SoftBank Group's credit risk has increased due to its significant investment plans in artificial intelligence. The company's credit default swaps have surged, and its five-year bonds reached their highest level in 17 months after OpenAI finalized a $40 billion funding round with SoftBank and other investors. Additionally, SoftBank is seeking a loan of up to $16.5 billion to support its AI investments.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/mergers-and-acquisitions/softbank-groups-credit-risk-climbs-on-ai-investment-plansTranscard has introduced changes to its SMART Exchange platform, aiming to simplify payment interactions between buyers and suppliers through agentic artificial intelligence (AI). The new system will automate onboarding and know-your-business (KYB) processes, replacing traditional call centers and back-office constraints. Transcard CEO Greg Bloh stated that the enhancements are designed to address current buyer and supplier payment struggles, providing a modern digital B2B solution powered by AI.
https://www.pymnts.com/news/b2b-payments/2025/transcard-turns-to-agentic-ai-to-streamline-b2b-payments/A new web app called "Artify" has been released, which transforms users' photographs into distorted, artistic versions. The app, developed by Viltrox, is available on the internet and can be accessed through websites such as Lomography and Analog.Cafe.
https://petapixel.com/2025/04/01/the-best-april-fools-day-photography-jokes-of-2025/Conversational AI is expected to become increasingly multimodal, enabling it to process and respond to spatial awareness, tone, speech patterns, body language, and gestures with greater precision. This advancement has numerous potential use cases, such as enhanced customer service and integrating AI voice assistants into cars for navigation and driver fatigue monitoring.
https://www.techradar.com/pro/technical-capabilities-on-the-horizon-for-conversational-aiThe use of AI-generated movie trailers has raised concerns among industry professionals and unions, with SAG-AFTRA condemning it as a "race to the bottom." The practice, popularized by channels like Screen Culture, which churns out concept trailers on an assembly line using tools like Midjourney and ElevenLabs, blurs the line between fan-made content and professional marketing. Founder Nikhil P. Chaudhari's success in creating viral hits like Titanic 2: Jack's Back has led to studios allowing AI-generated trailers to proliferate, raising ethical questions about revenue collection from misleading content.
https://petapixel.com/2025/04/02/how-movie-studios-cash-in-on-fake-ai-movie-trailers-on-youtube/Alibaba Group Holding is set to launch its next-generation Qwen series of large language models (LLMs), Qwen3, in April. The upgrade aims to strengthen Alibaba's position as a leader in open-source AI. The new model will include two versions: one with a mixture-of-experts approach and another optimized for mobile devices with 600 million parameters.
https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3304935/alibabas-qwen3-ai-model-coming-month-sources-say-bid-cement-industry-lead?module=top_story&pgtype=sectionArtlist, a leading creative technology company, is revolutionizing the process of content creation with its AI-powered tools. The platform offers over 3 million high-quality resources, including music, sound effects, and video sequences, created by acclaimed artists, to help creators produce engaging videos. With a subscription-based model, Artlist provides everything needed for video production. The company continuously develops innovative creative tools, such as AI-generated functions and video effects plugins, and offers an international license that meets all creative needs. With over 27 million users, including top brands like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Calvin Klein, Artlist is considered a comprehensive solution for video creation.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/artlist-presente-le-generateur-de-videos-ia-concu-pour-les-createurs-de-videos-302418297.htmlA California bill proposes requiring web browsers to include a simple option for users to opt-out of data sharing with websites, aiming to enhance online privacy and control over personal data. The measure would apply to all websites in the state, including those operated by major tech companies.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/tech-and-telecom-law/california-opt-out-web-browser-requirements-approved-by-panelOpenAI's CEO Sam Altman has warned users of the ChatGPT AI chatbot to expect delays in its performance due to technical issues, citing "technical difficulties" and "overwhelming demand". The issue is believed to be caused by an influx of users downloading the app, which has led to a surge in traffic.
https://www.livemint.com/technology/ghiblistyle-art-overloads-chatgpt-openai-ceo-sam-altman-has-a-message-for-users-expect-dela-11743588592133.html