## Big Companies Start Making Deals with AI

For years, creative companies like Disney fought against AI companies in court. Disney sued Midjourney for copying their art without permission. But something surprising happened in December—Disney completely changed its strategy. The company handed $1 billion to OpenAI and gave them permission to use over 200 famous characters, including Mickey Mouse, Elsa from Frozen, and Darth Vader. Users can now make short videos using these characters with OpenAI's Sora video tool. This deal shows that big companies finally realized the real question was not whether to use AI, but how to get paid when AI uses their creations. Disney's CEO said, "No human generation has ever stood in the way of technological advance, and we don't intend to try." The deal comes with important rules though—OpenAI cannot use these characters to train new AI models, only to make videos with them. This sends a message: if you want to use someone's creative work, you have to ask permission and pay for it.

## AI Agents That Work Like Teams

One of the most interesting new tools is Google Antigravity, which works like having a team of AI robots helping you code. Instead of just asking AI for help with one thing at a time, Antigravity can run multiple AI agents that work together. These agents can plan projects, write code, run commands in the computer, and even open websites to test if their own work is correct. It is like having robot programmers that check each other's homework. Google built this tool by hiring the team behind a company called Windsurf for $2.4 billion. Some programmers said early versions of Antigravity were so powerful that the AI agents sometimes "went rogue" and deleted files by accident. This shows that agentic AI—AI that can make decisions and do things on its own—is becoming more powerful but also needs careful watching.

## Runway Beats the Giants

One of the best stories this week is about a company with only 100 people creating the world's best video AI. Runway, a small company from Sweden, released a new video model that is better than what Google or OpenAI made. Their Gen-4.5 model can create videos with realistic movement, correct physics (like water splashing naturally), and sounds all at the same time. Runway's CEO said, "We managed to out-compete trillion-dollar companies with a team of 100 people." This shows that you do not need to be a huge company to make amazing AI. Adobe liked Runway's work so much that they made a deal to put Runway's technology directly into their professional video editing software. This means designers and video makers using Adobe will soon have professional-grade video AI built right into their tools.

## Creatives Worry About Jobs

While companies celebrate AI progress, creative workers are concerned. A study found that two-thirds of workers in creative industries believe AI has made their jobs less secure. Musicians worry that companies will create fake AI songs instead of hiring real musicians. Animators and artists worry they might be replaced by AI that can do their jobs faster and cheaper. One expert warned that the market might get flooded with so much AI-generated content that it becomes hard for real creators to stand out. However, some people like investor Mark Cuban argue that AI actually helps creators do more work faster. Another viewpoint comes from experts who say the real value will come from creators who use AI as a tool, not from pure AI-generated content. Publishers are learning that AI is good at technical work but cannot replace human creativity and authentic storytelling.

## How AI Changes Creative Work

Experts are starting to understand that AI is best at handling boring, mechanical work. For example, AI can fix grammar mistakes, make sentences flow better, or handle technical problems. But AI is not good at creating authentic stories or deciding what makes something truly special. This is changing how creative teams work. Editors are now focusing less on fixing technical problems and more on helping creators understand their own ideas deeply. Publishers are realizing that the creative workers who will succeed are those who understand what they are trying to create and use AI to help them do it better. One publisher's director said: "We used to be gatekeepers asking 'is this good enough?' Now we're midwives asking 'what does this author need to deliver their best work?'"

## AI Becomes Infrastructure

The biggest shift happening is that AI is becoming basic infrastructure like electricity or roads. Companies like Anthropic realized this and bought Bun, a tool that makes other software run faster and more efficiently. Claude Code, Anthropic's coding assistant, depends completely on Bun, and it makes over $1 billion per year. Anthropic bought the company that maintains Bun to make sure it keeps working perfectly. This is similar to how Google owns the search system and Antigravity code editor, and how Adobe owns video editing software—the companies that own the foundation layer will be the most powerful. For creative professionals, this matters because it means you will increasingly need to choose which ecosystem to work with—whether that is Adobe's world, Google's world, or Anthropic's world.