Tech Break by Friday

Hello everyone. What’s up? Welcome back to Tech Break by Friday. In this episode, we discuss the potential benefits of a new tool called Opal. Opal is an agentic solution for creating mini AI-powered apps and automation. Let’s dive in and explore how to use this tool effectively, as well as what the future might hold.

If you enjoyed this episode, hit the subscribe button so you never miss our next deep dive into the tech shaping tomorrow. This podcast grows with your support, so we would love it if you could share it with a friend or colleague who might also find it helpful. Until next time, keep experimenting, keep learning, and keep building!

Blog Post to read everything I mentioned in this episode about Opal.

https://open.substack.com/pub/kivroglouparaskevi/p/opal-googles-card-to-the-automation?r=56ehxy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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Sources:

* https://developers.googleblog.com/en/introducing-opal/

* https://opal.withgoogle.com/?flow=drive:/1Tp8qBH2QujcyIDxiyHrKX7xQI19AtneX&mode=app&shared=true

* https://www.mach37.com/blog/token-economy

* https://www.abatherapistjobs.com/applied-behaviour-analysis/token-economy

* https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/googles-opal-changes-game-agents-automation-tara-tan-gysaf/

* https://www.infoq.com/news/2025/07/google-opal-ai/

Hello everyone. What’s up? Welcome back to Tech Break by Friday. In this episode, we discuss the potential benefits of a new tool called Manus AI. Manus AI is an agentic solution compared to ChatGPT, Claude, or any other chatbot out there. Manus AI originates from China and gained traction upon its launch in the US. Let’s dive in and explore how to use this tool effectively, as well as what to avoid.

Invitation link to receive extra free credits when you join Manus: https://manus.im/invitation/N6FA99JNUUQU

If you enjoyed this episode, hit the subscribe button so you never miss our next deep dive into the tech shaping tomorrow. This podcast grows with your support, so we would love it if you could share it with a friend or colleague who might also find it helpful. Until next time, keep experimenting, keep learning, and keep building!

Blog Post to read everything I mentioned in this episode about Manus AI. Blog Post

Thanks for reading Tech Break by Friday! This post is free so you can share it with people you think will find it interesting.

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Sources:

1. https://manus.im/home

2.https://youtu.be/HVhXwBYenC8

3.https://manus.im/invitation/N6FA99JNUUQU

Hello everyone. What’s up? Welcome back to Tech Break by Friday. This is a bonus episode, and today we're discussing a topic that may sound dystopian to many of you. Imagine waking up tomorrow to find that your digital twin has been working all night, answering customer questions for three different companies, teaching Spanish to students in Brazil, and even negotiating a brand partnership deal. This isn't science fiction anymore, it's the Virtual Human Economy, and it's starting right now.

If you enjoyed this episode, hit the subscribe button so you never miss our next deep dive into the tech shaping tomorrow. This podcast grows with your support, so we would love it if you could share it with a friend or colleague who might also find it helpful. Until next time, keep experimenting, keep learning, and keep building!

Blog Post to read everything I mentioned in this episode about Virtual Human Economy.Blog Post

Thanks for reading Tech Break by Friday! This post is free so you can share it with people you think will find it interesting.

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Sources: 1. https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/what-is-a-digital-twin

* https://www.digitaltwinconsortium.org/initiatives/the-definition-of-a-digital-twin/

* https://hourone.ai/blog/the-virtual-human-economy/

* https://odsc.medium.com/the-rise-of-the-virtual-human-economy-and-its-implications-dff073a8fb05

* https://theindependentinvestor.ph/natalie-monbiot-a-pioneer-in-the-virtual-human-economy-2/

* https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2023/06/08/from-science-fiction-to-reality-how-digital-humans-are-forging-new-realities/

* https://creativitysquared.com/podcast/ep39-natalie-monbiot-genai-the-virtual-human-economy/

* https://kognito.com/blog/7-advantages-of-learning-with-virtual-humans/

* https://wuab.org/magazine-articles/virtual-economy-a-complete-overview/

* https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0267364911000896

* https://www.chinadailyhk.com/hk/article/291378

* https://vertu.com/ai-tools/digital-human-use-cases-transforming-industries-2025/?srsltid=AfmBOop5imDch8BLetTXZaFfW3pCX4gfvBHXga3j-auAIp-SEtcvPmgR

* https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/use-cases/digital-humans/

* https://opendatascience.com/the-rise-of-the-virtual-human-economy-and-its-implications/

* https://theindependentinvestor.ph/natalie-monbiot-a-pioneer-in-the-virtual-human-economy-2/

* https://nttdata-solutions.com/us/blog/digital-humans-humanizing-technology-and-improving-user-experiences/

* https://www.cognizant.com/us/en/insights/insights-blog/how-digital-humans-can-provide-personalized-experiences-at-scale-wf2398000

* https://arxiv.org/pdf/2311.09226

* https://www.christophejauquet.com/post/digital-humans

* https://www.synthesia.io/post/digital-humans

* https://personalvalu.es/articles/exploring-personal-values-through-ai-conversations

* https://medium.com/@uneeq/will-people-trust-a-digital-human-the-same-way-they-trust-people-f3647a318079

* https://journal-bcs.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13173-021-00121-x

* https://www.firework.com/blog/what-is-a-digital-human

* https://pure.hud.ac.uk/en/publications/the-value-creation-potential-of-digital-humans

Hello everyone. Welcome back to another Episode of Tech Break by Friday. Did you love Stitch as a kid? He was one of my favorite characters. No, Google didn't release him to the public. At least not yet. Today, we’re diving into Google Stitch—Google’s brand new AI-powered design tool that’s changing how we build websites and apps. Let’s dive in.

If you enjoyed this episode, hit the subscribe button so you never miss our next deep dive into the tech shaping tomorrow. This podcast grows with your support, so we would love it if you could share it with a friend or colleague who might also find it helpful. Until next time, keep experimenting, keep learning, and keep building!

Blog Post to find images and a step-by-step guide on how to use Google Stitch.

Blog Post

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Sources:1. https://www.flutteronly.com/2025/05/20/getting-started-with-google-stitch-a-beginners-guide/

2. https://aiagent.marktechpost.com/post/a-step-by-step-guide-how-to-build-apps-with-simple-prompts-using-stitch-by-google

3.https://developers.googleblog.com/en/stitch-a-new-way-to-design-uis/

4.https://discuss.ai.google.dev/t/stitch-prompt-guide/83844

In this episode of Tech Break by Friday, we introduce the Gemini CLI, a powerful, open-source AI agent that brings Gemini’s capabilities straight to your terminal. Whether you’re a developer, builder, or just curious about AI tools, you’ll learn how Gemini CLI can streamline your workflow, automate documentation, and boost productivity.

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the podcast, leave a review, or share it with someone who’s going to love it. Thanks again for reading. I’ll see you next Friday, where we’ll continue to discover new topics and ideas.

Full Text Post here: https://open.substack.com/pub/kivroglouparaskevi/p/developer-friendly-1-beginners-guide?r=56ehxy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Sources: 1. https://blog.google/technology/developers/introducing-gemini-cli-open-source-ai-agent/

* http://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli

* https://codeassist.google/

* https://academic.oup.com/oep/article/77/3/849/8029835?login=false

* Tech World Context Switching

* https://dev.to/therealmrmumba/i-tested-gemini-cli-and-other-top-coding-agents-heres-what-i-found-om

* https://github.com/Paraskevi-KIvroglou/Gemini-CLI-GitHub-MCP

Ever wondered how a chatbot understands your frustration about a delayed order? This week on Tech Break by Friday, we're diving deep into the magic behind the screen!

Ever typed a question into a chatbot and marveled at how it just gets you? Or have you ever wondered how companies seem to know exactly how their customers feel about a new product based on thousands of online reviews? The secret lies in the fascinating world of Natural Language Processing (NLP), and precisely this episode, we're breaking it all down.

In this episode, we explore:

* What is Natural Language Processing (NLP)?

* The Power of Sentiment Analysis:

* Putting Theory into Practice: Ready to experiment? We share a fantastic list of user-friendly AI tools for writing, brainstorming, sentiment analysis, and even building your chatbot.

If you try any of these tools, please feel free to comment below on your thoughts.

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the podcast, leave a review, or share it with someone who’s going to love it. Thanks again for reading. I’ll see you next Friday, where we’ll continue to discover new topics and ideas.

Check out the blog post on Substack for more details: https://open.substack.com/pub/kivroglouparaskevi/p/ai-demystified-4-what-is-natural?r=56ehxy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Sources:

* https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/natural-language-processing

* https://aws.amazon.com/what-is/nlp/

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatbot

* https://moldstud.com/articles/p-nlp-in-chatbots-enhancing-sentiment-analysis-for-engagement

* https://tavtechnologies.aero/en-EN/review/pages/sentiment-analysis

* https://brand24.com/blog/best-sentiment-analysis-tools/

* https://www.joinhomebase.com/blog/ai-for-small-business

* https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/small-business-ai-tools

* https://www.semrush.com/blog/chatgpt-alternatives/

* https://team-gpt.com/blog/perplexity-vs-chatgpt-vs-team-gpt/

* https://clickup.com/blog/chatgpt-alternatives/

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Welcome back to Tech Break by Friday, where we make big tech topics feel small and doable. In today’s episode, I’m sharing the story of how I joined a hackathon, used a tool called Lovable, and built an AI-powered research assistant — all in under 48 hours.

Even though I have a background in AI, I wanted to test how beginner-friendly vibe-coding really is. Using just natural language prompts (and no manual coding), I created a working MVP that connects with Zotero, fetches academic papers, and allows users to chat with their research library.

This episode is all about showing you that you can build your own AI project, even if you’re just getting started. I’ll walk you through:

* The exact tools I used (Lovable, Supabase, Clerk, Zotero)

* The problem I was trying to solve as a Master’s student

* What the MVP includes (chat interface, Zotero sync, persistent history)

* How you can recreate the project using prompts — no heavy coding required

And no, this episode isn’t sponsored. I’m just genuinely impressed with what Lovable made possible — and I think you will be too.

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the podcast, leave a review, or share it with someone who’s been meaning to build something with AI but doesn’t know where to start. If you create something, please share it with me, either by dm or in the comments.

Thanks again for listening. I’ll see you next Friday, where we keep discovering new topics and ideas.

Blog of the full tutorial: https://open.substack.com/pub/kivroglouparaskevi/p/building-your-first-ai-project-beginner?r=56ehxy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

A special offer for podcast listeners: If you have a business and would love to implement AI and automation ethically in your workflow, you get two one-hour free consultations to make a strategy together. Book a call!

Sources:

* Lovable

* Zotero

* Zotero Agent Lovable App

* Vibe Coding Episode

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In this episode of Tech Break by Friday, Paraskevi Kivroglou dives into the foundational question: What is ethical AI? Ethical AI means building and deploying artificial intelligence that aligns with core human values—fairness, accountability, transparency, and respect for human rights. While the concept sounds straightforward, its real-world application is complex due to the risk of embedding and amplifying biases present in data and design.

I hope you like this episode. If you do, please leave a review or comment on any platform that you are listening to and share it with anyone you think might like this.

Click here to read the podcast content on Substack:

A special offer for podcast listeners: If you have a business and would love to implement AI and automation ethically in your workflow, you get two one-hour free consultations to make a strategy together. Book a call!

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In this episode of Tech Break by Friday, Paraskevi Kivroglou discusses a really important topic regarding our protection in the AI era. You’ll learn what AI Deepfakes are and how to protect yourself and your community. We will also discuss the ethics of this topic and why it is dangerous not to recognize them.

In a world of noise and misinformation, we can learn to protect ourselves by using critical thinking and evaluation. I hope you like this episode. If you do, please leave a review or comment on any platform that you are listening to and share it with anyone you think might like this.

Click here to read the podcast content on Substack:

A special offer for podcast listeners: If you have a business and would love to implement AI and automation ethically in your workflow, you get two one-hour free consultations to make a strategy together. Book a call!

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In this episode of Tech Break by Friday’s “AI Demystified” series, Paraskevi Kivroglou breaks down the mysteries behind one of AI’s most powerful tools. You’ll learn how the brain inspires neural networks (but aren’t brains!), how data travels through layers like beans turning into espresso, and how these models actually “learn” from their mistakes.

We’ll also spotlight real-world game-changers—from Tesla’s Autopilot to cancer-detecting algorithms—and clear up some of the biggest myths about neural networks. Whether you’re new to AI or just want a clearer picture, this episode will leave you feeling informed and curious for more.

Want to dive deeper? Read the full transcript here.

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