News — Page187

Meta introduced its new Ray‑Ban Display smart glasses, positioning them as a replacement for smartphones. CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized that the glasses preserve human presence lost to phone screens. The device combines cameras, speakers, microphones and an on‑board AI assistant, while an accompanying Neural Band uses surface electromyography (sEMG) to let users write messages without speaking. Zuckerberg demonstrated a texting speed of about 30 words per minute. The launch highlights Reality Labs' ongoing investment in sEMG research and underscores Meta’s ambition to compete with Apple and Google in the wearable market.Read more

Google announced that users can now share their custom Gemini AI assistants, known as Gems, directly from the Gemini platform. The sharing feature works like Google Drive, letting creators control who can view or edit each Gem. Initially launched as part of the Gemini Advanced subscription and offered to Business and Enterprise customers, the capability is now available to all users and supports file uploads. Pre‑made Gems include a learning coach, brainstorming assistant, career guide, writing editor, and coding partner, expanding the reach of personalized AI tools across personal and professional contexts.Read more

The House Oversight Committee has asked the chief executives of Discord, Twitch, Reddit and Steam to appear before the panel to discuss their platforms' role in online radicalization and political violence. Chairman Rep. James Comer cited the recent murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as a reason for congressional oversight. Discord and Reddit have responded, saying they welcome dialogue and are investigating any links to the incident, while emphasizing existing policies against hateful and violent content.Read more

Microsoft announced a suite of AI Copilot agents that will operate inside Teams, SharePoint and Viva Engage. The new agents include facilitator agents for meetings, channel agents for project discussions, community agents for Viva Engage and knowledge agents that organize SharePoint content. All agents are available to Microsoft 365 Copilot users, with many features in public preview, and are accompanied by a redesigned Workflows tool and an audio recap generator for meetings.Read more

Meta has unveiled a Wearable Device Access Toolkit that will let developers tap the vision and audio capabilities of its upcoming AI‑powered smart glasses. The toolkit, currently in preview, offers access to on‑device sensors and open‑ear audio, enabling new hands‑free experiences. Meta is opening a waitlist for early access, with a limited preview slated for later this year and broader publishing expected by 2026. Early partners such as Twitch and Disney’s Imagineering R&D team have already explored use cases, ranging from livestreaming to park‑visitor assistance.Read more

The Oakley Meta Vanguard AI glasses, unveiled by Meta, are designed for extreme‑sport enthusiasts. They feature a removable prismatic visor, a 12‑megapixel ultra‑wide camera capable of 3K video, IP67 water‑resistance, louder open‑ear speakers, and a customizable action button. Integrated Meta AI works with Garmin watches to display heart‑rate and fitness data without a voice trigger. Battery life reaches nine hours, and the price is listed at $499 with a launch date of October 21. Early testing on a treadmill showed stable video capture and clear audio, positioning the glasses as a rugged alternative to Meta’s Ray‑Ban lineup.Read more

Samsung is preparing to launch its Galaxy Z TriFold smartphone, along with the Project Moohan mixed‑reality headset and AI smart glasses, at a South Korean event on Sept. 29. The tri‑screen device follows Huawei’s Mate XT as the second triple‑screen phone and may later be considered for markets outside Korea. Industry observers note the launch comes weeks after Apple’s iPhone 17 rollout and could signal Samsung’s continued push in the premium foldable space.Read more

Students frequently struggle with meeting deadlines, balancing coursework with jobs, and coping with the stress of missed assignments. Recent observations highlight how AI assistants such as Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini can provide practical support. Copilot can review reading material and estimate the time needed to complete tasks, while Gemini can sync reminders and calendar entries across Google apps. An additional AI chatbot offers a sounding board for emotional concerns. Together, these tools aim to reduce time‑management friction and improve academic outcomes for learners.Read more

At its Made on YouTube event, the platform unveiled the most significant update to its livestream service to date. Creators can now embed Playables—free mini‑games such as Angry Birds Showdown and Cut the Rope—directly into live streams, offering an interactive experience for viewers. A new dual‑format capability lets streams broadcast simultaneously in horizontal and vertical orientations, while a shared chat keeps audiences unified. AI‑powered highlights automatically generate Shorts from the best moments, and a practice mode lets creators rehearse without going live. Monetization also evolves with side‑by‑side ads that run beside content and a streamlined option for members‑only streams.Read more

At the Made on YouTube live event, YouTube announced a suite of generative AI features aimed at Shorts creators. The rollout includes a custom, low‑latency version of Google’s Veo 3 model called Veo 3 Fast, new motion‑transfer and style‑transfer capabilities, a speech‑to‑song remixing tool powered by Lyria 2, and an “Edit with AI” assistant that drafts short videos from raw footage. The initial launch covers the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with plans to expand to additional regions.Read more

YouTube announced a suite of updates to YouTube Studio, the dashboard used by millions of creators to manage channels, analytics, and revenue. The rollout adds an AI‑powered chatbot called Ask Studio, an open‑beta likeness detection tool for protecting facial images, an expanded Inspiration tab, new A/B testing for titles and thumbnails, a multi‑creator collaboration feature, and improvements to auto dubbing that include lip‑sync technology. These tools aim to give creators more actionable insights, protect their brand, streamline content ideas, and improve the viewing experience for global audiences.Read more

YouTube announced a suite of artificial‑intelligence features aimed at podcasters. The new tools let video‑podcast creators automatically generate short clips and transform them into YouTube Shorts, while audio‑only podcasters can use AI to produce customizable video versions of their episodes. The features will roll out over the coming months, initially to a select group of creators, with broader availability planned for later. The move strengthens YouTube’s push to make podcasts a core part of its platform and to compete with other short‑form video services.Read more

Google announced an open Agent Payments Protocol, dubbed AP2, to enable AI agents to shop and transact on behalf of users. Backed by dozens of merchants and major financial institutions, the protocol aims for interoperability across AI platforms, payment networks and vendors while maintaining a verifiable transaction trail. Google executives Stavan Parikh and Rao Surapaneni highlighted the commitment to an open, collaborative development process. AP2 introduces a two‑step approval system—intent and cart mandates—to safeguard user intent, and includes provisions for fully automated purchases. Partnerships with crypto firms such as Coinbase, Metamask and the Ethereum Foundation expand the protocol to digital wallets, while industry players like Perplexity, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express and PayPal have shown support.Read more

MicroFactory, a San Francisco startup founded by Igor Kulakov and Viktor Petrenko, has introduced a compact, tabletop manufacturing system that fits in a dog‑crate‑sized enclosure. The device houses two robotic arms and can be taught tasks through direct human guidance as well as AI‑driven learning. The founders, drawing on their experience running a lighting‑equipment business, designed the system to simplify precision work such as circuit‑board assembly and cable routing. With hundreds of pre‑orders, a $1.5 million pre‑seed round that values the company at $30 million, and plans to ship units within months, MicroFactory aims to scale production dramatically in its first year.Read more

YouTube announced a suite of livestream upgrades at the Made on YouTube event, adding simultaneous horizontal and vertical streams, AI‑generated highlights, and mobile reaction capabilities. The changes introduce a unified chat, channel‑membership controls, and expanded ad placements to help creators grow audiences and increase revenue. Testing is underway, with broader rollouts planned in the coming months.Read more

Sources indicate that TikTok’s sale of its U.S. operations will not be completed for at least another month, as negotiations between the United States and China continue. The Treasury Secretary confirmed a framework agreement, while Oracle remains the app’s cloud partner. The deal, which could be finalized within the next 30 to 45 days, may involve a group of investment firms taking control, but details on size and public disclosure remain unclear.Read more

YouTube announced a suite of artificial‑intelligence features aimed at helping creators streamline production and improve performance. The flagship tool, Ask Studio, acts as a conversational analytics assistant that can summarize comments, suggest video ideas, and recommend title or thumbnail tweaks. A new A/B testing capability lets creators test combinations of thumbnails and titles to see which drives more watch time. Additional updates include auto‑dubbing with lip‑sync, a multi‑collaborator workflow for shared videos, and expanded thumbnail testing. Early‑access creators say the tools provide helpful guidance while still relying on their own audience knowledge.Read more

YouTube announced a suite of features aimed at turning the platform into a more robust shopping channel. The updates include AI‑powered product tagging that can automatically identify and label items mentioned in videos, brand links embedded in Shorts that direct viewers to product pages, and a system for swapping ad segments so creators can resell sponsorship slots. Testing for these tools is slated to begin early next year, with broader rollouts expected through 2026. Additional experiments will let top viewers purchase exclusive merch from creators, and the platform also hinted at upcoming livestream and AI enhancements for content creators.Read more

AI chip startup Groq announced a $750 million financing that lifts its post‑money valuation to $6.9 billion. The round, led by Disruptive with participation from BlackRock, Neuberger Berman, Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners and existing backers such as Samsung, Cisco and Altimeter, more than doubles the company’s valuation from a year ago. Groq’s LPUs – marketed as inference engines – are positioned as a non‑GPU alternative for AI workloads, and the firm now claims to power the AI applications of over two million developers.Read more

Google’s Nano Banana image‑generation model, officially known as Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, has become the top driver of the Gemini app’s popularity in India. Indian users are employing the AI to create retro Bollywood looks, AI‑saree portraits, city‑scape selfies, miniature figurines and short videos from old family photos. The surge has propelled the Gemini app to the top of both the iOS App Store and Google Play charts in the country, with monthly downloads far outpacing those in the United States. While the model’s adoption is boosting downloads, in‑app spending remains modest, and Google is rolling out watermarks and a hidden SynthID marker to address privacy and misuse concerns.Read more