Threads, the Twitter competitor launched in July by Meta Platforms to record-breaking numbers, has added features that make it easier for users to separate their Threads feeds from Instagram and Facebook. Users can now delete their Threads accounts separate from Instagram, something that previously confounded users. Because those signing up for Threads were required to do so either from their existing or a new Instagram account, the two were entwined. Instagram/Threads CEO Adam Mosseri also announced that propagation of Threads posts to Instagram and Facebook can now be turned off, to keep discussions separate. Continue reading Threads Lets Users Delete Accounts Separate from Instagram

Creative image platform Shutterstock has added AI-powered editing features that provide “the potential for infinite options to refine and perfect images” in the company’s library of more than 700 million stock selections. A go-to source for brand marketers and digital media companies, Shutterstock is offering six signature AI capabilities as well as secondary features such as a virtual AI design assistant and advanced filters under the umbrella Creative AI. What’s more, Shutterstock says it will compensate its licensed artists when their images are edited with AI. Continue reading Shutterstock Offers AI Image Editor for Massive Stock Library

OpenAI is developing an AI tool that can identify images created by artificial intelligence — specifically those made in whole or part by its Dall-E 3 image generator. Calling it a “provenance classifier,” company CTO Mira Murati began publicly discussing the detection app last week but said not to expect it in general release anytime soon. This, despite Murati’s claim it is “almost 99 percent reliable.” That is still not good enough for OpenAI, which knows there is much at stake when the public perception of artists’ work can be impacted by a filter applied by AI, which is notoriously capricious. Continue reading OpenAI Developing ‘Provenance Classifier’ for GenAI Images

New York-based facial recognition software company Clearview AI has had a $9.1 million fine and order to delete UK citizen data reversed by Britain’s General Regulatory Tribunal. The case against Clearview was brought by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, which scored a victory round in May 2022, claiming Clearview violated privacy laws under the General Data Protection Regulation because it did not inform or gain consent of UK citizens before collecting their data. Clearview appealed, and the tribunal found that the selfie-scraping AI firm was not subject to the ICO’s jurisdiction due to a loophole for firms servicing foreign law enforcement. Continue reading Facial Recognition Firm Clearview AI Wins Appeal of UK Fine

Web-based design app Canva has raised the curtain on its AI-powered Magic Studio as part of the company’s 10-year anniversary outreach. Canva is positioning Magic Studio as collecting diverse AI tools to provide a “comprehensive AI-design platform” for business and home users that want to automate labor-intensive tasks like creating and editing images and outputting to different formats using generative artificial intelligence. Created for “the 99 percent of the world without complex design skills,” Canva’s Magic Studio offers many of the features now being built-in to smartphones and software suites, but easier and “all in one place.” Continue reading Magic Studio from Canva Offers AI Design for All Skill Levels

Adobe has officially added Photoshop on the web as one of its Photoshop plans. The web version is geared to Photoshop newbies and comes complete with Adobe Firefly generative AI features including Generative Fill and Generative Expand. Adobe called it “a major milestone” since introducing Photoshop on the web in beta two years ago, starting with “an early preview of image editing capabilities.” Features now available for commercial use on the web include the ability to easily add or remove elements from any image, change a background, expand the frame, and create visuals using text-based prompts. Continue reading Adobe Launches Web Version of Photoshop with AI Features

Nvidia’s Picasso continues to gain market share among visual companies looking for an AI foundry to train models for generative use. Getty Images has partnered with Nvidia to create custom foundation models for still images and video. Generative AI by Getty Images lets customers create visuals using Getty’s library of licensed photos. The tool is trained on Getty’s own creative library and has the company’s guarantee of “full indemnification for commercial use.” Getty joins Shutterstock and Adobe among enterprise clients using Picasso. Runway and Cuebric are using it, too — and Picasso is still in development. Continue reading Getty GenAI Tool for Images and Video Is Powered by Nvidia

Sony has introduced two new cameras in its 7C series of compact full-frame interchangeable lens cameras for photographers and videographers. The new Alpha 7C R model has a 61-megapixel high-resolution sensor. The second-generation Alpha 7C II is equipped with a full-frame sensor for 33 effective MP. Both are compact and lightweight (approximately 18 ounces), combining quality and portability for stills and clips. “As the demand for sending and sharing captured content on social media networks has increased, more creators are looking for a combination of compact size and high imaging performance in mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras,” Sony says. Continue reading Sony Showcases New Alpha 7C Series Cameras at IFA 2023

Google DeepMind and Google Cloud have teamed to launch what they claim is an indelible AI watermark tool, which if it works would mark an industry first. Called SynthID, the technique for identifying AI-generated images is being launched in beta. The technology embeds its digital watermark “directly into the pixels of an image, making it imperceptible to the human eye, but detectable for identification,” according to DeepMind. SynthID is being released to a limited number of Google’s Vertex AI customers using Imagen, a Google AI language model that generates photorealistic images. Continue reading Google Introduces an AI Watermark That Cannot Be Removed

Social image pinboarding and shopping inspiration platform Pinterest touted its recently announced Amazon partnership and AI efforts as part of its Q2 2023 earnings, which showed a 6 percent gain in year-over-year revenue of $708 million, beating analyst expectations. Pinterest announced the multiyear partnership with Amazon that marked a Pinterest first for third-party ads. On the investor call, Pinterest CEO Bill Ready told analysts the company has been testing Amazon ads traffic and is “very pleased” with the early results. When users click on Amazon ads on Pinterest they land on Amazon’s site to complete their purchase. Continue reading Pinterest Touts AI and Amazon Partnership with Q2 Earnings

London-based fashion phone company Nothing is bringing its second-generation Nothing Phone to the U.S. on July 17, starting at $599. With Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, the Phone 2 is being described as a solid entry in the mid-tier price range. Included is a 32-megapixel front camera, with Sony’s IMX890 the primary sensor. There are also two rear 50-megapixel sensors. The advanced 18-bit Image Signal Processor (ISP) allows the new model “to process camera data up to 4,000 times more than its predecessor,” the company says. Continue reading Nothing Phone 2, Starting at $599, Comes to the U.S. Today

As a next step in its advances in ethical AI, Adobe has announced its Firefly generative AI platform now supports text prompts in more than 100 international languages. The company says its Firefly AI app has generated over one billion images in Firefly and Photoshop since implementation in March. Adobe has also deployed artificial intelligence in Express, Illustrator and the Creative Cloud. Positioning its latest news as an expansion of global proportions, Adobe’s generative AI products will now support text prompts in native dialects in the standalone Firefly web service, with localization coming to more than 20 additional languages. Continue reading Adobe Pursues Ethical, Responsible AI in the Creative Space

A Twitter challenger called Spill, designed by two former employees, started trending this past weekend as Elon Musk announced that Twitter is putting limits on the number of posts users can read. Spill climbed in Apple’s App Store rankings over the holiday weekend, rising to the No. 3 most downloaded app and emerging as the store’s most-downloaded social media app. Spill users call themselves “Spillionaires,” a moniker the company has embraced. On Saturday, Musk said Twitter will limit post views for non-paying users, sending Spill downloads soaring. Continue reading Twitter Challenger Spill Spikes as Musk Imposes Read Limits

Meta Platforms previewed its in-development Twitter rival, called Project 92, for staff last week. Chief product officer Chris Cox demoed the decentralized app, which the company plans to launch through Instagram. Meta received feedback from creators and high-profile figures indicating they want “a sanely run” platform. Project 92 — also referred to internally as “P92” or “Barcelona” — bears similarities to Twitter but unlike that closed system will interoperate with other decentralized social apps like Mastodon and Bluesky. Although a specific timeline wasn’t shared, Cox reportedly said Meta plans to launch P92 “as soon as we can.” Continue reading Meta Unveils Its Upcoming Twitter Competitor for Employees

AI startup Dumme (pronounced “dummy”) is generating prerelease fervor, with hundreds of creators signing up for a test and a waitlist topping 20,000 for the video editing platform, which automates creation of short-form videos from long-form fare. The Y Combinator-backed company has raised $3.4 million in a seed round following its 2022 launch. Dumme’s pitch is two-fold: you don’t have to be a genius to use it, and the AI-generated results will be better than what a human could achieve manually when it comes to trimming long-form YouTube content for short-form platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. Continue reading AI Startup Dumme Makes Easy Work of Editing Short Videos