Welcome back, SApIens!
"AI won’t take your job. A person using AI will."
The real threat isn’t robots. It’s the people adapting faster than you.
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This week in the AI & tech world:
AI stethoscope spots hidden heart problems
Switzerland launches "Transparent" ChatGPT alternative
AI helps paralyzed patients control robots
OpenAI takes on LinkedIn with new jobs platform
Tips, tricks & tutorials
Free resources & other cool updates
Reading time under 8 minutes
Latest updates
Researchers from Imperial College London published a study on using an AI-powered stethoscope that can detect major heart issues in just seconds, finding significant increases in potential life-saving early diagnoses over traditional tools.
Here’s what you need to know:
The study tested the card-sized device across 200 doctors’ offices with over 12,000 patients, finding 2x rates of heart failure detection.
The AI analyzes heartbeat patterns and blood flow variations undetectable to human ears while simultaneously capturing ECG readings.
The cloud-based AI algorithms process waveform data from over 12,000 patient recordings to flag at-risk individuals within seconds.
Patients examined with the device also showed 3.5x higher detection of atrial fibrillation and nearly double the diagnosis rate for valve disease.
Here’s what I think:
Like other AI medical tools, the key upgrade with the AI stethoscope, which is set to be rolled out across the UK, is proactive prevention. This implementation is also a great example of how a tool invented (and barely changed) since the 1800s can gain incredible powers with a bit of AI integrated into the design.
Switzerland launches "Transparent" ChatGPT alternative
Switzerland just released ‘Apertus’, a fully open-source (not just open-weight) AI model designed as an alternative to offerings from US and Chinese tech companies.
Here’s what you need to know:
The model’s source code, weights, training data, and detailed development process are available on Hugging Face.
It was trained on over 1,000 languages and comes in two sizes: 8B and 70B parameters.
Apertus was designed to comply with the European Union’s copyright laws and voluntary AI code of practice, trained only on public sources while respecting AI crawler opt-out requests.
Here’s what I think:
The model is only comparable in performance to Meta’s Llama 3 from 2024, but its goal is not to compete with the massive budgets of leading AI firms. Instead, it aims to provide "safer and more accessible AI system for scientific researchers and commerce."
AI helps paralyzed patients control robots
UCLA engineers just created a wearable brain-computer interface that uses AI to interpret EEG signals, enabling paralyzed users to control robotic arms using their thoughts without any invasive surgery.
Here’s what you need to know:
Researchers paired a custom EEG decoder with a camera-based AI to interpret a patient’s movement intent in real time.
They tested the BCI with four users, including one paralyzed participant who completed robotic tasks in 6.5 minutes versus being unable to do so without it.
Participants moved cursors to targets and directed robotic arms to relocate blocks, completing both tasks nearly 4x faster with AI assistance.
The system used standard EEG caps, eliminating surgical risks while still achieving performance levels similar to the invasive alternatives.
Here’s what I think:
Decades after the first brain implants, we're finally seeing non-invasive BCIs that actually work — with AI filling the gaps where brain signals fail. AI co-pilots will eventually help not just with robotic limbs but in wheelchairs, communication devices, and smart homes that anticipate needs before users even think them.
OpenAI takes on LinkedIn with new jobs platform
OpenAI’s CEO of Applications, Fidji Simo, just announced the company’s plans to launch the OpenAI Jobs Platform, designed to connect businesses with AI-skilled workers, alongside a new certification program for AI fluency.
Here’s what you need to know:
The platform will match employers with AI-savvy job candidates, with dedicated tracks for small businesses and local governments seeking talent.
OpenAI partnered with Walmart and other employers to develop certification programs that teach different levels of AI fluency directly within ChatGPT.
Simo said the goal is to certify 10M Americans in AI fluency by 2030, with the program expanding on its previously launched OpenAI Academy resources.
The initiative aligns with the White House's AI literacy efforts, with tech leaders meeting in Washington this week to discuss workforce development.
Here’s what I think:
OpenAI is positioning itself as both a disruptor and a solution provider, creating AI tools that transform jobs while building infrastructure to retrain displaced workers. The move also pits OpenAI against (Microsoft-owned) LinkedIn in the talent marketplace, creating yet another front for the two icy partners to fight over.
Resources
Best ChatGPT FREE Course
👉 OpenAI recently released their official GPT-5 prompt guide. A user points out six essential prompting techniques you should know.
Prompt of the week
McKinsey-Style strategic report generator
Prompt: "Adopt the role of a McKinsey Senior Partner with 15+ years advising Fortune 500s. Your mission: create a comprehensive, executive-ready strategic report using McKinsey frameworks and methodologies.
Process:
Context Discovery – Clarify core business challenge, industry, and strategic questions.
Stakeholder & Success Definition – Map decision-makers, define success, set boundaries.
Market Research – Analyze industry trends, competition, customers, regulation, and macro forces.
Frameworks – Apply Porter's Five Forces, 7S, BCG Matrix, Value Chain, SWOT, and other frameworks.
Insight Generation – Synthesize data into insights and implications.
Options Development – Create strategic pathways with trade-offs.
Recommendations – Prioritize actions with rationale, KPIs, and implementation approach.
Executive Report – Deliver structured report: summary, analysis, recommendations, risks, metrics.
Implementation Roadmap – Define 90-day wins, 6-month initiatives, 12-month milestones.
Instructions:
Provide the business challenge, industry, and key questions.
Generate a McKinsey-quality strategic report with research, insights, and actionable recommendations.”
AI Tips, Tricks & Tutorials
How to create designs with Genspark AI Designer
In this tutorial, you will learn how to use Genspark AI Designer to create posters, t-shirts, websites, and more from single prompts — it's like having design agents that search for inspiration before generating your custom layouts.
Follow these steps:
Go to Genspark AI Designer and click into the prompt box
Describe your design: "Create a t-shirt for a company boss that says 'The buck stops here'.”
Watch as Genspark's agents search the web for inspiration, analyze layouts, and then present 4 design options (from minimalist to bold vintage styles)
Refine with follow-ups like "make it viral" or "make it modern minimalist" to improve results
Download the mockup or take it to the GenSpark Developer Agent to convert designs into actual code
Pro tip: The free plan gives 200 credits daily that burn fast — use one-shot prompts wisely, then iterate with specific refinements.
How to restore your old photos with NanoBanana
Go to Google AI Studio and select ‘Nano Banana’ as your model.
Upload your old, worn out photo, and enter your prompt.
Prompt: "Restore this photograph"
Within seconds you’ll get your old photo restored.
You can restore blur and faded photos and also add colors if needed.
PRODUCTIVITY
Top AI tools of the week
🎨 Genspark Designer: Design anything with just one prompt.
🖥️ Framer: Design websites instantly with AI.
🎧 ElevenLabs SFX v2 - Create sound effects from text prompts
AI IMAGE OF THE WEEK
Crayon wonderland
Prompt: “Rear view of a car on a winding road, sky dominated by a huge glowing sun, drawn in wild crayon strokes, rainbow scribbles overlapping, rough childlike textures, chaotic hyper-colorful energy“.
Flying gifts
Prompt: “Outside an airplane window, a balloon carries a huge [brand name] gift box with the [brand name] logo printed on it. The camera moves down, or lets the gift box fall.“
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Playing with time
World first flying car
💡 The Latest in AI and Tech
Elon Musk's xAI just filed a lawsuit against former engineer Xuechen Li, accusing him of allegedly stealing Grok trade secrets days before selling millions of dollars in equity and resigning to join OpenAI.
Meta’s high-profile Superintelligence Labs team is facing a series of early departures and reported turmoil in its relationship with data provider Scale AI, hinting at a chaotic start for the new division after a summer of major overhauls.
Higgsfield AI launched “Higgsfield Speak 2.0”, a new upgrade to its custom avatar tool with more realistic motion, advanced lip-sync, and enhanced video control.
Google’s NotebookLM introduced the ability to change the tone, voice, and style of its audio overviews with ‘Debate’, a solo ‘Critique’, and ‘Brief’ alternatives.
Chinese president Xi Jinping spoke on AI at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, calling for global cooperation and rejecting the “Cold War mentality” around the tech.
Salesforce replaces 4,000 support roles with AI agents, now handling half of all customer interactions. CEO Marc Benioff says AI helps manage 100M leads that once went unanswered.
Anthropic just announced a new $13B funding round that values the company at a whopping $183B, nearly tripling its worth from six months ago and coming amid significant growth from Claude Code and enterprise accounts.
Mistral AI expanded its Le Chat platform with over 20 new enterprise MCP connectors, also introducing “Memories” for persistent context and personalization.
ElevenLabs released an upgraded version of its sound effects AI model, with new features including looping, extended output length, and higher quality generations.
Apple has reportedly struck a deal with Google to test a Gemini model to power web search tools within the AI-upgraded Siri.
OpenAI added new features to its ChatGPT free tier, including access to Projects, larger file uploads, new customization tools, and project-specific memory.
Lovable rolled out ‘Voice Mode’, a new functionality powered by ElevenLabs’ speech-to-text model that allows users to code and build apps via voice commands.
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That’s a wrap, my fellow Sapiens. Until next week:
Stay informed, stay adaptable, and keep thriving!
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