tweet about missing doing AI research “before [they] knew the best way to create superintelligence.”

Why it matters: Sam Altman and OpenAI aren’t any strangers to drumming up hype on social media, and we’ve moved from AGI to superintelligence to crossing the technological singularity. But with the corporate’s recent breakthroughs and Altman’s previous speculation, who knows what’s happening behind closed doors.

TOGETHER WITH VANTA

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The Rundown: Join Vanta for a hearth chat with CEO Christina Cacioppo and “The Lean Startup” writer Eric Ries to achieve insights on navigating product-market fit, delegation, and scaling startups within the age of AI.

The Jan. 14 session will cover:

• Key takeaways from Christina and Eric’s entrepreneurial journeys

• How the principles of “founder mode” and lean methodology intersect

• The ways AI is transforming early-stage growth and startup success

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MICROSOFT

💰 Microsoft plans $80B AI infrastructure investment

The Rundown: Microsoft just published a brand new blog outlining an $80B investment plan for AI data center infrastructure in 2025, alongside an in depth overview of the corporate’s vision for American leadership in AI.

The small print:

• Over half of the $80B investment will probably be focused on U.S.-based AI data centers, a rise from last yr’s $50B spent on infrastructure.

• President Brad Smith outlined a three-pronged strategy: advancing American AI tech, expanding workforce AI skills, and promoting U.S. AI exports globally.

• Smith also advocated for balanced government oversight that protects security while allowing U.S. corporations to compete against Chinese competitors.

Why it matters: Eye-popping sums proceed to flow into the AI infrastructure boom — and with a brand new, seemingly more AI-forward administration entering office in weeks, the race is on for U.S. tech giants to position accordingly for what might be the most important economic driver of growth in history.

AI TRAINING

🧠 Solve complex problems with advanced AI reasoning

The Rundown: DeepSeek’s recent ‘DeepThink’ feature breaks down complex problems into smaller, manageable steps for higher understanding and solutions.

Step-by-step:

1. Visit DeepSeek’s website and click on “Start Now”.

2. Select the DeepThink button within the chat interface for advanced reasoning mode.

3. Present a posh scenario with multiple variables and decision points.

4. Use the step-by-step evaluation to grasp and implement solutions.

Pro tip: Try comparing solutions across scenarios to grasp the underlying reasoning patterns. This helps construct higher problem-solving skills for future challenges.

PRESENTED BY UNSTRUCTURED

🔄 Transform complex docs into GenAI gold

The Rundown: Join Unstructured for a live session on the best way to fuel your vector search and training pipelines with clean, structured data — a key necessity for constructing great GenAI apps.

Join the live webinar on Jan. 22 to learn the best way to:

• Efficiently convert documents like text, tables, images, and more into JSON

• Construct scalable ETL pipelines with multiple data sources and destinations

• See a live code demo of actionable steps to unlock internal business data

Click here to register and receive the recording, even if you happen to can’t attend live.

NEUROXESS

🧠 Patients control AI and robotics with thought

The Rundown: NeuroXess just reported two advances in brain-computer interface (BCI) tech, enabling patients to regulate devices and communicate through thought, along with the primary real-time decoding of Chinese language from brain signals.

The small print:

• An epilepsy patient achieved 71% accuracy in converting thoughts to Chinese using 142 common syllables, with response times under 100 milliseconds.

• The system’s flexible interface allowed the patient to regulate smartphones, smart home devices, and robotic arms inside days of implantation.

• Patients operated digital avatars and interacted with AI models through thought alone, in what the corporate calls the primary “mind-to-AI large model”.

Why it matters: 2024 was a breakthrough yr for BCI technology with Neuralink’s rapid advances, but Elon Musk’s startup is just not the one game on the town. With BCIs now interacting with AI, operating robots, and even decoding communication, the applications are countless for improving the lives of those with neurological conditions.

QUICK HITS

Trending AI Tools

• ⚡️ OpenBolt – AI-powered full-stack project builder to prompt, edit, and deploy web apps effortlessly

• 📊 Visionari – AI-powered feedback system that permits you to collect, prioritize, and act on user insights

• 🔬 CureAI – AI answers combined with seamless navigation of 26M+ PubMed articles to assist researchers and students find reliable, tailored insights

• 💭 Dreamina – All-in-one AI creative suite specializing in creating stunning posters, flyers, and logos

AI Job Opportunities

• 🎨 Meta – Art Manager, Wearables

• 🌐 Databricks – Head of Global Industry Enablement

• 🤝 Waymo – HR Business Partner

• 🏥 Curai – Clinical Staff HR Business Partner

Quick AI News

Nvidia robotics VP Deepu Talla said that the ‘ChatGPT moment for physical AI and robotics is true across the corner’, coming because the chipmaker revealed plans for its next-gen Jetson Thor computers for humanoid robots launching in 2025.

Meta abruptly removed its AI-generated social media character profiles after users discovered and criticized the chatbots for problematic responses, resulting in platform-wide search restrictions.

Elon Musk teased that Grok 3 is ‘coming soon’, saying that pretraining is already complete and features 10x the compute of the present Grok 2 model.

Google published a brand new whitepaper on AI agents, detailing a brand new architecture allowing AI models to autonomously use external tools and APIs while maintaining real-time decision control.

Samsung revealed Samsung Food, a brand new feature on its TVs that uses AI to acknowledge food items on a TV screen and help users find recipes for them.

Recent benchmark testing revealed that AI agents can autonomously complete 24% of real-world workplace tasks in software environments, with Claude 3.5 Sonnet leading performance across admin, coding, and project management areas.

COMMUNITY

See you soon,

Rowan, Joey, Zach, Alvaro, and Jason—The Rundown’s editorial team