AI Watermarks and Chatbots for Instagram Influencers
Emerging Tech Roundup — April 19
The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.
This week in tech: Instagram pilots chatbots for influencers, Limitless introduces AI wearable gadget, WhatsApp is rolling out new chat filters, Amazon Music shares generative AI-powered playlists, Snap plans to add watermarks to AI-generated images, Logitech unveils Logi AI Prompt Builder, and Google to provide AI tools to the military for disaster response.
Ready for a Chatbot Version of Your Favorite Instagram Influencers?
(NY Times, April 15)
Instagram is piloting “Creator A.I.,” a program aimed at top influencers, offering them chatbot-driven interactions with followers via direct messages and, potentially, comments. Meta, Instagram’s parent company, is spearheading this AI initiative and tapping into the trend of integrating AI across its platforms. Influencers can customize the chatbot’s responses, drawing from their own content and dictating specific replies, aiming to streamline fan engagement while disclosing AI-generated messages.
Limitless is a New AI Tool for Your Meetings — and an All-Hearing Wearable Gadget
(The Verge, April 15)
Limitless has introduced an AI-driven wearable gadget, the Limitless Pendant, designed to discreetly record and analyze everything you hear during meetings, offering memory aid and comprehension assistance. This device is part of the broader Limitless system, which expands beyond the company’s previous AI product, Rewind, which focused on computer-based data recording and memory assistance. While Rewind remains available for local data storage, Limitless aims to gather data from various sources, including the cloud and real-world interactions, accessible across multiple devices for enhanced convenience and accessibility.
WhatsApp is Adding Filters to Easily Find Messages
(Tech Crunch, April 16)
WhatsApp is rolling out new chat filters, including “All,” “Unread,” and “Groups,” aiming to streamline message management. The default “All” filter displays all messages, while “Unread” helps users tackle unseen messages and clear unread indicators, enhancing inbox organization. Additionally, the “Groups” filter facilitates quick navigation through group chats, including subgroups within Communities, with more filter options possibly on the horizon.
Amazon Debuts a Generative AI-Powered Playlist Feature
(Engadget, April 16)
Amazon Music has introduced Maestro, a generative AI-powered playlist feature available in beta, to select US users on iOS and Android. Users included in the beta can access Maestro from the home screen or by tapping the plus button to create a new playlist. The feature utilizes natural language prompts to curate playlists based on sounds, activities, emotions, and emoji, like requesting a playlist resembling the robot emoji or themed around specific scenarios such as “crying and eating pasta.”
Snap Plans to Add Watermarks to Images Created with its AI-Powered Tools
(Tech Crunch, April 17)
Snap announced its intention to add watermarks to AI-generated images exported from its platform or saved to the camera roll, warning that removing them would breach terms of use. Other major tech players such as Microsoft, Meta, and Google have similarly moved to label AI-generated content. Snap, which already offers AI features like Dreams and Lenses, aims to enhance safety and transparency by visibly marking AI-powered features with a sparkle emoji.
Logitech Adds Programmable ChatGPT Shortcuts to its Mice and Keyboards
(Engadget, April 17)
Logitech unveiled Logi AI Prompt Builder, a new software tool seamlessly integrated with ChatGPT’s capabilities, allowing users to link specific keyboard keys or mouse buttons to summon the prompt builder instantly. The tool offers pre-defined functions like Rephrase, Summarize, and Create Email, tailored to the highlighted text, while users can also create custom “recipes,” including image generation. Logi AI Prompt Builder aims to enhance workflow efficiency for frequent AI tool users, potentially increasing ChatGPT’s accessibility and usage among consumers with compatible Logitech keyboards and mice.
Google Will Provide AI to the Military for Disaster Response
(The Washington Post, April 17)
Google’s innovation lab, Bellwether, has developed AI tools to aid the National Guard in swiftly analyzing disaster areas using aerial photos, satellite imagery, and maps to identify crucial infrastructure and damage locations. With support from the Defense Innovation Unit, this technology will be deployed in time for the upcoming summer wildfire season, streamlining the National Guard’s coordination efforts amid escalating climate change challenges. As climate change exacerbates disaster frequency and severity, the tool significantly reduces response times from hours to seconds.
