Welcome, humans.

ANNOUNCEMENT: We have a new website! It’s everything you love about The Neuron and more:

• Our revamped Top 51 AI tools for business in 18 different categories (link).

• Illustrated explainer pieces about AI concepts (link).

• MERCH (link).

• More cats. Like, way more cats.

Go check it out and let us know what you think!

S/O to the awesome DemandFlow team for crafting this new site from start to finish.

Here’s what you need to know about AI today:

• Google released Gemini Live, a new voice AI for Android…

• OpenRouter lets you use GPT-4's new 200-page output feature.

• Sakana AI launched “The AI Scientist” to automate research.

• Job applications are increasingly using AI for cover letters / resumes.

Google has a new voice mode, and it’s like what would happen if Apple Intelligence and Advanced Voice Mode had a baby. 

Google just announced a ton of new AI stuff at its Made by Google 2024 event. The biggest news was probably Gemini Live, Google’s version of ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode (think AI that you can talk to). 

Here’s what Gemini Live has got going on: 

• 10 voices to choose from. 

• Hands-free operation, even when the phone is locked.

• Pausable conversations, with the ability to interrupt it mid-sentence. 

If you subscribe to Google One AI Premium, you can use it right now with the Gemini mobile app on Android (iOS coming soon). 

The early reviews are in: 

• It’s faster than Google’s OG voice assistant, but the bot’s a little too chatty sometimes. 

• “Better than talking to Siri”, but still hallucinates. 

• Conversationally, it’s a step forward; functionally, it’s not there yet.

The live demo was definitely live, with not one, but two on-stage tech fails. And this demo of the app in the wild shows you definitely need to cut it off to get a word in. 

For Android owners: Gemini Live will also have “context-aware” capabilities. This will work similarly to Apple Intelligence, where Gemini can interact with other Google apps through what’s called Gemini extensions. 

Here are a few that will launch over the next few weeks:

• Keep: “Gemini, jot down this recipe in my Keep notes.”

• Tasks: “Add ‘buy birthday gift’ to my Google Tasks list for next week.”

• Calendar: “Am I free this Friday afternoon? Schedule a dentist appointment if so.”

You’ll even be able to ask Gemini to perform quick calculations, convert units, and other utility functions without switching to a separate app.

Here’s why this matters: Some think Gemini Live might have an advantage over Apple Intelligence because of Google’s deep knowledge of the real-world.

That might also be why OpenAI is developing SearchGPT: once our AI can interface directly with real-world data, in real time, the functionality of any AI tool gets a lot more powerful… as long as they stop hallucinating fake playgrounds (looking at you, Gemini). 

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Around the Horn.

• OpenRouter will let you use GPT-4o’s new “extended output”, where ChatGPT can now produce 200-page long outputs. Try it here.

• Sakana AI released “The AI Scientist”, an AI dedicated to automating scientific research and “open-ended discovery”—it’s already started publishing papers.

• Recruiters estimate that up to 50% of job applications now use AI to create cover letters and resumes, but the big 4 accounting firms are warning applicants not to.

Treats To Try.

1. See our top 51 AI Tools for Business here! 

2. ElevenLabs clones voices and generates AI voices for text-to-speech, using just one minute of audio (and today they released ElevenStudios, a fully managed AI dubbing service for videos and podcasts). 

3. ChatwithPDF analyzes PDF documents and answers questions about their content in seconds.

4. Wondercraft generates complete podcast episodes from your initial text, including scripts, voiceovers, and music.

5. Chatbase creates custom chatbots from your content, which can be embedded on websites or accessed via API.

6. Metaview automates interview transcription, summarization, and provides feedback on interviewer performance.

*We have select secondary ad spots available in August. Get your brand in front of 450,000+ professionals here.

What gives it away that this is AI?

Every Monday/Wednesday, we’ll post a new AI video, and your job is to tell us what about the video gives it away as being AI.

Ready? One watch, everyone knows the rules:

Here’s what #Neuron readers had to say about last Wednesday’s video:

• M.U.: “It’s the hands. Always the hands.”

• A.R.: “Movement of the natural elements (fire, water, burning) gives the appearance of each but does not follow laws of physics that one would expect from an experienced animator”

• Y.B.: “The bad soundtrack” 😂

Where do you #Neuron?!

Submit where you #Neuron here for a chance to be featured in our newsletter next week!

Oliver, at the Olympics in the Grand Palais: Catching up with The Neuron before the competition starts.

Hayley from London, UK: Come on England!

Gladys from Atlanta, Georgia: Catching up on the Neuron Newsletter while chilling at the Georgia Department of Driver Services, waiting for my son to get his Learner's permit! 🚗📖

Joe from Kapa’a Kauai: Artificial intelligence combined with natural beauty. The perfect mix!

A Cat's Commentary.