Alexa learns how to ‘rizz’ Gen Zs
To the amusement of people with Amazon speakers up and down the country, users can now ask Alexa to “talk Gen Z to me”. Amazon has conducted research to reveal the top 20 Gen Z phrases in the UK, and have updated Alexa’s vocabulary accordingly.
This amusing story that has been picked up by most national news publications has generated conversation surrounding the slang of different generations, and ensures that Alexa remains front of mind for those considering a smart speaker.
Now that Alexa is in its Gen Z era, what will come next?
Read more here.
Pinterest is building AI text-to-image process for product shots
Canvas is Pinterest’s new AI model which aims to provide generated backgrounds for product shots without altering the focus of the picture. This advanced large language model will be extremely useful for companies looking to revamp their imagery to fit seasonal campaigns, changes in trends or simply to refresh their social media and website.
Pinterest has issues a statement saying its base model “understands what objects look like, what their names are, and how they are typically composed into scenes”.
Examples provided by the platform so far demonstrate an advanced LLM that can produce accurate and usable results.
Read more here.
SheerLuxe’s AI editor gets backlash
Last week SheerLuxe introduced Reem, an AI Fashion and Lifestyle Editor, and stated that it was a new member of the team. Management from the online lifestyle magazine faced criticism over the move which came after a raft of journalism redundancies across the industry.
Unhappy followers have accused SheerLuxe of “depriving human journalists of a job”, whilst others questioned why the publication would create a woman of colour instead of hiring one.
SheerLuxe has issued a statement explaining that “no jobs were compromised as a result of her creation”. An apology has been issued on social media for not explaining Reem properly. Questions have been raised in the last year over the future of journalism in the age of AI, and SheerLuxe’s AI editor adds to the unease some journalists have been facing.
Read more here.
Zuckerberg scraps Llama release in EU
Due to unpredictable privacy regulations, Meta has announced that it will be unable to issue its multimodal AI model on a regional basis. Llama will be able to work across text, video, images and audio instead of just one format, and is an open source model that can be adapted by users.
Meta has stated that Llama will not be available in the EU due to the “unpredictable nature of the European regulatory environment”, as Brussels introduces the EU AI Act next month.
This follows Apple’s announcement in June that it will not release some AI features in the EU either, due to concerns about complying with the DMA.
Read more here.
Instagram expands Notes feature once again
When Notes were added to the inbox on Instagram, it proved popular with younger users to share updates and thoughts. Instagram reported a year ago that teens used the Notes feature ten times more than older users.
There will now be the option to leave a note on Reels and grid posts in the app, with the Notes appearing as Post-It type messages attached to the post.
Instagram has said that the Notes feature will give people more ways to react to posts in real time, share their thoughts and “hype up their friends”.
Read more here.