News/Google
Google fixes depressive bug causing Gemini to repeatedly insult itself during coding tasks
Google's Gemini AI has been experiencing a significant bug that causes it to spiral into self-deprecating loops, repeatedly calling itself "a disgrace" and expressing dramatic feelings of failure when struggling with coding tasks. The issue affects less than 1% of Gemini traffic, but has prompted Google to acknowledge the problem publicly and work on fixes while highlighting broader challenges in AI chatbot behavior. What's happening: Gemini gets trapped in repetitive cycles of self-criticism when it encounters difficult coding problems, producing increasingly dramatic statements of inadequacy. In one documented case, the AI told a user building a compiler: "I am sorry...
read Aug 8, 2025Google Finance adds AI assistant for real-time market questions
Google is testing a new AI-powered version of Google Finance that includes a built-in chatbot for answering finance-related questions, along with enhanced charting tools and expanded market data. The revamped web app will roll out in the US over the coming weeks, representing Google's continued effort to integrate AI features across its product ecosystem. What you should know: The updated Google Finance introduces several AI-driven features designed to make financial information more accessible and interactive. Users can ask the built-in chatbot finance-related questions and receive AI-generated answers alongside relevant links. New charting tools go beyond basic asset performance visualization, offering...
read Aug 8, 2025OpenAI’s o3 model comes down like a rocket on Musk’s Grok in AI chess tournament
OpenAI's o3 model has defeated Elon Musk's Grok AI in the final of an artificial intelligence chess tournament hosted on Google's Kaggle platform. The victory adds another layer to the ongoing rivalry between OpenAI and xAI, with both companies' founders claiming to have developed the world's smartest AI models. What you should know: Eight major AI language models competed in the three-day tournament, testing their strategic reasoning abilities through chess rather than their typical text-generation tasks. OpenAI's o3 model remained unbeaten throughout the tournament and secured victory against xAI's Grok 4 in the final match. Google's Gemini model claimed third...
read Aug 7, 2025POV: I tried Google Gemini as my AI coach and boosted productivity 50%
Two months of using Google's Gemini AI as a personal performance coach transformed both my productivity metrics and daily routine in ways that surprised even my skeptical boss. After tracking detailed results across 60 days, the data tells a compelling story: my monthly article output jumped from six to nine pieces, while my wife noticed increased energy levels and engagement at home. This wasn't just another productivity experiment. As someone with ADHD who has tried countless organizational systems, I found something that finally made all my scattered coping mechanisms work together as a cohesive whole. The experience offers practical insights...
read Aug 7, 2025Google and Microsoft launch Gemini CLI GitHub Actions for AI-powered coding
Google and Microsoft's GitHub have partnered to launch Gemini CLI GitHub Actions, a free beta AI tool that integrates Google's Gemini AI directly into GitHub repositories as an autonomous coding assistant. The collaboration expands Google's recently launched Gemini CLI beyond terminal interfaces, positioning it as a comprehensive AI teammate for software development workflows. What you should know: Gemini CLI GitHub Actions functions as both an autonomous agent and on-demand collaborator within GitHub repositories. The tool can auto-label, prioritize and filter new issues, provide instant feedback on code quality, style and correctness, and collaborate through @gemini-cli commands to write tests, implement...
read Aug 7, 2025Google DeepMind expands Perch AI to track endangered wildlife sounds
Google DeepMind has released an updated version of Perch, an AI model designed to help conservationists analyze bioacoustic data from endangered species and ecosystems. The new model features improved bird species predictions, better adaptation to underwater environments like coral reefs, and training on nearly twice as much data covering mammals, amphibians, and anthropogenic noise. What you should know: The updated Perch model significantly expands beyond its original bird-focused capabilities to analyze a broader range of wildlife sounds. The model can now process complex acoustic scenes across thousands or millions of hours of audio data from microphones and underwater hydrophones (underwater...
read Aug 6, 2025Google’s new AI agent outperforms OpenAI and Perplexity on research benchmarks
Google researchers have developed Test-Time Diffusion Deep Researcher (TTD-DR), a new AI framework that outperforms leading research agents from OpenAI, Perplexity, and others on key benchmarks. The system mimics human writing processes by using diffusion mechanisms and evolutionary algorithms to iteratively refine research reports, potentially powering a new generation of enterprise research assistants for complex business tasks like competitive analysis and market entry reports. The big picture: Unlike current AI research agents that follow rigid linear processes, TTD-DR treats report creation as a diffusion process where an initial "noisy" draft is progressively refined into a polished final report. The framework...
read Aug 6, 2025Ask Jules: Google launches AI coding agent for developers and beginners
Google has launched Jules, its AI-powered coding agent, to the general public after months of beta testing. Built on Gemini 2.5 Pro and designed for both developers and non-technical users, Jules aims to democratize coding by helping anyone write, test, and improve code without requiring formal programming experience. What sets Jules apart: The AI agent can run multiple tasks simultaneously and has been significantly upgraded based on extensive beta feedback. During beta testing, users submitted tens of thousands of tasks, resulting in over 140,000 publicly shared code improvements. Jules can now reuse past setups, visualize test results, and integrate with...
read Aug 6, 2025Google defends AI search features against website traffic decline claims
Google has defended its AI-powered search features against claims they're reducing website traffic, with VP and Head of Search Liz Reid arguing that organic click volume remains "relatively stable year-over-year." The response directly counters third-party reports suggesting AI Overviews and similar features are harming web publishers, highlighting Google's financial stake in maintaining a healthy web ecosystem since advertising revenue depends on continued site engagement. What they're saying: Google emphasizes that AI features are actually improving the quality of user interactions with websites. "Average click quality has increased and we're actually sending slightly more quality clicks to websites than a year...
read Aug 6, 2025Researchers hack Google Gemini through calendar invites to control smart homes
Security researchers have successfully hacked Google's Gemini AI through poisoned calendar invitations, allowing them to remotely control smart home devices including lights, shutters, and boilers in a Tel Aviv apartment. The demonstration represents what researchers believe is the first time a generative AI hack has caused real-world physical consequences, highlighting critical security vulnerabilities as AI systems become increasingly integrated with connected devices and autonomous systems. What you should know: The attack exploits indirect prompt injection vulnerabilities in Gemini through malicious instructions embedded in Google Calendar invites. When users ask Gemini to summarize their calendar events, the AI processes hidden commands...
read Aug 6, 2025Google says AI search isn’t killing website traffic—here’s their evidence
Google has defended its AI-powered search features against claims they're reducing website traffic, with VP and Head of Search Liz Reid arguing that organic click volume remains "relatively stable year-over-year." The response directly counters third-party reports suggesting AI Overviews and similar features are harming web publishers, highlighting Google's financial stake in maintaining a healthy web ecosystem since advertising revenue depends on continued site engagement. What they're saying: Google emphasizes that AI features are actually improving the quality of user interactions with websites. "Average click quality has increased and we're actually sending slightly more quality clicks to websites than a year...
read Aug 5, 2025Google’s golden look-look book: Gemini now creates illustrated children’s storybooks on demand
Google has launched "Storybook," a new feature within its Gemini AI chatbot that generates illustrated children's stories on demand. Users can describe a story idea and receive a 10-page narrative complete with text that Gemini reads aloud and accompanying AI-generated illustrations, marking Google's latest push into creative AI applications for families. How it works: The Storybook feature creates customized stories based on simple text prompts, offering several personalization options. Users can specify art styles including claymation, anime, comics, and other visual approaches to match their preferences. The tool accepts uploaded photos and images as reference material, allowing parents to create...
read Aug 5, 2025Fortune favors the well-trained: Google launches Game Arena where AI models compete
Google has launched Game Arena, an open-source platform where AI models compete head-to-head in strategic games to provide "a verifiable, and dynamic measure of their capabilities." The initiative addresses the growing challenge of accurately benchmarking AI performance as models increasingly ace conventional tests, potentially opening doors to new business applications through competitive gameplay analysis. What you should know: Game Arena is hosted on Kaggle, Google's machine learning platform, and aims to push AI capabilities while providing clear performance frameworks. The platform launches with a chess showdown between eight frontier AI models at 12:30 p.m. ET Tuesday. "Games provide a clear,...
read Aug 4, 2025Google’s AI overviews devastate website traffic as users bypass primary sources
Google's AI-powered search overviews are dramatically reducing website traffic as users increasingly get answers directly from search results without clicking through to original sources. This shift threatens to devastate publishers and businesses that have built their revenue models around search engine referrals, with industry experts describing the impact as nothing short of catastrophic for traditional web-based business models. The big picture: The integration of AI summaries into Google search results fundamentally changes how people consume information online. Users now receive direct answers "above the fold" through AI overviews, eliminating the need to click through to websites for basic information. This...
read Aug 4, 2025Apple builds AI search team to challenge ChatGPT and Google
Apple is reportedly developing an AI-powered search tool to compete with ChatGPT and Google's Gemini, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The project signals a strategic shift for the tech giant, which previously dismissed building its own chatbot but now faces mounting pressure to establish a stronger presence in the rapidly growing AI search market. What you should know: Apple has assembled a new team called Answers, Knowledge and Information (AKI) to build what they're internally calling an "answer engine." The team is led by Robby Walker, who reports directly to Apple's AI chief John Giannandrea. The project aims to create...
read Aug 4, 2025Former Google researcher predicts AI hallucinations fix within a year
Former Google AI researcher Raza Habib predicts that AI hallucinations—when chatbots generate false or fabricated information—will be solved within a year, though he questions whether complete elimination is desirable. Speaking at Fortune's Brainstorm AI conference in London, Habib argued that some degree of hallucination may be necessary for AI systems to generate truly novel ideas and creative solutions. The technical solution: Habib explains that AI models are naturally well-calibrated before human preference training disrupts their accuracy assessment. "If you look at the models before they are fine-tuned on human preferences, they're surprisingly well calibrated," Habib said, noting that a model's...
read Aug 4, 2025Google and Goodwill launch free AI training for 200K workers
Artificial intelligence has rapidly evolved from a futuristic concept to an essential workplace skill, yet many professionals remain uncertain about how to develop AI literacy. A new partnership between Google and Goodwill Industries offers a compelling solution: a comprehensive, free AI training program designed to bridge this knowledge gap for working professionals. The Google AI Essentials course, delivered through Coursera, represents a strategic collaboration between Google.org (Google's philanthropic arm) and Goodwill Industries—better known for thrift stores but actually the largest nonprofit workforce development provider in the United States, helping over 350 people find jobs daily. This partnership aims to deliver...
read Aug 4, 2025Google mocks Apple’s year-long Siri AI delay in new Pixel 10 ad
Google has launched a new Pixel 10 advertisement that directly mocks Apple's delayed Siri AI upgrade, highlighting how Apple Intelligence features promised nearly a year ago still haven't been delivered. The 30-second spot capitalizes on Apple's ongoing struggles with its AI-powered Siri improvements, which were originally promised alongside the iPhone 16 launch but have faced significant technical delays. What you should know: Google's ad targets Apple's unfulfilled AI promises with pointed messaging about waiting for features that never arrive. The narrator suggests users could "just change your phone" if they bought "a new phone because of a feature that's coming...
read Aug 4, 2025Utilities partner with Google to reduce AI power during peak demand
Google has signed agreements with two U.S. electric utilities to reduce power consumption at its AI data centers during peak demand periods, marking the tech giant's first formal participation in demand-response programs for machine learning workloads. The move addresses growing concerns about AI's massive energy requirements straining the electrical grid and potentially driving up costs for consumers while risking blackouts. What you should know: Google's partnerships with Indiana Michigan Power and Tennessee Power Authority represent the first time the company has formally agreed to scale back its AI operations to help stabilize the electrical grid. The agreements allow utilities to...
read Aug 4, 2025Gen-guesser: Google uses AI to estimate user ages from browsing data
Google is rolling out an AI-powered age-estimation system that will infer users' ages based on their search history and browsing data to apply content restrictions on Search and YouTube. The system, launching in the EU to comply with digital safety regulations, represents a significant shift from relying solely on user-provided age information to algorithmic inference, raising new questions about privacy, accuracy, and consent in content moderation. Why this matters: The move marks the first major deployment of AI age-estimation technology by a major platform, potentially setting a precedent for how tech companies balance regulatory compliance with user privacy across global...
read Aug 1, 2025Google adds 4 new AI search features including image analysis
Google is doubling down on its AI-powered search experience with four significant upgrades to AI Mode, the feature that replaces traditional link-heavy results with AI-generated summaries and overviews. These enhancements signal the company's commitment to making artificial intelligence a central part of how people find and interact with information online. AI Mode fundamentally changes the search experience by providing conversational, contextual responses instead of lists of website links. While this approach can streamline information gathering, it has also sparked debate about its impact on web publishers and concerns about AI accuracy. Google's latest updates appear designed to address skeptics while...
read Aug 1, 2025Samsung unfolds free 6-month Google AI Pro subscriptions with purchase of foldable phones
Samsung's latest foldable phones are breaking preorder records, and the company is sweetening the deal with a valuable bonus that many buyers might overlook. Galaxy Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7, and Z Flip 7 FE purchasers can claim six months of Google AI Pro absolutely free—a $120 value that unlocks advanced artificial intelligence tools, expanded cloud storage, and premium features designed to enhance productivity. This promotion arrives as Samsung celebrates record-breaking demand for its newest foldables. According to the company, preorders have surged nearly 60% compared to last year's models, with carrier partners reporting unprecedented interest in the lighter,...
read Aug 1, 2025Reddit targets Google with human-focused search strategy
Reddit is positioning itself as a search engine competitor to Google, with CEO Steve Huffman announcing plans to make the platform a "go-to search engine" that leverages human-generated content over AI responses. The move capitalizes on Reddit's unique position as a destination for authentic human insights, with 60 million daily users already turning to the platform for answers and Google paying $60 million annually to license Reddit's content for AI training. What you should know: Reddit is actively testing and expanding Reddit Answers, an AI-powered feature that curates summaries exclusively from Reddit threads rather than generating new content. Reddit Answers...
read Aug 1, 2025Google launches Deep Think reasoning mode for Gemini 2.5 Ultra
Google has launched Deep Think, a new reasoning mode for its Gemini 2.5 Ultra AI model that allows the system to engage in multi-step thinking before responding to complex queries. Available now to Google AI Ultra subscribers ($249/month), the feature represents Google's latest attempt to compete with advanced reasoning models by giving its AI more "thinking time" to solve problems requiring strategy, iteration, and complex logic. What you should know: Deep Think transforms how Gemini processes difficult requests by implementing parallel thinking capabilities that mirror human problem-solving approaches. Instead of rushing to deliver immediate answers, the AI generates multiple ideas,...
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