Here is the top trending news from the world of technology. News that every tech enthusiast should keep a tab on.
1)
Midjourney unveils a new integrated AI Image Editor
Midjourney, one of the most prominent names in the AI image generation space, has a new unified AI image editor on its website. This new interface brings all the important editing feature in one single place. This includes features like Reframe, Repaint, Pan and Zoom. Thanks to this unified interface, creators can now create and edit images more easily, reliving them from the pain of switching between different tools. Creators who have created minimum 10 images on Midjourney’s Discord server are eligible for using this unified interface. This move comes at a time when competition in the AI image generation space is intensifying. Last week, xAI released Grok 2.0 with image generation capabilities and Google’s Imagen 3 is also now publicly available in the US market.
2)
Runway’s Gen-3 Alpha Turbo is now generally available
After showing its teaser last month, Runway has finally made its latest AI video generation model Gen-3 Alpha Turbo publicly available. Starting from last week, Turbo will be available for all plans, including trail for free users. The latest model comes with a bold promise that it will be seven times faster than its earlier model and will incur half the cost than its predecessor. The promise of superior speed by Turbo addresses the major pain-point in the AI video generation space where lack of real-time output has been causing impedance and hinderance to several industries across the niche.
3)
Instagram is testing rectangle profile grid
Instagram is testing a new feature that could potentially change the appearance of its profile page. The photo sharing platform is flirting with a new rectangle profile grid layout. This marks a noteworthy withdrawal from the traditional square grid format that has been the hallmark of the platform since its inception. According to reports, Instagram’s management believes that the rectangular grid offers a more immersive view and visually looks more pleasant. It will also align Instagram with other prominent social media platforms like TikTok, where rectangle format has always been the mainstay. However, Instagram is unlikely to make a hasty decision as many users may resist adapting to the change.
4)
YouTuber sues Nvidia over illegal Data Scrapping
A prominent YouTube content creator David Millete has filed a lawsuit against chip maker Nvidia for illegally downloading videos from his YouTube channel to train its AI software ‘Cosmos AI.’ Citing a 404 media report that was published August 05, the lawsuit – filed in Northern District of California – has accused that Nvidia downloaded “approximately 80 years’ worth of video content per day” Two weeks before, Millete had filed a similar lawsuit against OpenAI. To add to this information, the recent 404 media report had also accused Nvidia of stealing troves of video data from Netflix. It is clear that ‘data scrapping’ without consent has become a contentious issue in the tech industry and is probably in the dire need of a law that could properly regulate this issue.
5)
X to Shutter operations in Brazil amid ugly legal Tussle
Microblogging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, is shutting down all its operations in Brazil from immediate effect, after it failed to get any reprieve from the Supreme Court. In fact, battle with Brazil’s supreme court seems to have turned downright ugly, with Musk labeling the supreme court judge as “utter disgrace to justice’ in his X post. The matter became contentious after X showed unwillingness to abide by the supreme court order to close certain accounts that were allegedly spreading misinformation, including those that belonged to the loyal supporters of the former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.