/// System Override

A tool, shift, or insight that challenges the default and demands a deeper look. Our main story of the week.

Welcome back to another edition of The AI Upload!

Before we get started, I want your feedback! As you know, this newsletter is brand new, and I want to make sure I am giving you guys exactly what you want.

That said, what the hell do you want?! Choose your answer below 👇

With that out of the way -today’s story is about what makes us human. Well, not really that philosophical, but there certainly are some implications here that I’m unsure we can truly understand.

So what’s this about? It’s about how downright convincing AI Avatars are getting. How they can confuse, stir emotion, and more.

Let’s explore,
Cory

The Scary World Of AI Influencers

Recently, I did a collaboration post on my socials with Arcads who just unveiled their new AI Avatar Gesture Control. Effectively, this is a tool they’ve developed that allows you to prompt an avatar to have specific emotions. And not just any emotions - genuinely convincing emotions.

The video above is an example - this is a woman created with AI, turned into an avatar, then prompted to express sadness.

The truly scary part about this isn’t only that it will become hard to discern who is real and who isn’t online, because we’ve sort of already had that problem for a very long time, but rather the emotional response it triggers.

I don’t know about you, but that video made me feel sad. When I watched it, my ape-brain responded accordingly. We have an inherent survival mechanism that matches other’s emotions for sake of community and trust. Evolution, however, clearly never anticipated fake humans.

Here’s some more examples. If you’re like me, they might also make you feel something when watching them - joy, happiness, sadness, surprise, etc.

The implications here are relatively unknown. Yes, we might have a hard time telling who is real and who isn’t, but that isn’t inherently dangerous. It may devalue real human content, which is not great, but it doesn’t necessary in-itself present danger.

However, you can imagine scenarios where these emotional responses are weaponized, forcing empathic reactions to narratives that progress bad actors’ ulterior motives.

Sure, this is speculation, but I don’t think we’re all that far from this point in the rabbit hole. At least for now, we can enjoy what is effectively a cool tool to make cool ad creative and leave it at that.

Enjoy!

/// Patch Notes

A log of new tools, major announcements, and news worth knowing, compressed for fast parsing.

ChatGPT Dives Into In-Chat Shopping

Your shopping cart just got a lot smarter. OpenAI is reportedly teaming up with Shopify to bring in-chat shopping capabilities directly into ChatGPT, letting users browse, compare, and even purchase products without leaving the conversation. Early glimpses show Shopify’s app integrated inside ChatGPT’s Explore GPTs section, offering a seamless shopping experience powered by AI recommendations. This move signals a major expansion of ChatGPT’s role from assistant to full-on shopping companion, blending conversational AI with e-commerce in a way that could seriously shake up how people discover and buy products online.

OpenAI Launches Robust Image API

Say hello to a faster, sharper way to create images with AI. OpenAI’s new Image Generation API offers streamlined access to DALL·E 3, enabling businesses and developers to generate high-quality, customizable images at scale. Key features include improved prompt understanding, built-in editing capabilities like inpainting, and "Style Customization," letting users tailor outputs to a consistent visual brand. With a focus on safety, OpenAI built robust safeguards into the API to prevent misuse. The launch positions the API as a powerful creative tool for apps, marketing, e-commerce, and any platform needing flexible, AI-driven visuals.

Perplexity’s Voice App Takes on Siri

Move over, Siri—there’s a new voice in town. Perplexity’s new voice app for iOS offers a glimpse at how AI-driven search could redefine mobile assistants. Unlike traditional voice helpers, Perplexity’s app taps into real-time LLM-powered responses, delivering faster, more accurate, and citation-rich answers. It smoothly integrates with iOS features like Dynamic Island and Live Activities, making it feel like a native part of the ecosystem. The app not only addresses Siri’s well-known limitations but also hints at a future where smart, conversational AI becomes an everyday utility rather than a gimmick.

Adobe Firefly Levels Up Creative AI

The latest updates to Adobe’s generative AI platform promise faster, smarter, and more versatile creative tools, integrated across Photoshop, Illustrator, and beyond. New features include enhanced image and text generation, customizable AI models trained on a brand's unique style, and deeper integration with Adobe’s Creative Cloud ecosystem. Adobe also introduced Firefly Services, offering APIs that businesses can plug directly into their workflows. With these upgrades, Adobe is aiming to keep creativity human-centered while supercharging productivity through responsible, user-controlled AI innovation.

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