AI Christmas Arrives Early With 12 Days of OpenAI

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1) Things Are Getting Better

2) AI Christmas Arrives Early With 12 Days of OpenAI

OpenAI has turned December into the craziest month for AI with their “12 Days of OpenAI” campaign, rolling out groundbreaking features and tools that feel like gifts to the future. We’re only partway through, and already the releases have been awesome.

Here’s what’s made this so amazing so far:

ChatGPT o1 & o1 Pro

OpenAI finally released their o1 model(until now we’ve only had access to the o1-preview model). And wow, it’s a huge improvement. Not only is it smarter than o1-preview, but it’s way faster.

For those ready to push the limits of AI, OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Pro—a $200/month plan that unlocks OpenAI’s smartest models, including the compute-intensive o1 Pro mode. Beyond faster responses, it offers unparalleled reasoning ability for tackling the toughest problems.

People on X that have actually tried it seem to love it.

What’s included in o1 Pro: Unlimited access to advanced models like GPT-4o, Sora and other new releases, plus Pro-exclusive tools. I’ve signed up for ChatGPT Pro and am loving it. The difference in quality and utility is astonishing. I’ve even created a personal tool with it, as well as some simple game demos that I never thought I could prototype so quickly. Excited to share more soon.

Why it’s impressive: Benchmarks show that o1 Pro mode outperforms previous generations in complex tasks—everything from competition-level math to intricate coding challenges. But trust me, the benchmarks don’t fully do the new model justice. It’s simply incredible in real-world use.

Sora: AI-Generated Video Hits Prime Time

After months of anticipation, OpenAI’s Sora is here. This next-gen video generation model transforms text prompts into up to 20 seconds of high-quality, realistic videos. Now it’s not just about written or coded creations—this is multimedia storytelling at the click of a button.

I created a thread with examples of Sora so you can see how amazing it is.

Features: Generate videos in widescreen or vertical formats, remix your own assets, or storyboard complex prompts frame-by-frame. For ChatGPT Plus users, Sora offers an accessible entry point to video AI, and Pro subscribers get expanded access.

Canvas: A Playground for Writing and Coding

Canvas is a new feature built into OpenAI that reimagines how we work with text and code in ChatGPT. This new feature allows you to open a dynamic window where you can edit text collaboratively with AI and even run Python code.

Why this matters: Canvas hints at a bigger vision. OpenAI seems to be building an all-in-one environment where writers, developers, and creatives can seamlessly work across tasks, powered by intelligent assistance. If this evolves into a full-fledged editing and coding platform, it could rival even the most robust productivity tools out there.

Personal note: I’ve already taken Canvas for a spin and used it to update my Social Media Assistant CustomGPT. It made the editing process smoother and more intuitive than ever. If you want something to help you create content for X/Twitter or LinkedIn, check it out!

What’s Next? The Mystery of Day 12
If the first few days of OpenAI’s campaign are any indication, the best might be yet to come. Speculation is running wild about Day 12. Could it be the long-awaited OpenAI AI agent? A breakthrough in multimodal reasoning? Something entirely new?

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3) The Next Wave Podcast

In this week’s episode of The Next Wave, Matt Wolfe and I discussed the Sora leak from two weeks ago and more.

Also, please subscribe to The Next Wave on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. 

4) Leveling Up: The Rise of AI Agents

The AI agent arms race is heating up, with two major releases pushing the boundaries of what's possible in software development—and a rumored game-changer from OpenAI just around the corner.

Devin: The Autonomous AI Software Engineer

Cognition has released Devin, an autonomous AI engineer that goes beyond assisting—it takes ownership of engineering tasks, plans complex solutions, learns from experience, and collaborates with users. Priced at $500/month, Devin is designed for organizations and individuals ready to turbocharge their development workflows.

For many use cases, Devin could effectively replace junior developers. Imagine delegating routine tasks—such as refactoring codebases, integrating common APIs, or spinning up basic microservices—to Devin, freeing human engineers to focus on system architecture or specialized problem-solving. The result could be smaller, leaner teams moving faster than ever.

Replit’s AI Agent

Replit’s new AI Agent is designed to build apps from scratch. More than just a code generator, this agent merges natural language understanding with multi-step problem-solving to create, deploy, and iterate on applications—all within Replit’s integrated environment. If Devin is like having a hands-off junior developer who can solve tough coding challenges, Replit’s Agent feels more like a developer partner you work with.

For now, the Replit Agent is available to Core and Teams subscribers at no extra cost, but it’s expected to become a premium feature next year. While Devin emphasizes autonomy and complex execution, Replit’s advantage lies in its seamless integration with an existing coding ecosystem—lowering barriers for those who prefer a ready-to-go development studio.

OpenAI’s "12 Days of OpenAI" Surprise?

There are rumors all over X that OpenAI is set to reveal its own AI agent during its "12 Days of OpenAI" announcements. I’m expecting this to be the biggest announcement of the event, possibly only the 12th day.

Why This Matters

The race to build smarter, more autonomous AI agents is reshaping the landscape of software development—and fast. These tools promise to democratize app creation and reduce barriers to innovation.

For developers, the implications are profound: as routine coding tasks shift to AI-driven helpers, human engineers will increasingly focus on architecture, design, integration, and the creative aspects of product development.

In other words, the role of a developer may soon resemble a tech leader guiding an automated workforce of AI specialists. The best engineers will likely make more money than ever. And less experienced engineers might have a harder time finding work.

For companies, this means that you’ll be able to build things faster than ever before. But so will your competitors. Everyone needs to be preparing for this right now.

5) Things I’m Learning From

That’s all for today. Please consider sharing the newsletter with your friends if you think they’d enjoy it. 🙏

Please give me feedback on Twitter. I am still figuring out the best format for this newsletter. Which part did you like? Dislike? Do you have other suggestions? Please let me know—just tweet @NathanLands.

-Nathan