News/Google
Most Replayed: YouTube tests AI-powered video highlights for faster viewing
YouTube is testing AI Overviews to help users quickly find the most relevant segments of videos based on search intent. This experimental feature, currently limited to a small number of YouTube Premium subscribers in the US, represents a strategic shift from keyword-based search to intent-based content discovery. By surfacing specific video clips that directly address user queries, YouTube aims to streamline the viewing experience in an increasingly content-saturated platform. The big picture: YouTube is experimenting with Google's AI Overviews technology to surface the most relevant video segments directly in search results, potentially transforming how users discover and consume video content....
read Apr 24, 2025Confident nonsense: Google’s AI Overview offers explanations for made-up phrases
Google's AI Overview feature is displaying a peculiar pattern of generating fictional explanations for made-up idioms, revealing both the creative and problematic aspects of AI-generated search results. When users search for nonsensical phrases like "A duckdog never blinks twice," Google's algorithm confidently produces detailed but entirely fabricated meanings and origin stories. This trend highlights the ongoing challenges with AI hallucination in search engines, where systems present invented information with the same confidence as factual content. How it works: Users can trigger these AI fabrications by simply searching for a made-up idiom without explicitly asking for an explanation or backstory. Adding...
read Apr 24, 2025Gemini adoption surges as Google aims to close ChatGPT gap
Generative AI chatbot adoption is accelerating dramatically, with Google's Gemini seeing explosive user growth while still trailing OpenAI's ChatGPT. This race for market dominance illustrates the evolving competitive landscape in consumer AI, even as companies grapple with the substantial computational costs of running these increasingly sophisticated models. The big picture: Google's Gemini has reached 350 million monthly active users as of March 2025, representing a massive increase from just tens of millions in late 2024. The daily user count has jumped to 35 million, up from merely 9 million users late last year. These figures were revealed during testimony from...
read Apr 23, 2025AI gets wise with novel reinforcement learning approach
Google DeepMind and Stanford researchers have developed a new technique that could significantly advance AI's ability to solve complex, multi-step problems. Step-Wise Reinforcement Learning (SWiRL) specifically addresses the limitations of current large language models when handling complex reasoning tasks that require sequential thinking and tool use. This advancement comes at a crucial time as enterprises increasingly look to integrate sophisticated AI reasoning capabilities into their business applications and workflows. The big picture: Traditional reinforcement learning methods for training language models fall short when faced with the multi-step reasoning processes required in real-world enterprise applications. SWiRL was developed by Anna Goldie...
read Apr 23, 2025Google AI Overview finds ideal use in summarizing complex topics. If it’s about food.
Google's AI Overview feature, initially dismissed by many users as an unwanted search intrusion, appears to have found a surprisingly useful niche in meal planning. The technology's ability to generate comprehensive food recommendations from simple prompts demonstrates how even controversial AI implementations can find practical applications in everyday scenarios. This discovery highlights the evolving relationship between AI search tools and specific use cases where broad, creative suggestions provide genuine value to users. The unexpected culinary connection: Google's AI Overview has revealed itself as a surprisingly competent digital sous chef when tasked with meal planning queries. The author, initially in the...
read Apr 23, 2025AI competition intensifies as China narrows gap with US
The global AI landscape is rapidly evolving beyond its initial American duopoly, with Chinese companies now presenting serious competition to U.S. tech giants. Stanford University's 2025 AI Index reveals that while OpenAI and Google remain frontrunners in developing cutting-edge artificial intelligence, several challengers have emerged worldwide in the three years since ChatGPT's debut. This shift toward a more diverse, competitive AI ecosystem has significant implications for technological innovation, international technology policy, and the accelerating race toward artificial general intelligence. The big picture: China is emerging as a formidable competitor in advanced AI development despite U.S. attempts to restrict its access...
read Apr 21, 2025AI-powered search efficiency has made huge gains, reducing hallucinations and more
AI-assisted search has finally matured into a reliable research tool after years of disappointing performance. Since early 2023, various companies have attempted to combine large language models with search capabilities, but these systems frequently hallucinated information and couldn't be trusted. Now, in 2025, several major players have released genuinely useful implementations that can reliably conduct online research without the rampant fabrication issues that plagued earlier versions. The big picture: OpenAI's search-enabled models (o3 and o4-mini) represent a significant advancement by integrating search capabilities directly into their reasoning process. Unlike previous systems, these models can run multiple searches as part of...
read Apr 21, 2025Whisked Away: Google’s Whisk 2.0 animates images into 8-second clips
Google's Whisk animation tool is evolving beyond static images, representing the latest advancement in AI-powered image manipulation technology. The updated version transforms standard photos into short, dynamic video clips, expanding creative possibilities for both casual users and digital content creators while furthering Google's commitment to developing accessible AI-driven creative tools. The big picture: Google Labs has launched Whisk 2.0, featuring a new Whisk Animate function that transforms static images into vivid 8-second video clips using Veo 2 technology. Key details: The animation tool is available to Google One AI Premium subscribers across more than 60 countries. Whisk represents Google's continued...
read Apr 21, 2025AI risks outpacing human control, warns ex-Google CEO
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has issued a stark warning about artificial intelligence's trajectory toward superintelligence, predicting that advanced AI systems may soon operate beyond human control. His timeline suggests a rapid progression from human-level intelligence to superintelligence within just a few years, raising profound questions about humanity's preparedness for increasingly autonomous artificial intelligence systems that potentially won't "have to listen to us anymore." The big picture: Eric Schmidt predicts researchers will achieve artificial general intelligence (human-level AI) within the next three to five years, followed quickly by artificial superintelligence that surpasses all human intelligence combined. What he's saying: Once...
read Apr 18, 2025Get on this: Google offers free AI Premium Plan to college students
Google is offering its premium AI tools to college students for free as part of a strategic push to capture the valuable student market. This move puts Google's advanced AI capabilities into the hands of future professionals while undercutting competitors like OpenAI and Perplexity who have made similar offers. The limited-time promotion provides significant value to students while helping Google build loyalty among a key demographic. The big picture: Google is giving all US college students free access to its Google One AI Premium plan, which normally costs $20 per month, until spring 2026. Students with valid .edu email addresses...
read Apr 18, 2025Google’s new Search AI Mode hopes to overcome prior errors like bizarre dietary advice
Google's latest Search AI Mode represents a significant refinement of its AI search capabilities, aiming to deliver concise answers with fewer errors than previous iterations. As tech giants continue to integrate AI into core products, Google's approach balances efficient information delivery with accuracy concerns, addressing past mishaps like the infamous recommendation to eat rocks while introducing new tools that streamline digital workflows for developers and content creators. The big picture: Google has launched its Search AI Mode, integrating Gemini 2.0 to provide instant AI-generated summaries for complex queries, complete with source links for further exploration. This update represents Google's refined...
read Apr 17, 2025Google must divest Chrome but can keep AI assets, DOJ rules
Google's ongoing antitrust battle has reached a pivotal moment as the Justice Department surprisingly drops its effort to force the tech giant to divest its AI investments while maintaining pressure on Google to sell Chrome. This shift highlights the DOJ's evolving strategy in addressing Google's market dominance while acknowledging the potential negative consequences of disrupting the rapidly developing AI landscape, especially as Google has invested heavily in AI startups like Anthropic. The big picture: The Department of Justice has abandoned its earlier position that Google should divest from AI companies, citing potential "unintended consequences in the evolving AI space." Google's...
read Apr 17, 2025Google AI blocked 3X more advertising fraud in 2024
Google's increased use of AI models to combat fraudulent advertising has achieved unprecedented results, with suspended accounts tripling and deepfake scam ads plummeting by 90% in 2024. This application of large language models (LLMs) represents one of the most broadly beneficial implementations of AI technology to date, showing how advanced models can be deployed to protect users from digital threats while maintaining advertising ecosystems. The big picture: Google deployed over 50 enhanced LLMs to enforce its advertising policies in 2024, with AI now handling 97% of ad enforcement actions. These models can make determinations with less data than previous systems,...
read Apr 16, 2025Honor copies iPhone camera feature using Google Lens
Honor is introducing a dedicated "AI Camera Button" on its new Honor 400 Lite mid-range smartphone, joining the growing trend of specialized hardware controls in modern devices. The physical button offers both standard camera functionality and direct access to Google Lens capabilities, positioning the device to compete in the increasingly AI-focused smartphone market while maintaining an affordable £249.99 price point. The big picture: Honor's new physical "AI Camera Button" combines camera controls with AI features, specifically Google Lens integration. The button functions as both a shutter control and an AI assistant launcher, mimicking features recently introduced by competitors like Apple...
read Apr 15, 2025Google tests AI Mode shortcut in Android Search bar, replacing voice and Lens icons
Google is testing a significant UI change to make AI Mode more accessible directly from the Search bar on Android devices. The new design replaces the traditional voice and Lens icons with a prominent AI Mode circle, creating a more streamlined entry point for users to access Google's generative AI capabilities. This update represents Google's ongoing efforts to integrate AI Mode more deeply into its core search experience as the feature continues to expand its availability. The big picture: Google is experimenting with a more prominent placement for AI Mode by integrating it directly into the Search field on Android....
read Apr 15, 2025Google’s DolphinGemma AI model brings humans closer to understanding dolphin language
Google's new DolphinGemma AI model represents a significant breakthrough in decoding animal communication, potentially enabling humans to understand and interact with dolphins in their natural environment. By applying machine learning to decades of dolphin vocalization research, Google has created a system that not only analyzes dolphin sounds but can generate realistic dolphin-like responses, marking a pivotal advancement in interspecies communication technology. The big picture: Google has developed DolphinGemma, a foundational AI model designed to learn and generate dolphin vocalization patterns, in collaboration with Georgia Tech researchers and the Wild Dolphin Project. The ~400M parameter model uses the SoundStream tokenizer to...
read Apr 15, 2025Study: Generative AI widens performance gap among entrepreneurs
Generative AI is creating a widening performance gap among entrepreneurs, with research showing it significantly boosts strong performers while potentially handicapping the less successful. This technology flip is particularly notable as it breaks traditional technology diffusion patterns – rather than flowing from large institutions to smaller ones, AI tools are benefiting startups first, giving them unprecedented ability to compete with established players through research capabilities, cost reduction, and enhanced marketing efforts. The big picture: A rigorous 2024 study from UC Berkeley and Harvard Business School reveals generative AI's amplification effect on entrepreneurs, improving top performers by 19% while decreasing less...
read Apr 15, 2025Porpoise-ful AI: Google’s DolphinGemma aims to decode dolphin language using 40 years of recordings
Google's collaboration with the Wild Dolphin Project marks a significant step toward understanding dolphin communication using AI. Researchers believe decoding the complex vocalizations of dolphins—widely considered among Earth's most intelligent animals—could determine whether these marine mammals possess language capabilities. This partnership leverages decades of underwater recordings and Google's AI expertise to potentially bridge the communication gap between humans and dolphins. The big picture: Google is applying its open AI technology to help decode dolphin communication patterns that scientists have been studying for nearly four decades. The Wild Dolphin Project (WDP) has been non-invasively studying a specific community of Atlantic spotted...
read Apr 15, 2025Wikipedia’s bandwidth costs surge 50% as AI crawlers strain free knowledge model
Wikipedia's bandwidth costs have spiked 50% since January 2024, a surge the Wikimedia Foundation directly attributes to AI crawlers harvesting its content. This growing tension highlights a fundamental conflict in the AI economy: large language models are consuming vast amounts of online information while potentially diverting traffic and revenue from the very sources that make their existence possible. The big picture: The Wikimedia Foundation reports a dramatic 50% increase in bandwidth costs since January 2024, explicitly blaming AI crawlers for the surge. Why this matters: This significant cost increase threatens Wikipedia's sustainability as a free knowledge resource while raising broader...
read Apr 15, 2025Deloitte launches 100+ AI agents with Google Cloud to simplify enterprise AI adoption
Deloitte's expanded partnerships with Google Cloud and ServiceNow mark a significant push to accelerate enterprise adoption of agentic AI through turnkey solutions. The collaboration introduces over 100 ready-to-deploy AI agents powered by Google's Gemini and Agentspace models, targeting industries from financial services to government. This strategic alliance addresses a critical market need by providing businesses with structured implementation pathways for agentic AI technologies that promise substantial productivity improvements. The big picture: Deloitte has formed deeper partnerships with Google Cloud and ServiceNow to develop Agent2Agent, an open interoperability protocol enabling communication between AI agents, while launching more than 100 industry-specific AI...
read Apr 14, 2025Majority of users comfortable sharing search history with AI assistants, according to poll
Privacy attitudes are shifting in AI's favor as users begin to see concrete benefits from sharing their data with chatbots. A recent poll by Android Authority reveals surprisingly high comfort levels with sharing search history with AI assistants, with 53.5% of respondents indicating they would be comfortable doing so. This finding challenges conventional wisdom about privacy concerns in the digital age and suggests that users increasingly view certain types of data sharing as an acceptable trade-off for personalized AI experiences. The big picture: Despite growing privacy concerns in the tech world, a slight majority of users appear willing to share...
read Apr 14, 2025NotebookLM success story Josh Woodward to head Gemini as Google shifts AI focus to consumer applications
Google's leadership shake-up in its consumer AI division signals a strategic pivot as the industry evolves beyond foundational models to focus on product development and user experience. The appointment of Josh Woodward to replace Sissie Hsiao as head of Google's Gemini (formerly Bard) highlights the company's efforts to maintain competitiveness in an AI landscape where practical applications and consumer-facing tools are becoming increasingly important differentiators. The big picture: Google is replacing Sissie Hsiao, the leader who spearheaded its consumer AI chatbot efforts, with Josh Woodward, the head of Google Labs, in a move that reflects the changing priorities in AI...
read Apr 13, 2025ChatGPT dominates AI usage with 7 most popular prompt types revealed
The most popular prompts users send to ChatGPT reveal significant patterns in how artificial intelligence tools are being utilized for everyday tasks and specialized problem-solving. With ChatGPT processing one billion queries daily from 400 million weekly users—dramatically outpacing Gemini's 42 million weekly users—these common prompt categories offer valuable insights into user behavior and highlight meaningful performance differences between leading AI models. 1. "Explain [X] like I'm 5" ChatGPT-4o provides concise, streamlined explanations optimized for quick understanding. Gemini 2.5 takes a more expansive approach with playful analogies and comprehensive coverage of multiple concept dimensions. 2. "Summarize this text/article" ChatGPT-4o creates energetic,...
read Apr 13, 2025Google’s Gemini and the hallucination problem plaguing AI assistants
Generative AI assistants like Google's Gemini face a fundamental flaw that undermines their effectiveness as personal assistants: they occasionally present false information as fact. As Google phases out its traditional Assistant in favor of Gemini in 2025, this transition raises important questions about whether AI systems prone to hallucinations should be trusted with everyday assistance tasks, even as their conversational capabilities continue to improve. The big picture: Despite technical advancements in generative AI, the non-deterministic nature of these systems makes them inherently prone to fabricating information, which creates significant reliability issues for assistant applications. These AI models work by predicting...
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