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The GRADIENT: Why Taste Is the New Moat

The great TID controversy takes another turn as Prebid moves to clarify its position

After backlash from The Trade Desk and others, Prebid.org clarified how Prebid.js handles Transaction IDs — a core signal for tracking and comparing bid requests across the programmatic supply chain. The latest flashpoint bubbled to the surface this summer when Prebid issued a change that rendered TID non-unique across exchanges, effectively undermining its primary purpose

This self-taught illustrator brings Art Nouveau vibes to digital art

Eve Forrest is a self-taught artist whose striking art style that shows how contemporary digital art and illustration can draw on influences from the past. She’s heavily inspired by the Baroque, Pre-Raphaelite and Art Nouveau periods. “I’ve taken my love for history and fantasy and combined them to create my illustration style,” she tells us.

Google’s New BlockRank Democratizes Advanced Semantic Search

A new research paper from Google DeepMind proposes a new AI search ranking algorithm called BlockRank that works so well it puts advanced semantic search ranking within reach of individuals and organizations. The researchers conclude that it “can democratize access to powerful information discovery tools.” In-Context Ranking (ICR) The research paper describes the breakthrough of

Why Canada’s Reagan Tariff Ad Made President Trump so Angry

The late President Ronald Reagan was famous for many things, including his ability to deliver speeches with his weathered baritone voice, having honed his delivery over the course of 53 Hollywood films and thousands of political speeches. Few would have predicted that that same voice would end trade talks between the U.S. and Canada. On

From magazine scrapbooks and HMV meet-and-greets to photographing hip hop royalty – inside the career of Jennie Baptiste

INT: You’ve photographed so many stars. What’s your process for capturing them authentically? JB: Getting to know them relatively quickly in a very short space of time! Letting them feel the relaxed energy from me and then hopefully I get a part of their persona that they may not have shown to somebody else –

Time We Actually Start To Measure Relevancy When We Talk About “Relevant Traffic”

Every SEO strategy claims to drive “relevant traffic.” It is one of the industry’s most overused phrases, and one of the least examined. We celebrate growth in organic sessions and point to conversions as proof that our efforts are working. Yet the metric we often use to prove “relevance” – last-click revenue or leads –

Why server-side tracking is making a comeback in the privacy-first era

Digital analytics is coming full circle. After years of relying on browser-based tags and cookies, marketers are returning to a familiar concept — server-side tracking — to regain control of data accuracy, privacy and performance. The long view: Nearly 30 years in analytics Some people see the gray beard and gray hair. What they don’t

Great, now even Microsoft Paint can make AI slop

If there’s one creative app you might think would be safe from generative AI, it’s MS Paint. Still part of Windows after 40 years, the classic painting app’s charm was, for a long time, its low-tech simplicity compared to the many more sophisticated digital art programs that emerged after it. Alas, with the Copilot chat

Measuring When AI Assistants And Search Engines Disagree

Before you get started, it’s important to heed this warning: There is math ahead! If doing math and learning equations makes your head swim, or makes you want to sit down and eat a whole cake, prepare yourself (or grab a cake). But if you like math, if you enjoy equations, and you really do

Brand ‘fundamentals’ are what will drive success in the era of AI

The “underlying fundamentals” of brand building are what will set brands apart in a future where AI may be driving many consumer choices, says Procter & Gamble’s chief financial officer. During the company’s quarterly results for the period ended 30 September, CFO Andre Schulten was asked by an investor how the FMCG company, which owns

Constantine Costi’s latest film documents a world famous competition for porridge making

With the idea for a documentary somewhere on the horizon, Constantine travelled even further into his deep dive. The director spent a good deal of time watching old competition footage, reading everything that had been written about the event online and even reaching out to past competitors to hear about their experiences. As a creative

Microsoft Updates Copilot With Memory, Search Connectors, & More

Microsoft announced its Copilot Fall Release, introducing features to make AI more personal and collaborative. New capabilities include group collaboration, long-term memory, health tools, and voice-enabled learning. Mustafa Suleyman, head of Microsoft AI, wrote in the announcement that the release represents a shift in how AI supports users. Suleyman wrote: “… technology should work in

Marketers confront the brand safety risks of AI-generated video

The latest thing keeping marketers up at night about AI isn’t deepfakes or disinformation — it’s SpongeBob. The cartoon character has become an unlikely mascot for the flood of AI-generated videos taking over feeds, blurring the lines between parody, harmless fun, copyright infringement and misinformation. In the ensuing panic, it’s made one thing clear: AI-generated

This artist blends cosy Animal Crossing vibes with impressionism

The young Australian concept artist Mel Mo shows how traditional art influences can be mixed with contemporary popular culture to great effect. She says she was inspired by the cosy vibes of Animal Crossing and the modern animation style of movies like the Spider-Verse films and Bad Guys but also by the dreamy palettes of

OpenAI Releases Shared Project Feature To All Users

OPenAI announced that it is upgrading all ChatGPT accounts to be eligible for the project sharing feature, which enables users to share a ChatGPT project with others who can then participate and make changes. The feature was previously available only to users on OpenAI’s Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans. The new feature is available to

CNN’s Christiane Amanpour Reveals She’s Battling Cancer Again

Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international anchor, recently disclosed that her ovarian cancer has returned. Amanpour’s announcement came during the latest podcast episode of Changing the Ovarian Cancer Story, hosted by former CNN International anchor Hannah Vaughan Jones. “I have it again, but it’s being very well managed,” Amanpour said. She said the cancer, which is

Elizabeth Goodspeed on why design studios are making fonts

The origin of custom type is often creative rather than technical – a need for letterforms that echo a brand’s physical environment, emotional tone, or specific ethos. Brooklyn design studio R&M’s work for Banker’s Anchor, a public plaza in Greenpoint, exemplifies how helpful tailored type can be as connective tissue between form and idea. For the

Perplexity Responds To Reddit Lawsuit Over Data Access

Reddit sued Perplexity and three data-scraping firms in New York federal court, alleging the companies bypassed access controls to obtain Reddit content at scale, including by scraping Google search results. Perplexity posted a public response, saying it summarizes Reddit discussions with citations and doesn’t train AI models on Reddit content. The position is consistent with

IAB Tech Lab pushes privacy standards forward with GPP and DDRF updates

The IAB Tech Lab has announced two major developments aimed at strengthening privacy and transparency across the digital advertising ecosystem: a new update to the Global Privacy Protocol (GPP) and the release of Version 2 of the Data Deletion Request Framework (DDRF). Both updates are now open for public comment through December 1. GPP update

This AI tool could speed up one of the most awful parts of 3D modelling

AI is one of the most divisive topics in creative tech at the moment, but AI isn’t only generative models trained on artists’ work. There are lots of non-generative AI tools that automate time-consuming tasks without replacing artistry and craftmanship, and the Tractive AI retopology tool look like a good example. Releasing soon in beta,

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