🫣 Is This Too Personal?

🎁 ChatGPT Gives Students a Leg Up

Starting this month, college students in the U.S. and Canada have free access to ChatGPT Plus for two months to help with their studies.

Key Facts

• 📚 Eligibility: The offer is exclusively for verified college students in the U.S. and Canada.
• 📈 Features: Includes advanced voice mode, expanded messaging limits, and enhanced research capabilities.
• 🤝 Fair Access: Free access ensures all students can benefit by  learning to use AI effectively.

Students are already one of the most active ChatGPT user groups, and now they get premium tools during the most high-stress part of the academic year.

Back when I was in college, we were just figuring out how to “search smarter” on Ask Jeeves and Google was the new kid on the block.

I still remember sitting in one of my college classes and my professor asking if the classroom had used Google yet? 

I was one of the few people in the class with a laptop but it’s not like even those with a laptop could just turn on their hotspot with a smartphone that didn’t exist yet. 

Later that day when I connected to the school network in the library I still have that vivid first memory of seeing Gooooooooogle and thinking how this was going to change everything.

If you’re anywhere close to me in age, you’ll remember those late-night study sessions and the scramble to get everything done. Imagine how our life would have been different if we had an AI assistant to help.

I’ll be telling my daughters, “Back in my day, we didn’t have AI assistants. We had to do our own research… uphill… both ways… with dial-up and hard wired internet.” 😆

Now, students can break down complex ideas, generate outlines, and even help them prep for presentations in seconds using ChatGPT.

For freaking free.

Forward this email to a college student you know, and tell them to use this link to claim it! https://chatgpt.com/students 🔗

And students are getting access at the perfect time because… 

🧠 ChatGPT has a Memory Now, And It’s Personal

ChatGPT can recall past interactions to improve future responses, making it feel more personalized and human-like.

I’ll be honest, I think this is exciting. 

I’ve started using it to streamline content, delegate repetitive tasks, and maintain consistency across my writing. It remembers how I like things phrased whether it’s tone, voice, or the kind of language that fits my brand. It saves time, yes, but it also feels more human.

But (and there’s always a but)… we need to be paying attention.

What does it mean for our data to be remembered? Who owns that information? How do we balance convenience with responsibility?

The good news is that users can opt-out if they have concerns. But it’s still something we should be mindful of.

In fact, I found this prompt the other day and if you’ve been using ChatGPT for a while I encourage you to copy and paste this into the brand new o3 model, sit back and exhale. It’s wildly eye-opening. 

The Prompt ✨

Based on everything you know about me, reason + predict what the next 40 years of my life will look like.

💭 What Do You Think?

• Should ChatGPT be available to students for free?
• How do you feel about AI remembering your interactions?

🚀 Google’s Gemini 2.5 Is Here

Google just dropped Gemini 2.5 Pro, and if you’re thinking “just another model release,” think again. This one’s a real contender.

Key Facts

• 🪟 Large Context Window: It can process entire codebases, manuals, even full-length films.
• 🧩 Advanced Reasoning Architecture: Solves complex problems with step-by-step logic like math, physics, and software engineering tasks.
• 🧬 Multimodal Processing: Text, images, audio, and video, all in one prompt.

I’m not going to send you yet another email saying “holy ***” again, but let’s just say I’m holding back.

Gemini 2.5 ranks high in benchmarks, showing strong performance across various tasks. It’s not just about processing data; it’s about understanding context, reasoning, and even handling multiple forms of content simultaneously.

This model holds a million tokens.

A million.

That means you can upload the entire Harry Potter series, four times and still have room for instruction. 

Seriously. 

But beyond the features, here’s what really matters: Gemini 2.5 is shifting the conversation. Instead of asking “how many tokens?” we’re asking “what can this actually solve?”

With that much room for content, expression, instruction and context… what is really possible?

Personally, I’m watching this closely, not because it’s shiny and new, but because it signals a move from novelty to utility. This model is more than bells and whistles. It’s about getting actual work done faster, smarter, and more affordably.

If you’ve been waiting to test what the next-gen of AI feels like in real workflows, this might be your moment. 🔗

In a little under a month we’re celebrating 2 years of AI News!

And it’s time for refresh. 

The name Fast Foundations has served me, and tens of thousands over the past 6 years, but just as AI evolves, so I am I. 

In the coming week’s I’ll be announcing the new and improved Community that has more of a focus on the highest requested features, content and also a better pulse on what I’m working on so you can follow along with the latest, craziest ways I dream up things with AI.

You’re right where you need to be, and I can’t wait to announce the latest version of what we have for you!