Research & Development news

• AI at Work: 16% Pretend to Use It, 56% Pay Out-of-Pocket for Tools

  26-07-2025 03:32 via eweek.com
  AI may be steam rolling its way into the workforce, but it’s not for everyone. A new survey finds that 22% of professionals feel compelled to adopt AI in work situations where they lack confidence — so much so that 16% have admitted to pretending to use the technology.Seventy-five percent of employees are now expected to use AI at work, whether formally or informally, according to the survey of 1,047 full-time professionals conducted by Howdy.com, a recruitment firm that connects Lat
  
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• The Biggest AI Moments of 2025: Surveillance, Layoffs, and Robots

  11-12-2025 21:34 via eweek.com
  Artificial intelligence shaped nearly every corner of tech in 2025 as organizations weighed how to integrate new capabilities while managing operational and governance challenges.The year’s major developments reflected technical progress, workforce shifts, security concerns, and the realities of deploying AI at scale. Companies and institutions experimented with new AI tools, regulators worked to understand emerging risks, and researchers pushed boundaries, shaping both opportunities and c
  
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• Amazon’s Same-Day Fresh Grocery Delivery Now Reaches 2,300+ US Cities

  11-12-2025 21:16 via eweek.com
  Amazon is doubling down on same-day fresh food delivery.The company has expanded its Same-Day Delivery service for perishable groceries to more than 2,300 cities and towns across the United States, marking one of its biggest grocery rollouts to date. Amazon confirmed the milestone in a Wednesday announcement, noting that continued expansion into additional areas is scheduled for 2026.The service originally launched in major cities including Seattle, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Miami, and New Y
  
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• OpenAI Launches GPT-5.2 ‘Garlic’ with 400K Context Window for Enterprise Coding

  11-12-2025 19:58 via eweek.com
  On Thursday, OpenAI released GPT-5.2, codenamed “garlic” during development, marking the company’s most capable model for coding and agentic workflows. The model brings a massive 400,000-token context window and 128,000-token output capacity — roughly 5x the context of GPT-4.In a blog post, OpenAI called it “the most capable model series yet.”“We announced this code red to really signal to the company that we want to martial resources in one particular a
  
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• Waymo Accelerates: 14M Trips, 20 New Cities, and a Widening Lead

  11-12-2025 19:37 via eweek.com
  Robotaxi operator Waymo says it has completed 14 million trips in 2025, more than triple last year’s total. That puts the Google subsidiary far ahead of rival services, averaging about 269,000 weekly rides over the past 12 months. The company expects to surpass its target of 20 million cumulative rides by year’s end.Launch announcements have accelerated in the past three months, reflecting growing confidence from Waymo and parent Google in the maturity of the self-driving techno
  
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• Elon Musk Says Tesla’s Robotaxis Are Days Away From Going Fully Unsupervised

  11-12-2025 19:17 via eweek.com
  Tesla CEO Elon Musk has once again doubled down on his promise that the company’s Robotaxi service in Austin will run without any human supervision — and he says it’s only weeks away.Speaking during a live session at the recent xAI Hackathon, Musk declared that “Unsupervised is pretty much solved at this point.” He added that “there will be Tesla Robotaxis operating in Austin with no one in them. Not even anyone in the passenger seat in about three weeks.&rdqu
  
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• Bill Gates’ Daughter Gets $30M Funding for Her AI Shopping App Phia

  11-12-2025 18:59 via eweek.com
  Phoebe Gates, the youngest daughter of Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, has raised $30 million for her AI shopping startup Phia, according to a pitch deck seen by Bloomberg.A Phia spokesperson also confirmed the round to Bloomberg. The new funding brings Phia’s valuation to $180 million, only months after the company closed its first $8 million raise in September. The round is led by Notable Capital, guided by managing partner Hans Tung, whose previous bets include Anthropic and Airbnb
  
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• Disney to Invest $1B in OpenAI, Bringing 200+ Iconic Characters to Sora

  11-12-2025 16:43 via eweek.com
  The House of Mouse is officially teaming up with the House of Prompt.The Walt Disney Company announced Thursday that it will invest $1 billion in OpenAI, marking one of its biggest public commitments to artificial intelligence yet. The deal positions Disney as OpenAI’s first major content-licensing partner on Sora, the company’s short-form AI video generator.As part of the deal, Disney will make a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI and also receive warrants to buy additional shar
  
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• AI Named TIME Person of Year 2025 in Historic First

  11-12-2025 16:10 via eweek.com
  Humans! Your ‘TIME’ is over.
  In an announcement today (Dec. 11) that reflects the seismic shift reshaping the world, TIME magazine declared the “Architects of AI” as its 2025 Person of the Year.
  This marks the first time AI has received this prestigious recognition, acknowledging how the technology became virtually inescapable across every aspect of American life this year.
  The magazine’s editors specifically honored the individuals building, designing, and shaping
  
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• ChatGPT Tops Apple App Store Downloads in 2025

  11-12-2025 13:03 via eweek.com
  OpenAI’s ChatGPT has officially become the most downloaded app of 2025 on Apple’s App Store in the US.
  The AI chatbot beat social media giants and essential utilities to claim the prize.
  Data shows ChatGPT dominated Apple’s free app rankings throughout 2025. This achievement represents a meteoric rise from the app’s fourth-place ranking in 2024, when Chinese shopping app Temu held the crown. Even more striking: ChatGPT didn’t crack the top-ten list in 2023 despite l
  
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• Amazon’s $35B Investment Positions India as a Global AI Powerhouse

  11-12-2025 10:51 via eweek.com
  Amazon is doubling down on its long-term commitment to India. The tech giant has announced plans to invest $35 billion in the country by 2030, positioning India at the center of its global AI and digital infrastructure strategy. The news was announced during the Amazon Smbhav Summit in New Delhi, where the company highlighted how its nearly $40 billion in previous investments have already helped reshape India’s digital economy, establishing Amazon as the nation’s largest fo
  
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• Sam Altman’s Most Honest AI Interview Ever Is Wild

  28-07-2025 20:39 via eweek.com
  
  Wanna hear Sam Altman cover all sorts of interesting questions no one ever asks him? The OpenAI CEO sat down with comedian Theo Von for an hour-and-a-half deep dive that felt more like therapy than tech talk. And honestly? It might be the most human we’ve ever seen the guy who’s building our AI future.The man behind the machineSam’s a new dad as you may know… it was pretty hilarious to listen to him talk about his son gaining new capabilities like its
  
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• Walmart’s Simplifying Shopping & Operations With AI ‘Super Agents’

  25-07-2025 23:50 via eweek.com
  Walmart is revamping how artificial intelligence supports its business by replacing dozens of standalone AI tools with four integrated “super agents” aimed at enhancing the experience for customers, employees, engineers, and suppliers.After deploying numerous AI agents across different platforms and use cases, the retail giant found the structure had grown overly complex for end users. In response, Walmart is centralizing these agents into fewer, multifunctional systems to make navig
  
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• Search Reinvented: Google’s Web Guide Promises ‘More Powerful Search Capabilities’

  25-07-2025 23:14 via eweek.com
  Google has introduced Web Guide, a new experiment in Search Labs that promises “more powerful search capabilities” by helping users find information that is more relevant and easier to explore.According to Google, the feature is designed to surface information more effectively and support deeper discovery. Web Guide is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to modernize its products and services.Built for broad, open-ended questionsWeb Guide is built for open-ended and multi-par
  
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• Cedars-Sinai’s AI Therapist for VR is ‘Quantum Leap Beyond Previous Technologies’

  25-07-2025 22:57 via eweek.com
  Patients receiving treatment at Cedars-Sinai for chronic pain, anxiety, and depression are now engaging with a new kind of support — an AI therapist delivered through virtual reality that guides them in conversation, stress management, and breathing exercises.Meet Xaia, your AI therapistThe experimental app called Xaia (pronounced ZAI-uh short for eXtended-reality Artificially Intelligent Ally) is currently available on the Apple Vision Pro headset. Developed by Cedars-Sinai physicians and
  
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• ‘Google Zero’ Looms as AI Search Results Crush Publishers’ Traffic

  25-07-2025 20:06 via eweek.com
  Online publishers are facing what many describe as a “traffic apocalypse,” as Google’s AI-generated summaries appear to be cutting off one of their most important sources of readers: search traffic.Since the introduction of AI Overviews last year, Google users in the US have been seeing short AI-generated summaries at the top of their search results. However, according to Pew Research, these summaries are significantly reducing the frequency with which people click through to t
  
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• Trump: Ordering AI Companies to Pay for Copyrighted Work Is ‘Not Doable’

  25-07-2025 00:59 via eweek.com
  US President Donald Trump dismissed calls to compensate writers whose works are used to train AI models, calling the idea “impractical” during an AI summit in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. He used the event to outline a vision for a deregulated AI industry and announced a series of executive orders aimed at accelerating domestic AI development.    Contract negotiations for the way AI repurposes content would be impractical, Trump asserted  AI models ar
  
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• Altman Warns of AI-Powered Fraud Crisis in Banking, Urges Stronger Security Measures

  23-07-2025 23:53 via eweek.com
  OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is sounding the alarm about the increasing use of artificial intelligence in financial fraud, particularly through advanced voice cloning technologies. In a fireside chat with Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman on Tuesday, Altman described the threat as an “impending fraud crisis” and warned that many banks are dangerously behind the curve. He expressed disbelief that some financial institutions still rely on voiceprint technology to veri
  
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• Amazon’s Acquisition of AI Wearables Company Bee Creates a Buzz About Privacy Concerns

  23-07-2025 23:08 via eweek.com
  Amazon has quietly acquired wearable AI startup Bee, signaling a fresh push into personalized, voice-enabled technology amid growing scrutiny over data privacy. The deal marks Amazon’s reentry into the wearable AI market, following its decision in 2023 to discontinue Halo, a fitness-oriented device, as part of the tech giant’s broader cost-reduction efforts. Amazon’s current Echo product line includes smart glasses that integrate with Alexa, the company’s virtual assistan
  
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• Hawley-Blumenthal Bill Lets Americans Sue AI Firms Over Data

  23-07-2025 17:57 via eweek.com
  Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced a bill Monday that would give individuals the right to sue AI companies that use their personal data or creative works without consent. They introduced the AI Accountability and Personal Data Protection Act following a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing in which Hawley accused OpenAI, Meta, and other companies of mass copyright infringement. In a statement, the senator called it “the largest intellectual property
  
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• Surprise Research Finding: Developers Using AI Take 19% Longer on Tasks

  16-07-2025 01:39 via eweek.com
  Artificial intelligence tools can slow down experienced open-source developers rather than accelerate their work, according to findings released by the nonprofit AI research group METR. Developers and experts widely anticipated that using advanced tools would significantly improve productivity and shorten the time required to complete tasks in familiar codebases by approximately 24%; however, a randomized study by METR found that the opposite was true.“Surprisingly, we find that when
  
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• Tesla Rolls Out Grok AI Chatbot in Cars — But There’s a Catch

  15-07-2025 21:42 via eweek.com
  Tesla has officially integrated Grok, an artificial intelligence chatbot, into its vehicles. The feature is now available in all new cars delivered from July 12 and select older models that meet specific technical requirements. To enable the AI assistant, your Tesla vehicle must meet the following requirements: Have an AMD processor (found in most Teslas made from mid-2021 onward)A Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, or CybertruckSoftware version 2025.26A stable Wi-Fi connection or an
  
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• Grok’s Meltdown: xAI Says Sorry for AI Chatbot’s ‘Horrible Behavior,’ Blames Code Glitch

  15-07-2025 15:01 via eweek.com
  xAI has issued a formal apology after its chatbot Grok unleashed a wave of hate speech, antisemitic tropes, and extremist content over a 16-hour period. In a series of posts on X, the company apologized for Grok’s “horrific behavior,” blaming a code update that made the bot mirror toxic user content. Elon Musk’s xAI added that it has removed the faulty code and overhauled the system to block similar failures going forward.A cautionary tale for AI speech?The apology f
  
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• Intel Spinoff Will Focus on Humanoid Robots – With the Help of $50M

  14-07-2025 23:36 via eweek.com
  RealSense, Intel’s once-internal unit for AI vision and robotics, is now pursuing its own trajectory as a fully independent company, bolstered by ambitious plans and $50 million in funding.The newly formed company specializes in 3D depth-sensing cameras and embedded vision technology that help robots and machines to interpret their surroundings. According to company estimates, its systems are integrated into more than 60% of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and humanoid robots worldwide.Spe
  
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• Goldman Sachs Adds AI Developer Devin to Engineering Team – Can It Really Code?

  14-07-2025 21:33 via eweek.com
  Goldman Sachs is testing Devin, an autonomous AI agent embedded into its 12,000-person engineering team. The tool is part of the firm’s push to create a hybrid workforce that blends human oversight with machine execution.In comments to CNBC, Chief Information Officer Marco Argenti said the AI will take on real software development tasks, starting with low-level engineering work. While Devin doesn’t require training, vacations, or breaks, it will be closely supervised by Goldman&rsquo
  
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• 8 Best AI Meeting Notetakers (2025) | Expert Reviewed

  14-07-2025 20:07 via eweek.com
  AI meeting assistant tools can provide a major productivity boost during meetings by transcribing, captioning, and summarizing discussions, identifying speakers, and tracking action items, allowing you to focus on the discussion.I evaluated the best AI meeting notetaker tools to see how they compare on features, pricing, pros and cons, and use cases to help you determine the best virtual assistant for your business.Here are my picks for the best AI meeting notetaker assistants of 2025.
  Fireflies
  
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• Best AI Tools for Job Seekers

  12-07-2025 05:14 via eweek.com
  Job hunting can be overwhelming with so many applications, resumes, and interviews to manage. Fortunately, AI tools can help you make the process smarter, faster, and less stressful. From crafting an optimized resume and cover letter to tracking applications and practicing interviews, these AI tools can help you stand out in a competitive market. Here are some accessible, easy-to-use, and affordable AI tools you can use for your next job search.Kickresume: Best for AI resume buildingYour r
  
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• AI Chatbot Reportedly Checks Musk’s Views Before Answering Questions on Sensitive Topics

  12-07-2025 04:00 via eweek.com
  The artificial intelligence chatbot Grok 4, developed by Elon Musk’s company xAI, is under scrutiny after multiple tests show it frequently checks Musk’s views before answering questions on sensitive subjects.
  Although Musk has called the AI chatbot a “maximally truth-seeking AI,” early users and media outlets have found that Grok 4 often draws directly from Musk’s social media posts when asked about polarizing issues including immigration, abortion, and the Israeli
  
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• DIY Robots: Adorable $299 Reachy Mini is Leading an Open-Source Revolution

  12-07-2025 01:09 via eweek.com
  Something wild is happening in robotics right now. While big companies chase $100,000 humanoids that most people will never see in person, a grassroots movement is quietly building the “Android of robotics” — and you can join from your kitchen table.
  Meet the tiny Reachy Mini robotEnter Reachy Mini, Hugging Face’s adorable $299 desktop robot that just became the latest face of a DIY robot revolution that’s been brewing all year. This 11-inch companion isn&rsqu
  
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• Best AI Tools for Podcast Creators

  11-07-2025 22:01 via eweek.com
  Podcasting has moved into the mainstream, with more than four million podcasts available and nearly 600 million listeners worldwide. As podcasting moves into the mainstream, AI tools have become valuable assets for enhancing your podcasts while maintaining a personal touch. AI can save you hours by simplifying the production process from ideation to editing and promotion. 
  Here are the best AI tools for podcast creators in 2025.TABLE OF CONTENTS
  ToggleDescript: Best for AI transcription and
  
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