AI startup Rep.ai has raised $7.5 million in funding to launch its “digital twin” technology for sales representatives. This was reported by Michael Nuñez for VentureBeat. The company, formerly known as ServiceBell, is developing AI-powered avatars to assist website visitors in real-time video and audio conversations. Rep.ai combines visual and vocal replication with natural language …
OpenAI is threatening to block users who try to understand the processes behind its new “o1” AI models (also known as “Strawberry”). These offerings use a “chain of thought” system in which the AI first thinks through possible answers. As Frank Landymore reports at Futurism, users who are too curious will receive emails warning them …
A new AI-powered recording device called NotePin from Plaud.AI makes it easier to take notes on conversations. Brian Heater writes about his experience for TechCrunch. According to him, the $169 device takes up very little space in his luggage and records conversations at the touch of a button. The recordings are transferred in real time …
Amazon has unveiled an AI-powered video generator – but only for advertisers. This was reported by Kyle Wiggers for TechCrunch. The tool can create short commercials from a single product image and is currently in beta for select US advertisers. The generated videos are six to nine seconds long and have a resolution of 720p. …
The AI tool Scramble is an extension for the Chrome browser. Once installed, you highlight the text in question, select “Scramble” from the context menu, and get suggestions for improvement. According to the project’s official GitHub page, it aims to be a more flexible and privacy-friendly alternative to Grammarly. However, the privacy argument in particular …
WonderWorld can be used to create interactive 3D scenes from a single image. It is the result of research at Stanford University and MIT. WonderWorld allows users to define scene content and layouts in real time and explore the resulting 3D worlds with low latency. At its core is a new rendering method called Fast …
OpenAI is apparently planning a radical change to its logo. According to Fortune, employees were presented with a new design in a company-wide meeting: a large black ring or the number zero. The logo was met with disapproval by many employees, who found it grim and uncreative. The redesign began about a year ago and …
AI is enabling new careers for deceased celebrities and millions in revenue for today’s rights holders. According to a report by Mia Dawkins for Bloomberg, the estates of stars such as James Dean, Judy Garland and others can continue to make money thanks to AI technology. For example, these celebrities are lending their voices to …
The technology industry is blindly rushing into questionable trends such as generative AI and blockchain, security expert Soatok argues in a blog post. He observes that more and more companies are adopting these technologies without considering the interests of users or ethical concerns. Soatok gives specific examples: WordPress forces AI-generated images on paying customers, Snapchat …
A new iOS app called SocialAI offers a Twitter-like experience where users interact exclusively with AI bots. This was reported by Natasha Lomas for TechCrunch. The app was created by Michael Sayman, a 28-year-old programmer from New York. Users can share thoughts and receive endless replies from AI-generated bots with different personality types. Unlike traditional …