ChatGPT puts ads in the loading bar, India funds a CCTV chip, Norway eyes smart glasses
ChatGPT is testing ads inside image generation, and India is paying for its own camera AI chip. Plus an X privacy switch, a take on Norway's smart-glasses ban, and a question about the Vivo V80.
- Long Press · Daily Five6 Oct 202601 / 05
commentaryChatGPT will show ads while your image renders
ChatGPT is about to test visual ads inside image generation: a sponsored banner under the progress bar while your picture renders. It's free users only, US first, starting later this month, and Plus and Pro stay ad-free. The detail worth noticing is the partner list. AppsFlyer, Kochava and Triple Whale are conversion trackers, which means OpenAI is selling this as a place to make sales, not a place to look pretty.
The problem
Running image generation for hundreds of millions of free users is expensive, and the wait while a picture renders is dead time that nobody was paying for.
What changed
OpenAI will test visual banner ads below the progress bar during image generation on ChatGPT's free tier, in the US, later in October. Ads are labelled as sponsored and kept separate from your generated image. DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science screen out sensitive chats, while AppsFlyer, Kochava and Triple Whale let advertisers measure whether a click turned into a purchase.
The catch
OpenAI says ads won't shape answers, and right now there's no way to check that from the outside. The EU ad library it has to publish starts only in January 2027.
What it means for you
Nothing changes in India yet. If you lean on free image generation, expect this placement to travel eventually, and remember a paid plan is the only guaranteed way around it.
- Long Press · Daily Five6 Oct 202602 / 05
newsIndia puts Rs 130 crore behind its own CCTV AI chip
India's Technology Development Board has committed Rs 130 crore to Bengaluru's BigEndian Semiconductors for Project VeerAI, a Rs 260 crore effort to build an AI vision chip for cameras. It starts with CCTV and surveillance, then defence, automotive, industrial and medical. It isn't a flashy target, which is why I like it: whoever designs the chip inside a camera has a real say in where the footage goes.
The problem
Most smart cameras in India run on chips designed abroad, and the government's stated worry is that this creates risks around data security, privacy and technology sovereignty.
What changed
On October 5 the TDB, under the Department of Science and Technology, signed a Rs 130 crore agreement with BigEndian Semiconductors, half of the Rs 260 crore total project cost. The goal is a camera-centric AI vision system-on-chip, taken from TRL-5, roughly a validated prototype, to TRL-9, deployment-ready, aimed at India and the Global South.
The catch
There's no public shipping date, and moving from prototype to a chip that camera makers actually buy at scale is where most hardware projects stall.
What it means for you
Not something you'll buy, but if it ships it shapes the cameras watching your street and office. The milestone to watch is a named camera maker putting VeerAI in a product.
- Long Press · Daily Five6 Oct 202603 / 05
tipStop X from training Grok on your posts
If you post publicly on X, those posts can be used to train Grok unless you opt out. Go to Settings and privacy, then Privacy and safety, then Grok & Third-party Collaborators, and untick the data sharing box. The path is the same on the app and the web. It doesn't claw back anything already used, but it keeps future posts out.
The problem
X uses public posts and your Grok interactions to train its AI by default, and the switch sits a few menus deep where most people never look.
What changed
The opt-out lives under Settings and privacy > Privacy and safety > Grok & Third-party Collaborators (on some versions it's grouped under Data sharing and personalisation). Untick the box that allows your public data and Grok interactions to be used for training.
The catch
It only applies going forward, and if you use the standalone Grok app you need to turn off Improve the model in its own Data Controls too.
What it means for you
Twenty seconds, once, on whichever device you're holding. Worth doing even if you rarely post, since replies count too.
- Long Press · Daily Five6 Oct 202604 / 05
hot takeNorway's smart-glasses ban picks the right fight, too widely
Norway is proposing a temporary ban on AI smart glasses in places where privacy matters: changing rooms, clinics, schools, playgrounds, concerts, sports events, parks, beaches, museums and malls. The clinic and changing-room part is overdue. Parks and malls is basically everywhere, and that won't hold. The deeper problem is that a recording LED informs the wearer and does very little for the person being filmed.
The problem
Camera glasses look like ordinary glasses, so the people around the wearer often have no idea they're being recorded, or that an AI is looking at them.
What changed
Norway's government plans to put a temporary ban on AI-powered smart glasses in selected public places to parliament as soon as possible, with no date yet. It's not a total ban, and private use stays allowed. Dutch retailer Hans Anders has already paused Ray-Ban Meta sales, and UK cinemas are restricting camera glasses. Meta points to its recording light, which disables the camera if covered.
The catch
This is still a proposal, and the list of places is so broad that enforcement in a park or a mall is hard to picture working.
What it means for you
Ray-Ban Meta glasses are on sale in India, so this argument will reach us. If you own a pair, the easy rule is to take them off anywhere you'd already put your phone away.
- Long Press · Daily Five6 Oct 202605 / 05
communityVivo V80 at flagship money: worth it?
Vivo's V80 launches in India today at 12 PM, with sales on Amazon after. Confirmed: a 7,200mAh battery, a 50MP telephoto and a 144Hz screen. Leaked prices run from Rs 63,000 to Rs 80,000, which is still a rumour until Vivo confirms it. At that money, would you buy a camera-first mid-ranger, or hunt down last year's flagship in this week's sales?