What a Week! Bootcamps, Events, (Re)Prep Work, and Five New AI Developments That Changed Everything (Again)

· 5 min read

If there’s one thing you can count on in the fast-paced world of tech, it’s that nothing stays the same for long. This past week has been a whirlwind for us—wrapping up our first Generative AI Skills Bootcamp cohort, hosting back-to-back events, and then watching in disbelief as five major AI announcements dropped just hours after we’d updated everyone on the latest news. Let’s dive in!

Monday: Wrapping Up Our First Generative AI Skills Bootcamp

Ellie and I run the Generative AI Skills Bootcamp together, and on Monday, we watched our first cohort deliver their final business plan presentations. Each participant showcased how they’re already applying the new skills in their businesses—and the ideas were genuinely exciting. It’s one thing to teach people a skill set; it’s another to see them take action immediately. The camaraderie in that room was unreal: everyone encouraging each other, forming new collaborations on the spot.

Tuesday & Wednesday: Lecturing Continues for New Cohorts

No time to slow down! We dove straight into two full days of lecturing for our brand-new Cohorts 2 and 3. With 24 fresh learners from various sectors, we spent Tuesday and Wednesday guiding them through hands-on exercises, live demos, and plenty of Q&A. One highlight was introducing ChatGPT’s new “Tasks” feature—something we’d barely had time to incorporate into our materials (we updated them on the fly as soon as Tasks rolled out).

It’s moments like these that keep us on our toes. No matter how prepared we think we are, the AI landscape shifts overnight. Still, the energy in these cohorts was incredible. People from wildly different backgrounds were discovering how much potential these tools have for their businesses.

Prepping for Digital Somerset & Digital Hub: The Two-Week Marathon

While Ellie and I focus on the Bootcamps together, I also head up Digital Somerset and Digital Hub—two separate communities/events that often happen in different weeks. Not this time. For the first (and hopefully last!) time in a while, we had both events in the same week, which meant a ton of upfront prep.

  • Two Weeks Ago: Knowing we’d be away over a weekend, I prepped the entire talk for Digital Hub two weeks in advance. I lined up slides, demos, and the latest AI news so I could hit the ground running when we got back.
  • Night Before: As anyone following the tech world knows, two weeks is an eternity in AI time. By Wednesday night, so many new updates had emerged that I found myself overhauling most of the talk. Let’s just say it was a late one—shuffling older news, adding brand-new demos, and trying to decide what to keep or cut. In the end, I probably rewrote half of it!

Tuesday Evening: Digital Somerset’s “Celebrating Women in Digital” Event

Despite the extra workload, Tuesday evening still went ahead as planned in Bridgwater. Since I’m on the board, I helped organise this special event focusing on Celebrating Women in Digital. We brought in Jodie—an old colleague of mine who now excels as a Microsoft Modern Work Consultant. Because she lives in Berwick-upon-Tweed (practically Scotland!), we beamed her onto the big screen. We tested wireless cameras, audio setups, and plenty more just to ensure an interactive Q&A with the audience. And you know what? It all worked flawlessly.

After a keynote on general tech trends and a specialist talk on building standout websites, Jodie took the virtual stage with demos of OneDrive and Loop. The feedback was fantastic, and as a Community Interest Company (CIC), we even raised a bit of money to funnel back into future events.

Thursday Evening: Digital Hub in Yeovil (Yes, the Same Week!)

By the time Thursday rolled around, I was running on adrenaline (and coffee). Digital Hub took place at the Yeovil Innovation Centre, drawing about 30 local business owners—some familiar faces, some new. We started with a keynote on the history of LinkedIn (did you know it predates Facebook?) and got updates on the latest cybersecurity threats from Adam, our resident expert.

Finally, I presented my big AI talk, focusing on generative AI developments, demos, and tips for making the most of these rapidly evolving tools. The group was engaged, asking brilliant questions. And then—of course—mere hours later, even more announcements dropped!

The Five AI Announcements That Landed (Just When I Thought I Was Up to Date)

We like to say “tech is a never-ending story,” and this week proved it once again. Practically overnight, five major updates hit the scene:

  1. Operator from OpenAI’s ChatGPT
    TL;DR: An AI personal assistant that doesn’t just give info but can fill in forms, book tickets, and even do your online shopping.
    Full deep-dive here

  2. Android Assistant from Perplexity
    TL;DR: A multimodal AI assistant for Android devices, integrating with apps like Spotify, YouTube, and Uber for real-life tasks on the go.
    Full deep-dive here

  3. Citations from Anthropic’s Claude
    TL;DR: Finally, an AI that provides sources for its answers. Perfect for research, customer support, or any situation where “trust but verify” matters.
    Full deep-dive here

  4. Canvas Upgrades in ChatGPT
    TL;DR: Write and render HTML/React code directly in ChatGPT, making prototyping and debugging faster and more seamless than ever.
    Full deep-dive here

  5. o3 Mini Model from ChatGPT
    TL;DR: Soon to be available for free-tier users (with strict limits) and Plus users (100 queries/week), bridging the gap between the simpler o1 model and OpenAI’s Pro-level offerings.
    Full deep-dive here

We’ll be sharing these updates with our next cohort on Tuesday and Wednesday (not Monday—needed a breather!), so that nobody misses out on the cutting-edge features already shaping our workflows.

The Agentic World in Action

All these announcements point toward what we call the Agentic World—an era where AI actively participates in tasks rather than just providing information. It’s exciting but also means we’re constantly revising our lesson plans, our presentations, and even our business strategies. Blink, and you miss a whole wave of innovation!

So, what do you think? Have you tried any of these new AI tools or features yet? We’d love to hear how they fit into your personal or professional life. The more we share our experiences, the better prepared we all are to ride this fast-paced wave of innovation.

Until next time—stay curious, stay adaptable, and we’ll see you in our next blog (or maybe in one of our Bootcamps)!