Technologies

Creepy or Fun? Vodafone’s New Spokesperson Is AI, Not a Real Person

The company says it’s testing different types of advertising, including an AI character that has appeared in social-media ads.

British telecoms company Vodafone is testing out a new spokesperson who appears as a woman in a red hoodie who speaks German and touts the benefits of high-speed home internet services.

One important note about this influencer: She’s AI-generated.

The character appears in a TikTok video posted three times on Vodafone’s official account, which has received more than two million views collectively. According to The Verge, the video has also appeared as an advertisement on X. In response to comments on the videos, the company said the AI spokesperson was part of various advertising tests it’s conducting.

In one response from the company’s social media team, translated from German, Vodafone said: «We’re trying out different styles. AI is so much a part of everyday life now that we’re trying it out in advertising too.»

A spokesperson (AI or otherwise) for Vodafone did not immediately return an email about the AI advertising.

Just last month, transportation company ScotRail reversed a decision to use an AI-generated voice on its trains after complaints.

Technologies

The iPhone 17 Is Here! Watch the Announcement at the Apple iPhone 17 Event.

Technologies

Claude Can Now Spin Up Spreadsheets, Reports and Slide Decks Directly in Chat

The latest feature is currently in preview for Claude Max, Team and Enterprise customers.

Anthropic is pushing Claude further beyond text-based answers. The AI chatbot can now generate and edit files, including Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, PowerPoint slide decks and PDFs, directly inside Claude.ai and its desktop app. This update will allow Claude to deliver finished, professional files instead of just copy-pasted text.

The feature is currently in preview for Claude Max, Team and Enterprise customers. Pro users will get access in the coming weeks.

Read also: Claude AI Can Now End Conversations It Deems Harmful or Abusive

What this update brings to Claude

Users can now drop in raw data and get back a spreadsheet with formulas, charts and a written summary. Meeting notes can become a polished report or slide presentation. Claude can transform data into slides or a stack of invoices into a spreadsheet. Claude can reportedly build complex assets like financial models or project trackers from scratch, too.

The new functionality is powered by a secure computing environment that lets Claude write code and run programs in the background to assemble files. Anthropic positions the update as a way to shorten the distance between ideas and deliverables. Instead of spending hours cleaning data or formatting documents, customers would use Claude to handle the execution while they focus on strategy and decision-making.

Don’t use sensitive data

There’s an important caveat. Claude connects to the internet while creating and analyzing files, so companies and employees should be cautious about feeding the AI platform sensitive data.

How to get started with Claude’s new file creation feature

Turn on «Upgraded file creation and analysis» in Settings > Features > Experimental.
Upload the files you want Claude to work with or describe your request in the chat.
Collaborate with Claude by giving instructions and refining the output step-by-step.

You can download the results from there or push them straight into Google Drive.

Read also: Claude for Chrome Extension Bakes AI Right Into the Browser

Technologies

Retro Games Fan? Atari’s $180 Gamestation Go Is Up for Preorder

The company says the console will include 200 games and lots of ways to control them.

The venerable video game company Atari is offering preorders for a new game console it previewed earlier this year: The Gamestation Go will release in October for $180 (plus $8 shipping).

On its website, Atari shows off a colorful portable device with a 7-inch screen and multiple ways to control games including trackpads, a trackball and even a numeric keypad. Atari says the console will come bundled with 200 built-in games including Pac-Man, Centipede, Asteroids and Balls of Steel. It includes Wi-Fi connectivity, USB-C ports and a battery life of about 4 to 5 hours, according to the site.

The site also touts «SmartGlow» technology that lights up the section of controller to be used, depending on the game.

This isn’t the first time Atari has packaged up its retro library of games in a way to make them accessible to new audiences. In the last few years, Atari has released throwback versions of its Atari 2600 and Atari 7800 consoles. But the Gamestation is the first Atari mobile console with those games bundled in.

The console has an HDMI port that allows it to be connected to larger screens too.