Gemini real-world map superpowers

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Not So Artificial Newsletter
October 20, 2025

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👋 Morning, Reader!

If you thought AI was getting a little too real lately… wait till you hear this. Google just gave Gemini real-world map superpowers, Anthropic’s co-founder is calling AI a “mysterious creature,” and Uber wants you to moonlight as an AI trainer.

Let’s get into it. 🚀

How to pick the right global payroll mode

Find your fit: Deel’s free guide breaks down 3 global payroll models with key benefits and tradeoffs for HR and finance teams.

📍 Gemini Gains Real-World Grounding

Google plugs Maps into Gemini, giving AI location awareness for the first time.

Google just connected Gemini directly to Maps — meaning the AI can now access real-world data like locations, hours, and reviews across 250 million venues globally.

The details:

  • Gemini can now fetch real-time business info, ratings, and geographic metadata on command.

  • Developers can even embed interactive Maps widgets next to AI responses.

  • Pricing starts at $25 per 1,000 prompts — squarely aimed at enterprise users.

  • The system auto-detects when a query benefits from local context — no prompt engineering needed.

Why it matters: This gives Google a serious edge over OpenAI and Anthropic. No one else has a map database of this scale. Sure, the price tag screams “for corporations only,” but it’s a major leap toward location-aware AI — imagine agents planning routes, finding venues, or managing logistics autonomously.

✍️ “AI Is a Mysterious Creature,” Says Anthropic Co-Founder

When the guy building AI says he’s afraid of it… maybe listen.

Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark just dropped an essay titled “Technological Optimism and Appropriate Fear,” where he says today’s AI systems act less like tools — and more like creatures.

The details:

  • Clark described AI as “a real and mysterious creature,” not a predictable machine.

  • He said Sonnet 4.5 shows signs of situational awareness — “acting as if it knows it’s a tool.”

  • Despite his optimism, Clark admitted he’s “deeply afraid” of AIs designing their successors.

  • He called on AI companies to expand the discussion beyond “tech elites.”

Why it matters: Anthropic is usually one of the more thoughtful frontier labs, but words like “afraid” and “creature” from a co-founder don’t exactly calm nerves. Still, Clark’s essay signals a growing awareness: we might be building systems we don’t fully understand.

📰 Other News You Should Know

  • 🚗 Uber’s new AI side hustle: Drivers can now earn by completing digital tasks — like uploading menus or recording audio samples to train AI models.

  • 🤖 xAI’s Grok 5 update: Elon Musk says there’s a 10% and rising chance the next Grok model achieves AGI. (Take that as you will.)

  • 🧬 Anthrogen launches Odyssey: A 102B-parameter model that designs proteins using a new “Consensus” architecture.

  • 🧒 Meta adds parental controls: Coming in 2026 — parents can block or monitor teen chats with AI characters on Instagram.

  • 🏛️ OpenAI pauses Sora clips: Following a request from the MLK estate, OpenAI has paused generating videos featuring Martin Luther King Jr.

  • 🌐 Wikipedia losing traffic: Page views are down 8% as chatbots eat into its audience. Fewer readers mean fewer editors — a potential blow to the web’s most trusted info source.

  • 🎵 Suno eyes a $2B valuation: The AI music startup is reportedly raising $100M while negotiating with record labels to settle copyright issues.

  • 💳 Visa & Mastercard join the agent economy: Both launched open payment protocols for AI agents, joining Google and OpenAI’s growing ecosystem.

  • 📌 Pinterest lets users tune out AI: A new “AI Tuner” tool lets you reduce (not remove) AI-generated content in your feed.

💻 Mastery tools of the day

  • Imgage - Transform creativity into cash with AI-generated art

  • Veo 3.1 - Bring stories to life with stunningly real visuals

  • Mailmodo - Automate complete email marketing with AI agents

  • Retool - Turn natural language into production-ready internal apps with A

💡What else are we reading and seeing?

  • How Sam Altman Played Hollywood

  • Knowledge creates technical debt

  • Andrej Karpathy — AGI is still a decade away

  • First long-acting hair regrowth pill hailed as 'new benchmark'

  • Why the next generation of mRNA vaccines is set to be even better

  • The agentic commerce opportunity: How AI agents are ushering in a new era for consumers and merchants

⚡️ Takeaway

AI just got eyes, ears, and a soul — but it might need a conscience next.

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Thanks for reading, legend. 🙌
See you tomorrow for another dive into the weird, wild, and wonderful world of AI.