Scientists developing AI tool to assess car repairs to aid insurance industry
Professor Mohammed Bader of the University of Portsmouth's Ai and Data Science Centre, said the system would provide a 'technical benchmark' for the industry.
He said: 'This project will combine machine learning and computer vision to develop AI powered systems that bring together engineers' practical expertise with cutting-edge technology.'
Graham Roberts, chief commercial officer at ABL 1 Touch, said the tool would provide a standard for assessing damage across the industry, giving the company a competitive advantage.
He said: 'We work in a fast-paced industry that is driven by substantially varying vehicle damage types from many sources.
'Therefore, it is paramount that we find new and innovative ways to identify, prioritise and schedule work into our sites.
'The need to generate scalable solutions that remove single-person dependencies and work on mass data learning protocols is something we embrace as a forward-thinking business.'
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The Guardian
40 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘AI doesn't know what an orgasm sounds like': audiobook actors grapple with the rise of robot narrators
When we think about what makes an audiobook memorable, it's always the most human moments: a catch in the throat when tears are near, or words spoken through a real smile. A Melbourne actor and audiobook narrator, Annabelle Tudor, says it's the instinct we have as storytellers that makes narration such a primal, and precious, skill. 'The voice betrays how we're feeling really easily,' she says. But as an art form it may be under threat. In May the Amazon-owned audiobook provider Audible announced it would allow authors and publishers to choose from more than 100 voices created by artificial intelligence to narrate audiobooks in English, Spanish, French and Italian, with AI translation of audiobooks expected to be available later in the year – news that was met with criticism and curiosity across the publishing industry. In Australia, where there are fewer audiobook companies and where emerging actors like Tudor rely on the work to supplement their incomes, there is growing concern about job losses, transparency and quality. While Tudor, who has narrated 48 books, isn't convinced that AI can do what she does just yet, she is worried that the poor quality may turn people away from the medium. 'I've narrated really raunchy sex scenes – AI doesn't know what an orgasm sounds like,' she says. 'Birth scenes as well – I'd love to know how they plan on getting around that.' According to a 2024 report by NielsenIQ Bookdata, more than half of Australian audiobook consumers increased their listening over the past five years. Internationally there was a 13% increase in US audiobook sales between 2023 and 2024; in the UK audiobook revenue shot up to a new high of £268m, a 31% increase on 2023, the Publishers Association said. As demand for audio content grows, companies are looking for faster – and cheaper – ways to make it. In January 2023 Apple launched a new audiobook catalogue of audiobooks narrated by AI. Later that year Amazon announced that self-published, US-based authors with works on Kindle could turn their ebooks into audiobooks using AI 'virtual voice' technology – and there are now tens of thousands of these computer-generated audiobooks available through Audible. And in February this year, as part of a more general shift towards audiobooks, Spotify said it would be accepting AI audiobooks to 'lower the barrier to entry' for authors hoping to find more readers. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Audible says its aims are similar: to complement, not replace, human narration, allowing more authors and more titles to reach bigger audiences. In the US Audible is also testing a voice replica for audiobook narrators, to create dupes of their own voices that will 'empower participants to expand their production capabilities for high-quality audiobooks'. 'In 2023 and 2024, Audible Studios hired more [human] narrators than ever before,' an Audible spokesperson told the Guardian. 'We continue to hear from creators who want to make their work available in audio, reaching new audiences across languages.' But robot narrators will always be cheaper than humans – and people in the voice acting and book industries fear a move to AI could pose a threat to workers. Dorje Swallow's career as a narrator took off after he began voicing novels by the Australian bestselling crime author Chris Hammer – and the actor has now narrated about 70 audiobooks. Swallow believes AI narration is a tool created by people who 'don't understand the value, technique and skills' required to produce quality audiobooks. 'We've done the hard yards and then some to get where we are, and to think you can just press a button and you're going to get something of similar, or good enough quality, is kind of laughable,' he says. Simon Kennedy, the president of the Australian Association of Voice Actors, says there has always been a battle over how much a narrator deserves to be paid in Australia. For every finished hour of an audiobook, a narrator might spend double or triple that time recording it – and that doesn't include an initial read to understand the book and its characters. Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion 'My personal opinion is that [introducing AI narrators] is going for volume over quality – and it's looking to cheapen the process,' he says. Kennedy founded the Australian Association of Voice Actors in 2024 in response to the threat being posed by AI. In a submission to a parliamentary committee last year the organisation said 5,000 Australian voice acting jobs were at risk. He was hardly surprised about Audible's announcement but says he thinks it's a 'pretty dumb move'. 'An audiobook narrator has such a special and intimate relationship with the listener that to try and do anything that is less connective is a foolish move,' he says. As for the opportunity to clone their own voices, he says voice actors should have the right to engage – but they shouldn't expect 'any near the same pay rate, and they risk turning their unique timbre – their vocal brand – into a mass-produced robot voice that listeners get sick of listening to pretty quickly.'. 'If an emotionless narration at a consistent volume is all you need for 'high-quality', then sure,' he says. 'But if engaging, gripping, edge-of-your-seat storytelling is your version of high-quality, then don't hold your breath for AI to give you that.' Another major concern is Australia's lack of AI regulation. While the EU has its own AI Act, and China and Spain have labelling laws for AI-generated content, Australia is falling behind. 'There are no laws to prevent data scraping or non-consenting cloning of voices, or of creating deepfakes of people,' Kennedy says. 'There are also no labelling laws or laws to mandate watermarking of AI-generated content and its origins; no laws to mandate transparency of training data; and no laws to dictate the appropriate use of AI-generated deepfakes, voice clones or text.' This year the Burial Rites and Devotion author, Hannah Kent, was one of many acclaimed Australian writers shocked to discover their pirated work had been used to train Meta's AI systems. She says while her initial reaction to the introduction of AI into creative spaces tends to be 'refusal and outrage', she's curious about Audible's AI announcement – specifically its plans to roll out beta testing for AI to translate text into different languages. 'I think it's fairly obvious that the main reason to use AI would be for costs, and I think that's going to cheapen things in a literal sense and cheapen things in a creative sense – in that sense of us honouring the storytelling, artistic and creative impulse,' Kent says. Tudor and Swallow believe big companies will struggle to replace human narration completely, partly because many Australian authors will oppose it. But whether or not listeners will be able to tell the difference remains to be seen. 'The foot is on the pedal to drive straight into dystopia,' Tudor says. 'Can we just listen to people instead of robots?'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Microsoft confirms major job cuts
Microsoft has confirmed it will cut around 4 percent of its global workforce as it ramps up investments in artificial intelligence. The tech giant will slash around 9,000 jobs across different teams, geographies and levels of experience, the company said on Wednesday. 'We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,' Microsoft said in a statement. It is the fourth round of layoffs at Microsoft this year following the cutting of 1 percent of its headcount in January, 6,000 further job cuts in May and 300 more in June. In April, Microsoft said it planned to use third-party firms to handle more sales of software to small and mid-size customers. The company had a global headcount of 228,000 at the end of June 2024. Microsoft has a market capitalization of over $3 trillion - the biggest in the world - but it is looking to rein in costs as it funnels billions into its ambitious bet on artificial intelligence. The news comes days after Amazon's CEO announced brutal workforce cuts as the company also increases its use of AI. Amazon boss Andy Jassy said he plans to reduce the company's corporate workforce over the next few years as the tech will make certain roles redundant. Jassy told employees in a note seen by the Wall Street Journal that AI was a once-in-a-lifetime technological advancement and it has already transformed how Amazon operates. 'As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done,' he wrote in the memo. It is not yet clear how many workers will lose their jobs and when the cuts will come. 'It's hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce,' Jassy explained. Those close to the matter told the outlet that a large chunk of the decrease in headcount would hopefully occur via attrition. This means as employees move on their roles will not be filled. However, this will not cover all of the reductions and layoffs are still expected to occur at some point. Amazon is the second largest employer in the country and is seen as a bellwether for employment stability. The company has already slowed hiring, suggesting AI is already influencing the company's staffing needs. It is also clear the company is betting big on the new technology, after it revealed plans to splash $100 billion on data centers that AI depends on. It comes as Americans grow increasingly concerned about the impact of AI on the jobs market.
Finextra
2 hours ago
- Finextra
Remark raises $16 million for AI-based online shopping assistant
Remark, the company building human-trained AI product experts for commerce, today announced a $16 million Series A funding round. 0 The round was led by Inspired Capital, with participation from Stripe, Neo, Spero Ventures, Shine Capital, and Visible Ventures, bringing the company's total funding to $27 million. Despite trillions spent on e-commerce infrastructure, the single most effective driver of sales — the in-store expert — has never been replicated online. Shoppers crave personalized guidance, and when they receive it, they convert at staggering rates. Merchants that deliver tailored product advice see meaningfully higher conversion rates, larger order values, and reduced return rates. Remark brings this high-converting experience online, turning passive browsing into confident buying through AI personas trained by over 60,000 human product experts and counting. Remark's language models are trained on the knowledge, tone, and preferences of Olympic athletes, stylists, estheticians, new parents, and more. These insights become always-on digital advisors embedded directly in brand storefronts. Unlike generic chatbots or large language models fine-tuned on public data, Remark's personas are trained on the anecdotes and personal knowledge of subject-matter experts. The result is warm, informed guidance that helps customers find the right products and delivers the kind of personalized, high-touch experience shoppers expect in store. 'We believe AI should elevate the human experience, not replace it,' said Theo Satloff, CEO and co-founder of Remark. 'By working with real product experts to train AI personas, we're creating guidance that's trusted, helpful, and deeply personal. Our goal is to make online shopping feel less like a transaction and more like being guided by someone who truly understands what you need.' Since its funding last year, Remark has grown revenue 4x year-over-year, maintained 100% retention across more than 60 brand partners, and achieved nearly 130% net dollar retention. Remark has driven tens of millions in net new revenue for its customers, delivering an average lift of 10%, and has converted 28% of shoppers — far above the industry average of 1%. It has also helped brands save over $3.2 million in customer service costs by reducing support tickets and guiding shoppers to the right fit more efficiently. 'Remark is redefining how brands connect with customers,' said Kamran Ali, Principal at Inspired Capital. 'They've created an entirely new category of AI-native commerce, one that blends real human expertise with scalable technology. Remark is proving that this model not only improves the shopping experience, but also directly drives business results.' As shoppers increasingly expect deeper guidance in categories like health, beauty, apparel, and outdoor gear, Remark gives merchants a competitive edge by combining the revenue driving power of human retail sales associates with the speed and scale of AI. With this new funding, Remark will expand into new verticals, grow its expert network, and deepen its tooling for training, deployment, and analytics. The company is also building new systems to help brands launch AI personas faster, measure performance in real time, and adapt to shifting customer needs.
