Tech News – Page 2 – by Arlin Schaffel

Getty Images is going private after failed Shutterstock merger

Getty Images intends to file for bankruptcy and go private as part of a restructuring agreement after its plans to merge with rival stock platform Shutterstock fell through earlier this year. On Monday, Getty announced it had secured $533 million from the Getty family and Charles Koch’s investment firm to cut its debt and take the company private, outlining plans to undergo a prepackaged Chapter 11 process “in the coming weeks.”
https://www.theverge.com/business/1009893/getty-images-bankruptcy-private-plans-agreement

‘Things may get ugly’: Meta’s new AI Muse is about to make the internet more annoying

"There's going to be a huge escalation of the problems we're already having with bots," says Calli Schroeder, director of the AI and Human Rights Program at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (Epic) in the US. "What happens if bots send 600 inquiries to a website a day, when normal humans might only send two?" says Shroeder. "Businesses and individuals are going to have a lot to deal with."
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260930-metas-new-ai-is-about-to-break-the-internet

Big Tech is cutewashing its AI agents

We are firmly in the era of the anthropomorphic AI mascot, and according to multiple researchers and designers I spoke with, the trend makes perfect sense. In moments when tech companies want to encourage mass market adoption of an unfamiliar service, they’ve historically turned to friendly, approachable design.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91620091/big-tech-is-cutewashing-its-ai-agents

Pinterest’s AI now turns beauty Pins into action plans

“Beauty Guides,” which are powered by the company’s visual intelligence and generative AI technology, Pinterest Intelligence, will translate Pins into terms and phrases used by stylists and nail artists that everyday users may not know, like “balayage,” “root melt,” or “almond nails.” The feature is a small but practical way to introduce AI into users’ everyday lives, as it slots into something that people are already doing: bringing a photo of their inspiration to the salon. That’s useful to a large extent, but having the right terminology at hand while you discuss what parts of the look you want to edit or change can be useful as well.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/06/pinterests-ai-now-turns-beauty-pins-into-action-plans

OpenAI is sticking more ads in ChatGPT

The company first brought ads to ChatGPT in February. Until now, ChatGPT’s ads only showed a company’s name, logo, and a link to its product in a “sponsored” section beneath your chat. OpenAI’s visual ad format will similarly remain separate from the image you generate and will “not influence the answers ChatGPT provides.” Ads won’t appear if you subscribe to ChatGPT’s Plus, Pro, or Enterprise plans.
https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1004655/openai-chatgpt-visual-ads

Laytr’s new app lets you save anything you find online, not just articles to read

After Mozilla’s read-it-later app Pocket shut down in August, a number of alternatives popped up to take its place. But one newcomer, Laytr, is taking things further than offering a way to save things to read. The app lets you save anything on the web for later consumption, whether that’s an article, recipe, screenshot, video, PDF, bookmark, or tab.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/02/laytrs-new-app-lets-you-save-anything-you-find-online-not-just-articles-to-read

ChatGPT can now virtually try on clothes for you

OpenAI is again experimenting with how its conversational AI assistant, ChatGPT, can help users as they shop online. On Thursday, the company announced the global launch of two new shopping features, including a way to virtually try on clothing and accessories and a new favoriting function that can help users save products they like for later reference.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/01/chatgpt-can-now-virtually-try-on-clothes-for-you