Hollywood Meets TikTok, but AI Is the Director

Welcome back apprentices! 👋

Ever wish you could star in your own Marvel trailer, TikTok dance, or…accidentally in someone’s cursed meme edit? 

That’s where AI video is headed. 

Big tech is rolling out tools that can drop your face, your voice, and your vibe into videos faster than you can say “wait, did I sign up for this?” 

It’s fun, weird, and maybe a little terrifying — and it’s happening right now.

In today's email

• 🎬 AI video hits your feed, fast

• ⚔️ Sora 2 vs. Veo 3 showdown

• ⚠️ Deepfakes, copyright & “slop”

• 🚀 Why this matters for your work

• + New AI Tool

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Quick News 

🎭 Move over Scarlett. Tilly Norwood, an AI actress with a custom backstory and zero coffee breaks, is reportedly in talks with top Hollywood talent firms. Created by Xicoia (a spin-off of Particle6), Tilly’s debut sketch turned heads — and ruffled real ones. Now, actors are calling for boycotts against any agency daring to sign her. The age of synthetic celebs isn't coming… it's already on the red carpet. As AI stars like Tilly and AI musicians like Xania Monet grab headlines, Hollywood’s human-AI talent war might be just getting its first trailer.

🛍️ Shop While You Chat. OpenAI just launched Instant Checkout in ChatGPT for U.S. users, letting you buy things right in the chat — no more tab-hopping. Partnering with Stripe, it's kicking off with Etsy shops and soon over a million Shopify sellers. The system is powered by an open-source Agentic Commerce Protocol, and while OAI takes a cut from merchants, product picks stay organic (for now 👀).

🕶️ From Headsets to Smart Shades. Apple just paused its lightweight Vision Pro and is now all-in on AI-powered smart glasses to challenge Meta’s Ray-Bans. First up: a 2027 model that pairs with iPhones, followed by versions with built-in displays, voice controls, and upgraded Siri smarts. It’s a clear pivot from bulky headsets to sleek wearables — and a sign Siri’s getting ready to face Meta eye to eye.

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OpenAI 
From Blockbusters to TikTok Loops 

First it was chatbots, then image generators — now Hollywood’s on notice. 

AI video is landing in your feed, and the fight is heating up. 

OpenAI just dropped Sora 2, a big leap forward that cranks out 5–10 second clips with better physics and, for the first time, synchronized audio: full dialogue, sound effects, and background ambience that actually match the visuals.

But the model is only half the story. OpenAI also unveiled a TikTok-style social app where users can star in their own AI clips through “Cameos,” a feature that’s equal parts viral goldmine and potential legal minefield. And they didn’t wait long — this launch comes just days after Meta debuted Vibes, its own AI video feed built around Ray-Ban collabs and Oakley tie-ins. 

The timing says it all: the AI video wars aren’t building slowly; they’re racing to your screen.

📌 Key Points to Know:

• The Tech Leap: Sora 2 handles 5–10 second sequences with cleaner scene changes and fewer “AI dream sludge” moments.
  
  

• Audio Sync: Characters can now speak with lips that actually match the words — no more silent film era vibes.
  
  

• Cameos = Viral Fuel: Record yourself once, and you can pop up in Marvel knockoffs, meme remixes, or whatever the internet dreams up.
  
  

• Copyright & Consent: Copyrighted content will appear by default unless rights holders opt out. Public figures need explicit consent — so no surprise duets with Beyoncé.

Sora 2 vs Veo 3 

If you zoom out, two clear strategies are colliding.

Strategically, the contrast is striking. 

Google positions Veo as a pro-grade filmmaking tool, the digital equivalent of a Hollywood DP. OpenAI has gone full TikTok — chasing virality, remixes, and the dopamine hit of starring in your own AI video loop. 

Even the ecosystems tell the story: Google folds Veo into YouTube’s editing pipelines, while OpenAI is launching an entirely new platform. 

What Could Go Wrong (and Probably Will)

The risks are impossible to ignore. 

Cameos sound fun until your face ends up in a thousand cursed TikToks you never approved. O

penAI’s “opt-out” approach to copyright pushes the burden onto rights holders, almost daring lawsuits to start piling up. And then there’s the slop factor: feeds drowning in AI-generated filler. 

Remember when Facebook was clogged with stock music over random quotes? If Sora clips flood social platforms in the same way, users may tune out just as quickly as they got curious.

The Bigger Picture

Still, dismissing this as a gimmick would be a mistake. The ripple effects could reshape industries. 

For entertainment, indie creators suddenly get Hollywood-level storyboarding tools. For marketing, brands could churn out personalized ads starring you. 

In education and work, pitches, lectures, and training materials could be generated on demand — no studio, no editing software, no budget needed. 

But the societal impact may be the biggest of all: video has long been our proof of truth — pics or it didn’t happen. When any clip could be fake, what happens to trust?

What’s the Deal for You?

This isn’t background noise — it’s the medium you’ll be living in. 

Think about it: Photoshop rewired design, TikTok rewired culture, and now AI video is lining up to rewire everything. 

Whether you’re pitching a startup, running a side hustle, or trying to make your class presentation slightly less soul-crushing, tools like Sora 2 are going to be baked in. Ignore them, and you’re the person still sending PDFs while everyone else is dropping viral mini-movies into Slack. 

Learn them early, and you’re ahead of the curve instead of stuck playing catch-up.

Treat Sora 2 like a sandbox — experiment, remix, and push it until something breaks. 

It’s not about replacing your creativity; it’s about stress-testing what clicks with an audience. Just maybe avoid making your grand debut as “Background Villager #4” in an AI-generated Shrek reboot. The internet forgives many things, but not that.

Help Your Friends Level Up! 🔥

Hey, you didn’t get all this info for nothing — share it! If you know someone who’s diving into AI, help them stay in the loop with this week’s updates.

Sharing is a win-win! Send this to a friend who’s all about tech, and you’ll win a little surprise 👀

Today’s Toolbox

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A playground for your imagination (and low-key prompt skills).

Each send, we give you a customizable DALL·E prompt inspired by a real-world use case — something that could help you in your business or job if you wanted to use it that way. But it’s also just a fun creative experiment.

You tweak it, run it, and send us your favorite. We pick one winner to feature in the next issue.

Bonus: you’re secretly getting better at prompt design. 🤫

👑 The winner is…

Last week, we challenged you to test GPT-4o’s visual generation skills with this prompt.

Here’s the WINNER:

Congrats to Vinny for his creation!🥳

Want to be featured next? Keep those generations coming!

🎨 Prompt: The Skybridge Between Eras

Design a colossal suspended skybridge that connects two dramatically different cities: one representing the past, and one the future of [your industry or domain]. The bridge is made of advanced composite materials and lined with interactive panels that change based on the direction you walk. Below, clouds swirl between eras. Above, drones ferry artifacts from one side to the other.
Style: ultra-wide cinematic render, sweeping scale, high realism, bold lighting contrasts (warm vintage vs cold futuristic), architectural precision.

We’ll be featuring the best generations in our next edition!

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