Google's Flash Model Cadence Masks Larger AI Struggles

Google has released its fourth Gemini Flash model in just 106 days, but its flagship Gemini 3.5 Pro model remains elusive.

The latest model, Gemini 3.8 Flash, was unveiled on Wednesday and boasts improved performance on certain benchmarks at a lower cost than larger models from rival AI companies.

However, the release comes as Meta's Chief AI Officer Alexander Wang trolled Google on X, questioning whether the company is still capable of creating cutting-edge AI technology.

Wang's comments were made in response to his own company's new Muse Spark 1.3 model, which has leapfrogged all of Google's models on a key performance benchmark, ranking in first place, while Gemini 3.8 Flash now ranks in 10th place.