Research & Development news

• Meta Tests AI Shopping Feature in Chatbot for US Users

  03-03-2026 20:16 via eweek.com
  Meta wants your next purchase to start with a prompt. The social media giant is testing an AI shopping research feature inside its chatbot that builds instant product carousels with prices attached.Bloomberg reports the experiment is live for some US users, as Meta pushes to bring product discovery directly into its AI assistant.Where chat meets the catalogAsk for a product, and the chatbot answers with a scrollable carousel of options instead of a wall of text. Each card includes a product
  
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• X Suspends Creators for Unlabeled AI War Content

  05-03-2026 18:53 via eweek.com
  X is putting real money on the line to force clearer AI labels during wartime.
  Creators who post AI-generated videos depicting “armed conflict” without disclosing they’re synthetic can lose access to X’s Creator Revenue Sharing program for 90 days, with repeat violations risking permanent removal. It’s a blunt incentive: label it, or lose the payout.
  According to TechCrunch, the enforcement is aimed at AI-generated conflict videos that lack disclosure, and X says it
  
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• OpenAI Teases GPT-5.4 with Cryptic Post — and the Upgrades Could Be Massive

  05-03-2026 17:32 via eweek.com
  OpenAI has begun teasing its next major AI model, and early signals suggest it could arrive sooner than many expected.The company sparked new speculation this week after posting a short message on X stating simply: “5.4 sooner than you Think.” The brief remark has fueled discussion among developers and researchers about what the next upgrade to the GPT-5 series could bring.While OpenAI has not officially revealed details, several reports and leaks indicate that the upcoming GPT-5.4 m
  
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• Lawsuit Claims Google’s Gemini Encouraged Delusions Before Man’s Death

  05-03-2026 16:21 via eweek.com
  The 2013 film, “Her,” is all about a man who falls in love with the operating system on his computer. At the time it was released, the idea of a man falling in love with computer software was too silly to be taken seriously. Fast forward to 2026: With AI chatbots becoming more and more commonplace, it’s a concept that isn’t so far-fetched. There have been several notable stories of humans taking their relationships with AI chatbots too far… and one of the late
  
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• Bill Gates’ Daughter Builds $185M AI Startup While Rejecting ‘Ties to My Privilege or My Last Name’

  05-03-2026 15:58 via eweek.com
  Phoebe Gates, the 23-year-old daughter of tech legends Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, is making a name for herself in Silicon Valley that has nothing to do with her inheritance. As the co-founder and co-CEO of Phia, an AI-powered shopping assistant, she is attempting to pull the digital retail experience into the modern era. Alongside her Stanford University roommate and co-founder, Sophia Kianni, Gates is building a tool that acts less like a search engine and more like a high-end pe
  
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• Google Launches Canvas in AI Mode for Users Across the US

  05-03-2026 15:29 via eweek.com
  Google is steadily reshaping what it means to “search.” Instead of delivering a quick list of links and calling it a day, the company is experimenting with turning Search into a place where ideas can take shape and projects can unfold.Its newest step in that direction is Canvas, a workspace built directly into AI Mode that gives users a persistent area to brainstorm, organize, and build while they search.Now rolling out to users across the US, Canvas introduces a project-style workfl
  
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• ChatGPT Uninstalls Surge 295% After OpenAI Accepts Pentagon Contract

  04-03-2026 21:11 via eweek.com
  A Pentagon contract just cost OpenAI millions of its loyal customers in a single weekend.ChatGPT, OpenAI’s flagship product, saw a massive spike in uninstallations from US users, with a 295% day-over-day increase on Feb. 28. The surge followed public backlash after OpenAI signed a military partnership with the US Department of Defense, a deal that rival AI company Anthropic had previously declined over ethical concerns.How a Pentagon deal became a PR catastropheThe deal with OpenAI dates b
  
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• Google Home Gets ‘Live Search,’ Letting Gemini Analyze Your Cameras Live

  04-03-2026 20:00 via eweek.com
  Your smart home is finally starting to see the world the way you do. Google is rolling out a major update to its Home ecosystem, headlined by a feature called Live Search that lets Gemini AI analyze your camera feeds in real time. Instead of scrolling through grainy clips of things that already happened, you can now treat your cameras like a visual search engine.The standout addition, confirmed by Anish Kattukaran, chief product officer for Gemini for Home, allows users to ask about their p
  
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• Alibaba’s Qwen Tech Lead Steps Down After Major Model Push

  04-03-2026 19:56 via eweek.com
  Alibaba is dealing with the kind of AI headline no model team wants right after a release: a key technical leader behind Qwen says he’s stepping down.
  Junyang Lin posted a brief goodbye message on X and said he was leaving his role on the project without giving a reason. Alibaba hasn’t explained the change or named a clear successor publicly.
  According to TechCrunch, Lin’s post followed Alibaba’s release of new Qwen 3.5 “small models,” and Alibaba did not resp
  
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• OpenAI, Google, and Alibaba Drop Faster, Cheaper Models

  04-03-2026 19:46 via eweek.com
  In the past 24 hours, three major players dropped new models, and none of them are trying to be “the smartest AI ever.” But they’ve all got a need for speed…Here’s what’s up:
  Google dropped Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite.OpenAI answered with GPT-5.3 Instant.And Alibaba quietly shipped four Qwen 3.5 Small models that can run on your phone or laptop.
  These models are all optimized for the same thing: speed, cost, and running on smaller hardware.Here’s what each co
  
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• Apple Just Launched an Entire Lineup of AI-Powered Macs, iPhones, and iPads

  04-03-2026 19:25 via eweek.com
  Apple just dropped a small army of new products in a matter of days, and while the hardware is genuinely impressive, the real story running through all of it is artificial intelligence. From a $599 laptop for students to the most powerful MacBook Pro ever made, every single device Apple announced this week was built, in some meaningful way, around AI. That’s not a coincidence.The chip is the messageIf you want to understand what Apple is really doing with AI, start with the silicon.Th
  
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• Would ChatGPT Health Recognize Your Medical Emergency? New Study Raises Doubts

  04-03-2026 18:34 via eweek.com
  If you asked an AI chatbot whether your symptoms were an emergency, would it get it right? A new study finds OpenAI’s ChatGPT Health, a consumer chatbot designed to answer medical questions, misjudged more than half of serious medical emergencies.Published in Nature Medicine, the researchers found the system failed to recognize 51.6% of emergency cases, often advising patients to seek care within 24 to 48 hours instead of going to the emergency department.Stress-testing an AI health chatbo
  
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• Watch: This Chinese Humanoid Robot Gets Pushed, Kicked, and Still Keeps Dancing

  04-03-2026 18:20 via eweek.com
  Chinese robotics firm EngineAI has released new footage of its compact humanoid robot, PM01, performing a series of balance and recovery demonstrations designed to highlight control rather than raw speed.In the video, the robot dances before being deliberately pushed and kicked off balance. Instead of falling over completely, it absorbs the force, adjusts its posture in real time, and resumes its rhythm within seconds. The movements appear fluid and closely resemble human reactions to sudden dis
  
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• GPT-5.3 Instant Arrives: Smarter Web Answers, Fewer AI Mistakes for ChatGPT

  04-03-2026 15:14 via eweek.com
  ChatGPT just got a conversational upgrade. OpenAI has rolled out GPT-5.3 Instant, a new version of its most widely used model designed to deliver smoother dialogue, more accurate responses, and stronger answers when pulling information from the web.The tech giant said the update focuses on improving the everyday experience of using ChatGPT, refining how the assistant responds so conversations feel more natural and consistently helpful.“This update focuses on the parts of the ChatGPT e
  
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• Google Launches Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite, Its Fastest and Cheapest AI Model Yet

  04-03-2026 14:08 via eweek.com
  Google is pushing AI speed and scale further with a new lightweight model built for massive workloads. The company has launched Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite, calling it its fastest and most cost-efficient model for high-volume AI tasks.Google says the model is intended for developers running high-frequency AI operations and real-time services that require fast responses across large volumes of requests.Built for scale, priced for productionGemini 3.1 Flash-Lite enters the Gemini 3 family as a streamlin
  
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• FinecoBank’s AI Bet: Faster Advice and Smoother Onboarding by 2029

  04-03-2026 12:14 via eweek.com
  Italy’s FinecoBank is betting that by 2029, AI won’t be a bolt-on feature. It’ll be part of how the bank finds customers, supports advisors, and moves money workflows faster, with fewer handoffs.
  According to FinecoBank, the board approved a 2026–2029 industrial plan that puts “AI-based technological innovation” at the center of growth across banking, investing, and brokerage. The plan reads less like a splashy product launch and more like a systems overhaul:
  
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• MyFitnessPal Buys Teens’ Calorie App After 15M Downloads in 2 Years

  03-03-2026 21:19 via eweek.com
  MyFitnessPal just bought a calorie-tracking app built by two teenagers in high school.On March 2, US company MyFitnessPal announced its acquisition of a young rival, a photo-based nutrition app called Cal AI, founded by a pair of 19-year-olds, Zach Yadegari and Henry Langmack. The app quickly gained traction and saw its downloads surge to over 15 million, achieving $30 million in annual revenue in under two years.According to TechCrunch, the deal, which was finalised in December 2025, took almos
  
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• Report: AI Lifts Wages for Seasoned Workers as Entry-Level Jobs Shrink

  03-03-2026 20:24 via eweek.com
  The textbook is losing its value, but the “been there, done that” resume has never been worth more.While the doomsday clock for AI-driven job losses continues to tick in the headlines, a new reality is emerging on the ground: artificial intelligence isn’t just a tool for replacing workers. It’s a high-octane fuel for those who already know what they’re doing.According to a new analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the AI revolution is creating a sharp di
  
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• Lenovo’s AI Workmate Concept Brings a Puppy-Eyed Robot Arm to Your Desk

  03-03-2026 19:17 via eweek.com
  Lenovo’s latest AI desktop concepts look less like office equipment and more like desk companions.
  The standout is the AI Workmate Concept, a puppy-eyed robot arm designed to scan documents, summarize notes, and even project content, hinting at AI assistants with a physical presence.
  According to The Verge, Lenovo showed the Workmate concept at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as part of a broader set of companion-style AI desktop ideas. None are product announcements, and Lenovo hasn&rs
  
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• Gemini vs ChatGPT: 7 Differences That Actually Matter

  03-03-2026 17:32 via eweek.com
  If you’ve used both ChatGPT and Gemini lately, you’ve probably noticed something: they may look similar on the surface, but under the hood, they behave very differently.While OpenAI’s ChatGPT (now in its 5.2 era) remains the king of creative flair and logical depth, Google’s Gemini has carved out a very different path. It isn’t just a chatbot anymore; it’s a multimodal powerhouse woven directly into the fabric of the internet and your workspace.Both can write,
  
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• OpenAI Accidentally Leaks GPT-5.4 (And We Tested It)

  03-03-2026 17:13 via eweek.com
  We thought we were waiting on GPT-5.3’s long tail. Turns out OpenAI might be speedrunning straight to 5.4.Monday evening, I hit a cybersecurity block inside Codex. The error message referenced a model called:gpt-5.4-ab-arm1-1020-1p-codexswic-ev3That’s less a model name and more a Wi-Fi password. But the important part is simple: 5.4.GPT-5.3-Codex launched three weeks ago. It was already OpenAI’s first model officially labeled “High Cybersecurity Capability.” And now
  
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• The ‘Tillyverse’ Is Coming: Inside the Rapid Expansion of AI’s First Digital Superstar

  03-03-2026 16:51 via eweek.com
  Tilly Norwood, the fully AI-generated “actor” created by Eline van der Velden, is heading for what her studio calls a rapid expansion. The plan centers on launching the “Tillyverse,” a digital universe where Norwood and other AI characters will exist side by side. The expansion is being led by Xicoia, the AI talent studio founded by van der Velden and owned by Particle6. To help drive the next phase, the company has hired former Prime Video executive Mark Whelan as h
  
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• Siri’s Upgrade Could Depend on Google’s Infrastructure

  03-03-2026 16:51 via eweek.com
  Apple is preparing to run its next-generation Siri on Google’s servers. Facing cloud capacity strain ahead of its Gemini-powered upgrade, the company has asked Google to host infrastructure for the more advanced, conversational version of its assistant.According to The Information, the discussions center on deploying privacy-compliant servers within Google data centers to support the rollout, marking a potential shift from model integration to greater reliance on infrastructure.Scaling up
  
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• Xiaomi Puts Humanoid Robots on a Factory Clock

  03-03-2026 16:40 via eweek.com
  Xiaomi is finally talking about humanoid robots the way factory managers do: not as a sci-fi mascot, but as a co-worker that has to hit cycle times, repeat tasks all day, and avoid slowing the line.
  Instead of treating humanoids as a concept, Xiaomi is describing a real implementation step: limited, supervised work inside its EV plant, plus a timeline for scaling.
  Factory ‘internships’
  In a March 3 update, Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun said the company’s humanoid robots h
  
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• OpenAI Hires ‘Jester’ Who Hacked Silicon Valley for Fun

  02-03-2026 21:28 via eweek.com
  Riley Walz has built a reputation pranking San Francisco with viral tech stunts. Now the 23-year-old engineer is taking his experiments to OpenAI. Walz, known for reverse engineering city systems and launching provocative web tools, is joining the company behind ChatGPT. He will join OAI Labs, a team focused on prototyping new ways for people to interact with artificial intelligence systems.From viral ranks to OAI labsWIRED reported that Walz is joining OpenAI to work on OAI Labs led by res
  
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• BMW’s Humanoid Robot Joins the Assembly Line in Europe

  02-03-2026 21:20 via eweek.com
  BMW is bringing a humanoid robot onto the factory floor in Germany, taking another step toward modernizing vehicle production. The automaker has launched a pilot at its Leipzig plant to test how human-shaped machines perform in live production, starting with battery assembly and component manufacturing. This deployment follows a nearly yearlong trial at BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina, plant, where a humanoid robot worked 10-hour shifts positioning sheet-metal parts for welding.&nbs
  
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• Claude Overtakes ChatGPT in US App Store Amid Pentagon AI Dispute

  02-03-2026 18:11 via eweek.com
  Claude has knocked ChatGPT off the top of the US App Store.Anthropic’s chatbot seized the No. 1 spot after the Pentagon moved to blacklist the company over disputed AI safeguards, as online calls to “Cancel ChatGPT” gained momentum following OpenAI’s own Department of War deal. Axios first reported the ranking shift, noting Claude’s surge came as tensions between Anthropic and the Pentagon spilled into public view.ChatGPT slipped to No. 2 on the US free apps chart a
  
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• China’s Honor Unveils Moonwalking Humanoid Robot, Sparks Awe at MWC 2026

  02-03-2026 16:29 via eweek.com
  At this year’s Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, Chinese tech brand Honor unveiled its first-ever humanoid robot, marking a bold expansion beyond smartphones and laptops into full-scale robotics.The unnamed humanoid robot walked on stage alongside human dancers and performed a choreographed routine to “Believer” by Imagine Dragons. In a moment that caught the crowd by surprise, it executed a moonwalk and even attempted a backflip.While the robot doesn’t have a form
  
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• Google Brings Robotics Startup Intrinsic In-House to Boost AI

  02-03-2026 16:17 via eweek.com
  Google is pulling its robotics ambitions closer to home. The company announced it is bringing Intrinsic — the Alphabet-founded industrial robotics platform often described as the “Android for robotics” — fully under Google to accelerate its push into physical AI.The move unites Intrinsic with Google DeepMind, Gemini models, and Google Cloud, linking advanced AI research more directly to industrial automation and outlining plans to scale across manufacturing and logis
  
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• Anthropic Blacklisted, OpenAI Welcomed: Inside the Pentagon’s AI Pivot

  02-03-2026 16:01 via eweek.com
  Last Thursday, Anthropic drew a line: Claude cannot be used for mass surveillance of Americans, or for fully autonomous weapons. By Friday evening, President Trump ordered every federal agency to stop using the company’s technology.The Pentagon went further, designating Anthropic a “supply-chain risk to national security“… a label normally reserved for companies deemed foreign adversaries to the US, like Huawei. Anthropic has vowed to challenge the designation in court,
  
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