Hi Synapticians!

OpenAI continues with its announcements. This time, it’s about education. The AI landscape is dense, with buzzwords and marketing nonsense being all too common, so the key to using these technologies effectively is understanding them. On paper, it sounds great. The only downside is that it's still digital. Even for geeks, we believe that a proper explanation is more valuable when it comes to these topics.

We also recommend DeepLearning.ai. and of course, we highly recommend reading Synaptiks carefully 🙂 If you’ve read this sentence, it means you’re a good student.

Elsewhere in the news: Tinder (yes, Tinder) who want to upgrade your flirting skills, Meta is losing its head of AI research, and MIT is doing some cool stuff (scroll down a bit!).

Happy reading.

Top AI news

1. OpenAI launches free platform to teach AI skills
OpenAI has launched OpenAI Academy, a free educational platform offering video content and live events to teach AI fundamentals and practical skills. Courses include 'ChatGPT at Work', 'Prompt Engineering', and more. No payment or prior knowledge is required, and while content is currently in English, more languages are planned. The platform does not offer certificates but aims to democratize AI learning and empower users to better interact with OpenAI tools.

2. Meta’s head of AI research Joelle Pineau to leave
Joelle Pineau, Meta’s VP of AI research, will leave the company in May 2025 after leading FAIR, its internal AI lab. Her departure comes as Meta plans to invest $65 billion in AI infrastructure this year. The company has not yet named a successor. This leadership change occurs amid a broader reorganization of Meta’s AI division and could influence the company’s long-term AI strategy.

3. Tinder launches AI game to rate your flirting skills
Tinder has introduced 'The Game Game', an AI-powered feature where users flirt with virtual personas and receive feedback. Powered by OpenAI, the game simulates dating scenarios, scores users, and offers tips to improve. It’s currently available on iOS in the U.S. and aims to boost user engagement amid declining growth. This move reflects a broader trend of AI integration in dating apps, with competitors like Blush and Rizz already in the space. While playful, it raises questions about the future of human connection in digital dating.

Bonus. MIT teaches LLMs to solve complex planning tasks
MIT researchers created a framework called LLM-Based Formalized Programming (LLMFP) that enables large language models to solve complex planning problems. Users describe the problem in natural language, and the LLM translates it into a formal structure for an optimization solver. The model checks and corrects its own work, achieving up to 87% success across diverse tasks. No domain-specific training is needed, making advanced optimization accessible to non-experts. Future improvements include adding image inputs for even richer problem descriptions.

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AI for Fake News Detection - The AI-Venger
Hany Farid is a leading researcher in digital forensics, known for developing tools to detect manipulated images and deepfakes. His work tackles the growing challenge of visual misinformation in the age of AI. From academic research to real-world impact, explore how his expertise is helping verify what's real—and what's not.

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