Updates and Insights for Today

1. YouTube’s Secret AI Makeover: Creators Shocked!

2. Robo‑Dogs Hit Zurich’s Streets: Delivery Gets a Wild Upgrade!

3. Anthropic Cheers US AI Plan—but Urges Stronger Steps!

4. The latest in AI tech

5. AI tools to checkout

AI News

YouTube’s Secret AI Makeover: Creators Shocked!

Quick Summary
YouTube is quietly tweaking creators’ Shorts using AI-powered smoothing and clarity enhancements—often without consent. Some videos now sport an almost “oil painting” sheen, sparking widespread creator concern.

Key Insights

• YouTube is applying AI (or traditional machine learning) enhancements—like smoothing skin and boosting sharpness—to some Shorts, without notifying creators.

• The changes are subtle; usually only noticeable when comparing versions side by side.

• Creator Rhett Shull compared his Shorts to his Instagram version and described the YouTube one as “smoothened” with an “oil painting effect.”

• YouTube confirms the tweaks are part of a “running experiment,” aimed at improving video quality—but creators worry this undermines authenticity and trust.

Why It’s Relevant
Creators rely on a direct and authentic connection with their audience. When platforms alter their work without transparency, that trust fractures. The episode underscores growing tensions around automation, consent, and creative integrity in the AI era.

📌 Read More: BBC

Our Partner Today

From Italy to a Nasdaq Reservation

How do you follow record-setting success? Get stronger. Take Pacaso. Their real estate co-ownership tech set records in Paris and London in 2024. No surprise. Coldwell Banker says 40% of wealthy Americans plan to buy abroad within a year. So adding 10+ new international destinations, including three in Italy, is big. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.

Invest for $2.90/Share

_{Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.}

Robo‑Dogs Hit Zurich’s Streets: Delivery Gets a Wild Upgrade!

Quick Summary
Just Eat Takeaway.com and Swiss robotics firm RIVR have launched a pilot in Zurich: AI-powered “robo-dogs” delivering fast food from Zekis World. These four‑legged, wheeled robots navigate stairs, obstacles, and varied weather, all while being monitored in real time—with plans for wider rollout into groceries, parcels, and beyond.

Key Insights

• The robo-dogs blend wheels with legs ("Physical AI") to handle stairs, curbs, and complex urban terrain with agility and speed (~15 km/h).

• Each bot can carry approximately 40 liters and withstand rain, snow, heat, and wind. Deliveries are tracked live, and robots can be remotely controlled or stop automatically if needed.

• The pilot is a European first. Just Eat aims to expand robot deliveries to other cities before the year’s end, including potential applications in retail and convenience delivery.

• In Zurich’s Oerlikon district, early runs involve human accompaniment and direct oversight. The insulated, leak-proof containers ensure safe delivery.

Why It’s Relevant
This trial marks a futuristic leap in urban logistics. By testing autonomous delivery robots that blend efficiency with adaptability, companies are reimagining how cities function—and how we receive essentials. It's a step toward sustainable, contactless convenience, but also raises questions about safety, job impacts, and tech integration in public spaces.

📌 Read More: NDTV

Anthropic Cheers US AI Plan—but Urges Stronger Steps!

Quick Summary
Anthropic applauds the White House’s “Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan,” particularly its push for improved AI infrastructure, federal adoption, safety testing, and security coordination. However, the company stresses that tougher export controls and enhanced transparency in AI development are vital next moves to safeguard American leadership.

Key Insights

• Anthropic welcomes the Plan’s focus on streamlining data center and energy permitting, warning that without sufficient domestic power capacity, AI development could shift overseas—raising national security concerns.

• The company supports federal adoption of AI via policy reforms such as easing procurement, launching RFIs on regulatory barriers, and fostering public-private collaboration in defense and national security.

• Anthropic backs the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot, which aims to broaden access to AI resources across academia and research.

• Still, Anthropic urges the government to implement strict export controls, particularly on advanced AI chips, and to mandate transparency standards for AI development to protect US technological advantage.

Why It Matters
This response highlights the delicate balance between accelerating AI adoption and maintaining safety and sovereignty. Anthropic's voice shapes the evolving dialogue on AI policy, signaling that infrastructure and innovation must be paired with guardrails to ensure ethical and strategic leadership.

📌 Read More: Anthropic

The latest in AI tech

1. BBC: Military Tech Goes Mobile

Drones hit the road—much more than buzz. From AI-armed vehicles to combat bots, new battlefield machinery redefines warfare. Autonomous systems swarm, surveil, and strike with lethal precision. Power rivals logistics. Vigilance grows as lethal autonomy blends with strategy.
📌 Read More: BBC

2. NPR: AI Backed Colonoscopy Tools

Doc meets robot. New AI-assisted colonoscopy tools guide physicians through complex diagnostics. Real-time image analysis enhances cancer detection accuracy. Doctors remain essential but lean on AI for precision. Ethical and training ramps loom.
📌 Read More: NPR

3. Malaysia’s AI-Powered Ryt Bank

Malaysia just unlocked the future of banking. Ryt Bank, the world’s first AI-powered bank built locally, lets users make transfers and payments via its smart “Ryt AI.” It's efficient, sleek, and poised to redefine digital banking across Asia.
📌 Read More: Yahoo

4. Musk’s xAI Goes Open Source

Elon Musk unveils transparency. xAI has open-sourced its Grok 2.5 model—and promises Grok 3 will follow in six months. Open doors for developers, researchers, and bold innovation across the AI world.
📌 Read More: Reuters

Our Second Partner Today

Better inputs. Sharper outputs. Download the guide to premium AI.

Building or refining generative AI models? This guide shows why scraped data falls short—and what to use instead. Learn how real-world behavior signals, clustering, semantic scoring, and visual diversity improve output. Plus, see how Shutterstock’s licensed data and services reduce risk and boost performance. Train smarter, faster, and more responsibly.

Download the guide

 AI Tools to check out

AgendaHero – Magic Meetings

AgendaHero’s Magic feature automates meeting prep. It generates structured agendas, assigns tasks, and provides real-time guidance to keep teams focused. Designed for leaders and project managers, it ensures no detail is missed and meetings stay productive without the usual chaos.
👉 Try It Here: Agendahero

Hybrid – AI Writing Platform

WriteHybrid is a creative AI writing tool built for authors, marketers, and storytellers. It blends narrative generation, editing, and brainstorming support into one sleek workspace. Writers can explore multiple drafts quickly, refine voice, and generate long-form or short-form content with precision, reducing time while boosting originality.
👉 Try It Here: WriteHybrid

NanoBanana – AI Art Playground

NanoBanana is an AI art generator for experimental creators. It lets users craft surreal, vibrant, and highly detailed artworks with custom styles. Perfect for digital artists, designers, or hobbyists, the platform emphasizes playful exploration while offering professional-quality outputs. Quick iterations make it a go-to for concept art and creative fun.
👉 Try It Here: NanoBanana

SlideStorm – Smart Presentations

SlideStorm revolutionizes presentation building. Feed it an outline, topic, or document, and the AI instantly generates professional slides with clean layouts. It saves hours of manual design and formatting. Ideal for business pitches, academic talks, or training sessions, SlideStorm delivers polished results while letting users refine and customize with ease.
👉 Try It Here: SlideStorm

Thanks for sticking with us to the end!

We'd love to hear your thoughts on today's email!

Your feedback helps us improve our content

⭐⭐⭐Superb
⭐⭐Not bad
⭐ Could've been better

Not subscribed yet? Sign up here and send it to a colleague or friend!

See you in our next edition!

Tom