While I focus on Technology, Innovation, and Publishing, because I have a platform, I also flag items that I think are important. I also try to include some resources & opportunities. Please let me know what you think.

Innovation

Flox Intelligence is building AI to keep wildlife away from trains, airports, and roads

The FAA estimates that wildlife strikes have cost the U.S. $272M/year. In France, the rail operator SNCF says wandering animals affect more than 8,000 trains across the country each year and are among its five leading causes of delays. In Brittany, 120 trains hit animals in 2023, disrupting 660 services and causing more than 15K minutes of delays. Like autonomous vehicles, they use perception systems to sense their surroundings, but theirs are trained on wildlife behavior. A motion sensor wakes the device when it detects movement, triggering a camera that uses on-device models to identify nearby animals. The device then emits a species-appropriate sound to scare them away. The system learns from experience, and varies its responses so animals don’t get habituated to repeated signals.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/13/flox-intelligence-is-building-ai-to-keep-wildlife-away-from-trains-airports-and-roads/

Technology

When Black Writers Are Guilty Until Proved Human

The five significant literary scandals around AI this year have all focused on Black and brown writers.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/11/opinion/ai-books-fiction-black-writers-racism.html?unlocked_article_code=1.IlE.m9gW.J2SZ3dhP0S7E&smid=nytcore-ios-share

Readers Think They Can Spot AI Writing. They’re Wrong

HT @publishingtrend

https://thewalrus.ca/readers-think-they-can-spot-ai-writing-theyre-wrong/

Google’s new SynthID website can identify AI-generated media

Google rolled out global access to its SynthID tool for detecting AI images, video and audio created from Google, OpenAI and others.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/07/googles-new-synthid-website-can-identify-ai-generated-media/

Quartz website mainly produced by one AI-assisted reporter writing 50+ stories per day

The business news site Quartz is using a single journalist aided by AI to produce nearly all of its daily reporting.

https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/digital-journalism/quartz-website-mainly-produced-by-one-ai-assisted-reporter-writing-50-stories-per-day/

Recurrent Moves Magazine Into AI Commerce

The 128-year-old Outdoor Life magazine plans to transform into a marketplace powered by AI.

https://www.adweek.com/media/content-commerce-publishers-outdoor-life/

New York Times and Economist Join Fight to Curb Unpaid AI

The New York Times is joining publishers in a coalition battling AI firms from using content ‌without permission.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/nyt-economist-among-publishers-joining-coalition-curb-unpaid-ai-use-2026-10-12/

Meta’s New Terms Allow News Site Scraping

Meta can use web scrapers to crawl and collect content from websites “associated with” business accounts.

https://www.niemanlab.org/2026/10/metas-new-commercial-terms-will-allow-the-scraping-of-news-sites-legal-experts-say/

EU AI Act Gives Publishers Leverage, but No Teeth

Specialists at Frankfurter Buchmesse said the EU’s AI rules help rights holders on paper yet lack penalties for AI developers and incentives for researchers.

https://publishingperspectives.com/2026/10/frankfurter-buchmesse-2026-eu-ai-act-gives-publishers-leverage-but-no-teeth/

People Inc Turns Bot Blocking Into Business

People Inc. blocks bots, but 38. Those get clean Markdown through an API, no ads, no navigation, no code, which cuts what a model has to chew on by 80% or 90%, and it comes with cleared rights.

https://mediacopilot.substack.com/p/how-people-inc-turned-bot-blocking-into-a-business

Google Signs Publishers to AI News Program

CNN, the Financial Times, Axios and other publishers are joining Google’s AI news effort to license their ‌content

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/cnn-signs-multi-year-ai-partnership-with-google-2026-10-15/

AI Best Practices for Publishers: Using AI Detectors and Dealing With Undisclosed AI Use

Via @AuthorsGuild

https://authorsguild.org/resource/ai-best-practices-for-publishers/

Society of Authors position on generative AI ‘remains unchanged’ after backlash to Ethical AI Charter

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/soas-position-on-generative-ai-remains-unchanged-after-backlash-to-ethical-ai-charter

Developer Uses AI to Clone Adobe’s Seven-App Suite — Free and Open Source, but Far from a True Replacement

A software engineer used AI to rapidly recreate Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, InDesign, Acrobat releasing them all as free, open-source software.

https://finance.biggo.com/news/73561259-ed7b-4ea5-800d-cadb1acafcff

Bluesky expands its AI-powered Attie app to let anyone build websites, games, and more

https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/15/bluesky-expands-its-ai-powered-attie-app-to-let-anyone-build-websites-games-and-more/

TikTok To Launch More Microdramas Via Creative Partnership

TikTok is entering a new pact to bring a slate of creator-led vertical microdramas. They have become a hit on TikTok, generating $1.3 billion in the U.S. last year via direct payments from viewers.

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/418782/tiktok-to-launch-more-microdramas-via-creative-par.html

AI Filmmakers Say Humans Need to Be Involved in Productions: ‘We Should Unplug Tilly Norwood’

AI valuable for previsualization, production planning, generated environments & post-production work built around real actors.

https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/ai-filmmakers-humans-need-to-be-involved-the-grill/

YouTube Music launches new labels as AI-generated music floods streaming platforms

YouTube Music is introducing labels that disclose whether songs are fully or partly AI-generated, while still allowing them to earn revenue.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/14/youtube-music-launches-new-labels-as-ai-generated-music-floods-streaming-platforms/

Pure insanity’: Mathematicians will need years to make sense of OpenAI’s latest drop

Careers upended overnight, academics will have to separate solutions from slop while OpenAI moves on.

https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1008726/openai-mathematics-solutions-chaos

Amazon in Talks to Acquire AI Startup Decart

Amazon is in discussions to buy AI startup Decart, which has a model that can edit video in real time, for $7 billion.

https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/amazon-in-talks-to-buy-ai-startup-decart-for-around-7-billion-9433abad

Microsoft Patents Map A Path For AI And Ads In Xbox Games

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabrielalinzainescu/2026/09/25/microsoft-patents-map-a-game-that-reads-players-and-pauses-for-ads/

New Tesla Patent Reimagines Your Car’s Roof As A Smart Air Conditioner

https://www.bgr.com/2270586/tesla-patent-car-roof-air-conditioner/

NBA is experimenting with smart basketballs and official wrist wearables in selected preseason games

The NBA will experiment with smart basketballs and official wrist wearables in selected preseason games.

https://www.nba.com/news/nba-experiments-with-smart-basketballs-wrist-wearables

Tech leaders and investors think AI agents will revolutionize shopping. But some retailers are tapping the brakes.

QVC is rolling out the welcome mat for agents. Kate Spade lets them browse but not buy. Amazon blocks them entirely.

https://www.wsj.com/cmo-today/ai-agents-aim-to-change-shopping-some-retailers-are-locking-the-doors-666a1ed4

Apple Has Far-Reaching Plans To Block Hundreds Of Programmatic Data Companies From iOS

Apple briefly blocked one of the big ad network domains on iOS, and there’s speculation that it’s working on a list of a huge number of third-party targeting services

https://www.adexchanger.com/privacy/apple-has-far-reaching-plans-to-block-hundreds-of-programmatic-data-companies-from-ios/

OpenAI tests advertiser-sponsored agents, expands AI tools for ChatGPT ads

OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT Ads with sponsored conversational agents, AI campaign tools and integrations with HubSpot and Shopify.

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/openai-tests-advertiser-sponsored-agents-expands-ai-tools-chatgpt-ads-2026-09-16/

Meta joins with group of companies to tame ‘chaos’ of doing business with AI bots

Walmart, Meta and OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor’s startup Sierra are building a set of tech standards to make it easier to do business with AI bots.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/06/meta-joins-companies-to-tame-chaos-of-doing-business-with-ai-bots.html

Eight states sue OpenAI, saying ChatGPT isn’t safe for kids

Complaints allege it can encourage self-harm, reinforce delusions, provide dangerous medical advice & foster unhealthy relationships, while collecting minors’ data without adequate safeguards.

https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1011500/openai-state-lawsuits-chatgpt-safety

Anthropic says robots can do 74% of US physical work, but are cheaper than people for 0.3%

A new Anthropic paper says robots can already perform 74% of physical job tasks in the US, work that accounts for 34% of all human working hours. It also finds that robots are cost-competitive with people for just 0.3% of job tasks, and that at past rates of price decline it would take 40 years for that share to reach 10%.

https://mixed-news.com/en/anthropic-robots-74-percent-us-physical-work-cost-competitive-0-3-percent/

Square’s new kiosk lets you talk to AI for help with your order

Square’s new kiosk combines a 21.5-inch touchscreen with an AI voice assistant. Customers can ask menu questions and request modifications or substitutions.

https://www.theverge.com/tech/1009086/square-kiosk

This Claude-built game lets you destroy any website, and it’s absurdly addictive

https://www.xda-developers.com/this-claude-built-game-lets-you-destroy-any-website-and-its-absurdly-addictive/

McKinsey is making job applicants spar with a fake AI client

McKinsey will test entry-level candidates through 10-minute AI client simulations, while human interviewers evaluate their performance.

https://www.theverge.com/news/1011654/mckinsey-ai-client-interview

Publishing & Media

YouTube Is Looking to Expand Into Audiobooks

YouTube has had discussions with publishers in recent months about developing an audiobook feature, a bid to compete with offerings from Spotify and Audible.

https://www.wsj.com/business/media/youtube-is-looking-to-expand-into-audiobooks-d28bd876

Candle Media sells Hello Sunshine back to Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon has teamed with Mediawan, a Paris-based independent production company, to buy back her production firm Hello Sunshine for low- to mid-eight figures. The sale price is a fraction of Hello Sunshine’s $900 million valuation when Candle Media acquired a controlling stake in the company in 2021.

https://www.axios.com/2026/10/13/candle-media-hello-sunshine-reese-witherspoon

Resources & Opportunities

Query Letter 101: How to Land Your Next Agent

10/19 12-1 p.m. ET, via zoom, Free for WMG members; $15 for non-members

Writing a good query letter is essential to finding an agent for your book-but there’s a lot of conflicting advice on how to create the perfect message. During this virtual session, editor Emily Murdock Baker and author Frances McGarry will demystify the querying process through interactive exercises, giving writers the tools they need to craft an attention-grabbing letter.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6844452

WMG Job Seekers Weekly Meetup

Are you unemployed, under-employed, or just thinking about a career change? WMG members join our free virtual weekly support group and come when you can to help each other rise.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/events

Memoir Plus: When Personal Stories Contain Multitudes

10/21 5:30-7:30pm NYC $20 for WMG members; $25 for non-members

Join moderator Estelle Erasmus and panelists Regina Brooks, Laura Carney, Hyeseung Song, and Bethany Saltman for a lively conversation about the possibilities of memoir and the power of personal stories that contain multitudes.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6805899

LinkedIn Strategies for Career Growth Part 2

10/23 12:30-1:30 p.m. ET, via Zoom, Free for WMG members; $15 for non-members

Join this followup to our popular LinkedIn Strategies for Career Growth virtual event to learn more about advancing your career with simple adjustments to your social profile. Hosted by Lynne Williams, Executive Director of Great Careers Network, this interactive session will recap lessons from Part 1 and include live demos and a Q+A, giving attendees the tools they need to take the next steps on their professional journeys.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6841347

A Legacy in Storytelling: Celebrating Marie Dutton Brown

11/10 1-3pm, Red Rooster Harlem, NYC. Three-course lunch included

Early Bird Pricing (thru 10/23): $85 for WMG members | $115 for non-members

Regular Pricing (after 10/23): $100 for WMG members | $125 for non-members

This event marks the exciting debut of Stories She Championed, Women’s Media Group’s new literary series celebrating the stories, books, and lasting legacy of literary trailblazer Marie Dutton Brown. The series launches at Red Rooster Harlem, a celebrated restaurant in the heart of Harlem known for its food, music, and deep ties to the neighborhood’s cultural history.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6877292

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