The rate at which AI is advancing at the moment there is a possibility that full-fledged movies and TV shows powered by AI are possible, echoing the words of Avengers director Joe Russo. Recent discoveries, including OpenAI’s hyper-realistic text-to-speech engine, have paved the way for this new frontier. But Meta’s latest announcement takes a bold step forward and introduces Emu Video, an evolved version of its image creation tool, Emu.

Emu Video, which lets you create 4-second animated clips using notes or linked images and descriptions, is incredibly reliable. The 512×512 clips, 16-frames per seconds are among the best in terms of realism, especially when animated by simple and usually static scenes, such as waterfalls and skylines in the city. But even in its best work, the features generated by AI, such as bizarre physics and unusual annexes, introduce an element of unpredictability. Despite the progress, Emu Video fails to capture dynamic actions, reflecting a limitation in the model’s understanding of action verbs. Objects in the clips appear static, anthropomorphic raccoons hold a guitar but don’t vibrate, and unicorns play “chess” without moving the pieces. While the technology is promising, there is still work to be done to improve our understanding of its subtle workings.

Because Emu Video is integrated into platforms like Facebook and Instagram, there are concerns about its ethical implications. The potential impact on animators and artists who depend on creating scenes for their livelihoods is a pressing concern. Meta and other generative AI competitors claim their technology will enhance, not replace, human creativity, but skepticism remains, especially when it comes to financial matters. Controversy is spreading across the entertainment industry, with Netflix using artificial intelligence-generated background images in its animated shorts, raising questions about the working conditions of its performers. Marvel’s use of artificial intelligence in the opening credits of Secret Invasion sparked controversy in the art world and highlighted the delicate balance between technology and creative expression. Meanwhile, the potential impact on actors is clear, as the recent SAG-AFTRA strike raised concerns about the use of AI to create digital likenesses. There was an agreement to compensate actors for AI simulations, but evolving technologies may require changes in the future. Adding to the ethical debate, artificial intelligence like Emu Video is often trained on content created by artists, photographers and filmmakers without their knowledge or compensation. Despite efforts towards industry standards, the release of Emu Video highlights the challenges of preserving technology and ensuring ethical practices in creative environments. As we think about the future of AI content, questions arise about its impact on art, entertainment and the people behind the scenes.

Following user feedback, Instagram made significant changes to the thread to address the concerns of its user base. A key change allows users to turn off automatic sharing of Threads posts with other apps, including Instagram and Facebook. The decision follows protests from Threads users who automatically choose to have their posts shared externally. It sparks frustration among those who want to separate Threads readers from their friends and family, especially on Facebook and Instagram.

Many users expressed frustration with the default sharing settings, and some considered leaving a thread once their posts were shared with their Facebook family audience. Complaints have also been raised about the quality of recommended streams. These feeds have been criticized for being designed solely to generate comments or as clickbait without proper context. Instagram’s parent company Meta initially aimed to increase Threads’ visibility and user engagement by adding the Threads carousel to other Meta-owned apps in late August. Meta has looked to capitalize on Instagram and Facebook’s large user bases to fuel its growth. This is a strategy we’ve used successfully in the past with products like Reels and the cross-app communication feature between Messenger and Instagram.

In response to user concerns, Meta introduced a new privacy option that allows users to turn off automatic sharing. Users can access this option by going to “Privacy” in the two-line menu at the top right of the thread’s profile page and then selecting “Suggest posts from other apps”. From here, users can individually disable thread sharing. Instagram and Facebook. The sharing feature is not yet available and its implementation has not been made public by the Threads team, and it is important to highlight Meta’s strategic approach to driving growth. Despite the app’s initial success, reaching 150 million downloads at a record pace, Meta Threads continues to improve based on user feedback, address user concerns, and develop the app to meet user expectations.

In a strategic move, Meta has joined forces with Amazon to bring a new shopping experience to Facebook and Instagram users. While Meta may have stepped back from live shopping endeavors, it is doubling down on the potential of its platforms as a shopping hub.

Now, customers can link their Facebook and Instagram accounts directly to their Amazon account. This integration allows users to shop through Meta’s social apps, utilizing their saved Amazon payment details and shipping information without leaving the Facebook or Instagram environment. An Amazon spokesperson, Callie Jernigan, confirmed that customers in the U.S. will be able to browse and purchase Amazon products directly from Facebook and Instagram ads. The real-time pricing, Prime eligibility, delivery estimates, and product details will be seamlessly integrated into the new shopping experience.

This in-app shopping feature is currently available for select products advertised on Facebook or Instagram, whether sold by Amazon directly or by independent sellers on Amazon’s storefront. To initiate this process, users need to perform a quick one-time setup by linking their Meta account (either Facebook or Instagram) to their Amazon account. Once linked, they can effortlessly complete their purchase from the product ad, with Amazon’s default shipping address and payment information streamlining the checkout process. News of this collaboration surfaced through a leak by Maurice Rahmey, co-CEO of Disruptive Digital and a partner with Meta and Google Ads. Rahmey emphasized the potential benefits of this partnership, highlighting enhanced targeting, optimization, and conversion rates for Meta. The shared data from Amazon allows Meta to tailor its ads and product pages based on the user’s Prime membership status, real-time pricing, and shipping estimates.

This collaboration also bypasses challenges posed by Apple’s App Tracking Transparency policy, offering a closed-loop performance engine that benefits Meta, Amazon, and advertisers. While Meta has been at odds with Apple’s App Tracking Transparency policy, this move presents a lucrative revenue opportunity for both Meta and Amazon, as well as advertisers. Meta gains more ad signals and attributable conversions, while Amazon secures more transactions from a significant discovery platform. In the evolving landscape of e-commerce, Meta’s partnership with Amazon signifies a strategic shift. While Meta continues to transition its Shops sellers to use its own checkout experience on Facebook and Instagram, Amazon is tapping into the social media giant’s vast user base. This collaboration comes at a time when TikTok is also entering the e-commerce arena, intensifying the competition among major players in the digital marketplace.

SoftBank-backed photo-editing startup Picsart offers an interesting set of AI-based tools called Picsart Ignite. With a focus on simplicity and fun, this suite is perfect for businesses and individuals alike to create ads, social media posts, logos and more. We’ve included 20 tools to make this easy. Picsart Ignite tools include the ability to create videos, images, GIFs, logos, wallpapers, QR codes, and stickers. The suite offers an innovative “AI Augmentation” feature that allows users to add details to any image through AI queries. Additionally, AI Object Removal in Video lets you remove unwanted objects to make your video less distracting.

The AI ​​Style Transfer feature lets you apply an artistic style to your images, while the AI ​​Avatar tool lets you create realistic avatars for professional portraits. There’s an AI Avatar – Couples & Pets tool that lets you turn you and your partner into superheroes or your cat into royalty. These new tools complement Picsart’s existing AI capabilities, including AI Writer, AI Replacement, and AI Image Generator, which generate over 2 million images every day. Hovhannes Avoyan, co-founder and CEO of Picsart, said: “At Picsart, we believe that everyone is a creator. Our editorial experience reflects this philosophy, providing users with powerful yet fun and easy-to-use tools to express their unique vision.”

Picsart Ignite is now available to all users on Picsart Web, iOS and Android platforms. This launch joins a growing trend of platforms large and small integrating AI tools into their services. Earlier this year, Canva introduced AI-powered tools, and this week Figma added generative AI features to its whiteboarding tool, FigJam. Picsart is at the forefront of AI innovation and earlier this year launched SketchAI, an app that turns photos and drawings into digital art. The company’s shift toward social collaboration is evident with the introduction of in-app communities called Spaces, where users can connect and create around shared interests. Picsart is more than a tool. A community that sparks creativity everywhere.

Instagram is testing a new option that will let you hide “show” notifications when you read someone’s message. Both Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri shared news of the challenge. Adam Mosseri: “We’ve heard your feedback and are testing a new feature that allows you to hide read notifications in direct messages. Soon, you’ll be able to choose when people can see the messages you’ve read.

In a screenshot posted by an Instagram representative, an option has been mentioned to turn off read receipts under the Privacy & Security menu in Direct Messages. You can find this menu by tapping on your profile name while chatting.

This feature is currently under review, so there is no exact information on when it will be available to everyone. Interestingly, Meta-owned WhatsApp seems to have caught up with Instagram by introducing the option to hide read receipts in 2014. Additionally, Instagram plans to offer standard encryption for DMs as well as Meta Messenger. As they announced in August, they plan to implement this opportunity by the end of the year.

YouTube has announced that it is testing new AI features! For those paying for a premium YouTube package, there’s a great chat feature that uses AI to answer questions about videos and suggest other things to watch. Also test summary of what everyone is talking about in the comments. Check it out at youtube.com/new if you want.

The chat feature uses a big computer brain to give you intelligent answers about what you’re watching. You can ask him anything or get ideas for other videos. The cool thing is that you can do all this while the video is playing, so you won’t experience any freezes. Chat is only available on US and Android phones. If you’re a YouTube Premium user, you can check it out today, but not all videos are available yet. It’s only available to some people right now, but more people will get it soon if they want it.

AI is also used to summarize comments. It detects what people are saying in the comments and gives you a quick version. This allows video users to know what fans are talking about without having to read everything. And you can even get ideas for new videos based on what people are saying. Summaries are only created in comments that are visible to everyone, not in individual comments. YouTube tries to make sure these features work. Testing it out for a while and seeing what people think. They also ask people to tell them directly what they think of the new features.

YouTube is always trying new things with computers. They’ve used AI to advertise, create music, and even help creators. They want to make sure it’s right, so they start small and get feedback from people.

A new deal between TikTok and music service DistroKid means more musicians can now share their music on TikTok Music. It’s a streaming service where people pay to listen to music. The deal will allow musicians to host their songs on a video editing app called CapCut, which has about 490 million users on iPhone and Android devices.

Big music companies like Universal Music Group and Sony Music already use TikTok Music, and now DistroKid too. DistroKid CEO Philip Kaplan says TikTok is a great place for people to discover new music. This new offering means more musicians will be able to share their music in more places, and as TikTok music becomes available in more countries, more people will be able to hear it. DistroKid started working with TikTok in 2019 to help new artists get their music on the app. With DistroKid, you pay when your TikTok video includes music. DistroKid forwards all monies to the artist, excluding fees and bank charges. They didn’t say exactly how much money TikTok artists made.

DistroKid also helps musicians sell their songs on many other apps like Spotify and Apple Music. Their music is now also available in TikTok’s commercial music library, which brands can use in their ads. This library was previously only available to select artists, but is now available to all DistroKid artists. Many musicians use DistroKid because it helps their music in many ways. Recently, DistroKid has a website builder called Bandzoogle that allows musicians to sell their albums online. The new partnership between TikTok and DistroKid comes shortly after TikTok partnered with Tickets.com to sell tickets to music events.