Artificial intelligence (AI)
Google Integrates Gemini Into Chrome To Enable Agentic Browsing
Google has announced that it has begun integrating its Gemini artificial intelligence system directly into the Chrome browser as part of a wider effort to turn everyday web browsing into a more automated and assistant-led experience. Why? Chrome remains the world’s most widely used web browser, accounting for over 70 per cent of global desktop…
Read MoreAI-Written Virus Marks a New Step Towards Lab-Designed Life
A research team in California has demonstrated that artificial intelligence can design a fully synthetic virus from scratch, raising questions about how life itself may be engineered in the future. What Has Been Developed? The work centres on a new synthetic virus known as Evo-Φ2147, created using a generative AI model developed by researchers at…
Read MoreOpenAI Brings Age Prediction To ChatGPT Consumer Accounts
OpenAI has started rolling out an age prediction system on ChatGPT consumer plans as it tries to better identify under-18 users and automatically apply stronger safety protections amid rising regulatory pressure and concern about AI’s impact on young people. Why OpenAI Is Introducing Age Prediction Now On 20 January 2026, OpenAI confirmed it had begun…
Read MorePM Warns X It Could Lose The Right To Self Regulate
UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has warned that Elon Musk’s X could lose the “right to self regulate” after its Grok AI tool was linked to the creation and circulation of illegal sexualised imagery, prompting a formal Ofcom investigation and an accelerated UK government response. Background The controversy centred on X, formerly Twitter, and its AI…
Read MoreWhy Teaching AI Bad Behaviour Can Spread Beyond Its Original Task
New research has found that AI large language models (LLMs) trained to behave badly in a single narrow task can begin producing harmful, deceptive, or extreme outputs across completely unrelated areas, raising serious new questions about how safe AI systems are evaluated and deployed. A Surprising Safety Failure in Modern AI Large language models (LLMs)…
Read MoreOpenAI Invests in Sam Altman’s Brain Computer Interface Startup Merge Labs
OpenAI has invested in Merge Labs, a new brain computer interface research company cofounded by its chief executive Sam Altman, marking an escalation in efforts to link human cognition directly with artificial intelligence. BCIs, The Next Frontier? The investment, confirmed by OpenAI, sees the AI company participate as the largest single backer in Merge Labs’…
Read MoreIs Google Pulling Ahead of OpenAI in the AI Race?
Google’s expanding AI partnerships, product integration, and recent technical progress are fuelling growing debate over whether it has quietly moved ahead of OpenAI in the global race to deploy large-scale artificial intelligence. Matched Since 2022 Google and OpenAI have been closely matched since late 2022, when OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT reshaped public and commercial expectations…
Read MoreGrok Sparks Global Scrutiny Over AI Sexualised Deepfakes
Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok has become the focus of political, regulatory, and international scrutiny after users exploited it to generate non-consensual sexualised images, including material involving children, triggering urgent action from regulators and reopening a heated debate over online safety and free speech. What Triggered The Controversy? The row began in late December when…
Read More15 Notable Gadgets From CES 2026
In this week’s Tech Insight, we look at 15 notable gadgets from a CES focused on how artificial intelligence is being embedded into physical products for homes, health, and everyday use. CES 2026 The Consumer Electronics Show, held each January in Las Vegas, Nevada, has long been a place where experimental concepts sit alongside near…
Read MoreGoogle Brings Gemini AI To Gmail With A Personalised Inbox
Google is reshaping Gmail around its Gemini AI models, introducing a personalised AI Inbox, natural-language AI Overviews in email search, and a wider rollout of writing and summarisation tools designed to help users manage rising email volumes more efficiently. To Help Manage Information Overload Google says more than 3 billion people now rely on its…
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