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Google’s New AI “Little Language Experiments” Teaches You to Talk Like a Local

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Google just launched a new AI-powered experiment aimed at helping people learn new languages and it’s coming straight for Duolingo’s turf.

Google Labs debuted a set of tools this week called Little Language Experiments, powered by its Gemini AI model. The goal? Make language learning faster, more natural, and a lot less formal.

The trio of bite-sized tools includes:

  • Tiny Lesson: Teaches phrases for real-life scenarios, like asking for help at the airport or dealing with a lost passport
  • Slang Hang: Generates realistic conversations between native speakers, with hoverable slang and cultural context
  • Word Cam: Uses your phone camera to identify objects and label them in the language you’re learning

All of it runs on Gemini, Google’s multimodal large language model that handles text, images, and more. It’s the same tech powering other Google AI features across Search, Workspace, and Android.

What’s changing

Learning a new language isn’t just about memorizing vocabulary, it’s about sounding like a real human. And that’s exactly what Google is targeting.

Most platforms (yes, including Duolingo) leave learners speaking in overly formal or robotic ways. With tools like Slang Hang, Google wants to bridge the gap between textbook learning and real-life fluency.

In Google’s own words: “These experiments aren’t about replacing traditional study, but about complementing it: helping people build habits, stay engaged, and weave learning into their everyday lives.”

Meanwhile, Duolingo is going full AI:

  • Just announced 148 new AI-generated courses, nearly doubling its library
  • Replacing human contractors with AI “where it makes sense”
  • Using generative AI to support hiring and performance reviews

Duolingo has been leaning on AI since introducing its Max subscription tier in 2023. Now it’s ramping up even further, but not everyone’s happy.

The real question

Google wants Gemini to be your new language coach. Duolingo wants AI to build and run its entire classroom.

As both tech giants bet big on AI, the real question is: Will anyone still want to learn from a human?

The post Google’s New AI “Little Language Experiments” Teaches You to Talk Like a Local appeared first on DailyAI.

AI Thumbnails Are Ruining Fortnite Discovery, But Epic Doesn’t Care

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AI-generated thumbnails are taking over Fortnite’s user-generated Discovery feed, and Epic Games says it won’t be policing them anytime soon.

Fortnite’s main menu is often the first impression millions of players have. Increasingly, that screen is flooded with AI-created art, sometimes generic, sometimes questionable. Despite community backlash, Epic is staying hands-off.

“We don’t really care what tool you use to make your thumbnails,” said Dan Walsh, product management director at Epic. “All we care about is whether or not it’s compliant with our rules.”

Quick facts

Epic admits AI detection is becoming “increasingly difficult to the point where it’s probably going to become unenforceable.”

No crackdown planned, even as some AI thumbnails reuse copyrighted content or appear low-quality.

Epic does not use AI to generate its own skins or assets, and says it won’t.

Photo by Oberon Copeland @veryinformed.com on Unsplash

Human-first philosophy

Executive VP Saxs Persson reaffirmed that Epic still believes humans create the best results. “Do we feel like we need to start making Fortnite outfits using AI models? No,” he said.

AI art is evolving fast, and so are debates around quality, originality, and ownership. Epic’s choice to let AI thumbnails flood Discovery could shape how generative content gets moderated across the broader creator economy.

Fortnite’s front page might look messier, but Epic’s focus is rule compliance, not the tools.

That means AI art (like it or not) is here to stay.

The post AI Thumbnails Are Ruining Fortnite Discovery, But Epic Doesn’t Care appeared first on DailyAI.

California’s Bar Exam Was Written by AI And It Was a Total Disaster

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The State Bar of California admitted that 23 questions on the February 2025 bar exam were created with artificial intelligence, and not by lawyers.

The bar now says it will ask the California Supreme Court to adjust scores after the test was also marred by technical meltdowns.

This was a high-stakes licensing exam; the gatekeeper to becoming a lawyer. But it was riddled with AI-written questions, system crashes, and student lawsuits.

  • 171 total scored multiple-choice questions
  • 100 were from Kaplan
  • 48 came from an old first-year exam
  • 23 were AI-assisted, developed by ACS Ventures
  • $8.25M: Kaplan’s contract
  • $22M: State Bar’s budget deficit

The backlash

Legal educators are outraged.

“Having the questions drafted by non-lawyers using artificial intelligence is just unbelievable,” said Mary Basick, assistant dean at UC Irvine Law.

“It’s a staggering admission,” added Katie Moran, a law professor at USF. “The same company that used AI also approved its own questions.”

Test-takers in February reported:

  • Platform crashes
  • Inability to save essays
  • Copy-paste errors
  • Nonsensical or typo-riddled questions

Meazure Learning, the testing platform provider, is now facing lawsuits from students.

The bigger focus

AI is already changing the legal world. But lack of oversight and cost-cutting turned this experiment into a disaster. Dean Andrew Perlman of Suffolk Law says AI could help in test creation, but only if experts carefully vet the output.

“In the future, we’ll worry about the competence of lawyers who don’t use AI,” Perlman predicted.

What’s next:

  • Supreme Court review of score adjustments
  • A May 5 meeting on further remedies
  • No decision yet on returning to traditional exams

The legal profession just got a reality check. AI might be the future, but it’s not ready to grade the bar.

The post California’s Bar Exam Was Written by AI And It Was a Total Disaster appeared first on DailyAI.

Visa and Mastercard Just Gave AI the Power to Shop and Pay for You

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The world’s top payment giants are betting big on AI. This week, Visa and Mastercard unveiled major initiatives that will let AI agents shop, make decisions, and complete purchases on your behalf; a major leap into what’s being called agentic commerce.

This is more than a tech upgrade. It’s a radical shift in how consumers will interact with the online marketplace. Instead of browsing or adding items to your cart, AI will soon handle everything from search to payment, based on your preferences.

Visa’s play

Revealed Wednesday at the Visa Global Product Drop, Visa’s new platform enables developers to build AI shopping agents that can search, compare, decide, and spend using Visa’s infrastructure.

“Each consumer sets the limits, and Visa helps manage the rest,” said Jack Forestell, Visa’s Chief Product and Strategy Officer.

The offering includes:

  • AI-ready credit cards with tokenized digital credentials for security
  • Personalized insights (with user consent) to improve agent performance
  • Transaction tools that allow AI to complete purchases within user-defined rules

Photo by CardMapr.nl on Unsplash

Visa is working with a powerhouse list of partners: OpenAI, Microsoft, Anthropic, IBM, Mistral AI, Perplexity, Stripe, and Samsung, among others.

Mastercard’s move

Just one day earlier, Mastercard launched Agent Pay, a tool that lets generative AI agents make purchases directly in the flow of conversation. Imagine chatting with an AI stylist that knows your size, style, and event and buys the perfect outfit for you.

“She can now chat with an AI agent to proactively curate a selection of outfits… and make the purchase,” Mastercard said, describing a 30th birthday planning scenario.

Mastercard is collaborating with Microsoft, IBM, Braintree, and Checkout.com to scale these agentic experiences across industries.

It’s Not Just Them:

New Reality

The age of scrolling and clicking is giving way to delegating. You’ll be able to tell your AI what you need and it will go get it, securely and efficiently. Want it cheap, sustainable, and delivered tomorrow? Your agent will handle it.

AI is becoming your new personal shopper. Visa and Mastercard just opened the door to a future where buying things is as easy as asking, and paying happens behind the scenes with AI doing the heavy lifting.

The post Visa and Mastercard Just Gave AI the Power to Shop and Pay for You appeared first on DailyAI.

BBC Uses AI to Resurrect Agatha Christie as Your Personal Writing Coach

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BBC Studios and the Agatha Christie estate just pulled off something straight out of a mystery novel: they’ve brought the legendary crime writer back to life using AI.

Writers can now learn directly from the best-selling author of all time, not through textbooks, but via AI-enhanced video lessons where Christie appears to teach, speak, and guide.

BBC Maestro’s new writing course uses:

  • AI-generated visuals based on licensed images
  • Restored archival audio
  • A carefully trained actress (Vivien Keene)
  • Christie’s actual words, pieced together by top scholars

“We meticulously pieced together Agatha Christie’s own words from her letters, interviews and writings,” said Dr. Mark Aldridge, one of the Christie experts behind the project.

Reality check

Christie died in 1976. Her appearance and voice in the course are digital reconstructions — a blend of acting, AI, and historical material. The course isn’t AI-written; the words come straight from her documented thoughts on writing.

Behind the curtain:

  • The AI can’t fully function without Keene’s performance, which was matched biometrically to Christie’s features.
  • Keene studied rare Christie footage to replicate her subtle mannerisms.
  • The voice was “re-speeched” to combine Keene’s cadence with the real Christie’s tone.

The move comes amid rising fears about AI in creative industries. James Prichard, Christie’s great-grandson and CEO of Agatha Christie Ltd., acknowledged the risk: “I’d be lying if I said there weren’t worries… But this wasn’t written by AI. It’s a faithful restoration of her insights, delivered in a way that will reach more people.”

Legacy meets innovation

BBC Studios is positioning this as a model for ethical AI. Nicki Sheard, head of brands and licensing, said it represents “meaningful innovation” that respects legacy while using tech to inspire new storytellers.

Whether you’re a fan of Hercule Poirot or a new writer chasing plot twists, the queen of crime is ready to mentor. Thanks to cutting-edge tech and a lot of archival digging.

The course is available via BBC Maestro, a paid educational streaming platform.

The post BBC Uses AI to Resurrect Agatha Christie as Your Personal Writing Coach appeared first on DailyAI.

Natasha Lyonne to Direct AI-Powered Sci-Fi Film That Could Redefine Hollywood

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New film “Uncanny Valley” will be built using generative AI trained on fully licensed data.

Natasha Lyonne, star of Poker Face and Russian Doll, is set to direct and star in a new sci-fi film titled Uncanny Valley; a bold experiment in blending human creativity with generative AI.

The film, co-written with The OA’s Brit Marling and backed by AI-centric studio Asteria, will use AI-generated visuals powered by a so-called “ethical” AI model named Marey.

Big news

This is one of the first major Hollywood projects to embrace generative AI as part of its creative core, not just behind the scenes. And it’s doing so at a time when the entertainment industry is deeply divided over AI’s impact on artists’ rights and creative integrity.

Uncanny Valley follows a teenage girl whose world unravels after becoming hooked on a wildly popular AR video game. It will mix live-action with AI-generated virtual environments, designed in part by tech pioneer Jaron Lanier, a longtime VR expert and AI critic.

The visuals will be created using Marey, a generative AI model built by Moonvalley and marketed as one of the first trained solely on copyright-cleared, licensed content. Asteria, co-founded by Lyonne and filmmaker Bryn Mooser, says it’s prioritizing creative ownership and ethical sourcing in contrast to models from OpenAI and others.

Lyonne’s take

She calls the film a blend of The Matrix and Columbo, saying the creative journey has been “radically expansive.”

“AI can enable bigger visions onscreen, but we must also grapple with its complexities surrounding artists’ rights,” she said.

Beyond the screen

With AI usage already a flashpoint in last year’s Hollywood strikes and more than 400 artists recently slamming OpenAI and Google over copyright concerns, Uncanny Valley arrives at a critical cultural moment. Its “clean AI” pitch could test whether the tech can be used without replacing or exploiting creators.

No release date or platform confirmed. But with Lyonne directing and starring, and Brit Marling co-writing and co-leading, Uncanny Valley is positioned as one of the most high-profile experiments in AI-generated cinema yet.

Hollywood has been dreading the rise of AI and Uncanny Valley may prove it can be an ally, if used responsibly. Or, it could fuel the fire. Either way, it’s a film the industry will be watching closely.

The post Natasha Lyonne to Direct AI-Powered Sci-Fi Film That Could Redefine Hollywood appeared first on DailyAI.

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