News/AI Models
Two top law schools lean in, now require AI essays for admissions
Two prestigious U.S. law schools are requiring applicants to use artificial intelligence in their admissions essays, marking a significant shift from the typical prohibition against AI assistance in college applications. The University of Michigan and University of Miami law schools have introduced AI-powered essay questions for fall 2026 admissions, reflecting AI's growing integration into legal education and practice. What you should know: These schools are pioneering a new approach to evaluating prospective law students' AI competency alongside traditional metrics. The University of Miami requires applicants to create detailed prompts for generative AI tools like ChatGPT to generate a "comprehensive analysis"...
read Sep 30, 2025Amazon’s $100B AI bet stumbles as Alexa Plus disappoints users
Amazon's AI-powered Alexa Plus has launched with significant performance issues, including slow response times of up to 15 seconds and persistent hallucination problems that undermine its reliability for smart home control. The upgrade represents Amazon's attempt to compete with ChatGPT-like conversational AI, but early reviews reveal the technology isn't ready for the predictable, instant responses users expect from home automation systems. Key performance issues: The new Alexa Plus struggles with basic functionality that users have come to expect from smart assistants. Simple requests like checking the weather can take over 10 seconds, compared to instantly accessing smartphone apps. Complex smart...
read Sep 30, 2025Google DeepMind launches Gemini Robotics-ER 1.5 for smarter robot reasoning
Google DeepMind has released Gemini Robotics-ER 1.5, a new embodied reasoning model designed specifically for robotic applications that can perform spatial reasoning, multi-step planning, and execution in physical environments. The model represents a significant shift toward separating reasoning from execution in robotics AI, potentially making it easier to adapt advanced AI capabilities across different hardware platforms and accelerating the development of general-purpose robots. What you should know: Gemini Robotics-ER 1.5 is now available in preview through Google AI Studio and the Gemini API, offering developers a new approach to robotic intelligence. The model can output precise 2D points grounded in...
read Sep 30, 2025Open your mouth and say AI: Dental startups raise $10M to detect disease and boost access
AI startups are positioning themselves to revolutionize dentistry by using artificial intelligence to detect oral diseases early, streamline administrative processes, and expand access to care. The push comes as dental health crises intensify globally, with 3.7 billion people affected by oral diseases and millions lacking adequate access to preventive care, creating a massive opportunity for AI-driven solutions to transform reactive treatment into proactive prevention. The big picture: Traditional dentistry has been stuck in a reactive model of drilling and filling, but AI companies are betting they can shift the industry toward prevention and accessibility. Dr. Deepak Aulak, founder of Toothfairy,...
read Sep 30, 2025Where’s Mittens? Ring launches 4K cameras with AI-powered lost pet tracking
Ring has unveiled its most advanced security camera lineup to date, featuring the company's first-ever 4K cameras alongside two 2K models, all powered by AI technology for enhanced home security. The seven new devices introduce features like AI-powered lost pet tracking and Alexa+ integration that can interact with visitors on behalf of homeowners, marking a significant leap in smart home security capabilities. What you should know: Ring's new cameras feature "Retinal Vision" technology that optimizes every step of the imaging process with AI tuning for more realistic video quality. The system delivers 10x zoom and improved low-light performance, capturing details...
read Sep 30, 2025Morgan Stanley slashes Adobe price target as AI competitors threaten market share
Morgan Stanley has slashed its price target for Adobe, warning that the software giant faces serious threats from AI-powered competitors like Figma and Canva that are rapidly gaining users with their "Magic" features and AI agent integrations. The investment bank's analysts expressed doubt that Adobe can meaningfully monetize its AI investments, despite the company's attempts to integrate generative AI across its product suite. What you should know: Adobe's stock has dropped over 18% year-to-date despite beating third-quarter earnings expectations, with analysts questioning whether the company's AI strategy can generate adequate returns. Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss warned there is "relative...
read Sep 30, 2025Google Drive adds AI ransomware detection to stop attacks before they spread
Google Drive is adding AI-powered ransomware detection to its desktop application, using a specialized model trained on millions of real-world ransomware samples to identify malicious file modifications before they spread. The feature automatically pauses file syncing when threats are detected, sends alerts to users, and enables file restoration, addressing the growing ransomware threat that saw 5,289 attacks worldwide in 2024—a 15% increase from the previous year. How it works: Google's AI model continuously monitors file changes on Windows and macOS systems to detect signs of ransomware activity like mass encryption or corruption attempts. When the system detects suspicious activity, it...
read Sep 29, 2025AI platform gives indie filmmakers Netflix-level data insights
Sean O'Kelly and Sami Arpa are democratizing film production with a new AI-powered platform that gives independent filmmakers access to the same data-driven insights that major streaming platforms use internally. Their collaboration between Brilliant Pictures and Largo.ai aims to level the playing field by providing predictive analytics, automated focus group testing, and financing tools that were previously exclusive to industry giants like Netflix and Amazon. What you should know: Largo.ai translates the complex data analytics used by major streamers into accessible tools for independent producers and writers. The platform analyzes scripts scene by scene to predict audience engagement, helping filmmakers...
read Sep 29, 2025Pennsylvania TECH360 conference shows businesses how to deploy AI beyond the hype
The TECH360 business technology conference will focus on artificial intelligence applications across industries, scheduled for October 15 at Penn State Great Valley in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Hosted by the Innovative Technology Action Group (ITAG), an initiative of the Chester County Economic Development Council, the "AI for All" themed event aims to provide business leaders with practical strategies for implementing AI in their organizations, featuring speakers from IBM, Vanguard, and other regional companies. What you should know: The full-day conference runs from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will demonstrate how AI is transforming various sectors including logistics, life sciences, finance,...
read Sep 29, 2025Anthropic one player among many as trendy “vibe-coding” competition heats up
Anthropic launched Claude Sonnet 4.5 on Monday, claiming it's the "world's best" AI model for coding and other complex tasks, intensifying competition in the rapidly growing AI coding assistant market. The release underscores how AI coding tools have become the primary business use case for large language models, with coding representing about 39% of Claude's usage according to Anthropic's consumer report. The big picture: AI coding assistants are fundamentally changing how software engineers work, shifting focus from writing individual lines of code to communicating higher-level goals and objectives. "The essence of it is you're no longer in the nitty-gritty syntax,"...
read Sep 29, 2025Top advertising org’s new framework places 84 AI use cases into 6 categories
The advertising industry stands at an inflection point where artificial intelligence transforms every aspect of campaign development and execution. Yet for many marketing organizations, navigating this technological landscape feels like trying to read a map written in a foreign language. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), the industry's primary trade organization representing digital advertising companies, recently addressed this challenge with the release of its comprehensive AI in Advertising Use Case Map. Published in September 2024, this framework organizes 84 distinct AI applications across six strategic categories, providing marketing professionals with a structured approach to understanding, evaluating, and implementing artificial intelligence solutions....
read Sep 29, 2025Apple supplier BOE launches $28M robotics unit amid China’s market dominance
Chinese display manufacturer BOE Technology Group has launched Beijing BOE Robot, a new subsidiary focused on developing industrial robots and AI software, with registered capital of 200 million yuan ($28 million). The move positions the Apple supplier to capitalize on China's dominance in industrial robotics, where the country deployed 295,000 robots in 2024—accounting for 54% of global installations. What you should know: BOE, the world's largest display maker, established the robotics subsidiary on Thursday as part of a broader trend among major manufacturers pursuing automation technologies.• The new company will focus specifically on industrial robots and artificial intelligence software development.•...
read Sep 29, 2025Claude Sonnet 4.5 leads AI coding race as Anthropic hits $500M revenue
Anthropic released Claude Sonnet 4.5 on Monday, positioning it as the world's best AI coding system and a significant leap forward in applied artificial intelligence. The new model arrives just four months after its predecessor, highlighting the startup's aggressive product development pace as it seeks to maintain its lead in AI-powered software development—a market where its Claude Code product is already generating more than $500 million in run-rate revenue. What you should know: Sonnet 4.5 delivers state-of-the-art results on SWE-Bench Verified, a standard benchmark for evaluating software engineering performance. The model enhances code reliability, refactoring judgment, and production-readiness compared to...
read Sep 29, 2025“Tilly Norwood” makes a go of it in Tinseltown: First AI actress woos talent agents as studios embrace tech
Tilly Norwood, the first AI actress from talent studio Xicoia, has attracted interest from multiple talent agents and is expected to sign with representation in the coming months. The development signals growing industry acceptance of AI-generated performers, with studios quietly advancing AI projects after initial skepticism earlier this year. What you should know: Tilly Norwood represents a new frontier in entertainment, as the first creation from AI talent studio Xicoia, a spin-off from Eline Van der Velden's production company Particle6. Van der Velden, an actor and comedian, revealed at the Zurich Summit that multiple talent agents are now interested in...
read Sep 29, 2025CEOs risk obsolescence by treating AI as efficiency tool instead of business reshaper
Fortune contributor Mike Hoffman argues that CEOs are misreading AI's transformative potential by treating it as an efficiency tool rather than a fundamental business reshaper. His analysis draws parallels to how Blockbuster missed streaming's disruptive power while focusing on optimizing store operations, warning that companies risk obsolescence if they fail to recognize AI as a signal detector that can identify problems humans can't see. The big picture: More than half of the Fortune 500 companies from 2000 no longer exist, with most failing not from lack of vision but from solving the wrong problems while missing critical market signals. Why...
read Sep 29, 2025Yahoo alum Marissa Mayer shuts down $20M AI startup Sunshine after 7 rocky years
Marissa Mayer is shutting down her AI startup Sunshine after seven rocky years and transferring its assets to Dazzle, a new AI company she recently incorporated. The move signals Mayer's pivot toward developing a new kind of AI personal assistant, with 99% of shareholders approving the acquisition deal as of late September. What you should know: Sunshine, originally called Lumi Labs, struggled to gain traction despite raising $20 million in venture funding plus Mayer's personal investment since its 2018 founding. The startup's roughly 15 employees are expected to transition to new roles at Dazzle, according to sources close to the...
read Sep 29, 2025NVIDIA unveils open-source robotics platform with physics simulation and AI reasoning
NVIDIA unveiled a comprehensive robotics development platform at the Conference on Robot Learning (CoRL) in Seoul, introducing open-source tools designed to accelerate the transition from research labs to real-world robotic applications. The semiconductor giant's latest announcements center on solving fundamental challenges in robotics development: creating realistic simulations for training, enabling human-like reasoning in robots, and bridging the gap between virtual testing and physical deployment. The new platform combines three core technologies that work together as an integrated system. The Newton Physics Engine provides realistic simulation environments where robots can safely learn complex tasks. The Isaac GR00T foundation model serves as...
read Sep 26, 2025Cambridge researchers use AI to map hedgehog habitats from satellite data
Cambridge researchers have developed an AI model that identifies bramble patches from satellite imagery to map potential hedgehog habitats across the UK. This innovative approach addresses a critical conservation challenge, as European hedgehog populations have declined by 30-50% over the past decade, and traditional tracking methods are too expensive and labor-intensive for large-scale monitoring. How it works: The AI system combines satellite data with citizen science observations to detect brambles, which serve as essential hedgehog habitats for shelter, nesting, and food sources. The model uses relatively simple machine learning techniques—logistic regression and k-nearest neighbors classification—rather than complex deep learning models...
read Sep 26, 2025Insta360 launches Wave AI speakerphone with levitating design for elevated productivity
Insta360 has launched Wave, an AI-enabled speakerphone that marks the company's first major entry into professional audio hardware. The device features a unique "levitating" design and integrates with Insta360's AI meeting assistant to transcribe conversations, generate summaries, and create searchable audio archives—positioning the imaging company to compete in the growing market for AI-powered workplace tools. Key features: Wave combines advanced audio capture with intelligent processing capabilities designed for professional use. An 8-microphone 3D array records Hi-Fi 48 kHz quality audio from up to 16 feet away, while AI suppresses over 300 types of ambient noise including traffic and keyboard clicks....
read Sep 26, 2025Windows 11 Photos app now uses AI to automatically sort images into categories
Microsoft is testing an AI-powered feature for its Photos app on Windows 11 that automatically sorts images into specific categories like receipts, screenshots, identity documents, and handwritten notes. The feature aims to help users better organize their photo libraries by using visual recognition to categorize images, even when text appears in non-English languages. How it works: The Photos app uses AI to analyze the visual content of images and automatically place them into designated folders based on what it detects.• Categories currently include receipts, screenshots, identity documents, and handwritten notes.• The system can identify and sort images containing text in...
read Sep 26, 2025Databricks and OpenAI launch $100M Agent brick platform for enterprise AI
Databricks, a data intelligence platform company, has partnered with OpenAI in a $100 million deal to launch "Agent brick," an enterprise AI platform that integrates advanced models like GPT-5 into business-ready agent systems. The collaboration aims to help companies build AI agents that can analyze data, automate workflows, and maintain compliance with regulations and cybersecurity standards, positioning both companies to capture growing enterprise demand for frontier AI capabilities. What you should know: The Agent brick platform runs on Databricks' data intelligence infrastructure, allowing enterprises to deploy large language models at scale while maintaining governance and security standards. Companies can build...
read Sep 26, 2025Apple faces 69-plaintiff lawsuit over delayed iPhone 16 AI features
Apple has filed a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging the company misled customers about delayed Apple Intelligence features when marketing the iPhone 16. The case, which consolidated multiple lawsuits and features 69 plaintiffs, centers on Apple's promise of enhanced Siri capabilities that have been delayed until 2026, potentially setting a precedent for how tech companies can market products based on future promises rather than current capabilities. What you should know: The lawsuit, Landsheft v. Apple Inc., specifically targets Apple's marketing of two delayed Siri features: personal context awareness and in-app controls. Apple argues it cannot support the...
read Sep 26, 2025Buttress, not butt out? Survey finds 83% of business leaders see AI as employee support, not replacement
Only 11% of business executives expect AI adoption to trigger significant job cuts in their organizations, according to a new survey from Creatio, a customer relationship management platform. The findings contrast sharply with predictions from tech leaders like Dario Amodei, CEO of AI company Anthropic, who has suggested AI could eliminate half of all white-collar jobs within five years, highlighting a disconnect between current business sentiment and long-term AI impact forecasts. What you should know: The vast majority of business leaders view AI as a tool for employee support rather than replacement. 83% of executives surveyed said AI systems and...
read Sep 26, 2025Nurse Ratchet: Diligent Robotics’ wheeled hospital bots save 500K human hours
Vivian Chu, co-founder and CTO of Diligent Robotics, argues that wheeled robots will handle most commercial applications, challenging the current industry focus on bipedal humanoid robots from companies like Tesla and Figure.AI. Her Austin-based startup has deployed over 90 wheeled robots across 25+ hospitals, completing 1.2 million supply deliveries and saving an estimated half a million hours of human labor. What you should know: Diligent Robotics' wheeled robot Moxi represents what Chu calls the "minimum viable humanoid" — a practical approach to workplace automation. Moxi features two arms, a head, and wheels instead of legs, designed specifically for hospital environments...
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