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Ashamed of Using AI?
PLUS: Adobe Firefly, Veo2 in Youtube Shorts, and a new Star Wars made by AI

Good Thursday, my fellow soloists!
Coolest AI Film Soloist of the week!
“A dream of mine to this day is to bring a Star Wars story to the big screen, but this project is the first step to that hopeful future.” Kavan “The Kid” Cardoza, creator of “Star Wars - The Ghost's Apprentice” (Fan Film).
Made with Google’s Veo 2 AI video model, this artist shows us how passion, vision, hard work, and patience can now bring our dream projects to life, allowing us to express ourselves in ways we never could before.
Creators can now generate a high-quality first draft—one that closely aligns with their vision—if they know how to use AI tools effectively. This makes it easier to share their work and take the next steps toward full production—if wanted—bringing their beloved projects to reality.
On the other hand, I think this is a great example of how, in the age of AI, focusing on your passion while building a digital presence and audience is the best way to solidify your creative survival in an increasingly unpredictable future.
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My mini survAIval insight of the week:

Are you feeling guilty for embracing new technology?
If you're an AI enthusiast facing criticism, you may find this interesting and helpful!
Lately, I’ve been interested in what people have to say about AI related to the arts. I came across some particularly interesting comments that reveal deeper concerns and motivations—let’s break them down and see what’s really behind them.
1- Take …’s viral post: "Movies made by nobody that say nothing, destroying the industry so that real artists can't afford to make real art." It assumes that AI-generated art is inherently empty, lacking in meaning. But is that true? Meaning in art has never been about how it’s made but why it’s made. We’ve seen this argument before with photography, digital painting, and electronic music.
2- "Part of what makes art special is that it's difficult to make... every song you hear, every movie you watch is the result of thousands of hours of trial and error.” R.L. Stevenson created “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” in one weekend after having a dream about it. Art shouldn’t be defined by struggle but by impact.
3- Nicholas Cage warns that AI will replace integrity, purity, and truth with financial interests only. This is a valid concern—commercialization often corrupts art—but AI isn’t the enemy here. AI is a tool. A paintbrush doesn’t dictate what’s painted; neither does AI. The fear isn’t about AI itself but about corporations using it to cut corners. But that’s a capitalism problem, not an AI problem.
4- Then there’s the "Soulless AI" comment, which frankly says more about the speaker’s ego than AI’s capabilities. The idea that people who use AI “don’t have a soul” is an emotional lashing out, not an argument. AI doesn’t replace human creativity—it augments it.
Yes, there are real concerns—market oversaturation, ethical issues in misinformation—but these should be discussed rationally, not through reactionary fear. Dismissing AI outright as a soulless machine is like dismissing synthesizers in music: shortsighted and ultimately a losing battle.
The backlash against AI in creative industries is less about the technology itself and more about fear—fear of change, fear of obsolescence, and fear of losing control over what has traditionally been a deeply human domain.

AI Model Battles!
Do you want to use text in your AI image generations? I’ll let you decide which model to use!

I love Ideogram because of its accurate text integration, versatile style options, and user-friendly design. On top of that, the image quality that it generates is quite impressive. And the best part? I’m still using it on the free plan!
Try it for free here.

Best AI News links of the week
Image and video generation technologies
🛠️ AI Art Technology and Tools
Adobe launches IP-safe AI video generator. Pricey, pricey, pricey!
YouTube Shorts Introduces AI Video Creation with Veo 2
Chinese AI startup Skyworks debuted a new open video AI: Skyreels-V1
Midjourney founder David Holz teased that the company has two hardware projects currently in development, with ‘one that goes on you’ and ‘one that you go inside of.’
Beatoven AI is an AI composer for crafting the perfect background music
📈 Market trends and Industry Impact
Some Good News for Hollywood Creators Suing AI Companies
Scarlett Johansson Speaks Out After AI Video Goes Viral: 'We Must Limit AI'
Elon Musk announced the launch of xAI’s Gaming Studio during its Grok-3 demo, with plans to build games with AI.
What Does a Gen AI Content Studio Actually Look Like?
OpenAI, Google and Meta on Super Bowl 2025
My Broader AI News pics so you’re in the loop
🤖 Tech Companies, Product Launches & Innovations, and LLM stuff

I hope that these news, tools, and insights help you prepare for the future!
Have a really nice end of the week and weekend.
Stay kind.
Rafa Tirado