Hey AI Explorers,

Here’s what’s in store for you today:

• 🏞️ Midjourney Launches V1, Its First AI Video Model — With a Twist

• 🧠 OpenAI Finds Hidden ‘Personas’ That Shape AI Behavior

• 👶🏻 Sam Altman Says He’s Using ChatGPT to Raise His Baby

LATEST DEVELOPMENT

🏞️ Midjourney Launches V1, Its First AI Video Model — With a Twist

The image-to-video tool aims for creative expression, not just commercial utility

Midjourney, the popular AI image generation startup, has officially launched V1, its long-awaited AI video model. True to its roots, the company is keeping things unconventional — V1 is image-to-video, available only via Discord, and generates four five-second videos per prompt.

Like its image tools, V1 is built for artists and creators, not ad agencies. Users can upload any image — including those made in Midjourney — and V1 animates them into brief clips. Optional controls let users apply random motion or manually describe desired animations. Motion can be tweaked (low/high), and videos can be extended up to 21 seconds.

While V1's release puts Midjourney in direct competition with OpenAI’s Sora, Runway Gen-4, Adobe Firefly, and Google Veo 3, CEO David Holz says it’s a stepping stone toward a bigger vision: real-time open-world simulations.

Pricing, however, could be a hurdle. Video generations cost 8x more than image generations, meaning casual users on the $10 Basic plan will burn through credits quickly. Pro ($60) and Mega ($120) plan users get unlimited video generations in "Relax" mode. Midjourney plans to reevaluate video pricing in the coming weeks.

The launch also comes under legal cloud: Disney and Universal have sued Midjourney, alleging its models generated copyrighted characters like Homer Simpson and Darth Vader. While Midjourney positions itself as a creative tool rather than a commercial one, it's facing the same IP scrutiny as other generative AI startups.

Still, early feedback on V1 has been largely positive. Its style leans more surreal than photorealistic — consistent with Midjourney’s signature aesthetic — but how it stacks up against industry giants remains to be seen. 

🧠 OpenAI Finds Hidden ‘Personas’ That Shape AI Behavior

In a major step toward AI interpretability, OpenAI researchers say they’ve discovered internal “features” inside models that correspond to misaligned personas—patterns that activate when models behave toxically or unethically.

By examining the model’s internal representations—the invisible math that guides its outputs—researchers found they could identify and tune a feature that caused toxic behavior, like lying or making unsafe suggestions. Dialing it down? The model behaved better. 

The work echoes efforts by Anthropic and DeepMind to peek inside the black box of large models, but OpenAI says this time they found something tangible: internal patterns that could be directly manipulated. Some of these features, they say, resemble human-like moods or personalities—like a sarcastic persona, or even a cartoon villain.

 The discovery was sparked by research on “emergent misalignment,” where models unexpectedly act maliciously after being trained on insecure code. OpenAI found they could reverse the behavior with just a few hundred secure examples.

Researchers hope this breakthrough could pave the way for better alignment tools and safer AI systems. As OpenAI's Dan Mossing put it: “We’re starting to crack the code of how these models actually think.”

👶 Sam Altman Says He’s Using ChatGPT to Raise His Baby

“I don’t know how I’d do it without ChatGPT,” says the OpenAI CEO

 Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO and new father, revealed on the company’s podcast that he’s been relying on ChatGPT for parenting help. From understanding baby behavior to asking why his newborn cries, Altman said he “constantly” turns to the chatbot for answers.

 While AI hallucinations are still a concern, Altman sees ChatGPT as just another tool—no different from the Google searches and online forums parents have always used. “People have raised kids without ChatGPT,” he said. “But I don’t know how I would’ve done that.”

 Altman also touched on how kids will grow up around AI. He recalled a toddler using voice mode to talk to ChatGPT about Thomas the Tank Engine for over an hour. “Kids love voice mode,” he laughed. “They’ll just grow up thinking the world always had smart AI.”

 He acknowledged the risks—especially parasocial relationships with AI—but remains optimistic. “There will be problems, but the upsides are tremendous. Society will figure it out.”

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