How to Opt Out of Google Search’s New AI Data Training Feature

How to Opt Out of Google Search’s New AI Data Training Feature

This is because AI models don’t just need text data to improve; they need diverse inputs in other forms, like audio or video. If Google can gather more data, and more types of data, from its vast array of users, then maybe it could innovate faster than its competitors. Google’s massive user base is spread … Read more

A24 Knows You’re Mad About the Google AI Collab

A24 Knows You’re Mad About the Google AI Collab

Backrooms, the recent horror movie mega-hit, is a film replete with ideas about repetition and degradation. Its central theme—the horror of a world that seems to be mindlessly, monstrously, ripping off our own—was regarded in some circles as a critique of generative AI. The idea has clearly struck a nerve. Recently passing $300 million at … Read more

Google Home Speaker Review: Leading the Pack, Again

Google Home Speaker Review: Leading the Pack, Again

Gemini did a pretty good job with more conversational commands, though you still need to be specific for some requests. For example, my three-story townhouse has two smart thermostats, one for the highest floor and another for the lower two. I asked to turn on the AC, which Gemini immediately did, but it didn’t ask … Read more

Google Invests in A24 to Develop AI-Powered Filmmaking Tools

Google Invests in A24 to Develop AI-Powered Filmmaking Tools

A24 and Google have struck an AI research partnership that will see the independent studio work with Google’s DeepMind unit to develop new AI-powered technologies for filmmakers. Google’s roughly $75 million investment is tied to the partnership and is in line with what Thrive Capital invested during the studio’s last funding round, according to the … Read more

The Gemini-Powered Google Home Speaker Is Finally Here

The Gemini-Powered Google Home Speaker Is Finally Here

The last time Google released a smart speaker, the world was in the throes of a pandemic. Yes, it’s been six years since the company trotted out a dedicated speaker. However, this newest Google Home Speaker brings a big change with it: The device has been redesigned to showcase the new Gemini assistant instead of … Read more

The FCC Wants to Kill Burner Phones

The FCC Wants to Kill Burner Phones

After WIRED reported last week that Meta’s smart glasses app contained code that would enable the company to activate face-recognition features on the devices, the company removed the code this week without commenting on why or whether it plans to add such functionality back into the app later. Another WIRED investigation this week found that … Read more

A German Court Has Ruled That Google Is Liable for False Statements Generated by AI Overviews

A German Court Has Ruled That Google Is Liable for False Statements Generated by AI Overviews

A local court in Germany has issued a ruling that could reshape the operation of search engines and artificial-intelligence-based chatbots worldwide. The Munich Regional Court preliminarily ruled that Google is liable for a series of false statements generated by its AI Overviews feature, requiring the company to prevent the dissemination of erroneous or inaccurate claims … Read more

Signal Alums Reveal ‘Encrypted Spaces,’ a System for Making Private Collaboration Apps

Signal Alums Reveal ‘Encrypted Spaces,’ a System for Making Private Collaboration Apps

Encrypted Spaces is, in some sense, the next generation of the Signal protocol, but for more complex and fully featured tools that go beyond messaging and calls, says Matt Green, a cryptography-focused professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins. “They’ve built a system that’s kind of an extension of what end-to-end encryption can be, where … Read more

YouTube Appears to Be Making Money Off of Sanctioned Iranians’ Accounts

YouTube Appears to Be Making Money Off of Sanctioned Iranians’ Accounts

As the US war with Iran continues to roil the Middle East, new research shared exclusively with WIRED shows that YouTube is hosting and possibly profiting from dozens of channels linked to US-sanctioned groups linked to the Iranian government, including many with direct ties to the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The research, from … Read more

Artificial Intelligence Sneaks Into the World Cup Thanks to Google Gemini

Artificial Intelligence Sneaks Into the World Cup Thanks to Google Gemini

Slowly but surely, artificial intelligence is finding its way into sports. The latest venue? This year’s World Cup, where Google will be partnering with the defending champions Argentina to showcase Gemini on and off the pitch. The agreement with the Argentine Football Association (AFA) makes Gemini the main global sponsor of the national team. As … Read more