AI-Powered news roundup: Edition 26
Our bi-weekly news roundup is designed to keep you informed on the latest developments in AI, all in under 5 minutes.
Source: OpenAI
OpenAI has announced the launch of the OpenAI Academy, a new global initiative aimed at supporting developers and mission-driven organizations using AI to address critical challenges and drive economic growth in their communities. With a focus on low- and middle-income countries, the Academy seeks to democratize access to cutting-edge AI tools, ensuring the benefits of artificial intelligence reach diverse and underserved populations.
The OpenAI Academy program will provide:
The program offers technical training, expert guidance, and $1 million in API credits to help participants build impactful AI solutions across sectors like healthcare, education, agriculture, and finance. It also aims to cultivate a global developer community through knowledge-sharing, innovation contests, and incubator partnerships.
OpenAI highlights past examples like KOBI and I-Stem—organizations leveraging AI to support dyslexic students and blind jobseekers—as proof of the transformative potential of local innovation. By investing in those who understand their communities best, OpenAI hopes to foster sustainable development and broaden the global impact of responsible AI use.
Source: TechCrunch
Canva is doubling down on AI, introducing a robust suite of new features that embed artificial intelligence across its platform. Dubbed Canva AI, the tools aim to enhance everything from design ideation to interactive app creation. The company’s new AI assistant can generate images, write copy, suggest design layouts, and even build mini-apps using a feature called Canva Code—a capability developed in partnership with Anthropic.
These updates align Canva more closely with enterprise-level design platforms like Adobe, as it also expands its feature set with AI photo editing tools, including one-click object editing and a smart background generator. For business users, Canva is launching Canva Sheets, an AI-enhanced spreadsheet tool with data integrations and auto-generated branded charts powered by features like Magic Insights and Magic Charts.
While Canva frames these upgrades as empowering tools for creativity, the broader industry context remains complex. Artists and designers continue to raise concerns about AI's role in creative work, particularly around job security and the use of existing artwork to train models. Nevertheless, Canva sees AI as a collaborative force rather than a replacement—one that can unlock new opportunities across roles and industries.
Source: WordPress Blog
WordPress.com has launched a new AI-powered website builder, enabling users to create fully functional websites using a chat-style interface — no coding required. Aimed at freelancers, bloggers, and small business owners, the tool walks users through site creation by prompting them to describe their website idea in plain language. From there, the AI generates a customized site complete with layout, text, and images, which users can further edit manually or by chatting with the AI.
While the tool is not yet designed for complex sites like e-commerce platforms, it streamlines basic site creation and offers a free trial of 30 prompts. After that, users must upgrade to a hosting plan, starting at $96/year for the Premium tier, which includes unlimited AI prompts, a free domain for a year, and access to premium themes and support.
