Google and Alphabet Watch: Insights on Google's ecosystem, including Android, Gmail, Chrome, plus other bets and innovations coming from Mountain View.
To mark its 10th anniversary and a milestone of over 1 billion users, Google Photos has received a revamped photo editor, adding more AI editing suggestions and enabling instant album sharing through QR codes.
What just happened? A judge has ruled that the lawsuit against Google and Character.ai over claims the latter's chatbot caused a 14-year-old's suicide can go ahead. The boy's mother, who brought the suit, says her son became addicted to the service and emotionally attached to a chatbot based on the personality of Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen.
In brief: A future in which generative AIs write emails back and forth to each other on our behalf has moved a little closer. Google is improving Gemini's smart replies, making them not only longer, but also more personalized by analyzing your previous emails and Drive files.
A culture of fear has replaced free speech in the tech industry
Through the looking glass: As the tech industry continues to tighten control over employee speech and activism, a culture once defined by open dialogue and political engagement gives way to one marked by silence and fear of reprisal. "It's different now; employers feel they can get away with stuff," said a former Google employee.
A new security update for Chrome addresses multiple vulnerabilities, including one actively exploited in the wild. The critical flaw could allow unauthorized code execution or data leaks through malicious HTML. Users are advised to update their browsers immediately.
Google denies its search query volume is declining
What just happened? Apple's Eddy Cue testified in court yesterday in the remedies phase of the DoJ's lawsuit against Google parent Alphabet, and he had a lot to say. Cupertino's SVP of services said people "may not need an iPhone 10 years from now," AI could replace traditional search engines, and Apple expects to introduce AI services to Safari in the future. He also said search query volumes on Safari, which uses Google as the default search engine, declined last month, a claim that Google has denied.