**The Creators Hive:** AI News, Tools & Tips — Curated for Modern Creators and Innovators

Greetings Qrew,

Whether you're diving into AI for work, side projects, or just out of curiosity — this issue of The Creators Hive brings you practical insights, hands-on learning, and tools you can actually use.

Apple’s WWDC 2025: Aesthetic Over AI?
China Freezes AI Tools During National Exams
UK Uses Gemini AI to Speed Up Housing & Infrastructure Plans
Meta’s $14.3B Power Grab: Scale AI’s CEO Joins the Race for Superintell
Hollywood Strikes Back: Disney, Universal Sue Midjourney
Tool Recommendation for the Day: Taplio

Apple’s WWDC 2025: Aesthetic Over AI?

Apple kicked off WWDC 2025 with fresh OS design updates and new customization features — but offered only modest improvements to its Apple Intelligence, confirming suspicions that this might be an AI “gap year.”

What’s new:

Live Translation for Messages, FaceTime, and calls — processed locally for privacy.
Visual intelligence lets users ask ChatGPT about images or search similar products.
Shortcuts app now supports AI-powered automations via ChatGPT.
A new developer framework opens access to Apple’s on-device model — no cloud costs.
Workout Buddy on Apple Watch delivers real-time AI-generated voice coaching.

Why it matters: While Apple rolled out thoughtful upgrades, it feels behind in the AI race — especially as rivals unveil groundbreaking models. The innovation torch might be passing — at least for this year.

China Freezes AI Tools During National Exams

Chinese tech giants like ByteDance, Tencent, and DeepSeek temporarily shut down AI tools during the gaokao, the nation’s ultra-competitive university entrance exam — impacting over 13 million students.

Key moves:

Tools like Doubao, Qwen, Kimi, and others blocked features like photo recognition and exam question analysis from June 7–10.
Attempting to submit test-like content triggered warning messages about fairness protections.
Meanwhile, authorities added AI-powered monitoring in exam halls to detect cheating behavior.

Why it matters: As AI breaks traditional assessment methods, governments and institutions are scrambling to adapt. China’s exam freeze highlights how AI is already reshaping education — and why future-proof testing models are urgently needed.

UK Uses Gemini AI to Speed Up Housing & Infrastructure Plans

The UK government and Google have partnered to launch "Extract", a powerful new tool using Gemini AI to digitize and interpret millions of planning documents — cutting through red tape to accelerate infrastructure and housing development.

What it does:

Uses Gemini’s multimodal capabilities to process everything from blurry maps to handwritten notes
Transforms a 2-hour manual review into a 40-second AI task
Being trialed in local councils, with a nationwide rollout expected by Spring 2026

Why it matters: The UK has pledged to build 1.5 million new homes, but faces delays due to outdated, paper-based systems. By freeing planners from grunt work, Extract could revolutionize how governments manage growth — proving that AI’s biggest wins may come from fixing the basics, not flashy innovation.

Meta’s $14.3B Power Grab: Scale AI’s CEO Joins the Race for Superintell

Meta just made its most aggressive AI move yet — dropping $14.3B for a 49% stake in Scale AI, and recruiting its 28-year-old CEO Alexandr Wang to lead a bold new “superintelligence” push.

Key details:

The investment reportedly values Scale AI at $29B, though Meta hasn't confirmed the exact number.
Scale AI, known for its top-tier data labeling services, has been a key supplier to Meta’s rivals — including OpenAI and Google.
Alexandr Wang now joins Meta, bringing core team members along to spearhead the company’s AI reinvention.
Zuck has personally assembled a new AI dream team, offering huge nine-figure comp packages to lure researchers from competitors.

Why it matters:
After Llama 4’s lukewarm reception, Zuckerberg is going all-in to supercharge Meta’s AI future — but the move could fracture relationships in the ecosystem. Will OpenAI or Google still rely on Scale now that it’s half-owned by a direct competitor? This could redraw battle lines in the AI arms race.

Hollywood Strikes Back: Disney, Universal Sue Midjourney

In a landmark legal move, Disney, Universal, Marvel, and Lucasfilm are suing AI image generator Midjourney, accusing it of turning their beloved characters into a copyright infringement machine.

What’s in the lawsuit:

Major studios allege that Midjourney trained on copyrighted content—like Yoda, Shrek, Spider-Man, and Minions—without permission.
The filing includes side-by-side comparisons showing Midjourney outputs nearly identical to iconic characters.
Disney’s lawyers doubled down: “We’re bullish on AI—but piracy is piracy.”

Why it matters:
This is Hollywood’s first major blow in the AI copyright war — and it could reshape the future of generative art. If the courts side with the studios, AI companies may be forced to pay for licensing, change how they train models, or face massive legal exposure. The outcome of this case could set the precedent for what fair use really means in the AI age.