🕶 Google’s Gemini Smart Glasses Coming 2026
Google plans two AI-powered smart-glasses lines for 2026, one with displays and one audio-only. The devices run Android XR and rely on phones for processing. Partners include Samsung, Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Google also previewed upgrades for Samsung’s Galaxy XR, including travel mode, PC Connect and realistic avatars.

✅ U.S. Approves Export of NVIDIA H200 Chips to China
The U.S. Department of Commerce will permit exports of NVIDIA’s H200 AI chips to China under a license and vetting regime. The chips are roughly 18 months behind NVIDIA’s current generation. The move aims to strike a balance: restrict the newest AI‑chip exports while allowing U.S. firms access to a vast Chinese market, potentially boosting NVIDIA’s revenue.

🚀 OpenAI Trumpets Enterprise Surge Amid Google Threat
OpenAI says enterprise ChatGPT use is up sharply, with message volume 8x higher than a year ago. Companies are also consuming 320x more reasoning tokens and using 19x more custom GPTs. Workers report saving up to an hour daily. The update lands days after Sam Altman’s internal “code red” over Google’s competition.

⚡ NextEra Plans Major Data-Center Power Buildout
NextEra will add 15 GW of new generation for U.S. data-center hubs by 2035, calling the target conservative. CEO John Ketchum said capacity could reach 30 GW as AI-driven demand surges. The company also announced a partnership with Google to develop 3 GW-scale campuses. NextEra’s strategy spans nuclear, gas and renewables, with hyperscalers expected to fund their own needs.

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The Recap: New York Times details how venture investors are scrambling to close deals with AI start-ups in minutes, often courting founders with workouts, travel, and nonstop outreach as funding rounds accelerate to unprecedented speeds. The rush is fueled by soaring valuations, explosive early revenue numbers, and a belief that the next trillion-dollar companies will be formed within the next two years. The result is a Silicon Valley environment where discipline is routinely sacrificed for speed, even as concerns about an AI investment bubble grow.

Highlights:

Forward Future Takeaways:
The combination of massive capital inflows, compressed diligence cycles, and skyrocketing early-stage valuations raises important questions about sustainability, especially as infrastructure-heavy AI bets accelerate. → Read the full article here. (Paywall)

President Trump has tied his presidency and the GOP’s future to rapid, lightly regulated AI expansion, forging an unusually close alliance with tech billionaires and major AI companies. Since taking office, he has issued multiple executive orders — including “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence” and the “Genesis Mission” — and rolled back regulations while steering investment and contracts toward U.S. chip and AI firms.

Figures like NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang praise his approach, even as MAGA influencers, led by Steve Bannon, warn that AI threatens the working-class voters who powered Trump’s rise. The political divide is widening as AI booms while traditional manufacturing loses jobs, undercutting expectations that tariffs would revive industry. The administration is now relying more on executive action to block state-level AI regulation after congressional resistance. → Read the full article here.

Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated actress created by Xicoia CEO Eline Van der Velden, launched in September 2025 and quickly sparked concerns about automation in acting. Major talent agencies refused to represent the digital performer, and actors voiced fears that AI could erode already-fragile job security. Van der Velden maintains Norwood will not take traditional film or TV roles and instead represents a new creative “genre,” supported by human comedy writers and production staff.

The rollout has exposed a sharp divide between technological experimentation and labor anxieties in Hollywood. Why it matters: Norwood’s debut marks one of the clearest tests yet of how AI might alter — or augment — performance-based professions. → Read the full article here.

🛍️ ChatGPT Adds Instacart Shopping: OpenAI and Instacart now let users plan meals and check out in-chat, advancing agentic commerce as OpenAI seeks new revenue amid high compute costs.

🛒 IBM Buys Confluent for $11 Billion: IBM will acquire Confluent for $31 a share to boost its real-time data and AI platform, as Confluent stock jumps 29% and closing is targeted for mid-2026.

🏷️ Amazon Discounts ChatGPT Smart Glasses: Amazon is selling ChatGPT-enabled smart glasses for $36, highlighting their features as AI wearables push deeper into everyday consumer tech.

👫 Hinge Adds AI Convo Starters: Hinge launched AI-generated prompts that tailor first-message tips from profile photos, aiming to curb silent likes as it invests $20+ million in AI tools.

🛡️ Google Outlines Chrome Agent Safeguards: Google detailed observer models, origin controls, and mandatory user consent to secure Chrome’s coming agentic actions, aiming to block risks.

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Matthew Berman & The Forward Future Team

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