More than 2 billion logged-in users around the world are watching YouTube Shorts each month. To help creators keep them engaged, YouTube is releasing six new tools to improve creativity. Assists for remixing, adding stickers and effects, going live and more are coming to the platform, which has also begun testing a mobile-first live experience designed to help live creators get noticed in the main Shorts feed. One unusual new feature, Collab, lets creators display a Short in a side-by-side frame with other YouTube or Shorts videos. Collab lets users select from a variety of split-screen layout options. It will debut on iOS with Android to follow.  Continue reading YouTube Shorts Adds Creator Tools Including Collab and Q&A

Google is adding images and video to its Search Generative Experience (SGE), an AI-powered context tool the company began testing in May that some are already calling “the future of Google Search.” Those who have signed up for Search Labs and enabled SGE will begin seeing more multimedia at the top of their search results. The idea is to help searchers “get up to speed on a new topic, uncover quick tips for your specific questions or discover products and things to consider — with article links to dig deeper,” Google explains of its latest AI improvements. Continue reading Google’s AI-Powered Search Delivers Relevant, Visual Results

YouTube TV is bundling Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max with its own NFL Sunday Ticket out-of-market football package. YouTube parent Google entered into an exclusive, seven-year deal to offer the NFL Sunday Ticket package through YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels, beginning with the 2023 season. Max has become a Sunday Ticket partner as part of a broader deal with WBD that includes getting Google TV behind WBD’s relaunch of HBO as Max. Philipp Schindler, chief business officer for Alphabet and Google, shared news of the promos with analysts during his company’s Q2 earnings call. Continue reading YouTube TV Will Bundle WBD’s Max with NFL Sunday Ticket

Foldable phones took center stage at Samsung’s recent Galaxy Unpacked event in Seoul, South Korea, where the company unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold5 and Galaxy Z Flip5 foldables. Also making their debut: the Galaxy Tab S9 family of tablets and Galaxy Watch6, the latter offering a Classic smartwatch model that revives the rotating bezel. Samsung’s foldables utilize the company’s proprietary Flex hinge, which enables the smartphones to close with no gap at the hinge. The company is also promoting the FlexCam and its “ability to capture photos and videos hands-free” from creative angles. Continue reading Samsung Unveils Its Latest Galaxy Z Fold, Z Flip and Watch6

Advancing President Biden’s push for responsible development of artificial intelligence, top AI firms including Anthropic, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI have launched the Frontier Model Forum, an industry forum that will work collaboratively with outside researchers and policymakers to implement best practices. The new group will focus on AI safety, research into its risks, and disseminating information to the public, governments and civil society. Other companies involved in building bleeding-edge AI models will also be invited to join and participate in technical evaluations and benchmarks. Continue reading Major Tech Players Launch Frontier Model Forum for Safe AI

Alphabet posted a strong second quarter, with Google Cloud revenue climbing 28 percent year-over-year, to $8.03 billion, and overall revenue gaining 7 percent, to $74.6 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, as did the $18 billion in net income. Google Search ad sales grew by nearly 5 percent, to $42.6 billion, while ad sales from Google’s YouTube streaming platform rose almost 4 percent, to $7.7 billion. YouTube had in recent quarters sustained revenue declines, attributed to increased competition from TikTok and others, but was finally able to reverse the downward trend. Continue reading Search Stays Strong and YouTube Rebounds in Alphabet Q2

President Biden has secured voluntary commitments from seven leading AI companies who say they will support the executive branch goal of advancing safe, secure and transparent development of artificial intelligence. Executives from Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI convened at the White House on Friday to support the accord, which some criticized as a half measure, claiming the companies have already embraced independent security testing and a commitment to collaborating with each other and the government. Biden stressed the need to deploy AI altruistically, “to help address society’s greatest challenges.” Continue reading Top Tech Firms Support Government’s Planned AI Safeguards

Google has been demonstrating a new AI tool that writes news articles. Currently known as Genesis, which is a working title, the app is reportedly able to take topical information as pertains to things like new products or current events and weave it into something approximating a logically developed news story. The Alphabet company’s new product has been quietly pitched to organizations including The Washington Post, The New York Times and News Corp, owner of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post. One observer described the new tech as a copilot for journalists, rather than a replacement. Continue reading Genesis: Google Demos New Generative AI Newswriting Tool

Cerebras Systems has unveiled the Condor Galaxy 1, powered by nine networked supercomputers designed for a total of 4 exaflops of AI compute via 54 million cores. Cerebras says the CG-1 greatly accelerates AI model training, completing its first run on a large language AI trained for Abu Dhabi-based G42 in only 10 days. Cerebras and G42 have partnered to offer the Santa Clara, California-based CG-1 as a cloud service, positioning it as an alternative to Nvidia’s DGX GH200 cloud supercomputer. The companies plan to release CG-2 and CG-3 in early 2024. Continue reading Cerebras, G42 Partner on a Supercomputer for Generative AI

Apple is reportedly developing tools it could use to enter the artificial intelligence space, joining rivals such as Microsoft and Google, which have already released popular products. In Cupertino, the company is said to have built a framework for large language models, which power AI-based chatbot offerings similar to Google’s Bard and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Called Ajax, the platform is the basis for what is referred to inside the company as Apple GPT. Though Apple has built automation into its products for some time, it could now be preparing to make a direct play for the generative AI market. Continue reading Apple Chatbot ‘Ajax’ Could Be Next Major Player in AI Space

This week, Meta Platforms released Llama 2, the next generation of its open-source large language model that is free for research and commercial use. Llama 2’s pretrained and fine-tuned language models are available in sizes ranging from 7 to 70 billion parameters. Meta also named Microsoft Azure its “preferred partner for Llama 2,” offering it through the Azure AI model catalog for use with cloud-native tools that leverage content filtering and safety features. Meta says Llama 2 is “also optimized to run locally on Windows,” providing developers a seamless workflow across enterprise and consumer platforms. Continue reading Meta Unveils Llama 2 LLM with Microsoft as Preferred Partner

The Biden administration has unveiled a new labeling system for smart devices. The U.S. Cyber Trust Mark identifies consumer electronics and appliances that meet security standards and are less vulnerable to cyberattacks. Companies including Amazon, Google, LG, Qualcomm, Samsung and retailer Best Buy participated in announcing the voluntary program. The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), purveyor of the Matter smart home standard, has also pledged support. The program is scheduled to roll out in 2024. Devices bearing the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark will have met security standards established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Continue reading White House Announces Smart Device Cybersecurity Labeling

OpenAI has entered into a precedential agreement to license content from Associated Press for use training large language models. OpenAI is “licensing part of AP’s text archive,” presumably leaving the door open to negotiation for video and breaking news. For its part, AP intends to “leverage OpenAI’s technology and product expertise,” according to the outlet’s own article. Financial terms were not disclosed, nor details as to AP’s intended AI use cases. Although AP is in a class by itself as a member-owned cooperative, the agreement could bode well for print journalism, which has had challenges transitioning to the digital age. Continue reading AP and OpenAI Join Forces for News-Sharing and Tech Deal

Google has updated transaction policies to allow for blockchain-based digital content, such as NFTs, to be placed within content distributed through its mobile software marketplace Google Play. Google has been slow to warm to blockchain integration, and the new approach comes with strict transparency requirements. If tokenized digital assets are part of an app or game “developers must declare this clearly,” Google explains, adding that “developers may not promote or glamorize any potential earning from playing or trading activities.” These stipulations intend to prevent the hype that has attached itself to so much blockchain activity from infiltrating Google Play. Continue reading Google Updates Policies Regarding Blockchain in Play Store

Having passed the California Assembly June 1 with bipartisan support and moved on to the Senate, the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA) has been kicked over to the next term, becoming a two-year bill. Instead of a scheduled hearing this week, AB 886 will go on calendar for 2024 while fine-tuning continues. The bill is reminiscent of laws passed in Canada and Australia that require companies including Meta and Google to pay publishers for news content. Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) says legislators are leveraging the session spillover and will not lose ground as they navigate to passage. Continue reading California Moves Big Tech News Bill to 2024, But Holds Firm