Welcome back to Daily Zaps, your regularly-scheduled dose of AI news ⚡️ 

Here’s what we got for ya today:

• 🤖 OpenAI introduces Operator & Agents

• 🍓 Chinese open source Deepseek R1 runs on Raspberry Pi

• 💼 Salesforce CEO on unlimited AI workforce

• 📝 Trump signs EO on developing artificial intelligence

Let’s get right into it!

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STARTUPS

OpenAI introduces Operator & Agents

OpenAI has introduced Operator, its first AI agent designed to automate tasks by independently navigating web browsers and interacting with websites, marking a significant step toward realizing CEO Sam Altman’s vision for AI tools in 2025. Initially available to U.S. users on the $200 ChatGPT Pro subscription, Operator can perform tasks such as booking travel, making reservations, and shopping online, using OpenAI's Computer-Using Agent (CUA) model.

This model mimics human interaction with web interfaces, such as filling forms and clicking buttons, and requires user supervision for sensitive actions like banking or entering credit card information. While Operator has limitations—such as struggles with complex interfaces and rate restrictions—it highlights OpenAI's cautious approach to AI safety, employing monitoring systems to mitigate risks like phishing or misuse.

STARTUPS

Chinese open source Deepseek R1 runs on Raspberry Pi

If true, Deepseek's new distilled models represent a significant breakthrough in AI accessibility and performance. The smallest 7-billion-parameter model outperforms OpenAI’s GPT-4o and Claude Sonnet 3.5, while the 14-billion-parameter model rivals OpenAI's o1-mini on key metrics. Unlike o1-mini, which demands enterprise-level infrastructure, these models can run efficiently on consumer-grade laptops, dramatically reducing barriers to adoption.

This development could democratize access to powerful AI capabilities by eliminating the high costs and hardware requirements typically associated with advanced AI models. If widely adopted, it has the potential to disrupt the current dominance of major players like OpenAI and reshape the AI landscape.

BIG TECH

Salesforce CEO on unlimited AI workforce

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff stated at the World Economic Forum in Davos that today's CEOs are the last generation to oversee entirely human workforces, as companies increasingly integrate artificial intelligence (AI). He highlighted how AI is augmenting human productivity, citing Salesforce's use of an "AI agent" at the Davos conference to help attendees choose panels.

While concerns grow over AI replacing human jobs, with a World Economic Forum survey predicting 41% of companies plan workforce reductions by 2030 due to AI, Benioff and others see AI as a collaborator rather than a replacement, enabling new productivity levels through human-machine collaboration. Benioff also referenced the recent $500 billion U.S. AI infrastructure project, calling it the start of massive global investments that will transform industries.

GOVERNMENT

Trump signs EO on developing artificial intelligence ‘free from ideological bias’

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on artificial intelligence (AI) that rescinds President Joe Biden's 2023 AI policies, which Trump’s order claims hindered innovation with burdensome regulations. The new directive emphasizes the need for AI systems to be free of ideological bias and to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security. It tasks federal agencies with reviewing and potentially suspending Biden-era AI policies that don’t align with these goals.

The order also mandates the development of a new AI action plan within 180 days, led by a team including a newly appointed Special Advisor for AI and Crypto. Critics argue that the move undermines safeguards designed to protect the public from AI-related harms, such as discriminatory technologies and misinformation, while proponents view it as a step toward ensuring U.S. leadership in AI innovation.