Author: GT

Coco Robotics, a startup known for its fleet of last-mile delivery bots, is looking to get more information out of the five years’ worth of data its robots have collected. Its answer: a physical AI lab with University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) professor Bolei Zhou at the helm. Coco Robotics, which made the announcement Tuesday, said Zhou has also joined the Los Angeles-based startup as chief AI scientist. When the company launched in 2020, it used teleoperators to help the bots navigate obstacles on their delivery routes. Coco Robotics co-founder and CEO Zach Rash told TechCrunch the company’s goal…

Google Meet finally has an AI-powered makeup filter for those days when you don’t feel like applying real makeup before a meeting. The new capability will help Google Meet compete with other video-conferencing apps that already have virtual makeup features, including Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Google Meet offers 12 different makeup options to choose from, which can be found in the “Appearance” section under “Portrait touch-up,” which is a feature that has been available since 2023 to provide users with options like complexion smoothing, under-eye lightening, and eye whitening. Image Credits:Google Meet Notably, Google says that the virtual makeup will…

NEW DELHI (AP) — Google announced on Tuesday that it will invest $15 billion in India over the next five years to establish its first artificial intelligence hub in the country.Located in the southern city of Visakhapatnam, the hub will be one of Google’s largest globally. It will feature gigawatt-scale data center operations, extensive energy infrastructure and an expanded fiber-optic network, the company said in a statement.The investment underscores Google’s growing reliance on India as a key technology and talent base in the global race for AI dominance. For India, it brings in high-value infrastructure and foreign investment at a…

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said he hopes to end the country’s $4 billion reliance on Iranian gas by 2028, in an effort to diversify the major oil-producer’s economy. Decades of mismanagement, underinvestment and corruption have strained the power grid of Iraq, which is OPEC’s second-largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia. Gas from Tehran fuels nearly a third of Iraq’s electricity generation, yet frequent and prolonged outages remain common, forcing residents to rely on costly, polluting private generators. “We developed a clear vision to address this structural imbalance that affects our ability to generate and produce electricity…

Google is launching a new tool that uses AI to make it easier for Gmail users with Google Calendar to schedule their meetings. On Tuesday, the company launched a Gemini-powered “Help me schedule” feature that will surface ideal meeting times based on calendar availability and then display them to the person you’re emailing to set up a meeting. The company notes that the feature is designed to work for one-on-one meetings, not those with multiple contacts or group meetings. The launch of the new feature comes amid a flurry of Google Workspace announcements that focus on infusing AI more deeply…

Three years after removing its job listings feature, Facebook is bringing it back to users in the U.S., focusing on helping people find local jobs in entry-level, trade, and service sectors. Job listings, available to all users 18 years and older, can be found in a tab within the Marketplace section as well as in Groups and Pages.  Users can filter and sort jobs by category, distance, and job type. Facebook also says it will provide tailored recommendations for relevant opportunities based on users’ job browsing history. After submitting their applications, they can chat with companies via Messenger to arrange…

Meta has removed a Facebook page used to track the presence of immigration agents at the request of the Department of Justice, the company confirmed on Tuesday.Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on X that “following outreach” from the DOJ, Facebook removed a “large group page” that was being used to target ICE officials. Meta said in a statement that the group “was removed for violating our policies against coordinated harm.”Meta is the latest tech company to restrict tools used to track ICE agents on its platform. Earlier this month, Apple and Google blocked downloads of phone apps…

While AI companies, startups, and others are rolling out their own web browsers that embed AI services deep into the web surfing experience, Mozilla’s Firefox is instead allowing its customers to swap out their default search engine for an AI-powered search option in the browser they already use. The company on Tuesday announced that it’s bringing AI answer engine Perplexity to Firefox, letting customers decide whether they want to use AI to search the web and find new information. Mozilla had previously announced it was testing the integration, but the option was only available in select markets, including the U.S.,…

Impulse Space laid out an ambitious plan Tuesday to use its tech to haul tons of cargo to the moon as early as 2028, aiming to fill what it sees as a gap in today’s market for mid-sized surface deliveries. The company says it will pair a new lunar lander with its “Helios” high-energy kick stage to move tons to the surface without needing to refuel on orbit. The aim is to deliver up to 6 tons of payload to the moon across two missions “at a cost-effective price point.” The startup, founded by former SpaceX propulsion chief Tom Mueller,…

NEW YORK (AP) — OpenAI is partnering with Walmart to let shoppers make purchases directly within ChatGPT, furthering the artificial intelligence company’s push to turn its chatbot into a virtual merchant as it seeks to boost revenue.In an Tuesday announcement, Walmart said the new offering will give customers the option to “simply chat and buy.” That means the retailer’s products would be available through instant checkout in ChatGPT — allowing users to buy anything from meal ingredients or household items, to other goods they might be discussing with the chatbot.“For many years now, eCommerce shopping experiences have consisted of a…