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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
Gmail's Biggest Change in 20 Years Is Already Reading Your Inbox
TLDR: Google activated Gemini AI by default for all 3 billion Gmail users this week, and opting out means losing spell-check.
The Story:
Google announced what it calls the "Gemini era" for Gmail on Wednesday, rolling out AI features that summarize email threads, draft replies in your voice, and answer natural language questions about your inbox. The catch is that it's on by default for US users. Europeans get the opposite treatment under GDPR, requiring them to actively opt in. To turn it off, you'll need to navigate to Settings, find "Smart Features," and disable the toggle in two separate locations. Doing so also kills autocorrect, spell-check, package tracking, desktop notifications, and the inbox categories that sort your email into Primary, Promotions, and Social. Google says your emails won't train its public AI models, but Gemini does scan your messages to power personalized features. A class-action lawsuit filed in November alleges Google "secretly" enabled these features on October 10, 2025, letting AI "access and exploit the entire recorded history" of users' private communications.
Its Significance:
This is Google betting that most people won't bother to opt out. And they're probably right. The strategy mirrors what's worked across the tech industry: make AI the default, bury the off-switch, and count on user inertia. Analysts are calling it Gmail's biggest update in 20 years. Wall Street seems to agree; Alphabet's market cap just passed Apple's for the first time since 2019, partly on the strength of this rollout. The real question isn't whether these features are useful. It's whether you should have to give up basic functionality like spell-check just to keep AI out of your inbox if you choose.
QUICK TAKES
The story: Forrester Research predicts that 50% of workers laid off for AI will be quietly rehired - but offshore at lower salaries. The report found 55% of employers already regret their AI layoffs, including Klarna, which had to rehire humans after customers revolted against AI-only service.
Your takeaway: Companies are betting on AI that doesn't work yet, then hiding mistakes by hiring cheaper overseas replacements. Meanwhile, entry-level jobs for new grads are disappearing fastest - even though Gen Z has the highest AI skills of any generation.
The story: Privacy and repair advocates gave Samsung's voice-controlled AI fridge the top spot in their annual "Worst in Show" contest at CES 2026. The fridge requires voice commands to open and close, includes built-in cameras, and struggles to respond in noisy kitchens.
Your takeaway: The award highlights growing pushback against products that add AI features nobody asked for - making simple appliances harder to use, more expensive to repair, and more likely to break.
The story: Larian Studios confirmed its upcoming RPG Divinity won't include any AI-generated art after player backlash over earlier comments. CEO Swen Vincke said they've "decided to refrain from using GenAI tools during concept art development" so "there can be no discussion about the origin of the art."
Your takeaway: The studio behind 2023's most-awarded game is drawing a clear line: AI tools for testing and iteration are fine, but creative assets stay human-made. Other game studios are watching to see if this becomes the new standard.
The story: The Commerce Department withdrew its plan to restrict Chinese drones just months after proposing the rules. The reversal came after Trump's October meeting with Xi Jinping and ahead of planned visits to Beijing in April. The FCC's December ban on new drone models from DJI and Autel remains in place.
Your takeaway: Drone policy is now a diplomatic bargaining chip. Current DJI owners aren't affected, but future model availability depends on how US-China talks go this year.
TOOLS ON OUR RADAR
📄 Stirling PDF Free and Open Source: Edit, merge, split, and convert PDFs in your browser without uploading files to third-party servers.
🎤 Wispr Flow Freemium: Dictate text anywhere on your computer with AI that learns your writing style and vocabulary.
🎨 Simplified Freemium: Create graphics, write copy, edit videos, and schedule social posts from one all-in-one dashboard.
📊 Pitch Freemium: Build presentations with your team in real-time and record video walkthroughs to share ideas asynchronously.
TRENDING
92% of Students Now Use AI for Schoolwork - Student AI use jumped from 66% in 2024 to 92% in 2025. ChatGPT is the top tool at 66% usage, but only 10% of schools have AI guidelines in place.
NVIDIA Declares "ChatGPT Moment for Robotics" - Jensen Huang released new open-source AI models for robots at CES 2026, partnering with Boston Dynamics, Caterpillar, and LG. Huang expects robots with some human-level capabilities this year.
Brain-Like Chips Could Power Future Supercomputers - Sandia National Labs used Intel's neuromorphic chips to solve complex math problems typically requiring supercomputers. The brain-inspired chips deliver 15x more efficiency per watt than traditional GPUs.
Scientists Build Robot Smaller Than a Grain of Salt - Researchers built the first fully autonomous microrobots with onboard computers, sensors, and motors. They swim through liquid, sense temperature, and operate for months on light power - each costing about a penny to make.
AI Becomes Retail's "Operating System" - At NRF 2026, SAP, Microsoft, and Workday unveiled AI systems that run merchandising, supply chains, and customer engagement. The industry is moving from chatbots to systems that actually make decisions.
TRY THIS PROMPT (copy and paste into Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini)
Network Mapping Tool: Visualize your professional network, score relationship strength, and schedule strategic outreach
Build a fully functional Network Mapping Tool as an interactive React app. Render the working application immediately - no code display.
**My role/industry**: [What you do and your field]
**Networking goal**: [Job search, business development, mentorship, etc.]
Create these sections:
1. **Add Contacts**
• Quick-add form: Name, Company, Role, How You Met
• Relationship type: Mentor, Peer, Client, Prospect, Connector, Friend
• Last contact date
• Connection strength slider (1-10)
• Tags for grouping (industry, location, skill area)
• Import prompt for LinkedIn connections
2. **Network Visualization**
• Interactive node graph showing your network
• You at the center, contacts as connected nodes
• Node size = relationship strength
• Color coding by relationship type
• Cluster groups by tags/industry
• Click node to see contact details
• Lines showing mutual connections
3. **Relationship Scores Dashboard**
• Overall network health score
• Breakdown cards:
- Strong ties (8-10): X contacts
- Medium ties (5-7): X contacts
- Weak ties (1-4): X contacts
- Dormant (no contact 90+ days): X contacts
• "At risk" relationships flagged
• Network diversity score (industries, seniority levels)
4. **Outreach Scheduler**
• Contacts due for follow-up (sorted by priority)
• Suggested cadence by relationship type:
- Mentors: Monthly
- Key clients: Bi-weekly
- Peers: Quarterly
- Weak ties: 2x per year
• One-click "Schedule Reminder"
• Quick message templates for each type
• "Reached Out" checkbox to log contact
5. **Strategic Analysis**
• Network gaps identifier:
- Missing seniority levels?
- Industry blind spots?
- Geographic gaps?
• "Who should I meet?" recommendations
• Second-degree connections to pursue
• Connector contacts who can introduce you
• "Search Networking Strategies" button
6. **Outreach Templates**
• Reconnection message (dormant contact)
• Coffee chat request
• Congratulations note (promotion, new job)
• Value-add share (article, intro, opportunity)
• Thank you follow-up
• Copy button for each
Design specs:
- Social graph aesthetic with node network visuals
- Connection lines with varying thickness for strength
- Clean data dashboard cards
- Professional palette (navy, white, accent green for strong ties)
- Circular profile placeholders for contacts
- Interactive hover states on nodes
- Progress bars for network health metrics
- Calendar-style outreach queue
When "Search Networking Strategies" is clicked, use web search to find professional networking techniques and relationship-building frameworks.What this does: Turns your scattered contacts into a strategic asset. Visualizes your network as an interactive graph, identifies relationship gaps, flags dormant connections, and schedules outreach so you maintain relationships before you need them.
What this looks like:
WHERE WE STAND(based on today’s Quick Takes and Trending news)
✅ AI Can Now: Solve the same complex physics equations as supercomputers while using a fraction of the power - brain-inspired chips from Sandia Labs achieved 99% parallelization efficiency on problems that usually require massive computing clusters.
❌ Still Can't: Match human artists well enough to satisfy game studios - Larian's writing director said AI-generated text "hit a 3/10 at best," and the studio ruled out using it for any creative assets in their new game.
✅ AI Can Now: Fit inside a robot smaller than a grain of salt - complete with computer, sensors, and propulsion that lets it swim, sense temperature, and make decisions for months without external power.
❌ Still Can't: Work reliably in a noisy kitchen - Samsung's voice-controlled AI fridge was named "Worst of CES" partly because it struggles to hear commands over normal household sounds.
FROM THE WEB
If this follows the same trajectory that AI imagery has over the last few years, mind reading might soon be possible.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING/READING/WATCHING
SHORT FILM: Plurality (2012)
In the near future, everyone has a neural implant that connects them to a hive network. A programmer suspects his girlfriend has been replaced with a clone controlled by the network. He starts investigating and discovers something worse than he imagined.
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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