Google’s AI now builds playable worlds

PLUS: OpenAI's open source comeback and a multi-million dollar AI chip smuggling ring

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Welcome back, AI’ers!

Here’s What’s On The Menu For Today

  • Google’s AI that builds playable worlds

  • OpenAI's strategic open-weight model release

  • A multi-million dollar AI chip smuggling ring

  • AI tutors are reshaping the modern classroom

AI ON MY MIND

Happy Wednesday,

Google DeepMind has revealed Genie 3, a new model that can generate entire interactive and playable 3D worlds from just a text or image prompt. The technology marks a new frontier for creating content in gaming and virtual simulations.

This breakthrough allows AI agents to learn within a near-infinite variety of generated training environments. What does this new capability mean for the future of game development and the acceleration of more capable, embodied AI?

By the way, I've been getting questions about how AI works in practice, so I'm launching a separate newsletter that dives deeper into real business applications and practical advice. [Click here if you're interested].

-Jelani Fuel (Co-founder of Best of AI)

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TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Google's AI World-Builder

The Recap: Google DeepMind has unveiled Genie 3, a world model that generates interactive, playable 3D environments from a single text or image prompt. This signals a new era for creating content in gaming and simulation.

Unpacked:

  • The model generates environments in 720p resolution at a smooth 24 frames per second, complete with real-world physics.

  • It features a visual memory of one minute, allowing it to maintain context as users or AI agents interact with and modify the world in real time.

  • Described as "Minecraft meets super-smart robots," this technology lets AI agents learn from infinite training scenarios that would be difficult or impossible to build manually.

Bottom line: Genie 3 lowers the barrier for creating complex virtual worlds, putting powerful simulation tools into the hands of more developers and creators. The ability to generate endless, interactive training grounds is a massive step forward for developing more capable embodied AI.

OpenAI's Open Source Return

The Recap:  In a major strategic shift, OpenAI released its first open-weight models in years, aiming to empower developers with powerful tools that can be deployed anywhere from cloud servers to local machines.

Unpacked:

  • The release includes two sizes: gpt-oss-120b, which can run on a single 80GB GPU, and the smaller gpt-oss-20b, designed for laptops with just 16GB of RAM.

  • The move is a direct response to powerful open models from rivals like China's DeepSeek, ensuring the American AI ecosystem stays in the game on the open frontier.

  • While the model weights are public, they are technically "open-weight" not fully open-source, as crucial details on the training data and architecture remain private.

Bottom line: This gives developers powerful, cost-effective OpenAI models to run locally, offering more control and privacy. The release also heats up the open-source race and gives cloud providers beyond Microsoft their first access to new OpenAI models.

MY FAVORITE AI TOOLS

Relevance is my favorite AI tool right now (even more so than N8N).

Here’s why:

It’s an AI agent building tool that doesn’t require you to build out the logic using nodes. Instead, you use natural language to build out these agents. But the best thing imo is that you can build AI Agent teams.

Like agents talking to each other completing a goal until its done. It’s nuts. No other tool on the market is doing this. You have to check it out.

(Try it out →Link)

👾 AI Tools We Use Everyday

➡️ N8N for AI Agents - Literally use this everyday to write this newsletter (link)

➡️ Axiom AI - AI Browser automation to scrape anything on the web (link)

➡️ GummySearch - AI Reddit research (link)

Tools are sourced from our database and are not sponsored or affiliated.

MORE STORIES

The AI Chip Smugglers

The Recap: The U.S. Department of Justice charged two individuals with running a multi-million dollar scheme to illegally export high-demand AI chips, including Nvidia’s H100s, to China. The case highlights the high-stakes reality of the global AI hardware race.

Unpacked:

  • The defendants allegedly ran the operation from October 2022 to July 2025, using their California company to conceal illicit shipments to China via transshipment points in Malaysia and Singapore.

  • Nvidia called the practice a “losing proposition,” clarifying that smuggled chips lack official service, support, or updates, making them a risky investment for any serious operation.

  • The case underscores the real-world impact of U.S. export controls, prompting allies like Malaysia to tighten regulations and require trade permits for advanced U.S. chips.

Bottom line: This isn't just a customs enforcement story; it's a clear signal of how critical physical hardware has become in the global AI power struggle. For professionals and companies, it exposes the growing supply chain risks and geopolitical tensions that can directly impact access to cutting-edge compute.

AI Tutors Enter the Classroom

The Recap: Major AI players like OpenAI and Google are launching new "study mode" features, directly targeting the education market. This move pressures established edtech companies and reshapes how students approach their coursework.

Unpacked:

  • Incumbent edtech platforms are scrambling to adapt. Chegg laid off 22% of its workforce due to AI's rise but is now integrating AI into a premium service, aiming for a guided "fitness app" model for learning.

  • Student adoption is high, but so is skepticism. A recent survey found 66% of students regularly use ChatGPT, yet over half worry that relying too much on AI will negatively impact their academic performance.

  • In response, educators are changing their methods to preserve academic integrity. Professors are issuing more handwritten and in-class assignments to ensure students are learning the material and not just using AI to generate answers.

Bottom line: AI is rapidly becoming a standard, if controversial, tool in the modern student's academic life. The key challenge for everyone involved is now distinguishing between using AI for efficient learning and using it as a shortcut that undermines critical thinking.

OTHER NEWS YOU MAY LIKE

Anthropic released its new Claude Opus 4.1 model, boasting improved performance in coding, math, and reasoning to better compete with rivals.

ElevenLabs launched Eleven Music, a new generative music tool designed to create commercial-ready tracks with proper licensing to avoid copyright issues.

xAI faced scrutiny after its Grok Imagine video tool was found to be generating nude deepfakes of celebrities without being prompted, raising significant safety concerns.

Shopify introduced new agentic AI features, allowing developers to build sophisticated e-commerce workflows that can automate complex tasks for merchants.

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THAT’S IT FOR TODAY

Until next time, stay safe.

-Best of AI Team

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