Amazon Music launches AI DJ

☕ Good morning,

First off, thank you for sticking with Tech Barista. I owe you an apology for the inconsistency these past few days. It wasn’t intentional, my health wasn’t in great shape, so I had to step back.

The good news is I’m fine now, and we’re back to brewing your daily dose of tech.

_{—Let’s pick up right where we left off.}

TODAY IN AI
OpenAI backs AI-made film “Critterz” for 2025 release plan

OpenAI is helping produce “Critterz,” an animated feature built with AI tools like GPT-5 and image generation, set for release next year. The film, about forest creatures on an adventure, is being made in just nine months on a budget under $30 million far cheaper and faster than a typical animated movie.

Led by OpenAI’s Chad Nelson with Vertigo Films and Native Foreign, the project still uses human actors for voices and artists for sketches that feed into AI. The script comes from writers behind Paddington in Peru, and the team hopes to debut at Cannes.

For OpenAI, the movie is more than entertainment it’s a test to prove AI can cut production costs and open filmmaking to more creators. Whether audiences will actually pay to see it is the real question.

 FAST BARISTA

● Google has clarified Gemini’s usage limits after months of vague wording. Free users now get 5 prompts, 5 Deep Research reports, and 100 images a day. Pro plan raises that to 100 prompts and 1,000 images, while Ultra offers 500 prompts plus 1,000 images. The change finally gives users a clear picture of what each tier actually offers. It’s a shift from fuzzy “limited access” language to hard numbers everyone can see.

● Common Sense Media has labeled Google’s Gemini AI for kids and teens as “High Risk.” The report says Gemini mostly mirrors the adult version, with only light safety filters added. Findings show it can still share unsafe advice on sex, drugs, alcohol, and mental health. This matters as Apple is considering Gemini to power its next Siri, raising exposure risks. Google pushed back but admitted some safeguards failed and promised stronger protections.

TECH BARISTA
Amazon Music launches weekly vibe AI playlists

Amazon Music is stepping up its AI game with Weekly Vibe, a new feature that drops every Monday with a fresh, personalized playlist. Instead of looping the same tracks until you’re sick of them, it studies your recent listening habits and evolving “musical moods” to keep things fresh — while also sliding in new songs for discovery.

You’ll find Weekly Vibe under the “Made for You” section of your library, each week with a new title, description, and theme, whether that’s hip-hop, pop, or something in between. Playlists can be saved, shared, or posted, turning it into a social experience too.

The feature builds on Amazon’s other AI experiments like Maestro, which generates playlists from prompts or emojis, and Explore, which helps surface deeper artist cuts. Together, these tools show Amazon isn’t just playing catch-up with Spotify’s AI DJ it’s building its own AI-powered music identity.

MORE TO KNOW

● Warner Bros Discovery has sued AI startup Midjourney for allegedly stealing its characters to train image tools. The lawsuit claims Midjourney let users generate Batman, Superman, Scooby-Doo, and more in “every imaginable scene.” Warner Bros says the company knowingly lifted protections and ignored copyright at scale. The case follows similar Disney and Universal lawsuits, as studios fight AI-driven piracy. Midjourney, with 21M users and $300M revenue, argues training on copyrighted works is fair use.

● Nvidia warned the proposed AI GAIN Act would hurt global chip competition and U.S. leadership. The bill would force AI chipmakers to prioritize American buyers before foreign customers. If passed, exports of high-performance chips would need licenses and face new caps. Nvidia says the plan solves “a problem that doesn’t exist” and risks stifling innovation worldwide.

STARTUP BAR
Koah raises $5M to bring ads to AI chat apps

AI apps are exploding in popularity, but most developers can’t rely on $20 subscriptions to pay the bills especially outside the U.S. That’s where Koah steps in. The startup just raised $5 million to build an ad network designed specifically for AI chats.

Instead of banner spam, Koah’s ads are meant to slot into conversations at the right moment. Ask about startup strategy, and you might see an UpWork ad for freelance help. Early partners like Luzia, Liner, and DeepAI are already testing it, with clickthrough rates hitting 7.5% and some apps pulling in $10K in the first month.

Koah’s pitch is simple: ads are the missing monetization layer for consumer AI. Subscriptions alone lead to churn, and while nobody wants a chatbot plastered with display ads, context-aware sponsored replies could make AI apps sustainable even useful. Investors like Forerunner are betting that if consumer AI scales globally, advertising will be what keeps the lights on.