Author HubMaximilian Schreiner

Max is the managing editor of THE DECODER, bringing his background in philosophy to explore questions of consciousness and whether machines truly think or just pretend to.
AI and society

OpenAI restructures under new foundation, Microsoft takes 27 percent stake

AI research

OpenAI outperforms humans and Google at the world's top collegiate programming contest

AI in practice

New data from OpenAI and Anthropic show how people actually use ChatGPT and Claude

Ad
AI in practice
Short

Uber Eats now manipulates food images using generative AI.

Uber Eats is now using generative AI to identify and enhance low-quality food photos on its menus. The technology does more than just adjust lighting, resolution, or cropping. It can move food onto different plates or backgrounds, and even modify the food itself - making portions look bigger or digitally filling in gaps for a more polished look.

This approach goes further than traditional retouching or generic stock photos. The AI is capable of generating convincing images of dishes that, in some cases, never actually existed in this form.

Image: Uber
Ad
Ad
AI in practice
Short

Black Forest Labs and Krea AI have released FLUX.1 Krea [dev], an open text-to-image model designed to generate more realistic images with fewer of the exaggerated, AI-typical textures.

The model is based on FLUX.1 [dev] and remains fully compatible with its architecture. It was built for flexible customization and easy integration into downstream applications. Model weights are available on Hugging Face, with commercial licenses offered through the BFL Licensing Portal. Partners like FAL, Replicate, Runware, DataCrunch, and TogetherAI provide API access.

BFL
AI in practice
Short

Google is rolling out Opal, a new experimental tool that lets users build AI-powered mini-apps with simple natural language prompts, no coding required.

Opal takes descriptions written in everyday language and automatically connects prompts, AI models, and other tools to turn them into working apps, displaying everything as a visual workflow.

Once an app is built, users can share it with others, who only need a Google account to use it. Opal is launching as a public beta in the US, with plans to develop the tool further based on feedback from the community.

Ad
Ad
Ad
Ad
AI in practice
Short

YouTube is rolling out an AI-powered age estimation system in the US that will try to determine users' ages based on factors like account activity and account lifespan—regardless of what users claim.

The new system is designed to identify teens who have registered as adults and automatically apply protection measures such as ad restrictions, screen time reminders, and content filters. The move comes as lawmakers ramp up pressure on big tech: More than a dozen states, including Texas, Utah, and Florida, have introduced or passed laws requiring age verification or parental consent for social media use.

YouTube's approach relies on technical solutions rather than requiring users to actively provide proof of age. The result is a balancing act between privacy, child safety, and business interests—one that will also have to contend with Europe's Digital Services Act, GDPR, and the EU AI Act.

Google News

Bank details

IBAN: DE88 2507 0070 0053 0014 00
BIC: DEUTDE2HXXX
Account holder: Deep Content GmbH
Purpose: Support THE DECODER
AI and society
Comment

OpenAI and Microsoft call AGI pointless, then make it the linchpin of billion-dollar deals

AI in practice

Google leans on token metrics, not revenue, adding to bubble talk about AI growth

AI and society

OpenAI restructures under new foundation, Microsoft takes 27 percent stake

Google News