Are you tired of AI yet? No? Good, because this week’s top stories are deeply infused with AI in all kinds of applications, from places it doesn’t really belong, like your personal social media, to areas, like classic games, where it can make what’s old new.
AI is capable of the fantastic, like helping to power the latest robot from Boston Dynamics, and the practical, like fixing my problematic garden. The pace of its advancement also shows no signs of slowing down. As I write this, I’m playing with the newest AI tool on the block, Meta AI, and it might be the fastest generative system on the block (the first to show me changes on an image as I type them).
I’m tempted to say “moving from AI to computing” at this point, but who am I kidding? AI is the buzz-phrase here too. Your next laptop will be an AI powerhouse and, even if you don’t upgrade the hardware, Microsoft is ready to force-feed you Copilot. I hope you like it.
Moving onto phones… and, yup, more AI. Some of the best things I read in our smartphone coverage this week were hands-on tests of some of the cool AI-powered photography capabilities in Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones.
You can finally escape from the reality that is AI into fantasy thanks to streaming giants Netflix and Amazon, who’ve both revealed future plans for some of our favorite shows this week. Over at Disney Plus, though, they have something a little different in mind for streaming – and it looks a lot like Cable TV.
Let’s look back on the hottest stories of the past week, AI or otherwise…
The latest loud and flashy AI product launch comes from Meta, which has announced an upgrade to its artificial intelligence models and a new web interface, as well as AI integrations across apps such as Facebook Messenger and Instagram.
Smartphone photography continues to improve at a rapid rate, and our Cameras Editor Tim Coleman has been testing the Long Exposure mode offered by Google's Pixel handsets – and he thinks it's so good that you can leave your 'proper' camera at home.
Microsoft clearly wants its Copilot AI bot to be at the center of everything users do in Windows 11: it's already appearing in key areas of the operating system, and new browser and wallpaper leaks suggest we're about to see more of the AI very soon.
In the mood for something new to watch this weekend? Zack Snyder’s starry Rebel Moon franchise continues with Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver on Netflix, while Under the Bridge and Migration make their way to Hulu and Peacock, respectively.
