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- Spotify and Major Music Companies Unite to Build “Artist-First” AI Tools 🎶
Spotify and Major Music Companies Unite to Build “Artist-First” AI Tools 🎶
How to use the new AI makeup feature in Google Meet
Gina Acosta
October 16, 2025
In partnership with
Welcome to another edition of Horizon AI,
There were rumors floating around about an AI partnership between Spotify and some of the biggest record labels, and now, it’s finally official.
Let’s jump into it!
Read Time: 4.5 min
Here's what's new today in the Horizon AI
Spotify Teams with Major Labels to Build “Artist-First” AI Music Tools
Anthropic Launches Claude Haiku 4.5
AI Tutorial: How to use the new AI makeup feature in Google Meet
AI Tools to check out
AI Findings/Resources
The Latest in AI and Tech 💡
AI News
SPOTIFY
Spotify Teams with Major Labels to Build “Artist-First” AI Music Tools
Spotify has struck deals with Sony, Universal, Warner, and Merlin to develop “responsible AI” products that respect copyright and give creators the choice to opt in.
Details:
Spotify hasn’t shared any details on how the new tools will function, though the company already offers other generative AI experiences for users such as the AI DJ and prompt-based playlisting.
The music platform announced it is creating a “state-of-the-art generative AI research lab and product team focused on developing technologies that reflect our principles and deliver breakthrough experiences for fans and artists.”
Those principles include developing new tools through upfront agreements — not by asking for forgiveness later — ensuring choice in participation (artists should be able to decide if and how they engage with the AI music ecosystem), guaranteeing fair compensation and new revenue streams, and maintaining that AI tools will not replace human artistry.
The platform will also adopt DDEX labeling so tracks clearly indicate when AI was involved in their creation.
Spotify was recently criticized after an AI band went viral, prompting the company to revamp its AI policy to combat mass AI uploads, duplicates, and ranking manipulation. Still, Spotify is betting that AI will play a key role in the future of the music industry.
TOGETHER WITH RIPPLING
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ANTHROPIC
Anthropic Launches Claude Haiku 4.5
Anthropic released Claude Haiku 4.5, the newest version of its smallest model, promising Sonnet 4–like performance at one-third the cost and more than twice the speed.
Details:
Benchmarks show Haiku 4.5 at 73% on SWE-Bench verified and 41% on Terminal-Bench which is below Sonnet 4.5 but on par with Sonnet 4, GPT‑5, and Gemini 2.5 on coding and CLI tasks.
Anthropic says tool use, computer use, and visual reasoning scores track closely with larger models.
Claude Haiku 4.5 is available to Anthropic’s free users, and it’s now the cheapest model available to paid users. Ideal for users looking for fast, accurate answers.
This version of Haiku seems to be a big jump from the previous one, which was released in October 2024, and the company is reportedly working on another model expected by the end of the year that will likely be an updated version of Opus.
AI Tutorial
How to use the new AI makeup feature in Google Meet
Open meet.google.com.
Before joining a meeting, at the bottom of your self-view, click Backgrounds and effects > Appearance.
Under “Makeup,” select the looks you want to apply. You can choose from 12 options in the main collection, available on both web and mobile.
To select or remove stacked effects, click Turn off visual effects at the bottom right of your self-view.
The AI-powered makeup remains seamless and natural, even during everyday movements such as sipping your coffee or touching your face.
*Note: This feature is available to Google Workspace customers on Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Starter, Standard, and Plus, Education Plus, Teaching and Learning add-on, Enterprise Essentials, as well as to paying Google One and Workspace Individual subscribers.
AI Tools to check out
📧 Mailmodo: Run your complete email marketing with just one prompt.
📹 TightStudio: Record your screen and make a beautiful demo without complex editing.
📜 Scroll: Create and share AI subject matter experts - in minutes.
🎙️ Scrybe Voice: turns your spoken thoughts into crafted, viral posts.
✨ Modul: Create good-looking presentations quickly.
AI Findings/Resources
✅ A comprehensive AI video tutorial on how to make viral videos using Sora and Veo 3
👀 Researchers find that retraining only small parts of AI models can cut costs and prevent forgetting
✅ How a developer used Google Gemini to replace his Kanban board
TOGETHER WITH INTERCOM
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The latest in AI and Tech
Google Deepmind and Yale University used a new AI system, C2S-Scale 27B, built on the open Gemma model family, to identify a potential cancer therapy.
The model discovered that the drug silmitasertib (CX-4945) can act as a “conditional enhancer,” making tumor cells more visible to the immune system under certain conditions.
The app’s first “AI Lab” tool can automatically remove unwanted objects or people by blending them with the background, similar to tools in Photoshop and Google Photos.
An AI image upscaler is also coming soon, designed to boost resolution and detail while keeping colors and composition accurate.
Ke Yang, who was recently appointed to lead the company's AI-driven web search effort, has left the company for Meta.
Her exit follows several others from Apple’s AI and machine learning division, including former head of AI models Rouming Pang and multiple team members who joined Meta’s new Superintelligence Labs.
The largest U.S. labor federation, representing 63 unions and nearly 15 million workers, has launched a “workers first initiative on AI.”
The AFL-CIO is urging employers and lawmakers to strengthen collective bargaining, regulate AI’s impact on jobs, and involve workers in AI development.
The company pitches Apps as an ever-growing collection of use-case-specific workflows that let users create great outputs more quickly and easily.
That’s a wrap!
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Gina 👩🏻💻