Alex Banks

Building a better future with AI

Alex Banks is a founder, creator and investor. He reaches over 1 million people on social media each week with insights into the world of artificial intelligence (AI).

He is the founder and writer of The Signal, a weekly newsletter that cuts through the AI noise to over 50,000+ readers.

Alex is also an active early-stage investor and advisor to startups across the AI and technology landscape.

👉 All partnerships, enquiries and speaking engagements: contact@noisemedia.ai

Writer

As an introvert, I used to struggle with interaction.

Luckily AI is becoming the Great Equaliser:

1. Speech-to-speech: Real-time conversation without the pressure
→ Example: ChatGPT's voice mode enables natural, flowing dialogue
→ Benefit: Perfect for on-the-go brainstorming, notetaking or setting tasks
→ Access: https://chatgpt.com/

2. Visual learning: Complex information made simple
→ Example: NotebookLM creates mind maps, flashcards, and video overviews
→ Benefit: Transforms dense material into formats that match how you think
→ Access: https://notebooklm.google/

3. Content creation: Building your personal brand becomes accessible
→ Example: GrowHub crafts LinkedIn posts that sound like you, not AI
→ Benefit: Share your thoughts online without hours of writing
→ Access: https://growhub.ai/

4. Speech-to-text: Your thoughts flow without typing friction
→ Example: Wispr Flow captures your ideas through natural dictation
→ Benefit: Write faster by speaking, perfect for those who think out loud
→ Access: https://lnkd.in/eCTTPPEz

5. Guided learning: Ask unlimited "why's" without judgment
→ Example: Gemini 2.5 Flash's guided learning mode breaks down any topic
→ Benefit: Patient, step-by-step explanations at your own pace
→ Access: https://gemini.google.com/

My take?

The possibilities of what we can achieve with AI are endless.

Especially when paired with human creativity, curiosity, and ambition.

A whole new game has been created where everyone gets to play.

So here's my question to you:

How has AI helped you overcome a personal challenge?

Share your story below.

P.S. Follow me Alex Banks for daily AI highlights & insights.

I cover the most important AI developments each week in my newsletter.

Subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/ePSZP6KF

Image credit: Tobi Lutke on X

Google just woke up.

And OpenAI is feeling the heat.

A leaked internal memo from Sam Altman just surfaced.

The OpenAI CEO admits Google's AI progress could "create some temporary economic headwinds."

Here's what's happening:

→ OpenAI's revenue growth could slow to single digits by 2026
→ They're projecting a $74 billion operating loss by 2028
→ Gemini 3 Pro now leads GPT-5.1 in reasoning and coding tasks

Altman's own words: "Google has been doing excellent work recently in every aspect."

This is a massive shift.

For 3 years, OpenAI had peacetime dominance.

Now it’s a wartime scenario.

OpenAI is scrambling with social-infused features like Sora 2 App and group chats in ChatGPT in an effort to push top-line revenue and seek virality.

Meanwhile, Google's been quietly building:

→ Gemini 3 for reasoning
→ Nano Banana Pro for images
→ Veo 3.1 for video
→ TPUs powering everything

The real insight here:

• Google wasn't the first search engine
• Many came and went before it
• What matters is being the last mover

Owning the "stack" from chip to chatbot creates the only real enduring moat.

My takeaway:

Frontier LLMs are rapidly commoditising.

OpenAI pioneered the technology, but it can't defend margins when competitors match its capability.

I recently switched my new default model from GPT-5.1 to Gemini 3 “Fast” mode for general Q&A tasks because of its speed.

The sleeping giant has woken up.

And the AI race just got a whole lot more interesting.

Follow me Alex Banks for daily AI highlights and insights.

I cover the most important AI developments each week in my newsletter.

Subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/ePSZP6KF

Runway just dropped Gen-4.5.

It's now the world's # 1 AI video model.

The numbers:

→ 1,247 ELO score on Artificial Analysis leaderboard
→ Beats Google’s Veo 3, Kling 2.5, and OpenAI’s Sora 2 Pro
→ Top-rated model globally

Core capabilities:

→ Unprecedented physical accuracy (realistic weight, momentum, and force)
→ Complex multi-element scenes rendered with precision
→ Maintains visual consistency across diverse aesthetics
→ Intricate camera choreography from single prompts
→ Handles both photorealistic and stylised animation

What's different:

• Built entirely on NVIDIA GPUs (Hopper and Blackwell series)
• Same speed and pricing as Gen-4
• All existing control modes coming to Gen-4.5 (Image to Video, Keyframes, Video to Video)

Current limitations:

1. Causal reasoning issues: A door might open before someone touches the handle. Effects can precede causes.
2. Object permanence problems: A cup can vanish after being blocked from view, then reappear in the next frame.
3. Success bias: Actions succeed too often, e.g., a poorly aimed basketball shot still goes in.

Already being used by:

→ Target (Retail & Ecommerce)
→ BBC (Broadcast)
→ Ubisoft (Gaming)

Runway says it will be available to everyone in the coming days.

My takeaway:

Two years ago, Runway released Gen-1, the first publicly available video generation model.

Now they're setting a new benchmark.

We’re one step closer to systems that truly understand how the real world actually works.

I can feel the video generation race really accelerating and we're all going to benefit from this competition.

Follow me Alex Banks for daily AI highlights and insights.

Want to learn how to leverage AI in your work?

Subscribe to my newsletter:
https://lnkd.in/ePSZP6KF

China just shipped $113M of humanoid robots.

UBTECH’s Walker S2 has begun mass production:

The Numbers:

→ 800M yuan (~$113M) in orders secured
→ 500 robots delivering by year-end
→ 5,000 annual capacity by 2026
→ 10,000 units by 2027

Who's Buying:

• BYD
• Geely Auto
• FAW-Volkswagen
• Foxconn
• Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor
• SF Express

What Makes Walker S2 Production-Ready:

→ 176cm tall, 70kg, 52 degrees of freedom
→ Walks at 2m/s with humanoid gait
→ 162° waist rotation for tight spaces
→ Deep squat capability with 15kg payload
→ Gen-4 dexterous hands with 6 tactile sensors
→ "Human-eye" binocular vision system

I was impressed by the 3-minute autonomous battery swap:

Traditional robots:
Work 5 hours → Stop → Charge → Wait

Walker S2:
Work 5 hours → Swap battery (3 mins) → Keep working

The dual-battery system monitors power in real-time and autonomously chooses to swap or charge based on task priorities.

Result: 24/7 continuous operation with zero human intervention.

Market Response: 

→ UBTECH's stock climbed 150% this year to 133 HKD
→ Revenue up 27.5% to 621M yuan
→ Humanoids now represent 30% of total sales (up from 10% last year)

My takeaway:

We've crossed the chasm from R&D to real deployment.

The race has shifted from who can build the flashiest demo to who can deliver real scale, maintain uptime, and prove ROI.

UBTECH seems to be answering all three.

Follow me Alex Banks for daily AI highlights and insights.

P.S. I’ll be doing a full breakdown in my newsletter this week.

I cover the most important AI developments to keep you ahead.

Subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/ePSZP6KF

This 1965 clip of Isaac Asimov blows my mind.

He predicted exactly what we're building today:

The convergence of humans and machines into something new.

The two-way transformation is now undeniable:

1. Robots becoming more human-like

• Humanoid robots are starting to move like us
• Neural networks are mimicking our brains
• Soft robotics using organic-inspired materials

2. Humans incorporating more technology

• Neuralink developing brain-computer interfaces
• Advanced prosthetics controlled by thought
• Artificial organs replacing failing human ones

Most people only know Asimov for his famous Three Laws of Robotics:

1. A robot may not harm a human or allow harm
2. A robot must obey human orders (unless violating Law 1)
3. A robot must protect itself (unless violating Laws 1 or 2)

Asimov saw what others couldn't.

While everyone debated if machines could think, he asked what happens when they merge with us.

A hybrid species might surpass both humans and machines.

My takeaway:

In a world obsessed with AI replacing humans, Asimov offered a different vision 60 years ago.

Not replacement, but convergence.

The line between humans and machines will continue to blur.

Is this the future we need?

Follow me Alex Banks for daily AI highlights and insights.

I cover the most important AI developments each week in my newsletter.

Subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/ePSZP6KF

Roads and Transport Authority

Serves as a strategic overlay to direct shared services operations for 7 Departments through the delivery of analytical support to the CEO on all business aspects and supervising them towards the achievement of strategic goals and objectives

Key achievement highlights:
- Direct Continuous Improvement initiatives for business units through supervising the implementation of quality assurance, data analytics and business intelligence tools, such as the implementation of lean 6-sigma improvement initiative for customer complaints processes that resulted in reduction of complaints handling time by 32%
- Oversee the implementation of 100+ quality improvement plans as a result of services surveys and mystery shopper data analysis resulted in enhancing the satisfaction of employees by 2%, internal services efficiency by 6%, and satisfaction of customers by 4%
- Provide technical advice on Data analytics, Business intelligence, organizational performance, strategic planning, quality assurance, future foresight, executive reporting, project management matters
- Managed the development and implementation of 300+ governance documents based on 14+ gap assessments reports, 350+ defined risks, 70+ defined initiatives, and 70+ audit outcomes, and monitor their impact on the organization
- Monitor the development of Data maturity plan in accordance with Dubai Data maturity framework to develop Data-Driven dashboards, stories, and reports and identify monetization and internal performance efficiency initiatives
- Supported the development of 5 strategies with defined quick wins/ short term and long-term priorities, targets, and accountabilities with 20+ actions and 10+ objectives complying with RTA strategic goals across distinct functions to translate business vision into reality
- Steers the Project Management Office of 30+ projects as part of the program management to CEO in accordance with PMI requirements and the defined scope, time, quality, and cost

Quality Assurance & Improvement Leader (Senior Specialist) - CEO Office

Deloitte

Led Quality, Health, Safety and Sustainability Service Line in the Middle East region and oversaw 5+ teams and built synergies with 20+ consultants to deliver end-to-end governance framework projects of different services such as strategies development, Business Process Engineering and Re-engineering, Quality Assurance (ISO 9001), performance management, Customer Satisfaction (ISO 10001), Risk Management (ISO 31000), Business Continuity (ISO 22301 & NCEMA), Environment management (ISO 14001) and Occupational health and safety management (ISO 45001).

Key accomplishment includes:
-	Developed 10+ project plans based on clients defined RFPs in alignment with PMI requirements, and delivered 100% of deliverables within the defined scope, budget, and schedule.
-	Managed the preparation, submission, and presentation of 100+ consulting technical and financial proposals.
-	Managed the resources/ consultants’ allocation and performance in the Middle East region for 10+ projects.
-	Managed gap assessment reviews of 15+ projects to derive improvement plans in alignment with best practices, standards, and organizational development requirements.
-	Directed 10+ management systems development and implementation projects towards growing organizations governance frameworks with the required policies, manuals, standards, procedures, Business Process Improvement, and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), and ensured 100% of the required ISO standards are obtained from the 1st time.
-	Led 15+ audit management and reporting resulting with 100+ improvement findings for 15+ government and service industry organizations. Audit types included compliance, systems, ISO, processes, projects/ PMI audits.
-	Directed the implementation of 100+ improvement actions to comply with defined controls, ISO standards and requirements.
-	Delivered 20+ awareness programs to ensure Leadership Development towards projects’ requirements, acting as a change control agent to transform organizational performance.

Quality, Health, Safety and Sustainability Service Line Leader (Consulting Manager)

Talal Abu-Ghazaleh & Co. International

Performed end-to-end project management and delivery relevant to Quality, occupational Health, Safety and Environment Management systems.
Key Achievements includes:
-	Defined and implemented 10+ measurable KPIs achieving key business objectives and targets as per standards and organization requirements.
-	Managed the preparation, submission, and presentation of 20+ consulting technical and financial proposals.
-	Developed 5+ project plans based on clients defined RFPs and delivered 100% of deliverables within the defined scope, budget, and schedule.
-	Identified 100+ risks with their mitigation plans relevant to 5+ projects to maintain organizational health, safety, and environment related to the client’s activities.
-	Conducted 10+ Management reviews and secured 100% of certifications against ISO standards and supported the closure of all identified certification body audit findings.
-	Developed and reengineered 50+ processes in alignment with organizations operations and ISO standards requirements.

Senior Management Consultant

Teampower International

Being Lead Quality Consultant, I have performed end-to-end project management and ensured the delivery of Quality and excellence elements. Instrumental team leader, and strategist in charge of development and implementation of strategies for managing multiple projects.
Key achievements include:
-	Created 5+ training and awareness programs for diverse levels acting as a change agent to transform clients’ culture toward business excellence in alignment with excellence programs (EFQM, DGEP, SKEA).
-	Developed 2 governance frameworks including the required methodologies, polices, processes and procedures in alignment with best quality practices including EFQM, DGEP & SKEA excellence Awards, and delivered 100% of the requirements as per the set requirements.
-	Conducted 2 Excellence assessment reviews and developed 100+ improvement actions plan to drive excellence journey in 2 government organizations.

Quality Consultant

Tatweer

Assigned as the Quality, Health, Safety and Environment Manager to enable Al-Bawardi Group of companies achieving its vision, mission, goals, and objectives with the required level of quality in alignment with international standards, in addition, performed end-to-end project management and delivery relevant to Quality ISO 9001, Health& Safety OHSAS 18001 and Environment ISO 14001, and delivered public and in-house trainings.
Key achievements include:
-	Assigned as the QHSE Manager for 5 subsidiaries of Al-Bawardi group enterprises managing 15+ management systems in accordance with ISO international standards including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, ISO 27001, ISO 31000, ISO 10001, ISO 10002, ISO 26000, forming partnerships at all levels to enable achieving the set companies goals and objectives, and reported on half yearly basis 10+ status reports to the Group Managing Director.
-	Developed and delivered 2000+ hours of public and in-house training and awareness programs for various levels related to QHSE, risks, auditing, and performance management.
-	Managed Tatweer's consulting operations through comprehensive Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
-	Conducted 15+ HSE risk assessments for different industries and clients, which resulted in the identification and analysis of 50+ organizational risks and developed their mitigation plans.
-	led 20+ QHSE audits identifying 40+ Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) plans to comply with standards requirements and supervised the Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to close audit findings.
-	Performed 10+ gap assessment reviews deriving 100+ action plans to comply with ISO standards requirements.
-	Developed and supported clients of the implementation of 10+ Management systems in alignment with ISO requirements and ensured 100% of the required standards are obtained from the 1st time.

Senior Management system consultant

Mashreqbank

- Managed 30,000+ retailers and customers inbound calls daily issues related to Point of sale (POS) banking transactions and addressed their needs satisfactory 100%
- Identified customers' needs, clarified information, researched every issue in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software and provided solutions and/or alternatives.
-Managed inbound and outbound calls with banks to solve 6000 + issues related to retailers and their customers.

Customer Service Representative (CSR)

Are you ready to unlock the full potential of your business through data-driven decisions and innovation? In today's fast-paced world, making data-driven choices is the key to unleashing your business's true power. And that's where I come in – an expert in leveraging Quality, Data Analytics, and Business Intelligence tools to drive organizational performance and achieve unprecedented success.

With a passion for innovation and disruptive technologies, I can guide your business model toward unexplored potentials, ensuring sustained growth and success overall. My journey toward business excellence started in 2006 when I earned a master's degree in quality management. Over the years, I've honed my skills and knowledge, culminating in a master's degree in innovation management in 2020. Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of transforming the trajectory of diverse organizations, from the Public Sector to the Service Industry spectrum.

🏆 My key accomplishments:

✅ I won the prestigious RTA's 2020 Innovation Accelerators program, beating out 7 competitors, with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) project for HR onboarding.

✅ Received RTA's Chairman appreciation certificate in 2021 for successfully achieving Dubai's paperless strategy goals.

✅ Received 5 appreciation certificates from various RTA departments' Directors for my contributions to enhancing business performance, including customer complaints lean 6 Sigma project, policy framework enhancement, and fostering innovation and future foresight.

✅ Acknowledged with RTA - Licensing CEO appreciation certificate for achieving Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award in the platinum category in 2017.

As an expert in my field, I've led over 35 projects, empowering businesses to thrive in today's competitive landscape. I've earned the trust and recognition of CEOs and top executives for my contributions to enhancing business performance and governance frameworks.

So, how can I help you?
➡️ I'll share inspiring and innovative business practices that will elevate your organization's standing and bring unprecedented success.
➡️ We'll develop robust strategies supported by tactical and operational plans to future-proof your business and drive remarkable growth.
➡️ As a C-suite advisor, I can supply valuable insights across all aspects of shared business services, helping you make informed decisions that drive results.
➡️ And, most importantly, I'll resolve mission-critical issues, ensuring your organization's bottom-line success.

Reach out to me through a private message, and let's do it together!

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