Amazon’s Lens Live AI shops for anything you can see
Amazon will now let you shop for products by pointing your camera at them. On Thursday, the company announced Lens Live, a new feature that uses your camera to scan…
Is AI the end of software engineering or the next step in its evolution?
The first time I used ChatGPT to code, back in early 2023, I was reminded of “The Monkey’s Paw,” a classic horror story about an accursed talisman that grants wishes,…
Chatbots can be manipulated through flattery and peer pressure
Generally, AI chatbots are not supposed to do things like call you names or tell you how to make controlled substances. But, just like a person, with the right psychological…
Meta is struggling to rein in its AI chatbots
Meta is changing some of the rules governing its chatbots two weeks after a Reuters investigation revealed disturbing ways in which they could, potentially, interact with minors. Now the company…
AI agents are science fiction not yet ready for primetime
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on all things AI, follow Hayden Field. The Stepback arrives in our…
Showrunner wants to turn you into a happy little content prompter for the ‘Netflix of AI’
As one of the cofounders behind Oculus Story Studio, Edward Saatchi knows how hard it can be to sell people on new tech that bills itself as revolutionary. Even though…
The future of AI hardware isn’t one device — it’s an entire ecosystem
I dream of a gadget that can do it all. Instead, when I leave for the office, I pack one or two phones, a portable battery bank, a laptop, a…
What’s really happening with the hires at Meta Superintelligence Labs
In June, Mark Zuckerberg went for the ultimate Hail Mary in the ever-intensifying AI race: He spun up a brand-new Meta AI lab after making a $14.3 billion acquisition of…
Microsoft AI launches its first in-house models
Microsoft’s AI division announced its first homegrown AI models on Thursday: MAI-Voice-1 AI and MAI-1-preview. The company says its new MAI-Voice-1 speech model can generate a minute’s worth of audio…
Microsoft’s Copilot AI is now inside Samsung TVs and monitors
Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant is officially coming to TVs, starting with Samsung’s 2025 lineup of TVs and smart monitors. With the integration, you can call upon Copilot and ask for…