This Week in AI: Siri, Voice Models, and Safety Brakes
Siri AI, Gemini 3.8 Live, Claude Docs, Jev, Neon, Koa, Astra for Law, OpenAI safety disclosures, and the week’s practical AI news explained.
Blog category
Ai And Automation Posts
Published Colin Michaels blog posts in the Ai And Automation category.
UMG vs. DistroKid: What AI Artists Should Know
I use DistroKid for the Dreadnauts. Here is what UMG alleges, what DistroKid denies, and which distributors accept original AI-assisted music.
This Week in AI: Astra and ChatGPT Images 2.5
GPT-6 Astra, ChatGPT Images 2.5, Meta Muse, OpenAI Agents API, AlphaGenome Atlas, Suno v6, and this week’s practical AI news explained.
Last Year's Next Big Thing Is in an AI Graveyard
A funny, fact-checked tour of retired AI tools, who's behind the shutdowns, and why I'm still calling Astra the next big thing—with a shovel ready.
This Week in AI: GPT-6 Astra, Fable 5.1, Gemini 3.8 and More
GPT-6 Astra, Claude Fable 5.1, Gemini 3.8, Muse Spark 1.3, NVIDIA’s Hugging Face deal, local AI, safety, and school limits explained.
Chat Told Me to Touch Grass. I'm Taking an AI Break
Chat told me to touch grass, so I asked what kind. Here is why I am taking a one-week break from AI in my personal life and returning to reality.
This Week in AI: The Agents Left the Chat Window
This week's AI news in plain English: vision, voice and video models, browser agents, local AI, faster chips, memory controls, and a security report.
How I Brought The Dreadnauts to Life With AI
Behind the scenes of The Dreadnauts: ChatGPT-assisted lyrics, Suno music, audio cleanup, Project Sequencer, videos, website, merch and more.
AI News This Week: Specialized Models & Safety (Aug. 14–20)
Open models, audio and robot tools, OpenAI's Astra pause, and major acquisitions show why AI is becoming specialized tools—not one chatbot race
How to Set Up Gemini for Better AI Chats
A medium-depth guide to setting up Google Gemini with models, thinking levels, instructions, memory, Gems, Canvas, Connected Apps, Deep Research, schedules, and Spark.
How to Set Up Claude for Better AI Chats
A medium-depth guide to setting up Claude with model choice, effort levels, extended thinking, Projects, Skills, Artifacts, Connectors, Research, and Cowork.
The Tools Are Here. Now It Is About Imagination.
AI has put powerful creative tools within reach. Now the real challenge is imagination, taste, persistence, and choosing what is worth building.
Before You Click, Pay, or Panic: A Simple Scam Checklist
AI makes fake messages and voices easier to believe. Use this simple family scam checklist before anyone clicks, pays, shares information, or panics.
ChatGPT Privacy for Beginners: Memory, Temporary Chat, and What To Share
A plain-English guide to ChatGPT privacy habits, including when to use regular chat, memory, memory off, and Temporary Chat.
How to Use ChatGPT Study Mode Without Letting AI Do Your Homework
A plain-English guide for using ChatGPT Study Mode for hints, quizzes, and real learning instead of copy-paste homework answers.
I Tried ChatGPT Live: Why Beginners Should Care
A beginner-friendly look at ChatGPT Live, why voice conversations feel different, and how voice brainstorming can turn into a real blog workflow.
GPT-5.6 and Codex in ChatGPT: New Models Explained
OpenAI released GPT-5.6 and brought Codex deeper into ChatGPT. Here are the verified model differences, key capabilities, and practical reasons they matter.
I Put My AI Blog Pipeline Through Google’s People-First Test
I tested my AI blog pipeline against Google’s people-first guidance and added a questionnaire, visual learning plan, and interactive draft scorecard.
How AI Helps Write My Blog—and Meet Cat Corner
An honest, sarcastic look at how I use AI content pipelines on ColinMichaels.com, why I will share the process, and the new hidden Cat Corner.
5 Everyday ChatGPT Tasks I'd Actually Use as a Regular Person
A plain-English guide to five useful ChatGPT scheduled tasks for reminders, family planning, bills, job searches, small business check-ins, and monitoring.
I Cloned My Voice—Why Families Need a Safe Word
I cloned my voice with open-source Voicebox. Here is how realistic AI speech changes family scam calls—and the callback rule that protects us.
6 AI Sports Apps You Can Try | AI in Sports
Try six AI sports apps for lacrosse, soccer, golf, baseball, tennis, and basketball, then see how professional leagues regulate AI and player data.
ChatGPT Projects: Organize a Family Trip in One Place
See how I’d use one ChatGPT Project to organize a family trip, keep files and chats together, reduce repeated context, and find the next action.
Crash Roboto: Lore, Tech Stack, and Sound Design
Go inside Crash Roboto, our browser-based robot arena game, including its lore, React and Phaser stack, gameplay, sound design, and open-source repo.
Using Shopping Research in ChatGPT Before You Buy
See how I'd use ChatGPT shopping research to compare products, understand trade-offs, narrow the list, and verify the final details before buying.
How I’d Start Learning AI in 2026: A One-Hour Beginner Plan
A calm, practical one-hour AI learning plan using OpenAI Academy: choose one beginner course, try one everyday task, check the result, and stay in control.
How I Built My Auto Blog Workflow: Dictation to Draft
See how my Auto Blog workflow turns ChatGPT dictation into a reviewed Editor.js draft, blog images, SEO metadata, and a CMS-ready JSON import.
ChatGPT Finances: Find Bills and Subscriptions
A regular-person first look at ChatGPT Finances, with a 15-minute subscription check, privacy reminders, accuracy limits, and clear financial boundaries.
Flock Cameras: Who Can Access the Data, and Are They Safe?
Flock cameras can help solve crimes, but who can search the data? A plain-English look at access, real misuse, safeguards, and rules communities need.
Use Gemini to Compare Flights and Hotels Safely
Use Gemini to narrow flight and hotel choices, compare trip trade-offs, protect private details, and verify the exact itinerary before booking.
How to Use AI for Gardening: 7 Practical Home Projects
Use AI to organize houseplants, map sunlight, plan garden beds, build local planting calendars, and check plant problems without trusting guesses.
Suno BMG Deal and Download Limits: What Changes
Suno's new BMG partnership arrives with September download limits, retired models, and new terms. Here is what changes and why I feel torn.
Project Sequencer: A Future Pro DSP Studio
See how Project Sequencer organizes album order, mix candidates, transitions, and mastering decisions, plus the roadmap for a future pro DSP edition.
Get Paid to Read This Post: 5 Legit Ways to Earn Online
Compare five legitimate ways to earn or save money online, including cash back, research studies, user testing, AI training, and freelancing.
How to Set Up ChatGPT for Better AI Chats
A medium-depth guide to setting up ChatGPT with the right model choice, custom instructions, projects, GPTs, apps, deep research, and agent mode.
How to Set Up Copilot for Better AI Chats
A medium-depth guide to setting up Microsoft Copilot with Chat, prompts, Pages, Notebooks, Researcher, Agents, Microsoft 365 context, and privacy-aware workflows.