The Observation Engine

The recent debut of Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated actress created by Eline Van der Velden’s UK-based studio Particle6, has ignited a fierce debate within Hollywood and beyond about the future of acting, creativity, and the role of artificial intelligence in entertainment. The Controversy First “AI Actress” Signing: Tilly Norwood made headlines when Van der Velden revealed at the Zurich Summit (September 27) that a talent agency was in talks to represent the synthetic character for acting roles. Hollywood Reactions: Emily Blunt called the move “terrifying,” urging agencies to stop “taking away our human connection.” Simu Liu responded sarcastically, blasting the idea of movies starring only AI versions of people. Whoopi Goldberg said AI actors have an “unfair advantage,” given the vast digital libraries they draw from. Actors Union Response: SAG-AFTRA (the U.S. actors union) condemned the trend, stating that creativity must “remain human-centered” and arguing ...

Contrary to widespread fear and numerous headlines, a new study from Yale University’s Budget Lab finds that since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022, AI technology has not yet disrupted job numbers or workforce composition in the United States . Key Findings: Stability, Not Disruption No Major Changes in Job Exposure: The study analyzed workforce data over 33 months, grouping workers by their exposure to AI (high, medium, low). If AI were eliminating jobs, the share of high-exposure workers would have gone down, but the data show those shares have barely changed. Labor Force Composition Unchanged: Yale researchers compared recent trends to historical shifts during the computer boom of the 1980s and the internet tech surge of the late 1990s. Unlike those earlier tech revolutions, AI’s impact on America’s labor force so far appears minimal. Young Worker Analysis: Tracking the spread of jobs among recent college graduates (ages 20–24) and comparing them to older cohorts...

A new study published on September 24 in PLoS One has shown that average listeners can no longer reliably tell apart AI-generated “deepfake” voices from real human voices. Study Findings: AI vs. Human Voices Voice Cloning vs. From-Scratch AI: While generic AI voices made from scratch can still be spotted by most listeners (only 41% fooled), AI voice clones trained with real human samples are nearly indistinguishable : 58% of these deepfake voices were rated as genuine, compared to 62% for actual human voices. Minimal Data Needed: Researchers created convincing voice clones using as little as four minutes of audio and basic commercial software, requiring minimal expertise and cost. Security and Ethics Risks: Sophisticated deepfake voices make it easy for criminals to bypass voice authentication systems at banks, impersonate loved ones, or even fabricate public statements from politicians and celebrities. Example: A victim gave $15,000 after being tricked by a “daughter’s...

India’s software and IT exports are racing ahead overall, but the country’s top listed IT giants are losing ground in the export race. New data show a widening gulf between headline software export growth and the performance of established publicly listed firms, raising important questions for investors, policymakers, and the tech industry at large. The Numbers: The Export Race India’s software exports grew 12.7% in FY25 , reaching $180.6 billion, according to RBI data. Listed IT companies (the major players on the stock market) reported only 3.8% growth in foreign exchange revenues , totaling $69.6 billion, their lowest market share in 14 years. The share of listed IT firms in total software exports has shrunk from 55% in FY19 to 38.5% in FY25 , against a backdrop of accelerating growth from unlisted firms and Global Capability Centres (GCCs) of multinational corporations. What’s Fueling the Divergence? Rise of Unlisted Players & GCCs Unlisted Indian IT firms an...

AI data centres are quickly becoming one of the most important and expensive pieces of our digital future. Worldwide, around $3 trillion will be spent on AI-ready data centres between now and 2029, rivalling the value of the French economy. Why Are AI Data Centres Different? Specialised Hardware & Massive Power : AI is extremely power-hungry; one ChatGPT prompt uses 10x the electricity of a Google search. These centres rely on cabinets full of GPUs (like Nvidia chips), each costing around $4 million. AI data centres demand “hyperscale” or even “gigawatt” levels of electricity, enough to power entire cities. Extreme Density and Low Latency : Unlike regular centres (storing photos, emails, apps), AI centres must pack thousands of chips close together for “parallel processing.” Even a meter of extra distance slows down learning and response times; every nanosecond counts when training massive AI models. Network and Edge Demands : Data transfer speeds and hyper-fast internal...

India’s banks and lenders have gone digital, deploying AI-powered bots and virtual agents to track down loan defaulters, automate reminders, and dramatically improve debt recovery rates. This marks a major shift in how overdue loans are managed, impacting customers, lenders, and the entire financial ecosystem. What’s Changed? The Rise of AI Avatars Banks and NBFCs now use AI-generated avatars , often dressed smartly as lawyers, to make video calls or send personalized reminders to borrowers who have missed repayments. These bots interact with customers firmly but politely, nudging them to pay, without crossing lines sometimes breached by human agents. AI systems work around the clock, reaching more people much faster than humans. Where a traditional recovery agent managed about 250 cases/month, an AI agent can handle up to 5,000, at 40–60% lower costs. How Does AI Boost Recovery? Predictive Analytics: AI spots at-risk borrowers by analyzing payment, credit, and even b...

  Meta has unveiled its most advanced smart glasses yet, the Meta Ray-Ban Display , at its Connect 2025 event. These AI-powered glasses feature a built-in color display in the right lens and introduce gesture-based controls via an innovative EMG “Neural Band” wristband. Key Features Heads-Up Display: A full-color, high-resolution screen sits in the right lens, showing notifications, messages, navigation, real-time translations, and Meta AI responses. The display is activated only when needed, keeping the classic sunglasses look. Gesture Controls: The included Meta Neural Band wristband reads subtle muscle signals from your hand, allowing you to scroll, select, and interact with the glasses through simple motions such as swiping, pinching, or rotating your wrist. AI-Powered: Users can ask Meta AI to assist, get information, preview photos, and more, all visible directly on the lens display. Camera and Audio: The glasses feature a 12MP camera for 3K video recording, ...

YouTube is rapidly expanding its suite of AI-powered tools, unveiling major upgrades aimed at supporting content creators, streamlining video production, and making Shorts more creative than ever. The annual “Made on YouTube” event showcased how Google’s latest generative AI, auto-dubbing, and creator-specific insights are shaping the future of the platform. Major AI Announcements Veo 3 for Shorts: Google DeepMind’s Veo 3 AI is now live in YouTube Shorts, allowing creators to generate video backgrounds and clips (with sound) from simple text prompts. New tools let users add motion, stylize scenes (e.g. pop art), and even insert objects or characters with a written description. Edit with AI: In the YouTube Create app, AI can now auto-select highlights, add transitions, generate music, and produce first-draft Shorts or videos, saving creators hours in the editing process. Speech to Song: Shorts creators can remix video dialogue into humorous or catchy soundtracks, opening up...

Microsoft and OpenAI have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) that paves the way for a significant restructuring of their partnership, as OpenAI seeks to transition into a for-profit entity and expand its future business. Key Points of the New Partnership From Nonprofit to For-Profit: OpenAI is moving toward a more traditional governance and fundraising model, with plans to go public in the future. Microsoft’s approval is crucial due to its prior investments and contract structure. Microsoft Remains a Key Partner: Microsoft has invested over $13 billion in OpenAI since 2019 and will continue to offer cloud support and infrastructure. However, Microsoft is also building its own AI models and exploring partnerships beyond OpenAI. Expanded Cloud Capacity: OpenAI can now engage additional partners, evidenced by its recent $300 billion data center deal with Oracle and a cloud partnership with Google, marking an end to Microsoft’s exclusive rights as OpenAI’s...

OpenAI has signed what is reported to be one of the largest cloud computing contracts in history, a $300 billion agreement with Oracle spanning roughly five years starting in 2027. This deal is a cornerstone of OpenAI’s ambitious infrastructure initiative called Project Stargate, aimed at building massive AI data centers across the United States. Key Details The $300 billion contract covers computing resources Oracle will provide to OpenAI to power its AI models and services. The deal aligns with building 4.5 gigawatts of new data center power capacity , which is enough electricity to power more than four million U.S. homes. Project Stargate involves partners including OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank, and former President Trump and envisions investing over $500 billion into AI infrastructure over the next few years. This cloud computing pact far exceeds OpenAI’s current revenues and signals the skyrocketing costs and scale required to develop and deploy advanced AI systems. ...

Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO) and Vinod Khosla (Khosla Ventures) recently discussed the future of AI, moving from today’s chatbots toward AGI (artificial general intelligence), the rapid change of technology, and how AI may rewrite what it means to build, learn, and create in the upcoming decades. Major Takeaways 2035 and Beyond: An Unrecognizable World? Altman and Khosla imagine a world by 2035-2050 where technology changes so fast it’s hard for today’s minds to even grasp the pace or consequences. Software may be created “just in time”; type what you want, and a new app appears instantly, possibly rendering many traditional software companies obsolete. Physical world changes (like manufacturing) will lag behind, but over the next 10+ years, both software and some physical industries may be radically reshaped. Companies and Jobs: Who Will Survive? Large, slow Fortune 500 firms may face their “fastest demise ever,” with new companies forming and scaling faster than ever befo...

A new animated movie called "Critterz" is making history as one of the first feature films created mainly with artificial intelligence tools. Backed by OpenAI and expected to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival , this film could transform how movies are made and how quickly they reach the big screen. What Makes "Critterz" So Special? AI at the Core: Most of the movie’s creation, from animation to design, is powered by OpenAI’s advanced tools like Dall-E. This is not just a short demo, it's a full-length cinematic adventure about forest creatures on a quest. Speed and Savings: With a budget of less than $30 million, it's much cheaper than big Hollywood films (for example, Disney’s "Tangled" cost over $200 million). Plus, the film will be made in just nine months, a fraction of the typical three to four years it usually takes to produce an animated feature. Creative Vision: Chad Nelson, an OpenAI creative specialist, started "Crit...

OpenAI has announced plans to launch an AI-focused job search platform by mid-2026, aiming to revolutionize how employers find talent and job seekers connect with the right opportunities. The move puts OpenAI in direct competition with LinkedIn, Microsoft’s professional networking giant, despite Microsoft being one of OpenAI’s largest investors. What is the OpenAI Jobs Platform? The platform will use AI to match employers with candidates based on skills, experience, and company needs rather than just keywords or resumes. It will feature a dedicated track for small businesses and local governments to access AI talent, helping them compete with larger organizations. The service plans to integrate with OpenAI’s certification programs , offering validated credentials in AI fluency, prompt engineering, and workplace AI skills through the OpenAI Academy , a free online learning platform. OpenAI aims to certify millions of workers by 2030 to help close the AI skills gap and su...

A new AI tool called Nano Banana is taking the tech and social media world by storm in 2025. Developed by Google DeepMind, Nano Banana is an advanced AI photo-editing feature inside the Gemini app that lets anyone transform images with just a text prompt, no Photoshop expertise required. What’s Nano Banana and Why Is Everyone Talking About It? Super Simple Editing: Nano Banana allows users to make professional image edits, like swapping backgrounds, adding special effects, changing outfits, or combining photos, just by typing what you want. You don’t need layers or complex tools anymore. Crazy Realistic Results: People are posting all over X and Instagram showing how Nano Banana can blend people or even pets into totally new scenes while preserving faces and details. You can quickly change fashions, poses, even the whole vibe of a photo with amazing realism. Celebrity Fever: The launch weekend saw a flood of AI-created selfies “with” famous personalities like Shah Rukh Kh...

A dramatic shortage of artificial intelligence (AI) expertise is threatening to slow down the global AI boom in 2025. As more companies invest in GenAI and machine learning, the number of unfilled AI roles is skyrocketing, all while wages for AI talent hit record highs and educational systems struggle to keep pace. How Deep Is the Shortage? For every 10 open GenAI roles, there is just one qualified engineer available. India's AI market, projected to hit $28.8 billion in 2025, is a powerful example: the demand for AI experts now vastly outpaces supply, with the talent gap expected to reach 53% by 2026 . Globally, 87% of organizations say they struggle to hire for AI roles, with the average time to fill a position topping 142 days . Current estimates suggest 4.2 million AI positions are unfilled worldwide, with just 320,000 ready developers available to fill them. What Skills Are Most in Demand? Prompt engineering Large Language Model (LLM) safety and tuning AI...

Reliance Industries has made waves with the announcement of two major alliances, with Meta and Google, to accelerate India’s AI-powered future. These partnerships mark a bold new chapter for India’s technology sector, promising to democratize access to advanced artificial intelligence across businesses of all sizes. Reliance and Meta: Bringing Enterprise AI to Every Business Joint Venture & Investment: Reliance and Meta are forming an AI-focused joint venture (“Reliance Intelligence”) with an initial investment of ₹855 crore (about $100 million), Reliance holding 70% and Meta 30%. Open Source Power: The JV will leverage Meta’s open-source Llama models, making it possible for Indian organizations, from startups to large corporates, to easily deploy plug-and-play AI tools for sales, IT, customer support, and more. Democratized AI: Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance, says the goal is to “democratize enterprise-grade AI for every Indian organisation,” with Meta CEO Mark Z...

The demand for AI-focused upskilling is hitting new highs in 2025, reshaping how employees and organizations across industries approach learning and development. As artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation transform the job market, workers, from frontline staff to senior leaders, are racing to acquire new skills and stay relevant in an era defined by rapid technological advancements. What’s Fueling the Surge in AI Upskilling? Rapid Change in Job Roles: With tech hiring booming, especially in AI/ML, cybersecurity, and cloud-native skills, many jobs are evolving or disappearing altogether. More than 70% of startups are actively upskilling employees in AI and related fields through short, skill-based programs. AI Anxiety and Worker Demand: Nearly half of today’s workers see AI as a threat to their jobs, driving 61% to consider upskilling or reskilling specifically in AI to future-proof their roles. Personalized, Domain-Specific Training: Not just techies, bu...