Episode 88: What happens inside OpenAI when Google drops a game-changing AI model? Matt Wolfe ((https://x.com/mreflow) and Maria Gharib (https://uk.linkedin.com/in/maria-gharib-091779b9) break it down.

This episode unpacks OpenAI’s unprecedented “Code Red,” the real reason Sam Altman hit the panic button, and how Google’s Gemini 3 and Nano Banana Pro could threaten OpenAI’s dominance. The hosts debate which next-gen AI models are actually smarter (Claude Opus 4.5, Gemini 3, GPT-5.1, and more), why some tools are getting dumber, and how Google’s full-stack advantage is shifting the AI power balance. Plus: a rapid-fire review of explosive new AI tools for video, the rise of creative AI (and AI “slop”), surprising advances in wearable tech, and a bit of fun at Sam Altman’s expense.

Check out The Next Wave YouTube Channel if you want to see Matt and Nathan on screen: https://lnk.to/thenextwavepd

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Show Notes:

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  (00:00 ) AI Wars: Models, Tools, Power

  
  


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  (05:59 ) AI Innovation Race

  
  


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  (08:43 ) OpenAI's Google Challenge

  
  


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  (12:15 ) Claude's Context Window Explained

  
  


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  (14:12 ) Claude vs. ChatGPT: AI Preferences

  
  


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  (17:13 ) Anthropic vs. OpenAI Philosophy

  
  


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  (21:51 ) AI and Content Slop Concerns

  
  


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  (24:46 ) AI Generative Audio's Uncanny Gap

  
  


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  (28:07 ) Runway Gen 4.5 Dominates Preferences

  
  


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  (30:41 ) AI Model Announcement Rivalry

  
  


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  (35:00 Alibaba's AI Evolution

  
  


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  (37:19 ) Heavy Glasses and Social Concerns

  
  


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  (40:03 ) AI Advancements: December Launches

  
  


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  (42:27 ) "Like, Subscribe, See You Soon

  
  

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Mentions:

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  Sam Altman: https://blog.samaltman.com/

  
  


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  Google Gemini 3: https://aistudio.google.com/models/gemini-3

  
  


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  Nano Banana Pro: https://gemini.google/overview/image-generation/

  
  


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  Claude Opus 4.5: https://www.anthropic.com/claude/opus

  
  


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  ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/

  
  


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  NotebookLM: https://notebooklm.google/

  
  


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  Runway Gen 4.5: https://runwayml.com/research/introducing-runway-gen-4.5

  
  


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  Kling: https://klingai.com/global/

  
  


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  Midjourney: https://www.midjourney.com/home

  
  

Get the guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/tnw

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Check Out Matt’s Stuff:

• Future Tools - https://futuretools.beehiiv.com/

• Blog - https://www.mattwolfe.com/

• YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/@mreflow

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Check Out Nathan's Stuff:

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  Newsletter: https://news.lore.com/

  
  


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  Blog - https://lore.com/

  
  

The Next Wave is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Production by Darren Clarke // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano