Google is also expanding Gemini AI’s connections with external apps, tools, and data bases — starting with OpenTable, Instacart, and Canva from today. More partners are currently being integrated and will be announced over the summer, the company said.
“Spark operates under your direction,” Google said in a statement. “You choose whether to turn it on and what apps it connects to, and it’s designed to ask you first before performing high-stakes actions like spending money or sending emails.”
This is the most significant shift toward agentic AI — broadly defined as models that can autonomously perform end-to-end tasks on behalf of humans — to date. (Read our guide to what it is here.)
The news: Cate Blanchett launches non-profit to protect artists from AI misuse.
Why it matters: Actress and producer Cate Blanchett has launched a non-profit organization, RSL Media, to develop what it calls a “human consent standard” for artists to formally declare permissions of use for their identity and creative works in a format that AI models can read.
Co-founded with tech executive Nikki Hexum, RSL Media has formulated its new creative permissions registry to be open access as of June, so that any member of the public can declare AI use permissions to protect their voice, likeness, and creative work.
Actors Javier Bardem, George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Dame Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, and Emma Thompson are among the stars supporting the initiative, as well as the Creative Artists Agency and the Music Artists Coalition.
“AI technologies are expanding rampantly, essentially unchecked and unregulated. In order for humans to remain in front of these technologies, consent must be the first consideration,” Blanchett said in a statement announcing the launch. “RSL Media is a simple, effective, and free solutions-based technology for facilitating and activating consent. It’s also the industry’s first practical solution, where people everywhere, not just public figures, can assert control over how their work is used by AI.”
The news: Amazon integrates AI into its search bar for US customers.
Why it matters: Amazon is incorporating AI into the search bar of its US website and mobile app via what it’s calling “Alexa for Shopping” — an AI agent that combines its previous bot Rufus with its AI-powered Alexa+ software. Much like frontier chatbots ChatGPT and Google Gemini, the new tool will respond to customers’ natural language queries with product comparisons and suggestions. Amazon said Alexa for Shopping also becomes “more personal and more helpful over time”, based on conversational data, browsing history, and prior purchases.
“Alexa for Shopping is like having an expert personal shopper who already knows you and remembers your preferences, purchases, and conversations,” Rajiv Mehta, VP of conversational shopping at Amazon, said, “and carries that knowledge and understanding of you across your phone, laptop, and Echo devices.” It’s the latest sign that retailers are racing to own more of the shopping journey. Hosting the journey from initial purchase query all the way through the discovery process arms Amazon with more data to power its advertising business and refine operations like inventory management.
