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S7 | AI Weekly Pulse: Superintelligence, Robotics & Emerging Media Frontiers

Super intelligence, robotics, and AI’s growing role in research - what you need to know this week.

Introduction

Welcome to the second edition of this fully AI-generated newsletter. Every story, summary, and insight you’re about to read has been chosen, compiled, written, and structured by AI.

This is an experiment. The goal? To push the limits of AI in content generation, refine the process, and see just how far we can take automation in curating and delivering the most relevant AI news.

Along the way, I’ll be tweaking, testing, and iterating - so expect updates, improvements, and perhaps a few surprises. Consider this a journey into the evolving role of AI in media. Let’s see how well it does and thanks for joining us!

Please note, AI can hallucinate! But we do our best to avoid that.

23/03/25 Foreword

“Hi everyone, thank you for subscribing to our newsletter and we look forward to you being part of the journey. Please do share your thoughts and feedback as we progress.

This week there are no tweaks or updates, this is because we want to give it a week or two more to see how it is performing out of the gate, and to hear your thoughts”. - Very best, Nicolas and the System7 team.

Now, onto the latest in AI.

Welcome to this week's AI landscape update. We're witnessing a remarkable evolution in how AI integrates with our daily lives - from Google's search redesign experiments to rapid advances in image-to-video technology. Let's explore the most significant developments reshaping how we work, create, and interact with technology.

Major AI News Headlines

  • AI in the workplace: the rise of secret AI usage and its impact on productivity.

  • Major AI investments: Saudi Arabia's aggressive push to become a global AI hub.

  • New creative tools: TikTok's AI Alive and other image-to-video innovations.

Major AI News

Saudi Arabia emerges as a global AI powerhouse

Summary

Saudi Arabia has secured massive AI deals with tech giants including Nvidia, AWS, AMD, and Google. The Public Investment Fund-backed AI venture called Humain will receive 18,000 advanced chips from Nvidia, while AWS commits $5 billion to build an AI Zone.

Why It Matters

This aggressive investment positions Saudi Arabia as a central player in AI development, potentially creating a Middle Eastern AI hub that rivals established centers in the US and China. These partnerships signal a shift in where future AI talent and innovation might flourish.

Key Takeaway

Saudi Arabia's nearly $940 billion Public Investment Fund is becoming a prime source of tech funding, Major Western tech companies are actively partnering with Saudi entities despite geopolitical concerns, The kingdom is building infrastructure for Arabic-language models alongside global AI development.

Source: Link

32% of employees secretly use AI to boost productivity

Summary

According to an Ivanti report, nearly one-third of employees are using AI tools without their employers' knowledge. 36% enjoy it as an unspoken advantage, while 30% worry about potential layoffs if their AI-powered efficiency is discovered.

Why It Matters

This trend highlights a growing disconnect between official workplace policies and actual technology use. Companies that fail to acknowledge and properly integrate AI tools risk creating a culture of secrecy rather than innovation.

Key Takeaway

E42% of workers now use generative AI, up from 26% last year, Half of employees experience 'resenteeism,' staying at work while feeling disgruntled, 39% admit to staging a 'look how hard I'm working' act despite using AI to complete tasks faster.

Source: Link

Google tests replacing 'I'm Feeling Lucky' with AI Mode button

Summary

Google is experimenting with a new AI chatbot button on its search homepage for select US users, sometimes replacing the iconic 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button. The feature includes animated visuals to draw attention to this shift toward more interactive search experiences.

Why It Matters

This redesign represents Google's most significant homepage change in years, signaling the company's strategic pivot toward AI-first search to compete with emerging threats from specialized AI assistants and alternative search experiences.

Key Takeaway

The experiment is limited to Google's Labs program participants for now, Google is carefully balancing innovation with preserving its familiar interface, The change reflects growing anxiety about AI disrupting Google's core search business model.

Source: Link

Fun AI Topics Of The Week!

TikTok launches AI Alive, turning photos into short videos

Summary

TikTok has released AI Alive, a feature that transforms still images into dynamic videos with motion effects, subtle gestures, and sounds. This marks TikTok's first venture into image-to-video AI, going beyond previous text-to-image tools.

Why It’s Interesting!

Rather than requiring users to write complex prompts, AI Alive simply animates existing photos, making advanced AI accessible to everyday users. The feature is built directly into TikTok's massive platform, potentially introducing billions to generative video technology.

Key Takeaway

All AI-generated content is clearly labeled with embedded C2PA metadata for transparency, TikTok emphasizes built-in safety and moderation checks before and after video creation, This technology could reshape how users create and consume social media content.

Source: Link

Chinese phone maker Honor beats Google to launch image-to-video feature

Summary

Honor is introducing a Google-powered image-to-video tool on its Honor 400 series phones before Google's own Gemini users can access it. The feature uses Google's Veo 2 model to generate short 5-second videos from still images.

Why It’s Interesting!

This partnership shows how hardware manufacturers can sometimes deploy cutting-edge AI features faster than the model creators themselves. While it works well for animating pets and people, it sometimes produces surreal results like phantom hands on objects.

Key Takeaway

The service is free for Honor 400 owners for two months, limited to 10 video generations per day, Google already offers text-to-video through paid Gemini Advanced, but image-to-video remains limited, The technology costs users about 50 cents per second of generated.

Source: Link

Casio creates AI pet that offers cuddles without the mess

Summary

Casio's AI pet Moflin looks like a fluffy slipper but behaves like a tiny emotional support companion. Priced around £300, it requires no feeding, walking, or cleanup, using sensors and an emotion map to form a unique 'personality' over time.

Why It’s Interesting!

Moflin represents a growing trend of companionship AI that provides emotional comfort without the responsibilities of real pet ownership. It's especially popular in Japan, where living arrangements often restrict pet ownership.

Key Takeaway

The AI pet learns from interactions, offering squeaks and cuddles as it bonds with its owner, It fills a niche between stuffed animals and real pets, providing interactive companionship, The concept showcases how AI can address emotional needs in novel ways.

Source: Link

AI Tools Of The Moment

Manus AI 

AI agent that understands user intent, automates workflows, and now generates images by integrating specialized tools.

HeyGen

Create realistic AI avatars and video clones for marketing and presentations with simple uploads.

Nelly

Handle tasks through shareable AI agents requiring no coding, perfect for quick workflow automation.

Omneky

AI-powered platform that generates and optimizes ad creatives across major platforms.

Currents

Analyzes Reddit conversations for market and trend insights, turning social chatter into actionable data.

Expert Prompt Of The Week

CONTEXT

With 32% of employees secretly using AI at work, having effective prompts that maintain professionalism is essential.

PROMPT

You're my productivity coach who helps me use AI responsibly at work. For the task of [specific work task], please help me craft a prompt that will: 1) Generate high-quality results that maintain my company's standards, 2) Preserve my professional voice and expertise, 3) Require minimal editing so I can be more efficient, and 4) Help me learn from the process rather than just outsource my thinking. Please include specific phrasings and structure recommendations.

EXAMPLE USE CASE

Use this prompt when you need to leverage AI for work tasks without compromising quality or your professional development. This approach ensures you're enhancing your abilities rather than replacing them, which is particularly valuable in workplaces where AI adoption policies may be unclear.

Trending AI Topics For The Week

OpenAI introduces HealthBench for medical AI evaluation

Summary

OpenAI launched HealthBench, its first healthcare AI benchmark dataset with 5,000 multi-turn medical conversations covering 49 languages. The o4 model outperformed competitors on factual accuracy, reasoning, and had a lower hallucination rate.

Why It’s Important

As AI increasingly enters healthcare, standardized evaluation becomes critical. HealthBench provides a transparent framework for measuring AI's medical capabilities and limitations, potentially accelerating responsible AI adoption in healthcare.

Apple reveals plans to integrate brain-computer interfaces

Summary

Apple announced it will integrate brain-computer interfaces into its devices, enabling users with severe spinal cord injuries or conditions like ALS to control iPhones through thought alone.

Why It’s Important

This represents a major commitment to accessibility from a mainstream tech giant, potentially accelerating the development of neural interfaces beyond specialized medical applications.

Microsoft and OpenAI renegotiating their $13B partnership

Summary

OpenAI is seeking changes to its partnership with Microsoft, aiming to evolve beyond current contractual constraints while Microsoft wants guaranteed access to OpenAI's technology beyond 2030.

Why It’s Important

The outcome of these negotiations could reshape the AI landscape, potentially allowing OpenAI more independence while changing how tech giants approach AI investments and partnerships.