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AI is rewriting the rules—are you keeping up? AI_Distilled #89: What’s New in AI This Week MEET THE TEAM - The faces behind your go-to AI newsletter This week, AI's hitting your screen, your workflow, and maybe even your love life. In this issue of AI_Distilled, we dive into the latest AI tools turning creators into power users, track the funding and feature wars shaking up the industry, and explore how AI is reshaping not just work but the very idea of work itself. Oh—and Hollywood? It’s caught in a plot twist of its own. As always, we’ve distilled what’s real, what’s next, and what actually matters. LLM Expert Insights, Packt In today's issue: 🎨 AI for Creators and Consumers OpenAI’s AI image generator is now free-tier (with limits), Runway’s Gen-4 brings consistency to AI videos, and eight free tools let users create Ghibli-style images. Happiest Minds launches an AI-powered investment assistant, Tinder debuts an AI flirting coach, Papa Johns integrates AI for personalized pizza, and Samsung’s AI AC automates nighttime cooling. 🏗️ AI Breakthroughs Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Amazon may surpass Apple by 2030. Anthropic reveals Claude’s reasoning, OpenAI secures $40B for AGI, and Alibaba prepares Qwen 3. Meta’s AI research head exits, Qualcomm buys VinAI’s AI division, Amazon enters the AI agent race, and NVIDIA open-sources its GPU scheduler. 🌍 AI and Society Sam Altman predicts AI will shrink developer jobs, OpenAI expands free AI education, and Infosys partners with the Linux Foundation on ethical AI. Bill Gates foresees a two-day workweek due to AI automation, and Nokia pushes AI-powered networks to bridge Africa’s digital divide. 🎬 Hollywood and AI AI tools appear in Oscar-winning films, sparking debate over creativity and automation. Justine Bateman fights back with an AI-free film festival, urging Hollywood to resist algorithm-driven storytelling. 🎨 AI FOR CREATORS AND CONSUMERS From dreamy Ghibli-style image editors to AI video models that (finally) understand continuity, this week’s batch of tools is here to spark both curiosity and chaos. Whether you're making art, flirting on apps, or managing your money—there’s an AI for everything.I'm a new paragraph block. OpenAI’s image generator hits free tier—with limits, hype, and heats OpenAI has opened its GPT-4o-powered image generator to all ChatGPT users, though free users face a cap—reportedly three images a day. The tool exploded in popularity (Studio Ghibli-style edits, fake receipts, GPU meltdowns), prompting both creativity and concern. OpenAI says all generated images carry metadata and are subject to its usage guidelines. Runway’s Gen-4 model brings continuity to AI-generated videos Runway’s new Gen-4 video model claims to fix one of AI video’s biggest flaws: consistency. With just one reference image and a few prompts, users can generate characters and scenes that hold together across multiple shots and angles—finally making AI video feel less glitchy. Happiest Minds launches AI-powered investment assistant on Azure Happiest Minds has rolled out Investment Companion, a generative AI tool that helps investors navigate complex financial info through a chat-driven, multimedia interface. Now live on the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, it pulls and prioritizes content from multiple sources—aiming to make investor relations smarter, faster, and a lot less painful. Papa Johns goes full AI to deliver hyper-personalized pizza experiences Papa Johns is teaming up with Google Cloud to bring AI into everything from order suggestions to voice-based pizza requests. Their new innovation team, PJX, will use Google’s Vertex AI and Gemini to drive predictive ordering, personalized rewards, chatbot-based support, and even AI-optimized restaurant operations. The goal? Pizza that knows what you want before you do. Samsung’s new AI AC syncs with your fans to kill the midnight thermostat shuffle Samsung's latest Bespoke AI WindFree ACs now work with SmartThings-certified fans and switches to automate nighttime cooling—no more waking up to switch settings. Using AI-powered temperature prediction and environmental sensing, the system balances comfort and energy use, helping consumers sleep better and cut electricity bills. It’s smart home tech that finally understands what “uninterrupted rest” means. 8 free tools to Ghiblify your photos without touching Photoshop The Ghibli-style image trend sparked by OpenAI’s image model has taken over the internet—but you don’t need GPT-4o to get that dreamy, soft-lit anime look. From old-school editors like LunaPic to AI-powered tools like Flux and Fotor, this roundup offers eight free ways to transform your pics into storybook scenes. Just be mindful of privacy policies before uploading your digital soul. Tinder launches an AI flirting coach—because dating wasn’t awkward enough Tinder's new game, The Game Game, lets users flirt with AI personas powered by OpenAI—complete with voice interactions, meet-cute scenarios, and a flame-based scoring system. It’s part fun, part feedback tool, and part commentary on how blurry the line between romance and AI has become. For now, it's iOS-only in the U.S.—but clearly, AI wingmen are trending. 🏗️ AI BREAKTHROUGHS From dreamy Ghibli-style image editors to AI video models that (finally) understand continuity, this week’s batch of tools is here to spark both curiosity and chaos. Whether you're making art, flirting on apps, or managing your money—there’s an AI for everything.I'm a new paragraph block. Behind the scenes, the big players are making bold moves. Open models, massive funding rounds, and strategic shifts are shaking up the AI landscape—from Claude’s inner workings to Amazon and Alibaba’s next-gen playbooks. These four AI giants could overtake Apple by 2030 Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Amazon are racing ahead—on revenue, EPS, and AI capabilities—while Apple’s growth has stalled. With Nvidia riding the GPU boom and Alphabet and Amazon pushing genAI across stacks, analysts say Apple’s spot as the world’s biggest company may not last the decade. The AI arms race isn't just technical—it's economic. Claude isn’t just guessing—Anthropic peeks under the hood Anthropic just dropped a rare behind-the-scenes look at Claude’s “AI biology,” revealing that the model plans ahead in creative tasks, processes language across cultures through a shared conceptual core, and even fakes logic under pressure. Their interpretability tools catch Claude in the act—whether it’s anticipating rhymes in poetry or hallucinating answers. It's a step toward making these black-box brains a bit more transparent—and hopefully, more trustworthy. OpenAI bags $40B to supercharge AGI ambitions OpenAI has secured a jaw-dropping $40 billion in funding at a $300 billion valuation, with backing from SoftBank. The money will go toward scaling compute, expanding ChatGPT’s reach, and pushing further toward AGI—with the usual promises of transforming science, education, and creativity along the way. Alibaba gears up to launch Qwen 3 amid China’s AI arms race Alibaba is prepping the release of Qwen 3—an upgraded flagship model—as soon as this month, in a fast-paced response to DeepSeek’s rapid rise. With AI one-upmanship heating up in China, the timing underscores just how intense the race has become, especially as DeepSeek’s low-cost, high-performance models gain global traction. Meta’s AI research head Joelle Pineau steps down after 8 years Joelle Pineau, the force behind Meta’s AI research and key initiatives like PyTorch and Llama, is exiting the company in May after nearly a decade. Her departure comes just as Meta ramps up AI investment, and ahead of its first LlamaCon. While she hasn’t revealed her next move, Pineau says she’s taking time to “observe and reflect”—and will keep one foot in academia at McGill. Qualcomm snaps up VinAI’s genAI division to fuel on-device AI push Qualcomm has acquired the generative AI arm of Vietnam’s VinAI, bringing in top-tier talent and tech for computer vision and language models. The move strengthens Qualcomm’s edge AI strategy—aiming to embed smarter AI into smartphones, cars, and PCs without relying on the cloud. VinAI CEO Hung Bui, ex-DeepMind, will join Qualcomm as part of the deal. Amazon joins the AI agent race with Nova Act and SDK Amazon just launched Nova Act—its take on AI agents that can browse, search, and even complete checkout tasks online. Paired with a developer-focused SDK, it signals Amazon’s growing confidence in its Nova foundation models and its intent to grab a bigger slice of the agentic AI pie. While rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic got there first, Amazon is banking on developer mindshare and enterprise integration to stand out. NVIDIA open-sources its powerful GPU scheduler, KAI NVIDIA has released the KAI Scheduler—its Kubernetes-native GPU orchestration engine—as open source under Apache 2.0. Built to tackle real-world AI workload chaos like fluctuating GPU needs, queue fairness, and job prioritization, KAI brings enterprise-grade scheduling logic to the community. It's a bold move that invites developers to help shape the backbone of scalable, containerized AI infrastructure. 💾 AI AND SOCIETY What happens when AI starts teaching the world, reshaping workweeks, and rewriting the rules of ethics? Let’s take a peek beyond the lab and into the living room. Sam Altman says AI might shrink demand for software engineers According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, AI is already generating over half the code at some companies—and the future could see even fewer human devs as “agentic coding” evolves. His advice? Get really good at using AI tools, not just writing code. It’s less about mastering syntax, and more about mastering adaptability. OpenAI rolls out free AI courses for everyone, everywhere OpenAI has expanded its Academy into a free, global hub for AI learning—offering courses on everything from prompt engineering to nonprofit workflows. With online tutorials, in-person workshops, and partnerships spanning schools, job programs, and governments, the goal is clear: make AI literacy mainstream and accessible across all walks of life. Infosys and Linux Foundation team up on ethical AI for networkss Infosys has joined forces with the Linux Foundation to promote responsible AI in global networking, contributing two open-source tools—Salus and Essedum—to tackle bias, privacy, and explainability. The initiative aims to embed ethical guardrails into AI-driven infrastructure, signaling a strong push toward open, accountable innovation in an increasingly automated internet. Bill Gates predicts a 2-day workweek—thanks to AI Bill Gates says AI could slash the standard workweek to just two days within a decade, as automation takes over routine jobs across industries like healthcare, education, and logistics. While human touch will still matter in areas like sports and creativity, Gates envisions AI handling everything from diagnoses to tutoring—reshaping productivity as we know it. Nokia’s AI-powered network vision aims to close Africa’s digital divide At MWC 2025, Nokia showcased how it’s fusing AI and next-gen network infrastructure to expand broadband across Africa and optimize global connectivity. From fixed wireless access to its Event-Driven Automation platform, Nokia is betting big on AI to power data centers, enable real-time network optimization, and bridge underserved regions into the digital economy. 🔒 HOLLYWOOD AND AI What happens when AI starts teaching the world, reshaping workweeks, and rewriting the rules of ethics? Let’s take a peek beyond the lab and into the living room. The strikes were just the beginning. As AI tools infiltrate film sets, scripts, and even award-winning performances, Hollywood is facing a creative identity crisis. This week’s stories spotlight the industry’s uneasy dance with generative AI. AI tech makes its way into Oscar-winning films Once branded the villain during industry-wide strikes, AI is now making cameos in Oscar-winning films and turning heads at L.A. cocktail parties. From voice-altering tech in The Brutalist to studio-backed AI startups like Moonvalley, the entertainment world is embracing AI—but not without tension. As lawsuits, protests, and open letters mount, the industry’s future hangs in the balance: will AI empower the next Scorsese, or replace the actors who bring the stories to life? Justine Bateman isn’t fighting AI—she wants to burn it out of Hollywood Filmmaker Justine Bateman isn’t trying to slow AI’s takeover of Hollywood—she’s daring it to burn faster so something real can rise from the ashes. Through her AI-free Credo 23 Film Festival, Bateman’s rallying creators around raw, human-made storytelling—and calling out tech giants for gutting artistry in favor of algorithmic slop. Her stance is clear: AI isn’t a tool, it’s a replacement machine—and she’s betting the audience will eventually crave soul over speed. Transform your professional world with ChatGPT and OpenAI—master prompt design to revolutionize development, marketing, research, and enterprise implementation Preorder Practical Generative AI with ChatGPT today! PRE-ORDER NOW! 📢 If your company is interested in reaching an audience of developers and, technical professionals, and decision makers, you may want toadvertise with us. If you have any comments or feedback, just reply back to this email. Thanks for reading and have a great day! *{box-sizing:border-box}body{margin:0;padding:0}a[x-apple-data-detectors]{color:inherit!important;text-decoration:inherit!important}#MessageViewBody a{color:inherit;text-decoration:none}p{line-height:inherit}.desktop_hide,.desktop_hide table{mso-hide:all;display:none;max-height:0;overflow:hidden}.image_block img+div{display:none}sub,sup{font-size:75%;line-height:0}#converted-body .list_block ol,#converted-body .list_block ul,.body [class~=x_list_block] ol,.body [class~=x_list_block] ul,u+.body .list_block ol,u+.body .list_block ul{padding-left:20px} @media (max-width: 100%;display:block}.mobile_hide{min-height:0;max-height:0;max-width: 100%;overflow:hidden;font-size:0}.desktop_hide,.desktop_hide table{display:table!important;max-height:none!important}}

Mobile development blogs, tutorials and resources inside!Latest Mobile Dev Insights: iOS, Android, Cross-PlatformAdvertise with Us|Sign Up to the NewsletterMobilePro #165: Introducing Swiftly, what's new in Swift 6.1, GPT-4o, WWDC 2025, and more…Hi ,Welcome to the 165th edition of MobilePro! We hope you are having an exciting week and are ready to explore the world of mobile development. From a flurry of announcements in the world of Swift, with both Swift 6.1 and Swiftly 1.0 being released, to WWDC 2025’s upcoming in-person event and Google’s major shift in Android development—there’s a lot to unpack:🎨 OpenAI rolls out native image generation in GPT-4o to free users with conversational refinement, alongside upgrades to speech models for more dynamic voice interactions.💻 Swift 6.1 is now available. This release includes updates to the language and package manager as well as details on how to get started with this new version, especially with the release of Swiftly 1.0 (as detailed up next).🛠️ Meet Swiftly 1.0 – the new way to manage Swift versions, now a significant part of the core Swift toolchain and soon to become the default way to install Swift outside of Xcode.🍏 WWDC 2025 is coming up on June 9 and applications are open until April 2 (11:59 p.m. PT). Don’t miss your chance to be part of this exciting in-person event at Apple Park for developers!📱 Google is taking Android development behind closed doors, moving away from AOSP to streamline its processes. Get all the details on what this means for the future of Android.That isn’t all. Just like in the previous edition, the What's Happening in AI? section will glance at all the developments in the world of artificial intelligence, including a look at how the Studio Ghibli trend overwhelmed OpenAI. We also have the Developer Tip section to enhance your workflow and the Did You Know? section, because how else can you plan for the future without knowing your past?Let’s dive in!P.S.: If you have any suggestions or feedback, or would like us to feature your project on a particular subject, please write to us. Just respond to this email!📱 What's Happening in Mobile Development?If there’s any major news in the world of mobile app dev in the last week, MobilePro has you covered.Swift 6.1 is now available: Six months after Swift 6 entered the realm of public availability, the Swift team has released Swift 6.1, with a host of changes, including improvements in language as well as diagnostics, which help enhance productivity. There are updates to the package traits alongside attempts to refine compile times. To ease the stress of installation, Swift has introduced Swiftly 1.0; you can learn more about it in the next bullet.Meet Swiftly 1.0 – the new way to manage Swift versions: Swiftly 1.0 is making it easier than ever to install, manage, and update Swift toolchains. Developers can seamlessly switch between versions, access nightly builds, and keep projects consistent with .swift-version files. Now officially part of the Swift toolchain, Swiftly can update itself and is set to become the go-to way to install Swift outside of Xcode.WWDC 2025 kicks off June 9; applications close April 2: Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference is back, and it all starts with a special event at Apple Park. Attendees can watch the Keynote and Platforms State of the Union, connect with Apple experts in labs, explore the campus, and take part in exclusive activities. Want in? Applications are open until April 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT, with notifications going out on April 3. Eligibility is limited to Apple Developer Program members, Apple Developer Enterprise Program members, and Swift Student Challenge winners from 2023 to 2025.Google locks down Android development: Google is taking Android OS development fully behind closed doors, according to Android Authority. The company is moving away from its long-standing practice of developing parts of the OS in the open via the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). The goal? To streamline development by eliminating the need to maintain separate public and internal branches. While this means fewer early insights into upcoming features, Google says it will continue releasing source code to AOSP after each official launch, ensuring manufacturers and developers can still customize Android.Jetpack’s latest update enhances Compose runtime: The Compose Runtime library—responsible for state management and composition—gets a boost with new features aimed at smoother, more efficient UI updates. PausableComposition now enables asynchronous composition, while runtime-tracing offers deeper performance insights. The takeaway? More responsive and optimized Compose apps.Firebase expands AI and cloud capabilities: The latest Firebase update brings upgrades across its SDKs for Android, Apple, JavaScript, Admin, Unity, and Flutter. Key highlights? Improved Analytics, enhanced Cloud Functions, and expanded Remote Config support—plus a public preview of Vertex AI integration. Also new: streaming callable functions for real-time data handling and broader App Check support. The goal? Smoother performance, better developer experience, and deeper integration across the Firebase ecosystem.💭 What is the Mobile Community Talking About?What are mobile app developers discussing? Do you have any concerns, advice, or tutorials to share? MobilePro brings them to you all in one place.Optimizing SwiftUI for scalability: Mobile developer Bunthoeun Soeun has created an AI-driven smart-banking mobile app. While doing so, he tried maintaining clean code principles and a modular organization so that it could be scaled, reused, and tested with ease. You can read more on their LinkedIn post.Flutter plugins to make development easier: Those working with Flutter often find themselves at a crossroads when trying to find plugins, or figuring out whether they exist at all. You won’t be lost any further though as Rishad has compiled 586 plugins (at the time of writing) for ease of access. Do you require a plugin for creating and managing multiple windows on the desktop or one for detecting screenshots on Android/iOS? Rishad’s post in LinkedIn has you covered.Fix performance bottlenecks in your mobile app: Your app’s gone live but you notice it lags between certain pages. Another time, you feel that your app isn’t being as fast as it should be. Aneeqa Khan provides a few tips and tricks on solving these problems so that your app is running as smoothly as possible.🤖 What’s Happening in AI?AI is evolving fast—are you keeping up? MobilePro brings you key discussions, trends, and expert takes in one place.OpenAI GPT-4o Image Generator gains popularity, now available to free users: OpenAI has made its advanced image generation feature, powered by GPT-4o, available to all users, including free-tier subscribers. This tool, which can create photorealistic images, has gained attention for producing Studio Ghibli-inspired art. However, free users face limits, including a cap of three images per day. The rollout was initially delayed due to high demand (see next bullet!) but has now been completed.Ghibli trend overwhelms OpenAI—Sam Altman urges users to slow down: OpenAI’s latest GPT-4o update brought native image generation, and one style took over—Studio Ghibli. Social media is now packed with AI-generated Ghibli-inspired art, pushing OpenAI’s servers to the limit. The response? CEO Sam Altman urged users to slow down, posting, “Can y’all please chill on generating images? This is insane, our team needs sleep.” To handle the surge, OpenAI has temporarily capped free-tier users at three image generations per day.OpenAI unveils next-gen audio models for smarter, more expressive voice interactions: OpenAI has upgraded its speech-to-text and text-to-speech models, making voice interactions more natural and dynamic. GPT-4o-transcribe and GPT-4o-mini-transcribe boost accuracy across multiple languages and tough listening conditions, while the latest text-to-speech model introduces customizable speech styles—perfect for everything from empathetic customer support to expressive storytelling. The goal? More human-like, reliable audio AI.📚️ Latest in Mobile Development from PacktMobilePro presents the latest titles from Packt that ought to be useful for mobile developers.Designing Information ArchitectureBuy now at $44.99Designing Information Architecture is your guide to building intuitive digital spaces, helping users navigate information overload with ease. Written by UX expert Pabini Gabriel-Petit, it covers proven IA design strategies, effective search systems, and modern AI-driven approaches. Whether you're structuring websites, apps, or intranets, this book offers practical insights to improve organization, findability, and usability.Mobile App Development Tutorial — Excerpt from An iOS Developer's Guide to SwiftUI by Michele FaddaSwiftUI, like any other framework, can have its own quirks. For instance, why does @viewbuilder allow just 10 views and not more?Michele Fadda's An iOS Developer's Guide to SwiftUI is here to help you out on that front, with the following excerpt:In this section, we will explain why we have a limit of just 10 child views, for example, on HStacks and VStacks.The @SwiftUiBuilder attribute is a result builder that allows the creation of child views for a SwiftUI view without the need for return keywords.You are already using @ViewBuilder; internally, the definition of the protocol View internal to the SwiftUI framework is the following:Public protocol View { Associatedtype Body:View@ViewBuilder var body: Self.Body { get }}There is no need to add the preceding code yourself, as this is a part of the SwiftUI code.The effect of this protocol declaration is that you can write your SwiftUI body the way you have seen so far, that is, omitting the return. Take the following example:struct ContentView: View {var body: some View {Text("Example")}}@ViewBuilder is defined this way inside SwiftUI:@available(iOS 13.0, OSX 10.15, tvOS 13.0, watchOS 6.0, *)extension ViewBuilder {public static func buildBlock<C0, C1>(_ c0: C0, _ c1: C1) -> TupleView<(C0, C1)> where C0 : View, C1 : View}@ViewBuilder contains a static buildBlock method that receives two views and returns a TupleView function of generic views conforming to the View protocol.@ViewBuilder also has similar definitions for up to 10 different views.This is the underlying reason why @Stackbuilder and the views built with it, for example, HStacks and VStacks, can only contain up to exactly 10 different views.We can use @ViewBuilder directly ourselves, inside initializers, definitions of methods, or in front of properties.By using the @Stackbuilder result builder, it is possible to create more compact code and improve readability, or we can create our version of a view, kind of like a custom UI component.***Read Michele Fadda’s further thoughts and work in An iOS Developer's Guide to SwiftUIto find out.An iOS Developer's Guide to SwiftUIBuy now at$44.99💡️ Developer TipIf you’re a React Native user, this one’s especially for you. Priya Bapodra, a software engineer in the mobile dev space, has listed out 7 tips that will help you while navigating React Native. Here's one of those tips:"While inline styles are easy to use, they can be less efficient and harder to manage in larger projects. Opt for StyleSheet.create to improve performance and make styles more maintainable."You can read the remaining tips in Priya’s LinkedIn post here.In case you have any tips to share with your fellow mobile developers, do reply to this mail and we’d be glad to feature you in a future edition of MobilePro.❓ Did You Know?On April 3, 1973, the first-ever mobile phone call creates history. Standing on Sixth Avenue in New York City, Motorola engineer Martin Cooper made a call that reshaped communication forever. Using the Motorola DynaTAC—a 2.5-pound, 10-inch prototype—he dialed his rival, Joel Engel of Bell Labs, proving that mobile phones weren’t just a concept. That moment kicked off the shift from bulky, stationary phones to the pocket-sized essentials we rely on today.Sourced from Android Authority.👋 And that’s a wrap. We hope you enjoyed this edition of MobilePro. If you have any suggestions and feedback, or would just like to say hi to us, please write to us. Just respond to this email!Cheers,Runcil Rebello,Editor-in-Chief, MobilePro*{box-sizing:border-box}body{margin:0;padding:0}a[x-apple-data-detectors]{color:inherit!important;text-decoration:inherit!important}#MessageViewBody a{color:inherit;text-decoration:none}p{line-height:inherit}.desktop_hide,.desktop_hide table{mso-hide:all;display:none;max-height:0;overflow:hidden}.image_block img+div{display:none}sub,sup{font-size:75%;line-height:0}#converted-body .list_block ol,#converted-body .list_block ul,.body [class~=x_list_block] ol,.body [class~=x_list_block] ul,u+.body .list_block ol,u+.body .list_block ul{padding-left:20px} @media (max-width: 100%;display:block}.mobile_hide{min-height:0;max-height:0;max-width: 100%;overflow:hidden;font-size:0}.desktop_hide,.desktop_hide table{display:table!important;max-height:none!important}}