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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

The ‘AlphaFold Effect’ 2.0: How Google DeepMind’s New AI Is Decoding The Darkest Corners Of The Genome

AlphaGenome is the first large-scale application of AI to decode 98% of our DNA that does not code for proteins. It could mean precision drug targeting and accelerated personalized medicine.

https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2025/09/10/the-alphafold-effect-20-how-google-deepminds-new-ai-is-decoding-the-darkest-corners-of-the-genome/

Autonomous firefighting Drones w 1,000 lbs of suppression power

Seneca developing first fully autonomous firefighting drones that can deliver fire-suppressing agents at high pressure & use AI to navigate & extinguish fires in under 10 minutes.

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/us-firms-firefighting-drones-faster-response

Technology

Judge sides w online publishers in Google ad tech antitrust case

The ruling was in favor of online news publishers (including Gannett, Daily Mail, Inform, and others) holding Google liable for illegally monopolizing its advertising placement technology business.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/10/28/google-antitrust-ruling-advertising-technology/86950042007/

OpenAI to face authors’ ChatGPT copyright infringement claim

They were unable to hold off infringement claims arising from AI-generated summaries of “Game of Thrones” books series & outlines for potential sequels.

https://www.courthousenews.com/openai-to-face-authors-chatgpt-copyright-infringement-claim/

Hundreds of thousands of videos from news publishers like The New York Times and Vox were used to train AI models

YouTube channels from major news publishers and creators were in video data sets used by Microsoft, Meta, Snap, Runway, and Bytedance.

https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/hundreds-of-thousands-of-videos-from-news-publishers-like-the-new-york-times-and-vox-were-used-to-train-ai-models/

Axel Springer Faces Union Heat Over AI at Business Insider

AI-written articles at Business Insider “undermines the humanity that makes our journalism worth reading.”

https://talkingbiznews.com/media-news/business-insider-union-slams-ai-effort/

AI to help writers tackle writer’s block, says Bloomsbury boss Nigel Newton

HT @BISG AI will ’help creativity’ by enabling writers and creatives to get ’back in the zone’, according to Nigel Newton, founder and CEO of Bloomsbury.

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/ai-to-help-writers-tackle-writers-block-says-bloomsbury-boss-nigel-newton

Why the Libby e-book app is turning to AI

HT ⁦@publishingtrend⁩ OverDrive recently introduced an AI-powered book recommendation feature called Inspire Me that allows readers to find books through prompts or past saved titles

https://www.techbrew.com/stories/2025/10/20/overdrive-ceo-steve-potash-e-book-app-libby-ai

Photoshop and Premiere Pro’s new AI tools can instantly edit more of your work

Adobe’s Creative Cloud and Firefly apps are adding new ways to do labor-intensive photo and video editing tasks for you.

https://www.theverge.com/news/807811/adobe-photoshop-lightroom-premiere-pro-ai-max-2025

You can tell Adobe Express’s new AI assistant to edit your designs for you

Adobe says its design platform’s AI chatbot can interpret vague prompts to pull off multi-step requests.

https://www.theverge.com/news/807802/adobe-express-ai-assistant-prompt-editing-beta-max-2025

Grammarly rebrands to ‘Superhuman,’ launches a new AI assistant

Grammarly rebranded as “Superhuman” after acquiring the email client and launched a new AI assistant, Superhuman Go, to integrate productivity tools and expand its AI-powered suite.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/29/grammarly-rebrands-to-superhuman-launches-a-new-ai-assistant/

Pinterest experiments w AI-powered personalized boards to Personalize Shopping and Style Inspiration

“Styled for You” collages help users create outfits from saved Pins and “Boards Made for You” personalize collections curated w AI & editorial input.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/27/pinterest-experiments-with-new-ai-powered-personalized-boards/

PayPal partners with OpenAI to let users pay for their shopping within ChatGPT

PayPal is partnering with OpenAI to let users shop and pay directly within ChatGPT using its wallet and payment tools starting in 2026.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/28/paypal-partners-with-openai-to-let-users-pay-for-their-shopping-within-chatgpt/

Spotify Partners With Sony, Universal, Warner and More to Develop AI Music Products

Spotify partnered with the big three record companies — Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group — as well as licensing giant Merlin and global digital music company Believe to develop “responsible” AI products to empower artists and songwriters.

https://variety.com/2025/music/news/spotify-partners-sony-universal-warner-develop-ai-products-1236554321/

Sora 2 and the Limits of Digital Narcissism

What we enjoy about generative A.I. may also be its ultimate limitation: we want to see ourselves.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/sora-2-and-the-limits-of-digital-narcissism

AI fuels new wave of fake receipts, per SAP Concur

AI fakes are so realistic that visual checks are no longer reliable.14% of fraudulent docs were AI-generated, > $1M in fake invoices in 90 days. AI-detection systems are limited w identifying data removed

https://the-decoder.com/ai-fuels-a-new-wave-of-fake-receipts-according-to-sap-concur/

What Happened When Researchers Co-Founded a Startup with AI

Startups are undergoing a profound transformation as AI becomes a foundational element from day one. Rather than being a tool added later, AI is now positioned as the first hire, taking on strategic roles such as analyst, designer, and even co-founder. This allows founders to move rapidly from ideation to execution, bypassing traditional hiring bottlenecks and enabling leaner teams. AI’s ability to handle ambiguous tasks and produce tangible outputs helps clarify organizational needs early on, reframing hiring decisions around what gaps remain after AI has contributed. It becomes an economic lever, not a cost center, driving faster iteration and more strategic scaling.

https://hbr.org/2025/09/what-happened-when-researchers-co-founded-a-startup-with-ai

86% Of Global Creators Now Leverage AI Tools, Driving Growth In Creator Economy

An Adobe survey of 16K+ creators in eight countries showed 86% use creative Generative AI tools, 60% use multiple tools, 48% use them for ideation, and 52% for creating video and more.

https://www.netinfluencer.com/86-percent-of-global-creators-now-leverage-ai-tools-driving-growth-in-creator-economy-adobe-report/

75% of companies have a positive ROI with AI, per Wharton Survey

MT @emollick New data on the corporate ROI from generative AI from a large-scale tracking Wharton survey. They found that 75% already have a positive return on investment from AI, less than 5% negative return. Also 46% of businesses leaders now use AI daily themselves.

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/special-report/2025-ai-adoption-report/

Nvidia And Uber Aim To Make AI-Powered Robotaxis Real By 2027

They’re aiming for 100K autonomous vehicles in Uber’s ride-hailing platform. Nvidia’s DRIVE AGX Hyperion 10 platform + Cosmos AI data factory will train on trillions of real & simulated miles

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davealtavilla/2025/10/28/nvidia-and-uber-aim-to-make-robotaxis-real-by-2027/

OpenAI offers free ChatGPT Go for one year to all users in India

OpenAI is offering a free one-year ChatGPT Go subscription to users in India starting November 4 to boost adoption in one of its fastest-growing markets.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/27/openai-offers-free-chatgpt-go-for-one-year-to-all-users-in-india/

Microsoft Sued in Australia Over 365 Price Hikes Tied to AI Copilot Rollout

The lawsuit claims Microsoft hid cheaper subscription plans from 2.7 million users after bundling AI tools and raising prices by up to 45%.

https://decrypt.co/346035/microsoft-sued-australia-365-price-hikes-tied-ai-copilot-rollout

Who’s Going to Fix All Our Broken Smart Glasses?

Smart glasses may have a repairability problem.

https://gizmodo.com/meta-ray-ban-display-repair-impossible-ifixit-2000677508

The Twitter domain is officially being retired. Here’s what to do to make sure your account doesn’t get locked

Before Twitter.com officially becomes a dead bird on November 10, some two-factor authentication users will need to adjust their settings.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91429496/twitter-com-domain-dead-on-nov-10-action-required-2fa-users

Watch the 1x NEO household robot attempt to do chores

It’s $20K, and almost everything required a skilled, remote operator taking control of the robot. So that means the robot, as it stands, is often a remote, human-controlled butler with someone who has to look into your home to complete tasks.

https://mashable.com/article/1x-neo-household-robot-videos

Samsung Brings Ads to Smart Refrigerators

Samsung’s $2,000 connected fridges will get a new widget that serves up advertising, starting next month. Here’s how to opt out.

https://www.theverge.com/report/806797/samsung-family-hub-smart-fridge-ads-opt-out

Publishing & Media

Barnes & Noble Touts Library Services

HT @BISG Barnes & Noble is promoting its &Classwork e-commerce portal to libraries as another alternative to fill the void created by the shutdown of Baker & Taylor.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/98922-b-n-touts-library-services.html

MSNBC becomes MS NOW on Nov. 15

Comcast rebrands MSNBC ahead of spinoff, dropping the NBC logo while maintaining its progressive lineup

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2025-10-27/msnbc-becomes-ms-now-on-nov-xx

CNN launches a direct-to-consumer streaming service — again

CNN is taking another shot at launching a streaming service, for $6.99 a month

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2025-10-16/cnn-sets-price-and-launch-date-for-its-direct-to-consumer-streaming-service

Netflix Preps Real-Time Voting on Live Shows

Netflix viewers will be able to vote while watching live content to directly influence what they’re watching. “If you’re sitting at home watching ‘Star Search’ on your TV, you’ll be able to either on the TV or your mobile phone actually put in a vote that advances or doesn’t advance some of the contestants on the show,”

https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/28/netflix-cto-announces-interactive-real-time-voting-for-live-content/

Resources & Opportunities

AI for Authors & Book Publishers: Fauzia Burke in Conversation with Jane Wesman

11/5 12-1pm ET Virtual – All are welcome

Join WMG for a focused virtual session with Fauzia Burke, founder of FSB Associates and author of Online Marketing for Busy Authors. Fauzia will demystify how artificial intelligence is transforming publishing — from creating a media kit to discovering audiences. She’ll lead a thoughtful discussion on the promise and pitfalls of AI for writers and publishers, highlighting the essential skills authors and media professionals need to stay ahead. Drawing on real-world examples, Fauzia will share practical tools and frameworks to help you use AI responsibly and creatively. You’ll come away with actionable strategies to integrate AI into your marketing and promotion efforts — and learn how to leverage new technologies to elevate your message, strengthen your brand, and build lasting connections with readers. She will be in conversation with Jane Wesman, Co-President of WMG and President of Jane Wesman Public Relations, Inc.

https://womensmediagroup.org/event-6389643

Words as Weapons: Women, Online Abuse, & the Fight for Digital Safety

11/12 5:30-7:30pm at Penguin Random House, 1745 Broadway, NYC.

$15 for members; $20 for non-members. All are welcome.

Includes wine and light bites.

When women in media are harassed online, it’s not just “trolling.” It’s political. It’s targeted. & it’s working—forcing women to self-censor or log off altogether. Enough! Join Women’s Media Group to reclaim your voice & power. https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6393924

Live Performance of “If Beale Street Could Talk” with Literature to Life

11/15 2pm Girls Write Now NYC

Join WMG member Elise Thoron for a performance and discussion of If Beale Street Could Talk, put on by her company, Literature to Life. James Baldwin’s story about abiding love in the face of injustice remains disturbingly poignant sixty years after it was first published. Told from the perspective of its young heroine, this is the story of one family’s fight for justice in a society where institutional discrimination has the power to destroy lives, a theme that resonates today with audiences from all walks of life. If Beale Street Could Talk will be performed by Channie Waites, and was adapted and directed by Elise. This event will be held at Girls Write Now, which is a scholarship partner of WMG. Space is limited.

https://womensmediagroup.org/event-6384992

Bursting the Blue-Red Bubbles

12/4 at noon. Lunch included. Red Rooster Harlem (the acclaimed Marcus Samuelsson restaurant), NYC

Early Bird (until 11/4): $75 members | $85 non-members

Join WMG for a powerful and timely conversation with Karine Jean-Pierre, former White House Press Secretary and author of the highly anticipated memoir, Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines. The discussion will be moderated by Natasha S. Alford, Senior Vice President at TheGrio.

https://womensmediagroup.org/event-6406290

Publishing Professionals in Conversation about Taking Action Against Book Bans

11/5 1pm ET free virtual panel via @aalitagents and @litagtsofchange.

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/0wY79yQ_SjykkUQqktcIhQ#/registration

A new fund will route millions to the literary arts

HT ⁦@publishingtrend⁩ The Mellon Foundation initiated the fund. Other contributing groups include the Ford Foundation, the Hawthornden Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Poetry Foundation, and an anonymous foundation. The coalition announced the creation of the Literary Arts Fund, which will distribute “at least” $50M through grants to various nonprofit organizations across the country over the next five years. The money will go to organizations that award fellowships, host writers’ retreats and residencies, host book events, publish translated literature and more. There will be an open call starting on 11/10/25 for grant applications.

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/28/nx-s1-5587848/literary-arts-fund-foundation-writers-publishers-grants