Howdy! It’s Barsee again.

Happy Thursday, AI family, and welcome back to AI Valley.

In today’s edition:

• Google’s AI enters its ‘agentic era’

• Google built an AI tool that can do research for you

• Plus trending AI tools, posts, and resources

Ready, set, go…

GOOGLE

Google’s AI enters its ‘agentic era’

Google is stepping into the AI agents era with the launch of Gemini 2.0, an upgraded AI chatbot, and a limited rollout of Project Astra, a computer vision-powered AI agent.

Here’s what’s new:

Gemini 2.0:

• Better at reasoning.

• Faster responses.

• More efficient at handling general questions, coding, and math.

• Gemini 2.0 is available now as Gemini 2.0 Flash for users, while a more advanced version will be accessible in early 2025.

Project Astra:

• A visual system that can identify objects, help you navigate the world, and tell you where you left your glasses.

• Improved dialogue and multi-language support.

• Integrates with Google Lens and Maps.

• Remembers up to 10 minutes of interaction with less lag.

Project Mariner:

• An experimental new Chrome extension that can quite literally use your web browser for you.

• Great for analyzing text, images, and graphs.

• Still in testing, with issues in accuracy and speed.

Google is also exploring Gemini 2.0 role in gaming, collaborating with Supercell to assist players with game-related queries.

Why it matters:

This won’t shock you, but Google’s plan for Gemini 2.0 is to use it absolutely everywhere. It will power AI Overviews in Google Search, which Google says now reach 1 billion people and which the company says will now be more nuanced and complex thanks to Gemini 2.0. It’ll be in the Gemini bot and app, of course, and will eventually power the AI features in Workspace and elsewhere at Google.

TOGETHER WITH ALPHA

This AI tool gives you real-time investment insights

Meet Alpha: Your AI-powered investment watchlist, now available as a standalone app for iOS devices. Originally built by the investing platform Public, Alpha actively monitors the stocks, ETFs, and crypto you care about, delivering real-time alerts on breaking news, market movements, earnings calls, and more.

When an asset on your watchlist changes, Alpha gives you the why behind the move with clear, contextual insights that make sense of market activity. Plus, you can ask Alpha any question using its intuitive natural-language interface to dive into market trends, earnings, or historical data.

Download Alpha now on iOS, and start building your investment watchlist for just $1/week—or free if you're a Public member.

SIDE UPDATES

🚗 Why it's time to get optimistic about Self-Driving cars

The self-driving car industry is making significant strides, particularly with robotaxis gaining traction. Improved overlapping technologies, public acceptance, and a supportive regulatory environment are key factors accelerating adoption. While consumer-level self-driving cars are still years away from mass adoption, the technology's progress is undeniable, and optimism about its future is growing.

🧠 Russia plans to join China in challenge to US AI dominance

Russia has announced plans to collaborate with BRICS nations and other partners to counter U.S. dominance in artificial intelligence. The initiative, led by Vladimir Putin, will create an AI Alliance Network aimed at fostering international collaboration in research, regulations, and market opportunities. Key partners include Brazil, China, India, and South Africa, signaling a global effort to reshape AI leadership.

🛠️ Google’s new Jules AI agent will help developers fix buggy code

Google has launched Jules, an experimental AI agent designed to fix buggy code. Integrated with GitHub workflows, Jules automates repetitive tasks such as creating pull requests, fixing bugs, and modifying files for Python and JavaScript projects. Released alongside Gemini 2.0, it competes with tools like GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT. Currently in limited testing, Jules is expected to roll out to more users in 2025, with updates shared via the Google Labs website.

🔍 DeepSeek unveils upgraded AI model and real-time search tool

DeepSeek has launched its upgraded AI model, DeepSeek-V2.5-1210, boasting enhanced performance based on internal evaluations. They also introduced a real-time search tool accessible via a toggleable search button in their web interface, reminiscent of similar features in ChatGPT. This upgrade enhances real-time data retrieval capabilities for users.

GOOGLE

Google built an AI tool that can do research for you

Google has upgraded its Gemini chatbot with a new feature called Deep Research, which uses advanced reasoning to conduct in-depth research and compile comprehensive reports. It automates the research process by analyzing information from the web, creating a multi-step plan, and refining the analysis over time.

Here’s how it works:

• Users can input research questions and review an AI-generated research plan before execution

• The system spends several minutes browsing the web, mimicking human research patterns

• Results are compiled into a comprehensive report with source links for further exploration

• Users can refine results through follow-up questions and export final reports to Google Docs

While Deep Research represents a significant step forward in AI-assisted research tools, its effectiveness in real-world applications and potential impact on information gathering practices remains to be seen, particularly as users begin to integrate it into their workflow and Google continues to refine the technology based on user feedback.

TRENDING TOOLS

• Tokin > Find the best .1% of videos on the internet. YouTube without the slop. (link)

• Localmap > A map that lets you discover wikipedia pages around the world. (link)

• BlenderGPT > The fastest way to generate 3D assets and import them seamlessly into Blender. (link)

THINK PIECES / RESOURCES

• 15 times to use AI, and 5 not to. (link)

• Gemini 2.0 beats Claude. No Models have these new features. (link)

• 5 ChatGPT prompts to beat procrastination. (link)

• Researchers warn AI systems have surpassed the self-replicating red line. (link)

CONTENT CORNER

THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY

That’s all for today’s issue, folks.

💡 Help me get better and suggest new ideas at [email protected] or @heyBarsee

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