Alex Banks

This should be illegal.

We’re entering a world where nothing can be trusted online:

I recently came across this video using Kling Motion Control.

It takes your movements and puts them in anyone's body.

Here's how it works:

→ Record yourself doing any movement
→ Use AI to generate a character image
→ Kling 2.6 merges the two seamlessly
→ Your moves, their face

We've now hit the threshold where it's impossible to discern whether someone is human in the digital world.

My takeaways:

The implications are huge in Hollywood:

→ Using someone's likeness without them present
→ Character swapping cost trends to near-zero
→ Reshooting scenes without actors on set

I also see new markets emerging:

→ Individuals renting out their identity
→ Licensing your likeness for content creation
→ Actors selling "performance rights" to their digital twin

Finally, proof of authenticity will become essential infrastructure, not just a nice-to-have.

Sam Altman is already building a global identity verification system using iris scans to fight against fraud and bots.

I believe we'll see identity become the next great asset class.

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Video credit: ederxavier3d on Instagram

Claude just solved the biggest problem with AI.

Memory is now available to Pro and Max users.

What's new:

→ No more repeating yourself every chat
→ Each project has separate memory spaces
→ Persistent context across all conversations
→ Incognito mode for conversations you don't want saved
→ Previously only available to Team/Enterprise customers
→ Claude remembers your projects, preferences, and work patterns

To get started with memory:

1. Go to Settings
2. Navigate to Capabilities
3. Look under Memory section
4. Toggle on “Search and reference chats”
5. Toggle on “Generate memory from chat history”

Bonus: Click on “Memory from your chats” to update/remove memories

Then I recommend asking Claude “What did we work on last week?”

Useful prompts to try with memory:

• "What patterns do you see in my work from our past conversations?"
• "Make unique connections between the ideas we've discussed"
• "Highlight non-obvious insights I might have missed"

Why this matters:

Pair Memory with Claude's new desktop app and you get:

→ Desktop: Always accessible (double-tap access, screenshots, voice)
→ Memory: Always contextual (picks up where you left off)

This turns Claude from a stateless chatbot into a persistent working partner.

My takeaway:

Memory has been the missing link with LLMs.

Other AIs force you to rebuild context in every conversation.

Claude now learns from every interaction and improves with each chat.

This is the difference between a tool you use occasionally and an assistant you work with daily.

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BREAKING: Synthesia just raised $200M.

Crazy to think AI avatars will start talking back.

I've been partnering with Synthesia since June.

They just closed a Series E at a $4 billion valuation.

Here's why I’m so bullish on AI avatars:

1. The knowledge problem

→ Companies are drowning in documents, wikis, and training materials
→ Yet employees still can't get the right answer when they need it
→ Upskilling has become a continuous, board-level priority
→ Traditional content can't keep up with the pace of change

2. The AI shift

→ Agents can now understand context and hold real conversations
→ They can coach people through complex scenarios
→ They complete actual workflows vs just generating content
→ We've moved from static video to interactive experiences

3. The opportunity

→ Synthesia started with AI video, the most effective way to teach at scale
→ Now they're turning enterprise knowledge into conversational agents
→ Early customers are already seeing higher engagement and faster knowledge transfer
→ This creates a credible path to a billion-dollar revenue platform

The round was led by Google Ventures with NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm), Accel, Kleiner Perkins, and NEA doubling down.

My takeaway:

Synthesia is now one of the most valuable AI companies in Britain.

This transforms video from a one-way communication into a two-way interactive conversation.

AI will drive the marginal cost of creating content to zero.

We are now generating video through code rather than recording with a physical camera.

Instead of being a single static medium, video can now change and adapt depending on who’s watching.

The window for this opportunity is open now.

Synthesia is positioned to define the category.

Excited to see what Victor Riparbelli and the team build next.

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Stop forcing one AI to do everything.

Here's how I choose the right model for each task.

One of the most common questions I get:

"I've got ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, which model should I use for what?"

Here's how I actually think about it:

I treat LLMs like a toolbelt.

My current task → model map:

1. Long-form writing
↳ Default: Claude Opus 4.5
↳ Backup: ChatGPT 5.2 Thinking

2. Deep research
↳ Default: ChatGPT 5.2 Pro
↳ Backup: Gemini 3 Pro

3. Problem solving & complex reasoning
↳ Default: Grok 4.1
↳ Backup: ChatGPT 5.2 Thinking

4. Learning
↳ Default: Gemini 3 Pro + Guided Learning
↳ Backup: ChatGPT 5.2 + Study & Learn

5. Coding
↳ Default: Claude Opus 4.5
↳ Backup: Claude Sonnet 4.5

A few principles I've found useful:

• Task first, model second
• Pairs, not monogamy (I use 2-3 models every day)
• Latency, cost, context > benchmarks
• Always have a default AND a backup

My takeaway:

"Which model is best?" is the wrong question.

The right question: "What's the job I need done?"

Match the tool to the task. Your output quality will 10x.

I did a full breakdown with my default prompts and setups for each job.

Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eShuwmCt

Figure's robot just taught itself to move like a human.

Robots will be living with us sooner than you think.

Their new AI system "Helix 02" controls Figure 03's entire body as one continuous behaviour.

Walking. Balancing. Manipulating. All on a single neural network.

What makes this a leap forward:

→ Trained on 1,000+ hours of human motion data
→ Palm cameras and fingertip sensors can feel objects as light as a paperclip
→ 4 minutes of autonomous dishwasher loading with zero resets or human intervention

The human-like details that caught my attention:

→ Uses its hip to shut a kitchen drawer
→ Kicks the dishwasher door up with its foot
→ Selects the wash program and starts the cycle

Six months ago, Figure 02 was only moving its upper body.

Now Figure 03 walks, balances, and manipulates as one fluid behaviour.

This is a serious step up from factory parcel sorting to generalised domestic capability.

As founder Brett Adcock stated, this has been a year-long effort to re-align their AI stack for long time horizons and complex manipulation.

Now that robots can handle delicate tasks like extracting pills from a medicine box and dispensing precise liquid volumes, we're entering a new phase of home robotics.

I personally can't wait to get my hands on one.

I did a full breakdown of Helix 02 in my latest newsletter.

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Meta just acquired Manus.

Zuckerberg wants to win. Badly.

When Manus launched in March 2025 the internet dismissed it as "just a Claude wrapper."

Now Zuckerberg is paying ~$2 billion to own it:

→ 147 trillion tokens processed
→ 80 million virtual computers created
→ State-of-the-art performance on real-world AI benchmarks
→ All achieved in just a few months

What makes Manus different:

• Self-directed operation without waiting for instructions
• Multi-agent architecture with specialised sub-agents
• End-to-end task execution from research to deployment

Manus will continue operating its subscription service while integrating directly into Meta's AI products.

The goal is to bring autonomous agents to billions of users and millions of businesses.

This fits Zuckerberg's pattern perfectly:

→ $14.3B for 49% of Scale AI
→ $200M package for Apple's former AI Chief
→ $100M+ offers to poach from OpenAI, DeepMind, Anthropic

People will work for Zuck if the price is right.

My takeaway:

Everyone said the value would concentrate in foundation models.

The reality is playing out differently.

Turns out the application layer is where the real value lives.

Zuck himself highlighted: "The rest of this decade seems likely to be the decisive period."

He's not waiting around.

I'll be doing a full breakdown of this acquisition in my newsletter this week.

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Sam Altman said ads were a "last resort."

That day has arrived.

OpenAI is introducing advertising to ChatGPT's free and lower-paid tiers.

Here's what they're promising:

→ Ads won't influence ChatGPT's responses
→ Conversations stay private from advertisers
→ Premium tiers remain ad-free (for now)

The OpenAI timeline:

→ March 2025: Raised $40B at $300B valuation
→ December talks: New $100B round at $750B valuation
→ Today: Burning through cash at an extraordinary rate

Subscription revenue alone isn't cutting it.

This is the fundamental law of the web: If the user doesn't pay the bill, the advertiser does.

Back in May 2024, Sam sat down for a fireside chat at Harvard University.

When asked about advertising, he remarked: "I kind of think of ads as like a last resort for us as a business model."

14 months later, here we are.

No one could have predicted how capital-intensive this race would be.

Add in fierce competition and there's little pricing power left.

My takeaway:

I'm not sure ads alone can cover their losses.

Performing well in advertising often pushes companies toward aggressive data collection.

This is something Google is often criticised for.

Eventually, compute will get cheaper.

But right now it's all about aggressive build-out at any cost.

Once ad revenue becomes material to the business, the incentives shift.

That's just how it works.

The LLM market is competitive enough now that friction like this could accelerate the shift to Claude, Gemini, or Grok.

OpenAI built the most used AI product in history.

Monetising it without eroding trust is the real test.

Would ads make you switch?

I did a full breakdown on this in yesterday's newsletter.

Read it here: https://lnkd.in/en4Mu7ei