Meta has announced that Facebook and Instagram will be getting a number of new AI powered creator tools, including some that will allow users to edit images and create stickers using text prompts. AI image editing will be available on Instagram, and AI-generated chat stickers will roll out on Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger. According to theverge.com, AI-powered photo editing on Instagram includes two new features: restyle and backdrop. With restyle, users input a text prompt — Meta’s examples include “watercolor” or “magazine collage” — and the tool updates the existing image based on those directions. The backdrop feature also utilizes a text prompt by the user to add new AI-generated backgrounds to images (“surround me with puppies,” for example). For both editing features, Meta says it will identify when images are created using AI tools so audiences can discern whether what they’re seeing is synthetic or human-generated. 

It has been on hold for a while, but ChatGPT will again be able to browse the internet. Engadget.com reports that OpenAI has announced that the AI product will now be able to answer even the most modern of queries as the assistant will be able to look up information in real time. The new feature is called Browse with Bing and it works in the normal Bing Chat window. OpenAI’s team wrote in a tweet. “Browsing is available to Plus and Enterprise users today, and we’ll expand to all users soon. To enable, choose Browse with Bing in the selector under GPT-4.”

Reddit is revising its privacy settings, intending to make ad personalization and account visibility toggles more consistent. That’s all well and good, but they are also removing the ability to opt out of ad personalization based on Reddit activity. Techcrunch.com says Reddit claims it will still have opt out controls in ‘select countries.’ They didn’t say which ones. This ad change up is just one of the changes the platform has made in an effort to increase monetization. Reddit’s CEO Steven Huffman said in an interview last summer that “Getting to breakeven is a priority for us in any climate.” Like all platforms…YOU and your data are the product!

Three credit unions have sued Apple for what they claim is a total monopoly on mobile wallets for iPhones and Apple Watches. 9to5mac.com notes that this is not a new issue, but this new suit claims that since Apple won’t grant competing mobile wallet apps access to the NFC chip, it’s monopolistic. What does that mean to you the user? It means that you can only make contactless transactions with your phone or watch using Apple’s mobile wallet. Any banks or financial institutions like the credit unions have to sign up for Apple Pay to use the NFC chip…and Apple gets to charge a fee on each transaction. According to the complaint, Apple’s conduct forces more than 4,000 banks and credit unions that use Apple Pay to pay at least $1 billion of excess fees, and harms consumers by minimizing the incentive to make Apple Pay safer and easier to use. This should be a real battle.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.