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Artificial Intelligence

Character.AI Launches Social Feed for AI Character Interactions

Character.AI is introducing a social feed to its mobile apps, enabling users to share AI characters and chat with others.

The feed allows users to share images, videos, and chatbots, as well as snippets of chats and AI-generated images.

Users can create video clips with text prompts and images using the AvtarFX generative video model.

The new feed aims to blur the line between creator and consumer, offering both content consumption and creative opportunities.

This move follows a trend of AI-native apps incorporating social media features, similar to Video generation app Pika.

Cybersecurity

North Korean Cyber Infiltration: Remote Workers Posing as Employees Exploit Western Companies

CrowdStrike reports a significant increase in North Koreans posing as remote IT workers to infiltrate Western companies, with over 320 incidents in the past year, a 220% increase from the previous year. These individuals use false identities and AI-generated resumes to gain employment, steal data, and generate funds for North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The U.S. Department of Justice is actively working to disrupt these operations by targeting facilitators and "laptop farm" operations in the U.S. One North Korean operation stole the identities of 80 individuals to gain remote work at over 100 U.S. companies between 2021 and 2024. Identity verification processes are crucial to preventing the hiring of sanctioned workers.

Robotics and AI

OpenMind's OM1: An Open-Source OS for Humanoid Robots

OpenMind, a Silicon Valley startup, is developing OM1, an open-source software layer for humanoid robots, aiming to be the "Android" of robotics. Founded by Stanford professor Jan Liphardt, OpenMind is creating a new protocol called FABRIC that allows robots to verify identity and share context with each other, enabling them to learn and adapt more efficiently.

The company's first fleet of OM1-powered robotic dogs is set to ship in September, with plans to iterate based on user feedback. OpenMind recently secured $20 million in funding to further develop its technology and integrate it into people's homes, focusing on rapid iteration and identifying optimal applications for robots in human environments.

Business and Transportation

Joby Aviation Acquires Blade's Ride-Share Business to Expand Air Taxi Operations

Joby Aviation is set to acquire Blade Air Mobility's helicopter ride-share business for up to $125 million. This acquisition includes the Blade brand and its passenger operations in the US and Europe.

Blade's CEO, Rob Wiesenthal, will continue to lead the business as a subsidiary of Joby. However, Blade's medical division will remain separate.

The deal provides Joby with a network of 12 terminals in key markets like New York City, including lounges and terminal bases at major airports.

Blade, founded in 2014, operates a digital network for booking private helicopter rides and flew over 50,000 passengers in 2024.

Joby Aviation, founded in 2009, aims to integrate its air taxi operations software into Blade's service, eventually transitioning to electric air taxis.

Artificial Intelligence

Apple's AI Ambitions: Developing a ChatGPT-Like 'Answer Engine'

Apple is developing an 'answer engine,' similar to ChatGPT, through a new team focused on AI-driven search and information retrieval. This project aims to create a standalone app or enhance Siri, Safari, and other Apple products with improved search capabilities. The company is actively recruiting talent with experience in search algorithms and engine development to support this initiative. This move could potentially impact Apple's existing search agreement with Google.

Gaming Industry

Game Platforms Face Payment Processor Pressure Over Adult Content

Recent crackdowns on adult content in games on platforms like Steam and Itch.io have sparked controversy.
Mastercard denies pressuring these platforms, stating they only require merchants to control unlawful purchases, including illegal adult content. However, Valve claims payment processors cited a Mastercard rule against "illegal or brand-damaging transactions" when rejecting Steam's content policy.
Itch.io is re-indexing free adult games while negotiating with payment processors like Stripe, which cites banking partner restrictions on sexually explicit content.

Business & Technology

SAP Enhances HR Suite with SmartRecruiters Acquisition

SAP has announced its acquisition of SmartRecruiters, a recruiting software company, aiming to enhance its HR solutions.
The integration of SmartRecruiters' user-friendly interfaces and streamlined workflows will provide customers with a comprehensive candidate lifecycle management system, from sourcing to onboarding.
The deal, expected to close in Q4, will allow SAP to offer a single system for recruiters, hiring managers, and candidates. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI's Journey Towards General-Purpose AI Agents: Overcoming Reasoning Challenges

OpenAI is actively developing AI reasoning models and agents that can perform tasks like humans. The MathGen team played a vital role in improving AI's mathematical reasoning capabilities, leading to models that can compete at a high school level. These advancements are tied to reinforcement learning techniques, allowing models to learn from feedback and improve their performance.
The development of the o1 reasoning model marked a breakthrough, leading to the creation of AI agents. OpenAI aims to create general-purpose agents that can handle complex, subjective tasks, but faces challenges in training models for such tasks. The company is exploring new techniques to improve the performance and intuitiveness of AI agents, with the goal of building an AI system that can understand user needs and perform tasks autonomously.
While OpenAI was initially ahead, it now faces competition from other companies in developing AI agents.

Fashion and Artificial Intelligence

AI Models Spark Debate in Fashion Industry: Vogue's AI-Generated Ad and the Future of Human Models

The fashion industry is grappling with the increasing use of AI-generated models, sparking debate about the future of human models and the impact on creative jobs.

Key points:

  • Controversy over AI Models: Vogue's July print edition featured a Guess ad with an AI-generated model, causing an uproar and raising questions about the role of AI in fashion.
  • Cost Benefits: AI models are cheaper and allow for scaled content production, but concerns arise over the displacement of human models, especially e-commerce models.
  • Diversity and Ethics: The use of AI to create "diverse" models raises concerns about "robot cultural appropriation" and the potential for bias in AI-generated content.
  • Model Alliance: Fashion Workers Act is being worked on, which would require brands to get a model’s clear consent and provide compensation for using their digital replicas.
  • The Human Element: Authenticity and unique human stories remain valuable, particularly for luxury and heritage brands.

Experts suggest models differentiate themselves by building personal brands and exploring new revenue streams.

Technology

Apple's AI Ambition: Cook Urges Employees to Seize the Opportunity

Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasized the company's need to excel in AI during an all-hands meeting, following an earnings call where increased AI investments were announced.

Cook reportedly told employees that dominating AI is 'ours to grab,' acknowledging past instances where Apple wasn't first but innovated modern versions of existing products.

Despite recent AI-powered features, promised upgrades to Siri have faced delays, indicating a need to catch up with competitors in the AI landscape.