Beginners in AI

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Welcome to this week's edition of Beginners in AI, where we explore the latest trends, tools, and news in the world of AI and the tech that surrounds it. Like all editions, this is human curated and published with the intention of making AI news and technology more accessible to everyone. 

In this issue, we spotlight the surge of AI video cloning and the race for proof‑of‑personhood, Google’s new AI scam shields, Meta’s sensing smart glasses, Finch the biology discovery assistant, the first AI‑generated victim statement used in court, Alphabet’s search‑related stock slide, and fresh funding for Digit the warehouse robot. Let’s get started!

AI TOP STORY
HeyGen and the Rise of Digital Doppelgängers

What Happened
AI‑driven video‑cloning platforms such as Synthesia and most recently an upgraded HeyGen now generate photorealistic talking‑head clips from a single selfie, taking the tech from novelty to mainstream content factory. Marketers, educators and scammers alike are jumping aboard as quality soars and prices plunge, making it nearly impossible for an untrained eye to spot the fake.

What It Means
This near‑perfect mimicry shatters long‑standing assumptions about authorship, consent and trust. Verification teams in newsrooms, courts and ad agencies suddenly need new workflows, and lawmakers are drafting disclosure labels. In one sentence: expect the rise of proof‑of‑personhood systems—Sam Altman’s(CEO of OpenAI)World ID is just one early example—aimed at asserting that a real human stands behind any digital appearance.(See Sam Altman’s World ID Device Could Reshape Digital Identity — But At What Cost?)

What to Take Away
For everyday readers, the message is double‑edged: enjoy the convenience of on‑demand avatars for training videos or multilingual customer support, but try to verify before you believe. Look for authenticity markers—visible disclaimers, trusted‑source watermarks or future identity stamps—just as you once looked for the lock icon before typing a credit‑card number online.

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LAST WEEK IN AI AND TECH

Ghost in the Courtroom
In Arizona, the family of road‑rage victim Christopher Pelkey played an AI‑generated video of Pelkey delivering his own victim‑impact statement at his killer’s sentencing—a U.S. first. Built from photos and voice clips, the avatar expressed forgiveness and swayed the judge to impose a stiffer 10.5‑year term. Ethicists praise the catharsis but worry about emotional manipulation and precedent for synthetic testimony in future cases.

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Scamurai AI
Google’s latest Fighting Scams in Search report shows Gemini Nano now runs on‑device inside Chrome’s Enhanced Protection, blocking phishing pages 20 times more effectively than last year. New AI‑powered warnings on Android silence spam‑notification blitzes, while Google Messages flags suspicious texts in real time. The push reflects Google’s attempt to stay ahead of rapidly iterating fraud tactics and protect its $300 billion ads empire.

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Spec‑Savers
A leak spotted by The Information suggests Meta’s next‑gen Ray‑Ban smart glasses (codenamed Aperol & Bellini) will ship with an always‑on “super‑sensing” mode—think facial recognition, object reminders and life‑logging, triggered by the wake phrase “Hey Meta, start live AI.” Privacy teams are reportedly scrambling to balance utility with civil‑liberty optics, especially as the prototype’s battery currently lasts only 30 minutes.

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Finch and You Shall Find
Eric Schmidt‑backed nonprofit FutureHouse previewed Finch, an AI “first‑year grad student” for biology. Feed it RNA‑seq or a cancer prompt, and Finch writes code, plots figures and surfaces hypotheses in minutes. Critics note previous AI‑for‑science hype has outpaced lab results, but FutureHouse says closed‑beta testers already uncovered “cool stuff” and is recruiting bio‑informaticians to keep Finch from making “silly mistakes.”

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Search and De‑stroy
Alphabet lost $138 billion in market value (‑7.6 %) after court testimony revealed Apple is testing AI search partners like Perplexity and OpenAI for Safari, threatening Google’s $20 billion‑per‑year default deal. Investors fear AI assistants could siphon searches away, turning Google’s cash cow into yesterday’s milk. Google is rushing “AI Mode” for Search and courting Apple with Gemini integration.

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TECH TERMS TO KNOW

Latency Tax is the hidden “cost” in productivity or performance caused by small delays—especially when software is built in a way that isn’t streamlined. Even a 300-millisecond pause can break user focus. Latency tax explains why some apps feel snappy and others feel annoying, even if both "work."

TOOL SPOTLIGHT (non-sponsored)

Illustrae is a web-based platform designed to help researchers, educators, and scientists create professional-grade scientific illustrations quickly and easily.

Why Illustrae Might Be Good to Use:

Custom Element Generation: Generate bespoke illustrations from text prompts, sketches, or photos, making it easier to visualize complex scientific concepts.

AI-Powered Editing: Make real-time edits using simple text instructions, such as "Make the cells pink" or "Add arrows and labels," allowing for quick adjustments without manual redrawing.

Intelligent Canvas: Utilize an infinite canvas with intuitive editing features like frames, arrows, textboxes, and live embed links, ideal for creating multi-panel figures or complex diagrams.

Collaboration Tools: Share your canvas with co-authors, students, or colleagues and collect feedback—all within the platform.

Designed for Science Communication: Tailored specifically for scientific illustrations, making it suitable for preparing figures for research papers, conference posters, and educational materials.

ROBOTICS AND AI
Digit Steps Up

Agility Robotics and Oregon State University opened a 70,000‑sq‑ft Salem plant where their two‑legged robot Digit totes bins just like a warehouse temp—but without coffee breaks. The company can now build up to 10,000 Digits a year, backed by Amazon’s Industrial Innovation Fund and $150 million in VC cash. Founders warn proposed federal research‑budget cuts could slow the next wave of bipedal helpers, even as tariffs already threaten component costs.

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TRY THIS PROMPT (copy and paste into ChatGPT, Grok, Perplexity, Gemini)

Mental Coach

Act as a mental fitness coach. Search through all of our past chats to find emotional triggers or recurring patterns you notice, and help me trace their possible origin, suggest reframing techniques, and build a mental routine to weaken their influence over time.

DID YOU KNOW?

The First Webcam Watched a Coffee Pot. In 1991, researchers at the University of Cambridge pointed a camera at their office coffee machine so they could check if it was full without leaving their desks. It became the world’s first webcam.

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Thank you for reading. We’re all beginners in something. With that in mind, your questions and feedback are always welcome and I read every single email!

-James

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