AI to steal the show at Google I/O 2025
Synopsis
Google's Gemini AI models are expected to be in the spotlight, with the Gemini 2.5 Pro update likely to grab headlines. Other AI tools, such as DeepMind's real-time reasoning engine Project Astra and the education-centric LearnLM, are also set to feature prominently. Google may also showcase AI-driven upgrades across its core products such as Gmail, Chrome and the Play Store, though it is unclear how much will feature in the keynote.
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Business Standard
4 hours ago
- Business Standard
How OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, plans to make 'AI-native universities'
OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has a plan to overhaul college education — by embedding its artificial intelligence (AI) tools in every facet of campus life. If its strategy succeeds, universities would give students AI assistants to guide and tutor them from orientation day through graduation. Professors would provide customised AI study bots for each class. Career services would offer recruiter chatbots for students to practice for job interviews. And undergrads could turn on a chatbot's voice mode to be quizzed aloud ahead of a test. OpenAI dubs its sales pitch 'AI-native universities.' 'Our vision is that, over time, AI would become part of the core infrastructure of higher education,' Leah Belsky, OpenAI's vice president of education, said. In the same way that colleges give students school email accounts, she said, soon 'every student would have access to their personalised AI account.' Last year, OpenAI hired Belsky, an ed tech start up veteran, to oversee its education efforts. She has a two-pronged strategy: marketing OpenAI's premium paid services to universities while advertising free ChatGPT to students. To spread chatbots on campuses, OpenAI is selling premium AI services to universities for faculty and student use. It is also running marketing campaigns aimed at getting students who have never used chatbots to try ChatGPT. Some universities are already working to make AI tools part of students' everyday experiences. In early June, Duke University began offering unlimited ChatGPT access to students, faculty and staff. The school also introduced a university platform, called DukeGPT, with AI tools developed by Duke. OpenAI's campaign is part of an escalating AI arms race among tech giants to win over universities and students with their chatbots. It is following in the footsteps of rivals like Google and Microsoft that have for years pushed to get their computers and software into schools, and court students as future customers. The competition is so heated that Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, and Elon Musk, who founded the rival xAI, posted duelling announcements on social media this spring offering free premium AI services for college students during exam period. Then Google upped the ante, announcing free student access to its premium chatbot service 'through finals 2026.' OpenAI ignited the recent AI education trend. In 2022, its rollout of ChatGPT, which can produce human-sounding essays and term papers, helped set off a wave of chatbot-fuelled cheating. Generative AI tools, which are trained on large databases of texts, also make stuff up, which can mislead students. Today, millions of college students regularly use AI chatbots as study aides. Now OpenAI is capitalising on ChatGPT's popularity to promote its other AI services to universities as the new infrastructure for college education. OpenAI's service for universities, ChatGPT Edu, offers more features, including certain privacy protections. It also enables faculty and staff to create custom chatbots for universities. OpenAI's push to AI-ify college education amounts to a national experiment on millions of students. The use of chatbots in schools is so new that their potential long-term educational benefits and possible side effects are not yet established. A few early studies have found that outsourcing tasks like research and writing to chatbots can diminish skills like critical thinking. And some critics argue that colleges going all-in on chatbots are glossing over issues like societal risks, AI labour exploitation and environmental costs. OpenAI's campus marketing effort comes as unemployment has increased among college graduates — particularly in fields like software engineering, where AI is now automating tasks earlier done by humans.
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Time of India
Chinese hackers, user lapses turn smartphones into 'mobile security crisis'
Cybersecurity investigators noticed a highly unusual software crash - it was affecting a small number of smartphones belonging to people who worked in government, politics, tech and crashes, which began late last year and carried into 2025, were the tipoff to a sophisticated cyberattack that may have allowed hackers to infiltrate a phone without a single click from the attackers left no clues about their identities, but investigators at the cybersecurity firm iVerify noticed that the victims all had something in common: They worked in fields of interest to China's government and had been targeted by Chinese hackers in the past. Foreign hackers have increasingly identified smartphones, other mobile devices and the apps they use as a weak link in US cyberdefences. Groups linked to China's military and intelligence service have targeted the smartphones of prominent Americans and burrowed deep into telecommunication networks, according to national security and tech experts. It shows how vulnerable mobile devices and apps are and the risk that security failures could expose sensitive information or leave American interests open to cyberattack, those experts say. "The world is in a mobile security crisis right now," said Rocky Cole, a former cybersecurity expert at the National Security Agency and Google and now chief operations officer at iVerify. "No one is watching the phones." US zeroes in on China as a threat, and Beijing levels its own accusations US authorities warned in December of a sprawling Chinese hacking campaign designed to gain access to the texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. "They were able to listen in on phone calls in real time and able to read text messages," said Rep Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. He is a member of the House Intelligence Committee and the senior Democrat on the Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, created to study the geopolitical threat from China. Chinese hackers also sought access to phones used by Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance during the 2024 campaign. The Chinese government has denied allegations of cyberespionage, and accused the US of mounting its own cyberoperations. It says America cites national security as an excuse to issue sanctions against Chinese organizations and keep Chinese technology companies from the global market. "The US has long been using all kinds of despicable methods to steal other countries' secrets," Lin Jian, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said at a recent press conference in response to questions about a CIA push to recruit Chinese informants. US intelligence officials have said China poses a significant, persistent threat to US economic and political interests, and it has harnessed the tools of digital conflict: online propaganda and disinformation, artificial intelligence and cyber surveillance and espionage designed to deliver a significant advantage in any military conflict. Mobile networks are a top concern. The US and many of its closest allies have banned Chinese telecom companies from their networks. Other countries, including Germany, are phasing out Chinese involvement because of security concerns. But Chinese tech firms remain a big part of the systems in many nations, giving state-controlled companies a global footprint they could exploit for cyberattacks, experts say. Chinese telecom firms still maintain some routing and cloud storage systems in the US - a growing concern to lawmakers. "The American people deserve to know if Beijing is quietly using state-owned firms to infiltrate our critical infrastructure," US Rep John Moolenaar, R-Mich. and chairman of the China committee, which in April issued subpoenas to Chinese telecom companies seeking information about their U.S. operations. Mobile devices have become an intel treasure trove Mobile devices can buy stocks, launch drones and run power plants. Their proliferation has often outpaced their security. The phones of top government officials are especially valuable, containing sensitive government information, passwords and an insider's glimpse into policy discussions and decision-making. The White House said last week that someone impersonating Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, reached out to governors, senators and business leaders with texts and phone calls. It's unclear how the person obtained Wiles' connections, but they apparently gained access to the contacts in her personal cellphone, The Wall Street Journal reported. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles' number, the newspaper reported. While most smartphones and tablets come with robust security, apps and connected devices often lack these protections or the regular software updates needed to stay ahead of new threats. That makes every fitness tracker, baby monitor or smart appliance another potential foothold for hackers looking to penetrate networks, retrieve information or infect systems with malware. Federal officials launched a program this year creating a "cyber trust mark" for connected devices that meet federal security standards. But consumers and officials shouldn't lower their guard, said Snehal Antani, former chief technology officer for the Pentagon 's Joint Special Operations Command. "They're finding backdoors in Barbie dolls," said Antani, now CEO of a cybersecurity firm, referring to concerns from researchers who successfully hacked the microphone of a digitally connected version of the toy. Risks emerge when smartphone users don't take precautions It doesn't matter how secure a mobile device is if the user doesn't follow basic security precautions, especially if their device contains classified or sensitive information, experts say. Mike Waltz, who departed as Trump's national security adviser, inadvertently added The Atlantic's editor-in-chief to a Signal chat used to discuss military plans with other top officials. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon's security protocols set up in his office so he could use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, the AP has reported. Hegseth has rejected assertions that he shared classified information on Signal, a popular encrypted messaging app not approved for the use of communicating classified information. China and other nations will try to take advantage of such lapses, and national security officials must take steps to prevent them from recurring, said Michael Williams, a national security expert at Syracuse University . "They all have access to a variety of secure communications platforms," Williams said. "We just can't share things willy-nilly." (AP)
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First Post
11 hours ago
- First Post
Phantom crash: How Chinese hackers covertly targeted smartphones of US officials and journalists
Cybersecurity investigators noticed a highly unusual software crash — it was affecting a small number of smartphones belonging to people who worked in government, politics, tech and journalism. read more Cybersecurity experts have uncovered a highly unusual software crash pattern affecting smartphones of government officials, political figures, tech professionals and journalists. The crashes, which began in late 2024 and persisted into 2025, indicated a sophisticated cyberattack potentially enabling hackers to infiltrate devices without any user interaction. Investigators at cybersecurity firm iVerify found that all victims worked in sectors of interest to China's government and had previously been targeted by Chinese-linked hackers. The attack highlights the growing threat to mobile devices and apps as critical vulnerabilities in US cyberdefenses, with foreign groups linked to China's military and intelligence increasingly exploiting these weaknesses. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Experts warn that such security failures could expose sensitive data and compromise American interests. 'The world is in a mobile security crisis right now,' Rocky Cole, a former cybersecurity expert at the National Security Agency and Google and now chief operations officer at iVerify told AP. 'No one is watching the phones.' US authorities warned in December of a sprawling Chinese hacking campaign designed to gain access to the texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. 'They were able to listen in on phone calls in real time and able to read text messages,' Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois told Associated Press. He is a member of the House Intelligence Committee and the senior Democrat on the Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, created to study the geopolitical threat from China. Chinese hackers also sought access to phones used by Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance during the 2024 campaign. The Chinese government has denied allegations of cyberespionage, and accused the U.S. of mounting its own cyberoperations. It says America cites national security as an excuse to issue sanctions against Chinese organizations and keep Chinese technology companies from the global market. 'The U.S. has long been using all kinds of despicable methods to steal other countries' secrets,' Lin Jian, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said at a recent press conference in response to questions about a CIA push to recruit Chinese informants. US intelligence officials have said China poses a significant, persistent threat to U.S. economic and political interests, and it has harnessed the tools of digital conflict: online propaganda and disinformation, artificial intelligence and cyber surveillance and espionage designed to deliver a significant advantage in any military conflict. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Mobile networks are a top concern. The US and many of its closest allies have banned Chinese telecom companies from their networks. Other countries, including Germany, are phasing out Chinese involvement because of security concerns. But Chinese tech firms remain a big part of the systems in many nations, giving state-controlled companies a global footprint they could exploit for cyberattacks, experts say. Chinese telecom firms still maintain some routing and cloud storage systems in the US, a growing concern to lawmakers. 'The American people deserve to know if Beijing is quietly using state-owned firms to infiltrate our critical infrastructure,' U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich. and chairman of the China committee, which in April issued subpoenas to Chinese telecom companies seeking information about their U.S. operations. Mobile devices can buy stocks, launch drones and run power plants. Their proliferation has often outpaced their security. The phones of top government officials are especially valuable, containing sensitive government information, passwords and an insider's glimpse into policy discussions and decision-making. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The White House said last week that someone impersonating Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, reached out to governors, senators and business leaders with texts and phone calls. It's unclear how the person obtained Wiles' connections, but they apparently gained access to the contacts in her personal cellphone, The Wall Street Journal reported. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles' number, the newspaper reported. While most smartphones and tablets come with robust security, apps and connected devices often lack these protections or the regular software updates needed to stay ahead of new threats. That makes every fitness tracker, baby monitor or smart appliance another potential foothold for hackers looking to penetrate networks, retrieve information or infect systems with malware. Federal officials launched a program this year creating a 'cyber trust mark' for connected devices that meet federal security standards. But consumers and officials shouldn't lower their guard, said Snehal Antani, former chief technology officer for the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'They're finding backdoors in Barbie dolls,' said Antani, now CEO of a cybersecurity firm, referring to concerns from researchers who successfully hacked the microphone of a digitally connected version of the toy. It doesn't matter how secure a mobile device is if the user doesn't follow basic security precautions, especially if their device contains classified or sensitive information, experts say. Mike Waltz, who departed as Trump's national security adviser, inadvertently added The Atlantic's editor-in-chief to a Signal chat used to discuss military plans with other top officials. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon's security protocols set up in his office so he could use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, the AP has reported. Hegseth has rejected assertions that he shared classified information on Signal, a popular encrypted messaging app not approved for the use of communicating classified information. China and other nations will try to take advantage of such lapses, and national security officials must take steps to prevent them from recurring, said Michael Williams, a national security expert at Syracuse University. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'They all have access to a variety of secure communications platforms,' Williams said. 'We just can't share things willy-nilly.' With inputs from agencies
