Apple in your mind & more (May 14, 2025)

The race to embed AI into every layer of life — from brainwaves to backseats — is heating up. Apple's brain-controlled devices, Google's everywhere-Gemini, and Saudi Arabia's mega-moves are rewriting the tech map.

Let’s dig in.

🧬 Neural Interfaces & AI Ecosystems

🧠 Apple backs brain-implant tech for device control

Apple is partnering with Synchron to explore brain-computer interfaces. Early testers have controlled iPhones and Vision Pro headsets using implants near the brain’s motor cortex. It's the most concrete step yet toward a future where your mind is your controller.

A person holds a smartphone while mentally controlling it through a small Apple-branded chip attached to their temple

📺 Google puts Gemini everywhere

Gemini AI is expanding across Google’s universe — smartwatches, TVs, Android Auto, and XR headsets. The goal? Make Gemini the seamless AI layer that connects your entire digital life.

🧪 OpenAI’s chief scientist talks AGI and research

Jakub Pachocki claims that AI models are already producing novel scientific insights — a critical sign of progress toward AGI. OpenAI also plans to release a new open-weight model that rivals the best in class.

🌍 Desert Power Plays & Platform Upgrades

🏜 Saudi Arabia strikes AI mega-deals

Saudi Arabia launched Humain, its national AI initiative, and locked in deals with Nvidia (18,000 chips), Amazon (a $5B AI Zone), and Google ($100M VC fund). Musk, Zuck, and Altman all made appearances.

📸 TikTok’s AI Alive animates your photos

With 1.8B monthly users, TikTok is rolling out AI Alive, a tool that turns static images into dynamic short videos. While it’s fun, creators worry about the rise of AI slop flooding the feed.

A frustrated digital artist sits at a desk in a bright room, staring at a large screen filled with AI-generated TikTok content

📝 Notion rolls out full AI productivity suite

Notion now offers AI note-taking, transcription, research, and cross-database search. Users can toggle between GPT-4.1 and Claude 3.7, and enterprise features are on the horizon.

A humanoid robot takes notes in a research lab filled with scientific equipment

🛠 Tools of the Day

• Substrata – Real-time sales insights from body language and behavior
• Fluig AI – Turn text and documents into visual diagrams instantly
• CodeDesign – Launch websites with no-code in minutes
• Taka – Your AI personal finance assistant

💡 Prompt of the Day

LinkedIn Profile Optimizer
Act as a LinkedIn branding expert. Optimize my headline, about section, experience, and featured media to attract top clients, recruiters, and partners. Suggest SEO tips, weekly content ideas, and end with a bold personal tagline I can reuse.

⚡ Quick Hits

• Audible expands AI-narrated audiobooks in 4 languages
• Hugging Face releases 8x faster Whisper transcription endpoint
• Apple adds AI-based battery life improvements in iOS 19

📌 TLDR

Apple dives into brain-computer interfaces. Google expands Gemini to everything from dashboards to TV remotes. Saudi Arabia doubles down with Humain and chip megadeals. TikTok animates photos, and Notion becomes an AI productivity beast.

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Catch you in the future,
David