Panjaya is a AI startup that aims to disrupt the world of video dubbing with a way to generate “hyperrealistic” recreations of a person’s voice speaking a new language. The system also automatically modifies the imagery to match lip and other physical movements to match the new speech patterns. Called BodyTalk, the technique is the launch point for Panjaya as it emerges from the stealth in which it conducted its R&D the past three years, backed by $9.5 million from venture funds and angel backers. The startup describes BodyTalk as “AI dubbing that looks and feels as natural as the original.” Continue reading BodyTalk Dubs into 29 Languages with Facial Moves to Match

Following the phasing out of legacy pricing for YouTube Premium subscribers that began in January in the U.S., the Google-owned streaming service is now doing the same in Europe and elsewhere. Long-time subscribers with pricing plans dating back to discontinued services Google Play Music and YouTube Red will begin paying the equivalent of the current $13.99 per month price starting in January 2025. The price increase encompasses both YouTube Premium, which is ad-free and includes YouTube Music, as well as YouTube’s standalone plans. Concurrently, the streaming giant is also rolling out a controls redesign for iOS and Android. Continue reading YouTube Raises Its Premium Subscription Rates Internationally

Nintendo has released a new app designed to delight gaming fans who have embraced the music featured in popular games such as “Super Mario Bros.,” “The Legend of Zelda” or “Pokémon.” Nintendo Music parses nearly 40 years of musical history from the Japanese gamemaker, available free via the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service on iOS and Android. Users can stream songs or download for offline listening, building their own playlists to share or accessing Nintendo-curated programming. Recommendations will propagate based on a fan’s Nintendo Switch play activity. Continue reading Nintendo Music Debuts with 40 Years of Tunes for Switch Subs

Matter 1.4 is here, and with it the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) has made some important fixes in an effort to get back on track with its aim of a universal interoperable smart home standard. This latest iteration has replaced Multi-Admin with Enhanced Multi-Admin, which largely automates the addition of new Matter devices in multiple ecosystems. It introduces Matter certifiable home routers and access points, allowing border gear manufactured by different companies to work together more seamlessly and accommodates dimmable lighting. The 1.4 update incorporates heat pumps, solar panels and home batteries, but ignores home security cameras. Continue reading Matter 1.4 Expands Energy Controls, Improves Admin Feature

Online gaming platform Roblox has banned kids from “social hangout” spaces — areas that feature communication through voice chat or text and offer “free-form 2D user creation” experiences where users can do things like share drawings. Roblox has also added safeguards to prevent those under the age of 13 from playing, searching or discovering unrated games. Roblox has imposed the restrictions following allegations that it has failed to protect its younger users. This is the latest such update by a string of social platforms that have imposed guardrails designed to protect young users as lawmakers turn up the heat on child online safety. Continue reading Roblox’s New Child Safety Measures Target Hangout Spaces

Wonder Animation is the latest tool from Wonder Dynamics, the AI startup founded by actor Tye Sheridan and VFX artist Nikola Todorovic in 2017 that Autodesk purchased in May. Now in beta, Wonder Animation can automatically transpose live-action footage into stylized 3D animation. Creators can shoot using any camera, on any set or location, and easily convert to 3D CGI. Matching the camera position and movement to the characters and environment, Wonder Animation lets you film using any camera system and lenses, edit those shots using Maya, Blender or Unreal, and then reconstruct the result as 3D animation using AI. Continue reading Autodesk’s AI Tool Turns Live-Action Video into 3D Animation

Google Cloud has begun advising customers it will require multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all business and enterprise users in 2025. That means customers who rely only on a password will have to add secondary authentication. The program is being implemented in a “phased approach” that begins now and will extend to all worldwide business users next year. The security precaution will remain optional for most of those using personal accounts. Google’s move comes after similar implementations enacted by rival cloud giants AWS and Microsoft earlier this year. MFA adds a layer of protection against hacking. Continue reading Google Begins Mandatory Multi-Factor Authentication Logins

DJI, a leading maker of consumer drones, is releasing Goggles N3 — first-person view (FPV) eyewear that offers improvements over its predecessor, Goggles 3, for less than half the original list price. Currently on preorder for $299 from DJI and Amazon, Goggles N3 has the same 1080p display as the earlier model with a wider field of view — 54 versus 44 degrees. The new product is also lighter than Goggles 3, with a bigger viewing cabin that can accommodate even very large eyeglasses, eliminating the need for diopter adjustments or custom lenses for prescription wearers. Continue reading DJI Intros New First-Person View Drone Goggles N3 for $299

Amazon Prime Video has begun offering X-Ray Recaps, summaries of favorite TV shows that catch you up without risk of spoilers. The generative AI-powered feature can create snapshots of any requested view — episodes, pieces of episodes or full seasons of TV shows. “Whether you’re a few minutes into a new episode, halfway through a season” or took a break to get popcorn and need a quick refresher, X-Ray Recaps will catch you up “personalized down to the exact minute of where you are watching,” according to Amazon, which assures “guardrails are applied” to ensure the generation of spoiler-free summaries. Continue reading Amazon Prime Video Offers AI-Powered Recaps of TV Shows

Nvidia’s growing AI arsenal now includes video search and summarization tool AI Blueprint, which helps developers build visual AI agents that analyze video and image content. The agents can answer user questions, generate summaries and even enable alerts for specific scenarios. The new feature is part of Metropolis, Nvidia’s developer toolkit for building computer vision applications using generative AI. Globally, enterprises and public organizations increasingly rely on visual information. Cameras, IoT sensors and autonomous vehicles are ingesting visual data at high rates, and visual agents can help monitor and make sense of that workflow. Continue reading Nvidia’s AI Blueprint Develops Agents to Analyze Visual Data

New York-based AI firm Runway has added 3D video camera controls to Gen-3 Alpha Turbo, giving users the ability to manipulate granular aspects of the scene they are generating using effects whether originating from text prompts, uploaded images or self-created video. Users can zoom in and out on a subject or scene, moving around an AI-generated character or form in 3D as if on a real set or actual location. The new feature, available now, lets creators “choose both the direction and intensity of how you move through your scenes for even more intention in every shot,” Runway explains. Continue reading Runway Adds 3D Video Cam Controls to Gen-3 Alpha Turbo

As companies move forward with leveraging their proprietary data in generative AI applications, enterprises are contending with existing security solutions that may be inadequate for that task. Israeli startup Noma Security is addressing that concern. Just out of stealth mode, Noma has raised $32 million in a Series A round led by Ballistic Ventures with support from Glilot Capital Partners, Cyber Club London and a collection of angel investors. While enterprise firms that host their models at large cloud outfits have access to built-in MLOps security tools, those who are self-hosting, using smaller cloud operations, or want added protection might be interested in Noma. Continue reading Startup Noma Aims to Secure the Entire Data and AI Lifecycle

D-ID has launched two new types of AI-powered avatars: Premium+ and Express. The company’s video-to-video avatar tools aim to provide personal look-alikes that can sub for their creators in uses ranging from instructional videos to business presentations, offloading on-camera duties in areas including sales, marketing and customer support. “Premium+ Avatars can generate hyper-realistic digital humans that are indistinguishable from real people and will serve as the foundation for fully interactive digital agents revolutionizing how brands communicate,” while Express Avatars can rapidly generate serviceable avatars “from just one minute of source footage.” Continue reading D-ID’s New Business-Use Avatars Can Converse in Real Time

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has come up what it thinks is a better way to teach robots general purpose skills. Derived from LLM techniques, the method provides robot intelligence access to an enormous amount of data at once, rather than exposing it to individual programs for specific tasks. Faster and more cost efficient, the approach has been referred to as a “brute force” approach to problem-solving, and machine learners have taken to it in lieu of individualized, task-specific “imitation learning.” Early tests show it outperforming traditional training by more than 20 percent under simulation and real-world conditions. Continue reading MIT Intros LLM-Inspired Teacher for General Purpose Robots

The AI search wars are officially on, with Google giving Gemini access to its online answer engine just hours before OpenAI launched ChatGPT Search. Google is primarily targeting developers with its new feature, “Grounding with Google Search,” though the Alphabet company used the occasion to also tout its new search return template, AI Overviews. Launched last week, ChatGPT Search offers responses in real time using a conversational format. Initially, it is available only to ChatGPT Plus and Teams subscribers as well as those on the SearchGPT waitlist as part of ChatGPT’s existing interface. Continue reading AI Search Wars Heat Up as OpenAI and Google Add Features