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Google’s ‘Nano Banana’ AI Turns Photos into Collectible‑Style 3D Figurines

Google’s ‘Nano Banana’ AI Turns Photos into Collectible‑Style 3D Figurines

Google’s Gemini 2.5 Flash Image model, nicknamed Nano Banana, lets users upload a photo and receive a realistic, miniature figurine rendering complete with packaging, a clear acrylic base and a 3D‑modeling screen backdrop. The tool is built into Google AI Studio and works with a detailed prompt that specifies scale, style, and presentation. Early adopters have used it to create figurines of themselves and pets, noting the model’s speed, prompt adherence, and surprisingly accurate facial details. The result looks like a high‑end collectible toy ready for mass‑production visuals.

Box CEO Aaron Levie Discusses AI‑Powered Workflow Automation

Box CEO Aaron Levie Discusses AI‑Powered Workflow Automation

Box announced a suite of new AI capabilities that embed agentic models into its cloud content‑management platform. CEO Aaron Levie explained that the focus is on automating workflows that involve unstructured data, a domain where traditional automation has struggled. The company introduced Box Automate, a modular system that breaks complex tasks into smaller segments, allowing AI agents to operate with defined guardrails. Levie emphasized the importance of context, security, and data governance, noting that Box’s long‑standing infrastructure and permission controls enable safe, scalable AI deployment for enterprises.

Roku Plans to Flood Streaming with AI‑Generated Ads for Small Businesses

Roku Plans to Flood Streaming with AI‑Generated Ads for Small Businesses

Roku executives say the company will dramatically widen its advertising ecosystem by tapping generative AI to enable thousands of small and medium‑sized businesses to create and place TV ads on its platform. The strategy moves beyond the traditional top advertisers, aiming to bring hundreds of thousands of new brands to streaming. Roku’s self‑serve tools, powered by AI, promise rapid ad creation, while competitors such as Magnite are also expanding AI‑driven ad solutions. The push could reshape how local businesses reach viewers on connected‑TV devices.

Google's NotebookLM Emerges as a Versatile AI Study Companion

Google's NotebookLM Emerges as a Versatile AI Study Companion

Google's NotebookLM combines Gemini-powered chat with a suite of study‑aid tools that work only with user‑provided material. By turning personal notes, PDFs, and lecture recordings into study guides, timelines, mind maps, flashcards, quizzes, and audio or video overviews, the platform promises more focused answers and fewer hallucinations. Customizable response tones let users tailor the AI’s style, while interactive features aim to suit a range of learning preferences.

OpenAI and Vertigo Films Advance AI-Driven Feature Film with 'Critterz' Adaptation

OpenAI and Vertigo Films Advance AI-Driven Feature Film with 'Critterz' Adaptation

OpenAI and production studio Vertigo Films have announced a collaborative effort to turn the 2023 short film Critterz, originally created as a showcase for OpenAI's DALL·E image generator, into a full-length family adventure. The project, budgeted at less than $30 million, aims to complete production within roughly nine months and target a debut at the Cannes Film Festival the following May. Creative specialist Chad Nelson, who directed the short, will oversee the expansion, while seasoned writers James Lamont and Jon Foster are attached to pen the script. The production will blend human sketches with advanced AI models to animate the film, reflecting a broader push toward AI‑enabled filmmaking despite ongoing industry controversy and copyright concerns.

Apple Faces Pressure to Upgrade Siri with Advanced AI Capabilities

Apple Faces Pressure to Upgrade Siri with Advanced AI Capabilities

Apple's recent iPhone 17 launch highlighted its Apple Intelligence suite, yet Siri remains a basic voice assistant that often returns web links instead of conversational answers. Industry leaders, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, have voiced support for replacing Siri with more sophisticated AI like ChatGPT Voice. Rumors suggest Apple may be in talks with Google to enhance Siri’s functionality. Users are calling for a Siri that can hold conversations, answer simple queries directly, and match the capabilities of emerging AI voice modes.

Anthropic Unveils Claude’s New File‑Creation Suite for Business Users

Anthropic Unveils Claude’s New File‑Creation Suite for Business Users

Anthropic has expanded its Claude AI assistant to generate fully functional Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and PDFs directly from user prompts. The feature runs code in a secure, sandboxed environment and is available to Claude’s Max, Team, and Enterprise subscribers. Users can request data analysis, formatting, and file conversions in a single conversation, receiving downloadable files in minutes. Anthropic warns that the capability is experimental, recommends close supervision, and notes that the tool is aimed at higher‑end subscribers seeking productivity gains.

Google NotebookLM Adds AI-Generated Flashcards and Quizzes for Interactive Learning

Google NotebookLM Adds AI-Generated Flashcards and Quizzes for Interactive Learning

Google has expanded its NotebookLM platform with new AI features that automatically create flashcards and quizzes from users' uploaded documents. The tools generate multiple‑choice questions and flashcards that include key concepts, vocabulary, and citations that point back to the original source. Users can customize the difficulty and scope, and the system can produce study guides based on missed questions, providing an interactive, source‑verified learning experience that moves beyond passive summarization.

Google Gemini Adds Audio File Upload Capability

Google Gemini Adds Audio File Upload Capability

Google has expanded its Gemini AI assistant to accept audio file uploads, allowing users to obtain transcriptions, summaries and key information from recordings up to ten minutes long. The feature, described as the most‑requested addition by Gemini’s VP Josh Woodward, works through the web and mobile apps and complements existing Gemini Live voice interactions. While free‑tier users face daily limits and pricing details remain undisclosed, the update positions Gemini alongside competitors like Anthropic’s Claude and Perplexity, which also offer audio processing tools.

Sen. Ted Cruz Introduces AI Regulatory Sandbox Bill

Sen. Ted Cruz Introduces AI Regulatory Sandbox Bill

Senator Ted Cruz has introduced the SANDBOX Act, a proposal that would let artificial‑intelligence companies obtain waivers from existing federal regulations to test and deploy AI systems with limited oversight. The bill would require companies to disclose risk‑mitigation plans, allow waivers up to ten years, and give the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy final appeal authority. Critics, including the Tech Oversight Project and Public Citizen, warn the legislation could give big tech a preferential regulatory environment and undermine existing agency authority.

Replit Secures $250 Million Funding, Valued at $3 B Amid Explosive Revenue Growth

Replit Secures $250 Million Funding, Valued at $3 B Amid Explosive Revenue Growth

Replit announced a $250 million financing round that lifts its valuation to $3 billion. The round was led by Prysm Capital with participation from Amex Ventures and Google’s AI Futures Fund, while earlier backers such as Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, and Coatue also took part. The company reports an annualized revenue surge from $2.8 million to $150 million in less than a year, surpassing the $100 million ARR reported in June. Replit’s deep ties to Google Cloud and its recent inclusion on Microsoft Azure highlight its expanding platform ecosystem.

What Makes a Song Catchy: Insights from a Museum Study, AI, and Professional DJs

What Makes a Song Catchy: Insights from a Museum Study, AI, and Professional DJs

A recent look at what makes a song stick in listeners' heads combines a 2014 museum survey, lists generated by AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot, and the perspectives of veteran New Jersey DJ Mark Pomeroy and Atlanta DJ Sloan Lee. While the museum study ranked tracks like the Spice Girls' "Wannabe" as the most recognizable, AI models produced overlapping but varied selections. DJs emphasize beat tempo, crowd vibe, and social media trends such as TikTok as key drivers of catchiness. Together, these viewpoints illustrate that earworms are shaped by rhythm, cultural context, and evolving listener habits.