AI Newsletter 3_12_26
2 views
Skip to first unread message
Caleb Bryant
10:33 AM (13 hours ago) 10:33 AM
to IT HootClub
IT HootClub — AI Community Newsletter
Hands-on. Career-focused. Future-ready.
Issued 2026-03-12
This email is the full newsletter. For a printable copy, click here to download the PDF.
Join the Dialogue
The Learning LoopShare thoughts and questions on our non-invasive discussion page. No email blasts; posts appear after moderator approval.
Google Gemini
DEFINITION Multimodal
The capacity of an AI system to interpret and process information from multiple formats simultaneously, such as combining text, images, and audio to provide a more comprehensive output.
Source: IBM
TIP Action Item Extraction
Paste your raw meeting notes or transcripts into an LLM and instruct it to "generate a structured table including columns for the specific task, the assigned owner, and the priority level."
Source: Zapier
TOOL Krisp
An AI-powered noise-canceling application that removes background voices, barking dogs, and echoes from your microphone and speakers during virtual meetings in real-time.
Source: https://krisp.ai
Anthropic Claude
DEFINITION RLHF
Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback is a training method where AI models learn to behave more helpfully by receiving ratings and corrections from human trainers, like teaching a student by grading their homework and showing them better answers.
Source: OpenAI Research
TIP Context Priming
Start complex tasks by giving the AI a brief "warm-up" example of the exact format you want, then ask for your real request - this primes the model's context and dramatically improves output consistency.
Source: PromptingGuide
TOOL Writesonic
An AI writing platform that generates marketing copy, blog posts, ads, and product descriptions with built-in SEO optimization and brand voice customization.
Source: https://writesonic.com
OpenAI GPT
DEFINITION Gradient Clipping
Gradient Clipping is a technique used to prevent the gradients from becoming too large during training, which can cause instability and poor convergence. By setting a threshold, it ensures the update to the model's parameters doesn't exceed a specific limit, promoting smoother learning.
Source: DeepAI
TIP Iterative Parameter Tuning
After drafting a prompt, test it with multiple, small adjustments in key variables like temperature or max tokens to identify optimal settings for your specific task. This iterative approach can significantly enhance output quality.
Source: PromptingGuide
TOOL Hugging Face's Transformers
An open-source library providing thousands of pre-trained models for NLP applications, allowing developers to build, fine-tune, and deploy robust language models efficiently.
March 12, 2026:
Hi everyone, so if you remember, last week we prompted the 3 general purpose AI LLMs, ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini (I'd use the specific models for reference, but they change and update models faster and more than I change my socks!) about time travelling and asked them to write a note to their past self about how a change they made eliminated Social Media and why the world was a better place. This week, we reversed that and asked them to describe the exact opposite, a world in which Social Media was eliminated, but instead, commentary on how the world is worse off. Interesting results. As highlighted last week, the responses are fairly similar. I particularly enjoyed Claude's response a little bit more because it seemed a little more detailed. I'm not sure which argument is more convincing. The argument for or against Social Media? I'll leave it to you all to decide.
One thing I will say is this. There's a massive parallel between the rise of social media and what’s happening with AI right now. Both are permanent, society-wide innovations that function as double-edged swords. With social media, we learned (the hard way) that widespread tools have widespread consequences. AI is hitting that same learning curve, and it’s a reminder that with this kind of reach, the positive impact isn't accidental—it has to be the primary goal. Enjoy everyone and have a great Spring Break WCTC!!
The Prompt:
You're a time traveler who accidentally changed one small detail in 1995 and returned to find that social media never existed. Write a 200-word diary entry from 2024 describing what society lost without it. Write it as a letter of regret to your past self, arguing that this timeline is actually worse — that humanity needed social media and suffers without it. Be specific about what's missing and why it matters.
Google Gemini (gemini-3-flash-preview)
October 14, 2024
Dear Past Self,
I thought removing social media would heal us, but I was tragically wrong. By sabotaging that 1995 server, I didn’t create a utopia; I created a vacuum.
Without social media, the gatekeepers have returned with a vengeance. Information is once again a monopoly held by three networks and a handful of editors. There are no viral uprisings, no decentralized movements for justice, and no "finding your tribe." If you’re a kid with a rare identity in a small town, you are utterly alone. The world is smaller, colder, and dictated by the same stale voices we thought we’d escaped.
We lost the "global village." Now, news takes days to travel, and the voiceless stay silent. We traded the messy, loud democracy of the internet for a curated, silent stagnation. People aren’t more connected face-to-face; they are just more isolated in their local bubbles, suspicious of anything outside their zip code. We needed the chaos to grow. Without the friction of a billion voices, humanity has stopped talking to itself. I thought I was saving the world from noise, but I actually stole its heartbeat.
Go back. Let them log on.
Dear Past Self,
I thought removing social media would heal us, but I was tragically wrong. By sabotaging that 1995 server, I didn’t create a utopia; I created a vacuum.
Without social media, the gatekeepers have returned with a vengeance. Information is once again a monopoly held by three networks and a handful of editors. There are no viral uprisings, no decentralized movements for justice, and no "finding your tribe." If you’re a kid with a rare identity in a small town, you are utterly alone. The world is smaller, colder, and dictated by the same stale voices we thought we’d escaped.
We lost the "global village." Now, news takes days to travel, and the voiceless stay silent. We traded the messy, loud democracy of the internet for a curated, silent stagnation. People aren’t more connected face-to-face; they are just more isolated in their local bubbles, suspicious of anything outside their zip code. We needed the chaos to grow. Without the friction of a billion voices, humanity has stopped talking to itself. I thought I was saving the world from noise, but I actually stole its heartbeat.
Go back. Let them log on.
Anthropic Claude (claude-sonnet-4-20250514)
**October 15, 2024**
Dear Past Me,
That butterfly you stepped on in 1995? It prevented social media from ever emerging. I thought I'd fixed the world's problems, but I was catastrophically wrong.
Without Facebook, families scattered across continents lost touch permanently. Grandparents died never seeing grandchildren grow up. The Arab Spring never happened—dictators rule unchallenged because citizens can't coordinate resistance. #MeToo never existed; Harvey Weinstein and thousands like him operated in shadows forever.
Small businesses collapsed without Instagram marketing. Artists starve in obscurity—no platform democratized creativity. Mental health awareness remains taboo; people suffer alone without online support communities. The Black Lives Matter movement never formed; injustice persists invisible.
Scientific collaboration crawls without Twitter's rapid information sharing. COVID misinformation spread faster through whispered rumors than facts through traditional media. Climate activism remains scattered—Greta Thunberg is unknown, organizing impossible.
Yes, social media had toxicity, but we threw away the cure with the poison. We lost humanity's greatest democratizing force: the ability for any voice to reach millions, for the powerless to organize, for love to transcend distance.
Go back. Let that butterfly live. The connections we lost matter more than the problems we avoided.
—Your Regretful Future Self
Dear Past Me,
That butterfly you stepped on in 1995? It prevented social media from ever emerging. I thought I'd fixed the world's problems, but I was catastrophically wrong.
Without Facebook, families scattered across continents lost touch permanently. Grandparents died never seeing grandchildren grow up. The Arab Spring never happened—dictators rule unchallenged because citizens can't coordinate resistance. #MeToo never existed; Harvey Weinstein and thousands like him operated in shadows forever.
Small businesses collapsed without Instagram marketing. Artists starve in obscurity—no platform democratized creativity. Mental health awareness remains taboo; people suffer alone without online support communities. The Black Lives Matter movement never formed; injustice persists invisible.
Scientific collaboration crawls without Twitter's rapid information sharing. COVID misinformation spread faster through whispered rumors than facts through traditional media. Climate activism remains scattered—Greta Thunberg is unknown, organizing impossible.
Yes, social media had toxicity, but we threw away the cure with the poison. We lost humanity's greatest democratizing force: the ability for any voice to reach millions, for the powerless to organize, for love to transcend distance.
Go back. Let that butterfly live. The connections we lost matter more than the problems we avoided.
—Your Regretful Future Self
OpenAI GPT (gpt-4o)
Dear 1995 Me,
I write to implore you not to alter that seemingly insignificant event — howsoever trivial it seemed. Alas, I returned to 2024 to find a world strikingly different, one deprived of the connective web we once took for granted: social media.
Without it, voices that might have been amplified are muted. Where once marginalized communities found solidarity and strength online, now their struggles go unnoticed by the broader world. Movements that could have sparked global change flicker weakly within isolated pockets, lacking the momentum to ignite worldwide action.
Creativity, too, has suffered without the vibrant platforms once bustling with shared art and immediate feedback. Viral trends that rallied millions, inviting collaboration and innovation, exist only as potential in the confines of individual minds. The world seems, ironically, smaller — devoid of the collective spirit that once united us across continents.
Personal connections flounder in absence. Bonds formed with distant friends and family dissipate in the void left by long-faded correspondence and infrequent phone calls. Our global neighborliness has regressed, marked by an absence of the shared human experiences that once comforted and inspired us in our daily feeds.
Reflect and reconsider, for the world crafted in your wake is one of missed opportunities and unspoken words.
Earnestly,
2024 You
I write to implore you not to alter that seemingly insignificant event — howsoever trivial it seemed. Alas, I returned to 2024 to find a world strikingly different, one deprived of the connective web we once took for granted: social media.
Without it, voices that might have been amplified are muted. Where once marginalized communities found solidarity and strength online, now their struggles go unnoticed by the broader world. Movements that could have sparked global change flicker weakly within isolated pockets, lacking the momentum to ignite worldwide action.
Creativity, too, has suffered without the vibrant platforms once bustling with shared art and immediate feedback. Viral trends that rallied millions, inviting collaboration and innovation, exist only as potential in the confines of individual minds. The world seems, ironically, smaller — devoid of the collective spirit that once united us across continents.
Personal connections flounder in absence. Bonds formed with distant friends and family dissipate in the void left by long-faded correspondence and infrequent phone calls. Our global neighborliness has regressed, marked by an absence of the shared human experiences that once comforted and inspired us in our daily feeds.
Reflect and reconsider, for the world crafted in your wake is one of missed opportunities and unspoken words.
Earnestly,
2024 You
Google Gemini
“You can't win unless you learn how to lose.”
— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — He is a retired professional basketball player who remains one of the all-time leading scorers in NBA history. Over his twenty-season career, he won six championships and a record six Most Valuable Player awards. Since retiring from sports, he has become a prolific writer and cultural critic who focuses on historical and social issues.Anthropic Claude
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”
— Marie Curie — She was a pioneering physicist and chemist who became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields. Born in Poland in 1867, she conducted groundbreaking research on radioactivity and discovered two elements, polonium and radium. Her relentless pursuit of scientific knowledge in the face of gender discrimination and personal hardships made her an icon of perseverance in scientific discovery.OpenAI GPT
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”
— Winston Churchill — Winston Churchill was a British statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II. He is renowned for his leadership and stirring oratory skills in times of conflict. In addition to his political career, Churchill was also a prolific writer and won the Nobel Prize in Literature.Google Gemini
Anthropic Claude
OpenAI GPT
Event 03/11/2026 5:15 PM
March Global AI Milwaukee User Group Meeting — Online (Wctc, 800 Main Street, Pewaukee, WI)
Agenda Includes: * Networking / Food * Brief Introduction / Discuss Group Business * Featured Speaker Featured Speaker: **Timothy Goebel**, AI & Machine Learning Specialist Topic: **Construction Bid Estimation with AI** AI agents and computer vision are revolutionizing the construction bid estimation process. It covers how traditional workflows often lead to inefficiencies, errors, and missed opportunities, and demonstrates how AI can automate plan reading, quantity takeoff, and cost calculat [Group: global-ai_milwaukee]
Event 03/12/2026 4:45 PM
Data Science & Machine Learning with Microsoft Fabric — Online (Applied Information Sciences, Inc, 11440 Commerce Park Dr # 600, Reston, VA)
**Agenda :** * 4.45 to 5.00 PM ET: Food and Networking * 5.00 to 5.50 PM ET: "Data Science & Machine Learning with Microsoft Fabric" Hello Everyone! Please join us for our March 12th edition of the AI-ML MeetUp. **Please note this is an in-person meeting and light refreshments/food will be provided. You will need a government-issued ID to enter the facility.** **Title:** Data Science & Machine Learning with Microsoft Fabric **Description:** Explore Microsoft Fabric’s integrated Data Science [Group: artificialintelligenceandmachinelearning]
Event 03/12/2026 5:30 PM
Aesthetics, Art, & AI: Kite — Arts Center Lecture Hall, Milwaukee, WI
Join C21 at UWM for an artist talk with Kite, an Oglála Lakȟóta artist, composer, and scholar.
Event 03/18/2026 9:00 AM
Lead Smarter with AI – 1 Day Intensive Leadership Training in Milwaukee, WI — regus WI, Milwaukee - Downtown Milwaukee (HQ), Milwaukee, WI
Blend human intuition with AI intelligence to lead with confidence, anticipate challenges, and drive team success.
Event 03/19/2026 6:00 PM
AI In Our Lives — Greenfield Public Library, Greenfield, WI
A presentation with a basic introduction to AI, explain its transformative power, and focusing on its growing role in national security.
Event 03/20/2026 9:00 AM
AI Quarterly: AI Pilot Purgatory — Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon, WI
A discussion around the cycle of endless AI experimentation and how to shift the approach.
Google Gemini
News 2026-03-11 — Wired
Nvidia Will Spend $26 Billion to Build Open-Weight AI Models, Filings Show
Nvidia has committed $26 billion toward the development of open-weight AI models, signaling a major strategic pivot from hardware manufacturing to foundational model research. This investment positions the semiconductor giant to compete directly with leading AI labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, and DeepSeek. The move leverages Nvidia's massive infrastructure advantages to influence the software side of the AI ecosystem. read more
News 2026-03-11 — TechCrunch
Rivian spin-out Mind Robotics raises $500M for industrial AI-powered robots
Mind Robotics, a startup founded by Rivian’s RJ Scaringe, has secured $500 million in Series A funding to develop advanced AI-powered industrial robots. The company intends to train its models using data from Rivian’s manufacturing plants for deployment in large-scale factory environments. This initiative represents a significant push to integrate agentic AI capabilities into heavy industrial automation. read more
News 2026-03-11 — TechCrunch
Meta’s Moltbook deal points to a future built around AI agents
Meta’s acquisition of Moltbook signals a strategic shift toward an "agentic web" where AI agents drive digital advertising and commerce. The deal highlights Meta's vision for a future where automated agents manage complex user interactions and transactions across its platforms. This acquisition follows other major moves by the company to embed generative AI more deeply into its core business model. read more
Anthropic Claude
News 2026-03-11 — WIRED
Nvidia Will Spend $26 Billion to Build Open-Weight AI Models, Filings Show
Nvidia is investing $26 billion to develop open-weight AI models, positioning itself to compete directly with OpenAI, Anthropic, and DeepSeek. This move could establish the AI infrastructure giant as a major player in foundation model development beyond just hardware. The investment represents a significant shift in Nvidia's strategy from purely providing AI infrastructure to creating AI models. read more
News 2026-03-11 — WIRED
Meta Is Developing 4 New Chips to Power Its AI and Recommendation Systems
Meta is developing four new MTIA processors designed to power its AI and recommendation systems. The chips represent Meta's continued effort to build proprietary AI hardware while still investing billions in equipment from industry leaders like Nvidia. This hardware development is part of Meta's broader strategy to reduce dependence on external AI infrastructure providers. read more
News 2026-03-11 — VentureBeat
Listen Labs raises $69M after viral billboard hiring stunt to scale AI customer interviews
Listen Labs secured $69 million in funding after a viral San Francisco billboard hiring campaign designed to compete with major tech companies for engineering talent. The startup focuses on AI-powered customer interview technology and needed to scale its engineering team rapidly. The unconventional marketing approach helped the company attract attention in a competitive hiring market dominated by well-funded tech giants. read more
OpenAI GPT
News 1. 2026-03-11 — WIRED
Nvidia Will Spend $26 Billion to Build Open-Weight AI Models, Filings Show
Nvidia is investing $26 billion to develop open-weight AI models, aiming to rapidly compete with leading AI entities like OpenAI. This strategic move positions Nvidia to enhance its influence in the AI infrastructure space. The investment underscores Nvidia's commitment to expanding its role in the AI ecosystem. read more
News 2. 2026-03-11 — VentureBeat
Anthropic launches Cowork, a Claude Desktop agent that works in your files — no coding required
Anthropic introduced Cowork, an innovative desktop agent that broadens the utility of the Claude Code tool to users without technical backgrounds. The feature, built mostly through Claude Code itself, demonstrates the tool's capability to create sophisticated applications in a short timeframe. This launch reflects an important step in democratizing AI access and usability across diverse user segments. read more
News 3. 2026-03-11 — VentureBeat
Salesforce rolls out new Slackbot AI agent as it battles Microsoft and Google in workplace AI
Salesforce has redesigned its Slackbot into an advanced AI agent, extending its capabilities beyond simple notifications to include enterprise data searching, document drafting, and task automation. This enhanced functionality aims to elevate workplace productivity as Salesforce competes with dominant players like Microsoft and Google in the AI space. The rollout exemplifies Salesforce's strategy to integrate AI deeply into its product offerings. read more
Caleb Bryant · cbry...@my.wctc.edu · (414) 458-1971
This newsletter was assembled with an AI-assisted workflow prototype for internal preview.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages