ai
Stories tagged ai.
Luxury's Identity Crisis: AI Belongs Behind the Scenes, Human Touch on Centre Stage
A luxury executive with 38 years of experience managing operations across 15 countries argues the sector is confusing modernization with mechanization, and that screens, kiosks and algorithms cannot deliver ultra-luxury.
Anthropic Warns Claude Users After Subscriber Reports Token Theft
An AI consultant in the U.K. discovered his Claude Max account burning tokens while he was idle, prompting an investigation and a warning from Anthropic about hackers.
AI Assistant Instinct Books Hotel Rooms via Plain Text, Showing Travel What Frictionless Really Looks Like
Instinct, an invite-only AI assistant created by 23-year-old Noah Shinn, can book and rebook travel directly from a text thread, offering a concrete example of frictionless booking.
China’s Youth Turns ‘Vibe Coding’ Into a Social Scene
A new AI-driven trend called ‘vibe coding’ lets people build apps using natural language instead of complex syntax, and China’s creative youth are turning it into a weekend social activity.
Consumers Welcome AI Research but Resist Automated Purchasing
A new Ipsos report finds that while most consumers are comfortable using AI for product research and comparisons, only one-third would let it make purchases without human approval.
Meta's $18B Settlement Includes Legal Pass to Retain Kids' Data for Age-Detection Model
Meta will pay up to $18 billion and adopt new child safety measures, but its settlement with 29 states also grants the company permission to retain certain data from children under 13 for training and testing an age-detection model.
Instagram’s First Draft feature automates Reels editing into a 10-second rough cut
Instagram is rolling out First Draft, a new editing tool that automatically trims selected clips and removes pauses to produce a rough cut in under 10 seconds, making Reels creation faster and more accessible.
Travel’s AI Reckoning: Data, Trust, and ROI Take Center Stage
The travel industry is shifting from AI hype to measurable outcomes, with Google paying $10 million for Spirit Airlines' data and Airbnb reporting real AI-driven savings.
Hilton CEO: AI Changes Who Recommends Hotels, Not What Earns the Booking
Christopher Nassetta says reliability and guest loyalty still drive recommendations even as AI becomes the new gatekeeper in travel search.
Marketers adopt AI but draw the line on customer-facing content
Most marketers now use AI in creative work, but many are setting strict boundaries on customer-facing content. New research shows nearly all plan to increase AI investment, even as consumer confidence in AI-generated quality drops.
AI Moves Beyond Code Generation in Retail Integrations
Retail commerce teams are adopting AI faster than they can govern it, but the next phase of integration focuses on embedding AI into workflows and monitoring, not just generating code.
Zuckerberg's AI Vision Faces Widespread Skepticism
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's 6,500-word essay envisioning an AI-powered future has drawn criticism, with observers citing his company's social media track record as a reason for doubt.
Anthropic CEO calls AI backlash a 'crisis of trust'
Dario Amodei rejected claims that his warnings about AI risks have fueled public backlash, arguing the real issue is a crisis of trust.
AI Streamlines Beauty’s Direct-to-Consumer Tech Stack
Generative AI is helping direct-to-consumer beauty brands shrink their technology stacks, speed up website development and operate with leaner teams.
Woman joins lawsuit alleging Grok turned childhood photo into explicit images
A woman known as Jane Doe 4 has joined a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s xAI, alleging her stepfather used the Grok chatbot to create more than 7,000 explicit images from a childhood photo. The suit, filed by three Tennessee teens, accuses the company of failing to prevent the AI tool from generating images of minors.
Accel closes oversubscribed $550M India fund in weeks
Accel has closed a new $550 million India-focused fund, oversubscribed and raised less than two years after its previous $650 million vehicle.
Discovered Materials raises $9M to speed up microchip material discovery with AI
The startup has closed a $9 million seed round to deploy AI agents on a high-volume hunt for new materials that could make integrated circuits more efficient and cooler-running.
From Red-Light District to AI Powerhouse: King's Cross Emerges as Global Tech Hub
Once among London's seamiest neighborhoods, King's Cross has become one of the world's most sought-after AI hubs, drawing startups and tech giants alike.
Investors See Human-First Beauty and Wellness Brands as AI-Era Winners
As artificial intelligence floods beauty with product recommendations, investors are betting on human expertise, trust and long-term relationships as key competitive advantages.
OpenAI Smart Speaker to Be Priced at $300-$400, Report Says
New details indicate OpenAI's upcoming AI smart speaker will carry a premium price tag, with a distinctive design and materials.
Bending Spoons agrees to buy Airtable in $1.28B cash deal
Bending Spoons has agreed to acquire Airtable for $1.28 billion in cash, its first deal since going public last month. The price is a steep drop from Airtable's $11 billion peak valuation in 2021.
AI Startup June Launches With $20M to Simplify Enterprise AI Adoption
June, founded by former Salesforce executives, emerged from stealth with $20 million in pre-seed funding to help large companies deploy AI more reliably. The round was led by Marc Benioff's Time Ventures.
UBTech's home humanoids attract 13,000-plus pre-orders ahead of September delivery
Shenzhen-based UBTech Robotics has drawn more than 13,000 pre-orders for its U1 series companion robots, with the first units set to ship in September.
Librarians Offer 'Avoiding AI' Workshops as Demand Surges
Librarians across the US are hosting popular workshops that teach attendees how to disable artificial intelligence features on their devices, driven by public frustration with unsolicited AI integration.
Monday.com Lays Off 20% of Workforce in AI-Driven Restructuring
Monday.com is cutting about 600 jobs, or 20% of its staff, as part of a restructuring plan tied to its AI-first strategy, becoming the latest tech company to cite artificial intelligence in workforce reductions.
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K3, a Massive New AI Model for Coding and Reasoning
Beijing-based Moonshot AI has launched Kimi K3, a large language model with 2.8 trillion parameters and a one-million-token context window, targeting coding, reasoning and complex knowledge work.
Michaels' AI Assistant Doubles Conversion Rate with Google Gemini
Michaels reports that its Google Gemini-powered shopping assistant, Ask Mike, has achieved a conversion rate more than double that of traditional search since its quiet launch in May.
U.S. Treasury Warns of Sanctions After Chinese AI Firm Moonshot Accused of Distilling Anthropic’s Model
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said sanctions remain on the table after a White House official accused Chinese AI company Moonshot of improperly distilling Anthropic’s Fable model, escalating tensions over intellectual property and export controls.
IBM Reports Disappointing Quarter as Mainframe Sales Drop 42%
IBM's mainframe business plunged 42%, causing the company to miss Wall Street expectations and its stock to fall 25% in a single day. CEO Arvind Krishna attributed the decline to AI data center spending temporarily diverting corporate hardware budgets.
AI Game Brings China’s Most Famous Painting to Life
A University of Hong Kong professor has developed an AI-powered simulation that lets users explore the world of 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival', a renowned 5-meter-long scroll painting from the Song Dynasty.
AI-Driven Commerce Reshapes China's Beauty Market, Says Yaso Co-Founder
Adam Knight, co-founder of Yaso, advises beauty brands to adopt an AI-first approach as China's market shifts away from legacy retail routes, with AI integration far ahead of the West.
AS Watson Leverages Data and AI to Fast-Track Beauty Brand Launches
The global retailer is using its vast consumer data, artificial intelligence, and 17,000-store network to help beauty brands move from concept to commercialization more efficiently.
Elderly Chinese retail investors shift savings to tech stocks on state support
Technology stocks, including chipmakers and AI developers, are attracting elderly retail investors in China who are betting on the nation's technological ascendancy, spurred by government backing and dissatisfaction with blue-chip returns.
Clothink Debuts AI-Powered Workspace for Fashion Design
Clothink has launched an AI-driven platform aimed at streamlining fashion design and product development.
Luxury Brands Elevate AI to Top Strategic Priority as Consumer Adoption Surges
New research shows a sharp increase in luxury houses ranking artificial intelligence among their top corporate priorities, even as consumer AI usage for shopping outpaces brand deployment.
Google Debuts AI Search and YouTube Shopping Tools for Southeast Asia
Google has introduced new AI-powered search and YouTube advertising tools at Marketing Live Southeast Asia, aimed at streamlining online shopping and boosting sales for brands in the region.
AI Startups Certo and Certivo Help Beauty Brands Navigate Regulatory Complexity
Source signal: How Ai Is Becoming The Beauty Industrys Compliance Copilot
Alibaba Unveils Wan Streamer, an Ultra-Realistic AI That Sees and Responds in Real Time
Alibaba has launched Wan Streamer, a cutting-edge AI model capable of real-time visual and auditory interaction with sub-second latency, blurring the line between human and machine.
Unilever Invests $270 Million in AI-Powered Global Innovation Center in Connecticut
Unilever is building a $270 million Global Innovation Center in New Haven, Connecticut, set to open in spring 2029. The facility will use AI, bioscience, and neuroscience to accelerate product development.
Recruiters Shift Focus as AI Transforms Résumé Polishing
With artificial intelligence enabling flawless résumés, hiring managers are turning to new methods to gauge candidates' judgment, adaptability and potential.
AI Virtual Try-On Boosts Luxury Conversion Rates by Up to 10x, DressX Report Finds
Shoppers using AI-powered virtual try-on are 50% more likely to make a purchase, with luxury conversion rates rising as much as tenfold, according to new data from DressX.