Google on Wednesday (Aug 12) unveiled its latest lineup of Pixel phones, with slimmer cameras that include a more powerful zoom and artificial intelligence (AI) features designed to help users accomplish things with fewer taps and swipes.

Customers in Singapore can now preorder the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold, starting at S$1,299, S$1,599, S$1,819, and S$2,499, respectively.

New features include live translation for videos, podcasts and voice messages. In the Pro models, a tool called HiLight lets you assign a colour to your favourite contacts and have the phone light up in that colour when they call and the phone is placed face down. It complements Pixel’s “Flip to Shhh” feature that puts the phone in “do not disturb” mode when it is placed face down. 

Camera upgrades include a new mode called Magic Capture, which automatically takes a series of photos and video with a single tap of the shutter button. Google said the cameras also feature improved light sensitivity and, for Pro models, Instant Night Sight captures shots in dark environments faster, so you don’t have to hold your phone still while waiting for exposure.

With the improvements, the search giant hopes to give users a reason to buy new models and expand the number of people using its AI tools.

“Google continues to tout new software features, primarily around AI, as the reason to upgrade,” said Forrester senior analyst Andrew Cornwall.

While the Pixel phones are not as popular as Apple’s iPhone, Google has been steadily increasing the amount of AI on its Pixel phones since 2023.

Google said in a presentation to reporters last week that the new phones will double the previous storage size, starting at 256 gigabytes, and feature 30 hours of battery life and faster wireless charging. (CNA/ AP)

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Google is expanding its account security toolkit with a new selfie video verification feature that lets users prove their identity using facial biometrics when they are unable to access their accounts through conventional methods. The capability is designed as an additional recovery option rather than a replacement for existing authentication methods and arrives as technology companies increasingly move towards password-free sign-ins while grappling with the rapid rise of AI-powered identity fraud. 

The feature is rolling out to eligible Google accounts and offers another way to regain access if users lose their trusted device or encounter difficulties signing in. It complements Google’s existing authentication measures, including passkeys and recovery contacts, as the company continues to broaden the ways users can securely verify their identity. 

The launch also reflects a wider shift across the technology industry. As generative AI makes it easier to create convincing fake images and videos, companies handling financial information, online identities and sensitive personal data are investing more heavily in biometric verification and “liveness” detection to distinguish real users from sophisticated impersonation attempts. 

How to set up?

Setting up the new verification method requires users to record a short selfie video using their device’s front-facing camera. During enrolment, Google guides users through a series of simple head movements so the system can capture multiple facial angles rather than relying on a single still image.

If a user later becomes locked out of their account, they can record another selfie video to verify their identity. Google compares the new recording with the previously enrolled version before deciding whether to restore account access.

According to the company, the process includes safeguards designed to ensure that the person in front of the camera is physically present. In a blog post announcing the feature, Google said: “When you use a selfie to sign in, we use multiple layers of security to help prevent impersonation attempts like fake photos and videos (i.e., deep fakes).”

The company added that it compares the new recording against the saved selfie video while asking users to perform simple movements to demonstrate that the footage is live. Google also says its existing security systems continue to monitor for suspicious login attempts during the verification process.

Privacy remains a central concern whenever companies collect biometric information, and Google has sought to address those questions alongside the launch. The company says selfie videos are stored in encrypted form with the user’s consent and are used only for account sign-in unless the user explicitly agrees to additional uses. Users can also delete the stored video from their Google Account whenever they choose.

Is it better than the current measures?

Rather than replacing passwords, passkeys or two-factor authentication, the selfie video feature serves as another recovery pathway for users who might otherwise struggle to regain access to their accounts. That could prove particularly useful when trusted devices are lost, damaged or unavailable.

The approach also reflects the changing nature of online security. Traditional verification methods such as passwords remain vulnerable to phishing, while one-time passcodes can be intercepted through increasingly sophisticated scams. Biometric verification tied to liveness detection offers an additional layer that is harder to replicate using static photographs or AI-generated videos.

However, the move is also likely to renew scrutiny around biometric data collection. Regulators in several jurisdictions have intensified their focus on how companies gather, store and process facial recognition data, particularly as AI technologies become more capable of analysing and generating realistic human faces.

Google argues that user control remains central to the system. Selfie videos are encrypted while stored, can be removed at any time, and are intended solely to support account recovery unless users choose otherwise.

The latest addition underscores Google’s broader strategy of reducing dependence on passwords while making account recovery more resilient against evolving cyber threats. Whether selfie video authentication becomes a widely adopted security tool may ultimately depend on how comfortable users are with entrusting their facial biometrics to online platforms in exchange for stronger protection against fraud. (First Post)

Forgot your password? Lost your phone? Can’t get into your account?

You can now use a selfie video to log into your Google Account.

The new feature is easy to use and lets you sign in — even if you forget your password or don’t have your usual phone or laptop — with a quick… pic.twitter.com/3TbdIKLTM9

— Google (@Google) July 23, 2026

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Google unveiled a sweeping lineup of new AI models, agents, and tools at its I/O 2026 conference, showcasing advances in speed, multimodality, and everyday usability. 

From frontier‑level intelligence in Gemini 3.5 Flash to creative breakthroughs with Gemini Omni, the company emphasized how AI is reshaping search, productivity, and content creation.

The following are the 100 things Google announced at I/O 2026;

Create and build with our most advanced models

Gemini 3.5

1. We launched Gemini 3.5 Flash: the first in our latest series of models combining frontier intelligence with action.
2. Gemini 3.5 Flash is generally available today via our agent-first development platform Google Antigravity the Gemini API in Google AI Studio and Android Studio.
3. Gemini 3.5 Flash delivers intelligence that rivals large flagship models at speeds you expect from the Flash series. It outperforms Gemini 3.1 Pro on challenging coding and agentic benchmarks like Terminal-Bench 2.1 (76.2%), GDPval-AA (1656 Elo) and MCP Atlas (83.6%).
4. Landing in the top-right quadrant of the Artificial Analysis index, 3.5 Flash delivers frontier-level intelligence at exceptional speed — proving you no longer have to trade quality for latency.
5. Gemini 3.5 Flash is ideal for tackling long-horizon agentic tasks. What used to take a developer days or an auditor weeks, 3.5 Flash can now help complete in a fraction of the time, often at less than half the cost of other frontier models. It rapidly plans, builds and iterates to solve real-world problems, whether it’s developing new applications, maintaining codebases or helping to prepare financial documents.
6. Building on the strong multimodal foundation of Gemini 3, 3.5 Flash generates richer, more interactive web UIs and graphics.
7. We’re also hard at work on Gemini 3.5 Pro. It’s already being used internally and we look forward to rolling it out next month.

Gemini Omni

8. Gemini Omni is our new model that can create anything from any input — starting with video. It combines Gemini’s intelligence with the best of our generative media models for a new level of world understanding, multimodality and editing. We’re starting with video outputs now, but over time, Gemini Omni will be able to generate any output from any input.
9. Gemini Omni combines an intuitive understanding of physics with Gemini’s knowledge of history, science and culture, bridging the gap from photorealism to meaningful storytelling. It has an improved understanding of forces like gravity, kinetic energy and fluid dynamics, allowing you to create more realistic scenes.
10. Videos created with Omni include our imperceptible SynthID digital watermark. You can easily verify content through the Gemini app, Gemini in Chrome and Search.
11. You can reference anything. Gemini Omni turns any reference — image, text, video or audio — into a single, cohesive output. While only voice references will be supported for audio to start, we’ll roll out other types of audio inputs soon.

Gemini Omni in the Gemini app, Google Flow and YouTube

12. Gemini Omni Flash is rolling out now to all Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra subscribers globally through the Gemini app and Google Flow. It’s also available today in YouTube Shorts Remix and the YouTube Create app to users (18+) at no cost.
13. Creating, remixing and editing a video is easier than ever. Gemini Omni in the Gemini app offers a fluid, conversational way to create and edit videos — like applying cinematic zooms or changing backgrounds with a simple prompt.
14. You can upload any photo or video from your camera roll, apply built-in templates with a single click and experience the magic without needing expensive equipment or technical jargon. You can even drop yourself into the action by creating a custom AI avatar that looks and sounds like you.
15. For creatives using Google Flow, Omni Flash allows you to blend real-world inspiration with generated content and iterate conversationally. Gemini Omni Flash also improves character consistency, meaning identity and voice are preserved across every scene.
16. And you can try the new Gemini Omni model at no cost in YouTube Shorts Remix, with an exciting new upgrade that lets you step directly into your favorite Shorts. Just select an eligible Short, prompt what you want changed — like adding yourself or any visual reference — and get a fresh new version with your edits.

Search, shop and discover exactly what you’re looking for

AI Search

17. AI Mode is our most powerful AI Search, and it has surpassed more than 1 billion monthly users. And today we’re upgrading the experience with Gemini 3.5 Flash as the new default model, globally.
18. We’re seeing incredible momentum, with AI Mode queries more than doubling every quarter since launch. And last quarter, we saw Search queries reach an all-time high.
19. Today we’re launching the biggest upgrade to our Search box in over 25 years — a new, intelligent Search box, now completely reimagined with AI. You can search using text, images, files, videos and Chrome tabs and Search reasons across them all. You’ll continue to get a range of results from Search, just like you do today.
20. We’re also making it even easier to continue the conversation with Search, bringing AI Overviews and AI Mode into one, seamless AI Search experience. You can flow effortlessly from your question, to a search results page with an AI Overview, to a follow-up in AI Mode, all with links to learn more. The new seamless AI Search experience is live today across desktop and mobile, worldwide.

Information agents

21. We’re entering the era of Search agents, where you can easily create, customize and manage multiple AI agents for your many tasks, right in Search. And we’re starting with information agents, which operate in the background 24/7 so you can stay updated on any topic, task or project that matters to you.
22. Your agent will intelligently look across everything on the web, like blogs, news sites and social posts, plus our freshest data, such as real-time info on finance, shopping and sports, to monitor for changes related to your specific question. And your agent will send you an intelligent, synthesized update, with the ability to take action. You can spin up multiple information agents in Search simultaneously to get updated and make progress on all the things that matter to you.
23. You’ll be able to put information agents to work for you this summer, rolling out first to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.

Generative UI and Antigravity in Search

24. With the power of Google Antigravity and the agentic coding capabilities of Gemini 3.5 Flash, Search can build you the ideal format exactly for your question, completely custom, on the fly.
25. You can get custom generative UI, with Search designing custom layouts, assembling components – like interactive visuals, tables, graphs or simulations – in real time – helping you better understand complicated topics. Generative UI with Antigravity is rolling out to Search this summer for everyone, free of charge.
26. Some projects aren’t one-off questions — they’re ongoing tasks, like planning a wedding or managing a home move. For these, Search can go a step further — helping you build entire custom experiences, like dashboards or trackers that you can continue coming back to. You can think of these like mini apps for your own specific tasks.
27. You’ll be able to build custom experiences like mini apps with Antigravity right in Search in the coming months, starting with subscribers.

Personal Intelligence

28. We’re expanding Personal Intelligence in AI Mode to more people in nearly 200 countries and territories across 98 languages — no subscription required.
29. With AI Mode in Search, you can securely connect apps like Gmail and Google Photos, and soon Google Calendar. Personal Intelligence was designed with transparency, choice and control at its core. You’re always in control — you choose if and when you want to connect apps like Gmail and Google Photos.

Universal Cart

30. We’re introducing Universal Cart: a truly intelligent shopping cart and your new hub for shopping on Google. You’ll be able to add things to your cart while you’re browsing Search, chatting with Gemini, watching YouTube or even reading your Gmail. The moment you add a product, your cart goes to work for you in the background. It finds deals and price drops, gives you insights on price history and alerts you when something comes back in stock.
31. The Universal Cart runs on our Gemini models, so your cart gets smarter as the models improve.
32. It also uses intelligent reasoning to anticipate your needs and help solve problems before they arise. It’ll proactively flag any product incompatibilities and suggest alternatives. And since the cart was built on Google Wallet, it understands your payment method perks, loyalty information and merchant offers so it can intelligently help you choose between payment methods.
33. Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) makes checkout from your cart super smooth. For many of your favorite brands, you can check out right on Google in just a few taps with Google Pay, or transfer items straight to the retailer’s site and buy there.
34. We’re rolling out the Universal Cart across Search and the Gemini app this summer, with YouTube and Gmail to follow.

Streamline your day with the Gemini app

Gemini Spark

35. Gemini Spark is your 24/7 personal AI agent that helps you navigate your digital life, takes action on your behalf and is under your direction. It works in the background on your phone or laptop even while they’re turned off.
36. Spark runs on Gemini 3.5 and is built on the Google Antigravity platform. It operates autonomously, under your direction. You choose to turn it on and it’s designed to check with you before taking major actions on your behalf.
37. Gemini Spark is very early in its product journey, and we’re prioritizing safety in this first release — that’s why we’re rolling it out to trusted testers, and we’re planning on bringing the Beta to Google AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S. next week.
38. Down the line, we’ve got a packed roadmap of features for Google Spark that we’ll be shipping throughout the summer. For example: You’ll be able to text or email Spark directly, create custom sub-agents and even authorize payments while specifying the budget and merchants.

Daily Brief

39. Daily Brief is our new out-of-the-box agent that organizes and prioritizes your day ahead with a personalized digest based on your goals, and suggests next steps.
40. With Daily Brief, Gemini works overnight for you, gathering info for your day ahead. It analyzes your inbox, calendar, and tasks to find the most important things for you. It’s concise and insightful, connecting the dots across your life. It’s actionable, anticipating your needs and suggesting next steps. And it learns over time, remembering your preferences, dates and times.
41. Daily Brief is rolling out starting today to all Google AI subscribers (18+) in the Gemini app, starting in the U.S. In order to use Daily Brief, Google AI subscribers must have chosen to connect their Google apps.

Neural Expressive

42. We’ve completely redesigned the Gemini experience from the ground up. From the moment you open the app or visit the site, you’re greeted with a new design language we call Neural Expressive, which has fluid animations, vibrant colors, new typography and haptic feedback throughout.
43. We’ve simplified and streamlined everything, unifying our tools menu and making it easier to discover and generate gorgeous images, videos and music, with built-in templates you can instantly remix.
44. The moment you send your prompt, Neural Expressive truly comes alive. You won’t see a wall of text anymore. Instead, Gemini will carefully lay out its response in real time, just for you. As you scroll, you might see interactive images that you can zoom in on and explore the information on a completely new level, or timelines that you can quickly skim, or embedded visuals.
45. We’ve also completely transformed the Gemini Live experience — it now opens immediately and inline. Gemini Live is also using a new model that’s smarter, faster and less distracted by background noise.
46. Soon you’ll even be able to pick out a regional dialect that resonates with you. We’ll be rolling these out in the coming weeks.

Uplevel your building with agents

Google Antigravity

47. Google Antigravity is our agent-first development platform that allows anyone to be a builder. And today, Antigravity is massively expanding its suite of agentic capabilities, surfaces, integrations and product features.
48. Google Antigravity 2.0 is a new, standalone desktop application that acts as a central home for agent interaction. You can orchestrate multiple agents to execute tasks in parallel, such as having one agent code a website while another generates brand assets.
49. Antigravity CLI is for those who prefer to stay in the terminal. It’s a lightweight, high-velocity product surface that lets you create new agents instantly without a graphical user interface.
50. Antigravity SDK gives you programmatic access to the same agent harness powering Google’s products that’s co-optimized for our Gemini models. This SDK lets you customize agent behavior and host them on your own infrastructure.
51. We’re also launching native voice support for Gemini audio models, as well as integration with many surfaces and platforms, like Android, Firebase and Google AI Studio.
52. The new Antigravity is unabashedly agent-first, focusing on the core agent conversations, agent-produced artifacts and multi-agent orchestration. The Antigravity agent harness, the invisible framework for Gemini to perform real-world tasks, has become much more powerful, with new core primitives such as subagents, hooks and asynchronous task management. Underpinning all of this are the Gemini models, with Gemini 3.5 Flash having been co-optimized with the Antigravity agent harness.
53. Multi-day engineering efforts are collapsing into hours, if not minutes. This is made possible by the new subagent teamwork capability. We’re bringing this to you as an early research preview in Antigravity.
54. We are unifying on Antigravity as the only platform you need for agent-first development. We took what we learned from how you used Gemini CLI and rolled those insights into the Antigravity CLI. We encourage users to migrate to Antigravity CLI and have published a guide to help you port your custom skills over. You’ll now get the same harness as Antigravity 2.0 and a unified agentic experience across all your surfaces.
55. For enterprises, we’re allowing Google Antigravity to be connected directly to your Google Cloud projects, applying the same enterprise terms that you’d expect. For our existing Gemini Enterprise customers, you’ll soon see Antigravity rolled out in the coming months.

Google AI Studio

56. Coming soon, the new Google AI Studio app lets you capture an idea on the go and have a working prototype ready by the time you get to your desk.
57. Google Workspace is now directly accessible from the apps you build within AI Studio. With this integration, you can build dashboards on top of your Sheets data, create tools that organize your users’ Drive or spin up apps that work with the documents and data your team already lives in. All without leaving AI Studio.
58. Starting today, you can now build native Android apps right in the build tab. Just select “Build an Android app” and begin prompting.
59. We’re also introducing support for the Google Play Console in AI Studio for developers to publish apps directly to the test track. You can preview your app on an Android Emulator running in the browser or install your app on an Android test device using the Android Debug Bridge (ADB). And you can connect your Google Play Developer account in AI Studio to publish your Android app to Google Play’s Internal Test Track with a single click.
60. Builders who are just getting started with AI Studio can now deploy their first two apps to Google Cloud at no cost, no credit card required.
61. If you want local development for faster iteration, you can now export directly to Google Antigravity. Your conversation history, project files and secrets all come with you, so you can pick up exactly where you left off, bring in your wider team and start scaling your development workflow.
62. Within AI Studio, you now have more customization options to design how your app looks and feels. The AI Studio Build agent can automatically generate custom images on the fly using Nano Banana. This helps you build tailored interfaces or mock up specialized use cases without needing external placeholder assets. Our new edit tool lets you annotate directly in the preview window. You can draw on your app, tweak components and generate new visuals to iterate on your build, right in the flow.

Managed Agents

63. We’re launching Managed Agents in the Gemini API. With Managed Agents, a single API call to the Antigravity agent provisions a remote Linux environment where the agent can reason, plan and call tools using the harness; execute code and manage files in an isolated sandbox; and browse the web to fetch and process live data. Managed Agents are powered by the new Antigravity agent, built with Gemini 3.5 Flash and available via the Interactions API and in Google AI Studio.
64. You can extend the Antigravity agent with your own instructions and skills. Instead of writing complex orchestration code, you can define everything in markdown files like AGENTS.md and SKILL.md and register them as a named agent.
65. We announced the Build with Gemini XPRIZE Hackathon, a new global competition with a $2 million prize pool — the largest ever for a hackathon. We’re asking developers to use Gemini to build real applications that solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Subscriptions

66. We’re launching a new $100 AI Ultra plan, specifically tailored for developers, technical leads, knowledge workers and advanced creators. It includes 5X higher usage limits in the Gemini app and Antigravity than our AI Pro plan, plus 20TB of cloud storage and more features to help accelerate your dev cycles and bring the frontier of intelligence into your workflow.
67. Google AI Pro paid subscriptions now include the YouTube Premium Lite individual plan at no extra charge. This adds $8.99 in value monthly and lets you watch most YouTube and YouTube Kids videos ad-free, offline and in the background for an enhanced entertainment experience.

Get more done at work and elevate your creativity

AI Inbox

68. Earlier this year, we introduced AI Inbox as a new view in Gmail that intelligently surfaces what matters most. It helps you prioritize your to-dos and provides updates on what’s important. It’s currently available for Google AI Ultra subscribers, and we’re starting to roll it out to all Google AI Plus and Pro subscribers in the U.S.
69. AI Inbox now generates personalized draft replies based on contextual information so you can review and respond in seconds.
70. Starting now, in AI Inbox, if a task requires reviewing a Google Doc, Sheet or Slide, the relevant link surfaces right next to your to-do.
71. We announced more ways to streamline your task management in AI Inbox. Keep your view clutter-free by marking individual tasks as done, dismissing unhelpful suggestions or marking all emails in a given topic as read with a single click.
72. Starting this summer, Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers will be able to talk to your inbox with Gmail Live — asking specific queries without having to dig through threads.

Google Pics

73. We’re introducing Google Pics, our new image creation and editing tool, built on our latest Nano Banana model, that helps you create just about anything – from party flyers to infographics, with the creative controls you want. Whether you’re building a design from a blank canvas or editing an existing photo, Pics takes the hassle out of complex image generation. The new tool includes features including object segmentation (so you can select and edit specific elements with precision), text editing and translation, and integrations with Workspace.
74. Google Pics is launching today to a limited group of trusted testers. This summer, it will roll out globally to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers and in preview for Google Workspace business customers.

Docs Live and Talk to Keep

75. Docs Live is a new feature that lets you create docs and edit them with your voice. Just talk, and Docs Live handles the heavy lifting — organizing your thoughts, structuring your document, and, with your permission, pulling relevant details from your Gmail, Drive, Chat and the web. Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers will be able to talk to Docs starting this summer.
76. You will soon be able to “brain dump” with Keep. Keep not only understands your rambles, it will get to work in the background, turning your stream of thoughts into organized notes and lists at the speed of your voice. This feature is rolling out this summer for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers and in preview to Google Workspace business customers.

Google Flow

77. On last year’s I/O stage, we introduced Google Flow. Since then we expanded Flow into an AI creative studio, with new capabilities in video and image generation and editing, and launched in over 140 countries around the world. Gemini Omni Flash is now available in Google Flow to Google AI subscribers globally.
78. For creatives using Google Flow, Gemini Omni Flash allows you to blend real-world inspiration with generated content and iterate conversationally. Gemini Omni Flash also improves character consistency, meaning identity and voice are preserved across every scene.
79. We’re also introducing Google Flow Agent. Until today, Flow could only execute one prompt at a time. Now, your agent can take on multi-step tasks. Your agent in Google Flow is your creative partner that can plan and reason through complex tasks with your inputs, under your control.
80. Built with Gemini models, Google Flow Agent brings expertise and a deep understanding of your project to help with early brainstorming, creating and editing. For example, the agent can be a sounding board for dialogue between characters in a specific scene, or even make plot recommendations. When you’re deeper in a project, your agent can help create multiple variations at one time to give you more options, and even batch edit, so your tweaks are reflected across all your assets. Once you have your assets, your agent can organize them into collections, and it can even intuitively rename them. Google Flow Agent is now available to all Google Flow users globally.
81. We’re also introducing Google Flow Tools. Now you can vibe code any creative tool you can think of, right in Google Flow, custom built by you for your unique creative process – like designing video effects, hand-drawn animations, or layering text.
82. You can use natural language to create bespoke tools and workflows in Google Flow. Whether you’re looking for a particular image editor, video resizer or custom shaders, you can now easily develop them, no coding experience required. And if you create something you think others might like, you can easily share your tool with other Flow users, who can remix it into their own. All Google Flow users globally are able to use existing Tools, while Google AI subscribers can also create and remix them.

Google Flow Music, Pomelli and Stitch

83. With Google Flow Music, you’re also able to use Gemini Omni to work conversationally with the agent to direct shareable music videos. New refinement capabilities let you edit specific portions of your song with increased granularity. For example, you can change a section of lyrics to a different language, change the genre, adjust the instruments or fine-tune just about anything else you can imagine.
84. Pomelli is adding new ways to build brand content and design websites.
85. With real-time design and steering, designing with Stitch is now a more natural and intuitive collaboration. You can now describe what you want through text, or say it aloud, and Stitch works alongside you to build out and reflow your ideas. You can also import existing codebase and design files, ensuring your builds are on-brand.

Drive scientific breakthroughs and discoveries

86. We introduced Gemini for Science, a new collection of science tools and experiments designed to expand the scale and precision of scientific exploration at every stage of the research process. It includes three new experimental tools on Google Labs that can streamline daily scientific tasks, whether staying on top of new published papers, transforming research goals into usable code or generating new hypotheses. Those tools are:
87. Hypothesis Generation, built with Co-Scientist, simulates the scientific method. It collaborates with researchers to define a research challenge, then uses a multi-agent “idea tournament” to generate, debate and evaluate hypotheses. To ensure absolute rigor, claims are deeply verified and supported by clickable citations.
88. Computational Discovery, an agentic research engine, built with AlphaEvolve and Empirical Research Assistance (ERA), which generates and scores thousands of code variations in parallel. This allows scientists to test novel modeling approaches — for complex fields like solar forecasting or epidemiology — that would take months to navigate manually.
89. And Literature Insights, built with NotebookLM, which searches scientific literature and structures results into tables with custom, searchable attributes for side-by-side analysis. Researchers can use chat to uncover nuances grounded in their curated corpus, and create high-fidelity artifacts such as reports, slide decks, infographics, and audio and video overviews.
90. We’re gradually opening access to these three experimental tools from 19 May. Users can visit labs.google/science to register interest.
91. As part of Gemini for Science, we’re also launching Science Skills, a specialized bundle that integrates insights from over 30 major life science databases and tools including UniProt, AlphaFold Database, AlphaGenome API and InterPro. Using these skills on agent-first agentic platforms like Google Antigravity allows researchers to perform complex and often manual workflows like structural bioinformatics and genomic analyses in minutes rather than hours. Science Skills is availablefrom May 19 on Github and for all Google Antigravity users.
92. We’ve also created dedicated pilots with leading scientific conferences like ICML, STOC and NeurIPS to develop pioneering tools for agentic peer review and scientific validation such as our experimental Paper Assistant Tool (PAT) and ScholarPeer.

Transform the way you learn and explore

Ask YouTube

93. We’re reimagining how users can search and discover content they’re interested in with our new conversational search experience, Ask YouTube. With Ask YouTube, you can ask more complex search queries, such as wanting tips on how to teach your kid to ride a bike. Ask YouTube will compile the most relevant videos across all of YouTube’s catalogue — including long-form videos and Shorts — and provide an interactive, structured response.
94. Ask YouTube will begin rolling out this month on desktop as an experiment to a subset of users searching in English in the US.

Android XR

95. The next big milestone for Android XR is intelligent eyewear. There will be two types of intelligent eyewear: audio glasses that offer spoken help in your ear, and display glasses that show you the information you need, right when you need it.
96. Our first audio glasses, made in partnership with Gentle Monster, Warby Parker, and Samsung, will arrive this fall and will be compatible with Android and iOS devices.

SynthID

97. Three years ago, we launched SynthID, our industry-leading watermarking technology that embeds imperceptible signals into AI-generated content. Our goal is to make it easier to learn more about the content you encounter online. That’s why we recently added SynthID verification for image, video and audio to the Gemini app. Already, it’s been used 50 million times globally, and we’re expanding this verification capability to Search today and Chrome over the coming weeks.
98. You can learn about an image’s origin by using Search features like Lens, AI Mode, and Circle to Search, as well as Gemini in Chrome. Just ask, “Is this made with AI?” or “Is this AI generated?”
99. We’re also adding verification for C2PA Content Credentials, to easily check if content is an unaltered original from a camera or if it has been modified, and by what tools. This feature is rolling out in the Gemini app starting today, and it will come to Search and Chrome in the coming months.
100. Because digital media travels across many platforms, industry-wide partnership and adoption of robust, interoperable tools is essential. More content across the web will soon carry these imperceptible watermarks, as companies like OpenAI, Kakao and ElevenLabs are bringing SynthID technology to more of their AI-generated content. (Google)

The post 100 things Google announced at I/O 2026 appeared first on Newswire.

Google says it has uncovered what may be the first known case of hackers using artificial intelligence (AI) to help develop a “zero-day” cyberattack exploit, marking a major escalation in global cybersecurity threats. 

In a report published by its Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG), Google said a criminal hacking group attempted to use an AI-developed exploit targeting a previously unknown software vulnerability in a popular open-source web administration tool. 

The exploit was reportedly designed to bypass two-factor authentication (2FA), potentially allowing attackers to gain unauthorized access to systems. Google said the attack was stopped before it could be launched on a large scale. 

According to Google, investigators found several indicators suggesting AI assistance had been used during the exploit’s development, including unusual code formatting, explanatory comments, and even a “hallucinated” vulnerability severity score commonly associated with AI-generated output. 

Google said it had “high confidence” that an AI model helped discover and weaponize the software flaw, though the company added there was no evidence its own Gemini AI system was involved. 

Cybersecurity experts have long warned that AI could eventually help hackers identify software weaknesses faster and automate sophisticated cyberattacks. Google’s findings are now being viewed as one of the clearest real-world examples of those fears becoming reality. 

The company also warned that state-linked cyber actors from countries including China, Russia, and North Korea are increasingly exploring AI-powered hacking tools and automated attack systems. (Newswire)

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Google will now allow you to change your Gmail address. The tech giant was believed to be working on this feature since late last year. And now, Google is making it available for all users. 

Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote on X that now, you no longer need to use an email address that might’ve been stuck in time.

On X, Pichai wrote, “2004 was a good year, but your Gmail address doesn’t need to be stuck in it.”

How to change Gmail address?

If you want to use this feature to get a new Gmail address while keeping the same account. You can go to the settings page on Gmail and choose any available address.

Sundar Pichai added, “To say goodbye to v0t3f0rp3dr02004@gmail.com or mrbrightside416@gmail.com (or whatever you were into at the time), go to your Google Account settings and choose any name available.”

Do note that this feature is currently available for select users.

What happens to my old Gmail address?

After your Gmail address has changed, people can send you mails via the new address. However, your old address remains linked to your account. That is, no one else can claim it, and those who do not have the new address can continue to send you mails on the old one.

The emails received on both addresses will come in the same inbox.

Google is bringing AI to your inbox

Google is also bringing more AI features to Gmail. The company has announced an “AI Inbox” for Gmail. According to Google, Gemini can now “cut the clutter” of your inbox by prioritising important emails. Users will be able to see sections such as “suggested to-dos” – including high priority mails such as bill payments. 

These emails will be shown in bold with the due date to grab your attention.

Another feature of AI Inbox is the “topics to catch up on” section. This section will give you updates on your travel bookings, and restaurant reservations in one place.

The AI Inbox is available to select users in the US only for now. Do note that Gemini can already summarise your emails in your Gmail inbox. (India Today)

2004 was a good year, but your Gmail address doesn't need to be stuck in it.

To say goodbye to v0t3f0rp3dr02004@gmail.com or mrbrightside416@gmail.com (or whatever you were into at the time), go to your Google Account settings and choose any name available. You'll keep your old…

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) March 31, 2026

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If you are still regretting the embarrassing Gmail ID you created as a child, Google might have come up with a solution. The tech giant recently updated its Hindi-language support documentation to describe an upcoming system change that will allow users to modify their Gmail addresses without losing anything in the process.

Google’s new feature, as reported in Forbes, allows users to change their Gmail address with specific limitations. Users can make a change only once every 12 months, with a total lifetime limit of three changes.

Aditionally, the original email address becomes an alias, continuing to receive emails, and all existing account data (such as photos, messages, and emails) remains unaffected by the switch. The update is being gradually rolled out to all the users.

“If you wish you can change the email address of your Google Account, the last part of which is gmail.com. It can be replaced with a new email address that finalises gmail.com,” Google stated.

Until now, Google only allowed account email changes for users who signed up with third-party email addresses, while Gmail addresses themselves could not be modified.

‘Would Be Amazing’

Social media users praised Google’s new feature, noting it may allow them to finally update Gmail addresses they originally created but now regret.

“This would be amazing, I have a crazy email I made as a test back when it was invite only. Now it’s tied to so many things,” said one user, while another added: “I made mine my full name when I was 13 and it’s connected to so many things. I really hope this makes it to North America.”

A third commented: “I got on during the friends and family rollout when you could still do proper aliases but they removed the feature. I assume whatever your original email is will persist as an alias when this rolls out everywhere.”

While allowing the email address change is a good idea, there are fears that threat actors may use it as an opportunity to target vulnerable users. The hackers might look to use social engineering techniques to compromise login credentials for account takeover. (NDTV)

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The European Commission said Tuesday it will look into whether Google is breaking the EU’s competition rules by not paying publishers enough or by setting unfair conditions to keep their content out of the search engine’s AI-generated summaries.

“We are investigating whether Google may have imposed unfair terms and conditions on publishers and content creators, while placing rival AI models developers at a disadvantage,” Teresa Ribera, the European Commission’s executive vice-president for competition affairs, said in a statement.

What do EU investigators want to know about Google’s AI results?

• If publishers and other content creators are fairly remunerated for their data, including YouTube videos, that is used to train AI services
• If creators and publishers can keep their data out of models used to create AI-generated results without affecting access to other Google services
• If Google bans other AI developers from using YouTube videos to train their models in the same manner

Publishers have been critical of AI-generated summaries displayed at the top of search results, as they reduce visibility of direct links to their content. This leads to a drop in revenue from ad sales as traffic to their sites declines.

Google: Inquiry ‘risks stifling innovation’

Google, however, said the EU’s antitrust investigation could hinder innovation.

“This complaint risks stifling innovation in a market that is more competitive than ever. Europeans deserve to benefit from the latest technologies and we will continue to work closely with the news and creative industries as they transition to the AI era,” a Google spokesperson said.

In addition to the AI-generated summaries, the company also launched an “AI Mode” that responds to users’ questions in a direct, conversational manner rather than providing a list of links.

Publishers: Google broke the internet content bargain

While saying AI is capable of “bringing remarkable innovation and many benefits for people and businesses across Europe,” the Commission added that access to and use of online content needs to remain fair for consumers and businesses in the 27-country bloc.

“Google does not remunerate YouTube content creators for their content, nor does [it] allow them to upload their content on YouTube without allowing Google to use such data,” the Commission said. “At the same time, rival developers of AI models are barred by YouTube policies from using YouTube content to train their own AI models.”

The Independent Publishers Alliance, Movement for an Open Web, whose members include digital advertisers and publishers, criticized Google.

“Google has broken the bargain that underpins the internet. The deal was that websites would be indexed, retrieved and shown when relevant to a query. Everyone had a chance,” lawyer Tim Cowen, who advises the groups, said, according to Reuters news agency.

Google facing possible hefty EU fine

Tuesday’s investigation is the second into Google’s business practices in less than a month.

The European Commission has conducted several antitrust investigations against Google for alleged abuse of its dominant market position.

The company risks a fine of up to 10% of its global annual revenue if found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules.

The Commission emphasized that the start of an investigation does not prejudge its outcome. (DW)

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Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC is making history as the first bank in the country to collaborate with Google and Visa, a global leader in digital payments, to enable Google Pay for its cardholders as part of the Google Wallet launch. This is a defining moment for Sri Lanka’s financial landscape, setting a new standard for secure and convenient digital transactions.

Commercial Bank is the only bank in the Sri Lankan market to enable Google Pay for its Visa cardholders, giving its customers a first-mover advantage with this world-class mobile payment solution. This collaboration seamlessly integrates Visa’s trusted global network and advanced tokenization technology, Google’s secure and intuitive interface, with Commercial Bank’s robust digital banking ecosystem.

Visa debit and credit cardholders of Commercial Bank can now effortlessly add their cards to Google Wallet, authenticate via a one-time password (OTP) or verification through call center, and use their Android smartphones to make secure, contactless payments with a simple tap at any contactless-enabled Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal, anywhere Visa is accepted, locally and globally. Cardholders will no longer need to carry physical cards or cash, and can tap and pay using their NFC-enabled Android smartphones – driving a secure and easy payment experience

Commercial Bank has strategically collaborated with third-party service provider IDEMIA for tokenization, leveraging Visa’s Token Service (VTS). Tokenization secures every transaction by replacing the actual 16-digit card number with a unique digital token, ensuring the user’s sensitive data is never shared with merchants or stored on the device. Furthermore, Commercial Bank used payment infrastructure of Euronet, the bank’s card switch vendor, to launch this product, which guaranteeing reliable and secure transaction processing.

Mr. Sanath Manatunge, Managing Director/CEO of Commercial Bank, said, “Partnering with Visa and Google marks a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to elevate digital payment experiences for customers. As the largest private sector bank in Sri Lanka, this collaboration further strengthens our ability to deliver seamless, secure, and contactless transactions anywhere, anytime. By embracing global innovations such as tokenization, Commercial Bank continues to lead the way in digital banking excellence and plays a defining role in shaping Sri Lanka’s cashless future. This partnership not only enhances security and convenience for millions of customers but also accelerates the country’s transition toward a more technologically enabled financial ecosystem. It reflects the Bank’s long-term strategy to bring world-class digital solutions to Sri Lankan consumers and businesses.”

Avanthi Colombage, Country Manager, Sri Lanka and Maldives, Visa, highlighting the collective impact, said, “Visa is pleased to collaborate with Commercial Bank of Ceylon and Google to bring the transformative payment experience of Google Pay to Sri Lanka. This launch marks a defining moment for Sri Lanka’s payments landscape, empowering people across the country to enjoy a faster, more convenient, and secure payment experience – all with just a smartphone. Visa’s trusted global network and advanced tokenization technology, with Google’s secure, intuitive interface and Commercial Bank’s strong local presence and robust ecosystem, is set to deliver more than just another payment option: we are shaping the next chapter of digital payments – one that enables digital security and trust, convenience, and interoperability at an unprecedented scale for millions of Sri Lankans.”

The initial availability will focus on select card ranges as part of a phased rollout.

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In a landmark move, Google will provide its advanced AI platform, Gemini, along with a suite of premium student benefits, free of charge to students across Sri Lanka. 

The announcement was made on Monday (29) by Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Eranga Weeraratne at the inaugural National AI Expo and Conference in Colombo. 

This initiative marks the culmination of months of collaboration between the Ministry of Digital Economy and Google, aimed at expanding access to cutting-edge digital tools and learning resources, the Deputy Minister said. 

Students across the country will soon gain free access to artificial intelligence technologies, cloud computing platforms, and digital education materials, ushering in a new era of opportunity.

“This is a game changer,” said Deputy Minister Weeraratne. “It will level the playing field and put our students on par with anyone, anywhere in the world.”

The program is expected to significantly enhance Sri Lanka’s national capacity in AI development and digital literacy, empowering the next generation to innovate, tackle complex challenges, and compete on a global scale.

However, the Deputy Minister stressed the importance of ethical engagement, urging students to use these powerful tools with responsibility and a sense of social purpose.

“This is not just about using AI,” he added. “It’s about mastering it with wisdom, compassion, and purpose,” he added. (Newswire)

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Google will not be forced to break up its search business, but a federal judge has tentatively ordered other changes to the tech giant’s business practices to keep it from further anticompetitive behaviour.

U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta outlined remedies on Tuesday that would bar Google from entering or maintaining exclusive deals that tie the distribution of Search, Chrome, Google Assistant, or Gemini to other apps or revenue arrangements. For example, Google wouldn’t be able to condition Play Store licensing on the distribution of certain apps, or tie revenue-share payments to keeping certain apps.

Google will also have to share certain search index and user-interaction data with “qualified competitors” to prevent exclusionary behavior, and it must offer search and search ad syndication services to competitors at standard rates so they can deliver quality results while building their own technology.

Mehta has not yet issued a final judgment. Instead, he ordered Google and the Department of Justice to “meet and confer” and submit a revised final judgment by September 10 that aligns with his opinion.

The behavioral remedies come a year after Mehta ruled that Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search. A technical committee will be established to help enforce the final judgment, which will last six years and go into effect 60 days after entry.

The DOJ, which filed its antitrust suit against Google in 2020, had advocated for stronger penalties. It wanted to force Google to divest its Chrome browser and possibly Android, which resulted in some unsolicited acquisition bids, and end its agreements with Apple, Samsung, and other partners in which the tech giant paid those companies billions to make its search engine appear as the default choice on their devices and web browsers.

Apple stock popped after-hours on the news that it could continue its lucrative agreement with Google. Google spent more than $26 billion in 2021 alone to secure default search placements on devices, and about $18 billion of that spend went solely to Apple, with whom Google shares 36% of its search ad revenue from Safari. The next year, Google paid Apple more than $20 billion, per the terms of its distribution agreement.

During the trial, the judge emphasized that because most users stick with the default, those placements are “extremely valuable real estate” that effectively locked rivals out and knee-capped their ability to challenge Google’s monopoly.

The DOJ also called on Judge Mehta to force Google to share its search index, user-side data, synthetic queries, and ads data with competitors under privacy-protected terms.

Google, which has maintained roughly a 90% market share over the traditional search market for the last decade, has argued that the government’s proposals would stifle innovation, jeopardize user privacy, and undercut the company’s ability to invest in R&D. CEO Sundar Pichai said during the remedies hearing in April that forced data-sharing would act as “de facto divestiture” for Google Search. 

During the remedies hearing in April, Judge Mehta suggested he would consider Europe’s Digital Markets Act as a reference point. The DMA requires Google to share certain click and query data with third parties. Mehta’s order, by contrast, is narrower and temporary, unlike the DMA’s ongoing obligations. It’s also much more limited than the sweeping access the DOJ requested, which potentially included source code, full search ranking algorithms, and broader infrastructure elements, which Google has said would essentially give away its entire intellectual property. 

“This has inspired a big debate about whether Europeans with the Digital Markets Act have it right,” William Kovacic, a global competition law professor at George Washington University and former Federal Trade Commission commissioner, told TechCrunch. “That is, do you need descriptive rules, or do you rely on the technical case by case adjudication?” 

Put another way: “Does the European experience tell us something about feasibility and implementation here. Does it tell us something about what Google can live with?”

That same question around how far regulators should go in reshaping Google’s business will also loom large in the tech giant’s other antitrust battles.

Judge Mehta’s decision may also affect the outcome of a separate antitrust trial Google is currently engaged in in relation to its advertising technology business. In April 2025, Judge Leonie Brinkema found that Google illegally monopolized ad-tech markets. The remedies trial is scheduled for late September and will focus on the DOJ’s proposed divestitures and other measures. 

“We’ve never had a circumstance in which the Department of Justice has had two largely parallel cases involving major elements of alleged misconduct against the same dominant firm with two parallel remedy processes going ahead,” Kovacic said.

Kovacic added that even though Mehta has released his much-anticipated remedies, “there are many acts to this play to go” in the form of Google’s appeal and potential escalation to the Supreme Court. “It won’t be over until late 2027 or early 2028,” he said. (TechCrunch)

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The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced a landmark women’s-only global partnership with Google on Friday.

The collaboration will lead to the world cricket governing body leveraging Google’s advanced technology and commitment to supporting women’s sports, enhancing fan engagement and increasing accessibility.

The groundbreaking partnership comes at an exciting juncture in the women’s game, with two major global events scheduled in the next 10 months – the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 in India and Sri Lanka and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England and Wales.

The alliance paves way for fueling further growth and visibility of women’s cricket following the announcement of Unilever as the ICC’s first global women’s partner earlier this year.

ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta, India great Mithali Raj and VP of Marketing at Google India Shekar Khosla // Supplied

Enhancing the fan experience in women’s cricket and making it more dynamic, accessible and meaningful will be Google products, including Android, Google Gemini, Google Pay, and Google Pixel. This integrated ecosystem has been designed to bring fans closer to the game’s key moments, players, and stories, expanding on every stage of the fan journey from discovering match highlights to celebrating wins.

“This partnership with Google is a landmark moment for women’s cricket and underlines our commitment to taking the women’s game to even greater heights,” ICC Chairman Jay Shah said.

“By harnessing Google’s world-class innovation, we will be able to create more engaging experiences for fans and bring the sport closer to people everywhere.

“Women’s cricket is growing faster than ever before, and this collaboration will not only help accelerate its global reach but also inspire future generations to see cricket as a game where they belong.

“Together with Google, we aim to make women’s cricket a truly global force, resonating with fans in both established and emerging markets.”

Shekar Khosla, VP Marketing at Google India, added: “Cricket has always been about community and shared passion. We are proud to partner with the ICC to bring fans of women’s cricket closer to the game through our technology.”

“This alliance is not just about a single tournament; it’s about building deeper engagement, making the sport more accessible, and enabling fans to feel a stronger connection with what they care about.” (ICC)

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Tech major Google has said it will soon be manufacturing Pixel smartphones and drones in India.

Google is set to manufacture the phones at an existing Foxconn facility in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, reported BBC.

The firm will also manufacture drones in the state.

Google and Foxconn have signed a contract to this end, the source said.

Foxconn has two facilities in Tamil Nadu.

Readmore : https://www.indiablooms.com/life-details/TECH/7825/tech-giant-google-to-manufacture-pixel-phones-and-drones-in-india.html (India Blooms)

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Your Google search history for 2023 has arrived.

Well, actually, the world’s. On Monday, the California-based tech giant released its “Year in Search,” a roundup of 2023’s top global queries, ranging from unforgettable pop culture moments (hello, Barbenheimer ), to the loss of beloved figures and tragic news carrying worldwide repercussions.

The ongoing Israel-Hamas war topped news trends in 2023, per Google’s global data, followed by queries related to the Titanic-bound submersible that imploded in June, as well as February’s devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

Damar Hamlin was Google’s top trending person on search this year. A safety with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, Hamlin experienced a near-death cardiac arrest on the field during a January game, but has since completed a celebrated comeback. Actor Jeremy Renner, who survived a serious snowplow accident at the start of 2023, followed. Meanwhile, the late Matthew Perry and Tina Turner led search trends among notable individuals who passed away.

In the world of entertainment, “Barbie” dominated Google search’s movie trends this year — followed by Barbenheimer co-pilot “Oppenheimer” and Indian thriller “Jawan.” In TV, “The Last of Us,” “Wednesday” and “Ginny and Georgia” were the top three trending shows in 2023.

Yoasobi’s “アイドル (Idol)” was Google’s top trending song on search. Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town” — which soared in the charts after controversy this summer — and Shakira and Bizarrap’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” followed.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Google’s 2023 global search trends. 

Bibimbap was the top trending recipe. Inter Miami CF, the new home of Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi, led Google’s sports teams trends. And in the U.S. specifically, many consumers spent 2023 asking why eggs, Taylor Swift tickets and sriracha bottles were so expensive — while “rizz” (recently named Oxford’s word of the year ) was a frontrunner for trending slang definition inquires.

You can find more data, including country-specific lists and trends from years past, on Google’s “Year in Search” archive. The company says it collected its 2023 search results from Jan. 1 through Nov. 27 of this year.

Google isn’t the only one to publish annual data as 2023 draws to a close — and from dictionary lookups to music streams, chances are, you’ve probably seen other lists recapping online activity this year. Last week, for example, Wikipedia released its year-end list of most-viewed entries — with its article about ChatGPT leading the pack.

To mark the search engine’s 25th birthday, Google also released top search data “of all time” across various specific categories. Since 2004 (when the company’s trends data first became available globally), the most-Googled Grammy winner of all time has been Beyoncé, for example, while Portuguese soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest-searched athlete, and the most-searched movie or TV cast is “Harry Potter.” (Time)

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Google will start deleting inactive Photos and Gmail accounts next week, on December 1st.

This is a planned move that Google announced back in May, with the company explaining that accounts that haven’t been active for two years will face deletion. 

That includes wiping all content associated with an account, which could be Drive, Google Photos and Docs files.

In a post on its blog, The Keyword, Google’s VP of product management, Ruth Kricheli, explained that this is a necessary security measure.

“If an account hasn’t been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised. This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven’t had two factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user.

“Our internal analysis shows abandoned accounts are at least 10x less likely than active accounts to have 2-step-verification set up. Meaning, these accounts are often vulnerable, and once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector for unwanted or even malicious content, like spam.”

As of 2019, Gmail had 1.5 billion global active users and is one of the most popular email services around. Because of that popularity, and the ease of setting up an account, scammers have been known to target Gmail users. It also makes sense that Google will want to close dormant accounts to free up names and space. Google hasn’t released any figures on how many accounts are classified as inactive, but considering the size of the user base, there could be a lot of free storage the company is funding for accounts that aren’t active.

How to keep your account 

Some users and use cases are, however, exempt from deletion. An account will be saved from execution if it has been used to purchase a Google product or subscription (such as paying for extra storage space), or if it’s an account for an organization. The new policy only applies to personal Google accounts.

The deletions begin next week on December 1st, but they won’t all happen in one day. Google says it will take a “phased” approach by starting with accounts that were created and never used again. The company will also send out warnings to the account’s email address, and recovery address, beforehand.

If you want to make sure your account isn’t included in the cull, simply sign-in to your Google dashboard (or just sign into your Gmail account) and Google will count that as activity. Signing into YouTube, Drive or downloading an app on the Play Store also counts as activity. (Forbes)

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Google should take responsibility for allowing the Sri Lankan government to introduce draconian social media controlling laws, media expert Dr Ranga Kalansooriya told a forum recently.

The government waited for more than a year to pave the way for a tech industry- led self-regulatory mechanism and 16 tech companies agreed, but Google delayed their response for more than 15 months, and there is still no response, he added.

The Sri Lanka Government gazetted a new Online Safety Bill last week and included it into the Parliament order paper recently.

Addressing a forum organized for social media activists by the media unit of the United Republic Front in Colombo, Dr Kalansooriya urged all possible social media users to challenge the Bill in courts. 

“In the absence of good practice elsewhere in social media regulations, mainly in Asia, a group of civil society organizations started negotiations with Singapore based Asia Internet Coalition to draft an industry code on Sri Lanka focused harmful content. Talks were successful and almost all Big Tech companies including Meta, X (Twitter) and even Google agreed to the process. This, we started almost two years ago.

“However, we came to know that Minister Ali Sabry, the then Justice Minister, was drafting a social media regulatory bill based on the Singapore law. Then we met both Minister Ali Sabri and the then Media Minister Dullas Alahapperuma together and briefed our effort which was called SafeWebLk. Both ministers gave their blessings and Minister Alahapperuma during a Cabinet media briefing gave an assurance that the government will not bring the law,” he said

Dr Kalansooriya said the Code was then drafted through countrywide consultations and key stakeholder interviews. The government was a partner in the process.

“After Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe assumed the Presidency, the negotiations continued and there was a senior official from the Office of the President who met AIC and other Big Tech companies in Singapore in May and gave assurance that the government will not bring laws if the Code gets materialised. The deadline to submit feedback by the tech companies was July 30 and the office of the President agreed to this deadline as well,” he said.

In this backdrop all other companies gave their feedback except Google and there is no response from them until today, Dr Kalansooriya said, adding that dealing with Google has become extremely challenging compared to other tech companies like Meta and TikTok.

The government waited more than two months after the deadline lapsed, therefore, Google must take responsibility for this situation, he added.

“If global tech companies are behaving in such an irresponsible manner, how can we stop governments bringing draconian laws?” he questioned.  

Dr Kalansooriya said, however, all responsible social media users should take every possible measure to defeat this Bill. (NewsWire)

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Google on Monday launched its ChatGPT competitor called Bard.

Bard is designed as an ‘experimental conversational AI service’ that answers users’ queries and participates in conversations. 

CEO Sundar Pichai said the soft launch is available to ‘trusted testers’ to get feedback on the chatbot before a public release in the coming weeks. 

While Google has yet to provide more details, the company shows that users can ask Bard queries, like ‘how to explain new discoveries from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old’ or ‘plan a friend’s baby shower.’

The initial release of Bard uses the tech giant’s lightweight model version of LaMDA, which requires significantly less computing power, enabling us to scale to more users and allowing for more feedback.

‘We’ll combine external feedback with our own internal testing to make sure Bard’s responses meet a in real-world information,’ Pichai shared in Monday’s announcement.

‘We’re excited for this phase of testing to help us continue to learn and improve Bard’s quality and speed.’

He also stressed that the company wants Google’s AI services to be ‘bold and responsible’ as Microsoft’s ChatGPT has been controversial due to misuse.  

In December, ChatGPT came under fire after students were using it to cheat on tests and homework.

ChatGPT, trained on a gigantic sample of text from the internet, can understand human language, conduct conversations with humans and generate detailed text that many have said is human-like and quite impressive.

Bard, however, seems to be taking a slower path to the public.

Pichai shared that testers are ‘a demographically and geographically diverse group of people external to Google’ who will have first access to the AI.

These individuals will test the technology to help improve it and better understand how users will experience the chatbot.

‘Bard seeks to combine the breadth of the world’s knowledge with the power, intelligence and creativity of our large language models,’ Pichai shared in the blog post.

‘It draws on information from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses. 

‘Bard can be an outlet for creativity, and a launchpad for curiosity, helping you to explain new discoveries from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old or learn more about the best strikers in football right now, and then get drills to build your skills.’

The announcement of Bard comes less than a month of news that said Google executives were engaged in plans to ‘demonstrate a version of its search engine with chatbot features this year’ and unveil more than 20 projects powered by artificial intelligence.

The report from The New York Times also claimed these executives sounded a code red within the company as pressure to compete with Microsoft’s ChatGPT was mounting.

Google’s Bard may be a step into the AI race for the company, but it still has many hurdles to overcome to show it’s as powerful as ChatGPT.  

ChatGPT has hit 100 million users just two months after launch – by comparison, it took TikTok nine months to reach the milestone – and secured a $10 billion investment from Microsoft.

A judge recently used Microsoft’s chatbot in Colombia to help him decide a case involving an autistic child.

Judge Juan Manuel Padilla Garcia, who presides over a tribunal in the Caribbean city of Cartagena, announced that he had used the system in his January 30 ruling.

A week before, ChatGPT passed some of America’s most challenging professional exams, the United States Medical Licensing Exam and the Bar.

The report, by Wharton professor Christian Terwiesch, found that ChatGPT, while still in its infancy, received a grade varying from a B to B- on the final exam of a typical MBA core course. 

The AI chatbot has also sparked fears that artificial intelligence could automate millions of jobs out of existence.

Zak Saidi, creative director and AI Lead of creative agency IZSRI, which already uses AI to automate some writing tasks, says that the impact of AI will be felt across many sectors within the next three years.

He said he already uses ChatGPT to draft written content and other AI tools for attention marketing and detecting social media trends. (Daily Mail)

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