🤓 This Week in AI
PLUS: AI Can Now See and Understand Our World
Happy Friday!
What if your phone’s camera became your go-to problem-solver? This week, we explore how AI’s vision capabilities are making this a reality.
But first, here’s what you need to know about AI this week (clickable links appear in orange in emails and underlined in the Substack app)::
Hearst has become the latest major US publisher to sign a content licensing agreement with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. As part of the deal, content from more than 60 Hearst-owned publications—including Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, and Women’s Health—will be integrated into OpenAI’s products including ChatGPT, with appropriate citations and direct links to the original sources.
And speaking of….
As OpenAI secures licensing deals with publishers like Vox, Condé Nast, and The Atlantic, the number of media outlets blocking its scraping bot has dropped from over 50% to around 25%.
This signals a major shift: More publishers are choosing collaboration over resistance—potentially redefining how content is monetized and reshaping future negotiations between content creators and AI platforms.
I anticipated this shift early on and have been helping clients understand these dynamics to make informed, strategic decisions that align with their brand’s long-term goal.
But here’s the key insight:
As more deals are made, the value of individual content is likely to decline, especially for those without a distinct brand or a highly valuable body of content.
Even top-tier outlets like The New York Times, which has resisted partnerships thanks to its strong subscription model, may start feeling the pressure as these partnerships continue to grow.
Still, this shift also opens up completely new doors for in licensing and distribution for brands that can adapt strategically to these changing dynamics.
Meta has launched Movie Gen, a new AI model that creates realistic video and sound clips from user prompts, rivaling OpenAI’s Sora. It can produce clips up to 16 seconds long, with background music or sound effects synced to the content of the videos. Users can also edit existing videos. Meta is working closely with filmmakers and content creators but won’t release the model widely to developers.
Incidentally, Google’s DeepMind just hired the lead researcher on OpenAI’s Sora to build a “world simulator.” It’s important to keep track of these moves as they might help businesses identify where the next breakthroughs may come from, allowing them to invest (or partner) wisely.
AI companions are stepping in to fill the loneliness gap, offering friendship and romantic relationships.
While these interactions provide emotional support, they also blur the boundaries between real and virtual relationships, raising concerns about addiction, privacy, and emotional manipulation.
And with intimacy being monetized and no clear regulations, the risks are real.
AI detectors are failing—one even flagged the US Declaration of Independence as 97% AI-generated. These tools rely on flawed methods like identifying repetitive sentence structures, which often misinterpret formal or historical writing.
As AI evolves, it’s only getting harder to tell what’s human and what’s machine-made. We’ll need smarter, more reliable solutions to tackle this challenge.
TikTok has launched Smart+, an AI tool that automates creating and optimizing ads, similar to Meta and Google’s advertising tools.
Amazon’s new AI Shopping Guides help users quickly find products based on specific features like brand, use case, reviews, and price. Available across 100+ categories, from TVs to skincare, the guides offer a more visual, easy-to-use interface with educational content and customer insights to help make more informed decisions.
A Melbourne lawyer is under investigation after submitting AI-generated case citations in family court, which turned out to be false. The lawyer admitted he hadn’t verified the AI’s output, highlighting the growing need for proper AI training and human oversight.
Cases like this will continue to rise as AI becomes more widespread. Most companies aren’t offering AI training 🤯, so if you’re smart enough to be using AI for work, take the initiative to find a trusted and credible source for comprehensive training.
You’ll get more out of this tech, limit the risks, and look like a genius.
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I’m planning on hosting a workshop next month and would love your input on scheduling. If you're interested, let me know which Friday afternoons in November work best for you. The session will run from 12-4 p.m. PST, and your feedback will help me pick the perfect date to ensure as many can join as possible!
AI pioneers Geoffrey Hinton, the 'Godfather of AI,' and John Hopfield won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on neural networks, which are the basis of modern AI. Hinton predicts AI’s impact will rival the Industrial Revolution.
In Chemistry, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper of Google DeepMind won the Nobel for an AI breakthrough that predicts protein structures, helping speed up the development of new medicines and treatments.
Runway’s CEO shares insights on their partnership with Lionsgate, highlighting how their AI platform for video and media creation supports filmmakers and accelerates workflows, while also discussing their competitive edge against companies like OpenAI.
AI agents are autonomous programs that adapt, make decisions, and even take actions on their own with minimal human input. Unlike basic bots, they can learn, navigate complex environments, and handle entire workflows.
Although they’re currently costly and often struggle with complex, multi-step tasks, they promise to automate processes like customer service, scheduling, and data processing. Companies are pouring billions into these systems, betting big that AI agents will reshape the way we work by 2025.
Agents are the next frontier in AI, so it’s worth having them on your radar—because by next year, they’ll be everywhere.
Grindr is developing an AI "wingman" for its dating app that can scout prospective partners, set up dates, and even interact with other AIs to find potential matches. Launch is expected by 2027.
I’m not sure what to say about this one…yet.
And finally, while this might not seem AI-related (or maybe after that Grindr story, it is) here’s a data visualization showing the shift of how couples meet. Too fascinating not to share.
I guess I better dust of my dating profiles and get back to swiping soon!
PRACTICAL USE-CASES
How ChatGPT Helped Me Identify a Bunch of Mysterious Pills 💊
Last week, I was doing some spring cleaning and stumbled upon a few old pills.
No original bottles, no labels – just pills in a few different small Ziplock bags.
I must have packed them for travel and then forgot to put them back.
Instead of guessing or tossing them, I turned to ChatGPT's visual recognition capabilities.
I snapped a quick pic, uploaded it to ChatGPT and simply asked: “What is this pill and what is it for?”
Within seconds, it not only identified each pill but also provided detailed information about its uses, side effects and potential risks.
You can see the screenshot of my conversation with ChatGPT👇.
AI's vision capabilities are incredibly powerful. They allow AI to see, understand, and interpret visual information and answer questions—even complex ones.
Simply take a photo and upload it to ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini and AI can help with all kinds of challenges:
🌿 Need help with plant care? Get instant advice on how to care for your plants or fix common problems.
🌍 Facing a language barrier while traveling? AI provides instant translations of menus or street signs, letting you explore new places with ease and confidence.
🧰 Dealing with a broken appliance? AI suggests quick fixes or lets you know if you need a pro.
📷 Struggling with setting up new tech? When I got a new monitor and wasn’t sure how to connect it to my laptop, AI walked me through the setup—step by step.
We're just scratching the surface. As AI's vision capabilities advance, it’s getting even better at understanding our world and solving everyday problems.
So, the next time you face a small challenge, give AI a try—it might just surprise you with what it can do.
That's all for this week.
I’ll see you next Friday. Thoughts, feedback and questions are welcome and much appreciated. Shoot me a note at avi@joinsavvyavi.com.
Stay curious,
Avi
💙💙💙 P.S. A huge thank you to my paid subscribers and those of you who share this newsletter with curious friends. It takes me about 8+ hours each week to curate, simplify the complex, and write this newsletter. So, your support means the world to me, as it helps me make this process sustainable.