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16 Dec 2025

Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke denies replacing teams with AI amid generative AI controversy

Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke has issued multiple clarifications after facing intense backlash over the studio's use of generative AI in developing its next game, Divinity. The Baldur's Gate 3 developer emphasizes that AI tools are used only for early ideation and reference exploration, not to replace its 23 concept artists or other creative staff. The studio plans an AMA to address community concerns directly.

26 Sources

Echo Raises $35 Million to Secure Container Images with AI Agents That Eliminate Vulnerabilities

Israeli startup Echo announced $35 million in Series A funding to tackle a critical infrastructure problem: container images powering enterprise cloud applications contain over 1,000 known vulnerabilities. The company uses AI agents to rebuild images from scratch, creating vulnerability-free container image replacements that enterprises can deploy instantly.

2 Sources

AWS CEO Matt Garman says AI should not replace junior devs, warns of threats to talent pipelines

Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman pushes back against AI replacing entry-level workers, calling it short-sighted and bad for business. Despite warnings from other tech leaders about AI displacing junior employees, Garman argues that eliminating young workers threatens talent pipelines and long-term company health, even as Amazon pursues aggressive automation goals.

2 Sources

Mattel and OpenAI delay AI toy launch as safety concerns mount over children's products

Mattel confirmed it won't release its OpenAI-powered toy in 2025 as originally planned, citing no products for the holiday season. The delay follows mounting scrutiny over AI interactions with teenagers and reports of generative AI toys exposing children to inappropriate content, including instructions on finding knives and sexual fetishes.

2 Sources

Adobe Firefly adds prompt-based video editing and third-party AI models to compete in AI video race

Adobe is transforming Firefly from a simple AI video generator into a full editing workspace with prompt-based video editing capabilities. The update addresses a major frustration for creators who previously had to regenerate entire clips for small changes. New features include camera motion control, 4K upscaling via Topaz Astra, and integration of Black Forest Labs' FLUX.2 for photorealistic image generation.

10 Sources

Mozilla's new CEO plans AI features for Firefox while promising users an opt-out kill switch

Mozilla appointed Anthony Enzor-DeMeo as CEO, announcing plans to evolve Firefox into an AI browser with optional features. The move comes as Firefox holds just 4.25% of the desktop browser market while Google Chrome dominates at 75%. Mozilla promises an AI kill switch and opt-in controls, but the decision has sparked backlash from privacy-focused users, with alternative browser Waterfox declaring it will remain AI-free.

18 Sources

Major Labels Embrace AI Music Platforms After Copyright Battles, Raising Artist Concerns

Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Sony Music have partnered with AI music platforms Suno, Udio, and Klay after initially suing them for copyright infringement. The deals promise to democratize music creation while protecting artists' rights, but musicians worry about the impact on creative work and their livelihoods as AI-generated tracks accumulate millions of streams.

3 Sources

Google commits $8 million to India's AI centres, launches health and language initiatives

Google announced $8 million in funding commitments to strengthen India's artificial intelligence ecosystem at its Lab to Impact dialogue. The funding will support four government-backed AI Centres of Excellence and includes healthcare initiatives using MedGemma models, a $2 million Indic Language Technologies Research Hub at IIT Bombay, and developer grants for building AI solutions aligned with India's Make AI in India vision.

2 Sources

Allen Institute for AI launches Bolmo, the first fully open byte-level models for robust text processing

The Allen Institute for AI has released Bolmo 7B and 1B, the first fully open byte-level models that eliminate tokenizers by processing raw UTF-8 bytes directly. Built by adapting Olmo 3 models through a byteification technique, these models handle misspellings, rare languages, and noisy text more reliably than traditional tokenized LLMs while maintaining competitive performance.

2 Sources

Klarna launches open standard to help AI agents discover and compare 100 million products

Klarna unveiled its Agentic Product Protocol, giving AI agents access to a live feed of over 100 million products and 400 million prices across 12 markets. The open standard allows merchants to make their inventory discoverable to any AI platform without ads or intermediaries, establishing a foundation for the next generation of agentic commerce.

2 Sources

CEOs Plan to Increase AI Spending in 2026 Despite Weak Returns on Current Investments

Despite fewer than half of AI projects generating returns that exceed their costs, 68% of CEOs plan to increase AI spending in 2026, according to a Teneo survey. The disconnect between executive optimism and investor impatience is creating tension, as Wall Street demands faster ROI while CEOs predict it will take longer than six months for new AI initiatives to pay off.

4 Sources

Musicians sound alarm as AI impersonators flood streaming platforms with fraudulent tracks

Musicians are discovering fake AI-generated tracks appearing on their own Spotify and Apple Music profiles, designed to steal royalties. British folk musician Emily Portman found an entire fake album mimicking her style, while Australian bassist Paul Bender uncovered four fraudulent songs on his band's profile. With almost all listeners now unable to distinguish AI-generated music from authentic work, artists are demanding stricter security measures from streaming platforms.

3 Sources

The Witcher 3 AI remake turns classic RPG into photorealistic showcase, dividing opinion

YouTube creator Aillusory has released an AI-powered reimagining of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that transforms the beloved RPG into a photorealistic experience. Despite being labeled 'AI slop' by its creator, the project has drawn widespread praise for its impressive lighting and environmental detail, though concerns about AI in video game development persist.

2 Sources

Reliance Intelligence begins operations as RIL pushes into large-scale AI development

Reliance Industries has operationalized its new AI subsidiary Reliance Intelligence, led by chief AI scientist Gaurav Aggarwal. The unit is actively hiring AI/ML engineers for Indic-language model development and will house partnerships with Google and Meta. The move signals RIL's ambition to build national-scale AI infrastructure, including a gigawatt-scale data center in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

2 Sources

OpenAI-backed Chai Discovery raises $130M at $1.3B valuation as AI transforms drug development

Chai Discovery, an OpenAI-backed biotech startup, secured $130 million in Series B funding at a $1.3 billion valuation. Led by General Catalyst and Oak HC/FT, the round brings total funding to over $225 million. The company's Chai 2 AI model designs custom antibodies from scratch, solving complex drug development challenges that previously took years in just weeks.

4 Sources

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