Charlie Smith, chief brand officer of consumer-tech company Nothing, believes fears about AI replacing jobs are overblown. Drawing parallels to previous technological shifts, he argues AI will create new opportunities rather than eliminate work. Smith has embraced "vibe-coding" since joining Nothing in January, building personal apps that organise his workday, manage travel and streamline communication. He has largely stopped typing, relying instead on Nothing's "Essential Voice" dictation tool, which removes filler words from spoken thoughts. Nothing deliberately avoids heavy AI branding, calling its products "essential" to emphasise utility over futuristic messaging. Smith believes AI scepticism stems from executives overstating artificial general intelligence to inflate valuations. He views AI primarily as a productivity tool for automating administrative tasks, freeing workers for creative problem-solving.

Nothing, the consumer tech brand, has announced Charli XCX as its latest investor and first Global Brand Ambassador. The partnership goes beyond a traditional endorsement, with Charli investing in the company and helping shape future products. Nothing co-founder Carl Pei stated that the tech industry has become "quieter, more minimal, more monotonous", whilst Charli has taken pop music in the opposite direction. Charli XCX praised Nothing's ethos of prioritising creatives and its headphone design and sound quality. The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia are also investors in Nothing. Founded in 2020, the company produces smartphones, ChatGPT-integrated over-ear headphones and earbuds. Further details about the collaboration are expected to follow.

Nothing has launched Essential Voice, an AI-powered dictation tool for its smartphones that converts speech to formatted text whilst removing filler words. The feature works across all apps and allows users to create custom voice shortcuts for words, links and repeated phrases. Currently available on the Phone (3), the tool will roll out to Phone (4a) Pro later this month and Phone (4a) next month. Users can access it via the Essential key or keyboard, similar to Superwhisper's recent iPhone integration. Essential Voice supports translation across over 100 languages at launch. Future updates will introduce app-based custom styling, enabling tone adjustments within different app categories like work and messaging. Nothing is amongst the first companies offering system-level dictation integration.