RAIZOR Report: AI Innovations Unveiled: From Facial Mapping to Gen AI in Cars and More

Runway debuts Act-One for AI video motion capture

Runway has unveiled Act-One, a new Gen-3 Alpha video feature that allows creators to map real human facial expressions onto AI-generated characters. This tool captures nuanced performances, including micro-expressions and eye movements, using just a smartphone video and character reference image. Act-One enables creators to transfer a single video performance across multiple AI characters in different styles and angles, integrating directly with Runway’s Gen-3 Alpha video model for creating complex narrative scenes.

OpenAI researchers unveil new image generation model

OpenAI researchers have introduced sCM, a new image generation model that achieves diffusion-level image quality in just two steps. This breakthrough dramatically reduces generation time by up to 50 times compared to previous methods. The sCM model represents a significant advancement in the field of AI-generated imagery, potentially making high-quality image creation much faster and more efficient.

Qualcomm and Google partner on AI-powered vehicle technology

Qualcomm has entered into a multi-year deal with Google to develop generative AI-powered in-vehicle technology. The partnership will focus on creating advanced voice assistants and self-driving features, leveraging Qualcomm’s Snapdragon technology and Google Cloud. This collaboration aims to bring cutting-edge AI capabilities to the automotive industry, potentially transforming the way we interact with and operate vehicles.

Artists and creators sign open letter against AI training practices

Over 10,500 artists, actors, and authors have signed an open letter condemning tech companies’ unauthorized use of creative works for AI training. This collective action highlights the growing concern among creative professionals about the use of their work to train AI models without permission or compensation. The letter calls for greater transparency and ethical practices in AI development, particularly in relation to creative content.

xAI job listing hints at development of autonomous AI agents

xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, has posted a job listing for work on autonomous agents. Engineer David Kim stated that “every human will have an AI agent capable of performing complex tasks on their behalf.” This development suggests that xAI is working on creating highly advanced AI assistants that could potentially handle a wide range of tasks for users, signaling a new frontier in personal AI technology.

Character AI implements new safety features

Character AI is implementing new safety features following a teenager’s suicide, which led to a wrongful death lawsuit against the company. The new measures include stricter content moderation for minors, improved violation detection, and chat time notifications. These changes come in response to concerns about the potential emotional impact of AI chatbots on vulnerable users, particularly young people.

Highlight rolls out “Push to talk” feature

Highlight, a cross-platform AI assistant that recently raised $10 Million in funding, has introduced its “Push to talk” feature for Windows and Mac. This new functionality allows users to interact with the AI assistant using voice commands, potentially making it easier and more intuitive to use. The feature’s rollout marks an important step in Highlight’s development as it seeks to compete in the growing AI assistant market.

Apple scales back production of Vision Pro

According to a report from The Information, Apple is significantly scaling back production of the Vision Pro due to low demand. This decision suggests that Apple’s highly anticipated mixed reality headset may not be meeting initial sales expectations. The reduced production could have implications for Apple’s foray into the augmented and virtual reality market, as well as for the broader adoption of such technologies.

Nvidia CEO admits fault in AI chip design flaw

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has acknowledged that a design flaw in their AI chips, which caused production delays, was “100%” their fault. Huang stated that the problem has been fixed. This admission highlights the challenges faced by even leading companies in the rapidly evolving field of AI hardware development, and demonstrates Nvidia’s commitment to transparency and quality control.

Perplexity introduces Reasoning Mode

Perplexity has made changes to its Pro Search feature and introduced Reasoning Mode. This new mode allows users to ask and find answers to multi-layered questions. The addition of Reasoning Mode represents an advancement in AI-powered search capabilities, potentially offering users more comprehensive and nuanced results for complex queries.

Anthropic announces new analysis tool in Claude

Anthropic has added a new analysis tool to its AI assistant, Claude. This tool is designed to help Claude provide mathematically precise and reproducible answers. The addition of this feature aims to enhance Claude’s capabilities in handling complex analytical tasks, potentially making it more useful for fields requiring precise calculations and data analysis.

Zoom launches upgraded AI assistant

Zoom has introduced AI Companion 2.0, an upgraded version of its AI assistant. The new version offers improved summaries and information synthesis, and can make suggestions based on what users see on Zoom. Additionally, AI Companion 2.0 can recall previous interactions, potentially providing a more personalized and context-aware experience for Zoom users.

AI Tools

🎨 SynthID – Advanced watermarking tool by DeepMind to embed imperceptible watermarks across various content types while preserving output quality.

🗣️ ElevenLabs – Tool for creating a digital voice clone for uses like content creation and personalized AI assistants.

🎥 Act-One – Runway’s video tool for applying real facial expressions to AI characters using just video and a reference image.

💬 Chatnode – AI chatbot builder for training bespoke assistants for website or research projects.

🍽️ Yumzi – Digital smart menu creator that aims to boost sales and manage budget.

🖼️ AI Gallery – Transforms ordinary images into stunning art pieces using AI.

🛠️ Prompt Engineer GPT – Tool to improve and optimize AI prompts for better interactions.

🖱️ Reiden – Suggests keyboard shortcuts to perform tasks more efficiently and improve workflow.

🔊 Audeus – Chrome extension that reads aloud docs, emails, and web articles to boost productivity.

🔍 Inquisite – Conducts deep research and provides insights for various topics into structured, credible documents.

🤝 Cody – AI assistant customizable with your own business and team’s knowledge base.

👗 Delle – Create high-quality fashion images of all sizes with AI.

🎬 Mochi by Genmo – Open-source AI video generation model for creating high-quality videos.

💬 RapidSubs Captions & Subtitles – Tool to create stylish subtitles and captions using AI technology.

📚 Paperguide – Aids in managing, reading, and writing research papers efficiently with AI.

📸 Pixmaker – AI-generated professional photos and videos designed to enhance business visibility and revenue.

🔧 Agent.exe – Utilizes Claude 3.5 Sonnet to interact with and control computer functions for enhanced automation.

🔧 Claude “Computer Use” API – API enabling Claude AI to control a PC, mimicking real human user actions like cursor movements and typing.

AI Jobs

👥 People.ai – Opportunity for a Senior Consultant focusing on customer success strategies and implementations.

💻 Databricks – Hiring for a Senior Software Engineer to lead backend development projects and enhance platform capabilities.

🔬 Deepmind – Seeking Research Scientist to explore and advance learning principles in AI technologies.

🎯 Hippocratic AI – Offers role for a Prompt Engineer specializing in designing and optimizing AI interaction prompts.