Author: GT

Sorry, prospective homebuyers. Just over a year after adding climate risk scores, Zillow has removed them from more than 1 million listings after real estate agents complained that the information was causing them to lose sales. Zillow first added the data to the site in September 2024, saying that more than 80% of buyers consider climate risks when purchasing a new home.  But last month, following objections from the California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS), Zillow removed the listings’ climate scores. In their place is a subtle link to their records at First Street, the climate risk analytic startup that…

A Google Search exec said that one of the company’s biggest opportunities in AI lies in its ability to get to know the user better and personalize its responses. The promise is AI that’s uniquely helpful because it knows you. But the risk is AI that feels more like surveillance than service. In a recent episode of the Limitless podcast, Robby Stein, VP of Product for Google Search, explained that Google’s AI tends to field more queries that are advice-seeking or those where the user is looking for recommendations — and these types of questions are more likely to benefit…

North American enterprises are now actively deploying agentic AI systems intended to reason, adapt, and act with complete autonomy.Data from Digitate’s three-year global programme indicates that, while adoption is universal across the board, regional maturity paths are diverging. North American firms are scaling toward full autonomy, whereas their European counterparts are prioritising governance frameworks and data stewardship to build long-term resilience.From utility to profitabilityThe story of enterprise automation has changed. In 2023, the primary objective for most IT leaders was cost reduction and the streamlining of routine tasks. By 2025, the focus has expanded. AI is no longer viewed solely…

In a carefully worded announcement on Monday, Apple said John Giannandrea, who has been the company’s AI chief since 2018, is “stepping down” to, well, not work at Apple anymore. He’ll stick around through spring as an adviser. His replacement is Amar Subramanya, a highly regarded Microsoft executive who spent 16 years at Google, most recently leading engineering for the Gemini Assistant. It’s a savvy hire, given that Subramanya knows the competition intimately. The move is being characterized as a shake-up. It was seemingly inevitable in retrospect. Apple Intelligence, the company’s answer to the ChatGPT moment, has been stumbling since…

Thrive Holdings’ push to modernise accounting and IT services is entering a new stage, as OpenAI prepares to take an ownership stake in the company and place its own specialists inside Thrive’s businesses. In doing so, OpenAI is testing an AI-driven model that pairs capital, sector expertise, and embedded technical teams.Thrive started its holding company earlier this year to buy and manage firms in day-to-day service industries. Its aim has been to rebuild these companies with more efficient processes, new data practices, and practical uses of AI. OpenAI’s deeper involvement now turns that idea into a real-time experiment in how…

If you want to bring a bit of holiday cheer to the screen you use the most, you’ll get a kick out of the newly updated Festivitas app for Apple devices. Originally designed to add holiday lights to your Mac’s desktop, this popular indie app has been updated this year with several new features, most notably a version of the app that brings its sparkling, colorful lights to iOS devices for the first time. With the new Festivitas app for iPhone and iPad, you can add and customize a string of holiday lights on your device’s Home Screen using iOS…

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s telecoms ministry has directed smartphone manufacturers to pre-install a government-run cybersecurity app on all new devices, according to a government order, raising concerns of data privacy and user consent in one of the largest handset markets in the world.The Ministry of Communications’ order issued Monday asked smartphone makers to pre-install the government’s “Sanchar Saathi” app on all new devices within 90 days and to prevent users from deleting it. The order also requires manufacturers to push the app onto older models through a software update, extending the mandate beyond phones available in the market.The ministry…

A coalition of law enforcement agencies coordinated by Europol announced Monday the shuttering of cryptocurrency laundering service Cryptomixer. Europol confirmed the seizure in a press release, where it called Cryptomixer “the platform of choice for cybercriminals seeking to launder illegal proceeds from a variety of criminal activities, such as drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, ransomware attacks, and payment card fraud.” Since 2016, Europol said, Cryptomixer facilitated the laundering of 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in Bitcoin.  Hackers and other criminals use laundering services such as Cryptomixer to obfuscate and hide the provenance of their cryptocurrency. By design, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin…

The logo of an Apple Store is seen reflected on the glass exterior of a Samsung flagship store in Shanghai, China Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.Wang Gang | Feature China | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesThe cost of your smartphone might rise, analysts are warning, as the AI boom clogs up supply chains and a recent change by Nvidia to its products could make it worse.AI data centers, on which tech giants globally are spending hundreds of billions of dollars, require chips from suppliers, like Nvidia, which relies on many different components and companies to create its coveted graphics processing units.But…

Planned data center construction shows no signs of fading, with new additions to require 2.7x — nearly triple — the sector’s current demand for electricity over the next decade, according to a new report from BloombergNEF. By 2035, data centers will draw 106 gigawatts, up sharply from the 40 gigawatts they use today. Much of that growth will occur in more rural areas as facilities grow in size and as sites near urban areas become scarce, BloombergNEF said. Driving part of the growth is the sheer scale of planned data centers. Today, only 10% of data centers draw more than…