Author: News Room
The trade association backing some of the biggest news publishers in the US slammed Google’s newly expanded AI Mode, which trades traditional search results for an AI chatbot-like interface. In a statement on Wednesday, the News/Media Alliance said the new feature is “depriving” publishers of both traffic and revenue.During Google I/O on Tuesday, the company announced that it’s expanding AI Mode to all users in the US, which appears in a new tab directly within Search. When users enter a query, AI Mode serves up an AI-generated response alongside a list of relevant links. “Links were the last redeeming quality…
Been making the most of the good weather recently and hit the pavements? These limited-time best Therabody deals will ease your aching muscles – all while putting less strain on your bank balance. With significant reductions across its entire range of massage guns, you can save up to $100/£100 right now. Therabody’s massage guns are some of the best out there, offering percussive treatment in a range of forms – from compact companions for relief on the road, to pro-grade tools for the ultimate vibration therapy. There are even some weirder wellness gadgets, such as a face mask that shines…
Signal is taking proactive steps to ensure Microsoft’s Recall feature can’t screen capture your secured chats, by rolling out a new version of the Signal for Windows 11 client that enables screen security by default. This is the same DRM that blocks users from easily screenshotting a Netflix show on their computer or phone, and using it here could cause problems for people who use accessibility features like screen readers.While Signal says it’s made the feature easy to disable, under Signal Settings > Privacy > Screen Security, it never should’ve come to this. Developer Joshua Lund writes that operating system…
A lawsuit against Google and companion chatbot service Character AI — which is accused of contributing to the death of a teenager — can move forward, ruled a Florida judge. In a decision filed today, Judge Anne Conway said that an attempted First Amendment defense wasn’t enough to get the lawsuit thrown out. Conway determined that, despite some similarities to videogames and other expressive mediums, she is “not prepared to hold that Character AI’s output is speech.”The ruling is a relatively early indicator of the kinds of treatment that AI language models could receive in court. It stems from a…
Artist and musician Brian Eno — who also composed the iconic Windows 95 operating system startup chime — called on Microsoft today to “suspend all services that support any operations that contribute to violations of international law,” saying the company plays a role in “surveillance, violence, and destruction in Palestine.” It’s the latest high-profile instance of the tech giant being pressed on its contracts with the Israeli government.“I gladly took on the [Windows 95] project as a creative challenge and enjoyed the interaction with my contacts at the company,” Eno wrote on Instagram. “I never would have believed that the…
In its antitrust case against Meta, the US Federal Trade Commission is asking a judge to consider an alternate reality. In that world, the company never bought Instagram and WhatsApp. The two apps remained competitive with Facebook, developing features that competed for users’ attention. And that competition created a thriving ecosystem of social media apps where people can connect with their friends and family. Meta has spent the past several days — during which it’s begun lodging its case-in-chief in a Washington, DC, courthouse — building a counternarrative. In its telling of this alternate present, Instagram and WhatsApp are shadows…
There have been public failures as well, such as the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1 personal assistant device. “Those were very poor products,” said Ive, 58. “There has been an absence of new ways of thinking expressed in products.”Our initial reviews certainly backed up Ive’s impression, as David Pierce said the Pin “doesn’t work,” and called the R1 “a worse and less functional version of your smartphone.”Humane, which, like io, was lead by former Apple employees, has already disappeared into the mist of an acquihire by HP and shut down all AI Pins in February. The Rabbit R1…
OpenAI is buying io, a hardware company founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive and several other former engineers from his time there, including Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey, and Tang Tan.Ive won’t be joining OpenAI, and his design firm, LoveFrom, will continue to be independent, but they will “take over design for all of OpenAI, including its software,” in a deal valued at nearly $6.5 billion, Bloomberg reports.About 55 hardware engineers, software developers, and manufacturing experts will join OpenAI as part of the acquisition. That includes Cannon, Hankey, and Tan. The first devices following the acquisition are set to…
Whether you’re a PC gaming die-hard with a headset, are all-in on consoles, or split your time between the two, you’re probably spending a heck of a lot of time sitting down. So getting a top gaming chair is pretty important. And if you’re into cars, then this Audi-inspired gaming chair from Vertagear is perfect. Launched just in time to pair with all the latest gaming tech from Computex 2025, the collection offers three models, each mirroring a different Audi persona. The SL3800 Audi Edition, looks like it’s been yanked out of an A4 – refined, plush, a bit posh…
Google didn’t want to give publishers the choice to keep their content out of AI Search results because it’s “evolving into a space for monetisation.” That’s according to a newly disclosed internal document spotted by Bloomberg, which reveals that Google had discussed offering publishers more granular control over how website data would be used in AI Search features instead of the illusion of choice they eventually received.One of the suggestions in the documents that Google considered a “hard red line” would enable publishers to prevent Google’s AI models from referencing their data in real time, but not opt out of…
Unless you’re wearing a shellsuit while watching a Betamax video of Roland Rat driving a Sinclair C5 to Woolworths to pick up a copy of No Jacket Required by Phil Collins, there are few things that look more ‘80s than these KM5 Lightwear Headphones Hp1. Originally crowdfunded in Japan last year, enough people wanted to look like Marty McFly that these retro headphones are now available to buy for £159/$189 – and they’ve had some important upgrades to make them fit for use in 2025 rather than 1985. For starters there’s Bluetooth 5.4 with LE Audio support, so you don’t…
Google’s AI search results are about to get even more ads. On May 21st, the company announced that it’s going to start testing ads in AI Mode, the new AI-powered search feature that just rolled out to everyone in the US.AI Mode is the new tab in Google Search that opens an AI chatbot-like interface, where you can get a rundown of what you’re searching for, along with links to relevant websites. But these answers could soon have product recommendations and other ads.As an example, Google says if a user asks AI Mode for tips on how to build a…