The Future of AI in Entertainment and Schools
Emerging Tech Roundup — June 28
The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.
This week in tech: Instagram launched Live for exclusively close friends, Google is bringing Gemini access to teens using their school accounts, Yelp updates app with AI-powered alt-text for images and new accessibility identifiers for businesses, Google rolls out Gemini side panels for Gmail and other Workspace apps, team creates prototype that turns car windshields into a giant AR display, Toys ‘R’ Us made an ad almost entirely AI, and ElevenLabs dropped iPhone app that lets you turn any website into a podcast.
Instagram Launches Live for Exclusively Close Friends
(Hypebeast, June 21)
Instagram is now allowing users to host Live sessions exclusively for their Close Friends list. This update means broadcasts can be limited to a select audience, with up to three additional accounts able to join as co-hosts. The change is part of a broader series of updates, including the ability to add music to carousels containing videos.
Google is Bringing Gemini Access to Teens Using Their School Accounts
(Tech Crunch, June 24)
Google announced the expansion of its AI technology Gemini to teen students using their school accounts, alongside new tools for educators. This initiative aims to prepare students with essential skills for a future influenced by generative AI, offering real-time feedback to enhance their learning experience. Google emphasizes responsible use by ensuring data privacy, implementing guardrails against inappropriate responses, and encouraging information literacy through its double-check feature.
Yelp Updates App with AI-Powered Alt-Text for Images and New Accessibility Identifiers for Businesses
(Tech Crunch, June 25)
Yelp is updating its app to include more accessibility identifiers for businesses, improved screen-reader experiences, and AI-powered alt-text for images. The update adds eight new attributes related to mobility, hearing, and vision to help users identify accessible businesses, following an average 40% rise in searches for “wheelchair accessible” places from 2020 to 2023. Yelp partnered with organizations like Disability and the American Association of People with Disabilities to define these attributes, ensuring they meet specific accessibility standards.
Google Rolls Out Gemini Side Panels for Gmail and Other Workspace Apps
(Engadget, June 25)
Google is making its AI tool, Gemini, more accessible in its Workspace apps for paying customers. The company is rolling out Gemini side panels for Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, and Gmail, and has launched it for the Gmail app on Android and iOS, enhancing tasks like writing, summarizing, and generating content. These features will be available to users subscribed to Google One AI Premium or those with access to Gemini add-in for Business, Enterprise, Education, and Education Premium.
This Prototype Turns Your Car’s Windshield into a Giant AR Display
(The Verge, June 25)
Distance Technologies has developed a groundbreaking prototype that turns a car’s windshield into a full-color 3D heads-up display, significantly expanding beyond traditional flat overlays. Demonstrated at the Augmented World Expo, this innovative system utilizes a parallax barrier LCD panel to create a semi-transparent, spatial 3D display that covers the driver’s half of the windshield, integrating voice and gesture controls. Despite its potential for advanced features like AR night vision, the prototype faces challenges such as high costs and low brightness, making real-world implementation currently impractical.
Toys ‘R’ Us Made an Ad Almost Entirely AI. It’s a Sign of How Far the Tech Has Come — and Where it Could Go
(CNN, June 25)
Toys “R” Us showcased the future potential of artificial intelligence in film by premiering a short promo created with OpenAI’s new text-to-video tool at the 2024 Cannes Lions Festival. The 66-second film, which tells the origin story of founder Charles Lazarus and features the brand’s mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe, was produced in collaboration with creative agency Native Foreign. Despite mixed reactions on social media, the company believes this pioneering use of AI technology demonstrates its potential to revolutionize digital entertainment.
ElevenLabs drops new iPhone app that lets you turn any website into a podcast — here’s how
(Tom’s Guide, June 26)
Leading AI voice platform ElevenLabs has launched a new iPhone app, the ElevenLabs Reader, allowing users to listen to anything from novels to web content using a vast library of synthetic and cloned voices, including their own. The app — available only in English and for iPhone users in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. — offers three months of free access to new users with near unlimited voice generations. With continuous playback even outside the app, ElevenLabs promotes it as a way to have “your life, narrated,” enhancing tasks from studying to grocery shopping with natural and varied voices.
