Archive, page 5

WhatsApp has begun prompting users with a "Restyle with AI" pop-up when they share photos, and not everyone is happy about it. The feature, which applies generative AI styling to images before sending, has drawn criticism for appearing uninvited in a workflow where most people simply want to share a photo as-is. It reflects a broader trend of AI tools being inserted into everyday apps without a clear opt-in.

Pollo AI is using a suite of OpenAI models - including GPT-Image-2.5 - to help creators move from a raw concept to a finished visual campaign. The platform targets the gap between ideation and production, handling image generation and video ad creation in a single workflow. It represents a practical application of OpenAI's latest generative tools in a creative marketing context.

Sinima is a newly launched video hosting platform aimed at filmmakers and creators who want more control over how their work is used in AI training. The platform assigns each uploaded file a digital fingerprint and ownership certificate, and lets creators set their own AI licensing permissions. When footage is licensed for AI training, creators keep 85% of the fee, with eligible content valued at $4,000 to $7,500 per hour.

DittoDub has released Native 6, a new AI dubbing model that now serves as the default option on its platform and supports 109 languages across 126 dialect variations. The model is built around preserving a speaker's vocal character and emotional tone when translating video content. It slots into DittoDub's existing localization workflow, covering dubbed audio, subtitles, and translated metadata.

Software engineer Brandon Thomas has released ArtCraft, a free, open-source suite of applications designed to mirror much of Adobe Creative Cloud's core lineup - including equivalents of Photoshop, Premiere, Lightroom, After Effects, and more. The suite runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux, and was built with significant AI assistance. It represents one of the more ambitious open-source challenges to Adobe's dominance in creative software.

Google has launched a public-facing website for SynthID, its AI watermarking technology, allowing anyone to upload and check whether an image, video, or audio clip was generated by AI. The tool extends SynthID beyond its previous developer and enterprise integrations, putting detection capabilities directly in the hands of everyday users. This marks a notable step toward accessible, practical tools for identifying synthetic media in the wild.

A growing number of parents are using generative AI tools to produce school portrait-style photos of their children rather than paying professional photographers. Some are also using AI to remove watermarks from proofs, bypassing the traditional school photo purchasing process entirely. The trend is raising serious concerns among photographers about lost income and the ethics of AI-assisted image generation.

Maket has released version 2.0 of its AI-powered architectural design tool, adding the ability to generate floor plans and 3D home renders directly from prompts. The update marks a significant expansion of the platform's capabilities beyond its earlier interior design focus. Architects, developers, and homeowners now have a more complete design workflow within a single tool.

Shengshu has released Vidu Q4, the latest version of its AI video generation model, adding native audio generation alongside improvements to motion quality and prompt adherence. The update positions Vidu Q4 as a more complete tool for creative video work, handling both visual and audio output within a single model. These changes reflect a broader trend in the field toward unified multimodal video generation.

Researchers have developed an AI model capable of reconstructing images from a person's brain activity with notable speed and accuracy. The system interprets neural signals and generates visual outputs that closely match what a subject is actually viewing. The results mark a meaningful step forward in the field of brain-computer interfaces and neural decoding.

Google has released Nano Banana 2.1, a new image generation model that uses the Gemini 3.6 Flash backend and undercuts the cost of its predecessor while matching or exceeding it on several benchmarks. The improvement comes with a caveat, though - the previous model also tested well, and the Pro tier has historically delivered stronger results in real-world use.

xAI, Elon Musk's AI company, has successfully moved to block a Minnesota law that would have banned apps and websites using AI to generate explicit images of real people without their consent. The legislation was considered one of the first of its kind targeting so-called nudification tools. The legal challenge raises significant questions about the intersection of AI-generated content, free speech, and personal safety.

Reka AI has released Rho-1, a 19-billion-parameter model that handles text, images, video, and robot control actions within a single neural network. Rather than routing different tasks to specialized subsystems, it processes all modalities as tokens in one shared context window. The model was trained on 320 H100 GPUs over roughly three months, using considerably less compute than many leading models today.

OpenAI is introducing a new ad format inside ChatGPT that displays product carousels to US users while the image generation process loads. The placement targets a natural pause in the user experience - the wait time between submitting a prompt and receiving a generated image. It marks one of OpenAI's more concrete moves toward advertising as a revenue stream alongside its subscription tiers.

Skylum is shutting down Aperty, its AI-powered portrait editing application, less than two years after launch - despite having explicitly promised customers five years of updates at the time of release. The closure raises questions about the longevity of subscription-based AI photo tools and the commitments companies make to early adopters.

Cinematographer Bradford Lipson explains how he and director Jeremy Garelick used LED volume technology to blend real footage from the Rolling Loud music festival with controlled stage work, creating the illusion that actors were surrounded by tens of thousands of live concertgoers. The production shot on location at the festival for just three days before rebuilding that world on the Lux Stage at Trilith Studios. Lipson walks through the technical and artistic decisions behind matching concert

BlackRAW Studio is a new iPhone app designed for filmmakers who need to review, color correct, and edit Blackmagic RAW and ProRes RAW footage directly on their device. It brings a level of RAW video handling to mobile that has traditionally required a desktop workstation. The app targets professionals who want a capable on-set or on-the-go editing option without reaching for a laptop.

Pope Leo XIV has spoken out against AI-generated imagery, arguing that a fundamental difference exists between human art and machine output - one that goes deeper than aesthetics. In a written statement, he contended that algorithms, drawing on the work of countless human creators, cannot replicate what he calls the "spark of humanity." The remarks add a notable philosophical voice to an ongoing debate about the nature and value of AI-generated content.

A court of appeals has ordered a new sentencing hearing for a man convicted of manslaughter, after finding that the original judge was improperly influenced by an AI-generated video of the victim. The case marks a notable moment in the legal system's ongoing reckoning with generative AI as evidence. It raises serious questions about what role synthetic media should be permitted to play in courtroom proceedings.

Black Forest Labs has released Flux 3 Image, the image generation side of its new Flux 3 model family. The model introduces multi-step editing that confines changes to targeted regions, leaving the rest of a composition intact. Open weights are expected to follow within the next few weeks.

Midjourney's alpha site picked up several quality-of-life updates last week, including style previews in the sidebar, larger image display in the create view, and the ability to set default parameters at the folder level. The changes are focused on reducing guesswork and giving users more control before and during generation.

OpenAI has added virtual try-on capabilities to ChatGPT, allowing users to upload their own photos and see how clothing and accessories might look on them. The update also introduces a Favorites library where users can save products they find through the chat interface. The move extends ChatGPT's growing role as a consumer shopping tool.

Tavus has unveiled Griffin, a real-time AI video avatar that the company describes as the first "Human Interaction Model." In an internal study, 48 percent of participants could not tell they were speaking with an AI after a one-minute video call - a dramatic leap from the two percent confusion rate seen in prior systems.

Ideogram has released Ideogram 4.5, a model designed to make targeted edits to specific regions of an image while leaving the surrounding content untouched. It outputs natively at 2K resolution and starts at 0.8 cents per image. Partners including Runway, Pika, and Leonardo AI are already integrating the model.