Talking dolphins & more (April 15, 2025)

Hey friends,

Today’s AI news feels like a sci-fi fever dream (in the best way). OpenAI’s new model has a name that makes zero sense, Google is trying to talk to dolphins, and China just dropped a video AI that might outpace the West on efficiency alone.

Let’s break it down, byte by byte.

⚙️ AGENTIC FOUNDATIONS

📦 OpenAI drops GPT-4.1 — and it’s API-only, baby

• OpenAI’s new GPT-4.1 family includes Mini and Nano versions
• Supports 1M token context (that’s like 8 React codebases worth)
• Cheaper, faster, better at coding, instruction following, and long-term memory
• OpenAI is phasing out 4.5 and punting GPT-5 past May

4.1 Nano = their fastest and cheapest model yet
Bonus: It’s 26% cheaper than GPT-4o

🔬 AI models make new discoveries — not just summarize them

• Rumor: OpenAI will release o3 and o4-mini models this week
• These “reasoning” models may be able to invent scientific ideas
• Could cost up to $20K/month for enterprises
• Early testers say they can detect pathogens, design recycling experiments, and more

🌊 Under The Sea

🎥 ByteDance’s Seaweed is crushing it

• 7B parameter video model that punches above its weight
• Dominates in image-to-video and multi-shot storytelling
• Outperforms models like Sora despite being smaller
• Focus on realistic human motion and lip sync

🐬 Google wants to talk to dolphins. Literally.

• DolphinGemma is an AI model trained on dolphin calls
• Uses Pixel 9-based underwater CHAT devices
• Designed with Georgia Tech to decode vocal patterns
• Could open up true interspecies communication
• Open-sourcing this summer

⚒️ NEW TOOLS

🛠️ 5 AI tools worth trying this week

• Pippit: Design marketing content with no skills required
• Sherlock: Catches AI cheating during interviews
• Video Ocean: Turn ideas into animated video scenes
• Kintsugi: Handles your sales tax like a chill accountant
• iAsk AI: No-login answer engine with scary-good precision

💡Also trending:

• ChatGPT adds full memory recall across chats
• Canva’s AI suite now handles everything visual
• Appsmith Agents: Secure, embedded data-connected agents
• Google Classroom's AI now autogenerates quizzes
• Meta's training its next LLM on EU public content (you can opt out... maybe)

🧪 PROMPT OF THE DAY

Collaboration Mastermind Mode
Prompt: Help me improve team collaboration and delegation for a project I’m leading. Break down how I can assign tasks based on individual strengths, keep everyone aligned without micromanaging, and maintain momentum. Include creative delegation techniques like "delegation poker" or rotating leadership roles.

⚡ TL;DR

• OpenAI 4.1 is cheaper, smarter, longer-winded, and totally API-focused
• New models (o3, o4-mini) may invent science — but you’ll need deep pockets
• Seaweed from ByteDance is a quiet beast in the video AI space
• DolphinGemma may help us decode dolphin speech (and we’re into it)
• AI Tools are coming for your quizzes, sales tax, and job interviews

See you tomorrow.
— Chris