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Welcome to The Prompt by Kuro House, your daily dose of AI news. Today, we’ve got some exciting updates from Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and a promising startup called Juicebox. Let’s dive right in.
Imagine editing your photos just by talking to your phone. Google’s new conversational photo editor, featured in a Wired article, lets you simply tell your phone what changes you want, and it does the rest. This feature debuted on Pixel 10 phones and is now available on compatible Android devices. It removes the hassle of sliders and menus, making photo editing accessible to everyone, even your parents. For example, you can say “remove the plastic bag” or “add King Kong climbing the Empire State Building,” and Google Photos will handle it. Plus, it adds watermarks and metadata to show when AI has been used, addressing concerns about image manipulation.
Meta just made a big move by hiring a top OpenAI researcher, Yang Song. According to Wired, Song, who helped develop OpenAI’s Dall-E 2, is now the research principal at Meta Superintelligence Labs. This follows a summer hiring spree where Meta brought in over a dozen AI experts from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. Song’s expertise in processing large, complex datasets will bolster Meta’s AI ambitions under the leadership of Shengjia Zhao, another OpenAI alum. This shuffle highlights the intense competition for AI talent among tech giants.
Microsoft has cut off cloud services to an Israeli military unit over concerns about surveillance. The Guardian reported that Unit 8200 was using Microsoft’s Azure cloud to store data on phone calls made by Palestinians. Microsoft’s vice chair Brad Smith stated in a blog post that the company does not provide technology to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians. As a result, Microsoft disabled certain Azure subscriptions and AI services for the Israeli military. This move follows internal investigations and public pressure, including employee protests and activism related to Microsoft’s contracts with Israel.
OpenAI is launching ChatGPT Pulse, a new feature that sends you personalized morning briefs while you sleep. TechCrunch explains that Pulse delivers five to ten tailored reports to help users start their day informed and organized. It integrates with apps like Google Calendar and Gmail to surface important emails and upcoming events. Currently available to Pro subscribers at $200 a month, Pulse aims to make ChatGPT a proactive assistant rather than just a reactive chatbot. Future plans include agentic capabilities like making reservations or drafting emails for user approval.
Finally, a startup called Juicebox has raised $30 million from Sequoia to revolutionize hiring with AI-powered search. TechCrunch reports that Juicebox’s PeopleGPT uses large language models to analyze professional profiles and find qualified candidates faster than traditional keyword searches. The company already serves over 2,500 customers and has generated more than $10 million in annual recurring revenue. Its AI not only identifies candidates but can also email them and schedule calls automatically, freeing recruiters to focus on relationships. Sequoia believes Juicebox could become an essential tool for startups hiring their first employees.
That’s a wrap for today’s AI update. From conversational photo editing to proactive AI assistants and ethical tech decisions, it’s clear AI continues to reshape how we live and work. Thanks for listening to The Prompt by Kuro House, and we’ll catch you tomorrow with more AI news.
