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Both ChatGPT and Gemini have reached the one billion user mark, placing OpenAI and Google in an increasingly fierce competition in the artificial intelligence sector.

Although ChatGPT still has the largest audience, Gemini has shown faster growth. With both services reaching the one billion level, the subsequent focus is on converting this vast user base into constant engagement and, consequently, revenue.

Google announced that Gemini reached one billion monthly users. Sundar Pichai, the company's CEO, stated on X that this service represents the fastest-growing product in Google's history. This milestone makes Gemini the fourteenth Google product to reach this level.

However, the AI platform was not the pioneer in this achievement. ChatGPT had already registered one billion users. OpenAI disclosed this data on August 6th through a publication detailing people's use of artificial intelligence. Spokesperson Lindsay McCallum mentioned that the monthly goal had been reached at an earlier period.

A direct comparison between the two services is complex, given that Google and OpenAI use different metrics. In February, OpenAI reported that ChatGPT had 900 million weekly active users. Five months after that record, it reached one billion monthly. However, McCallum did not specify the current number of monthly users for the platform.

Gemini's progress was notably faster. Josh Woodward, who is responsible for Gemini, released the latest data. Furthermore, Gemini's presence on Android devices gives Google a significant advantage. The numbers presented by Google appear to refer specifically to the Gemini application, excluding other integrations of the tool into the company's products.

The inclusion of Gemini in the Android operating system suggests that it is part of the metric disclosed. Since Google manages the operating system, this distribution offers the service an access point that OpenAI does not possess. This dynamic helps explain OpenAI's interest in developing its own hardware.

The disparity between the corporations has narrowed throughout this year. Claude Code gained ground and prompted OpenAI to advance with Codex. Simultaneously, Google expanded Gemini's presence across its various products.

The United Arab Emirates Astronomy Center issued a clarification regarding four astronomical events scheduled for August 12, 2026, in response to media reports that the Center claimed exaggerated or distorted the facts.

According to the Center's data, the mentioned events include a total solar eclipse, the Perseid meteor shower, planetary alignment, and a new moon. Although all these events will indeed occur on this day, the Astronomy Center noted that the degree of their visibility and significance were artificially inflated in media publications.

Reports about the total solar eclipse on August 12 are accurate. The Center indicated that this phenomenon will be visible in Siberia, at the North Pole, Greenland, Iceland, parts of the northeastern Atlantic, Spain, and the western Mediterranean Sea. Meanwhile, residents of North America, Western and Central Europe, Russia, and West Africa, including Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and northwestern Libya, will only see a partial eclipse.

During the eclipse, the chromosphere and corona of the Sun can be observed from certain territories. The shape of the corona changes from one eclipse to another, which is determined by the intensity of the Sun's magnetic field.

The Perseid meteor shower, named after the constellation Perseus, is observed annually from July 17 to August 24, with the number of meteors increasing between August 11 and 14. The Astronomy Center reported that conditions are particularly favorable for observing meteors in the Arab region this year because the absence of moonlight during the peak of the shower will be due to the new moon. Meteors will be visible on the night leading into Thursday morning. Nevertheless, the Center clarified that only a small number of meteors can be seen from urban areas due to light pollution.

The Astronomy Center refuted claims that a special planetary alignment would be visible on August 12, calling such reports 'exaggerations bordering on disinformation.' The Center explained that planets are always aligned along an imaginary line in the sky called the ecliptic, and during Wednesday, from the moment after sunset until the moment before the next morning's sunrise, Venus, Saturn, Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter will be visible above the horizon. However, proximity to the Sun will make the last two planets almost invisible, and the others will be difficult to spot for the untrained eye, with the exception of Venus, which can be noticed as a bright object on Wednesday evening.

The fourth event is a regular new moon, which holds no particular significance. According to the Astronomy Center, social media posts attributed special characteristics to the new moon, which is false.

The Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan, Ibrohim Abdurakhmonov, held a meeting with Yahya Tabesh, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). Discussions covered the implementation of artificial intelligence in the agricultural sector, industry digitalization, and the development of innovative education.

Discussion on AI Application Possibilities

Yahya Tabesh, who is a senior researcher at the AMENA Center for Entrepreneurship and Development at UC Berkeley and an AI researcher, presented his expertise. During the meeting, the parties examined the potential use of AI technologies in agriculture, the development of decision support systems, and the application of data-driven intelligent technologies for farm management.

Special attention was paid to strengthening cooperation with UC Berkeley in science and education. Proposals were put forward, including inviting university faculty and experts to Uzbekistan, conducting practical training for students and local specialists, and launching joint educational and research programs.

Innovation Park Concept

A preliminary conceptual framework for creating an AI Innovation Park was presented during the meeting. According to this initiative, AI technologies are planned to be applied in agritech, industry, energy, logistics, and other priority sectors. It was also proposed to create an educational and practical environment for implementing innovative projects.

Participants discussed specialist training in the context of artificial intelligence development. Tabesh emphasized the importance of combining technical knowledge with the development of creativity, ethical thinking, humanism, and imagination. The parties concluded that the key approach is to use artificial intelligence to enhance human capabilities, not to replace them.

Furthermore, the issue of introducing modern methods into agricultural education, such as project-based learning, solving practical problems, and developing creative thinking, was discussed.