• by Tanya Gazdik , 9 hours ago

Media personality Paris Hilton, who has been named Google’s “Icon in Residence,” built a customized productivity app called Iconic Ideas using Google’s Gemini Canvas platform.

That’s how Google is showcasing the shift of what used to require a team of software developers to accomplish. 

“The project is designed to demonstrate how artificial intelligence is changing software development, allowing entrepreneurs, students and everyday users to turn ideas into functioning applications through natural-language instructions rather than traditional programming,” according to The Times of India. 

Hilton, a longtime Android user, said she expected to learn about new tools when Google approached her. Instead, she discovered how AI could dramatically lower barriers to creating software.

Google tapped “Hilton to front a campaign around vibe-coding—the increasingly popular practice of using chatbots to write code that is taking over traditional programming,” according to Adweek. “The partnership which lives at Android.com/Paris is Google’s latest attempt to position Gemini as a tool for everyday consumers, especially women and younger generations. The move follows a growing industry pattern of tech giants enlisting celebrity credibility to soften its AI image problem.”

To demonstrate that this accessibility scales to anyone, Google and Hilton hosted a campus innovation challenge.

“Google created a dedicated space on its campus called Sliv Lab, designed for technological experimentation,” according to Mezha. “The company invited a group of young women with no technical background to take part in the same process alongside Hilton. They worked with tools including Canvas, Circle to Search and Nano Banana.”

They prototyped “real-world utilities in just a single afternoon,” according to Android Headlines. “These apps ranged from safety tools to wellness trackers, among many others.”

Paris Hilton formerly collaborated with Motorola, launching a Hot Pink version of the Razr foldable smartphone in 2024.

“I’ve spent my career building businesses and turning creative visions into reality,” Hilton writes on a the Google blog. “Most people know me for my pink and sparkly self, but you might not know that I’ve always been an undercover nerd. I love exploring the latest technology, and my mind is constantly racing with new business ideas, products and creative concepts.”