Shirking its ‘fun toy’ image, AI like ChatGPT was increasingly seen by the business community in Q4 as a must-have productivity tool destined to reward early adopters and punish Luddites.
ChatGPT’s maker, for example, released a study finding that everyday AI business users are saving at least 40 minutes a day on busy work – while power users are saving up to two hours-a-day.
Meanwhile, MIT released a report concluding that AI can currently eliminate 12% of all jobs — as more businesses were found issuing decrees along the lines of ‘Use AI or You’re Fired.”
Especially alarming for writers was a move by media outlet Business Insider, which started publishing news stories completely written by AI and carrying an AI byline.
Plus, photographers and graphic artists got their own dose of rubber-meets-road reality with new, back-to-back releases of extremely powerful new AI imaging tools built into Gemini and ChatGPT.
But despite the breakneck development, users also continued to report that AI agents – designed to automate multi-step tasks – are continuing to fail miserably.
Plus, many users continued to ‘forget’ that AI makes-up facts, and that using AI responses without fact-checks can lead to major ‘egg-on-face’ moments.
The most gleaming ray of hope in al lthis: The Wall Street Journal reported that AI is considered so essential to U.S. defense, there’s a good chance the U.S. government will bail-out the AI industry if the much-feared ‘AI Bubble’ bursts.
Here’s a full rundown of how those stories — and more — helped shape AI writing in Q4 2024:
*ChatGPT-Maker Study: The State of Enterprise AI: New research from OpenAI finds that everyday business users of AI are saving about 40-60 minutes-a-day when compared to working without the tool.
Even better, the heaviest AI users say they’re saving up to two hours a day with the tech.
*AI Can Already Eliminate 12% of U.S. Workforce: A new study from MIT finds that AI can already eliminate 12% of everyday jobs.
Dubbed the “Iceberg Index,” the study simulated AI’s ability to handle – or partially handle – nearly 1,000 occupations that are currently worked by more than 150 million in the U.S.
Observes writer Megan Cerullo: “AI is also already doing some of the entry-level jobs that have historically been reserved for recent college graduates or relatively inexperienced workers.”
*Use AI or You’re Fired: In another sign that the days of ‘AI is Your Buddy’ are fading fast, increasing numbers of businesses have turned to strong-arming employees when it comes to AI.
Observes Wall Street Journal writer Lindsay Ellis: “Rank-and-file employees across corporate America have grown worried over the past few years about being replaced by AI.
“Something else is happening now: AI is costing workers their jobs if their bosses believe they aren’t embracing the technology fast enough.”
*Breaking News Gets an AI Byline at Business Insider: The next news story you read from Business Insider may be completely written by AI — and carry an AI byline.
The media outlet has announced a pilot test of a story writing algorithm that will grab a piece of breaking news and give it context by combining it with data drawn from stories in the Business Insider archive.
The only human involvement will be an editor, who will look over the finished product before it’s published.
*Study: AI Agents Virtually Useless at Completing Freelance Assignments: New research finds that much-ballyhooed AI agents are literally horrible at completing everyday assignments found on freelance brokerage sites like Fiverr and Upwork.
Observes writer Frank Landymore: “The top performer, they found, was an AI agent from the Chinese startup Manus with an automation rate of just 2.5 percent — meaning it was only able to complete 2.5 percent of the projects it was assigned at a level that would be acceptable as commissioned work in a real-world freelancing job, the researchers said.
“Second place was a tie, at 2.1 percent, between Elon Musk’s Grok 4 and Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4.5.”
*Oops, Sorry Australia, Here’s Your Money Back: Consulting firm Deloitte has agreed to refund the Australian government $440,000 for a study both agree was riddled by errors created by AI.
Observes writer Krishani Dhanji: “University of Sydney academic Dr. Christopher Rudge — who first highlighted the errors — said the report contained ‘hallucinations’ where AI models may fill in gaps, misinterpret data, or try to guess answers.”
Insult to injury: The near half-million-dollar payment is only a partial refund to what the Australian government actually paid for the flawed research.
*Forget Benchmarks: Put AI Through Your Own Tests Before You Commit: While benchmarks offer an indication of the AI solution you’re considering, you really need to put the AI through your own tests before you opt for anything, according to Ethan Mollick.
An associate professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Mollick studies and teaches entrepreneurship, innovation and how AI is changing work and education.
Observes Mollick: “You need to know specifically what your AI is good at — not what AIs are good at on average.”
*AI Gets a Number One Country Hit: Well, it’s official: AI can now write and produce a country hit with the best of ’em.
“Walk My Walk,” a song credited to an AI artist named ‘Breaking Rust,’ has hugged the number one spot on Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales chart for two weeks in a row.
The hit comes on the heels of another AI hit in another music genre, according to Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart.
*Free AI from China Keeps U.S. Tech Titans on Their Toes: While still holding a slim lead, major AI players like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude are feeling the nip-at-their-heels of ‘nearly as good’ – and free – AI alternatives from China.
Key Chinese players like DeepSeek and Qwen, for example, are within chomping distance of the U.S. marketing leaders — and are Open Source, or freely available for download and tinkering.
One caveat: Researchers have found AI code embedded in some Chinese AI that can be used to forward your data along to the Chinese Communist Party.
*Solution to AI Bubble Fears: U.S. Government?: The Wall Street Journal reports that AI is now considered so essential to U.S. defense, the U.S. government may step in to save the AI industry — should it implode from the irrational exuberance of investors.
Observes lead writer Sarah Myers West: “The federal government is already bailing out the AI industry with regulatory changes and public funds that will protect companies in the event of a private sector pullback.
“Despite the lukewarm market signals, the U.S. government seems intent on backstopping American AI — no matter what.”
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–Joe Dysart is editor of RobotWritersAI.com and a tech journalist with 20+ years experience. His work has appeared in 150+ publications, including The New York Times and the Financial Times of London.
The post Top Ten Stories in AI Writing, Q4 2025 appeared first on Robot Writers AI.
