Week In Review: Google releases a batch of new AI creative tools, OpenAI acquires AI device company io, Hollywood actors sue Fortnight over Darth Vader AI voice, and more.
Brands and Agencies
Google Partners with Warby Parker for AI Glasses
Eyeglasses brand Warby Parker is in partnership with Google to create AI-powered smart glasses. The glasses are integrated with Google’s Android XR operating system. Google announced it will invest $150m in the brand for developing the product. It previously contributed $75m, but said in a press release that the larger investment and equity stake in the brand will account for milestones it may reach. During Google I/O 2025, the company announced additional smart glasses partnerships, including Gemini AI-powered glasses with the brand Gentle Monster.
Havas Expands Partnership with YouGov
Havas announced an expansion of its partnership with YouGov, the research, analytics, and consumer insights company. Havas said this expansion allows for deeper insights and audience understanding at the agency. The agency will combine YouGov’s market research with its AI-driven converged operating system to automate audience creation. “By accelerating adoption of YouGov’s data and insights, we’ve been able to build larger, smarter models, creating increasingly sophisticated audiences that can be leveraged across the entire agency network in our Converged operating system,” shared Dan Hagen, Global Chief Data and Technology Officer, Havas.
Coca-Cola Partners with Adobe for “Project Fizzion”
The Coca-Cola Company, in collaboration with Adobe, has launched an intelligence platform called “Project Fizzion” to assist brands with content creation. As designers make decisions, the AI tool is able to learn from their creative intent and encodes this into a “StyleID” – a machine readable identity that automatically applies brand rules across assets. Once StyleID is trained, it can serve as a real-time guide to designers and agency partners to generate localised campaigns, turning brand guidelines into assets across the more than 200 brands the giant owns and over 200 regions it operates in.
Havas Appoints Joris Knetsch as EVP
Havas named Joris Knetsch as EVP of its AI-powered content agency, Prose On Pixels (POP). Knetsch is in charge of POP’s expansion in the Asia Pacific region. This includes creating region-specific converged strategy in collaboration with Rowena Bhagchandani, CEO at BLKJ Havas and Pankaj Nayak, CEO at Havas Media Network Singapore. Havas is working on transforming POP into a global AI business.
Media
Elton John Criticises Government Over AI Copyright Laws
Singer Elton John referred to the UK government as “absolute losers,” as they plan to exempt tech companies from AI-related copyright regulations. The artist, who has previously spoken against AI’s unlawful use of creative content, said that usage without compensation is “committing theft, thievery on a high scale”. The government recently rejected proposals from the House of Lords which would make AI companies state which material they used to train their models. MPs in the House of Commons also voted in rejection of an amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill. This amendment included transparency requirements for AI companies, so that material could not be used as training material without artist permission.
Hollywood Actors Sue Fortnite for AI-Generated Darth Vader
The union Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) filed a lawsuit against video game Fortnite’s creators, Llama Productions. The actors’ union claimed that the production company used AI to re-create Star Wars character Darth Vader’s voice, without requesting permission. The voice had been generated using Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash Model and ElevenLabs’ Flash v2.5 model. SAG-AFTRA also criticised the company for opting for AI in place of human performers. Fortnite creators announced they had gotten permission from Star Wars actor James Earl Jones’ family prior to the voice re-creation.
US Newspaper Publishes False, AI-Generated Content
The newspaper the Chicago Sun-Times released a summer issue which included seasonal activity and book recommendations. Some of these recommendations, however, include fake books and quotes, or quotes from people who do not exist, it’s been recognised. The paper’s summer reading list includes books like Andre Aciman’s Call Me By Your Name, but also a title “Nightshade Market” by Min Jin Lee. Lee is a real author, but has no works by that name. The Chicago Sun-Times stated that this content had not been approved and that the section would be removed from its digital publication.
Business Insider Names Newsroom AI Lead
Business Insider appointed Julia Hood as their AI Lead. This is a new position the publication has created to advance its AI use and help the staff navigate AI. Hood will assist the journalists in developing new audience engagement strategies, while identifying which AI strategies best suit the company.
News Corp Introduces AI “Bootcamps” for Journalists
Media company News Corp will now hold mandatory AI “bootcamps” for its journalists in Australia. This comes as the company plans to further integrate AI into its newsroom practices. Journalists working at the company were informed last week about the training, which will occur over the next few months. The training will go over News Corp’s proprietary AI tool and other AI-powered functions within the company’s management system. In an email, staff were told that the bootcamps are a “crucial part” of integrating AI, and “ensuring every journalist is confident using the tools now available.”
UK Government Urged to Better Protect Creatives from AI
MPs rejected a proposed amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill. The amendment, advocated for by the House of Lords, requested stricter copyright laws for AI firms. This would require AI developers to disclose what material they use to train their models. Aims of the amendment were to encourage more transparency, and reduce the risk of creatives’ work being used by AI models without permission. Baroness Kidron, the film director and digital rights campaigner who vocally supported the amendment, said the bill ignores copyright theft and is “starving” creatives of “the transparency they need to survive.”
Google Unveils AI Filmmaking Tool “Flow”
Google released a new AI creative tool for filmmakers to create unique video content. The tool, called “Flow,” uses Google AI models like Veo, Imagen, and Gemini to convert natural language into life-like productions. The tool lets users personalise multiple factors, including the film’s camera angles and scene cuts. Flow will be available in the US, for Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers, and will eventually expand to other countries.
Tech
Samsung Introduces New TV AI Capabilities
Samsung has launched Samsung Vision AI, the tech company’s newest collection of AI innovations for TV. The AI system allows users to find more information about what they watch and can translate content in real time. AI also refines the picture and sound quality of TV programmes. Samsung Galaxy Watches can also be paired to the Samsung Vision AI system, allowing users to make hand motions in place of using a TV remote for navigation. The ad suggests a colourful TV experience that goes beyond watching shows, and instead is correlated with the unique lives of each user.
Google Releases New AI Creative Tools
At Google’s I/O developer conference, the company introduced new generative AI tools geared toward creative media creation. This includes Veo 3, a video generation model which adds background audio such as traffic sounds or generated dialogue. Its other new video generation tool, Flow, allows filmmakers to create a synergistic production, carrying the same character and film elements across clips. Imagen 4 focuses on image generation, creating high-resolution images that can render details such as fabric stitches or water droplets. Lyria 2, as part of Google’s Music AI Sandbox, is a music creation tool which enables users to try out different tunes with intricate controls.
Dell Releases AI Servers Powered by NVIDIA Chips
Dell Technologies introduced new servers which were built upon Nvidia’s Blackwell Ultra chips. The new servers, according to Dell, are capable of training AI models up to four times faster than older versions. The servers are available in air-cooled and liquid-cooled models. They can support up to 192 of Nvidia’s Blackwell Ultra chips, and users will be able to create configurations containing up to 256 chips. The introduction of the servers comes as computer companies like Dell hope to improve profit amid increasing demand for AI-suitable servers. Dell also recently launched a “Pro Max Plus” laptop which is specifically designed for AI development.
Google Rolls Out AI Note-Taking Assistant for Android and iOS
Google has made its NotebookLM apps available on Android and iOS. The app was previously only accessible on desktops. NotebookLM carries multiple features, including distilling complex information into more understandable “smart” summaries, and asking questions about documents the user provided. It can also generate “Audio Overviews”, which are AI podcasts summarising the material. Sources can be added to NotebookLM directly from sites like YouTube to be analysed by the software.
NVIDIA Introduces New AI-Building Technologies
Nvidia announced the release of new products to enforce the company’s position in the AI industry. This includes its “NVLink Fusion Programme”, which allows AI builders to use Nvidia’s processors with different central processing units (CPU). AI chipmaking partners, like Marvell, Astera Labs, and Synopsys, can connect their third-party CPUs to Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPU) in AI data centres. The tech company is also upgrading its Grace Blackwell AI systems for workflow management, and the release of an AI platform connecting AI developers worldwide.
Google Releases ‘AI Mode’ Sparking Backlash from Publishers
Google released a new AI feature for its search engine called “AI Mode”, which lets users interact with Google’s search as though it’s an AI chatbot. “AI Mode” can be seen in Google’s search bar and enables more complex questions and more tailored answers to queries. However, news of the feature garnered some backlash from News/Media Alliance – the trade association representing The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal – who called the tool the “definition of theft”.
Glean Expands Agent Platform
Work AI platform Glean announced it’s expanding its agentic AI offering, Glean Agents, that lets workplaces build, deploy and manage AI agents. The platform can house AI models from Azure, Amazon Bedrock and Vertex AI. Users can use natural language to build agents that can coordinate with other agents and access data from Glean. Businesses can also analyse agent behaviour and get faster iterations of agents for more accurate outcomes from them over time. Within the platform, numerous pre-built agents – including productivity agents and deep research agents – are now available.
Number of the Week
$6.5 billion. That’s how much Sam Altman’s OpenAI is set to acquire AI device startup io for. The device company was founded by Apple design chief Jony Ive. The largest acquisition in OpenAI’s history, the firm will serve as a dedicated unit to creating AI-powered devices.
In a blog post, Altman said: “AI is an incredible technology, but great tools require work at the intersection of technology, design, and understanding people and the world. No one can do this like Jony and his team; the amount of care they put into every aspect of the process is extraordinary.”
