Research & Development news

• 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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• Samsung Reveals ‘Galaxy Glasses’: AI-Powered Smart Specs Coming Soon

  06-03-2026 21:50 via eweek.com
  Samsung is stepping into the fast-growing AI smart-glasses race with its upcoming “Galaxy Glasses,” a camera-equipped wearable designed to challenge Meta, Apple, Google, and a wave of emerging competitors.At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the company confirmed its first AI smart glasses will arrive later this year.Jay Kim, executive vice president of Samsung’s mobile division, said the glasses feature a single eye-level camera and a tight tether to the wearer’s smart
  
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• Anthropic Launches AI ‘Job Disruption’ Tracker to Monitor Automation Risk

  06-03-2026 21:41 via eweek.com
  The artificial intelligence boom has raised a pressing question: Will machines take people’s jobs? Now, AI company Anthropic says it has built a new system designed to detect early warning signs of that disruption.In a new research paper, the company introduced a framework to track how AI might affect employment over time. The system focuses on measuring how exposed different occupations are to automation by large language models, such as its AI assistant Claude.Which jobs have the hi
  
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• ChatGPT Comes to Excel as OpenAI Rolls Out GPT-5.4-Powered Spreadsheet Tools

  06-03-2026 21:28 via eweek.com
  OpenAI announced Thursday the beta launch of ChatGPT for Excel, an add-in that embeds the company’s latest AI model directly into workbooks, allowing users to build, update, and analyze spreadsheet models using plain language rather than writing formulas manually.According to the company, the tool can help users build new spreadsheet models, update existing ones, and run scenario analysis directly within the workbook. Analysts can describe what they want in plain language, and the AI can a
  
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• Best Grok Image Prompts in 2026: 7 Creative Ideas to Try Right Now

  06-03-2026 20:18 via eweek.com
  We have moved far beyond the days of “dog wearing sunglasses” or “cyberpunk city” when it comes to AI image generators.In 2026, Grok Imagine, now leaner and far more intuitive, craves context and texture rather than just a string of keywords. While earlier AI models needed you to act like a computer programmer to get a decent result, today’s best prompts read like a page from a high-end travel magazine or a cinematic script. The trick isn’t just telling t
  
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• Meta Builds New AI ‘Data Engine’ Teams to Train Smarter Models

  06-03-2026 19:31 via eweek.com
  Meta is creating a new AI engineering organization as the company expands its efforts to develop more advanced artificial intelligence systems. The new group will focus on building the engineering infrastructure that supports Meta’s training, evaluation, and improvement of its AI models. The team will work alongside Meta Superintelligence Labs, the company’s research division responsible for developing Meta’s latest frontier AI models. According to an internal memo, the or
  
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• Elon Musk: Tesla Could Build AGI Through Its Optimus Robot

  06-03-2026 19:26 via eweek.com
  Could Elon Musk be betting Tesla’s future on artificial general intelligence? Well, that’s what his recent claim suggests.On March 4, the Tesla CEO announced in an X post that “Tesla will be one of the companies to make AGI and probably the first to make it in humanoid/atom-shaping form,” a reference to Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot program. Statements like this seem to position Tesla as a serious contender in the most consequential AI race of the century.A b
  
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• UK Lords Demand AI Limits to Protect Creative Jobs

  06-03-2026 19:09 via eweek.com
  A House of Lords committee is urging the UK government to impose stricter limits on how AI companies use copyrighted material, arguing that the country should not trade away its creative industries for uncertain AI gains.
  The warning comes from a new report that puts copyright, transparency, and licensing at the center of the UK’s AI debate, as pressure grows on governments to decide how generative AI should be trained on books, music, journalism, and other creative work.
  The committee&rsq
  
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• Google Gemini Cheat Sheet: A Complete Guide

  06-03-2026 18:57 via eweek.com
  Google Gemini is Google’s suite of generative AI features that power conversations, writing, research, and creative tools across Google’s apps and devices.Introduced as a model family in late 2023 and rolled out to consumers in 2024, Gemini has steadily expanded from a standalone chatbot into Android, Google Workspace, Chrome, Search, and smart‑home experiences.What does Google Gemini do?Google Gemini is an umbrella term for a wide range of generative AI capabilities available
  
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• Meta Opens WhatsApp to Rival AI Chatbots in Europe — but Only for a Limited Time

  06-03-2026 15:33 via eweek.com
  Meta is opening the door, at least temporarily, to rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp in Europe. The company said it will allow competing AI assistants to access its messaging platform via the WhatsApp Business API for the next 12 months. This move aims to ease the mounting pressure from European antitrust regulators. The policy change follows complaints from AI companies that Meta blocked their chatbots while prompting its Meta AI assistant on WhatsApp. By allowing third-party bots back on
  
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• Microsoft Alert: 900K Chrome AI Extensions Are Spying on ChatGPT Conversations

  06-03-2026 15:13 via eweek.com
  A new investigation has revealed that some browser extensions posing as helpful AI assistants are quietly collecting users’ conversations with large language models.Researchers from the Microsoft Defender Security Research Team say malicious browser extensions designed to appear as legitimate AI assistant tools have collected significant amounts of user data from interactions with popular AI platforms.According to the company’s security blog, the campaign has already reached around 9
  
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• GPT-5.4 Is Here: OpenAI’s ‘Most Capable and Efficient’ Model for Professional Work

  05-03-2026 21:14 via eweek.com
  OpenAI has released GPT-5.4, a new model designed to handle complex professional work more efficiently than earlier versions. The company says the model combines improvements in reasoning, coding, and automation, aiming to help users complete tasks faster and with fewer errors.The company says the system is its “most capable and efficient frontier model for professional work,” marking a major upgrade to the capabilities available through ChatGPT, Codex, and its developer API.The laun
  
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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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• Meta AI Glasses Footage Reviewed by Humans, Including Intimate Moments

  04-03-2026 20:27 via eweek.com
  Meta’s AI smart glasses may be capturing more than users realize.Footage recorded by the devices — including highly intimate moments — can be reviewed by human workers helping train the company’s AI systems. According to the BBC, outsourced reviewers responsible for labeling the data say they have encountered deeply personal footage while doing the work.The news raises fresh questions about how recordings from the glasses are handled behind the scenes.A watchdog starts as
  
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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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