Author: Art Ryan

Midjourney, one of the most popular AI image generation startups, announced on Wednesday the launch of its much-anticipated AI video generation model, V1. V1 is an image-to-video model, in which users can upload an image — or take an image generated by one of Midjourney’s other models — and V1 will produce a set of four five-second videos based on it. Much like Midjourney’s image models, V1 is only available through Discord, and it’s only available on the web at launch. The launch of V1 puts Midjourney in competition with AI video generation models from other companies, such as OpenAI’s Sora, Runway’s…

Google is rolling out the ability for users to have a back-and-forth voice conversation with AI Mode, its experimental Search feature that lets users ask complex, multi-part questions. With the new Search Live integration, users can have a free-flowing voice conversation with Search and explore links from across the web. Users will be able to access the feature by opening the Google app and tapping the new “Live” icon to ask their question aloud. They will then hear an AI-generated audio response, and they can follow up with another question. Today’s announcement comes a few weeks after Google rolled out AI Mode to everyone in the…

AI has moved beyond experimentation to become a core part of business operations, but deployment challenges persist. Research from Zogby Analytics, on behalf of Prove AI, shows that most organisations have graduated from testing the AI waters to diving in headfirst with production-ready systems. Despite this progress, businesses are still grappling with basic challenges around data quality, security, and effectively training their models. Looking at the numbers, it’s pretty eye-opening. 68% of organisations now have custom AI solutions up and running in production. Companies are putting their money where their mouth is too, with 81% spending at least a million annually on…

New artificial intelligence technology is enabling agricultural retailers and farm supply cooperatives to optimize their operational performance while strengthening all-important customer relationships. In addition to broad-based AI platforms that can be leveraged to simplify everyday business operations, farm suppliers now have access to AI apps specifically designed to support field agronomy and crop production. According to a new research brief from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, AI technology offers ag retailers a new set of tools to optimize workflows, inventory management, employee performance and other key business functions. Farm supply businesses that rise to the challenge of adopting AI can also enhance their…

Las Vegas, NV – June 18, 2025 — Day 3 of Hexagon LIVE Global 2025 ignited new waves of excitement as the conference shifted its focus toward the future of generative AI, autonomous platforms, and cross-sector collaboration. With momentum building throughout the week, today’s agenda reinforced Hexagon’s role as a global force at the intersection of digital innovation and real-world impact. Generative AI Powers Industrial Design Today’s highlight was the debut of Hexagon’s cutting-edge initiatives in generative AI for smart manufacturing and industrial design. Keynote speakers unveiled how AI-generated prototypes, process simulations, and intelligent workflows are redefining speed and creativity…

EnterpriseDB on Tuesday introduced new features for its EDB Postgres AI platform aimed at simplifying the development and management of AI applications. Included are a low-code/no-code environment for developing applications and data observability across hundreds of databases on-premises and in the cloud to address data quality. First launched in May 2024, EDB Postgres AI is a unified database platform for managing transactional, analytical and AI workloads. In addition, it unifies relational and nonrelational data, features automated data pipelines, and includes application development tools. Historically, enterprises have struggled to move AI initiatives beyond development and into production, with the failure rate of AI projects estimated…

OpenAI has been awarded a $200 million contract to provide the U.S. Defense Department with artificial intelligence tools. The department announced the one-year contract on Monday, months after OpenAI said it would collaborate with defense technology startup Anduril to deploy advanced AI systems for “national security missions.” “Under this award, the performer will develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains,” the Defense Department said. It’s the first contract with OpenAI listed on the Department of Defense’s website. Anduril received a $100 million defense contract in December. Weeks earlier, OpenAI rival Anthropic said…

Ask Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei for his take on AI in China and the mountain of difficulties facing his company, and you get surprising answers. “I haven’t thought about it,” says Ren, in a Q&A with Chinese media outlet People’s Daily. “It’s useless to think about it.” In a world obsessed with five-year plans and crisis management, his advice is almost jarring in its simplicity: “Don’t think about the difficulties. Just do it and move forward step by step.” This isn’t just a personal mantra; it’s the blueprint for how Huawei is navigating a storm of international sanctions and blockades. It’s…

Hugging Face has added Groq to its AI model inference providers, bringing lightning-fast processing to the popular model hub. Speed and efficiency have become increasingly crucial in AI development, with many organisations struggling to balance model performance against rising computational costs. Rather than using traditional GPUs, Groq has designed chips purpose-built for language models. The company’s Language Processing Unit (LPU) is a specialised chip designed from the ground up to handle the unique computational patterns of language models. Unlike conventional processors that struggle with the sequential nature of language tasks, Groq’s architecture embraces this characteristic. The result? Dramatically reduced response times…

OpenAI said Monday the U.S. Department of Defense granted it a contract for up to $200 million to help the agency identify and build prototype systems that use its frontier models for administrative tasks and more. OpenAI provides a few examples of possible tasking, such as helping service members get healthcare, streamlining data on various programs, and “supporting proactive cyber defense.” The company also said that “All use cases must be consistent with OpenAI’s usage policies and guidelines.” The DoD’s announcement used slightly more straightforward wording. It says, “Under this award, the performer will develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security…

Anysphere launched a new $200-a-month subscription plan for its popular AI coding tool, Cursor, the company announced in a blog post on Monday. The new plan, Ultra, offers users 20x more usage on AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and xAI compared to the company’s $20-a-month subscription plan, Pro. Anysphere also says Cursor users on the Ultra plan will get priority access to new features. Anysphere CEO Michael Truell said in the blog that the Ultra plan was made possible through multi-year partnerships with AI model providers. In the last several months, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind have similarly rolled out…

Elon Musk’s startup xAI is trying to raise a $4.3 billion equity investment, according to a report from Bloomberg. This equity funding would be in addition to the $5 billion that Musk is allegedly trying to raise in debt funding for the combined entity of X and xAI. The company appears to be raising money again after landing a $6 billion cash infusion in December, because it has already spent much of its money. xAI makes Grok, the AI chatbot that’s embedded inside the social network X, as well as the image generator Aurora. The technology that powers these products is notoriously resource-intensive, which could…

Elmhurst University digital marketing communication major Nhat Nguyen ‘25 recently took first place in the Spring 2025 Bluejay Tank Pitch Competition for his innovative travel planning app Flyson.ai. Nguyen, an international student from Hanoi, Vietnam, who graduated from Elmhurst in May, impressed the judges and won a $1,500 prize for his app, which is designed to streamline and personalize travel planning using artificial intelligence. Modeled after the popular television show Shark Tank, Bluejay Tank is a showcase of creative entrepreneurial ideas conceived and pitched by students. The Spring 2025 competition featured eight pitches from nine contestants, who were judged on criteria including first impressions, pitch…

TikTok is rolling out new advertising tools powered by artificial intelligence that give marketers the ability to turn text or still images into AI-generated video ads. The ByteDance-owned platform announced the new features on Monday during the Cannes Lions advertising festival in France. The features, part of TikTok’s Symphony product suite, allow advertisers to upload an image or write a text prompt describing their desired ad. TikTok’s AI then generates five-second video clips that can be used as advertisements. The text and image-to-video features build on similar AI-powered services introduced by TikTok in 2024, which allow marketers to use AI-generated…

Las Vegas, NV – June 17, 2025 — Day 2 of Hexagon LIVE Global 2025 continues to deliver a dynamic showcase of next-generation technologies in AI, robotics, digital twins, and sustainable innovation. Hosted at The Venetian in Las Vegas, the conference has become a magnet for technologists, industry leaders, and futurists eager to explore how data and autonomy are reshaping the world. Building on a Powerful Start Following a high-energy Day 1 that saw keynote presentations from Hexagon CEO Paolo Guglielmini and other C-suite leaders, Day 2 deepens the conversation with technical demonstrations, industry-specific sessions, and behind-the-scenes previews of emerging…

Across Hollywood, talking about it publicly can sometimes be taboo. Using it without disclosing that you did could make you the center of controversy. And protesting its use has been the norm. But even amid widespread vocal pushback against generative artificial intelligence, industry leaders say its use in film and TV is slowly becoming mainstream. More filmmakers are using evolving AI tools, and studios are partnering with AI companies to explore how they can use the technology in content creation. “It’s being used by everybody that doesn’t talk about the fact that they’re using it,” Michael Burns, vice chairman of Lionsgate, said during…

Art authentication is no longer just about the trained eye—it’s now a high-stakes blend of science, history, and cutting-edge technology. With millions of dollars and the reputations of museums and scholars on the line, confirming a painting’s origin can reshape the story of art itself. The search for authenticity has moved far beyond the canvas. What began as a slow and intricate manual process now leans into the speed and power of advanced computing. Among today’s tools, artificial intelligence stands out as a breakthrough force in unlocking the secrets of the world’s most celebrated masterpieces. For generations, experts depended on a…

Throughout her years working in technology, Jenny Wang, 28, always found herself stumbling back to one idea — a personal styling agent to help users decide what to wear and buy based on their budget, lifestyle, weather, and calendar. She has tried to build such a product numerous times in the past, “but the AI technology was not yet mature enough,” she told TechCrunch. That’s changed, so a few months ago she announced the launch of her dream company, Alta, followed by the announcement today of an $11 million seed round led by Menlo Ventures. The product, which feels straight out of…

Ericsson’s Cognitive Network Solutions has joined forces with AWS to develop AI technologies for self-healing mobile networks. Behind every text message and video call lies a complex system that telecom companies spend billions maintaining. This partnership between Ericsson and AWS aims to make those networks not just smarter, but virtually self-sufficient. Jean-Christophe Laneri, VP and Head of Cognitive Network Solutions at Ericsson, said: “This collaboration marks a pivotal milestone in network optimisation technology. “AWS’ global infrastructure and AI, alongside Ericsson’s unique cross-domain telecom experience and insights, will assist communication service providers in adapting to changing business conditions with predictable costs and enhanced…

Meta’s $14.8 billion investment in Scale AI – and the hiring of the startup’s CEO – is drawing attention to how US regulators will handle acquihire-style deals under the Trump administration. The deal gives Meta a 49% nonvoting stake in Scale AI, which hires gig workers to label training data for AI systems. Scale’s clients include Microsoft and OpenAI, two of Meta’s main competitors in the AI space. Because Meta hasn’t bought a controlling share, the deal avoided automatic antitrust review. But regulators could still examine it if they believe the structure was designed to sidestep scrutiny or hurt competition.…