Tag: openai

Weekend Notebook #47 – When models mature and the world stretches

amitabh apte

Published on LinkedIn and amitabhapte.com on23rd Nov, 2025

This week in AI – Gemini 3 and the new infrastructure race

This was the week Google forced the AI narrative to tilt again. Not through hype, but through the release of Gemini 3, a model that signals a deeper shift in where the frontier now sits. For the first time in a while, the conversation wasn’t about clever demos or novelty features. It was about capability that feels embedded, a model designed to sit inside Google’s full ecosystem of search, cloud, devices, and productivity tools.

Gemini 3 lands as an integrated intelligence layer, not a standalone chatbot. And that matters. In AI, distribution consistently beats brilliance. Google’s advantage is not just the model. It’s the hundreds of millions of moments, queries, clicks, sessions, and decisions where that model can quietly shape outcomes.

But the more revealing signal came from inside Google itself: the acknowledgement that its AI-serving infrastructure must double every six months just to stand still. That single line says more about the state of the AI race than any model release could. We are no longer in a software cycle. We are in an industrial one, where progress depends on data centres, silicon supply, energy availability, physical footprint, and geopolitical access.

You could see that geopolitical undercurrent everywhere this week.

The UAE’s decision to invest $1 billion into African AI infrastructure is not a regional experiment, it is a strategic expansion of influence through compute. Data centres are becoming diplomatic instruments. Sovereign infrastructure is becoming soft power.

Markets echoed this momentum. Nvidia delivered another strong quarter, easing concerns of an AI slowdown while intensifying questions about global dependence on a single hardware backbone. When one company becomes the proxy for the world’s AI appetite, you realise this is no longer an industry story, it’s an economic architecture story.

My takeaway from the weekend

Put these threads together and the picture becomes clear. AI has split into two races:

• A capability race, where models like Gemini 3 reset expectations.
• A capacity race, where the world scrambles to build the physical, political, and economic foundations required to run those models at scale.

“The leaders who stay ahead will be the ones who understand that competitive advantage is shifting from “Who has the smartest model?” to “Who can deploy intelligence reliably, responsibly, and at scale?”

Beyond AI: my mindshare – when a Yogi meets an AI pioneer

I came across a fascinating conversation from two iconic leaders;  Spiritual leader and a great Yogi, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and a leading AI thought leader, Andrew Ng.

One speaks about clarity of mind, the other about clarity of capability. Yet point to the same truth. AI will only move as fast as humans are ready to trust it, understand it, and work with it.

“Sri Sri emphasises inner steadiness. Andrew emphasises skill and confidence. Together, they outline the real leadership agenda: prepare the people as much as the model. Because in the AI age, intelligence is abundant. Readiness is not.”

Weekend Notebook #42 – Lights of Progress: from Smart Glasses to Smart Economies

amitabh apte

Published on LinkedIn and AmitabhApte.com on 19th Oct, 2025

This week in AI – When AI Becomes Tangible

This week, AI stepped further out of the cloud and into the real world, shaping markets, moving currencies, and rewriting the geography of innovation.

EssilorLuxottica’s record-breaking quarter sent its shares up nearly 14% to an all-time high. The driver? Its AI-powered Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Once a novelty, they now represent a powerful convergence of hardware, intelligence, and design. The blend of form, function, and data is transforming wearables from accessories into interfaces, subtle, seamless, and socially acceptable. When design meets purpose, adoption accelerates.

Meanwhile, OpenAI’s new partnership with Broadcom marks a decisive move from software to silicon. By co-designing custom AI chips, OpenAI aims to reduce dependence on Nvidia and secure its own compute future. This is the next wave of integration, from algorithms to architecture, from models to metal, giving OpenAI control over both intelligence and infrastructure.

Finance, too, is recalibrating around AI’s physical footprint. Goldman Sachs is building a new lending unit to finance AI infrastructure, while BlackRock’s $20 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers ranks among the largest in the sector’s history. Infrastructure is now investable; data centres, cooling systems, and energy grids are becoming the new ports and pipelines of the digital age.

The wave is global, and India is fast becoming one of its most ambitious players. Google’s $15 billion investment in a new AI data centre in Visakhapatnam, , underscores India’s “swadeshi tech” ambition to localise AI infrastructure. To power this growth sustainably, the country is also exploring small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) for round-the-clock clean energy, a bold shift from renewables that opens its nuclear sector to private and foreign investment.

Beyond India, the ripple effects are being felt across economies. Sterling and the Swedish krona are both strengthening as capital flows into new AI data hubs in London and Stockholm. Analysts call it the “compute capital effect”: when technology investment starts to influence currency strength and macro stability. Innovation, in other words, is becoming an economic moat.

And as AI enters new domains, society is adapting in parallel. Instagram’s upcoming parental controls for AI chatbots show how platforms are finally acknowledging their responsibility for young users’ wellbeing. In healthcare, AI is reducing administrative load and clinician burnout, yet only 28% of doctors feel ready to use it effectively. The technology is advancing faster than human capability to absorb it. That readiness gap is emerging as one of the defining leadership challenges of our time.

My Takeaway This Weekend

From eyewear to energy, from silicon to society, one theme connects it all: AI is crossing from the digital layer into the physical economy. It’s no longer something we log into; it’s something we live within.

“This is the industrialisation of intelligence, when data becomes infrastructure, and infrastructure becomes intelligent.”

For leaders, the task ahead is to design for that convergence, where compute, capital, and culture intersect. Because the next decade of AI won’t just be coded in labs; it will be built in factories, financed by markets, powered by clean energy, and worn on faces.

Beyond AI: My mindshare – the Light we share

This week, as millions around the world celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, homes, offices, and streets glow with lamps, laughter, and the scent of homemade delicacies.
It’s a time to pause, reconnect with family and friends, and celebrate the warmth of togetherness.

For me, Diwali has always been about more than lighting diyas. It’s also a reminder to light the lamp within, the spark of compassion, curiosity, and kindness that brightens the lives of those around us. Each flame we light carries meaning: to share joy, to help someone find their spark, and to bring others along on our journey.

In a world that often feels fast and fragmented, Diwali invites us to slow down and rekindle what truly connects us, gratitude, generosity, and shared light.

“When we light a lamp for someone else, we illuminate our own path too.”

Weekend Notebook #36 – The future of work: written in code, judged by people

amitabh apte

Published on LinkedIn, Substack and AmitabhApte.com on Sept 7, 2025

In spotlight this week: When AI efficiency meets human cost

This week, AI showed us both sides of its coin: efficiency celebrated in boardrooms, uncertainty felt in households.

Salesforce announced it will cut around 4,000 jobs, the latest in a wave of Big Tech restructuring. At the same time Stanford study reinforces a point that many feared: AI adoption is already reducing jobs in predictable, routine, or entry-level tasks and creating fewer immediate opportunities for displaced workers.

One signal from industry, one from academia. Together, they tell a stark story: the AI dividend is real, but unevenly distributed. Enterprises capture productivity gains and shareholder value. Workers face uncertainty, communities disruption. AI isn’t just augmenting; it’s replacing, even in white-collar domains once thought safe.

For leaders, the message is clear: redesign jobs, not just reduce them. Reskill, rebuild ladders of opportunity, and maintain trust while pursuing efficiency. Cutting costs with AI may deliver short-term wins, but without reinvestment in people, it risks long-term fracture.

The companies that thrive won’t be those that simply shrink their payrolls; they’ll be those that create new paths for human potential.

“The future of work won’t be written by AI alone. It will be judged by how we choose to keep humans in the story.”

Noteworthy this week: what caught my eye in the AI and tech world

Robinhood and AppLovin to join S&P 500 – Robinhood’s inclusion signals fintech’s growing legitimacy. AppLovin’s 77% revenue growth and pivot to high-margin adtech position it as a rising AI-driven advertising force.

OpenAI $115B spending surge – Revised projections show nearly $80B more than expected by 2029, as OpenAI seeks control of its infrastructure. It’s bold, but aligned with megacap-level AI investment. My take: AI is no longer R&D, it’s industrial policy.

Anthropic’s $1.5B copyright settlement – The largest in U.S. history, resolving piracy of books from shadow libraries. The judge upheld training AI on copyrighted works as fair use, but the case highlights the urgent need to modernize copyright law for the AI age.

AI upends search advertising model – Ad spend in AI-driven search projected to jump from $1B in 2025 to $25.9B by 2029. From static keywords to multimodal, dimensional queries, this shift will redefine attribution, monetization, and competition in the AI-native web.

Google gets to keep Chrome – Found guilty of monopolistic practices in search, but allowed to retain Chrome and default search deals. Exclusive AI distribution contracts are banned, leaving Google free to double down on AI dominance.

India IT Inc worries on Tariffs – U.S. is weighing tariffs on Indian software exports, endangering a $283B industry reliant on U.S. clients. Combined with AI disruption, it’s a wake-up call: Indian IT must pivot from cost-based outsourcing to AI-led value creation.

OpenAI Job Platform – OpenAI plans to launch a certification program and job marketplace, aiming to train and certify 10M Americans by 2030. With Walmart as a partner, this is a direct challenge to LinkedIn, reshaping how people find and prepare for jobs in an AI-first economy.

Beyond Tech & AI: my music / media / sport “mind share” this week

The BBC Proms 2025 season is in full swing. Orchestral premieres, global folk fusions, and immersive film scores, something for everyone. My favourite this season? Anoushka Shankar’s “Chapters” performed with Robert Ames and London Contemporary Orchestra. A transcendent blend of Indian classical, electronica, and storytelling. Still available on BBC iPlayer. Don’t miss it.

In summary: my key takeaway this weekend

The accelerating march of AI is no longer a distant drumbeat it’s the rhythm reshaping our economy, work, and institutions in real time. From Salesforce’s job cuts to OpenAI’s $115B moonshot, the signals are clear: efficiency is prized, but empathy cannot be lost. Innovation without inclusion risks deepening divides.


“AI may be rewriting the rules but it’s up to us to decide who gets to stay in the game.”

Weekend Notebook #33 – Beyond the launch: GPT-5’s real impact starts here

amitabh apte

Published on LinkedIn and AmitabhApte.com on August 17, 2025

In spotlight this week: GPT-5’s Enterprise Rise & Personal Rediscovery

GPT-5’s launch drew mixed reactions, underwhelming for some consumers but rapidly adopted in enterprise settings for tasks like coding, reasoning, and agent-building. OpenAI has since responded with updates to tone and access, while expanding its ambitions beyond models into apps, browsers, and even brain-computer interfaces.

Despite early criticism, GPT-5’s API traffic doubled in 48 hours, and platforms like Cursor have made it their default. OpenAI’s pivot toward enterprise and infrastructure signals a broader strategy, possibly laying the groundwork for an IPO and a future resembling Alphabet, but with deeper AI integration.

As someone now building a new app with GPT-5, I’ve found myself reconnecting with my programming roots, exploring JavaScript, Python, Supabase, and more. AI helps scaffold ideas fast, but the real magic still lies in debugging, testing, and iterating. It’s a bit old-school and that’s the fun part.

Noteworthy this week: what caught my eye in the AI and tech world

AI Evolution Sparks Sell-Off in European Tech Stocks -European AI adopter stocks like SAP, Sage, and Capgemini have plunged amid fears that powerful new AI models, such as OpenAI’s GPT-5 and Anthropic’s Claude could disrupt their business models. Investors are reassessing high-valuation firms as AI’s rapid evolution challenges traditional software and data services.

Big Tech’s Energy Impact – Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are reshaping the U.S. power industry as their AI-driven data centers dramatically increase electricity demand. This surge could raise energy costs for individuals and small businesses nationwide.

Samsung Surges with Foldables – Samsung is gaining traction, boosting its U.S. market share from 23% to 31% while Apple slips. With innovative form factors, such as foldables and AI integration, Samsung is challenging Apple’s long-standing dominance.

Perplexity Bids for Chrome – Perplexity AI has made a bold $34.5bn unsolicited bid for Google Chrome, positioning it as a solution to Google’s ongoing antitrust troubles. The offer highlights growing confidence among AI firms to challenge Big Tech dominance.

Claude AI Sets Boundaries – Anthropic’s Claude models can now end chats in extreme cases of harmful or abusive user behaviour, not to protect users, but potentially the AI itself. This experimental feature reflects growing interest in “model welfare” and ethical AI design.

In summary: my key takeaway this weekend

GPT-5’s enterprise momentum is undeniable, and its integration into infrastructure and tooling marks a shift from flashy consumer launches to deep, foundational impact. Meanwhile, my personal journey with coding reminds me that even in an AI-first world, human creativity and iteration remain irreplaceable. GPT-5 may be the future of enterprise AI, but the real revolution is rediscovering the joy of building with your own hands.