In Partnership With ZeroSlide
Welcome Automaters 👋
Before we dive into the usual chaos today, let’s look at a textbook case of what happens when “AI said so” goes off the rails… and somehow turns into a full-blown national security issue.
The Situation: West Midlands Police (WMP) just admitted they used Microsoft Copilot to gather intel for a high-stakes decision to ban Israeli soccer fans. And y’all, the AI didn't just get a date wrong, it literally invented a match that never happened. This wasn’t just a typo; it was a full-blown fictional dossier that sparked an international incident reaching the Prime Minister’s desk.
Here’s how the "Robo-Cop" failed:
The Fake Game: Copilot hallucinated a 2023 match between West Ham and Maccabi Tel Aviv. That fictional game made it into official police reports used to justify blocking fans from a Europa League match.
The "Google Search" Excuse: Chief Constable Craig Guildford initially told Parliament the error was just a "Google search mistake." Plot twist: After an officer testified under oath, Guildford had to send a "profound apology" letter yesterday (Jan 14) admitting it was actually an AI hallucination. Awkward.
The "Confirmation Bias" Call-out: A damning watchdog report found eight total inaccuracies and accused the force of "confirmation bias." Translation: They already wanted to ban the fans and used Copilot to "find" the evidence to back it up.
The Political Fallout: Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told Parliament yesterday she has "no confidence" in Guildford. In a rare move, she called his leadership a "failure" and declared him responsible for a "devastating" lapse in judgment.
The Kicker: Guildford is reportedly lawyering up and refusing to quit, but he’s heading straight into a "public accountability" buzzsaw on January 27th. So grab your popcorn. 🍿
The Bottom Line:
This isn't just an embarrassing screwup; it’s a canary-in-the-coal-mine moment for AI. When hallucinations slip into official intelligence unchecked, people’s lives (and international relations) get messy fast.
This folks is exactly why we can’t just "YOLO" AI into critical decisions without a human in the loop who actually knows the score.
So yes, stay cautious (and always double-check the stats).
Here's what we have for you today
🤯 GPT-5.2 Solves a 30-Year-Old Math Problem—and Experts Say It’s Legit
Okay, so after that police disaster, you’re probably ready to throw your chatbot into a lake. We get it. But before you totally give up on our silicon friends, check this out, because the 'hallucination' vibe took a 180-degree turn into 'absolute genius' territory." How?
Well imagine a puzzle so brutal that the world’s elite math brains have been scratching their heads for 30 years. Now imagine a robot solving it in the time it takes you to fold a load of laundry. That just happened.
Over the last weekend, former quant researcher, and startup founder Neel Somani copy-pasted a legendary math problem into the new GPT-5.2, grabbed a snack, and came back to a complete solution. We’re not talking about a lucky guess or a "close enough" answer, this was a verified, bulletproof proof that actually outperformed a solution a Harvard mathematician found back in 2013.
And get this; Fields Medalist Terence Tao (aka the Michael Jordan of math) personally checked the work. And his verdict? It’s legit.
Why this is a "Holy Crap" moment:
Since Christmas, AI has been on an absolute heater, cracking 15 legendary "Erdős problems." Now, these aren't your "solve for x" homework questions; these are the kind of brain-teasers Paul Erdős (the GOAT of discrete math) left behind when he passed in '96.
The highlight reel:
Autopilot Mode: GPT-5.2 rattled off complex theories like Legendre's formula and then actually improved on old Math Overflow posts from a decade ago.
The Competition: Google’s AlphaEvolve (powered by Gemini) actually started this party in November. Now, both models are in a "solving spree," with 11 of the 15 recent solutions crediting AI.
The Scorecard: Terence Tao is tracking this on GitHub, noting 8 problems where AI made real autonomous progress and 6 where it found "lost" research and leveled it up.
So, are mathematicians out of a job?
Not exactly. Before we start worrying about robots taking over the chalkboard, Tao says these are the "easiest" of the hard problems.
Think of AI like a super-powered intern:
The Good: It’s incredible at organizing the "Lego pieces", handling the boring, soul-crushing calculations that take humans weeks.
The Gap: GPT-5.2 scores a massive 77% on math competition problems, but only 25% on the deep, creative "vibes-based" math that requires brand-new ideas.
The Bottom Line: AI isn't replacing mathematicians; it’s becoming their Exosuit. Tools like Aristotle (by Harmonic) are now using a system called "Lean" to double-check every step with a "super-strict teacher" vibe.
And when university professors with reputations to protect start publicly admitting they’re using these tools? You know the game has changed.
Together With ZeroSlide
Most companies are stuck in "Strategy Hell"—we’re talking endless Zoom calls, 50-page slide decks, and exactly zero code actually doing anything. It’s all "AI transformation" talk and no "AI doing the work" action.
Tak partnered with ZeroSlide because we’re allergic to the fluff. We don’t do "theoretical frameworks." We find the one thing in your business that AI can actually fix, and we build it at startup speed. If you’re tired of the "Wait and See" approach and you’re ready to actually ship something that works... let’s get to work.
Also: Here’s the code to get 15% off.
🧱 Around The AI Block
🚁 Pentagon Task Force deploys AI systems to capture drones.
👩⚕️ Stanford researchers use AI to monitor rare cancer.
🦾 Google’s Trends Explore page gets new Gemini capabilities.
🤯 Gemini’s new beta feature provides proactive responses based on your photos, emails, and more.
😱 Mira Murati’s startup, Thinking Machines Lab, is losing two of its co-founders to OpenAI
🕵️♀️ Musk denies awareness of Grok sexual underage images as California AG launches probe.
🛠️ Trending Tools
For the Power Communicators: WADesk lets you schedule WhatsApp messages, set up recurring announcements, and manage multiple recipients in advance so your reminders and messages always land on time.
For the Viral Creators: AI Baby Dance is the cutest way to go viral. Upload a baby photo and let the AI transform it into a high-energy dancing video ready for TikTok or Reels. It’s pure social media gold.
For the Real Estate Pros: RoomX AI transforms empty room photos with pro furniture placement in 30 seconds. With 10+ styles at just $0.02 per image, it’s 99% cheaper than traditional staging.
For the Email Marketers: EmailVerify ensures your hard work doesn't end up in the spam folder. This enterprise-grade tool scrubs your list of fake or dead addresses, boost deliverability and protect your sender reputation, ensuring your ROI stays high and your emails actually reach human eyes.
For the Solo Livers: Demumu is a lightweight safety app that gives you and your loved ones peace of mind. It uses a simple daily check-in system that automatically notifies your emergency contacts if you ever fail to check in.That way you’re never truly alone in an emergency.
Hope these tools help you reclaim some of your time today!
🤖 AI Workout Of The Day: How to become "AI-Famous" in 2026
Remember when "attribution" meant guessing which Facebook ad actually worked? Yeah, that is so 2024. In 2026, the game has shifted from tracking clicks to measuring AI Visibility.
So here’s the question: If you aren’t appearing in a ChatGPT summary or a Google AI Overview, do you even exist?
Top brands are now pivoting to GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). Why? Well it’s not just about being found; it’s about how the bots describe you. AI models now weigh "entity authority", meaning they’re reading your Reddit threads, YouTube captions, and even customer support logs to decide if you’re worth a recommendation.
Here is your 2026 starter kit for mastering the AI search era:
1. Otterly.AI: The "Google Analytics" for Chat
Best For: Startups and SMBs who need to know if ChatGPT even knows they exist.
The Play: Use the "AI Keyword Research" tool. You paste your URL, and Otterly shows you the exact conversational prompts (e.g., "What’s the best budget CRM for a 10-person team?") that currently lead AI to mention your brand.
The Monitoring: Add those prompts to your dashboard. Otterly scans ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity weekly to see if you’re still the "chosen one."
💸 The Damage: Starts at $29/month (Lite).
2. Ahrefs Brand Radar: The Competitive Tea
Best For: SEO pros who want to bully their rivals out of the AI summaries.
The Play: Enter your brand and your top three rivals. The "AI Share of Voice" chart shows you who is actually dominating the niche.
The "Invisibility" Filter: You can literally filter for prompts where the AI talks about your competitor but ignores you. It’s a roadmap of exactly where you need to go pick a fight (usually on Reddit or niche forums).
💸 The Damage: Starts at $129/month (Brand Radar is now included in Lite plans).
3. Profound: The Enterprise "Command Center"
Best For: Big players who need to see "the plumbing" of how AI sees them.
The Play: Use "Agent Analytics" to see which AI bots (like OpenAI's GPTBot) are crawling your site and which pages they find most "digestible" for RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation).
The Optimization: They have built-in "AI-Optimized Content Workflows" that help you reformat your site into the Q&A structures that AI models love to cite.
💸 The Damage: Starts at $99/month (but the "Growth" plan at $399 is where the real features live).
The Bottom Line: Traditional SEO was about keywords; GEO is about intent and authority. If the AI doesn't trust you, it won't cite you. So yeah, Start tracking your visibility now, or get ready to be "invisible" by the end of the year.
💡 Quick Tip of the Day: The "GEO-Ready" Content Templates
To get cited, you have to write for the bot and the humans. Here are two structures to boost your "citation-worthiness" immediately
Template A: The "Direct Answer" Block (For AI Overviews)
1. Use [H2] Question-Based Heading (e.g., "What is the best way to...?")
2. Paragraph 1 should include direct answers in 40-60 words. Use the brand name and the specific entity early. For example: "The best way to [Task] is by using [Brand Name]’s [Feature]. This process works by..."
3. Bulleted List of 3-5 clear steps or benefits. Bots love lists because they are easy to "chunk" into summaries.
Template B: The "Entity Authority" Snippet (For RAG systems)
1. [Blockquote/Sidebar] eg: "According to a Jan 2026 study by [Brand Name], [Proprietary Stat/Fact]."
2. Why this works: AI search engines are currently obsessed with "Information Gain." If you provide a unique fact or a specific metric that isn't on every other site, the AI is 73% more likely to cite you as the source of truth.Is this your AI Workout of the Week (WoW)? Cast your vote!
That's all we've got for you today.
Did you like today's content? We'd love to hear from you! Please share your thoughts on our content below👇
What'd you think of today's email?
Your feedback means a lot to us and helps improve the quality of our newsletter.
