News reporting focused on AI and machine learning, covering the companies behind these technologies, their real-world applications, and the ethical concerns they raise. This includes areas like generative AI (large language models, text-to-image and video), speech tech, and predictive analytics.
Simon Willison released llm-gemini 0.33, adding support for Google's Gemini 3.7 Flash and other new models. The update brings compatibility with LLM 0.32, enabling terminal reasoning traces and server-side tools. The release also highlights browser-specific SVG rendering differences that affect how the model's image outputs appear.
Ryanair has partnered with Google Cloud to deploy Gemini Enterprise and dual-cloud infrastructure, aiming to support its growth to 300 million passengers annually by fiscal 2034. The five-year deal includes AI for crew logistics, decision automation, and maintenance scheduling, plus resilience features to prevent outages.
Google will shut down Google Assistant on Android and Wear OS starting September 4, 2026, replacing it with Gemini. The transition affects smartphones, tablets, watches, and Android Auto, though Assistant remains in cars with Google built-in. Gemini will also expand to Google TV, Home speakers, and smart displays, marking a major shift in Google's AI strategy.
Apple's long-delayed Siri AI has finally arrived in the iOS 27 beta, offering natural conversations, personal context, and photo/document retrieval. The launch feels anticlimactic as the AI industry has moved ahead, but the improvements are significant, powered by a partnership with Google's Gemini models. The official release is expected in September.
Google disabled its new AI image generation feature in Google Earth on the web less than 24 hours after launch, following demonstrations that it could create misleading content, including a fictitious nuclear plant in Iran. The rollback, announced on July 31, 2026, came after investigative journalist Henk van Ess used the tool to generate imagery of refugees near the Mexican border and that fake nuclear facility. The feature had allowed users to reimagine Google Earth imagery based on text prompts powered by Google's Gemini AI model.
Google DeepMind has unveiled Gemini Robotics 2, a vision-language-action model for robot control, and Gemini Robotics ER 2, an embodied reasoning model. The former handles direct motor commands, while the latter plans actions. ER 2 is available in Google AI Studio, while Robotics 2 is on a waitlist.
Google patched 1,072 security flaws in Chrome during June, more than in the previous two years combined, attributing the surge to AI tools like Gemini. Microsoft also reported a record 570 bug fixes in its June Patch Tuesday, citing similar AI-driven vulnerability discovery. The trend signals a fundamental shift in cybersecurity economics, though Apple has not shown a comparable spike.
Google DeepMind announced Gemini Robotics 2, a new AI model that gives humanoid robots full-body control from feet to fingertips, surpassing the previous version's upper-body-only limitations. The update includes improvements to the Gemini Robotics ER 2 vision-language model for safety and collaboration, and an On-Device Model that adapts to different robot bodies. Demonstrations show robots performing tasks like picking up objects, sealing bags, and unscrewing lightbulbs, marking a significant step toward real-world deployment.
Google announced during its Q2 2026 earnings call that its AI assistant Gemini now has over 950 million monthly active users, tripling from last year. The milestone puts Gemini in closer competition with OpenAI's ChatGPT, which reached 1 billion users in June. Google also highlighted growth in its AI-powered search mode, which crossed 1 billion users this quarter.
Alphabet raised its 2026 investment forecast to up to $205 billion as Google Cloud revenue surged 82% and the Gemini app hit 950 million monthly active users. CEO Sundar Pichai said the next generation of frontier AI models requires 'much larger base models,' and Google is training Gemini 4 to close the gap with rivals. The company also noted efficiency gains in AI Mode and a focus on improving coding capabilities.
Alphabet reported Q2 revenue of $119.8 billion, up 24% year-over-year, beating analyst estimates. The company raised its capital expenditure guidance to at least $180 billion, signaling accelerating AI spending. Google Cloud revenue surged 82% to $24.8 billion, driven by enterprise AI solutions. The Gemini app now has 950 million monthly active users and processes 22 billion API tokens per minute.
Google has released three new Gemini models: 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash-Lite, and 3.5 Flash Cyber. The 3.6 Flash model offers improved coding and knowledge work with 17% fewer output tokens and lower costs. The 3.5 Flash-Lite is the fastest in the series at 350 tokens per second, designed for high-throughput agentic tasks. The 3.5 Flash Cyber model, available only to governments and trusted partners via CodeMender, focuses on finding and fixing cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Google also noted that Gemini 3.5 Pro is being tested with partners and that pre-training for Gemini 4 has begun.