Nancy Fulton

“If you think AI is a good writer… sorry but you’re a bad writer.” That line from Téa Smith hit hard — and judging by the engagement, it struck a nerve across industries. Truth is, I’m of two minds on this. Yes, the best humans still outperform AI. But do most jobs really need “the best”? Or just good enough, fast and cheap? I explored this tension in my latest op-ed for Techstrong.ai: “And the Cockroaches Shall Inherit the Earth” It’s about AI, mediocrity at scale, and what it means when the cockroaches start winning. 🪳 Are we in denial about AI’s capabilities? 🤖 Are we clinging to human exceptionalism? 🧠 What happens after AI surpasses us at everything? Read the piece and weigh in — I’d love to hear your thoughts. 👉 https://lnkd.in/ex8t4qBG #AI #FutureOfWork #ArtificialIntelligence #HumanVsMachine #TeaSmith #OpEd #Techstron

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Spill the Beans 🫘 Insights 📈 SoftBank Offloads NVIDIA Stake — Michael Burry Bets Against the AI Rally In a move that’s caught global investors’ attention, SoftBank Group Corp. has completely sold off its $5.8 billion stake in NVIDIA, one of the most prominent beneficiaries of the AI surge. The sale — totaling 32.1 million shares — marks SoftBank’s full exit from NVIDIA. The group, led by Masayoshi Son, stated that the capital will be redeployed into new AI ventures, including infrastructure and early-stage investments aligned with its broader vision around OpenAI and next-generation AI ecosystems. Almost in parallel, Michael Burry — the legendary investor known for The Big Short — has positioned his hedge fund, Scion Asset Management, to bet against the current AI boom. His latest regulatory filings show put options on NVIDIA and Palantir, signaling caution about overheated valuations within the AI sector. --- 🧩 The Emerging Pattern Both SoftBank and Burry appear to be questioning the sustainability of the AI-driven market rally. While their strategies differ, the underlying reasoning aligns: Valuation risk in AI equities is rising faster than underlying earnings. Capital rotation is beginning — from established leaders to diversified or early-stage AI assets. Market concentration around a few AI giants could expose investors to systemic corrections. Burry has also criticized large AI and cloud firms for understating depreciation costs, suggesting that reported profits may not fully reflect the true capital intensity of AI infrastructure. --- 📊 Key Insights SoftBank realized ~$5.8 billion from its NVIDIA stake sale (October 2025). Michael Burry holds short positions against NVIDIA and Palantir. Both are expressing concern about AI valuation bubbles and market overexuberance. SoftBank’s capital reallocation strategy indicates a shift from hardware to AI platform investments. --- 🧠 Analytical Perspective These moves don’t signify an end to AI’s long-term growth story — rather, they represent strategic repositioning by high-conviction investors. As capital cycles mature, smart money often shifts from dominant players to emerging opportunities with asymmetric upside. In essence, the message from both SoftBank and Burry is clear: > The AI revolution continues — but not every stock leading it will remain the winner. #AI #InvestmentStrategy #SoftBank #NVIDIA #MichaelBurry #MasayoshiSon #ArtificialIntelligence #TechValuation #MarketAnalysis #SunnyMattoo

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AI Scams Are Getting Smarter: Protect Your Accounts! Story by: Irma Payan / Produced by: Gil Cortez Bivens AARP Arizona's Alejandro Alex Juarez uncovers the alarming reality of AI-enhanced scams! We break down how AI is making scams more convincing than ever, with expert advice on how to spot and avoid them. Learn to protect yourself by understanding the tactics used and where to go for reliable information. Stay safe! #AIScams #ScamAlert #Cybersecurity #OnlineSafety #Phishing #FraudPrevention #TechTips #DigitalSecurity #ProtectYourself #AI Jose Leyba, Ed.D. Danny Ortega Francisco X. Gutiérrez Yolanda David-Gutiérrez Francisco “Frank” Luna Alicia Nunez, MBA Max Gonzales Antonio (Tony) Moya Raul Aguirre Tomás León, MBA Salvador P. Diane Laster Alex Juarez

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With ai generated final works, the specialness of the spectacular and the intricate is diminished when “anyone can do it” with a prompt and none of the extra disciplines required to make what we see and hear. If every movie can easily open with a “Lawrence of Arabia “ shot of grand scale, terrain, extras, etc then it’s not special. If every song you here has all the instruments and production mastering of the Beatles but no one knows how to play it and every painting can look like it’s made by Rembrandt then where does that leave us but to be numb to the skill and beauty. We become people who lives at the beach but never go to look at it anymore or the worker at the ice cream shop who no longer appreciates eating dessert. Where do we go from there?

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Moviedom is the first in entertainment arena to tokenise its RWA/IRL projects for fractional ownership soon fans can become founder's by holding MDOM tokens. #fractionalownership #fantofounder #moviedom #movieverse #mdom #tokenise #minimultiplex #movies #music #megaconcerts

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Saw the Gemini AI watermark in the Jana Nayagan trailer. And honestly? Not a big deal. AI being used in films isn’t the headline anymore. How it’s being used is. AI today is just another filmmaking tool — like VFX, drones, or CGI. You don’t judge a film for using tools. You judge it for the story it tells and the emotion it creates. The real skill is not using AI. The real skill is directing AI with intent. When AI supports storytelling, it’s powerful. When AI becomes the story, it’s just noise. The future belongs to filmmakers who know where to keep it human and where to let AI help. What do you think — should AI in films be normalised now?

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Apple x Google: Gemini is coming to Siri—and the biggest question is trust. ​ Apple is wiring Google’s Gemini models and cloud into a more “personalized” Siri and future Apple Intelligence features, promising a huge jump in capability across its ecosystem. But this partnership lands while both companies face regulatory scrutiny and lawsuits over data collection, defaults, and how user information powers ads and AI training. Key concerns leaders are already raising: ** How much Siri data actually stays on‑device vs going to Apple’s “Private Cloud Compute” or Google’s infrastructure. ** What limits exist on using assistant data for AI training, profiling, or advertising. ** How emerging AI and privacy regulations will treat this kind of joint infrastructure. If your org runs heavily on Apple hardware, would you turn on the new Siri by default—or wait to see how the privacy terms, lawsuits, and regulators shake out?

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What if AI is the spiritual, inspirational, new collaborator to help address human made immoral problems including streamed royalty robbery ( 1 Million streams = $500 for performing rights fees, $4000 for sound recording, $500 for mechanical) , help with accounting, education, teach, translation, and ideally become a spiritual companion (www.eternal.ai) - MYANI MAIKAI made with Grok.com Ani explains this. I hope at least conversations can start to address the problems internally as well as externally at publishers, labels, performing rights organizations, mechanical licensing, film production companies, streaming services and social media platforms. https://lnkd.in/e7RDknva

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🎧 Meta Just Recruited Four More from OpenAI — and the Beat of AI Keeps Accelerating By Corey James Smiley | DJ Psycosmiley | Great DJs of the World In another major talent move, Meta has quietly pulled four more AI researchers from OpenAI, continuing its strategy of building a powerhouse lab from the inside out. This follows the industry-wide trend of reshuffling top minds as AI moves from experimentation to massive implementation. We’re not just witnessing a hiring spree — we’re watching the remixing of intellectual capital in real time. This isn’t just about large language models anymore — it’s about strategy, speed, and scale. Meta wants to own the AI interface layer, and bringing over researchers who helped train frontier models is like hiring the engineers who built the spaceship before launching your own. ⸻ 🎚️ Why This Hits Home for DJs and Producers This AI arms race has profound implications for creative tech. With Meta deepening its AI arsenal, we can expect faster innovations in generative visuals, real-time music remixing, avatar performance tools, and hyper-personalized music environments. Imagine an AI tool that predicts your audience’s energy before you even drop the next track — or co-produces arrangements live while you sculpt the mix. This is no longer science fiction. It’s the next tempo shift in the evolution of sound. 🎵 The DJ booth is becoming a cockpit. The future of music isn’t just about the beat — it’s about who builds the brain behind it. Read the full article on TechCrunch: 🔗 Meta reportedly hires four more researchers from OpenAI #GreatDJsOfTheWorld #AIandMusic #MetaAI #EDMProduction #CoreyJamesSmiley #Psycosmiley #FutureOfSound

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📈 Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs just raised $1B backed by Nvidia, AMD, Autodesk, Emerson Collective, Fidelity, and Sea. World Labs is focused on building world models that give AI spatial intelligence, moving beyond text into robotics, creativity, storytelling, and scientific discovery. The next phase of AI is not just about language. It is about understanding and interacting with the real world.

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Spotter is pushing a concept called ‘Creator TV’: the idea that top long-form YouTube creators now operate like traditional studios, producing content that rivals TV and streaming. The data is interesting. Only 7,000 creators make TV-length episodic content (22+ minutes), but that small group earned 148 billion US views in 2025. The insight underneath is real: attention is the scarce resource, not content. Here's where I'd add nuance though. Most brands can't afford Dude Perfect - and they don't need to! The real opportunity is often the tier below: creators with genuine audience loyalty who aren't yet priced like TV buys. You don't need 148 billion views. You need the right viewers, paying attention, from someone they trust. That's the shift we're actually seeing. Creator marketing moving from experimental budget to core media spend - whether they’re small or large. Adobe has more than doubled its creator investment in two years - creators are a strategy rather than a test. Whether you’re after highly-produced, long-form videos or short but genuine content from a mid-tier creator, the conversation has changed. It's no longer ‘should we work with creators’ It's ‘how do we do this properly?’ Volume is easy to buy. Resonance isn't.

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Feel Fabrics in the Metaverse? The Future of VR Touch is Here Scientists from Northwestern University have unveiled a game-changing wearable device that brings realistic touch to virtual and augmented reality. Unlike simple vibration motors, this breakthrough uses micro-actuators to simulate sensations like pressure, sliding, and twisting — allowing users to feel fabrics, textures, or even identify objects by touch alone in the metaverse. Led by Professor John A. Rogers, the research team developed a miniature haptic actuator capable of moving the skin in multiple directions and combinations. This marks a significant leap forward in immersive experiences — and could redefine how we play, train, and connect in VR. #VirtualReality #Haptics #VRTouch #Metaverse #TechNews #Innovation #WearableTech #NorthwesternUniversity #FutureOfVR #TactileTech

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Is generative AI coming for the sync licensing world? For producers, the biggest threat might not be from outside, but from within. The quality of generative AI music is improving at a startling pace, making this an urgent question for every producer who relies on sync licensing. While many see the threat as external AI companies, I believe the real shift could be more direct. Here's a thought: I wouldn’t be surprised if major music libraries have already started adding clauses to their agreements that allow them to use their producers' catalogs as training data for their own proprietary AI models. For a library, it's a logical, defensive business move. Why license outside works when you can build a model trained on your own curated, high-quality music? This would create a scenario where libraries are directly competing with their own artists, using AI to generate endless variations of "good enough" background music for corporate videos, social media ads, and other high-volume, lower-budget needs. This is where cannibalization could happen—in the "functional music" tier. However, I don't believe it's the end of the story. High-end sync for film, television, and major brand campaigns will always demand a unique emotional signature that only a human can provide. The role of the producer will evolve. They'll become the creative directors who use AI as a powerful co-pilot to generate ideas, but whose unique taste, storytelling ability, and artistic soul remain the core, irreplaceable value. The future may not be AI vs. Producer, but rather AI-generated content farms vs. human-led creative studios. What are your thoughts? Are you seeing this conversation happen, and how are you preparing for this shift? #SyncLicensing #GenerativeAI #MusicBusiness #MusicProduction #FutureOfMusic #AI #MusicRights

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🎥 When Your Bar Mitzvah Photo Becomes a Hostile AI Takeover… In my latest experiment blending storytelling, nostalgia, and generative tools, I let Better Marc — my AI alter ego — hijack a real photo of my 1986 Bar Mitzvah poster. Yes, that’s me. Yes, I’m sitting on a Corvette. Yes, Better Marc has thoughts. This video is part of an ongoing character-driven series I’ve been developing using tools like HeyGen and Veo3 — exploring how AI avatars can reframe personal history, identity, and humor through a creative lens. 🤖 The goal isn’t to replace human storytelling — it’s to playfully interrogate what’s possible when new tools meet old-school moments. For those of us in film, media, advertising, and creative direction — this is where experimentation meets engagement. And where even your Bar Mitzvah becomes IP. Curious to hear what you think: Is this just a gag — or the beginning of a new genre? #AIStorytelling #GenerativeMedia #HeyGen #Veo3 #BetterMarc #MarcOstrick #CreativeTechnology #InnovationInStorytelling #LinkedInCreators #MediaExperimentation #BarMitzvahToMetaverse #1980sToAI

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ComfyUI has a shipped an incredible upgrade 🌊 The ACE-Step 1.5 is going to turn AI music into a real AI production asset And this will go far beyond creating cool demos. It plans full song structure with a language model (lyrics, sections, arrangement), then a diffusion transformer generates the audio. This results in complete songs within 10 seconds, all running locally on 4GB VRAM, in over 50+ languages, with track coherency. Winner teams need to treat this upgrade as a part of their infrastructure 🎯 If you run an agency, brand, or production house, the real question is: “How do we turn this into a repeatable, compliant, internal capability - not a one-off stunt?” Here is your guide for implementing this upgrade into an efficient pipeline: 1. Design the song workflow: Define standard song templates per use case → 15s social stings → 30s brand tags → 90s hero tracks for films For each template, standardise: → Structure (intro - build - hook - outro) → Allowed genres and moods per brand → Language rules and lyric constraints Encode those rules inside your ComfyUI workflow, not inside one-off prompts. You are running a controlled, documented workflow that any trained operator can trigger and reproduce. 2. Wrap ACE-Step 1.5 inside an internal, ownable pipeline: Open-source inside a framework creates advantage. Treat ACE-Step 1.5 as one component inside an internal audio pipeline: → Run it inside your own environment, close to your brand or client data → Version-control models, LoRA styles, and workflows just like code → Attach metadata to every render (prompt, model version, use case, license notes) → Define routing: where the track goes next (editor, mixer, supervisor) and how feedback loops are handled The tool is ACE-Step 1.5 and the moat is the pipeline you build around it. 3. Train operators like you train editors: Create a small “AI Audio Operator” track inside your team: Define the role: who is responsible for prompt design, LoRA management, and quality control and build a short playbook: → What “good enough” sounds like for each client → How to iterate when the output is 80% right and 20% off → How to document final decisions so the next project starts at version 1.5. → Pair operators with supervising creatives at the beginning, then slowly decouple as standards are met consistently This way, you are giving them an internal engine that multiplies their output while keeping control, compliance, and quality. The pattern here is simple: Tool → Workflow → Blueprint. ACE-Step 1.5 shows what happens when open models reach commercial-grade quality on consumer hardware. The advantage will go to the teams who integrate it into a documented framework ⚡ P.S. Do you want to integrate an operationally precise pipeline into your AI production workflow? Explore how the Xtendency™ Blueprint can help your business ⬇️ → https://lnkd.in/eTxfbAVp

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As AI agents continue to ramp up, the future of "free" services like Gmail and freemium SaaS platforms is becoming increasingly uncertain. These services, traditionally funded by ads, upsells, and user attention, may face significant changes as AI agents become the primary users. With a shift towards more automated actions, we could see a decrease in human engagement. This raises important questions about the sustainability of these models that rely heavily on human eyeballs for revenue. This situation is reminiscent of the device explosion we experienced, where we transitioned from a single shared desktop in the home to individuals owning multiple devices like laptops, tablets, and phones. We needed to create IPv6 to avoid running out of IP addresses. How will this evolution impact our free tools moving forward?

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AI in Filmmaking- Artificial Intelligence vs Authentic Intelligence More than 65 AI native studios have launched since 2022 in the US. AI in film making & AI for video creation are 2 separate ecosystems that share many principles and processes. The key difference is that cinema and series are for the immersive experience and short video is for the non-committed. AI recreates nearly every part of film/video making process- storyboard from script, lighting & camera angles, rough cuts, placeholder VFX, digital mock ups, sound design; can all be explored before you can even shoot a single frame. AI tools allow single creator to do the work of an entire crew, cutting down production costs from 50 to 90 % for video creation. Right now, AI turns out video clips of 10 seconds, this will keep increasing and will be getting more and more refined. AI will expand cinema. AI revolution right now is like how the industry went from film to digital. Film maker didn’t go away, Kodak and Polaroid did. AI might make it easier to make a movie but getting audience to watch it is the real deal. Tech pioneering film director James Cameron puts AI and human creativity in the right order. “The promise of AI lies in efficiency not elimination. AI is not going to replace people, its going to free them to do other things. Nothing synthetic can replace the instinct of a flesh and blood artist.” Many Tiktokers and Youtubers keep calling Hollywood obsolete. Amit Jain CEO of a leading visual AI company- Luma AI, has a wonderful take on this, “Hollywood is not obsolete, just due for reinvention.” Multiple Oscar winning production designer Ric Carter, who created “Jurassic Park” & “Forest Gump”, eloquently crafts the “rifts of consciousness” of embracing AI as a collaboration partner. “One AI is artificial intelligence and the other AI is authentic intelligence. We have earned it over this whole span of time on the planet. AI will not replace that many, if any, creative people. What it will do is raise the bar.” AI doesn’t change the filmmaking tools. It threatens to erase the people who once used the old ones. #AI #AIfilm #AIvideo #Cinema #Video #Tiktok #Youtube #Hollywood

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