All posts tagged: Assistants

Assistants vs. Agents Show Wants to Be SportsCenter for Hollywood Workers

Assistants vs. Agents Show Wants to Be SportsCenter for Hollywood Workers

Published by Daniella Wilson

The inspiration for Warner Bailey’s popular Instagram account Assistants vs. Agents was an in-joke among support staffers at WME in 2017. Knowing that reps’ assistants would check out their mail before their bosses did, then-assistant Bailey and his friends would slip printouts of Internet memes into inter-agency communication envelopes for their colleagues to enjoy. “It gave us a little bit of a game to play during the day,” explains Bailey, now repped by UTA. Eight years after those printouts morphed into a social media account, Assistants vs. Agents has ballooned to 163,000 followers and expanded far beyond memes (though it still posts its share). It’s now a full-on brand catering to ambitious early career pros inside and outside the business, with a job board, newsletter and live events. Bailey is boss to 12 staffers, some full-time, and blue-chip brands including Disney, DoorDash and Meta have partnered with Bailey’s creation. And, on April 8, AvA will bow a live weekly show, focused on bringing hope and info to the Hollywood ladder-climbers that are the brand’s bread and butter. …

The Risks of AI Recording Devices and Note-Taking Assistants in the Classroom

The Risks of AI Recording Devices and Note-Taking Assistants in the Classroom

Published by Jenni Sidey

Recently, US classrooms have dealt with several forms of authoritarian and dystopian policies, ranging from Texas A&M banning Plato to UNC Chapel Hill secretly filming faculty and students in the classroom. Now, they may be facing digital authoritarianism. Since 2023, students, faculty, and staff have integrated various Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) platforms into their day-to-day. In particular, they have increasingly adopted the use of AI note-taking apps like Otter.ai, as well as various recording devices like smart glasses. As a result, individuals are progressively recording faculty, staff, and students without consent or transparency, oftentimes targeting women, and students and faculty of color. Although many states like West Virginia are a one-party consent state, the increased and unchecked use of AI recording devices at universities poses serious safety risks for the campus communities across the United States. Academic freedom is essential for scholarly dialogue, and that comes with the reasonable expectation of the right to privacy in the classroom setting. Universities maintaining that right to privacy is even more crucial as Higher Ed in the United …

Picsart now allows creators to ‘hire’ AI assistants through agent marketplace

Picsart now allows creators to ‘hire’ AI assistants through agent marketplace

Published by skeptic

The AI-powered design platform Picsart is launching an AI agent marketplace, allowing creators to “hire” AI assistants to help them with specific tasks, like resizing and remixing social content, or editing product photos on Shopify. With over 130 million worldwide users that skew Gen Z, Picsart is like a more advanced Canva for social media managers and content creators. The company reached unicorn status amid the creator economy boom in 2021, but has remained relevant by continuing to ramp up its AI-powered products to serve the current market. The timing is good for Picsart to launch such a marketplace, since viral projects like OpenClaw have fueled industry demand for agentic AI chatbots that can carry out requests like a personal assistant. “Creators have been stuck as the operator of every workflow — the one doing, not deciding,” said Hovhannes Avoyan, Picsart founder and CEO, in a statement. “Our Agents change that relationship — you set direction, the agent builds a plan using real data, you approve, it executes. Picsart says that it will introduce more …

‘Uncanny Valley’: ICE’s Secret Expansion Plans, Palantir Workers’ Ethical Concerns, and AI Assistants

‘Uncanny Valley’: ICE’s Secret Expansion Plans, Palantir Workers’ Ethical Concerns, and AI Assistants

Published by skeptic

Brian Barrett: They’ve got 80 billion or so to spend 75 billion of that I think they have to spend in the next four years. So yeah, they’re going to keep expanding. And when you think of how much of an impact 3000 agents officers had in Minneapolis alone, that’s like an eighth of the, they can repeat some version of that in a lot of different spots. Leah Feiger: And I’ve been fielding, honestly, shout out to the many local reporters around the country who’ve been contacting me in the last day or so, just to ask questions about the locations that we named that are near them or in their states or cities. And the thing to me that keeps coming up is that in addition to new buildings, they’re getting put into preexisting government buildings, preexisting leases, or that that appears to be the plan. And then we’ve also found that a bunch of these ICE offices are being located near plans for giant immigration detention warehouses, and we’re looking at offices …

The Download: AI-enhanced cybercrime, and secure AI assistants

The Download: AI-enhanced cybercrime, and secure AI assistants

Published by skeptic

Just as software engineers are using artificial intelligence to help write code and check for bugs, hackers are using these tools to reduce the time and effort required to orchestrate an attack, lowering the barriers for less experienced attackers to try something out. Some in Silicon Valley warn that AI is on the brink of being able to carry out fully automated attacks. But most security researchers instead argue that we should be paying closer attention to the much more immediate risks posed by AI, which is already speeding up and increasing the volume of scams. Criminals are increasingly exploiting the latest deepfake technologies to impersonate people and swindle victims out of vast sums of money. And we need to be ready for what comes next. Read the full story. —Rhiannon Williams This story is from the next print issue of MIT Technology Review magazine, which is all about crime. If you haven’t already, subscribe now to receive future issues once they land. Is a secure AI assistant possible? AI agents are a risky business. …

OpenClaw’s AI assistants are now building their own social network

OpenClaw’s AI assistants are now building their own social network

Published by skeptic

The viral personal AI assistant formerly known as Clawdbot has a new name — again. After a legal challenge from Claude’s maker, Anthropic, it had briefly rebranded as Moltbot, but has now settled on OpenClaw as its new name. The latest name change wasn’t prompted by Anthropic, which declined to comment. But this time, Clawdbot’s original creator Peter Steinberger made sure to avoid copyright issues from the start. “I got someone to help with researching trademarks for OpenClaw and also asked OpenAI for permission just to be sure,” the Austrian developer told TechCrunch via email. “The lobster has molted into its final form,” Steinberger wrote in a blog post. Molting — the process through which lobsters grow — had also inspired OpenClaw’s previous name, but Steinberger confessed on X that the short-lived moniker “never grew” on him, and others agreed. This quick name change highlights the project’s youth, even as it has attracted over 100,000 GitHub stars (a measure of popularity on the software development platform) in just two months. According to Steinberger, OpenClaw’s new …

Commentary: Most AI assistants are feminine – and it’s fuelling dangerous stereotypes and abuse

Commentary: Most AI assistants are feminine – and it’s fuelling dangerous stereotypes and abuse

Published by Sam Flores

THE DARK SIDE OF ‘FRIENDLY’ AI Recent research reveals the extent of harmful interactions with feminised AI. A 2025 study found up to 50 per cent of human–machine exchanges were verbally abusive. Another study from 2020 placed the figure between 10 per cent and 44 per cent, with conversations often containing sexually explicit language. Yet the sector is not engaging in systemic change, with many developers today still reverting to pre-coded responses to verbal abuse. For example, “Hmm, I’m not sure what you meant by that question”. These patterns raise real concerns that such behaviour could spill over into social relationships. Gender sits at the heart of the problem. One 2023 experiment showed 18 per cent of user interactions with a female-embodied agent focused on sex, compared to 10 per cent for a male embodiment and just 2 per cent for a non-gendered robot. These figures may underestimate the problem, given the difficulty of detecting suggestive speech. In some cases, the numbers are staggering. Brazil’s Bradesco bank reported that its feminised chatbot received 95,000 sexually …

Techniques That Get More from AI Coding Assistants Today

Techniques That Get More from AI Coding Assistants Today

Published by skeptic

What separates an average AI engineer from a truly exceptional one? In a world where AI coding assistants are reshaping development workflows, the gap often comes down to strategy. Cole Medin takes a closer look at how top engineers are using five fantastic techniques to elevate their work and achieve unparalleled results. From crafting precise workflows to fostering continuous improvement, these methods aren’t just tweaks, they’re fantastic options. If you’ve ever wondered how the best in the field consistently outpace their peers, this explainer offers a rare glimpse into the practices that set them apart. The insights here could redefine how you approach AI-assisted development. In this breakdown, you’ll uncover how techniques like PRD-first development and modular rules architecture are transforming efficiency and precision. You’ll also explore how resetting context and “commandifying” repetitive tasks can unlock new levels of clarity and consistency in your projects. But it’s not just about technical hacks, this guide reveals how a mindset of continuous improvement can turn even bugs into opportunities for growth. Whether you’re an experienced engineer or …

I’ve tested Gemini, ChatGPT, Copilot, and others – Lenovo might have all AI assistants beat

I’ve tested Gemini, ChatGPT, Copilot, and others – Lenovo might have all AI assistants beat

Published by skeptic

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Lenovo and Motorola launch Qira.  Qira works seamlessly across all your devices.  A new AI pin is infused with Qira.   While Lenovo and Motorola made a splash at CES with their latest hardware launches, including the highly anticipated Motorola Razr Fold, the companies also made an exciting announcement in the realm of AI. Lenovo Qira is an AI assistant that works across the vast ecosystem of Lenovo and Motorola devices, including smartphones, wearables, PCs, tablets, and more. The assistant goes a step beyond traditional chatbots, such as ChatGPT, by performing actual tasks across devices and apps, including transferring files between devices, both online and offline.  Also: CES 2026: Biggest news | Best of CES 2026 Awards (CNET) “Lenovo Qira is not another assistant, it’s a new way intelligence shows up across your devices,” said Dan Dery, VP of AI Ecosystem in Lenovo’s Intelligent Devices Group. “Our goal is to make AI feel less like a tool you use and more like an intelligence that works …

Nick Saban’s Legacy Lives on as His Former Assistants Dominate the College Football Playoff

Nick Saban’s Legacy Lives on as His Former Assistants Dominate the College Football Playoff

Published by Sam Flores

It’s been two years since Nick Saban last took the field as a coach, but he still has his hands all over the College Football Playoff, regardless of how it shakes out. Five of the 12 CFP teams this year are led by a coach who served directly under Saban at one time or another. Four of them are still in the race: Curt Cignetti at No. 1 Indiana, Dan Lanning at No. 5 Oregon, Pete Golding at No. 6 Mississippi, and Mario Cristobal at No. 10 Miami. “Four for four,” Cignetti said. “There’s a lot of disciples out there doing well. That’s why he’s the greatest of all time.” The disciples Cignetti speaks of are some of the most successful in the game. Cignetti and the Hoosiers will face Oregon in the Peach Bowl. Across the country, Cristobal’s Miami Hurricanes and Golding’s Ole Miss Rebels go head-to-head in the Fiesta Bowl. Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Lane Kiffin passed the baton to Golding after leading Ole Miss to …