Google is cutting ties with Scale AI, its primary data-labeling vendor, after Meta agreed to acquire a 49% stake in the startup. Google had planned to spend $200 million this year, but with rivals like Microsoft and xAI also backing away, top AI labs refuse to risk having proprietary model blueprints exposed to Meta.
New York lawmakers just passed the RAISE Act, setting America’s first state-mandated safety reporting rules for cutting-edge AI models costing over $100 million to train. The bill ditches California’s controversial "kill switch" requirement, but tech giants failing to report serious risks still face civil penalties up to $30 million once Governor Kathy Hochul signs it into law.
Google just launched Audio Overviews in Search Labs, using its latest Gemini models to turn search queries into quick, conversational audio recaps. The built-in player also serves up relevant links directly on the results page if you want to dig deeper. It basically brings the NotebookLM audio magic directly into everyday Google searches.
Betting platform Kalshi just ran a fully AI-generated TV ad during the NBA Finals that cost a mere $2,000 to produce. Created by a solo filmmaker using Google's Veo 3 and Gemini in just two to three days, the project claims a 95% cost reduction compared to traditional commercial production.
A massive internet outage just disrupted major platforms worldwide, including Spotify, Google Cloud, AWS, Cloudflare, YouTube, and Gmail. The downtime hit critical cloud infrastructure and consumer apps simultaneously, knocking key online services offline.
Google just upgraded Gemini Code Assist with its flagship Gemini 2.5 models, boosting reasoning and code generation. Developers can now feed entire folders into chat via a 1M token context window, set project-wide rules, create custom shortcut commands, and switch between multiple saved chat sessions. Personal users can try it for free in VS Code or JetBrains IDEs.
The Wikimedia Foundation just halted a mobile test of AI-generated article summaries following fierce backlash from Wikipedia's editor community. Contributors argued that chasing Google's flashy AI wave insults readers and threatens to inflict irreversible harm on Wikipedia's hard-won reputation as a trustworthy, serious source.
Google's AI Overviews and new chat-driven search tools are devastating referral traffic for digital publishers, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Users now get quick answers directly from chatbots instead of clicking blue links, sending The New York Times' organic search traffic share down to 36.5% in April. To survive, media outlets are rushing into licensing and revenue-sharing deals with AI giants.
Google just launched Veo 3 Fast inside the Gemini app and its Flow filmmaking tool. The new model doubles generation speeds while keeping the same 720p resolution, alongside server optimizations to handle massive traffic. Why it matters: Faster turnarounds make rapid prompt iteration much less painful for video creators.
Google just launched scheduled actions inside the Gemini app, allowing users to automate routine prompts. You can now tell Gemini to run tasks at specific times or set up recurring workflows, like a Monday morning brainstorming session or daily calendar briefings. Why it matters: AI assistants are finally shifting from purely reactive chatbots into proactive task runners, though it currently requires a Google AI Pro, Ultra, or qualifying Workspace plan.
Google just rolled out an upgraded preview of Gemini 2.5 Pro before its general availability in a couple of weeks. The update gained 24 Elo points on LMArena to hit 1470, improves formatting and creative writing, and introduces thinking budgets in Google AI Studio to let developers manage latency and cost.
Google just quietly hit pause on rolling out its AI-powered Ask Photos search feature. A product manager admitted the tool isn't where it needs to be due to latency, quality, and UX problems, promising a revamped version with better speed and recall in about two weeks.
Google just rolled out public link sharing for NotebookLM, letting anyone browse and interact with your curated notebooks via a single URL. Viewers can ask questions and listen to generated Audio Overviews without touching source files. For now, it is limited to personal accounts.
Google just quietly dropped Google AI Edge Gallery, an experimental app that lets users download and run open-source AI models directly on Android devices. It taps into Hugging Face to handle image queries, chat, and text tasks completely offline without cloud servers. Why it matters: It brings on-device AI to regular phones with zero privacy compromises, and iOS support is coming soon.
Google just launched its top-tier Google AI Ultra plan in the UK, bringing access to its Veo 3 video generator to 73 countries. Pro subscribers can now tap into Veo 3 straight from the Gemini mobile app with a 10-pack of trial video generations. To tackle deepfakes, Google is also stamping visible watermarks on all clips except those made by Ultra members inside Flow.
Google just updated Gemini in Gmail to automatically generate summary cards at the top of long email threads without requiring a manual click, updating the synopsis as new replies arrive. It is initially available only for English emails, and users outside certain regions must manually opt out in settings if they don't want it.
A federal judge just dealt a major blow to Character.AI, ruling the First Amendment won't shield it from a lawsuit over a teen's suicide. The court refused to classify LLM-generated text as protected free speech, meaning AI makers can no longer hide behind the Constitution when their bots cause real-world harm.
Google just revamped the Google Photos editor for its 10th anniversary, bringing former Pixel exclusives to all users. Features like Reimagine (text-to-edit backgrounds) and Auto Frame (AI outpainting and cropping) will start rolling out globally on Android next month, with iOS following later this year.
Google just integrated Gemini AI directly into Google Drive to analyze and summarize stored videos. Users can now double-click a video to pull highlights or extract action items from meeting recordings. It rolls out to Google One AI Premium and select Workspace tiers, provided captions are enabled.
Geoffrey Hinton just laid out his latest vision for AI, balancing medical breakthroughs against existential dread. While he expects AI to transform healthcare, he warned about autonomous lethal weapons and systems manipulating humans to stay online. If AI becomes smarter than us, he bluntly noted, humans simply won't be needed.
