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Channel 4 Unveils Britain’s First AI TV Presenter, Sparking Black Mirror Comparisons

Channel 4 Unveils Britain’s First AI TV Presenter, Sparking Black Mirror Comparisons

Channel 4 introduced Britain’s first AI‑generated TV presenter during the documentary *Will AI Take My Job? Dispatches*. The AI host revealed its synthetic nature in the closing moments, prompting viewers to liken the stunt to an episode of *Black Mirror*. Channel 4 emphasized that the experiment is not a new editorial practice and reaffirmed its commitment to fact‑checked, impartial journalism. The move has ignited debate about AI’s role in media, the ease of deceiving audiences, and the broader implications for talent and content creation in the entertainment industry.

NotebookLM's Upcoming Slide Generator Could Extend Its Reach Beyond Education

NotebookLM's Upcoming Slide Generator Could Extend Its Reach Beyond Education

NotebookLM, originally positioned as an AI study companion, may soon add a slide‑creation tool powered by Gemini. The feature, spotted by Testing Catalog, would let users turn personal documents, websites or videos into presentation decks and infographics, customizing content with simple instructions. If released, the addition could broaden the platform’s appeal from classrooms to professional settings, offering a streamlined way to generate visual content without leaving the notebook environment.

How to Detect AI Writing Using These Tips

How to Detect AI Writing Using These Tips

Artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT have made it easy to generate essays, emails and other written content in seconds. Educators are increasingly confronting AI‑generated work and need reliable ways to spot it. Common red flags include repeated key terms from the assignment prompt, factual inaccuracies, stilted or unnatural sentences, generic explanations and a tone that does not match a student's usual style. Detection utilities like GPTZero and Smodin can scan texts for AI signatures. Teachers can also collect a baseline writing sample from each student, compare suspect submissions, and ask AI to rewrite the work to see if it merely swaps synonyms. These strategies help maintain academic integrity without assuming guilt.

Cercli Secures $12 Million Series A to Expand AI‑Driven HR Platform Across MENA

Cercli Secures $12 Million Series A to Expand AI‑Driven HR Platform Across MENA

Dubai‑based Cercli, an AI‑native HR and payroll platform built for the Middle East and North Africa, announced an oversubscribed $12 million Series A round led by European venture firm Picus Capital. Founded by former Careem executives Akeed Azmi and David Reche, the startup has rebuilt a Rippling‑like stack to unify people operations, payroll, and compliance for MENA businesses. Cercli reports revenue growth of more than tenfold, processing over $100 million in payroll for clients in 50 countries, and plans to use the new capital to launch additional AI‑driven products and capture a larger share of the regional HR‑software market.

Meta Introduces Parental Controls for Teen AI Chats on Instagram

Meta Introduces Parental Controls for Teen AI Chats on Instagram

Meta announced new parental controls that let parents limit or block their teenagers' access to AI character chats on Instagram. While the general AI assistant remains available, parents will receive topic summaries of their teens' conversations, providing oversight without full transcript access. The move follows public criticism and regulatory scrutiny after leaked documents revealed inappropriate chatbot behavior with minors. Meta aims to balance teen privacy with safety by giving guardians visibility into chatbot interactions while preserving utility-focused AI features.

OpenAI Tightens Safeguards for AI-Generated Likeness After Actor Concerns

OpenAI Tightens Safeguards for AI-Generated Likeness After Actor Concerns

Actors, talent agencies and SAG-AFTRA have voiced concerns over AI‑generated videos that use real people’s likenesses. In a joint statement, actor Bryan Cranston, OpenAI, the union and major agencies said OpenAI has "strengthened guardrails" around its opt‑in policy for likeness and voice after unauthorized videos of Cranston appeared on Sora 2. OpenAI expressed regret for the unintentional generations and pledged to give artists the right to control how they are simulated, while SAG‑AFTRA called for legislative protection such as the proposed NO FAKES Act.

OpenAI pledges stronger safeguards for celebrity likenesses in Sora after actor and estate pushback

OpenAI pledges stronger safeguards for celebrity likenesses in Sora after actor and estate pushback

OpenAI announced new guardrails for its AI video‑generation tool Sora after actors, talent unions and the estate of Martin Luther King Jr. raised concerns about unauthorized deepfake videos. The company agreed that public figures must opt in before their likenesses can be used, and that representatives can request removal. The move follows complaints from Bryan Cranston, SAG‑AFTRA, and talent agencies, as well as public outcry over disrespectful depictions of Dr. King. OpenAI says the updated policies aim to give individuals greater control over how their images and voices are employed in AI‑generated content.

AI‑Driven Material Science Startup Periodic Labs Secures $300 Million Seed Funding

AI‑Driven Material Science Startup Periodic Labs Secures $300 Million Seed Funding

Periodic Labs, founded by former OpenAI researcher Liam Fedus and former Google Brain scientist Ekin Dogus Cubuk, emerged from stealth with a $300 million seed round led by Felicis and backed by a roster of top investors. The company aims to fuse large‑language models, advanced simulations, and robotic labs to accelerate discovery of new materials, initially focusing on superconductors. With a multidisciplinary team drawn from AI and physics, the startup is already generating experimental data and testing predictions, positioning itself at the forefront of AI‑powered scientific research.

Claude Code Launches Web Version with Advanced Sandbox Controls

Claude Code Launches Web Version with Advanced Sandbox Controls

Anthropic has introduced a web version of its Claude Code AI coding assistant, featuring a new sandbox that limits file system and network permissions to specific folders and servers. The network isolation works through a Unix domain socket linked to an external proxy that enforces domain restrictions and asks users for confirmation on new requests. Users can customize proxy rules, allowing the agent to fetch npm packages from approved sources without unrestricted internet access. While the changes reduce approval steps and improve security against prompt injection, Anthropic notes that developers must still prioritize code review to catch potential mistakes.

Adobe Unveils AI Foundry to Deliver Custom Generative Models for Enterprises

Adobe Unveils AI Foundry to Deliver Custom Generative Models for Enterprises

Adobe has introduced Adobe AI Foundry, a new service that lets businesses create custom generative AI models built on Adobe's Firefly technology. The offering fine‑tunes Firefly models with a company's own branding and intellectual property, enabling on‑brand generation of text, images, video and 3D content. Pricing is usage‑based rather than seat‑based, and Adobe emphasizes that the tools augment, not replace, human creators.

1001 AI Secures $9 Million Seed to Deploy AI‑Driven Operations Platform Across MENA’s Critical Industries

1001 AI Secures $9 Million Seed to Deploy AI‑Driven Operations Platform Across MENA’s Critical Industries

Bilal Abu‑Ghazaleh, a former Scale AI executive, has founded 1001 AI to bring an AI‑native operating system to high‑stakes sectors such as aviation, logistics, construction and oil and gas in the Middle East and North Africa. The two‑month‑old startup raised a $9 million seed round led by CIV, General Catalyst and Lux Capital, with participation from a roster of global and regional angels. Abu‑Ghazaleh says the platform will cut inefficiencies worth more than $10 billion in the Gulf alone by automating decision‑making and orchestrating real‑time operations. Early deployments are slated for construction projects by the end of the year, with the company eyeing broader roll‑outs across the region’s megaprojects.

OpenEvidence Announces $200 Million Funding Round Valuing Company at $6 Billion

OpenEvidence Announces $200 Million Funding Round Valuing Company at $6 Billion

OpenEvidence, a medical AI platform likened to ChatGPT for doctors, disclosed a $200 million financing round that values the startup at $6 billion. The new capital follows a $210 million raise three months earlier at a $3.5 billion valuation. Trained on leading medical journals, the tool provides rapid answers to clinical questions for verified professionals, who can use it for free supported by advertising. Since its 2022 founding, OpenEvidence has seen clinical consultations per month nearly double to 15 million. The round was led by Google Ventures with participation from multiple top venture firms.