Sesame introduces conversational AI assistant with natural voice presence

Sesame, a startup led by Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe, has unveiled a new AI voice assistant called Maya that aims to cross “the uncanny valley of conversational voice.” According to a recent article by technology journalist Sean Hollister, Maya offers more natural and engaging conversations compared to existing voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa or Google’s …

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Microsoft opens up Voice and Think Deeper features for all Copilot users

Microsoft is now providing unlimited access to Voice and Think Deeper features for all Copilot users at no cost. The Copilot Team announced these advanced capabilities as part of their effort to build “the ultimate AI companion.” Voice allows for extended voice conversations with the AI, while Think Deeper, powered by OpenAI’s o1 model, handles …

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Amazon launches Alexa+ with enhanced AI capabilities

Amazon has unveiled Alexa+, a significant upgrade to its voice assistant that incorporates advanced artificial intelligence technology. This revamped version, announced at a press event in New York City, represents the most substantial overhaul of the platform since its introduction over a decade ago. Alexa+ employs what Amazon describes as a “model agnostic” approach, utilizing …

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OpenAI launches GPT-4.5 model

OpenAI has officially launched GPT-4.5, its newest and largest AI language model to date. The model, previously known internally as “Orion,” is being released as a research preview with claims of enhanced conversational abilities, reduced hallucination rates, and improved emotional intelligence compared to previous models. While OpenAI positions GPT-4.5 as its “largest and best model …

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Claude 3.7 Sonnet has customizable reasoning capabilities

Anthropic has introduced Claude 3.7 Sonnet, positioning it as the first hybrid AI reasoning model that combines quick responses with extended thinking capabilities. The model allows users to choose between immediate answers and more thorough analysis, with API users having precise control over the model’s thinking time up to 128,000 tokens. Key Features and Capabilities …

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Mistral’s AI chatbot reaches one million downloads in two weeks

French AI company Mistral’s chatbot Le Chat has achieved one million downloads within 14 days of its launch. According to reporting by Romain Dillet for TechCrunch, the app quickly became the most downloaded free application on iOS in France. French President Emmanuel Macron publicly endorsed Le Chat over competitors like ChatGPT. The app enters a …

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Fiverr launches AI tool for freelancers to automate their work

Fiverr has introduced a new AI system that allows freelancers to train artificial intelligence on their previous work and offer AI-generated content to clients. As reported by Kyle Wiggers for TechCrunch, the “Personal AI Creation Model” enables gig workers to create AI versions of their services for tasks like voice-overs and graphic design. The service …

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Elon Musk’s xAI launches Grok 3, claiming superior performance to existing AI models

XAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, has launched its latest AI model Grok 3, marking a significant development in the competitive AI landscape. The new model family was unveiled during a livestreamed presentation, with Musk claiming it represents a major advancement over its predecessor, Grok 2. Technical Infrastructure and Capabilities The model’s development relied on …

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Google extends NotebookLM Plus to consumers

Google has made NotebookLM Plus, its AI-powered note-taking and research assistant, available to individual users through the Google One AI Premium plan. As reported by Jagmeet Singh for TechCrunch, the service offers enhanced features including 500 notebooks, 300 sources per notebook, and 500 daily chat queries. The premium version costs $20 monthly, with a 50% …

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Mistral launches mobile AI assistant with premium tier

French AI company Mistral has released mobile versions of its AI assistant Le Chat for iOS and Android devices. As reported by Romain Dillet for TechCrunch, the app offers a conversation-like interface for interacting with Mistral’s language models. The company also introduced a Pro subscription at $14.99 per month, providing access to their most advanced …

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