OpenAI Releases a Lightweight Version of Deep Research 🔎!

From shipping season to—you guessed it—more shipping! OpenAI shares the spotlight with Adobe today, as both tech giants released impactful products over the past week 🚀. 

Hello and welcome to issue #104 of the Neural Frontier 🙋‍♂️!

Aside from the product updates on today’s agenda, there’s a bit of a legal tussle involving OpenAI and IGN owner, Ziff Davis. 

Enough said; let’s dive into the details!

In a rush? Here's your quick byte: 

🤯 OpenAI releases a lightweight version of Deep Research!

🚀 Adobe rolls out new Firefly image gen models. 

🧑‍⚖️ IGN owner sues OpenAI! 

🎭 AI Reimagines: Severance meets the 70s!

🎯 Everything else you missed this week.  

⚡ The Neural Frontier’s weekly spotlight: 3 AI tools making the rounds this week.

🤯 OpenAI releases a lightweight version of Deep Research!

OpenAI has rolled out a lightweight version of Deep Research in ChatGPT, as a way to solve the rate limit problems, while still retaining the depth and quality users have come to expect. 

As usual, here are the deets: 

🕵️‍♂️ What’s Lightweight Deep Research in ChatGPT?  This new, lightweight version enables users to get concise yet high-quality research reports quickly and cost-effectively.
Built on the smaller yet efficient o4-mini model, this version maintains depth but offers shorter responses, making it more economical for frequent use.

⌛ How To Use It & Availability: Once usage limits of the original full version are hit, queries automatically switch to this streamlined alternative, perfect for everyday quick research tasks. The update is rolling out immediately to ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Pro users, with availability extended to free users, and Enterprise and educational users gaining access next week.

Overall, this release helps ChatGPT remain competitive with AI tools like Google's Gemini and Microsoft's Copilot, offering a more accessible way for users to conduct quick, in-depth research without hitting usage limits.

🚀 Adobe rolls out new Firefly image gen models.

Adobe has introduced new advanced versions of its Firefly generative AI models, along with a redesigned Firefly web app that integrates Adobe’s tools and selected third-party models.

The updates significantly enhance Adobe’s AI-powered creative suite, including improved image, video, and vector generation, alongside collaborative features for creative teams.

Here’s the lowdown:

✨ Key Features and Highlights

• Firefly Image Model 4 and 4 Ultra: Generate high-quality images (up to 2K resolution) with precise stylistic control, camera angles, and improved realism. The "Ultra" variant excels at creating exceptionally detailed scenes with complex structures.
  

• Firefly Video and Vector Models: The Video model (now publicly available) generates dynamic, customizable video clips (up to 1080p) directly from text prompts or reference images. In addition, the Vector model creates fully editable vector art, ideal for logos, product designs, icons, and detailed patterns.
  

• Redesigned Firefly Web App: Offers easy access to Adobe’s own AI models plus select third-party generative models, including OpenAI’s GPT, Google’s Imagen 3, and Flux. Users can seamlessly switch between models, facilitating versatile content creation.
  

• Firefly Boards (Beta): A collaborative ideation and moodboarding tool allowing teams to generate, remix, and collaborate on visual ideas, similar to FigJam or Kosmik.
  

• Expanded APIs: Adobe is making its Text-to-Image and Avatar APIs generally available, with the new Text-to-Video API launching in beta.

💡 Competitive Context: Adobe’s expanded Firefly suite directly competes with generative image and video platforms, including OpenAI’s GPT image generation, Midjourney, Runway, and Google’s Imagen. While these competitors emphasize speed or specific styles, Adobe differentiates itself through seamless integration with its established ecosystem and commercial safety credentials.

Looking ahead, Adobe plans to further expand Firefly’s capabilities by adding more third-party AI models, launching dedicated mobile apps for iOS and Android, and progressively integrating the latest AI updates across its Creative Cloud applications, including Photoshop and Illustrator.

🧑‍⚖️ IGN owner sues OpenAI!

Ziff Davis, owner of media giants like CNET and IGN, has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing it of unauthorized use and reproduction of its content to train AI models.

Here’s what’s happening:

⚖️ The Lawsuit Explained: Ziff Davis, which owns prominent brands such as PCMag, IGN, CNET, and Everyday Health, alleges OpenAI has "intentionally and relentlessly" created exact copies of its digital content without permission. According to the lawsuit, OpenAI scraped millions of articles despite Ziff Davis explicitly instructing web crawlers not to access its content via robots.txt.

Ziff Davis claims it has identified "hundreds of full copies" of its content in even a small sample of OpenAI’s publicly shared WebText dataset. The publisher is seeking a court order to prevent further unauthorized use, requesting OpenAI destroy datasets containing its content.

🌐 Industry Context: While media companies like Vox Media, The Associated Press, and The Washington Post have licensing agreements with OpenAI, Ziff Davis joins major publishers such as The New York Times, The Intercept, and several Canadian media outlets in pursuing legal action over alleged copyright infringement.

🔍 OpenAI’s Defence: OpenAI argues that its AI training methods are lawful, relying on publicly available data under the principle of fair use. The company maintains that tools like ChatGPT foster creativity, scientific research, and innovation, benefiting millions of users daily.

🎭 AI Reimagines: Severance meets the 70s!

In today’s showcase, we have a treat for fans of Severance, as we dive into a 70s-themed reimagination of the award-winning thriller series. 

As always, enjoy! 😊

🎯 Everything else you missed this week. 

😉 Microsoft recently created an ad using AI to generate some shots. 

🎨 Adobe’s new tool makes it easier for creators to credit their work!

📖 OpenAI is making its image gen tool available for other companies like Adobe and Figma to use.

🏆 The Oscars have finally acknowledged the usage of GenAI in its updated rules!

 🤝 The Washington Post has partnered with OpenAI.

🤑 Manychat raises $140 million in latest funding round.

⚡ The Neural Frontier’s weekly spotlight: 3 AI tools making the rounds this week. 

1. 🔖 Echo Memo offers a specialized social media bookmarking tool designed for professionals and enthusiasts who need to organize content across platforms. The Chrome extension allows users to save and easily recall posts from major social networks, functioning as a "second brain" for social media management.

2. 📧 Notion Mail introduces a reimagined email experience that organizes itself using AI and integrates seamlessly with Notion's familiar interface. Key features include smart organization, AI auto-labeling based on email content and importance, and custom views for different focus areas (hiring, support, travel). 

3. ⏰ Clockwise, with a proprietary scheduling engine that analyzes over 160 million meetings daily, creates optimal calendars that protect focus time while ensuring meetings happen at ideal times.

An end to a week filled with…

More legal battles, impressive product releases, and OpenAI in the spotlight once again. 

As you look towards a fun-filled weekend (hopefully), remember that the world is changing pretty rapidly. And not to sound like fearmongers, but it has to be said: we all have to learn to leverage AI or at least learn more about it, one tool (or newsletter 😉) at a time. 

For the second thing, you know we’ve got you covered, and as always, we’ll catch you in the next issue. Bye for now! 🙋‍♂️

PS: If this email was forwarded to you, feel free to hit that Subscribe button to keep receiving insights like this every Friday 😊.