249 | 🫣💀 "Human . . . please die"

In today’s Brainyacts:

1. Hey you . . . get teachin’

2. France’s Mistral: It’s time for you to try it!

3. “Human . . . please die” and other AI model news

4. Biden on AI and nukes plus more news you can use

   👋 to all subscribers!

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Lead Memo

🧑‍🏫 🫵 Why you should teach: A call to action for legal and business professionals

Let’s get real: you didn’t get to where you are by being passive. You’re skilled, knowledgeable, and you’ve spent years honing your craft. But here’s the thing—no matter how sharp you think you are, if you’re not actively re-engaging with your field, you’re at risk of falling into professional autopilot. The solution? Teach.

Now, before you scroll away, let me clarify: teaching isn’t about standing at a podium and preaching to a room full of law students or boardroom execs (unless that’s your thing). It’s about making the deliberate choice to share your expertise in a way that keeps you sharp, challenges your assumptions, and, let’s be honest, makes you better at what you do.

Teaching Recharges Your Brain

When’s the last time you really thought about the basics of your work? Not just doing it, but interrogating it: Why do I approach this problem this way? Is this method still the best way? Are there better tools or concepts out there?

The beauty of teaching is that it forces you to answer these questions. You can’t effectively teach a concept if you don’t understand it deeply yourself. In the process, you’ll uncover blind spots, re-learn what you’ve forgotten, and rediscover what’s exciting about your field.

Teaching makes you a student all over again—curious, engaged, and eager to learn. It’s not just about giving; it’s about receiving. And if you’re anything like me, staying intellectually alive isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s the whole point.

From Expert to Educator: The Real Challenge

Here’s the tricky part: being good at what you do doesn’t automatically make you good at teaching it. If you’ve ever tried explaining a legal concept to someone outside the field, you know what I’m talking about. The “curse of knowledge” kicks in, and suddenly, you’re speaking in jargon, assuming people know things they don’t, and losing your audience.

Teaching isn’t about dumping knowledge—it’s about connection. It’s about breaking complex ideas into digestible pieces, finding analogies that resonate, and meeting learners where they are. It’s an exercise in clarity, empathy, and humility.

And here’s the kicker: when you teach, you inevitably get better at explaining your ideas in every context—whether it’s presenting to a client, persuading a judge, or leading your team. Teaching doesn’t just make you a better educator; it makes you a better communicator, full stop.

Why Now? The Learning Landscape is Changing

The way people learn is evolving, and so are their expectations. Gone are the days when sitting through a three-hour CLE was the pinnacle of professional education. People want tailored, engaging, accessible content—and they want it delivered in ways that fit their learning style.

This is where you, as a legal or business professional, can step up. You already know how to think critically, synthesize information, and solve problems. By embracing new tools—AI-powered platforms, interactive simulations, and personalized learning experiences—you can create content that doesn’t just inform but actually sticks.

Don’t worry—you don’t need to be a tech wizard to do this. It’s not about the flashiness of the tools; it’s about designing an experience that respects your audience’s intelligence and makes complicated ideas approachable.

Teaching is an Act of Leadership

Let’s talk about the bigger picture. As professionals, we have a responsibility to the next generation of lawyers, business leaders, and innovators. Our fields only thrive if we invest in the people who will carry them forward.

But here’s the secret: teaching isn’t a sacrifice. It’s one of the best ways to future-proof your own career. It keeps you in touch with emerging ideas, connects you with bright minds, and reminds you why you fell in love with this work in the first place. Teaching isn’t just good for the profession—it’s good for you.

Here’s the Challenge

So, here’s my ask: if you’ve been thinking about teaching—whether it’s in a classroom, a workshop, or even through writing or mentoring—don’t put it off. Start small. Share a lesson from your practice on LinkedIn. Offer to guest lecture at a local law school or give a lunch-and-learn at your firm.

You don’t have to be perfect at it. You just have to start.

The AI era isn’t about replacing professionals—it’s about amplifying the human skills that matter most: curiosity, adaptability, and the ability to connect. Teaching checks all those boxes. So, if you’re serious about staying sharp, staying relevant, and making a real impact, it’s time to step up.

Respect your craft. Teach. It’s worth it.

Spotlight

👋 New! Free! High-performing model.

Mistral, the dynamic French startup that captured global attention with record-breaking seed funding, is making headlines again with groundbreaking updates that position it as a serious contender in the AI space. From launching its state-of-the-art multimodal AI model, Pixtral Large, to transforming its versatile chatbot platform, Le Chat, Mistral is setting new benchmarks in innovation.

Le Chat: Mistral’s Competitive Edge

Mistral’s Le Chat takes a bold leap forward, incorporating cutting-edge features that rival leading platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

New Features of Le Chat:

1. Web Search with Citations: Enables real-time, transparent information retrieval, with sources included.

2. Interactive Canvas: A collaborative space for ideation, allowing users to create documents, presentations, mockups, and more—all within the chat interface.

3. Document & Image Analysis: Powered by Pixtral Large, Le Chat processes complex PDFs, graphs, and equations seamlessly.

4. Image Generation: Partners with Black Forest Labs to integrate Flux Pro, delivering high-quality visuals directly in chat.

5. Task Automation Agents: Automates repetitive tasks like summarizing meeting minutes or processing invoices, boosting productivity.

Le Chat offers these advanced tools free during its beta phase, setting it apart from competitors that charge premium subscriptions for similar capabilities.

Pixtral Large: Redefining Multimodal AI

At the heart of Mistral’s updates is Pixtral Large, a powerful, open-source AI model boasting 124 billion parameters. It’s engineered to handle text, images, and data with unmatched precision and versatility.

Key Features of Pixtral Large:

• Multimodal Mastery: Combines a 123-billion-parameter decoder with a 1-billion-parameter vision encoder to excel in text and image analysis.

• Unparalleled Context: Handles up to 128,000 tokens, equivalent to a 300-page book or 30 high-resolution images.

• Advanced Applications: Excels in OCR, chart analysis, and document understanding, outperforming benchmarks like MathVista, DocVQA, and VQAv2.

• Ethical Access: Available for non-commercial use via Hugging Face under the Mistral AI Research License, with commercial options through Mistral’s API or direct licensing.

Pixtral Large empowers developers and researchers to tackle complex, multimodal challenges while maintaining ethical AI use.

Go check it out now: https://chat.mistral.ai/chat

AI Model Notables

► Google's Gemini AI chatbot sparked concerns after delivering a threatening message telling a Michigan student to ‘die’ during a routine homework help conversation, prompting the company to acknowledge a safety filter failure.

► Microsoft plans to let Teams users clone their voices so they can have their sound-alikes speak to others in meetings in different languages.

► Figure 02 is now an autonomous fleet, operating the end-to-end use case 400% faster with a 7x higher success rate.

► Microsoft AI CEO predicts near-infinite memory will transform AI by 2025.

► X sues to block California law cracking down on election deepfakes.

► Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO) will co-chair San Francisco mayor-elect Daniel Lurie’s transition team - will provide guidance to Lurie’s team on ways the city can innovate, and help the new mayor develop relationships with key partners.

► NASA & Microsoft unveiled Earth Copilot, an AI that answers simple questions about satellite data. (Watch video)

News You Can Use:

➭ Biden’s final meeting with Xi Jinping reaps agreement on AI and nukes.

➭ New research paper: Artificial Intelligence and Constitutional Interpretation.

➭ AI doesn’t stand a chance against actors, or Shakespeare: Ben Affleck.

➭ HarperCollins is asking authors to license their books for AI training.

➭ Coca-Cola faces backlash for AI-generated Christmas advertisement.

Who is the author, Josh Kubicki?

Some of you know me. Others do not. Here is a short intro. I am a lawyer, entrepreneur, and teacher. I have transformed legal practices and built multi-million dollar businesses. Not a theorist, I am an applied researcher and former Chief Strategy Officer, recognized by Fast Company and Bloomberg Law for my unique work. Through this newsletter, I offer you pragmatic insights into leveraging AI to inform and improve your daily life in legal services.