Google announces slew of AI advances, including a personal AI assistant coming soon
Google is introducing a range of new AI tools, including an AI assistant called Gemini Spark, which proactively performs tasks for users. Announced at the Google I/O developers conference, Gemini Spark is the latest in a slew of big bets Google is making in AI technology. The latest Gemini model, 3.5 Flash, is launching Tuesday, offering speed and advanced safety features. Google unveiled Gemini Omni, enabling users to create high-quality videos from various inputs. Google is also enhancing its search engine with AI-powered features, building on previous moves that have put Gemini in front of billions of users.
Appeals court judges appear to be divided over Pentagon's legal dispute with AI company Anthropic
WASHINGTON (AP) — A panel of appellate judges appears to be divided over a legal dispute between the Pentagon and Anthropic. The AI technology company claims Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unlawfully and falsely branded it as a national security risk. Three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit didn’t indicate how soon they would rule in the case after a hearing Tuesday. But their questions hinted at a split among the judges. Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson said she sees no evidence to support the Pentagon’s determination that Anthropic poses a supply-chain risk. Judge Neomi Rao questioned what basis the court could have to second-guess Hegseth’s judgment.
Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements
Artificial intelligence has become an unwelcome topic at college commencements. Graduates at several colleges and universities have interrupted speakers with boos when they mention AI. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is the latest keynote speaker to face heckling, during his speech at the University of Arizona this weekend. More backlash met speakers at the University of Central Florida and Middle Tennessee State. Promoting artificial intelligence can feel tone deaf at a time when AI-related layoffs have graduates facing one of the most uncertain job markets in years. Polls show growing anger as AI threatens careers people have spent years pursuing.
Trump discloses thousands of stock trades, some in companies directly influenced by his policies
NEW YORK (AP) — Recent presidents have stayed away from trading stocks in companies whose fortunes they could lift or scuttle with the stroke of a pen. But Donald Trump smashed that precedent in the first quarter of this year with more than 3,500 buy and sell orders, many of them involving companies whose profits have been directly impacted by his decisions as head of the government, according to a recent disclosure. Among the companies Trump traded in were Nvidia, Apple and some big defense contractors. The Trump Organization said the portfolio is managed by third parties and the president has no say in what stocks to buy and sell.
OpenAI avoided a costly court loss to Elon Musk, but neither side is unscathed
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Elon Musk lost his case against OpenAI and its top executives in a high-stakes trial that pitted billionaire against billionaires. But neither side emerged as too sympathetic. Americans’ opinion about artificial intelligence is at a low point with worries over job losses and even humanity’s extinction. Online comments and signs outside the courtroom rooted for neither side. Critics say the real losers are people whose lives are being upended by an AI industry controlled by a few out-of-touch billionaires who can’t get along.
Tool or threat? Cannes Film Festival grapples with the rise of AI
CANNES, France (AP) — The Cannes Film Festival can function like a global water cooler for movies, with prevailing issues and anxieties of the industry tending to surface at the event. This year, the topic du jour is artificial intelligence. The 79th Cannes may go down as the time the world’s grandest film festival for the first time wrestled with the onset of AI — its arrival has been felt like a tsunami on the French Riviera. AI's potential to remake the movie industry, either for good or bad, has been an ongoing debate since the festival opened. And in many quarters, the tone is softening.
Pope and co-founder of Anthropic to launch pontiff's AI encyclical on May 25
ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV and Anthropic's co-founder Christopher Olah are set to launch the pontiff’s first encyclical on May 25. The document, titled "Magnifica Humanitas," focuses on human dignity in the AI era. The presence of Olah suggests the pope's stance on AI could become a contentious issue with the Trump administration. Earlier this year, the administration ordered U.S. agencies to stop using Anthropic’s AI technology. Anthropic is suing, claiming illegal retaliation. The new encyclical is expected to address AI within the church’s social teachings, similar to past discussions on labor and justice.
A de-extinction company has hatched live chicks from an artificial eggshell
NEW YORK (AP) — A biotech company that aims to resurrect lost creatures says it has hatched live chicks in an artificial environment. Colossal Biosciences says 26 baby chickens were born from a 3D printed lattice structure that mimics an eggshell. Colossal says the artificial egg technology could be scaled up to genetically engineer living birds to resemble New Zealand’s extinct South Island giant moa. Independent scientists say the technology is impressive, but de-extinction is likely impossible. Colossal previously announced it genetically engineered living animals to resemble extinct species, including mice with long hair like the woolly mammoth and wolf pups that take after dire wolves.
Steven Soderbergh used AI in a documentary about John Lennon. And he wants to talk about it
CANNES, France (AP) — The day John Lennon was shot in 1980, he and Yoko Ono gave an interview to a San Francisco radio crew from their home in New York’s Dakota Apartments. In “John Lennon: The Last Interview,” Steven Soderbergh pp those surviving tapes into a new documentary that debuted Saturday at the Cannes Film Festival. But his decision to fill in some visuals using Meta's AI software has prompted an outcry. One of America’s leading filmmakers was using AI? In a film about a Beatle, no less? Soderbergh has placed himself at the forefront of an industrywide debate about the uses of AI in moviemaking. But for him, it’s a conversation he’s eager to have.
Iran war energy shock drives interest in ethanol and other biofuels across hard-hit Asia
BENGALURU, India (AP) — Nations across Asia are pushing for the use of more biofuels in transportation in order to slash dependence on imported fossil fuels, which have been disrupted by the Iran war. Asia is hardest hit by the ongoing energy shock since most of the fossil fuel shipments through the now-closed Strait of Hormuz were Asia-bound. India is considering allowing vehicles to run on 85%, or even 100% ethanol. Meanwhile, Indonesia and Malaysia are both racing to increase fuel blending with similar ambitions of cutting back on imported fuels. Experts are split on the climate benefit of these fuels, with some stressing that other forms of renewable energy would likely be more efficient.
