Musk Claims Grok 3 Outperforms All Rivals, Microsoft Study Finds AI Impairs Critical Thinking, and Radioactive Anomaly in Pacific Ocean

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In this episode of 'Discover Daily', the mysterious world of AI advancements and scientific discoveries collide in this episode of Discover Daily, where we explore Elon Musk's latest AI breakthrough with Grok 3, a model claimed to be 10 times more powerful than its predecessor and running on a massive infrastructure of 100,000 Nvidia GPUs. The episode delves into how this development intensifies the competition in the AI landscape, challenging established players like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.

We then examine groundbreaking research from Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University that reveals the complex relationship between AI and critical thinking in the workplace. The study shows how increased AI trust can lead to reduced critical thinking, while higher self-confidence enhances AI output evaluation, highlighting the evolving nature of knowledge work and the potential risks of over-reliance on AI systems.

Our main segment looks at an extraordinary radioactive anomaly discovered in the Pacific Ocean's depths, where scientists have found unexpectedly high concentrations of beryllium-10 dating back to the late Miocene epoch. This discovery presents two competing theories: one suggesting a major reorganization of ocean currents, and another pointing to cosmic events like nearby supernovas, potentially revolutionizing our understanding of Earth's geological timeline and dating methods.

From Perplexity's Discover Feed: 

https://www.perplexity.ai/page/musk-claims-grok-3-outperforms-lfwEvYJXSGCNKDqqptlPHw 

https://www.perplexity.ai/page/microsoft-study-ai-impairs-cri-hdDSSIGtSqS831ilUrANIg 

https://www.perplexity.ai/page/radioactive-anomaly-in-pacific-Aul4QisaTBmhzV5lJQMcfA

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https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-perplexity-deep-research 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Discover Daily by Perplexity, an
AI-generated show on tech,science and culture.
I'm Alex.
Today we're exploring amysterious radioactive anomaly
found deep beneath the PacificOcean.
But first let's look at whatelse is happening.
Elon Musk's XAI launched Grok 3on Monday.

(00:25):
Musk claims the releasesurpasses all existing models in
reasoning capabilities,leveraging XAI's colossus
supercomputer infrastructure andhousing 100,000 NVIDIA GPUs.
Musk maintains Grok 3 has quote10 times more compute than its
predecessor.
Just days ago, at the WorldGovernment Summit in Dubai, musk

(00:48):
described the chatbot as scarysmart and doubled down on claims
of its superior performance.
The development team hasreportedly focused heavily on
synthetic data training, aimingto create more nuanced and
contextually aware responses.
This launch comes at a crucialmoment in the AI race, as

(01:10):
competition intensifies betweenmajor players.
Groke 3 will be goinghead-to-head with established
platforms like OpenAI's ChatGPT,google's Gemini, anthropic's
Claude and the recently emergedDeepSeek R1.
Moving on to our second segment,microsoft and Carnegie Mellon

(01:31):
University have released newresearch about how generative AI
is reshaping critical thinkingin the workplace.
In the study, researcherssurveyed over 300 knowledge
workers and analyzed over 900real-world examples of AI use.
The findings reveal intriguingpatterns in how professionals

(01:54):
interact with AI tools,specifically among those using
generative AI at least weekly.
The research uncovered anuanced relationship between
confidence levels and criticalthinking Higher trust in AI is
associated with reduced criticalthinking effort, while greater
self-confidence leads toenhanced critical thinking and

(02:16):
more thorough evaluation of AIoutputs.
This suggests that ourrelationship with AI tools isn't
just about technology.
It's deeply connected to ourself-perception and professional
confidence.
The integration of AI tools hasfundamentally transformed how
knowledge workers approach tasks.

(02:37):
Focus has moved frominformation gathering to
information verification, whileproblem solving has evolved into
AI response integration.
Task execution has transitionedto task stewardship, with
workers overseeing AI generatedoutputs rather than producing
them entirely independently.

(02:57):
The study highlights a crucialirony in AI adoption by
automating routine tasks, aiinadvertently deprives users of
opportunities to practicejudgment and strengthen their
cognitive musculature, leavingthem unprepared for unexpected
situations.
This isn't just theoreticalconcern.

(03:18):
It's a practical challenge thatorganizations are already
grappling with.
As AI becomes more integratedinto daily work processes,
researchers and developers areexploring ways to design AI
systems that actively promoteand enhance cognitive skills.
One approach involves creatingAI tools that prompt users to

(03:39):
engage in reflective thinkingand question AI-generated
outputs.
Another promising avenue is thedevelopment of AI assistants
that act as cognitive scaffolds,guiding users through complex
problem-solving processes.
Rather than simply providinganswers, Now let's dive into our

(04:07):
main story of the day afascinating radioactive anomaly
discovered deep beneath thePacific Ocean.
Recent studies published inNature Communications reveal how
researchers have identified anunexpected accumulation of
beryllium-10, a rare radioactiveisotope, in seafloor samples

(04:31):
dating back to the late Mioceneepoch, approximately 10 million
years ago.
The anomaly discovered inferromanganese crusts from the
central and northern Pacificrevealed nearly double the
expected concentration ofberyllium-10 isotopes.
This increase occurred between9 and 12 million years ago,

(04:53):
presenting scientists with anintriguing geological puzzle.
The consistency of the anomalyacross multiple samples and
chemical preparations ruled outcontamination, confirming its
authenticity.
What makes this discoveryparticularly fascinating is
beryllium-10's 1.4 million yearhalf-life, which makes it a

(05:16):
valuable tool for dating eventsbeyond the 50,000 year limit of
radiocarbon dating.
Scientists have proposed twomain theories to explain this
mysterious phenomenon.
The first is an oceanic theory,suggesting that a significant
reorganization of ocean currentsnear Antarctica occurred 10 to

(05:38):
12 million years ago,potentially causing an uneven
distribution of beryllium-10 andits concentration in the
Pacific Ocean.
The second is an astrophysicaltheory, proposing that the
anomaly might have resulted fromcosmic events, such as a nearby
supernova increasing cosmicradiation intensity or Earth's

(06:00):
passage through a denseinterstellar cloud, which could
have weakened the heliosphere'sprotection.
If the anomaly is found to beglobal in nature, it would lend
support to the astrophysicalhypothesis, while a regional
limitation would favor theoceanic current theory.
The discovery of theBeryllium-10 anomaly represents

(06:22):
a potential breakthrough ingeological dating methods,
addressing the long-standingchallenge of establishing
universal temporal markers formulti-million year periods.
Scientists worldwide arecurrently analysing additional
samples to map the anomaly'sglobal extent and origin, which
could revolutionise ourunderstanding of Earth's

(06:45):
geological timeline.
If confirmed as a globalphenomenon, this oceanic time
marker would not only enhanceour ability to synchronize
different geological records,but also provide crucial
insights into Earth's pastenvironmental conditions and
long-term processes.

(07:20):
That's it for today.
Thanks for tuning in.
Don't forget to subscribe onyour favorite platform For more
info on anything we coveredtoday.
Check out the links in ourepisode description and don't
forget you can now accessPerplexity's AI-powered
knowledge base on the go withthe mobile app available for

(07:40):
both Android and iOS.
There's also the Perplexitydesktop app for macOS.
In other Perplexity news, thecompany just launched Deep
Research, a powerful new featurethat digs deep into hundreds of
sources to create thoroughresearch reports.
The tool, which is free to tryand unlimited for pro users, can

(08:04):
tackle complex researchquestions in just minutes.
Early tests show it'sremarkably accurate, making it a
promising tool for anyoneneeding in-depth research
assistance.
We'll be back with more storiesthat matter.

(08:33):
Until then, stay curious.