Field Notes // June 18 // Relax, the AI Overlords Come in Peace (Says the Guy Building Them)
Altman isn’t just forecasting change—he’s declaring liftoff. As AI moves from assistant to co-creator, the question isn’t whether it will reshape your work, but how fast you’re ready to evolve with it
Welcome to Field Notes, a weekly scan from Creative Machinas. Each edition curates ambient signals, overlooked movements, and cultural undercurrents across AI, creativity, and emergent interfaces. Every item offers context, precision, and an answer to the question: Why does this matter now?
FEATURED SIGNAL
Sam Altman thinks AI will have ‘novel insights’ next year
Sam gives an update on where we are. He admits that robots are not yet walking the streets, nor are most of us talking to AI all day. People still die of disease, we still can’t easily go to space, and there is a lot about the universe we don’t understand. And yet, we have recently built systems that are smarter than people in many ways, and are able to significantly amplify the output of people using them. But looking ahead, he says: “The 2030s are likely going to be wildly different from any time that has come before. We do not know how far beyond human-level intelligence we can go, but we are about to find out.” (Sam Altman Blog)
Why it matters
We’re entering a new era of super‑intelligence — Altman argues that we’ve already passed the “event horizon” and the takeoff is underway. He highlights how AI is amplifying human capability, shifting from novelty to necessity in areas like scientific research, coding, and productivity. AI is getting creative—and fast. Altman says by next year, AI will generate novel insights—ideas and solutions that go beyond what humans can easily come up with. He notes that AI is already doubling productivity for many professionals by accelerating research, writing, and programming. If you’ve used ChatGPT to draft emails, generate graphics, or pursue ideas, you’re already witnessing this shift. But that also means entire industries and jobs could change dramatically—those who adapt stand to benefit, while others may be displaced.
How it affects you
He means tools that supercharge your work. Research shows scientists are already two to three times more productive thanks to advanced AI. That means whether you’re writing, analysing data, or building new tools. Altman sees abundant energy and intelligence as game-changers, unlocking breakthroughs from healthcare to space. But he also emphasises the need for careful governance so ensuring benefits are shared, aligned with human values, and regulated sensibly.
So what should you do?
Stay ahead of the curve: Whether you’re a writer, developer, marketer, or entrepreneur, these upcoming capabilities mean more creative horsepower if you embrace them.
Plan for transformation: AI is evolving from tool to collaborator. Figure out now how it fits into your workflows, products, or content strategy.
Demand guidance: As Altman stresses, good governance is essential. Ask for clear data privacy, safety standards, and ethical guardrails as AI quickly integrates into our world.
Own the narrative: With insights coming from machines themselves, your edge becomes your interpretation—the human context, integrity, and vision you bring to AI-generated ideas.
SIGNAL SCRAPS
Snap will start selling AR glasses next year. Snap will begin selling its AR glasses, newly named Specs, to the public next year, They’ll be thinner and lighter with a wider field of view. It’s a crowded market. Meta is planning to announce a pair of glasses with a heads-up display later this year. Google just rebooted its smart glasses program with a Gemini-powered version of Android and it’s putting in frames from Warby Parker and other eyewear companies. Apple is also still working on AR glasses.
Hugging Face Sheets has a new tool to create and enrich spreadsheets using open AI models. You can try it free. The AI will analyse data and generate content.
Tired of PowerPoint presentations? Chronicle which you can try FREE is designed to make better presentations moving around interactive blocks.
Google is launching Flow. It’s the only AI filmmaking tool explicitly built for creatives using Google DeepMind’s most advanced models—Veo, Imagen, and Gemini. Designed for intuitive storytelling, Flow lets you speak your prompts naturally, maintain character and object consistency, and craft cohesive cinematic scenes—all while keeping your ideas and assets neatly organised in one streamlined workspace.
SIGNAL STACK
Is AI Stealing Jobs? This Hiring Analyst Says Yes (Inc)
A survey by Revelio Labs, a workforce data analytics provider says it’s already happening. Companies are already hiring fewer people for roles that can be done by an AI tool instead. This is especially technology jobs that perform administrative or support work like database admins, auditors, or IT security. (via Inc)
Why it matters
The data cited by Inc.’s Kit Eaton shows that since ChatGPT's launch, AI-exposed role listings have dropped by 19 %, with high‑exposure jobs (e.g., database admins, auditors, IT security) declining 31 %, while even low-risk roles fell by 25 per cent. The takeaway? Companies aren't just automating—they’re hiring fewer people for roles AI can handle. This isn’t sci-fi. Jobs are disappearing in real-time which means anyone in IT administration support, or tech-adjacent fields may start to worry if they could be affected.The shifting job market: While AI can boost productivity, it’s also reshaping hiring priorities favouring roles that require human creativity, complex judgment, or interpersonal nuance. This surge in AI-driven hiring cutbacks is a wake-up call. It signals a pivotal shift: the workplace isn’t getting smaller but it’s different. The winners will be those who adapt emphasising skills where people excel and machines fall short.
What can you do?
Audit your tasks: Are more than half your daily responsibilities “AI-replaceable”? If so, it’s time to upskill, injecting creativity, emotional intelligence, or strategic insight into your skill set.
Position yourself as irreplaceable: Focus on what AI can’t do—empathic leadership, ethical decision-making, or big-picture thinking. These are where humans still hold the upper hand.
At Secret Math Meeting, Researchers Struggle to Outsmart AI
When 30 of the world’s most renowned mathematicians met in California, they had a showdown with a chatbot that had been tasked with solving problems they had devised to test its mathematical mettle. The verdict: the researchers were astonished by how far AI had progressed. Open AI o4-mini (a reasoning, math-capable AI) solved around 20% of new graduate- and research-level problems, and even tackled several of the most difficult ones in mere minutes. Experts compared its performance to that of a very strong graduate student, not just computing brute force but engaging in literature review, toy-model testing, and full derivations. Ono, one of the mathematicians, admitted he was “frightened” by the AI’s speed and confidence. He even coined “proof by intimidation”—warning how authoritative AI outputs can mislead. (via Scientific America)
“These models are approaching mathematical genius… five minutes later, it presented a correct, cheeky solution.”
Why it matters
If AI can rival domain experts on-the-fly, it’s transitioning from a helper to a thinking partner. That’s huge for anyone using AI in work, learning, or creativity. The bar is rising: soon AI may tackle unsolved scientific questions. You could use powerful reasoning AIs to accelerate breakthroughs in business, research, or product design. At the same time, AI’s polished and self-assured tone can mislead even in high-stakes contexts like the math meeting. Critical thinking must now include cross-checking AI-generated "facts.”
Web-scraping AI bots cause disruption for scientific databases and journals
Automated programs gathering training data for artificial-intelligence tools are overwhelming academic websites. Scholarly websites are a prime target, because they contain the sort of data that’s highly valuable for AI developers. Those who run scholarly websites are working on technical solutions to the problem. But in many cases, it is difficult to restrict bots’ access without adversely affecting regular users. A standard way to stop bots from unauthorized scraping is by integrating a file into a website’s code that tells bots what they can or cannot do. But bots can be programmed to simply ignore these instructions. (via Nature)
Why it matters
Internet bots have been around for decades, and some have been useful. For example, Google and other search engines have bots that scan millions of web pages to identify and retrieve content. But the rise of generative AI has led to a deluge of bots, including many ‘bad’ ones that scrape without permission.This year, the BMJ, a publisher of medical journals based in London, has seen bot traffic to its websites surpass that of real users. The aggressive behaviour of these bots overloaded the publisher’s servers and led to interruptions in services for legitimate customers
AI tools collect and store data about you from all your devices – here’s how to be aware of what you’re revealing
While AI tools and technologies can make life easier, they also raise important questions about data privacy. These systems often collect large amounts of data, sometimes without people even realizing their data is being collected. The information can then be used to identify personal habits and preferences, and even predict future behaviours by drawing inferences from the aggregated data. (via The Conversation)
Why it matters
The biggest concern is transparency. You don’t know what data is being collected, how the data is being used, and who has access to that data. Companies tend to use complicated privacy policies filled with technical jargon to make it difficult for people to understand the terms of a service that they agree to. People also tend not to read terms of service documents. One study found that people averaged 73 seconds reading a terms of service document that had an average read time of 29-32 minutes. Data collected by AI tools may initially reside with a company that you trust, but can easily be sold and given to a company that you don’t trust.
FIELD READING
Why ads are coming to your favourite AI bots and you've only got yourself to blame
As most users refuse to pay for AI chatbots, companies like OpenAI are shifting toward ads to fund their costly language models. Despite hundreds of millions of users, only a fraction subscribe, pushing AI firms to follow Google’s ad-driven playbook. But with Google’s vast infrastructure and bundled offerings, the competition is steep. OpenAI’s move into advertising highlights a key shift: the AI experience may soon come with targeted ads. This article unpacks why free access isn’t sustainable—and how your favourite chatbot might start selling to you. (via ZDNet)
Why it matters
That means advertising, rather than subscription-based services, will be the route to monetising large language models. Bloomberg’s economists say adding ads to bots is a no-brainer as it already economical for Google to monetise its traditional free search via ads. OpenAI faces a difficult situation as it would incur extra overhead for the advertising infrastructure required. Having hundreds of millions of users who don't pay for stuff means even the added cost of serving ads might be a less-bad option for OpenAI.
Source: Bloomberg Intelligence via ZDNet NB Amounts in US dollars.
DRIFT THOUGHT
If AI starts having better ideas than we do, will our role shift from creator to curator—choosing which machine-born insight to run with, rather than generating our own?
__
YOUR TURN
Are we ready to let AI generate original insights on our behalf—and should we?
What does it mean when the spark of invention, ideation, or problem-solving begins with a machine? How do we remain the authors of our own creative and intellectual agency in a world where AI doesn’t just assist—but initiates?