News/Google
Kai-Fu Lee predicts only 7 AI foundation models will survive globally
Prominent AI entrepreneur Kai-Fu Lee predicts a major consolidation in the AI industry, with just seven foundational models surviving globally across the U.S. and China markets. This forecast reflects the intensifying competition among AI powerhouses as technical barriers and capital requirements create natural selection pressures in the race to dominate large language model development. The big picture: Lee anticipates that only three Chinese AI models will ultimately survive amid a domestic market shakeout triggered by DeepSeek's emergence, while four U.S. companies will dominate the American market. Lee's prediction: The computer scientist and entrepreneur believes DeepSeek, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., and...
read Apr 7, 2025Google’s Pixel 9a contradicts itself with 7-year updates but only 8GB RAM for AI
Google's Pixel 9a offers an impressive seven-year update promise at the budget-friendly price of $499, but its 8GB of RAM creates a serious contradiction in Google's strategy. While Google positions this device as an AI-capable phone that will remain viable for seven years, current AI applications already strain 8GB of memory, and this limitation will become increasingly problematic as AI technology advances. This mismatch between hardware specifications and long-term software support raises important questions about what constitutes true value in budget smartphones marketed for extended use. The big picture: Google's Pixel 9a offers the same seven-year OS and security update...
read Apr 7, 2025Google to preinstall NotebookLM AI on Chromebooks to boost adoption
Google's NotebookLM AI note-taking application is expanding its reach through direct integration with Chromebooks, making this powerful research and analysis tool more accessible to students and knowledge workers. The decision to preinstall NotebookLM on Chrome OS devices represents Google's strategy to increase adoption of its Gemini-powered productivity tools by placing them directly in users' workflows, potentially transforming how people interact with and process large volumes of information. The big picture: Google plans to preinstall its AI-powered NotebookLM application on Chromebooks, as evidenced by a recent code change submitted to the Chromium Gerrit. The code change specifically adds NotebookLM to the...
read Apr 7, 2025Gmail’s new Gemini AI tackles email overload with smart summaries and drafting tools
Gmail's new Gemini AI integration transforms email management by automating repetitive tasks and providing intelligent assistance for overwhelmed users. This tool helps tackle email overload by summarizing long threads, drafting responses, and refining message tone, potentially turning inbox management from a dreaded chore into a more efficient experience. 1. Thread summarization capabilities Open Gmail on desktop or mobile and locate the Gemini AI icon in the side panel. Select "Summarize this email" to generate a concise overview highlighting key points from lengthy exchanges. This feature helps quickly understand the essential content without reading entire conversation histories. 2. AI-powered email composition...
read Apr 7, 20258 schools using Google AI to transform education from classroom to campus
Education is undergoing a profound transformation as artificial intelligence tools reshape how students learn and educators teach. Google's AI offerings, including NotebookLM and Gemini, are becoming central to this educational evolution, with forward-thinking institutions leading the way. These eight pioneering schools are demonstrating that rather than replacing teachers, AI is augmenting human capabilities and creating more personalized, efficient learning environments that prepare students for an increasingly AI-integrated world. 8 Schools Breaking New Ground with Google AI 1. UC Riverside The university has integrated Google's AI tools across multiple disciplines, emphasizing practical applications in both teaching and research. Faculty members use...
read Apr 6, 2025Pixel 9a’s 8GB RAM bottleneck forces Google to limit on-device AI features
Google's Pixel 9a demonstrates how hardware limitations directly impact AI capabilities, even in devices running the same processor. While the new mid-range Pixel shares the Tensor G4 chip with its premium siblings, its 8GB RAM constraint forces significant compromises in on-device AI functionality. This situation highlights a growing challenge in smartphone design: balancing affordable hardware with increasingly memory-intensive AI features that consumers increasingly expect. The memory constraint: Google's Pixel 9a uses a more limited AI model due to its 8GB RAM ceiling, compared to the 12-16GB found in premium Pixel 9 models. The device must run Gemini Nano 1.0 XXS...
read Apr 6, 2025Google’s TPUs are changing the game for AI processing speed and efficiency
Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) represent a significant advancement in specialized hardware for AI applications, offering performance capabilities that traditional processors cannot match. These purpose-built chips, developed by Google in 2016, have become foundational infrastructure for modern AI systems, enabling faster model training and deployment while reducing energy consumption and operational costs. Understanding TPU technology is increasingly important as AI applications become more prevalent across industries and computational demands continue to grow. What TPUs are: Tensor Processing Units are specialized chips designed specifically to accelerate AI and machine learning workloads through optimized tensor computation processing. Unlike general-purpose CPUs or even graphics...
read Apr 6, 2025Google accelerates AI race with Gemini 2.5 Pro as it chases OpenAI
Google's experimental Gemini 2.5 Pro represents a significant pivot in the company's AI strategy, focusing on model efficiency and what insiders call "vibes" rather than just raw capabilities. After falling behind OpenAI despite pioneering much of the underlying generative AI technology, Google has accelerated its development cycle dramatically—releasing Gemini 2.5 just three months after version 2.0, which itself hadn't even exited the experimental phase. This rapid iteration signals Google's determination to challenge ChatGPT's market dominance through improved benchmarks and user experience. The big picture: Google is finally gaining momentum in generative AI after a slow start despite its foundational contributions...
read Apr 6, 2025Google unveils Sec-Gemini v1, an AI model built exclusively for cybersecurity
Google has unveiled a pioneering AI model dedicated exclusively to cybersecurity, potentially shifting the balance of power in the ongoing battle between digital defenders and attackers. The new Sec-Gemini v1 represents a significant advance in applying artificial intelligence specifically to security operations, combining Gemini's reasoning capabilities with near real-time cybersecurity intelligence to create a force multiplier for security professionals tackling increasingly complex threats. The big picture: Google's experimental Sec-Gemini v1 aims to address the fundamental asymmetry in cybersecurity where defenders must secure against all threats while attackers need only find a single vulnerability. The model is being made freely available...
read Apr 6, 2025Google slashes Gemini 2.5 Pro prices, intensifying AI model pricing war
Google's aggressive pricing strategy for its new Gemini 2.5 Pro model represents a significant escalation in the AI pricing wars, challenging competitors like Anthropic and OpenAI with substantially lower rates. The move comes after Google observed strong developer interest following the model's quiet launch, prompting the company to not only increase rate limits but also position its "most intelligent model ever" at a price point that has surprised industry observers and potentially disrupted the reasoning model market. The big picture: Google has moved Gemini 2.5 Pro into public preview with remarkably competitive pricing that undercuts major competitors. At $1.24 per...
read Apr 5, 2025Google is developing “Gemini for Kids” with safety guardrails for under-13 users
Google's upcoming "Gemini for Kids" initiative represents a significant step in developing AI safeguards specifically for children under 13, addressing growing concerns about young users turning to AI chatbots for advice. This development comes at a critical juncture as Google transitions from its original Google Assistant to the more sophisticated Gemini AI, creating both opportunities and challenges for protecting younger users interacting with increasingly human-like AI systems. The big picture: Google is developing a specialized version of its Gemini AI assistant designed specifically for children under 13, as discovered in inactive code within the latest Google app for Android. The...
read Apr 4, 20255 practical ways AI is proving its worth in everyday life, from home repair to food preparation
Despite the AI backlash and technology fatigue, artificial intelligence tools continue to provide practical value in everyday life when appropriately applied. The Android Authority team demonstrates how AI has moved beyond novelty to become genuinely useful across various personal and professional scenarios, from household management to creative work. Their real-world examples reveal how AI functions as a digital assistant that enhances productivity rather than merely serving as a technological gimmick. 1. Document management and information extraction NotebookLM helps team members organize and quickly reference complex documents like apartment purchase paperwork and car manuals. The tool excels at extracting and explaining...
read Apr 3, 2025Google launches AI travel tools that analyze screenshots and plan your trips
Google is expanding its AI-powered travel planning capabilities with new features that analyze users' screenshots and generate personalized itineraries. These tools reflect Google's continued integration of AI across its product ecosystem, with the company focusing on helping users organize travel information while maintaining privacy through on-device processing. The updates arrive just as summer travel planning begins, positioning Google to enhance its role in the increasingly competitive digital travel planning space. The big picture: Google is launching new AI features in Maps that can analyze screenshots to identify travel destinations, alongside expanded AI Overviews for trip planning. The screenshot list feature...
read Apr 3, 2025Apple Intelligence bested by Google, Samsung as features aren’t compelling enough to drive iPhone upgrades
Apple Intelligence features, while innovative, haven't proven compelling enough to make a tech journalist switch his primary iPhone, highlighting a critical challenge for Apple's AI strategy. Despite some useful tools like email summaries and Visual Intelligence, most features lack the essential quality that would drive widespread adoption and hardware upgrades—a potential concern as Apple expands its AI offerings to more markets. The big picture: Apple's AI features remain in an optional rather than essential category for many users, despite the company's significant investment and Tim Cook's claims that iPhone 16 models sell better in markets where Apple Intelligence is available....
read Apr 3, 2025Google’s Pixel 9a markets AI features but hides best ones behind a paywall
Google's latest budget smartphone, the Pixel 9a, prominently features AI capabilities in its marketing but doesn't include the premium Gemini Advanced subscription that powers many of these advertised features. Unlike the Pixel 9 Pro, which comes with a full year of Gemini Advanced ($240 value), Pixel 9a buyers only receive the standard one-month free trial available to all new users. This highlights the growing trend of AI features becoming subscription-based services across the smartphone industry, forcing consumers to decide which AI capabilities are worth paying for after promotional periods end. The big picture: Google heavily promotes AI features on the...
read Apr 3, 2025Perplexity takes on Google with “Squid Game” star in aggressive new TV ad
Perplexity's new TV commercial starring "Squid Game" actor Lee Jung-jae directly challenges Google's search dominance by highlighting AI-powered answers versus traditional search results. The strategic ad campaign represents an escalation in the emerging competitive landscape between AI search tools, taking direct aim at both Google's ad-filled results and a previous AI response error while showcasing Perplexity's multilingual capabilities and factual accuracy. The big picture: Perplexity is embracing confrontational marketing tactics reminiscent of the classic Mac vs. PC ads, signaling a new phase of competition in the AI search market. The advertisement places "Squid Game" star Lee Jung-jae in a high-pressure...
read Apr 2, 2025AI search tools provide wrong answers up to 60% of the time despite growing adoption
AI-powered search tools are rapidly replacing traditional search engines for many users, with nearly one-third of US respondents now using AI instead of Google according to research from Future. However, recent testing reveals significant accuracy problems across major AI search platforms, raising serious questions about their reliability for information retrieval. This shift in search behavior is occurring despite concerning evidence that even the best AI search tools frequently provide incorrect information, fail to properly cite sources, and repackage content in potentially misleading ways. The big picture: Independent testing shows AI search tools are far from ready to replace traditional search...
read Apr 2, 2025Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro is becoming the go-to AI reasoning powerhouse for enterprises
Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro brings exceptional reasoning capabilities that may have been overshadowed by controversies elsewhere in the AI space. Despite Google's cautious marketing approach, practical tests reveal impressive performance that could position this model at the forefront of enterprise AI applications. With its massive context window, multimodal reasoning abilities, and detailed reasoning traces, Gemini 2.5 Pro demonstrates significant potential for complex tasks from code development to sophisticated data analysis. The big picture: Google's latest flagship language model, Gemini 2.5 Pro, offers remarkable reasoning capabilities despite its launch being overshadowed by controversy in the generative AI space. Rather than making...
read Apr 2, 2025AI race intensifies as Zoom, Cerence, and tech giants expand capabilities
Major AI players are aggressively expanding their capabilities, with Zoom embracing agentic AI, Cerence targeting in-car assistants, and tech giants forming powerful infrastructure partnerships. This flurry of activity demonstrates how AI development is accelerating across industries, from enhancing workplace productivity to transforming customer experiences in retail and automotive environments. The big picture: Zoom is transforming its AI Companion into an agentic tool capable of autonomous task execution and decision support across its entire product portfolio. The updates were announced at Enterprise Connect in Orlando and will impact applications including Zoom Meetings, Team Chat, and Docs. According to Chief Product Officer...
read Apr 1, 2025AI evaluation shifts back to human judgment and away from benchmarks as models outgrow traditional tests
Actually, human, stick around for a minute, could ya? The evolution of AI evaluation is shifting from automated benchmarks to human assessment, signaling a new era in how we measure AI capabilities. As traditional accuracy tests like GLUE, MMLU, and "Humanity's Last Exam" become increasingly inadequate for measuring the true value of generative AI, researchers and companies are turning to human judgment to evaluate AI systems in ways that better reflect real-world applications and needs. The big picture: Traditional AI benchmarks have become saturated as models routinely achieve near-perfect scores without necessarily demonstrating real-world usefulness. "We've saturated the benchmarks," acknowledged...
read Mar 31, 2025Lockheed Martin partners with Google Cloud to bring generative AI to defense operations
The national security landscape is shifting toward AI integration, with major defense contractors seeking capabilities beyond simple automation. Lockheed Martin and Google Cloud's new strategic partnership represents a significant movement toward embedding sophisticated generative AI within military and aerospace operations, signaling an acceleration in how artificial intelligence is being deployed for sensitive national security applications. The big picture: Lockheed Martin is integrating Google Cloud's generative AI technologies into its AI Factory ecosystem to enhance capabilities across national security, aerospace, and scientific applications. The collaboration aims to accelerate AI-driven innovation while maintaining the stringent security and reliability requirements essential for defense...
read Mar 28, 2025Perplexity brings Circle to Search-like feature to more Android devices
Perplexity's new Android feature mimics Google's Circle to Search functionality, allowing users to interact with on-screen content without leaving the app. This innovation represents a significant enhancement for Android users, potentially expanding this intuitive search capability to devices that couldn't previously access it while keeping users within Perplexity's ecosystem, which some reviewers have found superior to Google's Gemini for certain tasks. How it works: Perplexity's implementation allows users to circle content on their screen and ask follow-up questions about it while staying within the Perplexity app. In the demonstration shared by CEO Aravind Srinivas, a user circled text about Roger...
read Mar 28, 2025Have screenshot, will travel: Google Maps uses AI to turn your screenshots into travel plans
Google Maps is rolling out a new feature that leverages screenshots to simplify travel planning, allowing users to extract points of interest from images saved on their devices. This innovation represents a significant shift in how smartphones utilize screenshots, transforming them from simple image captures into actionable planning tools that integrate with location-based services for more seamless travel preparation. The big picture: Google is enhancing Maps with AI-powered screenshot analysis that can identify travel destinations from images and organize them into lists for future reference. The feature automatically detects points of interest in screenshots taken from social media, blogs, or...
read Mar 27, 2025Taking requests: YouTube Music adds conversational AI playlist tuning for Premium subscribers
YouTube Music is enhancing its AI capabilities with new features that give users more control over their music discovery experience. Building on last year's Ask Music introduction, the platform now allows Premium subscribers to fine-tune AI-generated playlists through natural language prompts, making music exploration more interactive and customizable across several English-speaking markets. The big picture: YouTube Music is expanding its AI-powered personalization features with the ability to tune AI radio playlists, Gemini-generated playlist titles, and enhanced customization options for playlist artwork. Key details: Users can now refine Ask Music playlists with follow-up prompts like "more upbeat" or "just jazz songs"...
read