Friends,

Your weekly AI briefing is here: designed to help you respond to AI, not react to the noise. No curveballs. No chaos. Just clarity.

First a quick note on my availability this autumn:

Now accepting AI strategy workshops for Q3/Q4 2025

Owning Your AI: Building Alignment Through Your Tech Stack - I’m delivering 90-minute executive sessions for senior teams on designing and implementing an AI Operating System, including governance, adoption, and alignment frameworks. Available across the UK, Europe, and globally, in person or virtually.

To book for your board, team away day, or keynote event, fill in this form.

This was the week when:

The FT argued we should brace for a crash before the golden age of AI - re‑fuelling the “AI slowdown” narrative.

Nature showcased an optical generative model that literally makes images with light.

Google’s “Nano Banana” upgrade landed in Gemini, bringing better, faster likeness‑preserving image edits to everyone.

Enjoy the clarity. It’s a gift.

🔥 URGENT PRIORITIES

✅ No fires to fight

✅ Systems stable

✅ Roadmap unchanged

🎯 STRATEGIC

The AI ‘slowdown’ is a soundcheck, not a stop sign

Tension: Headlines say the boom is cooling. Analysts talk of “crashes before golden ages.” It’s tempting to ease off. (FT article)

Optimistic insight: The fundamentals haven’t changed: the big models keep improving, the toolchain gets richer, and the real drag is adoption - policies, permissions, and plumbing inside organisations. The “bears” are winning the war of words, not the war of capability.

What’s really shifting: The noise level. Meanwhile, the power of tools is compounding. Case in point: this week I had a hands‑on demo of MintMCP with founder Jiquan Ngiam. It’s a secure gateway to connect ChatGPT (and peers) to internal data/tools with all the security feature you need in compliance heavy situations - solving the actual blockers to AI adoption.

Why this matters now: Adoption is a usability issue. Making your teams AI a little bit better each day is how you will win in the next 90 days.

Actionable opportunity.

Pick a process (e.g. customer reports, invoices, service triage)

Map the tools + data involved (Docs, CRM, tickets, databases)

Pilot with MintMCP or another MCP gateway

Standardise governance early so you can scale securely

Invitation: Want a sanity-check on where MCP fits for you? Reply with your top 2 workflows - I’ll send you a sample blueprint.

🤓 GEEKERY

1) AI teaches its own creator a course

An Oxford lecturer got an AI to impersonate him - and teach him his own master’s course. Outcome: sharper insights, better pacing, new perspectives.

👉 Read the story

Why it matters: Organisation can use this now - train AI on your expertise to onboard staff, speed up SOP learning, or create internal tutors.

2) Images, generated… by light

A new digital-optical system modulates laser beams to generate images. It’s faster, cheaper, and lower-energy than today’s chips.

Why it matters: On-device generative AI is coming - for real. Start preparing for new, non-cloud-dependent tools for content, monitoring, and more.

3) Nano Banana hits Gemini

Google’s Gemini now supports multi-step image editing, keeps faces accurate, and includes watermarking.

Why it matters: Better internal brand assets, HR photos, product visuals - made by non‑designers, in‑house can create brand chaos or creative democracy. Create an AI‑editing policy now.

🎨 WEEKEND PLAYGROUND

🎵 Make Hugo a birthday banger

Yes, It’s my Birthday on Monday - Go to Suno, generate a track and post it on LinkedIn tagging Hugo. Try this Prompt:

“Upbeat soul‑pop birthday song for Hugo, the AI Optimist. Lyrics celebrate UK Businesses using AI with calm confidence. Electro swing meets Hardstyle EDM, warm vocals, 95 BPM.”

Bonus if you reference MCP or compounding quietly.

📢 SHARE THE OPTIMISM

If The AI Optimist helps you think more clearly, forward it to someone else navigating the shift.

If it’s not quite landing, hit reply and let me know - I read every message.

Stay strategic, stay generous - and enjoy the sun (and rain).

Hugo & Ben