Google's Gemini will Contain Ads -- It's Only a Matter of Time
It’s common knowledge that Google is an advertising company first and foremost. All of the products weave together this ad network that a lot of governments and organizations consider to be anti-competitive. If you query a standard Google search, you’re starting with sponsored posts, followed by more advertising – which can be hard to navigate when you need accurate and actionable information fast.
Gemini, Google’s AI and LLM platform is just that. It’s a tool for consumers and businesses alike, which can be marketer’s dream. Recently, it was announced that marketers can use the service to insert more strategic ad placement into YouTube. The use of agentics, that is, using GenAI on your behalf to make decisions, automate decision making based on the user’s parameters, and adaptability – is now becoming commonplace among browsers, LLMs, and other AI tools and infrastructure. Marketing and advertising firms will have to adapt to serve these minimally invasive asks with minimal human intervention. The trick is serving ads through these means.
In the first paragraph, I’ll reiterate that Google is an advertising company, thus this is just one more avenue they must figure out to use its closed ad-network to bring in more revenues. They must walk a tight rope though due to antitrust concerns currently before the US federal government and EU agencies. While the early 2000s was dominated by SEO; GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is firstly built to be utilized properly on AI platforms.
Anthropic recently announced that Reed Hastings, founder of Netflix has joined their Board of Directors. This may seem strange on the surface but makes perfect sense when we realize that Netflix has a robust advertising platform as the world’s top streamer. Hastings expertise in this arena will fit in perfectly to what Anthropic wants to pursue – becoming its own advertising platform to rival that of Google, which is no surprise given if the courts rule that Google has to divest Chrome; that Anthropic was a party interesting in purchasing it.
Google’s strategy has always been that of the tech industry as a whole; gaining as many users as possible with a new product, then turn on the spicket of advertising. We can only hope that the sheer number of ads inserted won’t damage the Gemini product as it has Google search. We might not need a government to dismantle the firm, the vast competition within the LLM space and all tech wanting a piece of the pie may force them to retool to strike a balance between users and AdSense. Thus, Google wielding its vast ad network to other products might become a coherent strategy – much as Microsoft focused on cloud rather than Windows throughout the 2010’s.
Article Recommendation: "Want to Use AI as a Career Coach? Use These Prompts."
🏫 Harvard Business Review published an excellent article on using LLMs (GenAI) as a career coach.
🧠 As usual, be careful and watch out for hallucinations and be certain to fact check any information and utilize citations (if given).
🤝 In the end, do your own homework and remember, it’s a companion, not a monolith.
🎒 The added benefit is that you will home in on your own unique skills and make you reflect all the while, creating the basis for the utilization of LLMs, which will put you above those who do not yet use this technology.
✏️ It’s not going away, so you might as well make it work for you, in more ways than one!
This was originally a post on my personal LinkedIn page.
I purchased and assembled the LEGO Lotus Flowers for a Japanese vase. It’s just a little Friday morning project that turned out pretty neat!
The Real Danger of Misinterpreting AI
Believing AI is sentient leads to false expectations—some may trust AI’s recommendations without skepticism, assuming they are the result of independent reasoning rather than probabilistic predictions. In policy discussions, regulators struggle with defining AI responsibility, misplacing ethical accountability onto models instead of the humans who deploy them. The danger is not AI itself but how we perceive and integrate it into decision-making, security, and governance.
‼️ Don’t Be Like Everyone Else:
🧠 Understand AI’s Limitations – It predicts and mimics, but it does not think. Recognizing this distinction helps avoid misinterpretation.
📖 Stay Informed on AI Ethics and Policy – Governments are trying to regulate AI’s role, but misconceptions could shape flawed laws.
🔨 Use AI as a Tool, Not a Decision-Maker – It can enhance productivity, but critical thinking must always come first.
The future belongs to those who understand AI for what it is—not what sci-fi wants it to be. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or a policymaker, mastering AI’s true capabilities is no longer optional—it’s a necessity.
This was originally posted on LinkedIn on May 30, 2025.
Finished reading: Illiberal Trends and Anti-EU Politics in East Central Europe by Astrid Lorenz 📚
Reading Update: The First Half of 2025
Below are some of the highlights of my readings for the first half of the year. As I’m always on a journey of knowlege of self-improvement, I enjoy delving in to a variety of topics. Society has pinned the individual as becoming an expert in one field, while neglecting the whole person, including the humanities and soft skills!
If you’ve been following my micro.blog (this site), you’ve noticed that the Bookshelves features allow me to post when I’ve completed a read. This is a culmination of those.
Who Knew by Barry Diller: A fresh read completed just yesterday! The biography of a media mogul who ran companies such as ABC, Paramount, Fox, QVC and more.
21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari: A thought-provoking, delving into the challenges of our current era.
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder: A crucial and vital read on safeguarding democracy.
Facts and Fears: Hard Truths from a Life in Intelligence by James Clapper: Gaining insights from the accomplished intelligence professional who ran the ODNI and other agencies.
America’s New Map by Thomas P.M. Barnett: Exploring geopolitical shifts and their implications discussing free-trade, climate change, and international cooperation.
Beneath a Surface by Brad Sams: A deep dive into the intricacies of introducing and developing the Microsoft Surface, at the time, a new line of product.
Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror by Michael Hayden: Understanding the complexities of intelligence operations.
Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams: A compelling narrative about ambition and its consequences at Meta and it’s various properties.
The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource by Chris Hayes: A timely reflection on our most valuable resource.
The Gutenberg Parenthesis: The Age of Print and Its Lessons for the Age of the Internet by Jeff Jarvis: Connecting historical media shifts to our digital present.
The Big Nine: How the Tech Titans and Their Thinking Machines Could Warp Humanity by Amy Webb: A critical look at the future of AI and its impact; highly focused on the United States vs. China.
From Cold War To Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia by Michael McFaul: Essential reading on modern international relations.
Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft’s Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone by Satya Nadella: Inspiring leadership and corporate transformation.
The Genesis Machine: Our Quest to Rewrite Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology by Amy Webb and Andrew Hessel: Exploring the frontiers of synthetic biology.
Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment by Jason Schreier: A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the gaming industry.
Autocracy, Inc. by Anne Applebaum: A crucial examination of the rise of authoritarian regimes.
Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology by Chris Miller: Understanding the geopolitical battle for semiconductors.
I’m currently reading two more titles, and hopefully I’ll find the time to keep it up through the remainder of the year! I will be looking forward to making a second half ‘25 post on what’s next.
Navigating the Future: Why Mastering LLMs is Essential for Today's Students & Workers
After reading this piece on CNBC’s website regarding how students should be using AI (I still prefer the term LLMs for purposes of nobody can identify what AI is and isn’t), it’s making me consider what today’s youth is learning with respect to preferential employment skills moving forward.
First consider the interviewer. Jesen Huang’s goal is to sell as many customers on GPU compute and resources as humanly possible given his field so we must take that with a grain of salt. Secondly, the tools of LLMs are a must have in today’s educational and workforce. If you aren’t utilizing prompting to the fullest extent; you are already falling behind. Take the time to find an online course through EdX or Coursera, for example, to home in these skills.
Huang stated:
Learning how to interact with AI is not unlike being someone who’s really good at asking questions,” he added. “Prompting AI is very similar. You can’t just randomly ask a bunch of questions. Asking AI to be an assistant to you requires some expertise and artistry of how to prompt it.
Like all tools, they must not only be learned but practically used. Using a tool for the sake of it, creates more problems and diminishing results will follow.
We also must question whether the idea of learning how to code is vital for today’s computer science programs. I still argue yes! If we blindly follow output from a chatbot, we lack the ability to understand what the code means, if it works, or how useful it is to the original prompt. “Is this what the client actually asked for?” or “How can we implement this?” are two major questions that will never go away. Just like Wikipedia was and is a tool as a basis for research and learning, chatbots, and LLM products should also provide this starting point. As always, check the source material as like Wikipedia, bias and humans still intervene in the research and results that an LLM product provides.
The part that Huang really gets correct is as follows:
Perfecting AI prompts — and asking better questions in general — is a skill that will remain relevant for years to come, so students should take the time to develop it, no matter what career field they see themselves in.
A large amount of Academica is yet to be versed on Large Language Models as a whole and prompting is still new to those set in their ways. Aiding in research is paramount to have a companion in the room that makes learning easier and the consumption of knowledge more streamlined.
We have a long way to go as a society between those who are skeptical of LLMs at all costs and those who talk to it and treat it as it’s a human being with real thoughts and valid feelings. The battle between skeptics vs. accelerationists is not one we should be having; but a moderating position to accept them as tools that we all must learn to be successful in any career or academic endeavor; no matter what areas of study we choose to pursue.
TechCrunch’s frequently updated “Cyber Glossary” is an essential resource for anyone seeking clarity on cybersecurity jargon. Familiarizing yourself with terms like “phishing,” “ransomware,” and “APT” empowers you to safeguard personal data, make informed digital choices, and stay ahead of emerging threats in an increasingly interconnected world.
“Business sentiment in Germany unexpectedly edged up in April, likely an endorsement from firms of government policies to boost spending on defense and investments, despite the market turmoil prompted by U.S. President Trump’s tariff barriers on Europe.”
Google & Meta Share a Common Antitrust Thread: Advertising
Google and Meta have come under vast amounts of antitrust scrutiny over the past few years, especially in the US and the EU. It’s important to consider that both firms have more in common than one might think – they are advertising companies.
Regulators have been targeting both companies for alleging abusing monopolistic power in search, for Google, and Meta’s streamlining of properties (i.e. Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook) to shunt competition. A lot of what’s been missing is the thread that puts their properties together. That would be their respective ad products.
The Verge reported that, “Judge Brinkema found Google “liable under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act” due to its practices in the ad tech tool and exchange spaces but dismissed the argument that Google had operated a monopoly in ad networks.” In a separate, but previous ruling last year, the courts ruled that Google must break apart properties such as Chrome. By itself, Chrome, YouTube, Android, Gemini, search and more are not the issue; but rather the ad platforms moving through them create a monopoly in the revenue generated in the ad market for which Google owns both the buy and sell side of their advertising exchange.
Separating Chrome out itself, won’t be much of an issue if there are no restraints in Google just forking a version of Chromium, which Chrome is based upon, and creating a new browser. Regardless, Google will still retain its monopoly stemming from their acquisition of DoubleClick which occurred back in 2008. If the DOJ wants to remedy the monopoly, it should look at remediation of controlling both the buy and sell side of the digital advertising economy. In recent years, Google has attempted to diversify their revenues away from majority advertising revenue into other businesses such as its cloud offerings, and acquiring Wiz – a large cloud security firm for $32 billion.
Meta
Now we move on to Meta. Just today, the company announced that its Threads platform will begin offering advertising in a limited capacity, likely to expand just as all other Meta properties do. Like Google, Meta is not immune to litigation. This morning, the EU fined both Apple and Meta for antitrust as well, in a long line of fines for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The European Commission’s issue is one of privacy and violating the “pay or consent” model (using your data without permission and replacing the ad business with a paid version of these services). Like Google, Meta has heavily invested into AI and the metaverse as likely diversification ideas.
Remedies
In many of these cases brought on by the European Commission and the US DOJ and State AGs, the suggested remedy is to break up Alphabet (Google) and Meta into their individual parts. If this were the case, the ad businesses must go along with them. The more properties Google and Meta own and create, the deeper the ad network and revenue. OpenAI has already suggested that it would purchase Chrome from Google should that be the case. But it just creates another problem – another massive tech conglomerate, giving traditional search from Google, a run for its money, like OpenAI, would simply replace the juggernaut with itself. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 has been cited as precedent for the potential breakups, however, this is dated legislation that was passed to deal with Standard Oil and AT&T of the times, not modern big tech.
What’s Next?
Both companies have stated that they will appeal these rulings, and any final decisions will likely take years. In the fast pace that technology moves, we must ask if these two firms will still look and act the same in a 2-to-5-year timeframe? Google’s Gemini and Meta’s Llama LLM’s and AI R&D will rapidly change in just the next 3 months if we can apply recent AI growth trajectories to them.
Like before, Google and Meta will be pressured to monetize AI in a changing landscape where traditional search is upended by agentics. What would current ad networks look like across LLM’s? That is a discussion for later down the road once methodologies are tested.
Finished reading: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari 📚
Finished reading: On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder 📚
Finished reading: Facts and Fears by James R. Clapper 📚
Experiences Using Micro.blog so Far in 2025
It’s been a few months now since I started using Micro.blog as my main website and posting service, so I thought I would take some time to reflect upon it.
To start, I was looking for a replacement for WordPress given all of the drama over at Automatic, the owners, but it wasn’t only that. I was writing less and just paying for hosting, so it no longer was fit for my needs. I was able to seamlessly transfer existing posts to Micro.blog and also save some money in the process. I signed up for the Micro.one service, which only cost $10 a year, not counting my domain which I pay for through Hover. This alone saved a little money and accurately reflecting how infrequently I was using it.
I like how easy the UI is just to type and post. I can choose to make my posts as easily as a quick 300 limit post, or as long as I want to fulfill the purposes of my articles. I will eventually learn Markdown so I can really start organizing my posts and keep them uniform, but that will come later.
There’s one last feature I appreciate and that’s called, “Bookshelves”. It’s analogous to Goodreads and allows you to keep track of what you’re reading, want to read, and have completed. What I like is it gives you the option to make a post around it as sort of posting your thoughts around the book or making it easier to write a book review if you wish. While I only post which books I finish and use it to keep track, it’s had one more benefit – I’ve read the most this year, so far, that I have at any time since college.
When I made my goals for the beginning of the year, reading more was not on my “to-do” list, but it happened, and I’m grateful for the feature for inspiring me to do so. I made a goal of 12 books, which I’ve already blown past. I will l likely create a post later this year about what stood out to me so far about what I’ve read.
To make a long story short, I’m loving this service and its features. I’m able to utilize the easy UI/UX so I just write and post. As a result, I find myself posting a bit more than I did over at WordPress. It might not be as full featured, but if you just want to start writing and cross posting to other services, Micro.blog gives you everything you need – well, at least what my needs have become.
Finished reading: America’s New Map by Thomas P.M. Barnett 📚
Finished reading: Beneath a Surface by Brad Sams 📚
Finished reading: Playing to the Edge by Michael V. Hayden 📚
Finished reading: Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams 📚
A Quick Comment on the history of American Xenophobia -- From Japan to Russia to Latinos
I’ve been very concerned about the hatred and negative rhetoric I’ve seen towards the Russian people on social media. We must not demonize citizens of a country for actions of their government. They, too, are victims of the Putin regime.
Russians have been subject to disinformation and coercion, not of their own making. For decades, activists have been murdered, disappeared, imprisoned, and banished from their own society. To be an ally of Russia is to plan and support for a post-Putin society.
We, of course, don’t know what that will look like, but one thing is for certain – hating Russians for the sake of being Russian is not the solution. We can and we must support those who wish to live in a free, democratic society. To demonize Russians makes us no better than Putin himself. As the invasion of Ukraine increased in 2021, this negative sentiment only grew against Russian citizens.
Of course, xenophobia is nothing new in the West. Post 9/11, attacks against Muslims were on the rise and tolerance for Islam was on the decline. The US DOJ Civil Rights Division site has a collection of some incidents of note.
Dating back further was the act of interning Japanese Americans during World War II, for the fact that they “might be” involved with the Japanese Imperial Air Force’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which resulted in the interrogation and forced relocation of over 120,000 Japanese Americans to these ‘centers’. Many of these American citizens were second-generation Americans who had never set foot in their parents or grandparents' homeland of Japan, but fear of the Japanese resulted in the subjugation of their freedoms.
I would be remised if I did not include the most recent second and third order impacts of the American Latino population in the Age of Donald Trump. Forced relocation of those Americans of Latino decent who are perceived to be MS-13, a label often used by the American right, to blanket the ‘other’ who do not conform to the ‘standards’ of white, Anglo-Saxon, Christian citizens. Latinos are being uprooted from their lives and homes and forced relocated with force, as we’ve seen so many times before throughout United States history to El Salvador – a nation whose President is being compensated by the US government to hold these citizens without due-process.
History always repeats itself, albeit with different explanations. Thus, the American and the West’s historical context of internment, discrimination, and hate crimes have always been there, it seems to be a fever that we must but cannot break. Cultural integration has always been a crucial part of the United States, but our recent backward slide from democracy into authoritarianism is a backlash to the white populations becoming a minority.
Throughout all these incidents, America has always continued to somehow integrate and with any luck, our assimilation of cultures will continue should the citizens of the United States decide that this too - is an injustice to all that must be corrected.