Meta Previews Its Vibes AI Video Generator for Social Sharing

Meta Platforms is rolling out Vibes, a short-form AI video generator now in early preview. Using Meta AI, Vibes allows the visually adventurous to create videos from their own ideas or remix existing ones by adding music or changing the style to make it your own. Vibes has its own feed featuring “a range of AI-generated videos from creators and communities.” As you use it, “the feed will become more personalized over time,” according to Meta. Vibes videos can also be cross-posted to Instagram and Facebook Stories and Reels or shared with friends via DM. Vibes is available on the Meta AI app and the Web at Meta.ai. Continue reading Meta Previews Its Vibes AI Video Generator for Social Sharing

Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 Good at Coding and Collegiality

Anthropic has released its latest frontier AI model, Claude Sonnet 4.5, built for high-performance coding and building complex agents. Anthropic claims it is “the best coding model in the world” and “the best model at using computers,” with substantial gains in reasoning and math. Claude Sonnet 4.5 is distinctive in that it can build “production-ready” applications and is not limited to prototypes, Anthropic says, describing it as a major gain over previous models. The new model also excels in research as well as enterprise basics like cybersecurity and finance, per Anthropic. Continue reading Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 Good at Coding and Collegiality

YouTube Labs Invites Users to Test Experimental AI Features

YouTube is introducing YouTube Labs, an experimental hub where users can test the company’s latest artificial intelligence tools and prototypes, starting with AI hosts for YouTube Music. “As you listen to radio and mixes, AI hosts will chime in with relevant stories and insights,” YouTube explains. A brand-specific version of its parent company’s Google Labs, YouTube Labs is positioned as the place “to discover the next generation of YouTube,” and the streaming video giant says that like its predecessor, “feedback and interactions may be used to improve Google products and services.” Continue reading YouTube Labs Invites Users to Test Experimental AI Features

Nvidia Audio2Face AI Avatar-Generator Is Now Open Source

Nvidia has made its Audio2Face open source, a potential boon for game developers and other 3D uses such as customer service. The generative AI facial animation system brings lifelike speech and expression to avatars on an accelerated basis using real-time facial animation and lip-sync. It works by analyzing acoustic features to create a stream of animation data that is then mapped onto a character’s facial poses. The data translates to “accurate lip-sync and emotional expressions,” says Nvidia, noting the imagery can be rendered offline for pre-scripted content or streamed in real time for dynamic characters with accurate lip-sync and emotional expressions. Continue reading Nvidia Audio2Face AI Avatar-Generator Is Now Open Source

Consistency Is Key: Lessons on Generative AI via ‘The Bends’

In less than three years, generative AI has evolved from an experimental toy to a regular presence in studio pitches, previs workflows, and even the festival circuit. Yet one challenge has stymied the full adoption of generative AI in long-form storytelling: establishing and maintaining control over outputs. This challenge also fuels many of the anxieties surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in media production. How can artists maintain their creative voice when a machine is doing all the artistic work, and often doing so with inconsistent results? The Entertainment Technology Center at USC set out to tackle these and related challenges with a new film project, “The Bends.” Continue reading Consistency Is Key: Lessons on Generative AI via ‘The Bends’

YouTube Unveils Array of New AI Tools, Including Video Model

AI-powered creator tools were a central focus at this week’s Made on YouTube event, where the company unveiled Veo 3 Fast, a “quicker and more cost effective version” of Google’s powerful video model, Veo 3 that is being made available free for creators in YouTube Shorts. Veo 3 Fast generates outputs with lower latency at 480p and also generates sound, a first for YouTube Shorts. YouTube created the mobile-first Veo 3 Fast model in partnership with artificial intelligence research lab Google DeepMind. Video creators will soon be able to leverage Veo 3 Fast to add backgrounds and objects or change styles using prompts. Continue reading YouTube Unveils Array of New AI Tools, Including Video Model

Amazon Music Adds Weekly Vibe AI Playlists Across All Tiers

Amazon Music has a new AI-powered personalization feature called Weekly Vibe that is designed to keep playlists fresh and prevent listeners from tiring of the same songs. The feature is available to iOS and Android users in the U.S. across all subscription tiers. Every Monday, Weekly Vibe will update playlists to reflect recent listening choices, taking into account musical interests and moods. It will also suggest new music based on demonstrated patterns and preferences. Weekly Vibe builds on the Maestro AI playlist generator Amazon Music launched in beta last year. Continue reading Amazon Music Adds Weekly Vibe AI Playlists Across All Tiers

Nvidia Says Rubin CPX Inference Accelerator Coming in 2026

Nvidia has designed a new class of GPU for massive-context inference, the Rubin CPX, due in late 2026. Purpose-built to speed the million-token applications used to generate video and create software, the Rubin CPX functions as a specialty accelerator, working in concert with Nvidia Vera CPUs and Rubin GPUs packaged inside the upcoming Vera Rubin NVL144 CPX rack platform. “The Vera Rubin platform will mark another leap in the frontier of AI computing,” revolutionizing massive-context AI just as RTX did graphics and physical AI, said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Continue reading Nvidia Says Rubin CPX Inference Accelerator Coming in 2026

OpenAI Making Its Film Debut with $30M Animation ‘Critterz’

OpenAI is hoping an animated short film called “Critterz” that it got off the ground will have its feature-length debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2026. OpenAI is providing the AI technology to produce the film, which is being funded at $30 million by Paris-based Federation Studios, whose UK subsidiary Vertigo Films will produce in conjunction with Culver City’s Native Foreign, a firm known for blending AI with conventional techniques. OpenAI is providing use of its generative models, including the Sora video generator and DALL-E imager, to create what it hopes will be a test case. The idea is to complete in nine months what would normally take years at a fraction of the cost. Continue reading OpenAI Making Its Film Debut with $30M Animation ‘Critterz’

Samsung Unveils Galaxy S25 FE Smartphone and S11 Tablets

Following the reveal of its new foldable phones, Samsung hosted a second Galaxy Unpacked summer event to unveil its Galaxy S25 FE smartphone and Galaxy Tab S11 and Tab S11 Ultra tablets. Equipped with Samsung’s latest One UI 8 user interface, the Galaxy S25 FE features multimodal Galaxy AI capabilities including Generative Edit and Instant Slow-mo and a 12MP front-facing camera powered by the ProVisual Engine for enhanced selfies. The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is billed as “the thinnest Galaxy Tab to date.” Both new tablets also boast multimodal AI capabilities with Galaxy AI. Continue reading Samsung Unveils Galaxy S25 FE Smartphone and S11 Tablets

Google Pushes Generative Video with Filmmaker in Residence

Google wants to heighten the profile of its Veo 3 video generator, and to help do so has named Henry Daubrez, the longtime creative chief at the multidisciplinary Dogstudio/DEPT, filmmaker in residence at Google Labs. In addition to working with the Google team to continue developing the Veo 3-powered Flow AI filmmaking tool, Daubrez will mentor artists in a new pilot program called Flow Sessions. Select filmmakers will get unlimited access to Flow, a subscription product starting at $20 per month, plus mentorship and AI education as part of Flow Sessions. Continue reading Google Pushes Generative Video with Filmmaker in Residence

Amazon’s Lens Live Brings Real-Time AI Shopping to Mobile

Amazon has introduced Lens Live, an AI-powered update to the Amazon Lens shopping tool. The app, which works in concert with Amazon’s Rufus shopping assistant, uses smartphone cameras much like Google Lens does with visual search. Pinterest Lens is another such app. But the purpose-built Rufus ties it even more closely to the shopping experience with instant scanning, real-time product matches and insights from Rufus. Lens Live is already available to tens of millions of U.S. users on iOS in the Amazon Shopping app with plans to roll out to all U.S. customers in the coming months. Continue reading Amazon’s Lens Live Brings Real-Time AI Shopping to Mobile

Nvidia Announces Continued Growth, $26 Billion in Q2 Profit

Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia reported its sales were $46.7 billion for the most recent quarter, marking 56 percent growth over the same period last year and up 6 percent sequentially. Profit rose more than 59 percent to $26.42 billion. The results, which surpassed estimates, reassured global analysts and investors that AI infrastructure spending remains strong, easing — though not erasing — anxieties about an AI bubble. This summer, the chipmaker became the first company to exceed a market cap of $4 trillion, and it is considered a global barometer for the overall health of the artificial intelligence sector. Continue reading Nvidia Announces Continued Growth, $26 Billion in Q2 Profit

Netflix Publishes Partner Guidelines for GenAI Production Use

Netflix has issued partner guidelines outlining use of generative AI in content workflows. The guidelines emphasize circumstances in which the use of generative AI requires advanced written approval, such as altering a character or performance, any inclusion of generative AI in the final product or using AI in a way that materially impacts union work. Fabricated content that could be “mistaken for real events” is to be avoided. Use of AI for “ideation” is deemed generally acceptable if done within guidelines. Allowing models to train on input or output of material destined for Netflix is off-limits. Continue reading Netflix Publishes Partner Guidelines for GenAI Production Use

Latest Netflix Upfront Ad Commitments Double from Last Year

Netflix says it has more than doubled overall Upfront ad sales commitments, with year-over-year growth across all categories including retail, CPG, telco, health and wellness, entertainment and tech. It marks a strong showing for the streaming company, which launched its ad-supported tier in November 2022. For the 2025-2026 season, Netflix has once again sold out its Christmas Day NFL double-header, including sponsorships with Accenture, FanDuel, Google and Verizon for in-game and broadcast inventory. Netflix also reports robust response to the final season of “Stranger Things” and returning series “Bridgerton” and “Emily in Paris.” Continue reading Latest Netflix Upfront Ad Commitments Double from Last Year