Future+ Fridays | Issue64
Chanel backs the future of creative education
Happy Friday! I am looking forward to being in LA from tomorrow for the annual global Milken Institute conference. As the world’s largest think tank, this year they have a particular focus on how luxury, media, entertainment and culture are shaping the economic outlook and trends for the year. Will report back from my experience!
In this week’s news, Chanel's backing a high-tech future for creative education by funding a new Center for Art and Technology at CalArts, a look at the UAE being the first nation to use AI to write its laws and aims to boost efficiency by 70%, BuzzFeed integrates AI-powered shopping into editorial content in partnership with Shopsense AI. ChatGPT introduces an AI-powered shopping assistant allowing users to search, compare, and shop — all through conversation, and artist Dima Yarovinsky’s newest installation, I Agree, turns digital terms of service from Facebook, Instagram, and others into floor-length scrolls.
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📖 In this week’s issue-
BuzzFeed integrates AI-powered shopping into editorial content
Artist visualises the overwhelming length of social media terms of service
📅 Upcoming events on our calendar
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1. Chanel backs high-tech future of creative education
What’s Happening: Chanel is funding a new Center for Art and Technology at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), an initiative that fuses artificial intelligence, machine learning, and digital media with experimental artistic practices. This cross-disciplinary space will offer students and fellows access to cutting-edge tools, mentorship, and new research opportunities, cultivating a new generation of creators who are equally fluent in visual storytelling, computational logic, and cultural critique. CalArts will also act as a global incubator, connecting academic inquiry with industry innovation at the highest level.
TLDR:
Chanel is funding long-term cultural infrastructure, signalling a shift from surface-level collaborations to deep institutional partnerships with global impact.
At CalArts, AI and machine learning will be embedded into the creative process, giving artists access to systems that can expand imagination, augment technique, and challenge the boundaries of what art can be and become.
The Center will help cultivate artists who can prototype in code, collaborate with machines, and design at the frontier of culture and computation.
Why It Matters: The investment from Chanel reflects a broader trend and reality where the future of luxury is not only about product — it’s about relevance. As digital culture accelerates and the boundaries between art, design, and technology collapse, legacy brands must do more than respond. They must build. By backing this high-tech creative center, Chanel is not only amplifying its cultural credibility — it’s laying a foundation for the next wave of storytellers, makers, and thinkers who will define what creativity looks like in the AI age. This is more than patronage. It’s strategy.
2. UAE to become first nation to use AI to write its laws
What’s Happening: The United Arab Emirates has announced it will become the first nation to use artificial intelligence to draft, review, and amend its federal laws. This initiative is being led by a new cabinet-level body called the Regulatory Intelligence Office, which will oversee how AI integrates into the legislative process. The system will analyse vast datasets — including existing laws, court rulings, and public service performance — to enhance the speed, precision, and adaptability of lawmaking.
TLDR:
The UAE is pioneering the use of AI not just to assist lawmakers but to actively participate in the drafting and refining of legal frameworks.
The newly created Regulatory Intelligence Office will supervise the AI's implementation, ensuring proper oversight, accountability, and ethical integration.
Using legal and civic datasets, the AI will propose legal language and revisions that are both efficient and contextually aware.
The UAE expects this approach will cut legislative drafting time by 70% and reduce costs by half, positioning the nation as a global leader in AI-powered governance.
Why It Matters: This marks a radical shift in how laws are conceived and implemented. As governments around the world explore digital transformation, the UAE is pushing into uncharted territory: treating legislation as an evolving system that can be optimised like code. While the move could dramatically streamline bureaucracy, it also opens urgent conversations around transparency, democratic accountability, and the role of human judgment in shaping society’s rules.
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3. BuzzFeed integrates AI-powered shopping into editorial content
Courtesy of Retail Technology Innovation Hub & BuzzFeed
What’s Happening:
BuzzFeed has partnered with Shopsense AI to embed real-time, context-aware product recommendations directly into its editorial content. This integration utilises Shopsense's AI-powered Commerce Operating System to analyse article and image content, offering readers seamless shopping experiences within lifestyle, fashion, and entertainment articles. The initiative aims to provide BuzzFeed's 71 million monthly U.S. visitors with relevant product suggestions that align with the content they're consuming.
TLDR:
BuzzFeed articles now feature AI-generated product carousels that suggest items based on the content's context, enhancing the reader's experience by offering immediate shopping options.
The platform includes fully sponsored modules showcasing curated collections from specific retailers or brands, providing targeted advertising opportunities.
Shopsense's system continuously updates product selections in real-time, considering factors like inventory levels, promotions, and payment options such as Buy Now, Pay Later, ensuring the shopping experience remains current and user-friendly.
Why It Matters: This collaboration signifies a shift in digital media, where content consumption and e-commerce converge. By integrating shopping capabilities into editorial content, BuzzFeed not only diversifies its revenue streams but also enhances user engagement. The partnership reflects a broader trend of media companies leveraging AI to transform passive content consumption into interactive, commerce-driven experiences.
4. ChatGPT introduces an AI-powered shopping assistant
Courtesy of BBC & OpenAI
What’s Happening: OpenAI has rolled out a new shopping feature in ChatGPT, enabling users to receive personalised product recommendations directly through the chatbot. This enhancement allows users to search for, compare prices, and purchase products seamlessly within the ChatGPT interface. The feature is accessible to all users, including those without accounts, and aims to rival traditional shopping platforms by offering a more conversational and intuitive shopping experience.
TLDR:
ChatGPT now provides tailored product suggestions based on user preferences, enhancing the shopping experience.
Users can view product images, prices, and reviews, and are directed to retailers' websites to complete purchases.
Unlike some platforms, ChatGPT's product recommendations are organic and not influenced by paid promotions.
The shopping feature is available to all users, including those on free tiers and without logged-in accounts.
Visa and Mastercard have both announced initiatives to open their networks to AI-driven payment tools, signalling a major shift in how transactions may be processed in the near future. These developments suggest the foundations of a new AI-powered shopping and payment ecosystem.
Why It Matters: This development signifies a shift in online shopping, where AI-driven tools like ChatGPT offer a more personalised and conversational approach to product discovery. By integrating shopping capabilities, ChatGPT not only enhances user engagement but also positions itself as a competitor to traditional search engines and shopping platforms. The move reflects a broader trend of AI applications transforming various aspects of consumer behaviour and digital commerce.
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5. Artist visualises the overwhelming length of social media terms of service
Courtesy of Design Boom
What’s Happening: Designer Dima Yarovinsky latest installation, titled "I Agree," highlights the length and complexity of terms of service agreements for popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tinder. As part of an infographics course at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Yarovinsky printed these agreements on coloured A4 paper rolls using standard legal contract font size and typeface. When displayed in a gallery setting, some of these scrolls extend from the wall onto the floor, emphasising their extensive length.
TLDR:
The project transforms abstract digital agreements into tangible, physical forms, making the sheer volume of these documents impossible to ignore.
By showcasing the time it would take to read these terms—up to 86 minutes for Instagram's 17,161-word policy—Yarovinsky underscores how users often consent without understanding.
The installation serves as a commentary on the imbalance between tech corporations and users, pointing out how individuals often feel powerless against these entities.
Why It Matters: Yarovinsky's "I Agree" brings attention to the often-overlooked issue of digital consent and the complexities hidden within terms of service agreements. In an era where data privacy is complicated to navigate, this project challenges viewers to consider the implications of blindly accepting lengthy legal documents without comprehension. It serves as a call to action for greater transparency and user empowerment in the digital age.
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