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- Nano Banana beats out ChatGPT
Nano Banana beats out ChatGPT
Plus: AI’s uneven sprawl
Welcome back! OpenAI board chair Bret Taylor thinks we’re living through an AI bubble, and somehow he’s fine with that. In an interview with The Verge, Taylor compared today’s frenzy to the late ’90s dot-com boom: Plenty of companies will fail, billions will be lost, but the underlying technology will transform the economy just the same.
His take echoes Sam Altman’s warning that “someone is going to lose a phenomenal amount of money in AI,” while insisting the long-term upside is still massive. The real question: Are we watching history rhyme, or repeat?


Nano Banana Puts Gemini on Top

Sam Altman versus Nano Banana in an arm wrestling match (Generated by Nano Banana)
Google’s Gemini app has vaulted past ChatGPT in app store rankings, powered by a viral trend: turning selfies (and pets) into hyperrealistic 3D figurines.
Nano Banana > ChatGPT? Since launching Nano Banana in late August, Gemini has added 23 million users in two weeks and processed over 500 million images. In the US, UK, and Germany, Gemini has overtaken ChatGPT as the No. 1 iPhone app. The surge has been so intense that Google imposed temporary usage limits to keep systems stable.
What’s driving it:
The figurine prompts have become a runaway hit, spreading widely online.
Nano Banana is faster and more reliable than some competitors, cutting down on the lag that plagues image generators.
Unlike other tools, results still look recognizably like the user. No more uncanny valley.
Big picture: Viral, visual experiences are pulling in new AI users at a staggering pace. The next front in the ChatGPT vs. Gemini rivalry might be image generation, not just chat.
YouTube Rolls Out New GenAI Tools for Creators
At its Made on YouTube 2025 event yesterday, YouTube announced a wave of generative AI products aimed at supercharging Shorts, live streams, podcasts, and music fandom. The updates show how Google is weaving its AI ecosystem directly into YouTube’s creator economy.
Key features:
Shorts upgrades: Integration with DeepMind’s Veo 3 Fast to create video backgrounds, add props, restyle footage, and turn dialogue into songs.
AI editing help: Edit with AI drafts first cuts from raw footage; Speech to Song converts lines into soundtracks.
Studio tools: A/B testing for titles, upgrades to the Inspiration tab, and expanded auto-dubbing.
Live & podcasts: New tools to grow live audiences, monetize streams, and transform audio files into customizable videos using Veo.
Why it matters: YouTube is becoming Google’s showcase for how its AI stack—from DeepMind models to cloud infrastructure—works together in practice. Rather than building one killer feature, Google is positioning YouTube as the all-in-one ecosystem where creators can film, edit, promote, monetize, and protect their content with AI woven in at every step.
Anthropic Shows AI Adoption Isn’t Even
Anthropic’s new Economic Index reveals that AI adoption in the US is moving fast—but not evenly. Usage is clustering in specific states, sectors, and types of work.
Here’s what’s in the data:
DC leads in per-capita adoption: Residents use Claude 3.8x more than the national average, especially for job applications and document editing.
Utah is right behind: It nearly matches DC’s adoption rate, with both locations beating out California.
Diversity of use matters: In lower-adoption states, most use cases are coding. In high-adoption areas, users tap Claude for education, science, and business tasks too.
The big picture: AI’s growth curve is historic—faster than the internet or electricity—but it’s not uniform. Already-wealthy regions are sprinting ahead, while others lag. Whether this gap narrows or hardens will shape how evenly AI’s productivity gains are felt across the economy.

File Bug Reports Your Devs Will Actually Find Helpful
Writing tickets for bugs is a waste of time. Stop spending hours trying to describe steps and just show the issue. Jam’s AI captures everything you need from one recording—no reproducing, no back-and-forth.
Jam lets you:
Auto-capture logs, network requests, browser, and OS details
Send perfect bug tickets to Jira, Linear, Asana, Notion, Slack, GitHub, and more
Catch issues after they happen using Instant Replay—no manual repro needed
Ready to stop explaining and start shipping?



Automate Any Task, No Code Required

Runable
Runable acts like a digital teammate that can handle nearly any computer-based task. From multi-step workflows to research, content generation, and analytics, it runs processes on autopilot while letting you step in when needed.
How you can use it:
Automate repetitive workflows across marketing, sales, and research
Run deep research projects and generate reports
Execute custom runbooks without scripting or coding
Scale operations without adding extra specialized tools
Pricing: Free & paid

AI That Answers (and Makes) Your Calls

Fluents
Fluents replaces or augments call centers with natural-sounding AI agents. It manages inbound and outbound calls, syncs with your CRM, detects voicemails, and routes conversations smoothly to humans when required.
How you can use it:
Automate lead follow-ups and outbound sales calls
Handle inbound support with smart call routing
Sync call data directly into your CRM
Maintain consistent, natural-sounding customer engagement at scale
Pricing: Paid


Jobs, announcements, and big ideas
OpenAI introduces age prediction and parental controls to make ChatGPT safer for families.
GitHub launches MCP Registry to simplify finding and publishing MCP servers.
Microsoft will invest $30 billion in the UK to build out AI infrastructure.
Google publishes 10 AI policy standards to help emerging economies adopt AI responsibly.
Ecolytics launches Offset AI, the first platform that tracks and offsets the environmental impact of artificial intelligence.
Anthropic integrates Claude into Xcode 26 for advanced coding and app development support.
OpenAI upgrades Codex with faster performance, improved reliability, and better collaboration.
Apple rolls out new Apple Intelligence features across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch, and Vision Pro.


Apple goes hardware-heavy? Follow along as I cover 30 AI demos and headlines you might’ve missed!

That’s a wrap! See you Friday.
—Matt (FutureTools.io)
P.S. This newsletter is 100% written by a human. Okay, maybe 96%.