🌍 Google launches Project Genie

Good Morning! Google launches Project Genie, which lets users generate short, interactive 3D environments from text or image prompts. Plus you’ll learn how to turn any text or image into a cinematic AI video in seconds.

Plus, in today’s AI newsletter:

• DeepMind’s AlphaGenome Decodes the “Dark Matter” of DNA

• Apple Buys AI-First Hardware Startup

• Google Opens Genie 3

• How to turn any text or image Into a Cinematic AI Video

• 4 new AI tools worth trying

AI MODELS

🕹️ Google Opens Genie 3

Genie 3 is a DeepMind research prototype that turns text prompts (and images) into explorable 3D worlds, essentially letting you create a video game on the fly. It’s powered by Gemini, Nano Banana Pro, and Veo 3, and is still labeled experimental.

• Generate interactive 3D worlds from text prompts and images

• Explore worlds in real time with adjustable camera angles and perspectives

• Remix existing worlds or build on shared prompts from a curated gallery

• Download videos of your world explorations (with current 60-second limits)

Genie 3 hints at a future where AI becomes a real-time simulation engine, not just a content generator. If this scales beyond experiments, it could reshape gaming, virtual worlds, training simulations, and creative storytelling.

AI MODELS

🧬 DeepMind’s AlphaGenome Decodes the “Dark Matter” of DNA

For years, biology understood only the 2% of DNA that codes for proteins. AlphaGenome (released last June, paper dropped in Nature yesterday),targets the remaining 98%, the non-coding regions where many disease-causing mutations hide, by reading DNA at unprecedented scale and precision.

• Reads up to 1 million DNA letters at once, combining long-range context with single-letter accuracy

• Predicts the impact of single genetic mutations, flagging those linked to cancer and rare diseases

• Models gene splicing for the first time, a key process behind disorders like cystic fibrosis

• Validated on real cancer mutations, matching results from expensive wet-lab experiments

Most genetic diseases remain undiagnosed because we can’t interpret non-coding DNA. AlphaGenome could help doctors pinpoint harmful mutations faster, unlocking diagnoses and treatments that medicine has missed for decades.

AI PARTNERSHIPS

🍏 Apple Buys AI-First Hardware Startup

Apple has acquired Tel Aviv–based startup Q.AI for close to $2 billion, aiming to build AI-powered devices that understand “silent speech” through facial micro-movements. The deal is meant to close Apple’s growing gap with Meta, Google, and OpenAI in AI-first hardware.

• Q.AI’s tech analyzes facial skin micro-movements to enable non-verbal communication with AI

• Designed for headphones and smart glasses, enabling private, silent AI interactions

• One of Apple’s largest acquisitions ever, second only to Beats ($3B)

• Strengthens Apple’s AI + computer vision stack alongside Vision Pro and Apple Intelligence

Apple has been seen as lagging in AI, especially after delays to Siri. This deal signals a clear shift, Apple is betting that AI wearables, not phones, are the next interface, and silent, private AI interaction could be its differentiator.

HOW TO AI

💻 How to Turn any text or Image Into a Cinematic AI Video

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use a free AI tool that transforms a single static image into a cinematic, high-motion video with shockingly realistic movement.

🧰 Who is This For

• Creators who want viral-quality videos from just one image

• Filmmakers and designers experimenting with AI-driven motion

• Beginners who want cinematic results without complex tools

• Anyone looking for high-quality AI video generation for free

STEP 1: Get Your Image Ready

Before creating a video in Hailuo AI, you need a strong starting image. You have two options:

Option 1: Use Your Own Image

If you already have a photo or AI-generated image you like, keep it ready on your device.

Option 2: Generate an Image Inside Hailuo AI

Hailuo AI includes a built-in image generator powered by Nano Banana Pro.

On the homepage, click the purple “Create Image” banner. This opens the image generator, where you can create a high-quality, detailed image specifically optimized for video motion. This is often the best option if you want maximum realism.

STEP 2: Enter the Video Studio

Now it’s time to switch from images to video.

From the homepage, look at the left-hand sidebar. Click on the “Video” icon, which looks like a small video camera.

This opens the main Image-to-Video workspace, where all motion generation happens.

STEP 3: Upload the Image and Direct the Motion

This is where you become the director. In the center of the screen, you’ll see a large upload area.

Upload the Image by clicking the section that says “Drag / Paste / Click to upload an image” and select your image, and describe the motion exactly how you want the scene to move. You don’t need complex language, just be clear and visual. Examples:

• A slow, cinematic camera pan to the right.”

• “The person smiles gently while wind moves through their hair.”

The AI understands body motion, facial expressions, camera movement, dance, sports action, and even subtle micro-expressions.

STEP 4: Choose Quality Settings and Generate

Before generating, check the settings at the bottom of the screen. You can select the model version (for example, Hailuo 2.3) and adjust resolution and duration. The tool supports outputs up to 1080p, making it suitable for high-quality cinematic content.

Click the black Generate button in the bottom-right corner. After a short wait, the AI will transform your still image into a fluid, realistic video with smooth motion, detailed expressions, and cinematic polish.

That’s it. You’ve just turned a single image into a jaw-dropping AI-generated video, no animation skills, no complex timelines, and no prompt engineering required.

SpaceX and xAI are in talks to merge ahead of a planned IPO this year; under the proposed deal, shares of xAI would be exchanged for shares in SpaceX

OpenAI plans to retire several models from ChatGPT on February 13, including GPT‑4o, GPT‑4.1, and o4-mini, saying only 0.1% of users still choose GPT-4o.

Darren Aronofsky's Primordial Soup debuts its short-form Revolutionary War series, made using Google DeepMind's AI tools and human voice actors.

Microsoft is focusing on fixing the core issues of Windows 11 over the coming months after persistent bugs, ads, and bloatware eroded user trust.

🎮 Genie 3: Google’s world model that generates interactive environments from prompts

🦞 Moltbot: An open-source AI assistant that works inside chat apps

🚀 Kimi K2.5: Moonshot AI’s powerful open-source model built for agents

📄 Prism: OpenAI’s all-in-one research workspace

THAT’S IT FOR TODAY

Thanks for making it to the end! I put my heart into every email I send, I hope you are enjoying it. Let me know your thoughts so I can make the next one even better!

See you tomorrow :)

- Dr. Alvaro Cintas