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"AI won’t take your job. A person using AI will."
The real threat isn’t robots. It’s the people adapting faster than you.
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This week in the AI & tech world:
Meta’s fully automated AI ad platform
HeyGen gives full control over AI avatars
Record giants and music AI startups eye licensing deals
AI beats humans on emotional intelligence tests
Tips, tricks & tutorials
Free resources & other cool updates
Read time under 8 minutes
Latest updates
Meta’s fully automated AI ad platform
Meta is aiming to release tools that eliminate humans from the advertising process by 2026, according to a report from the WSJ — developing an AI that can create ads for Facebook and Instagram using just a product image and budget.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Companies would submit product images and budgets, letting AI craft the text and visuals, select target audiences, and manage campaign placement.
The system will be able to create personalized ads that can adapt in real-time, like a car spot featuring mountains vs. an urban street based on user location.
The push would target smaller companies lacking dedicated marketing staff, promising professional-grade advertising without agency fees or skillset.
Advertising is a core part of Mark Zuckerberg’s AI strategy and already accounts for 97% of Meta’s annual revenue.
HeyGen gives full control over AI avatars
HeyGen just launched ‘AI Studio’, a new video editing suite that gives users new control over AI avatars, with the ability to fine-tune vocal emphasis, hand gestures, and more for more polished and realistic generations.
Here’s everything you need to know:
A new ‘Voice Director Mode’ lets users shape the avatar’s speech delivery with natural language commands like “whisper this part” or “sound more excited”.
Speech mirroring allows for uploads of an exact speaking style to transfer it to the avatars, preserving personal vocal quirks and timing consistencies.
Gesture Control brings natural motion to avatars, with creators able to upload existing footage for mirroring or link gestures to words directly within a script.
HeyGen also teased a series of upcoming new features, including camera control, generative B-roll, motion graphics, and prompt-based editing.
Here’s what I think:
The future of video content creation is increasingly looking camera-less, with this latest round of upgrades taking avatars from more robotic talking heads to full-fledged actors with more granular control over motion and expressiveness. Video production is about to look a lot different in the AI age.
Record giants and music AI startups eye licensing deals
Music giants Universal, Warner, and Sony are reportedly in talks with AI music leaders Udio and Suno to negotiate licensing deals that could resolve billion-dollar lawsuits and establish standards for how AI firms compensate artists.
Here’s everything you need to know:
The labels are seeking licensing fees and equity stakes in the startups, creating a framework for compensating artists whose work is used in training.
The companies sued both Udio and Suno in 2024 for copyright infringement, seeking up to $150k per work infringed, potentially totaling billions in damages.
A deal would reportedly put an end to the lawsuits, with the negotiations happening “in parallel” and creating a race between firms to strike the first deal.
Here’s what I think:
This showdown echoes the music industry's past fights with Napster and streaming services — but this time, labels seem ready to negotiate rather than fight to the death. Just like we’ve seen in journalism and social media platforms, AI licensing is becoming a lucrative revenue stream and alternative to pricey court battles.
Here’s what I think:
We’re already seeing AI transform advertising through image, video, and text, but Zuck’s vision takes the process entirely out of human hands. With so much marketing flowing through FB and IG, a successful system would be a major disruptor — particularly for small brands that just want results without the hassle.
AI beats humans on emotional intelligence tests
Researchers from the University of Geneva and the University of Bern found that ChatGPT and other AI systems beat humans on emotional intelligence tests, indicating AI may be better at reading emotions and responding than people.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Six AI models were tested on standard emotional intelligence assessments, tasked with selecting emotionally appropriate responses to complex scenarios.
GPT-4, o1, Gemini 1.5 Flash, Copilot 365, Claude 3.5 Haiku, and DeepSeek V3 scored an 81% average in testing, compared to 56% for human participants.
Beyond just test-taking, GPT-4 also proved capable of quickly creating entirely new and valid emotional intelligence assessments.
The researchers believe the results show AI's grasp of emotional concepts and reasoning, not just pattern regurgitation from training data.
Here’s what I think:
While AI can't actually “feel” emotions like humans do, its ability to mimic and display optimal emotional intelligence in difficult situations might be just as valuable, and shows the massive promise for integrating LLMs into fields like mental health support, customer service, and education.
Free Resources
Best ChatGPT FREE course
Prompts of the week
Leadership style blueprint
Prompt: “Act as an expert in organizational psychology and leadership development. Create a detailed overview of the leadership style best suited for a [company type/description]. Explain how this leadership style influences team dynamics, motivation, communication, and decision-making in this environment.
Include real-world examples or case studies (if relevant) and identify typical challenges leaders using this style may face, such as scaling, conflict resolution, or balancing autonomy with accountability. Then offer actionable strategies and tools to overcome these challenges while preserving the core strengths of the leadership style. Bonus: share 2–3 traits or habits leaders should develop to be successful in this company context.”
Objection handling script for sales
Prompt: “Act as a high-performing B2B sales strategist. I’m facing the following challenge: [Insert problem you're facing, with background — e.g., losing deals due to price objections, early-stage buyers pushing back, stakeholder misalignment, etc.]. Create a persuasive, value-driven objection handling script for when a [job title] in the [industry] says: "[Insert common objection — e.g., 'Your product is too expensive.']". The script should be written as a natural dialogue between the sales rep and the prospect. Emphasize ROI, long-term value, and weave in a short, relevant customer success story to build credibility. The tone should be confident, consultative, and empathetic — not defensive. Format the script in a way I can easily copy and adapt, using [Rep:] and [Prospect:] lines. Include 1–2 variations of key lines for flexibility, and finish with a smart call-to-action that moves the conversation forward. Bonus: suggest one follow-up email subject line and message I can send if the prospect still seems hesitant.”
Root cause analysis
Prompt: “I want you to act as a process improvement expert and systems thinker. I’m currently facing the following recurring problem: [describe the issue in detail with background context]. Assist me in conducting a Root Cause Analysis to understand and resolve this issue at the source. Start by helping me clearly define the problem — include when, where, and how often it occurs. Guide me in gathering the relevant data or patterns around this issue. Then, use diagnostic frameworks (like the 5 Whys, Fishbone Diagram (Ishikawa), or Pareto Principle) to explore possible contributing factors. Once we identify the most likely root cause(s), recommend practical, realistic solutions to address it — both immediate fixes and long-term preventive strategies.
Bonus: Share an example from a similar situation or industry to show how the same method worked elsewhere.”
AI Tips, Tricks & Tutorials
How to transform “Deep research” reports into visual infographics
In this tutorial, you will learn how to use Google Gemini's deep research feature to analyze complex topics and automatically generate visual infographics from research findings using its new visualization capabilities.
Follow these steps:
Go to Google’s Gemini website and click “Deep Research” at the bottom of the chat interface
Enter your research topic and review the plan Gemini creates, then click “Edit plan” to modify or “Start research” to proceed
Once your comprehensive report is ready, click the “Create” button and select “Infographic” to turn your report into an interactive HTML visualization
Toggle between Code and Preview views in “Canvas” to see and customize your infographic.
Pro tip: The more specific your initial query, the better your results. Instead of broad topics, include specific aspects, timeframes, or comparisons you want in your report.
How to download and organize anything with Genspark’s AI agent
Go to Genspark and sign up with your account.
Now click on ‘Download for me‘ to add a link to files to be downloaded.
Add a prompt to tell the AI agent what to do.
Sample Prompt: [Insert URL] download all PDF files from this link
You’ll get an ‘AI Drive’ link where you can access all of your files anytime without any effort.
You can use it to download multiple images, YouTube shorts, Instagram videos, TikToks, and more.
Give it a try & have fun!😀
PRODUCTIVITY
Top AI tools of the week
🗣️ Conversational AI 2.0 - ElevenLab’s updated AI voice agent platform
🔎 Perplexity Labs - Build reports and dashboards with multi-tool use
🎥 Bing Video Creator - Turn words into short videos on mobile
🎬 Mirage Studio - Generate studio-quality videos with AI actors
🗣️ EVI 3 - Create custom voices through speech-to-speech interactions
AI-GENERATED IMAGES
Ferry companions
ChatGPT Prompt: “A young, cool woman with a tablet on the Staten Island ferry. She has a suitcase. Next to her is a Japanese shogun, a female character from Bridgeton with a big wig, Charlie Chaplin with makeup, a female anime character with big sparkly eyes, and an alien. They have the exact matching luggage and are looking towards the woman.”
Top Video Of The Week
Google VEO 3 insanely real ad!
💡 The Latest in AI and Tech
ElevenLabs launched “Conversational AI 2.0”, featuring new advanced turn-taking, multilingual detection, and enterprise-grade features, including HIPAA compliance.
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis revealed that “millions of videos” were generated with Veo 3 in the last week, following an expansion to over 71 new countries.
Android and iOS users can now try “Gemini Live”, which lets you share your screen or camera and ask questions about what you see.
Midjourney just rolled out a series of updates, including 40% faster rendering speeds and smarter image moderation.
A new Artificial Analysis report found that China is now neck-and-neck with the US, especially when it comes to open-source AI.
Microsoft just announced “Bing Video Creator”, integrating OpenAI’s Sora video generation model into the Bing mobile app and allowing users to create five-second outputs from text descriptions with no subscription required.
Luma Labs launched ‘Modify Video’, a new tool to restyle videos by changing style, characters, settings, and more.
Volvo is introducing a new AI-powered seatbelt, which accounts for a passenger’s size, seating position, and vehicle speed and direction to customize protection.
Samsung is reportedly in talks with AI startup Perplexity to integrate the platform’s app, assistant, and search features across new Samsung devices.
Captions launched ‘Mirage Studio’, a platform that generates hyper-realistic videos with AI actors from audio or scripts for UGC and marketing content.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration launched ‘Elsa’, an agency-wide AI platform to help speed clinical reviews and scientific evaluations.
Manus AI introduced new video generation capabilities, allowing the agentic platform to plan and generate detailed video scenes and visual concepts.
Claude Pro subscribers can now access ‘Integrations’ (a tool that connects the chatbot to your favorite apps) and ‘Research’, which generates reports based on information from the web, your Google Workspace, and other sources.
Suno rolled out a series of new features, including an upgraded song editor for easier editing, stem extraction, creative sliders, and extended song uploads up to 8 minutes.
Google just dropped a new update preview to its ‘Gemini 2.5 Pro’ model, calling it the company’s “most intelligent model yet” — with notable jumps on coding, STEM, reasoning, and image understanding benchmarks.
Anthropic unveiled ‘Claude Gov’, a specialized version of its AI models designed exclusively for U.S. defense and intelligence agencies — featuring modified safety guardrails and enhanced capabilities for handling classified information.
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That’s a wrap, my fellow Sapiens. Until next week:
Stay informed, stay adaptable, and keep thriving!
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