Meta prevails in historic FTC antitrust case, won't have to break off WhatsApp, Instagram
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Meta has prevailed over an existential challenge to its business that could have forced the tech giant to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp after a judge ruled that the company does not hold a monopoly in social networking. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued his ruling Tuesday after the historic antitrust trial wrapped up in late May. His decision follows two separate rulings that branded Google an illegal monopoly in both search and online advertising, dealing yet another regulatory blow to the tech industry that for years enjoyed nearly unbridled growth.
Cloudflare resolves outage that impacted thousands, ChatGPT, X and more
A widely used Internet infrastructure company said that it has resolved an issue that led to outages impacting users of everything from ChatGPT and the online game, “League of Legends,” to the New Jersey Transit system early Tuesday. Around 10 a.m. ET, Cloudflare said it was “continuing to monitor for errors to ensure all services are back to normal.” Others platforms that experienced outages Tuesday included the social media site X, Shopify, Dropbox, Coinbase, and the Moody’s credit ratings service. Moody’s website displayed an Error Code 500 and instructed individuals to visit Cloudflare’s website for more information.
What does 'agentic' AI mean? Tech's newest buzzword is a mix of marketing fluff and real promise
For technology adopters looking for the next big thing, “agentic AI” is the future. At least, that’s what the marketing pitches and tech industry T-shirts say. What makes an artificial intelligence product “agentic” depends on who’s selling it. But the promise is usually that it’s something beyond generative AI chatbots that answer questions, retrieve and summarize information, write papers and generate images, music, code and video. Chatbots, however useful, are all talk and no action. AI agents, by contrast, are supposed to be all about taking actions, on their own, on a person’s behalf.
Google unveils Gemini's next generation, aiming to turn its search engine into a 'thought partner'
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is unleashing Gemini’s next generation of artificial intelligence in its dominant search engine and other popular online services in the high-stakes battle to create technology that people can trust to enlighten them and manage tedious tasks. The Gemini 3 model unveiled Tuesday comes nearly two years after Google took the wraps off the first iteration of the technology in response to a competitive threat posed by OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google’s latest AI features initially will be rolled out to Gemini Pro and Ultra subscribers in the U.S. before coming to a wider audience around the world.
Microsoft partners with Anthropic and Nvidia in cloud infrastructure deal
Microsoft has announced a partnership with AI company Anthropic and chipmaker Nvidia. Anthropic, known for its chatbot Claude, plans to buy $30 billion of computing capacity from Microsoft's Azure cloud platform. Nvidia will invest up to $10 billion in Anthropic, and Microsoft will also invest up to $5 billion in the startup. The announcements were made by the CEOs of Anthropic, Microsoft, and Nvidia just before Microsoft's annual Ignite developer conference. This move could mark a shift away from Microsoft's longtime alliance with OpenAI.
Roblox steps up age checks and groups younger users into age-based chats
Roblox is stepping up its age verification system for users who want to message other players and implementing age-based chats so kids, teens and adults will only be able to communicate with people around their own age. The moves come as the popular gaming platform continues to face criticism and lawsuits over child safety and a growing number of states and countries are implementing age verification laws. Roblox said it will start enforcing age checks in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands in the first week of December and the rest of the world in early January.
Amazon's Zoox robotaxis service to give free rides in San Francisco as its expansion accelerates
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Amazon’s Zoox will start giving free robotaxi rides through parts of San Francisco as it accelerates its attempt to challenge Waymo’s early lead in the race to transport passengers cities in self-driving vehicles. The expansion announced Tuesday will be confined few major San Francisco neighborhoods and limited to people who signed up on a waiting list to ride in Zoox’s gondola-shaped robotaxis, which have no steering wheel. The San Francisco launch comes less than three months after the Amazon-owned robotaxi company launched its first ride-hailing service along the Las Vegas strip. Zoox still needs regulatory approval to charge for rides, as Waymo has been doing in San Francisco since 2023.
Artificial intelligence sparks debate at COP30 climate talks in Brazil
BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Artificial intelligence is being cast as both a hero and a villain at the U.N. climate talks in Brazil. Tech companies and some countries at the conference known as COP30 are promoting the ways AI can solve the world’s climate issues. But climate and environmental groups are stressing AI’s growing environmental impact. That includes data centers' soaring water and energy demands. One expert calls AI an “completely unregulated beast around the world.” But another calls it “so democratizing.” Both sides in the climate debate agree that AI is here to stay.
EU to assess whether Amazon and Microsoft cloud businesses need extra scrutiny
LONDON (AP) — The European Union is considering stricter scrutiny for Amazon and Microsoft's cloud businesses. The EU's executive Commission is assessing whether Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure should be classified as "gatekeepers" under the Digital Markets Act. This rule book aims to curb the market power of tech giants with strict regulations. Gatekeepers face extra obligations, and regulators have already given this label to other parts of the companies. The Commission will examine if these cloud services act as essential gateways between businesses and consumers. Both companies argue that the cloud sector is innovative and competitive.
Future data centers are driving up forecasts for energy demand. States want proof they'll get built
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Utilities are producing eye-popping forecasts about the amount of electricity they'll need to power massive new data centers that are feeding the fast-growing AI economy. But the forecasts are setting off alarm bells about whether they can be trusted. One question is whether utilities are counting speculative data center projects that may never get built. Some worry regular ratepayers could be stuck with paying for unnecessary power plants. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission wants to know how grid operators determine that a project is viable, while states are trying to find out what's in utilities' forecasts and weed out speculative projects.
