ChatGPT takes on controversial topics

Plus, Perplexity joins the ‘Deep Research’ race with its own freemium AI tool.

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Tak Lo & Daniel Akpobare
February 17, 2025

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Hello and welcome to the Automated, your AI tour guide.

You know how ChatGPT used to tiptoe around certain topics, avoid some entirely, or even refuse to engage? Well, that’s about to change folks—OpenAI has rewritten the rules!

Now, ChatGPT will dive deeper into conversations (even the controversial ones), offering more insights and perspectives than ever before—without holding back.

Here’s what we have for you today:

  • 🦾 ChatGPT’s Surprising New Direction.

  • 📚 Perplexity Joins the ‘Deep Research’ Race with Its Own Freemium AI Tool.

  • 📝 How to write effective prompts for stable diffusion.

  • 💼 Top 13 AI business plan generators.

  • 🤖 ChatGPT Prompt Of The Day: Find Data Sources.

🦾 ChatGPT’s Surprising New Direction.

OpenAI is giving ChatGPT a personality makeover—and this time, it’s all about “intellectual freedom.” 

In short, the chatbot will be more willing to tackle controversial topics, offer multiple perspectives, and stop tiptoeing around tricky subjects.

Think of it as ChatGPT going from “I’d rather not say” to “Well, here’s one way to look at it…”

So, why the sudden shift?

Some speculate it’s OpenAI’s way of cozying up to the new Trump administration, given the president’s rocky history with Big Tech.

Conservatives have long accused AI models—ChatGPT included—of leaning left, pointing to viral moments like when it refused to write a Trump poem but happily penned one for Biden.

OpenAI, however, insists this isn’t about politics—it’s about giving users the freedom to make up their own minds.

This “keep it neutral” approach extends to hot-button issues. For example, ChatGPT will say “Black Lives Matter,” but it will also acknowledge that “all lives matter” is a phrase people use.

Rather than refusing to engage in political debates, it will take a more “love for humanity” approach.

Of course, this doesn’t mean ChatGPT is a free-for-all. It still won’t engage with blatantly false or harmful content.

However, OpenAI is clearly rolling back some guardrails that sparked criticism, even quietly removing the policy violation warnings that once popped up mid-chat.

Interestingly, this shift isn’t happening in a vacuum.

Silicon Valley appears to be in the midst of a free speech renaissance. Meta and X (formerly Twitter) are dialing back content moderation, while OpenAI has quietly scrubbed its DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) commitments from its website.

The bottom line?

OpenAI is playing the long game. Whether it’s about politics, public perception, or making ChatGPT feel less like an overprotective parent, one thing’s clear: the AI assistant is loosening up, and Silicon Valley is shifting with it.

Check out the full report here.

The Daily Newsletter for Intellectually Curious Readers

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 📚 Perplexity Joins the ‘Deep Research’ Race with Its Own Freemium AI Tool.

The AI research wars are heating up, and Perplexity is officially throwing its hat in the ring.

On Friday, the company unveiled Deep Research, its own take on AI-powered in-depth analysis—joining Google and OpenAI, both of whom launched eerily similar features under the exact same name.

But unlike OpenAI’s $200-a-month version, Perplexity’s Deep Research is free to use, at least in a limited capacity.

Deep Research isn’t your average AI chatbot spitting out quick answers—it’s designed for professionals who need serious insights with real citations.

According to Perplexity, the tool “excels at expert-level tasks,” including finance, marketing, and product research.

Instead of a basic response, it generates a full-fledged research report that can be exported as a PDF or shared as a Perplexity Page.

Here’s how it works:

  • Enter a query and select "Deep Research" from the drop-down menu.

  • The AI simulates human-like research behavior—searching, reading, and refining its approach in real time.

  • It compiles a comprehensive report in under three minutes.

  • Perplexity’s Deep Research is faster than OpenAI’s, which can take 5 to 30 minutes for similar tasks.

Performance-wise, Perplexity isn’t messing around.

It scored 21.1% on Humanity’s Last Exam, an AI benchmark designed to test expert-level reasoning, outperforming Google’s Gemini Thinking (6.2%), Grok-2 (3.8%), and OpenAI’s GPT-4o (3.3%).

However, OpenAI’s Deep Research still holds the crown at 26.6%.

What really sets Perplexity apart is its pricing model.

Unlike OpenAI’s version, which requires a hefty $200 monthly Pro subscription, Perplexity offers Deep Research for free, though non-subscribers get a limited number of daily queries.

Paying members, on the other hand, enjoy unlimited access.

Comparing the players in the Deep Research space, Perplexity touts its speed and accessibility, OpenAI wins on analytical depth for enterprises, and Google provides seamless integration with productivity tools.

But while these tools are impressive, some experts, including The Economist, warn that AI-driven research could stifle creativity, making users too reliant on machine-generated insights instead of forming their own groundbreaking ideas.

Click here to dive deeper into Perplexity’s Deep Research and see how it compares!

✍️ Editors Corner

I’ve been listening to talks and reactions from the Munich Security Conference this weekend. Having lived in Europe before, first studying at the LSE, then LBS, and working in the technology space across Europe with Techstars London, I have a pretty nuanced view.

I think the intersection of technology trends and geopolitics is an increasingly important and misunderstood trend. It will define the next 10 years, if not more.

I told my wife over breakfast this morning that this short-term instability isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We’re heading towards a period of time, what some people call multi-polarity, that was the norm when I grew up in the 80’s.

My point is, perhaps, that what we experienced in the last 20-30 years was the exception, rather than the norm.

On that note - enjoy the beginning of the week.

Cheers,

Tak Lo (Editor at The Automated, AI entrepreneur and thought leader. More at thetaklo.com)

🧱Around The AI Block

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  • MeetGeek: Automagically record video, transcribe, summarize, and share personalized insights from every meeting.

  • FeedHive: Helps to create, schedule, publish, and easily manage your social media content at scale.

  • DomoAI: Empowers your enterprise with secure and flexible AI.

  • llElevenLabs: Creates natural AI voices instantly in any language - perfect for video creators, developers, and businesses.

🤖ChatGPT Prompt Of The Day: Find Data Sources.

The hunt for relevant, credible data sources can sometimes feel like looking for a needle in a haystack.

But with the right ChatGPT prompt, you can quickly pinpoint the sources that will act as a foundation for your research paper.

Here’s a ChatGPT Prompt that can help you with that 

Act as an academic research expert. Your task is to identify and compile a list of credible data sources related to [topic]. Ensure that the sources are reputable, recent, and relevant to the research objectives. Your list should include both primary and secondary data sources, such as academic journals, government databases, industry reports, surveys, and any other pertinent repositories. Provide a brief description for each source, highlighting its relevance and credibility. Additionally, make note of any access restrictions or subscription requirements for the sources. Aim to provide a comprehensive list that will serve as a strong foundation for the research on [topic].

We've Compiled a List of Over 100 ChatGPT Power Prompts.

This should help streamline your interactions with ChatGPT and get the results you need more efficiently.

Best of all, It's free!

That's all we've got for you today.

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