Archive
Category: Consumer
CES 2025: Now With More AI
IN THIS ISSUE: Welcome to the final newsletter of 2024. Thank you for subscribing to and reading “The AI Economy.” Next month marks one year since I launched this publication, and I appreciate the reception it has received. In the coming year, expect more stories about AI’s impact on business, work, technology, and society. Regarding […]
Randi Zuckerberg’s HUG Social Marketplace Acquired by .ART Registry
HUG, a social art community platform that Randi Zuckerberg and Debbie Soon co-founded, has been acquired by the registry behind the .ART domain. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Soon and HUG’s lead engineer will remain with the company post-acquisition, but Zuckerberg will depart, though she tells me she’s still a “passionate member […]
Luma AI Introduces Ray 2 Model, Enabling Video Creation from Text and Images in Seconds
Weeks after releasing its Photon text-to-image model, Luma AI shows no signs of slowing down. The creator of the popular generative AI platform Dream Machine announced at AWS’ re:Invent conference the launch of its Ray 2 model, which it boasts can produce videos using text and images, all in under 10 seconds. High-Quality Video From […]
Spotify Turns to Google’s NotebookLM to Transform Wrapped Into an AI-Powered Podcast
Spotify Wrapped has arrived. But this year, the audio platform’s annual personalized listening summary is changing, thanks to an infusion of artificial intelligence. In addition to our expected standard recap, Spotify is launching Your Spotify Wrapped AI podcast. It’s powered by Google’s NotebookLM, a popular AI-integrated application that transforms any content into a podcast hosted […]
Foursquare City Guide Shutting Down on Dec. 15; Swarm Will Stay Active
A decade after splitting its city guide feature from its social check-in service, Foursquare is streamlining further. The company will sunset the City Guide app on December 15, with the web version following in early 2025. Meanwhile, the popular Swarm check-in app will stay active, potentially receiving an update to enhance the user experience. Much […]
Strategic Leadership in the Age of Generative AI: A Guide for Long-Term Success
Can a new book finally help executives grasp the full potential of AI? In this issue of “The AI Economy,” we look at “Winning with Generational AI” and chat with one of its authors, Charlene Li, to understand if this 90-day blueprint can offer highly sought-after clarity. You have probably heard about NotebookLM, but what […]
FightCamp’s New Console Hardware Lets You Box and Kick With Friends and Family
Eight years ago, Tommy Duquette sat down to tell me about a startup he was co-founding with four other people. The tech industry—and the world—was very different compared to now, but for the team behind fitness tech Hykso, their mission today remains the same: To make boxing accessible to all. Their company has since rebranded […]
Checkout and Cash In: Tiptop’s Trade-In Feature Saves You Money on Online Purchases
Have you ever wanted a way to save when making purchases online? We scramble when sales like Black Friday and Cyber Monday take place or use apps like Honey and Rakuten to save as much as possible. But what if there was a way to reduce the amount spent while decluttering our home? Tiptop could […]
Microsoft Build 2024: Copilot, Copilot, Copilot
Satya Nadella had his “developers” moment. Microsoft held its annual Build developer conference in downtown Seattle, Washington this week. On the heels of events by OpenAI and Google, what would the Windows maker bring to the table? Quite a bit, as it turns out. Microsoft’s chief executive came out in full force to hype up […]
The Apple, Google AI Pact Risks Further Big Tech Antitrust Crackdown
It’s no surprise Apple has AI ambitions, especially after falling behind its Big Tech peers. A new report reveals the company is in “active negotiations” with Google to bring its Gemini technology to the iPhone. Should a deal materialize, Apple would license Google’s generative AI offering to help bring such technology to iOS. This mega-deal […]