Product & Design Pulse v50

AI in Everything 🤖

Author

Malcom Jones
July 28, 2025

Welcome to this week’s edition of Product & Design Pulse, where we explore the latest in tech, product, design, and innovation! Pew Research revealed that AI summaries in Google search results are significantly reducing user clicks on traditional links—up to 45%—raising alarm bells for publishers. SoftBank is reportedly eyeing an investment in OpenAI as it revamps its AI strategy, while Meta unveiled an experimental wristband that interprets neural signals for controlling computers. Mirage’s 2025 deepfake report warns of skyrocketing synthetic content, with political and commercial misuse on the rise despite improved detection tools. On the product front, Proton introduced Lumo for private AI chats, GitHub launched Spark for Copilot Pro+ users, and Figma’s AI-powered Make tool became widely available. Plus, Comcast debuted its StreamStore hub, Google Photos now lets you remix pictures into videos, and more!

🎧 Audio Overview [BETA]

For those who don’t have time to read 😁

Last week…

  1. Google Users Are Less Likely to Click on Links When an AI Summary Appears

    A new Pew Research study shows that when AI-generated summaries appear in Google search results, users are significantly less likely to click on traditional links. The presence of these summaries reduces outbound clicks by up to 45%, raising concerns for publishers reliant on search-driven traffic. The findings highlight the disruptive impact of AI on the web’s core business models.

  2. SoftBank Considers Investment in OpenAI as It Reboots AI Strategy

    SoftBank is reportedly exploring a significant investment in OpenAI as part of its effort to reinvigorate its AI portfolio. The move would signal a major shift after previous missteps with AI startups, and could align with OpenAI’s push to expand its hardware ambitions. Talks are ongoing, and the structure or size of a potential deal has not yet been finalized.

  3. Meta’s AI Wristband Brings Brain-Like Interface Closer to Reality

    Meta is developing a wearable wristband that reads nerve signals to control computers, based on work by neuroscientist Thomas Reardon. The device aims to translate subtle movements and muscle signals into digital commands, paving the way for intuitive, non-verbal interfaces. The project is part of Meta’s broader investment in futuristic hardware and human-AI interaction.

  4. The State of Deepfakes 2025

    According to Mirage’s annual report, deepfake content creation surged in 2025, with over 100 million AI-generated videos produced globally. While entertainment remains the largest category, the study notes a sharp rise in political and commercial misuse, including scams and misinformation. Tools to detect and watermark synthetic content are improving, but the arms race continues.

🗓️ Upcoming Events

📱 Product & Feature Highlights

Introducing Lumo, the AI where every conversation is confidential | Proton

Lumo gives you the power to solve problems big and small, while keeping your personal data confidential. Try it now.

proton.me/blog/lumo-ai

Introducing VSCO Capture | vsco | VSCO

See more of vsco's VSCO

vsco.co/vsco/journal/introducing-vsco-capture

Transform your photos into videos and remix your pics in Google Photos

Learn more about new creation tools in Google Photos, like Photo to video, Remix and more.

blog.google/products/photos/photo-to-video-remix-create-tab

Expanding Teen Account Protections and Child Safety Features

Today, we’re announcing a range of updates to bolster our efforts to protect young people from both direct and indirect harm.

about.fb.com/news/2025/07/expanding-teen-account-protections-child-safety-features

GitHub Spark in public preview for Copilot Pro+ subscribers

Stuck between idea and implementation? Spending weeks on mock ups or docs that never ship? GitHub Spark takes you from idea to deployed app in minutes. Build and ship full-stack…

github.blog/changelog/2025-07-23-github-spark-in-public-preview-for-copilot-pro-subscribers/?utm_source=Twitter/X&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=CL-Spark-X

Figma Make Is Now Available to All Users

Today, all Figma AI features and products are moving out of beta, including Figma Make—which is now available for everyone to try.

www.figma.com/blog/figma-make-general-availability

Your Ride, Your Way: Now You Can Favorite Your Drivers

You can now "favorite" your driver on Lyft, adding a personal touch to your rides and celebrating exceptional drivers.

www.lyft.com/blog/posts/your-ride-your-way-now-you-can-favorite-your-drivers

Comcast’s Xfinity Unveils StreamStore

Xfinity is launching StreamStore, a first-of-its-kind destination that makes discovering, purchasing and managing streaming apps, channels and networks easier than ever.

corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/xfinity-streamstore-smarter-simpler-way-discover-manage-enjoy-entertainment

The Verge is getting way more personal with following feeds

Choose which topics and authors you want to see.

www.theverge.com/bulletin/710925/the-verge-is-getting-way-more-personal-with-following-feeds

📚 Resources

The making of a product icon

Product Designer Tim Van Damme shares his thoughtful approach to Figma icon design and the creative exploration that shapes each final result.

www.figma.com/blog/the-making-of-a-product-icon

🧠 For the Nerds

Disrupting active exploitation of on-premises SharePoint vulnerabilities | Microsoft Security Blog

Microsoft has observed two named Chinese nation-state actors, Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon, exploiting vulnerabilities targeting internet-facing SharePoint servers. In addition, we have observed another China-based threat actor, tracked as Storm-2603, exploiting these vulnerabilities. Microsoft has released new comprehensive security updates for all supported versions of SharePoint Server (Subscription Edition, 2019, and 2016) that protect customers against these new vulnerabilities. Customers should apply these updates immediately to ensure they are protected.

www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2025/07/22/disrupting-active-exploitation-of-on-premises-sharepoint-vulnerabilities

Subliminal Learning: Language models transmit behavioral traits via hidden signals in data

We study subliminal learning, a surprising phenomenon where language models transmit behavioral traits via semantically unrelated data. In our main experiments, a "teacher" model with some trait T (such as liking owls or being misaligned) generates a dataset consisting solely of number sequences. Remarkably, a "student" model trained on this dataset learns T. This occurs even when the data is filtered to remove references to T. We observe the same effect when training on code or reasoning traces generated by the same teacher model. However, we do not observe the effect when the teacher and student have different base models. To help explain our findings, we prove a theoretical result showing that subliminal learning occurs in all neural networks under certain conditions, and demonstrate subliminal learning in a simple MLP classifier. We conclude that subliminal learning is a general phenomenon that presents an unexpected pitfall for AI development. Distillation could propagate unintended traits, even when developers try to prevent this via data filtering.

arxiv.org/abs/2507.14805

Aeneas transforms how historians connect the past

Introducing the first model for contextualizing ancient inscriptions, designed to help historians better interpret, attribute and restore fragmentary texts.

deepmind.google/discover/blog/aeneas-transforms-how-historians-connect-the-past

👀 Fun & Interesting Things

Web Guide: An experimental AI-organized search results page

We’re launching Web Guide, a Search Labs experiment that uses AI to intelligently organize the search results page, making it easier to find information and web pages.

blog.google/products/search/web-guide-labs

Internet Archive Is Now a Federal Depository Library

The Internet Archive, thanks to its designation by California Sen. Alex Padilla, joins a network of over 1,100 libraries that make government documents accessible to the public.

www.kqed.org/news/12049420/sf-based-internet-archive-is-now-a-federal-depository-library-what-does-that-mean