Amazon is introducing a new “Recaps” feature for Kindle users to help them recall plot points and character arcs before picking up the latest book in a series. While the company’s press release for the new feature doesn’t mention AI, Amazon confirmed to TechCrunch that recaps are AI-generated.
“We use technology, including GenAI and Amazon moderators, to create short recaps of books that accurately reflect book content,” Amazon spokesperson Ale Iraheta said in an emailed statement.
Users have taken to Reddit to share their concerns about the use of AI for the feature, with some questioning how accurate recaps will be. Although the company has said that it ensures recaps accurately reflect content, TechCrunch has asked for more information about the process.
Kindle device users in the United States can now view short recaps for books they’ve either purchased or borrowed for thousands of best-selling English-language e-books in series. Amazon plans to bring the recaps feature to the Kindle app for iOS soon.
To access recaps, users need to be on the latest Kindle software. Users can check if a series has a recap by looking for the “View Recaps” button on the series page in their Kindle Library or through the “View Recaps” option within the series grouping three-dot menu.
Before you can read the recap, you will be warned that it includes spoilers about major plot points and characters. Once you acknowledge this, you will be taken to the recap.
“By adding a new level of convenience to series reading, the Recaps feature enables readers to dive deeper into complex worlds and characters without losing the joy of discovery, all while ensuring an uninterrupted reading experience across every genre,” Amazon wrote in the blog post.
The company says recaps are available for all sorts of series, from epic fantasy series to mystery thrillers, including trending titles and longtime favorites.
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OpenAI’s new image-generation feature is on track to be one of the company’s most popular product launches ever.
According to Brad Lightcap, who oversees day-to-day operations and global deployment at OpenAI, over 130 million users have generated more than 700 million images since the new image generator launched in ChatGPT last week.
“[W]e appreciate your patience as we try to serve everyone,” Lightcap wrote in a post on X on Thursday. “[The] team continues to work around the clock.”
Lightcap added that India is now the fastest-growing ChatGPT market.
OpenAI’s new image generator, which launched for all ChatGPT users earlier this week, went viral for its controversial ability to create realistic Ghibli-style photos. It’s been a mixed blessing for OpenAI, leading to millions of new signups for ChatGPT while also greatly straining the company’s capacity.
According to CEO Sam Altman, the popularity of the image generator has led to product delays and temporarily degraded services as OpenAI works to scale up infrastructure to meet demand.
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Spotify announced Gen AI ads, among other changes to its advertising business, at an event in New York City on Thursday. Notably, the company introduced a new programmatic offering, the Spotify Ad Exchange (SAX), which allows advertisers to reach Spotify’s logged-in users via real-time auctions.
Expanding on the SAX news, Spotify said it inked new partnerships with Google’s demand-side platform, Dispay & Video 360, and Magnite, with Yahoo DSP, Adform, and others to come “soon.” The Trade Desk is also supported. SAX will offer “full addressability” and measurement capabilities, the company said.
Partners will initially be able to advertise within Spotify’s audio, video, and display formats across music, with podcast support on the way. SAX will be available in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, Brazil, and Mexico.
In another major announcement, the company said it’s integrating AI into its advertising offerings by allowing marketers to use Gen AI to create scripts and voiceovers for their audio ads using Spotify Ads Manager in the U.S. and Canada.
Spotify says the use of its AI tools will come at no additional cost to advertisers.
The changes were pitched to marketers as a way to reach the coveted Gen Z demographic, who access the streaming service throughout the day, not just when they’re engaged directly with the app and looking at the screen. The company touted that it now has over 251 million Gen Z users on its service.
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Runway, a startup developing a range of generative AI models for media production, including video-generating models, has raised $308 million in a Series D funding round.
General Atlantic led the round, which had participation from Fidelity Management & Research Company, Baillie Gifford, Nvidia, SoftBank, and others. The fresh capital will be put toward AI research and hiring, Runway said in a press release, as well to expand its Runway Studios film and animation production arm.
To date, Runway has raised $536.5 million, according to Crunchbase.
“Today marks an important milestone as Runway announces a significant next step towards our goal of creating a new media ecosystem with world simulators,” the company wrote in the press release. “[Our recent] advancements aren’t merely incremental improvements; they form the foundation for an entirely new approach to media — an ecosystem built on AI systems that can simulate our world.”
Runway offers a suite of AI media tools, including video- and image-generating models. It faces stiff competition in the video generation space, including from OpenAI and Google. But the company has fought to differentiate itself, inking a deal with a major Hollywood studio and earmarking millions of dollars to fund films using AI-produced footage.
This week, Runway released Gen-4, a video-generating model that the company claims can create consistent characters, locations, and objects across scenes, maintain “coherent world environments,” and regenerate elements from different perspectives and positions within scenes. With products like Gen-4 and its recently launched API for video models, Runway hopes to hit $300 million in annualized revenue this year.
One possible roadblock is a lawsuit brought by artists against Runway and other generative AI companies that accuses the defendants of training their models on copyrighted artwork without permission. Runway argues that the doctrine known as fair use shields it from legal repercussions. It isn’t yet clear whether the company will prevail.
Updated 6:21 a.m. Pacific: The original version of this story mistakenly indicated that Runway had raised $300 million in its Series D. It has, in fact, raised $308 million. We regret the error.
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