ai – Page 16 – Tech News

Adobe launches subscriptions for Firefly AI

Previously, Adobe offered many of Firefly’s AI tools within its existing Creative Cloud subscriptions, letting users try the new tools for no added cost. Users could upgrade to pricier plans if they wanted more access to Firefly, but they didn’t have to. That system worked well for Adobe: Firefly’s generative fill feature, added to Photoshop in 2023, has become one of the company’s most popular new features of the last decade. Now, Adobe wants to see if users will also pay up for its Firefly AI models.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/12/adobe-launches-firefly-ai-subscriptions/

Deepfake videos are getting shockingly good

According to the ByteDance researchers, OmniHuman-1 only needs a single reference image and audio, like speech or vocals, to generate a clip of an arbitrary length. The output video’s aspect ratio is adjustable, as is the subject’s “body proportion” — i.e. how much of their body is shown in the fake footage.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/04/deepfake-videos-are-getting-shockingly-good/

Why employees smuggle AI into work

According to a survey by Software AG, half of all knowledge workers use personal AI tools. The research defines knowledge workers as "those who primarily work at a desk or computer". For some it's because their IT team doesn't offer AI tools, while others said they wanted their own choice of tools.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn7rx05xg2go

Books written by humans are getting their own certification

image via theverge.com

The Guild says its “Human Authored” certification aims to make it easier for writers to “distinguish their work in increasingly AI-saturated markets,” and that readers have a right to know who (or what) created the books they read. Human Authored certifications will be listed in a public database that anyone can access. The project was first announced back in October in response to a deluge of AI-generated books flooding online marketplaces like Amazon and its Kindle ebook platform.
https://www.theverge.com/news/602918/human-authored-book-certification-ai-authors-guild

UK’s first AI classroom without teachers sparks debate

"Teaching and education will be transformed by AI. There is no doubt about that, and AI is not going to go away," said co-principal John Dalton, urging people to become "agile and adopt it". Instead of teachers, the class at David Game College has real life "learning coaches", who are qualified as teachers but do not necessarily know the content of subjects and instead guide students through using the AI systems. They also mentor them in soft skills like debating and financial literacy.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/uks-first-ai-classroom-without-132554022.html

What Is DeepSeek? China Shocks AI Industry With ‘Sputnik Moment’

Chinese AI company DeepSeek released an AI model that is sending shockwaves through the US tech industry due to its low cost and high performance. Tech investor Marc Andreessen calls it "AI's Sputnik moment," causing US tech stocks to tumble this morning, with Nvidia the hardest hit, down 11%. The app surpassed ChatGPT on the Apple App Store as the most-downloaded free application. But after receiving a flood of registrations and "large-scale malicious attacks"—possibly a DDoS attack—DeepSeek has "temporarily" restricted access to those with a +86 mainland Chinese phone number. You may still be able to sign in with a Google account.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/what-is-deepseek-china-shocks-ai-industry-with-sputnik-moment

Designers say AI is making stock image sites unusable

AI is supposed to make things quicker and easier, right? But while it's true that AI tools can automate or streamline some of the most tedious tasks, it appears that the tech, or its results, are making some tasks more difficult. Some designers who use stock image libraries to source photos, illustrations and vectors for their projects are finding that they have to wade through more unusable content to find an image that suits their needs, adding more time to their workflows.
https://www.creativebloq.com/ai/ai-art/designers-say-ai-is-making-stock-image-sites-unusable