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Over the next year, Roku predicts that 100% of the streaming audience will see ads. For growth marketers in 2026, CTV will remain an important “safe space” as AI creates widespread disruption in the search and social channels. Plus, easier access to self-serve CTV ad buying tools and targeting options will lead to a surge in locally-targeted streaming campaigns.
Read our guide to find out why growth marketers should make sure CTV is part of their 2026 media mix.
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 published with the intention of making AI news and technology more accessible to everyone.
THE FRONT PAGE
Elon Musk's xAI Joins the Pentagon's AI Push
TLDR: The Pentagon is adding Elon Musk's xAI to its new military AI platform, giving 3 million defense personnel access to Grok as the U.S. races to keep pace with China's rapid military AI development.
The Story:
The Department of War announced this week that xAI's Grok will join GenAI.mil, the Pentagon's recently launched AI platform already running Google's Gemini. The integration, targeted for early 2026, will let all military and civilian personnel use Grok at Impact Level 5, the security clearance required for handling sensitive government information. Users will also get what the Pentagon calls "real-time global insights from the X platform" for a "decisive information advantage." The deal follows $200 million contracts awarded to xAI, OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic back in July to expand AI capabilities across national security operations.
Its Significance:
The timing isn't coincidental. Just one day after the xAI announcement, the Pentagon quietly released its annual report on China's military, warning that Beijing has been closing the gap on U.S. AI capabilities and expects to achieve "strategic decisive victory" capabilities over Taiwan by 2027. Researchers from former Google CEO Eric Schmidt's office put it bluntly in October: China is now "miles ahead" in humanoid robotics, a technology that could define the century. China's approach differs from America's in one major way: through its military-civil fusion strategy, companies like Baidu, Alibaba, and Huawei aren't just building consumer products. They're simultaneously advancing civilian AI and military intelligence processing under what Beijing calls "national total war" doctrine. The Pentagon's research chief Emil Michael put it bluntly last month: China's military buildup over the past decade is "the most significant" in world history, and the U.S. is racing to deploy AI before adversaries gain an irreversible edge.
QUICK TAKES
The story: Quilter AI designed a dual-PCB Linux computer with 843 components in just one week. The project required only 38.5 hours of human work compared to the typical 430 hours. The computer successfully booted Debian on its first attempt. The AI learned by "playing an optimization game against the laws of physics" rather than copying human designs.
Your takeaway: Circuit board design, once a months-long process requiring specialized engineers, can now be done in days with AI doing the heavy lifting.
The story: Chinese AI company MiniMax launched its M2.1 model, which benchmarks close to Claude Opus 4.5. The model supports coding in multiple languages including Rust, Java, Golang, and C++, plus a "vibe coding" feature that builds full web and mobile apps from simple descriptions. It's available through API and as open source.
Your takeaway: Chinese AI labs continue closing the gap with Western competitors, and this one is giving away its work for free.
The story: Nvidia released NitroGen, a "generalist" gaming AI trained on 40,000+ hours of gameplay across more than 1,000 titles. Built on the GROOT N1.5 architecture originally designed for robotics, the model showed 52% improvement in task success rates. Nvidia open-sourced the project.
Your takeaway: Gaming is becoming a training ground for robots. Skills learned in virtual worlds transfer directly to physical tasks.
The story: While Nvidia dominated AI headlines, five infrastructure companies quietly outperformed it this year. Lumentum (optical connections) gained 361%, Western Digital 296%, Seagate 233%, Celestica 230%, and Micron 228%. Big Tech is projected to spend $380 billion on AI infrastructure in 2025, with a 50% increase expected in 2026.
Your takeaway: The real AI gold rush is in picks and shovels. Storage, networking, and memory companies are cashing in while everyone focuses on chips.
The story: Cornell researchers analyzed over 2 million scientific papers and found that scientists using AI writing tools publish 33% to 50% more work. Non-native English speakers saw the biggest boost, with some groups publishing up to 89% more papers. But there's a catch: papers with polished, complex writing used to signal quality research. Now, AI-flagged papers with impressive writing are actually less likely to be accepted by journals.
Your takeaway: AI is leveling the playing field for researchers worldwide, but it's also making it harder to tell which papers actually matter.
TOOLS ON OUR RADAR
🎬 VEED Freemium: Edit videos in your browser with one-click subtitles, background removal, and templates—no download required.
📧 Mailchimp Freemium: Build email campaigns, automate customer journeys, and grow your audience with templates and analytics that make marketing simple.
🔐 Bitwarden Freemium and Open Source: Manage passwords with military-grade encryption that syncs across all your devices—open source alternative to 1Password.
📋 Wrike Freemium: Manage complex projects with Gantt charts, workload views, and custom workflows that adapt to your team's process.
TRENDING
Pinterest Users Frustrated by AI-Generated Content Flood – Users say AI-generated images are drowning out human creativity on Pinterest. The platform added filtering controls in October, but many find the feed "unusable" without manually reducing AI content.
High Schooler's AI Discovers 1.5 Million Space Objects – An 18-year-old built an AI model that found 1.5 million previously unknown objects in NASA telescope data that professionals had overlooked. He won $250,000 and now works part-time at Caltech.
Waymo Updates Fleet After Power Outage Troubles – Waymo robotaxis treated dead traffic lights correctly during a San Francisco blackout but still created traffic backlogs. The company is rolling out software updates to improve decisiveness during outages.
Garmin Autoland Makes First Real Emergency Landing – A plane's autopilot successfully landed itself at a Colorado airport after the cabin lost pressure. It's the first confirmed real-world use of Garmin's Autoland emergency system.
Security Teams Must Now Plan for AI-Speed Attacks – Hackers now exploit security flaws within 5 minutes of public disclosure. Year-end security exercises should include AI-enhanced phishing and deepfake scenarios, experts warn.
TRY THIS PROMPT (copy and paste into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini)
Learning Style Identifier: Discover how you learn best and get personalized study strategies that match your brain
Build me an interactive Learning Style Identifier as a React artifact that determines your optimal learning methods and provides tailored study recommendations.
The console should include these sections:
1. **Quick Assessment** - Discover your style:
• 15-question quiz with scenarios:
- "When learning directions, do you prefer: Map, Written steps, Verbal explanation, or Walk it once?"
- "In meetings you tend to: Doodle/sketch, Take detailed notes, Just listen, or Move around?"
- "You remember best when you: See it, Hear it, Do it, or Discuss it?"
• Answer A/B/C/D for each
• Takes 3-5 minutes
• "Calculate My Style" button
2. **Learning Style Results** - Your profile:
• Primary style identified:
- **Visual** (pictures, diagrams, charts, colors)
- **Auditory** (lectures, discussions, podcasts, reading aloud)
- **Kinesthetic** (hands-on, movement, practice, experiments)
- **Reading/Writing** (notes, lists, articles, written explanations)
• Percentage breakdown (often a mix):
- Visual: 45%
- Kinesthetic: 30%
- Auditory: 15%
- Reading/Writing: 10%
• Visual pie chart
• "What this means" explanation
3. **Study Techniques** - Tailored to your style:
• For your primary style, recommended methods:
**Visual Learners:**
- Mind maps and concept diagrams
- Color-coding notes
- Watch video tutorials
- Use flashcards with images
- Highlight and annotate
**Auditory Learners:**
- Record lectures and replay
- Explain concepts out loud
- Join study groups
- Use podcasts and audiobooks
- Create verbal mnemonics
**Kinesthetic Learners:**
- Take breaks to move
- Build models/demonstrations
- Use practice problems
- Study while walking
- Hands-on experiments
**Reading/Writing Learners:**
- Rewrite notes multiple times
- Create detailed outlines
- Write practice essays
- Use textbooks effectively
- Make lists and summaries
4. **Resource Matcher** - Tools for you:
• "Search Learning Resources" for your style
• Recommended apps and platforms:
- Visual: Miro, Canva, YouTube
- Auditory: Spotify, podcast apps, voice memos
- Kinesthetic: Duolingo, coding platforms, lab simulations
- Reading/Writing: Notion, Evernote, Google Docs
• Study environment tips (quiet vs. active)
• Best time of day based on style
5. **Subject-Specific Strategies** - Apply it:
• Choose what you're learning: Math, Language, Science, History, Business, Programming, Creative
• Customized approach for your style + subject:
- Visual + Math = Geometric visualizations, graph paper
- Auditory + Language = Language exchange, audio immersion
- Kinesthetic + Programming = Code immediately, build projects
• Example study sessions
• Common pitfalls to avoid
6. **Study Plan Generator** - Put it to use:
• Input what you need to learn
• Timeline (days/weeks/months)
• Daily time available
• Generate study schedule using your methods:
- Techniques matched to your style
- Variety to prevent boredom
- Review intervals built in
• Progress tracker
• Adjustments based on what works
7. **Multi-Modal Tips** - Strengthen other styles:
• How to develop non-dominant styles:
- Why it helps (flexibility in different contexts)
- Exercises to practice
- When to use each style strategically
• Combination techniques (visual + auditory, etc.)
• Exam-specific adaptations
Make it look like an educational assessment tool with:
• Quiz interface with progress bar
• Pie chart showing style breakdown
• Card-based technique recommendations
• Clean, friendly design
• Educational color palette (blues, greens, warm accents)
• Learning-focused iconography
• Encouraging, positive tone
• Mobile-friendly for studying on-the-go
When I click "Search Learning Resources," use web search to find study tools, apps, YouTube channels, and courses optimized for the identified learning style.What this does: Takes a quick quiz to identify whether you learn best visually, by listening, hands-on, or through reading/writing—then provides specific study techniques, resource recommendations, and strategies tailored to how your brain actually processes information.
What this looks like:
WHERE WE STAND
✅ AI Can Now: Land a plane safely during an in-flight emergency with zero human input.
❌ Still Can't: Navigate a city blackout without causing problems. Waymo's robotaxis followed the rules but still created traffic jams that human drivers would have avoided.
✅ AI Can Now: Find 1.5 million space objects by processing 200 billion data points that humans could never review manually.
❌ Still Can't: Guarantee that an AI-polished scientific paper contains quality research. Reviewers are rejecting well-written AI-assisted papers at higher rates because the writing no longer signals substance.
✅ AI Can Now: Design an 843-component computer from scratch in one week, with the machine booting successfully on its first attempt.
FROM THE WEB
Genuinely impressive combination of traditional VFX and AI tools.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING/READING/WATCHING
Fringe starts as a case-of-the-week show, but this episode changes how you perceive all subsequent ones. J.J. Abrams and company set up a mythology that will carry through five seasons. Leonard Nimoy shows up as William Bell, delivering exposition that reframes the entire season. The plot twist opens up endless storytelling possibilities and raises questions about identity that the show explores beautifully in later seasons.
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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