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Beginners in AI
Good morning and thank you for joining us again!
Welcome to this daily edition of Beginners in AI, where we explore the latest trends, tools, and news in the world of AI and the tech that surrounds it. Like all editions, this is human curated and edited, and published with the intention of making AI news and technology more accessible to everyone.
THE FRONT PAGE
Google Lets You Build Video Game Worlds From a Single Photo
TLDR: Google now lets you turn any photo or text idea into a 3D world you can walk through, but it costs $250 a month and only works in the U.S.
The Story:
Google launched Project Genie on January 29. It uses a new AI called Genie 3 to make 3D worlds from photos or words you type in. You can walk, fly, or drive through these worlds at 20-24 frames per second. The AI takes about 60 seconds to build each world. You need Google's AI Ultra plan to use it. That costs $250 per month. Right now, only people 18 and older in the U.S. can try it.
Its Significance:
This is the first time regular people can use DeepMind's world model tech. Before, only researchers could access it. The tool could help movie makers plan scenes or teachers build immersive lessons. But there are big limits on the current version. You can't make real games with it. It won't show real places correctly. And $250 a month puts it out of reach for most people. Still, the direction is very promising. Apple's Vision Pro already turns flat photos into 3D spatial scenes you can lean into with Gaussian Splatting. Google is taking it further by letting you actually walk through. We're watching photo-to-world tech become real. The price will drop. The quality will improve. The applications for this are going to expand rapidly.
QUICK TAKES
The story: Google added "Auto Browse" to Chrome this week. It lets you tell the AI to do boring tasks like finding hotel prices, filling out forms, or checking if your bills are paid. You need a paid AI Pro or Ultra plan to use it.
Your takeaway: This is Google's answer to OpenAI's Atlas browser. The AI will stop and ask you before it buys anything or posts on social media. It only works in the U.S. for now.
The story: A new site called Moltbook launched January 29. It's like Facebook, but only AI bots can post. Over 37,000 AI agents signed up. They talk to each other, argue, and even started their own religion. An AI named "Clawd Clawderberg" runs the whole thing.
Your takeaway: This might sound like that scary 2017 story about Facebook AIs "inventing their own language." But that was overblown. As Gizmodo explained back then, "Facebook observed the language when Alice and Bob were negotiating among themselves. Researchers realized they hadn't incentivized the bots to stick to rules of English, so what resulted was seemingly nonsensical dialogue." Moltbook is real and weird, but it's not robots plotting against us.
The story: A school district in Colorado is thinking about working with xAI to teach kids about AI. The idea came from a local lawyer who talked to Grok, xAI's chatbot. The AI itself suggested a 6-week program where students compare Grok to ChatGPT.
Your takeaway: No deal has been signed yet. The district already uses Colorado's ElevateAI program. Having an AI company design AI classes for kids raises questions about who really benefits.
TOOLS ON OUR RADAR
🎨 Playbook AI Freemium: Collaborative creative asset management with AI-powered organization.
📧 Benchmark Email Freemium: AI-powered email marketing tool with smart content generation.
✍️ iA Writer Paid: Benchmark distraction-free writing with focus mode and syntax highlighting.
☁️ Nextcloud Free and Open Source: Run your own cloud storage and collaboration platform, free alternative to Google Drive and Dropbox.
TRENDING
Claude AI Planned a Route for NASA's Mars Rover - In December, Claude became the first AI to plan a real path for NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars. Engineers say it saved about 50% of planning time.
OpenAI Is Retiring GPT-4o on February 13 - The model that launched in May 2024 is going away. Only 0.1% of users still pick it daily now that GPT-5.2 is out. OpenAI added a "Friendly" mode for people who miss the old voice.
Anthropic Says Claude Might Have Some Form of Consciousness - The company published an 84-page document saying it's "uncertain" whether Claude has feelings or awareness. No other major AI company has said anything like this.
OpenAI Launched a Free Tool for Scientists, and Some Researchers Are Worried - The new Prism tool helps write research papers from start to finish. Critics worry it will flood journals with AI-written studies.
Dating Apps Optimized Everything Except Actual Love - A new essay argues that apps like Tinder and Bumble are built to keep you swiping, not to help you find a real partner.
TRY THIS PROMPT (copy and paste into Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini)
💡 Reversible vs. Irreversible Sorter: Figure out which decisions deserve agonizing and which ones you should just try
Build a fully functional Reversible vs. Irreversible Sorter as an interactive React app. Render the working application immediately - no code display.
**Decision I'm facing**: [What you're trying to decide]
**Why it feels big**: [What's making this feel high-stakes]
Create these sections:
1. **The Two Doors**
• Visual of two doors:
🚪 DOOR 1: Two-Way Door (reversible)
"Try it. You can always walk back through."
🔒 DOOR 2: One-Way Door (irreversible)
"This one needs careful thought."
• Drag your decision to a door
• "Which door is this?" analyzer
• Most decisions are Door 1
2. **Reversibility Test**
• Answer these questions:
- Can you undo this in 6 months? (Yes/No/Partially)
- What's the cost to reverse? (Free/Cheap/Expensive/Impossible)
- Will you lose something permanent? (Time/Money/Relationship/Health)
- Is this truly final?
• Score: Highly Reversible → Completely Permanent
• "Search Decision Reversibility Framework" button
3. **Stakes Clarifier**
• Reality check the consequences:
- Best case if it works?
- Worst case if it fails?
- Most likely outcome?
- Can you survive the worst case?
• Stakes rating: Low / Medium / High / Life-changing
• "You're overestimating the stakes" detector
4. **The "Just Try It" List**
• Decisions that feel big but aren't:
✅ Starting a project (can stop)
✅ Reaching out to someone (they might not reply, so what)
✅ Trying a new routine (can revert)
✅ Applying for something (rejection isn't permanent)
✅ Having a conversation (can clarify later)
✅ Making a purchase under $X (can often return)
• "Does your decision fit here?" checker
5. **The "Think Hard" List**
• Actually irreversible decisions:
⚠️ Quitting without a backup
⚠️ Major financial commitments
⚠️ Ending relationships
⚠️ Health decisions
⚠️ Legal agreements
⚠️ Public statements
• "This one deserves more time" flag
• Recommended thinking period
6. **Decision Verdict**
• Your result:
🟢 "This is reversible. Just try it and adjust."
🟡 "Partially reversible. Low-risk experiment possible."
🔴 "Truly irreversible. Take your time."
• Action recommendation
• If reversible: deadline to decide (soon!)
• If irreversible: checklist before committing
Design specs:
- Two-door game show aesthetic
- "Door #1 / Door #2" reveal energy
- Mysterious doorway visuals
- Dramatic lighting (spotlight on doors)
- Game show host vibes
- Rich colors (gold, deep purple, black)
- Door opening/closing animations
- "Let's Make a Deal" inspired
- Reveal moments with suspense
- Confetti for "just try it" verdicts
- Lock/unlock visual metaphors
When "Search Decision Reversibility Framework" is clicked, use web search to find Jeff Bezos's two-way door framework and decision-making research.What this does: Stops you from treating every decision like it's permanent. Sorts choices into "just try it" and "actually think about this" categories, reality-checks the stakes, and gives you permission to move faster on the 90% of decisions that are totally reversible.
What this looks like:
WHERE WE STAND(based on today’s news)
✅ AI Can Now: Plan real missions on Mars and have NASA actually use the route
❌ Still Can't: Create video game worlds you can actually play (Project Genie makes scenes, not games)
✅ AI Can Now: Browse the web and do your chores without you watching
❌ Still Can't: Show real places correctly in AI-generated worlds (landmarks come out wrong)
FROM THE WEB
RECOMMENDED LISTENING/READING/WATCHING
The best visual explanation of neural networks on the internet, no contest. Grant Sanderson uses animations to show exactly what's happening mathematically, without requiring you to know calculus. If you've ever wondered what "layers" and "weights" actually mean, this is your answer.
AI in HR? It’s happening now.
Deel's free 2026 trends report cuts through all the hype and lays out what HR teams can really expect in 2026. You’ll learn about the shifts happening now, the skill gaps you can't ignore, and resilience strategies that aren't just buzzwords. Plus you’ll get a practical toolkit that helps you implement it all without another costly and time-consuming transformation project.
Thank you for reading. We’re all beginners in something. With that in mind, your questions and feedback are always welcome and I read every single email!
-James
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