🤖 Google’s full switch from Assistant to Gemini on Android got delayed
Google’s plan to fully replace Google Assistant with Gemini on Android has been pushed back - the “everything becomes Gemini” moment is taking longer than expected.
Newer phones already run Gemini-only, but older devices are still stuck in that awkward overlap where both exist (and people still lean on Assistant-y stuff). The snag seems to be making the transition feel seamless across devices and integrations.
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🔋 AI data centers are helping kick off a battery boom
Big data center buildouts - driven heavily by AI workloads - are colliding with power-grid realities, which is pushing serious momentum into batteries and energy storage.
The basic vibe: if you’re building lots of compute, you need steadier power and better load balancing, and batteries are increasingly the “fine, we’ll just buffer reality” answer.
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💰 Private equity’s $8.4B Clearwater bet is basically an “AI inside” play
Permira and Warburg are set to buy Clearwater Analytics in a deal valued around $8.4 billion, with Clearwater’s AI capabilities highlighted as part of the appeal.
It’s another reminder that “AI features” are now a straight-up deal narrative - not always the whole reason, but definitely the glossy hook on the brochure.
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🧠 Al Jazeera is building an AI-first newsroom core on Google Cloud
Al Jazeera and Google Cloud are expanding their partnership around “The Core,” a program that embeds generative AI and agent-like tooling across the news production workflow.
It’s pitched as humans-in-the-loop, with AI handling heavy lifting like analysis, drafting, translation, and operational automation - so journalists can spend more time on actual reporting (or so it seems… but yeah, that’s the promise).
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🗣️ Extremists are reportedly using AI voice cloning to boost propaganda
Researchers are warning that AI voice cloning is making it easier for extremist groups to push content that feels more personal, more convincing, and - annoyingly - more shareable.
The core worry isn’t just fake audio, it’s scale: voice tools plus distribution equals a kind of propaganda conveyor belt that’s hard to moderate once it’s moving.
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