The biggest news this week is the release of GPT-5.2, a highly advanced AI model excelling in coding, knowledge work, and complex math tasks. It is now available to paid OpenAI users on chatgpt.com. In a groundbreaking partnership, OpenAI has teamed up with Disney to bring beloved Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars characters to Sora, an AI platform that allows users to create short, fan-inspired social videos featuring these iconic IPs. This three-year licensing deal includes a billion-dollar investment from Disney into OpenAI, marking a significant collaboration. However, concerns remain about potential misuse of Disney characters in inappropriate content, given the challenges of controlling AI-generated outputs.
In a related development, Disney sent a cease and desist letter to Google, accusing the tech giant of widespread copyright infringement by using Disney’s copyrighted works without authorization to train AI models. This legal move highlights Disney’s commitment to protecting its intellectual property and underscores the strategic alliance with OpenAI. Disney’s CEO Bob Iger and OpenAI’s Sam Altman publicly discussed the deal and the legal action on CNBC, emphasizing the stalled licensing talks with Google and the significance of their partnership with OpenAI.
Time magazine revealed its 2025 Person of the Year as the architects of artificial intelligence, featuring prominent figures like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, and others who have shaped the AI landscape. Meanwhile, Adobe announced integration of its major products such as Photoshop, Adobe Express, and Acrobat into ChatGPT, enabling users to edit images and documents using natural language commands within the ChatGPT environment. This move positions ChatGPT as a central hub for internet interaction and creative workflows, further solidifying its role as a dominant platform.
On the hardware and AI development front, reports surfaced that China’s Deepseek is allegedly using Nvidia’s banned Blackwell chips, smuggled into China through complex methods, to train its next-generation AI models. This revelation raises concerns about the effectiveness of export bans and the competitive dynamics in AI development. Additionally, Runway ML launched Gen 4.5, a state-of-the-art text-to-video model that produces highly realistic and detailed videos, rivaling other leading AI video generation platforms.
Lastly, Meta is reportedly shifting away from its open-source AI strategy, focusing instead on developing a closed AI model codenamed Avocado, aimed at commercial viability. This pivot follows the underwhelming reception of Llama 4 and involves leveraging third-party models from competitors like Google and OpenAI. Meanwhile, Rivian announced significant updates to its autonomous driving technology, including custom chips, a third-generation compute platform, and the addition of lidar sensors, signaling a move toward more advanced and reliable self-driving capabilities expected by 2026.