To: US Govt, major govts, Microsoft, Apple, NVIDIA, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Tesla, Citi, Tencent, IBM, & 10,000+ more recipients…
From: Dr Alan D. Thompson <LifeArchitect.ai>
Sent: 18/Oct/2025
Subject: The Memo - AI that matters, as it happens, in plain English
AGI: 95%
ASI: 0/50 (no expected movement until post-AGI)OpenAI CEO (8/Oct/2025):
If we could see those [2025] jobs in the future, we would be like, ‘Okay, well, maybe our [2025] jobs were not as real as a farmer’s job, but it’s a lot more real than this [post-ASI] game you’re playing to entertain yourself!’… People will still have tons of meaning in their life… [but] what we think of as work really changes… I’m so willing to bet on human drives being what they are. And I think we’ll find plenty of things to do.
The winner of The Who Moved My Cheese? AI Awards! for Oct/2025 is DC Comics president and publisher Jim Lee (‘[DC Comics] will not support AI-generated storytelling or artwork… Not now, not ever…’)
Contents
The BIG Stuff (AI>human text, Gemini 1.3Qa tok/m, Neuralink robotics, Figure 03…)
The Interesting Stuff (Anthropic/Deloitte 470k, BCI Vision Pro, Amazon agents, IMO…)
Policy (OpenAI + LibGen, Alpha School, the rage economy…)
Toys to Play With (Claude PowerPoint, Gemini 2.5 Computer Use, Meta’s REFRAG…)
Things I’ve Been Thinking About (Themes of AI pessimism…)
Next (Gemini 3, roundtable…)
The BIG Stuff
More articles are now created by AI than humans (6/Oct/2025)
We find that in November 2024, the quantity of AI-generated articles being published on the web surpassed the quantity of human-written articles.
Read the announce and data via Graphite.
See it on my timeline: https://lifearchitect.ai/timeline/
Vending-Bench: Frontier models outperform humans in capitalism (10/Oct/2025)
Andon Labs’ Vending-Bench is a simulated environment where AI agents manage a virtual vending machine business over extended periods. The test requires agents to handle tasks like ordering, inventory management, and pricing. As of Oct/2025, frontier models are consistently outperforming human baselines in making money.
Read more via Andon Labs: https://andonlabs.com/evals/vending-bench
Gemini is processing 1.3 quadrillion tokens/month (9/Oct/2025)
Google has reached a milestone of processing 1.3 quadrillion monthly tokens, showing the expansive reach and capability of its TPU chips and global AI infrastructure.
1.3Qa tokens per month means that the Google Gemini AI model alone is processing:
975T words per month (1.3Qa tokens per month)
224T words per week (299T tokens per week)
32.5T words per day (43.3T tokens per day)
1.35T words per hour (1.8T tokens per hour)
22.5B words per min (30B tokens per min)
375M words per sec (500M tokens per sec)
Read more: https://blog.google/products/google-cloud/gemini-enterprise-sundar-pichai/
Neuralink user controls a robot arm (8/Oct/2025)
Nick Wray, a Neuralink brain chip recipient with ALS, has showcased the remarkable potential of the technology by controlling a robot arm to perform tasks like picking up a cup and taking a sip. Nick shared his experiences of newfound independence, such as putting on his hat, microwaving chicken nuggets, and driving his wheelchair.
Wray’s video provides the public with a fuller view of Neuralink’s potential, following its teaser of the robot arm trials in January [31/Jan/2025]. Wray received the brain implant in July [28/Jul/2025]. So far, Neuralink has put its brain chip into 12 human patients.
In his tweet, Wray adds, “I also hold the new records (for now) for the most cylinders moved across the table in 5 minutes (39) and the most pegs flipped in a standard dexterity test (usually used for stroke patients) in 5 minutes.”
Read an analysis via PCMag.
Watch the video (Twitter source):
Introducing Figure 03 (9/Oct/2025)
Figure 03 marks a transformative leap in humanoid robotics, designed for integration with Helix, and optimized for home and large-scale use. This third-generation robot boasts a redesigned sensory suite, improved hand systems, and a vision-language-action AI, enabling it to perform human-like tasks efficiently. Built for mass manufacturing, Figure 03 reduces costs significantly, thanks to a new supply chain and production facility, BotQ. With enhanced dexterity, wireless charging, and robust safety features, Figure 03 is poised to continue revolutionizing both domestic and commercial environments.
Sidenote: I reckon every BMW X3 vehicle MY2026 you see on the road in the US has been made by these AI-backed robots. Figure’s CEO confirmed that the humanoids spent 10h/day for the last 5 months building X3s in the South Carolina factory (8/Oct/2025).
Read more: https://www.figure.ai/news/introducing-figure-03
Watch the video (link):
The Interesting Stuff
Hendrycks et al: A Definition of AGI [as ‘Expert’] (16/Oct/2025)
A new AGI (artificial general intelligence) definition paper has been released, led by Dan Hendrycks with big names like Kevin McGrew (psychology and psychometric testing, author of the modern Woodcock-Johnson instruments as accepted by Mensa), Yoshua Bengio, Max Tegmark, and Eric Schmidt on the author list. It shifts the AGI goal from the ‘average human’ to a new definition:
AGI is an AI that can match or exceed the cognitive versatility and proficiency of a well-educated adult.
Read more (including the paper): https://www.agidefinition.ai/
On this definition, Dan’s paper notes that GPT-4 took AGI to 27%, and GPT-5 to 58%, though both numbers are lower than my respective conservative countdown milestones. Thoughtful redefinitions and new justifications for AGI milestones are welcome, but this one is problematic. I’ve outlined four key issues in my response.
Read my response: https://lifearchitect.ai/agi/#agi-expert
The Memo features in recent AI papers by Microsoft and Apple, has been discussed on Joe Rogan’s podcast, and a trusted source says it is used by top brass at the White House. Across over 100 editions, The Memo continues to be the #1 AI advisory, informing 10,000+ full subscribers including RAND, Google, and Meta AI. Full subscribers have complete access to all 20+ AI analysis items in this edition!
Microsoft will test a Copilot AI feature that performs work on local files in Windows 11 (16/Oct/2025)
People can right-click on a file and click the ‘Create website…’ option.