Why Sam Altman Is Panicking + 9 New AI Tools

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:

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

• (05:59) AI Innovation Race

• (08:43) OpenAI's Google Challenge

• (12:15) Claude's Context Window Explained

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

• (17:13) Anthropic vs. OpenAI Philosophy

• (21:51) AI and Content Slop Concerns

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

• (28:07) Runway Gen 4.5 Dominates Preferences

• (30:41) AI Model Announcement Rivalry

• (35:00 Alibaba's AI Evolution

• (37:19) Heavy Glasses and Social Concerns

• (40:03) AI Advancements: December Launches

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

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Mentions:

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

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

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

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

• ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/

• NotebookLM: https://notebooklm.google/

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

• Kling: https://klingai.com/global/

• 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:

• Newsletter: https://news.lore.com/

• 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