Research & Development news

• This AI Tool Can Plan and Execute Penetration Tests on Its Own

  31-12-2025 17:15 via eweek.com
  A new generation of AI tools is reshaping offensive cybersecurity, making vulnerability discovery faster, cheaper, and far more automated.
  NeuroSploitv2 exemplifies that shift. The AI-powered penetration testing framework works across multiple large language models, including Gemini, Claude, GPT, and Ollama, automating tasks that once required skilled human researchers.
  In practice, it’s beginning to replace entire phases of the penetration testing process.
  That transition is already real.
  
  Read more

• Google and Character.AI Settle Teen Suicide Lawsuits

  08-01-2026 11:55 via eweek.com
  Character.AI and Google have reached settlements to resolve multiple lawsuits alleging the AI chatbot platform contributed to teen suicides and mental health crises.
  The companies agreed to settle five cases across Florida, Colorado, New York, and Texas, marking a pivotal moment in the emerging legal battles over AI safety for minors.
  These agreements involve families whose children died by suicide or suffered serious harm after interacting with Character.AI’s chatbots.
  Court documents fil
  
  Read more

• Beijing Fears AI ‘Brain Drain’ as Meta’s $2B Manus Deal Comes Under Review

  08-01-2026 11:02 via eweek.com
  While AI is advertised as a tool to simplify everyday life, AI companies operating across borders have not had it easy, amid growing regulatory hurdles.Beijing authorities are considering whether to intervene in Meta Platforms’ planned acquisition of Manus, an AI start-up with roots in China, due to rising concerns that the deal could breach technology export controls and prompt more Chinese AI companies to move offshore.According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), officials, includin
  
  Read more

• OpenAI Offers Medical Assistance With ChatGPT Health Launch

  08-01-2026 10:13 via eweek.com
  Well, well, healthcare has experienced a shift that might make doctors worried about job security go very pale.
  OpenAI has introduced ChatGPT Health, marking the first time AI has been specifically designed to serve as a dedicated personal medical assistant for everyday users.
  With over 230 million people globally asking health-related questions on ChatGPT every week, make no bones about it, the demand was already there.
  The features
  OpenAI’s announcement says the AI can explain lab result
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Best AI Certifications to Land High-Demand Jobs in 2026

  08-01-2026 08:53 via eweek.com
  Artificial intelligence is no longer just a buzzword. It’s an essential skill across industries.Whether you’re in tech, business, or design, employers are actively seeking professionals who can effectively navigate and apply AI. Building these skills can position you for better opportunities, higher pay, and stronger job security as the field continues to evolve.AI certifications validate your expertise and show employers that you can apply these skills in real projects. They’r
  
  Read more

• Motorola’s AI Necklace Tests a New Kind of Digital Assistant

  07-01-2026 17:52 via eweek.com
  Motorola used CES 2026 to quietly test the waters in the emerging AI companion hardware market, previewing a minimalist wearable designed to act as an always-available assistant rather than a full-fledged smart device. The company debuted the product during its Lenovo World Tour events surrounding CES.The wearable shows Motorola’s attempt to explore a category that has struggled to gain traction, following the high-profile stumbles of earlier AI-first devices. Enterprise leaders, platform
  
  Read more

• China’s Roborock Unveils a Robot Vacuum That Can Climb Stairs

  07-01-2026 17:21 via eweek.com
  Robot vacuums have learned how to mop, dodge cables, and even lift small obstacles. At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Roborock added a new milestone to that list: stairs.The company, headquartered in Beijing, China, used its CES stage to unveil the Saros Rover, a robot vacuum that uses a wheel-leg design to climb staircases, handle slopes, and clean areas that have long been off-limits to robotic cleaners.Roborock describes the Saros Rover as the world’s first robot vacuum with a two-wheel-leg arc
  
  Read more

• Best Free and Low-Cost AI Certifications Tech Pros Can Earn in 2026

  07-01-2026 17:06 via eweek.com
  Artificial intelligence skills are now essential for many tech jobs, but training and certification can be expensive.Thankfully, major tech companies and popular learning platforms are offering free and low-cost AI courses. These programs help professionals gain in-demand skills at different stages of their careers without spending a lot of money. Most of these free and affordable AI certifications focus on practical skills, from understanding AI fundamentals to applying machine learning co
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• How to Colorize and Restore Old Photos With AI in 3 Simple Steps

  07-01-2026 16:58 via eweek.com
  You found an old family photo. It’s faded and scratched. It looks like it survived a minor flood. But is it toast? Not anymore.The good news: ChatGPT and Google Gemini can now colorize and gently restore old photos in seconds. No Photoshop, plugins, or PhD required.Bad news: if you’re sloppy, the model will happily “improve” your relatives into people you don’t recognize. The key is careful restraint.Here’s how to do it right.Step 1: Give the AI something wort
  
  Read more

• How to Colorize and Restore Old Photos With AI

  07-01-2026 16:58 via eweek.com
  You found an old family photo. It’s faded and scratched. It looks like it survived a minor flood. But is it toast? Not anymore.The good news: ChatGPT and Google Gemini can now colorize and gently restore old photos in seconds. No Photoshop, plugins, or PhD required.Bad news: if you’re sloppy, the model will happily “improve” your relatives into people you don’t recognize. The key is careful restraint.Here’s how to do it right.Step 1: Give the AI something wort
  
  Read more

• Ring Rolls Out AI-Powered Security Tools and Hub-Free Sensors at CES 2026

  07-01-2026 16:00 via eweek.com
  Ring just turned your front porch into a much smarter neighbor.At CES 2026, the Amazon-owned security company introduced a massive expansion of its ecosystem, moving beyond simple motion pings to artificial intelligence that can actually recognize when your routine is “off.” The biggest change coming to your smartphone is a feature called AI Unusual Event Alert. Instead of buzzing every time a car drives by, the system learns the daily routine patterns of your property. If somet
  
  Read more

• Apple’s iPhone Air Designer Abidur Chowdhury Moves to AI Startup Hark

  07-01-2026 15:30 via eweek.com
  Apple’s design team just lost one of its brightest stars to the world of startups.Abidur Chowdhury, the industrial designer who became a familiar face to Apple fans after introducing the ultra-thin iPhone Air, has officially joined the AI startup Hark as its new Head of Design. The move, reported by Bloomberg, marks another high-profile exit from the tech giant as top-tier talent continues to migrate toward artificial intelligence.Chowdhury was a rising star who had been with Apple si
  
  Read more

• Amazon’s AI Shopping Tool Faces Retailer Backlash Over Website Scraping

  07-01-2026 15:05 via eweek.com
  Amazon’s latest AI experiment has backfired, igniting a revolt amongst small retailers.
  The e-commerce giant quietly launched a feature that scrapes competitor websites without permission, and now hundreds of small businesses are fighting back.
  Amazon’s “Shop Direct” feature, launched in February 2025, was designed to make shopping easier by letting customers browse products from other retailers directly on Amazon’s platform.
  But what seemed like innovation has turn
  
  Read more

• Mobileye to Buy Israeli Startup Mentee Robotics for $900M

  07-01-2026 12:37 via eweek.com
  Self-driving car firm Mobileye has made a massive acquisition that signals where AI is heading next.
  The company announced it will acquire humanoid robotics startup Mentee Robotics for $900 million, marking one of the largest humanoid robot deals in history.
  Mobileye will pay $612 million in cash plus 26.2 million shares, representing a 455% premium over Mentee’s $162 million valuation from 10 months ago. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.
  Dynamic duo
  The timing is
  
  Read more

• Leading AI Doomsayer Rethinks the Timeline for Humanity’s End

  07-01-2026 10:43 via eweek.com
  Humanity’s ultimate demise at the hands of AI sounds like a sci-fi trope, but today experts debate its very real probability.For much of the past year, a figure whose name has been spoken time and time again in discussions about artificial general intelligence (AGI) and human extinction is Daniel Kokotajlo. A prominent voice in the AI safety community and former OpenAI researcher, Kokotajlo helped spark a global conversation last April with “AI 2027,” a speculative scenari
  
  Read more

• Elon Musk’s xAI Raises $20B in New Funding

  07-01-2026 10:32 via eweek.com
  Elon Musk’s xAI has secured $20 billion in Series E funding, exceeding its initial target by a remarkable $5 billion.
  The capital injection comes with heavyweight backing from tech giants Nvidia and Cisco, positioning xAI as a formidable challenger in the intensifying AI arms race.
  This funding round represents one of the largest AI investments ever recorded, signaling unprecedented investor confidence in Musk’s vision for AI dominance.
  The announcement arrives just one week after Op
  
  Read more

• Kodiak AI Taps Bosch to Build Production-Ready Driverless Trucks

  06-01-2026 20:21 via eweek.com
  Driverless trucking has spent years stuck in pilot mode. Now it’s inching closer to mass production.Kodiak AI, a leader in self-driving technology, and automotive giant Bosch have teamed up to build a production-ready “driverless” system for the trucking industry. The deal, announced Monday at CES 2026, aims to solve one of the biggest headaches in the autonomous sector: moving from experimental prototypes to thousands of trucks on the open road.Building a production-grade auto
  
  Read more

• Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon X2 Plus and Robotics Push at CES 2026

  06-01-2026 17:21 via eweek.com
  Qualcomm came to CES with something to prove.The chipmaker used the world’s biggest tech stage to unveil an ambitious 2026 roadmap that stretches far beyond smartphones, signaling a shift toward PCs, AI-heavy computing, and even humanoid robots. The goal? To redefine its role in the broader tech ecosystem.At the center of that push is the new Snapdragon X2 Plus, alongside the X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme. Together, these processors signal Qualcomm’s most aggressive move yet to redef
  
  Read more

• Jensen Huang: Nvidia Built ‘World’s First Thinking, Reasoning Autonomous Vehicle’

  06-01-2026 17:02 via eweek.com
  At CES 2026, Jensen Huang took the stage and dropped a line that might define the next decade: “The ChatGPT moment for physical AI is here.” Bold claim.The star of Nvidia keynote was Alpamayo, what Jensen calls “the world’s first thinking, reasoning autonomous vehicle AI.”Here’s the problem it solves
  Traditional self-driving cars separate seeing from deciding. Works great 99% of the time, but that remaining 1% (weird edge cases, unexpected scenarios) is where
  
  Read more

• Grok AI Sparks International Investigations After Creating Explicit Images of Children

  06-01-2026 16:54 via eweek.com
  Governments across three continents have launched urgent investigations into Elon Musk’s X platform after its Grok AI chatbot began generating sexually explicit images of women and children.
  What started as users discovering they could simply ask Grok to “undress” photos has now become a full-blown international regulatory crisis.
  Reports published today (Jan. 6) reveal X was flooded with inappropriate AI-generated content targeting women and minors. The controversy reached a b
  
  Read more

• Google TV Will Soon Include Gemini AI With Nano Banana Features

  06-01-2026 16:53 via eweek.com
  Your TV is about to get a lot smarter… and a little more creative.At CES 2026, Google revealed new Gemini AI features coming to Google TV that aim to make the big screen more interactive, from answering questions to adjusting settings and even creating images and video on demand. The update brings Gemini’s Nano Banana and Veo tools to select TVs, along with voice controls that let users adjust picture and sound without digging through menus. Google said the features will roll o
  
  Read more

• Amazon Brings Alexa+ to the Web With a ChatGPT-Style Interface

  06-01-2026 16:32 via eweek.com
  Amazon’s long-scheduled overhaul of its digital assistant, Alexa, has finally arrived on the web… sporting a look similar to rival ChatGPT.While Amazon has one of the largest installed user bases for an AI product through the sale of hundreds of millions of Alexa smart home speakers, voice-activated virtual assistants have taken a back seat to text-based generative chatbots since the launch of ChatGPT three years ago.Alexa+, which is available on the web at Alexa.com, is pitched as
  
  Read more

• China Unveils ‘Real Steel’ Combat Robot in High-Tech Military Showcase

  06-01-2026 15:58 via eweek.com
  During a recent military exchange event, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) demonstrated a motion-controlled combat robot capable of replicating a human operator’s movements in real time. The system works by having a person wear a lightweight motion-sensing device. Every punch, block, or combat gesture made by the operator is captured and instantly mirrored by the robot, with artificial intelligence helping to translate the movements precisely.The technology has drawn
  
  Read more

• Accenture Expands AI Capabilities With Faculty Acquisition

  06-01-2026 13:30 via eweek.com
  Consulting firm Accenture has made a power move in the area of enterprise AI adoption.
  The company has announced plans to acquire UK-based AI firm Faculty, bringing over 400 AI specialists into its ranks and adding Faculty’s CEO, Marc Warner, as its new chief technology officer.
  This acquisition is the culmination of a massive $3 billion AI investment strategy that started back in June 2023.
  Faculty, founded in 2014, works directly with tech giants OpenAI and Anthropic on AI safety initiat
  
  Read more

• AI Godfather Slams Meta’s $300M Bet on 29-Year-Old Boss

  06-01-2026 10:33 via eweek.com
  There’s a rage about age in Silicon Valley.
  AI legend Yann LeCun has words on Meta’s controversial leadership choice. The 65-year-old “godfather of AI” delivered a scathing public assessment of Meta’s newest AI chief Alexandr Wang.
  LeCun didn’t mince words when discussing the 29-year-old billionaire who joined Meta as chief AI officer in 2025. Despite Wang’s Scale AI billions and Zuckerberg’s massive bet on his leadership, LeCun told the Financial
  
  Read more

• Samsung Bets Big on AI, Plans 800M Gemini-Powered Devices in 2026

  06-01-2026 10:22 via eweek.com
  On your marks, get ready, and try to keep up. This is the message Samsung Electronics is communicating to its competitors, as it bets big on AI at a rapid scale to solidify its leadership in AI-powered consumer hardware. The South Korean tech company announced plans to double the number of AI-enabled mobile devices it ships this year to 800 million units, which goes to show how quickly AI is becoming the next major battleground in consumer technology.By the end of last year, Samsung ha
  
  Read more

• Meet ‘Atlas’: Boston Dynamics’ New Robot Takes First Real Factory Job at Hyundai Plant

  05-01-2026 19:26 via eweek.com
  Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robot, Atlas, has taken a significant step beyond flashy lab demos. For the first time, the AI-powered robot is being tested in a real factory, learning how to do actual industrial work.CBS’s 60 Minutes was invited to Hyundai Motor Group’s new auto plant near Savannah, Georgia, where Atlas was put to work inside a parts warehouse. The visit offered a rare look at how close humanoid robots are to joining human workers on factory floors.Standing 5 feet,
  
  Read more

• 10 Essential AI Terms Every Beginner Should Learn Today

  05-01-2026 18:30 via eweek.com
  Artificial intelligence is everywhere now, powering search engines, rewriting emails, and even seeping into the apps you use every day. But for anyone just stepping into the space, the language around AI can feel like a wall of unfamiliar terms: tokens, models, hallucinations, and more. The tech isn’t hard to follow, but the jargon is. Once you decode the vocabulary, the entire field becomes far less mysterious and far more usable.Here are the 10 AI terms that give beginners the clear
  
  Read more

• Elon Musk Pushes Grok Beyond X With New Business, Enterprise AI Offerings

  05-01-2026 17:57 via eweek.com
  Grok is stepping out of the public timeline and into the office.Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, has launched Grok Business and Grok Enterprise, two new paid tiers designed to bring its flagship AI assistant into workplaces, from small teams to large global organizations. The move marks xAI’s clearest push yet to compete for enterprise customers already weighing tools from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.In a post announcing the launch, xAI said it’s making Grok available to employee
  
  Read more

• 170 Million New Jobs, 92 Million Lost: Inside the AI Employment Paradox

  05-01-2026 17:26 via eweek.com
  The question is no longer whether AI will disrupt jobs, but how many and how fast. For much of the past two years, analysts and labor studies have warned of a looming job apocalypse, particularly for entry-level roles that once served as the primary on-ramp for new college graduates. That near-dystopian narrative has been reinforced by sustained layoffs across sectors through 2025, including technology, media, finance, consulting, and corporate retail operations, even as companies acce
  
  Read more

Follow @R_and_D_News on Twitter!