TechCapsules

CD Projekt Red has used generative‑AI voice‑altering technology to restore Polish actor Jacek Rozenek’s Geralt voice for the upcoming Witcher 3 expansion Songs of the Past. After a 2019 stroke left Rozenek’s voice deeper and rougher, the studio, with his consent, partnered with Respeecher to train an AI on his earlier recordings, producing lines that match the original 2015 sound. The company has applied similar AI techniques in Cyberpunk 2077, citing ethical use and consent. The expansion, slated for release next year, [...]

Runway AI Inc. released Praxis‑1, a 27‑billion‑parameter world‑action model for robotics, now available under an Apache 2.0 license. The model, built on Runway’s video foundation, predicts video and actions simultaneously and has achieved top rankings on NVIDIA’s RoboLab leaderboard. Partners such as Noble Machines, Standard Bots, and Ultra have deployed Praxis‑1 on diverse hardware—from legged humanoids to six‑axis arms and dual‑arm warehouse robots—demonstrating rapid learning from limited examples. The open‑weight release includes full fine‑tuning and LoRA support for [...]

A Pokémon enthusiast, Big Kid Nation, has voiced frustration after Anthropic’s Claude AI models began refusing to generate code involving official Pokémon assets. The fan, who has reportedly spent up to $2,000 monthly on “vibe‑coded” AI tools, claims no revenue has been earned from his project, Pokémon Arena 2D, despite significant investment. The game, a free 2D pixel‑art arena, has avoided legal scrutiny so far but may face increased pressure as Anthropic tightens copyright restrictions. [...]

Nvidia’s board removed CEO Jensen Huang on Thursday after he admitted to an affair with a woman suspected by U.S. authorities of being a Chinese spy and an executive of a Singapore‑based cloud firm accused of funneling Nvidia chips to China. The scandal intertwines personal misconduct with national‑security concerns, prompting congressional committees to seek Huang’s testimony and sparking investigations into his political donations, including a $25 million contribution to a Trump‑linked project. Huang’s ouster also strips the AI sector [...]

Microsoft announced a new set of developer tools aimed at reducing the time programmers spend fixing code generated by artificial‑intelligence assistants. The suite, integrated into Visual Studio and GitHub Copilot, adds automated linting, context‑aware refactoring and security‑focused scans that run immediately after AI‑produced snippets are inserted. Microsoft says the features will identify syntactic errors, style violations and common vulnerability patterns, offering one‑click corrections while preserving the original intent of the generated code. The company demonstrated the workflow [...]

Google has launched the Gemini app on CarPlay, enabling iOS drivers to interact with Gemini Live while on the road. The interface features a waveform indicator that shows listening, thinking, and responding states, with “End” and “Mute” controls. Users can interrupt responses, pause, or add details, and conversations sync with the iPhone Gemini app, allowing continuity across devices. The rollout is global, supporting all Gemini Live languages, and requires the latest Gemini app update. The feature aims [...]

Apple has added a new AI feature to its iCloud+ service in iOS 27, targeting users on the higher‑tier storage plans. The feature, called Apple Intelligence, automatically generates video descriptions for HomeKit Secure Video recordings, enabling natural‑language searches within the Home app. It is available only on the $9.99, $29.99, and $59.99 monthly plans and requires a compatible HomeKit camera, a home hub such as HomePod or Apple TV 4K, and an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence. The [...]

OpenAI has extended its ChatGPT Finances feature to the Mac desktop app, completing its rollout across mobile, web, and desktop platforms. Initially released in beta for paid users, the feature moved from a $100/month plan to a $20/month tier and, since October, is available to all users, including free accounts, though only for U.S. residents. Finances lets users securely link bank accounts to analyze spending, track investments, receive weekly reports, monitor stocks, and build custom tools. The [...]