Google's Vids AI video maker is rolling out to most Workspace tiers

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1. Google's Vids AI video maker is rolling out to most Workspace tiers

Google's Vids AI video maker is now available on most Workspace tiers. It uses Google's Gemini AI model to create videos based on suggestions and document files. Users can start a video from scratch or use pre-made templates. Google Vids also offers a virtual recording studio for users to add their own photos and videos. 

The feature is part of Google Workspace, allowing real-time collaboration on video projects with other team members. The content is not available due to privacy preferences. Google Vids is available for Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, and Enterprise Essentials Plus members.

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2. AI artwork of Alan Turing sells for $1m

A painting by an AI robot of World War Two codebreaker Alan Turing has sold for $1,084,800 at auction. The artwork, originally estimated to sell for between $120,000 and $180,000, was bought by an undisclosed buyer at Sotheby's. Turing, known as the father of AI, played a crucial role in the Allies' victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.

The auction house said the sale price "marks a moment in the history of modern and contemporary art and reflects the growing intersection between A.I. technology and the global art market". The artwork, which uses an advanced AI language model to speak, invites viewers to reflect on the god-like nature of AI and computing while considering the ethical and societal implications of these advancements.

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3. From coffee beans to milk, this Singapore-based startup uses AI to determine ingredient quality

Singapore-based startup ProfilePrint uses patented digital fingerprint technology to analyze the identity and quality of ingredients, helping agribusinesses save money and time. The technology eliminates the need for physical food samples exchanged across the supply chain, reducing logistics costs, overheads, and carbon footprint.

ProfilePrint's platform allows companies to create AI models to assess the fit of raw ingredients, and traders can build AI models for specific clients based on criteria like looks or flavor. The technology has led to significant advancements in the coffee industry, spotting defective products that cannot be seen through the human eye.

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4. X-Portrait 2: Highly Expressive Portrait Animation

Portrait animation technology provides a ultra-low cost and highly effective way to creating expressive, realistic character animations and video footages: users only need to provide a static portrait image and a driving performance video, and the model can then use these inputs to generate videos by transferring the driving expression to the subject in the portrait.

This can drastically reduce the complexity of existing motion capture, character animation and content creation pipeline.

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5. Sam Altman says the main thing he’s excited about next year Is achieving AGI

Sam Altman has expressed excitement about the imminent arrival of artificial general intelligence (AGI) in 2025, despite previous statements suggesting that the technology will have come and gone within five years.

Altman's statements come as concerns about AGI potentially changing society for the worse have grown, with outgoing AGI readiness czar Miles Brundage quitting OpenAI due to concerns about the company's ability to handle the gravity of its work. This raises questions about the actual closeness of human-level AI and whether OpenAI should be in charge of it.

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