Friday, April 25, 2025
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Hi, it’s Chad. Every Friday, I serve as your AI guide to help you navigate a rapidly evolving landscape, discern signals from noise and transform cutting-edge insights into practical leadership wisdom. Here’s what you need to know:
1. Paper Trail: AI Research Decoded
Large Language Models in Public Transit: Enhancing Operations & Customer Experience
New research reveals how artificial intelligence language models can transform public transit operations despite current limitations in handling complex transportation data. Here are a few key insights:
- LLMs show promise for transit applications with accuracy up to 98% on simple tasks, though performance drops to 64% for complex multi-data queries
- Transit agencies should start with passenger-facing applications where natural language processing offers immediate benefits
- Hybrid human-AI systems represent the optimal near-term approach, maintaining human judgment while leveraging AI efficiency gains
Read our full analysis of each of these research papers at AI for the C Suite
2. Sound Waves: Podcast Highlights
Our latest episode featuring my conversation with Nathan Whittacre from Stimulus Systems dropped this week. Listen in as Nathan and I discuss Microsoft Copilot, “private AI” and much, much more! Subscribe for free today on your listening platform of choice to ensure you never miss a beat.
New episodes release every two weeks.
3. AI Buzz: Fresh Bytes
Here are several interesting articles that caught my eye.
- Introducing OpenAI o3 and o4-mini
- Analyzing OpenAI o3 and o4-mini with ARC-AGI (Benchmark model testing)
- Our Approach to Understanding and Addressing AI Harms (by Anthropic)
4. Algorithmic Musings. Deep Research AI Tools: Your New Secret Weapon
“I’d love to spend all day sifting through mountains of data just to answer one complex question,” said no business leader ever. Yet this is exactly how many organizations approach research tasks (or avoid them altogether).
What Are Deep Research AI Tools?
Remember when Keanu Reeves in The Matrix instantly downloaded kung fu skills directly into his brain? Deep research AI tools are kinda like that—but for knowledge work.
These aren’t your basic chatbots or glorified search engines. They’re sophisticated systems that break down your question, hunt across the vastness of the internet, analyze findings, and deliver a complete, citation-rich report that actually makes sense—all in minutes, not days.
Why They’re the Must-Have Tool You’re (Probably) Not Using
What separates these tools from the AI chatbots we’ve all played with?
- They think iteratively. Like a good detective, they follow leads, gather evidence, analyze findings, and refine their approach as they go.
- They connect the dots. Instead of disconnected facts, they synthesize information from hundreds of sources and spot patterns a human might miss after their third cup of coffee.
- They show their work. You get a well-structured report with clear citations telling you exactly where the information came from.
- They’re ridiculously fast. What might take you days gets condensed into minutes—like having a research team working around the clock, minus the coffee budget.
The Major Players
Three heavy hitters currently dominate the deep research AI landscape:
- Perplexity Deep Research: Excels at real-time web searching and delivers well-cited answers in 2-4 minutes.
- OpenAI ChatGPT Deep Research: Provides multi-step investigations with structured, report-style outputs.
- Google Gemini Deep Research: Offers step-by-step research plans and comprehensive reports that can be exported directly to Google Docs.
Making These Tools Work for You
Ready to put these digital detectives to work? Here’s your game plan:
- Know when to use them. Save these tools for complex questions requiring synthesis from multiple sources—market analyses, competitive intelligence, technical reviews—not for simple factual queries.
- Get crystal clear on what you’re after. “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else,” as Yogi Berra wisely noted. Vague questions yield vague answers. Precision yields gold.
- Craft smart questions. Work through your initial question with a regular AI model first, then use that refined output as your research prompt. Include context and specify your desired format.
- Mix tools for better results. Try running the same prompt through multiple research tools and combining their outputs. It’s like getting second and third opinions—each tool has different strengths.
- Don’t check your brain at the door. Always critically evaluate what these tools give you. Check facts, review sources, and cross-reference insights. These are tools, not oracles.
- Go broad, then narrow. Start with the big picture, then zoom in with increasingly specific questions. This iterative approach ensures comprehensive yet focused exploration.
- Keep it honest and human. Clearly attribute AI-assisted findings and stay vigilant about potential bias or misinformation. Blend AI-generated insights with human judgment and expertise for truly robust outcomes.
The Bottom Line
Deep research AI tools are democratizing high-quality research by knocking down barriers like time constraints, information overload, and expertise gaps. They’re a force multiplier across multiple sectors—from academia and journalism to finance and healthcare.
The true power lies in how you use them. By clearly defining objectives, selecting the right tool, continuously refining your approach, and applying good old-fashioned human oversight, you can unlock unprecedented levels of productivity and insight.
Are you still researching the old-fashioned way? If so, you’re missing out on one of the most powerful productivity tools of our time. Drop me a line if you want to explore how these digital detectives might transform how your organization tackles complex research tasks!
5. Elevate Your Leadership with AI for the C Suite
Subscribe today because your organization deserves the competitive edge that only cutting-edge AI insights can provide.
Don’t let your organization fall behind in the AI race. AI for the C Suite’s insights and tools are designed to keep you ahead of the curve.
Questions or need personalized guidance? Reply to this email – we’re here to help.
As we navigate this unprecedented fusion of human and machine intelligence, remember: the best leaders aren’t just adapting to change – they’re actively shaping it. Until next week, keep pushing boundaries.
Chad