Google has added new AI features to Google Photos and YouTube Shorts. Having previously introduced generative backgrounds, YouTube Shorts now has a photo-to-video feature, as well as a variety of menu-driven effects accessible via the Shorts camera that aim to advance social media or arts project creativity — things like turning line drawings into watercolors, putting a selfie “underwater” or adding a digital twin. And Google Photos, available on just about every Android phone, now also has the ability to turn stills to video. For now, both rely on the Veo 2 video model rather than Veo 3, launched in May. Continue reading Google Photos, YouTube Shorts Offer New AI Creation Tools

Intel has released the second iteration of AI Playground, an app it debuted this summer as “a user-friendly AI starter app” designed to simplify artificial intelligence on Intel AI PCs. This latest version works with the new line of Intel Core Ultra 200V series processors, designed for AI under the codename Lunar Lake. The idea is to help those using Intel PCs get comfortable using AI functionality without any special account, or even an Internet connection. Intel also launched two new artificial intelligence chips, the Xeon 6 CPU and Gaudi 3 AI accelerator. Continue reading Intel Updates AI Playground App and Launches New AI Chips