Google is preparing to deploy its new PaLM 2 model across its advertising engine and YouTube, according to internal documents reported by CNBC. Advertisers will be able to automatically generate media assets, while YouTube creators can get AI-suggested video concepts and titles. Faced with cooling revenue growth, Google is racing to turn generative AI into a direct moneymaker.
Stability AI just launched the Stable Animation SDK, giving artists and developers programmatic tools to generate AI animations using Stable Diffusion models. Users can create animations through text prompts alone, source images, or existing videos. The release makes it much easier to plug diffusion-based animation straight into developer pipelines.
Meta just open-sourced ImageBind, a research model linking text, audio, visual, thermal, depth, and IMU motion data into a single embedding space. It aims to let AI cross-reference physical movement and sounds just like current models do with text prompts. While still an early research demo with no immediate consumer app, it keeps Meta firmly planted in open source.
Hollywood screenwriters just walked off the job, with artificial intelligence sitting right at the center of the dispute. The Writers Guild of America proposed strict bans on studios using AI to write scripts or train models, but studios countered with an offer of mere annual check-ins. Why it matters: Writers fear studios will use AI to churn out cheap first drafts and hire humans at bargain rates to polish the mess.
Google is reportedly gearing up to embed its generative AI into its Performance Max ad platform, according to the Financial Times. Advertisers simply provide raw images, video, and text, and the system creates sophisticated campaigns tailored to target audiences. Google promised firm guardrails after concerns arose about AI hallucinating false claims to drive clicks.
Amazon just rolled out Dialogue Boost on Prime Video, an AI feature that isolates and amplifies spoken lines over loud background music and sound effects. Viewers can choose between medium and high enhancement levels across any supported device, starting with select Amazon Originals.
Synthesis AI just unveiled a new text-to-3D capability in synthesis labs, allowing users to generate high-resolution digital humans directly from simple text prompts describing age, style, and clothing. The model splits mesh generation from texture layers and includes sliders for tweaking expressions and lighting. It could drastically cut asset creation costs for gaming, VFX, and synthetic training data.
Adobe just announced that its Firefly generative AI is expanding to Creative Cloud video and audio apps. While it cannot generate videos from scratch yet, users will soon be able to color grade clips with simple text prompts, generate background audio, and automatically turn scripts into storyboards.
Adobe just introduced Text-Based Editing in Premiere Pro, turning rough cuts into a simple copy-and-paste job. Powered by Adobe Sensei, the tool automatically transcribes footage so editors can search keywords and rearrange dialogue text to update timeline clips directly. It is currently in public beta ahead of a planned May release.
Apple has quietly acquired WaveOne, a Mountain View startup building AI algorithms for video compression. The tech uses "content-aware" scene detection to cut video file sizes by up to half while prioritizing key elements like faces. Why it matters: The technology could massively trim streaming bandwidth costs for services like Apple TV+ while keeping playback smooth on weak connections.
Wonder Dynamics just launched Wonder Studio, a web editor that swaps actors for full CG characters without motion capture suits or green screens. The tool tracks movement and matches lighting automatically from a single camera angle, while still exporting clean plates, masks, and editable Blender project files. Why it matters: It automates the tedious 80% of visual effects work, opening big-budget character VFX to indie filmmakers.
Microsoft just launched a preview of its Florence-powered Vision API in Azure, bringing on Reddit to automatically generate image alt text for accessibility and search ranking. The multimodal model is trained on billions of image-text pairs and can spit out up to 10,000 tags per image, though access is currently restricted to existing Azure customers.
TikTok just went wild over a new Bold Glamour filter that looks unnervingly realistic, seamlessly tracking faces even when hands block the camera. Experts suspect mobile generative AI like GANs is running behind the scenes, though TikTok refuses to confirm. Beyond the engineering feat, the indistinguishable edits are reigniting major concerns over body dysmorphia.
YouTube’s new boss Neal Mohan just announced that generative AI features are coming to the platform in the coming months. Creators will soon be able to virtually swap outfits and build fantastical video backgrounds with generative tools. It shows YouTube is ready to integrate generative AI directly into creator workflows while building guardrails.
Runway just unveiled Gen-1, a generative AI model that transforms existing video clips into new visual styles using text prompts or reference images. It can turn everyday footage into full-blown claymations or raw 3D models into finished scenes. Runway is currently granting early research access ahead of a broader rollout.
A Twitch channel called Nothing, Forever has been broadcasting an endless, AI-generated Seinfeld parody for over a month. Powered by GPT-3 and generative algorithms, the system scripts dialogue, voices lines, and directs camera angles in real time. It is glitchy and deeply surreal, but it offers a fascinating look at the future of infinite, automated entertainment.
Metaphysic just announced that its new Metaphysic Live tool will de-age Tom Hanks and Robin Wright in Robert Zemeckis’ upcoming film Here. The generative AI tool creates photorealistic face swaps and de-aging in real time on set, bypassing traditional VFX compositing and letting actors see their younger selves as they perform.
Jimmy Kimmel just celebrated the 20th anniversary of his late-night talk show by staging a conversation with his 2003 self using deepfake tech. The skit mapped a retro photo onto an actor's performance with striking realism, demonstrating how generative video manipulation is quickly graduating from internet demos into mainstream prime-time television.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman just poured cold water on the wild rumors around GPT-4, calling viral charts claiming it has 100 trillion parameters "complete bullshit." He warned that people expecting near-term AGI are "begging to be disappointed," noting that OpenAI will only launch the model once it is safe and responsibly built.
Nvidia just rolled out an AI "Eye Contact" feature in Broadcast 1.4 that replaces your eyes with simulated ones pointing straight at the camera. Designed for creators reading off scripts, the tool matches eye color and blinks in real time, though testers noticed occasional unnatural darting. It brings teleprompter-like convenience to anyone with an RTX graphics card.
