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Hindustan Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Google's universal AI assistant vision, fighting spam and backing up photos
This is when I truly note the onset of summer. Never mind, that's just me being me. However, the annual developer conferences, by the big tech, are a big deal. May and June are the months when Google, Microsoft, Apple, Meta…pretty much all the important names you can think of, will lay down their vision with all things software, apps, developer engagement, and now increasingly, all things artificial intelligence (AI). Google plays its cards early in 2025, with this year's I/O more than delivering on expectations. And then some. I had mentioned to a friend recently, Google has rewritten some chapters, and reset some benchmarks. Having the first mover advantage this summer has most certainly worked in terms of timing, and gives competition little time to realign. If at all they need to. AI announcements, rightly so, needed as much time as possible in the keynote. There was a lot to pack in. I'll summarise this for you. Google is introducing two new AI subscription plans, and this shouldn't be a surprise, since there is pressure on the widening AI tools, to generate revenue for the tech giant. There is the Google Al Pro (this is a renaming of the current Google AI Premium plan, with some add-ons), and Google Al Ultra that will cost $249.99 per month. Google Meet's logical successor? The 3D communication platform,, as Google Beam is being called, uses an AI volumetric video model is what makes these calls appear fully 3D from any perspective. It transforms standard 2D video streams into realistic 3D experiences. Last week on Wired Wisdom: Android's security envelope, an impressive 'Tank' backpack, and OpenAI's corrective steps It isn't often that mid-range Android phones come this good. Nothing, the UK-based tech startup, is never short as far as that standout element is concerned. That's perhaps best represented by their flagship phones, but the more affordable CMF line-up. Not often do you get a tiny screwdriver as part of the phone's package — in this case, that's to get the back cover accessory in place, if that's what you want. I preferred to use the CMF Phone 2 Pro as is, because the green colour way looks really good. Plus, there's a slimness to the overall design, which many of you may want to leave unaltered. I want to talk about the accessories for a bit, because that's something none of the CMF Phone 2's rivals have. It is a full combination that you can optionally opt for, either in totality or in pieces. The universal cover can be installed by removing the screws already on the phone, placing this cover and reattaching the screws. The closest we'll get to building your own phone. Which reminds me, where are all those modular phones which everyone raved about, before they got busy with AI? There's the interchangeable lens combination, for which you will need the universal cover since it provides the holding mechanism for these lenses. The fisheye and the macro options should work well if you tend to use the phone for specific types of photos. I must note that even without, the CMF Phone 2 Pro's camera is very, very capable. Even more so, with the latest Nothing OS update. The lanyard is self explanatory, and there is an audience for it (you may not be, ignore and move on). The wallet and stand accessory has genuine utility, as either. It attaches to the universal cover, and if you aren't worried about losing your credit cards if your phone gets snatched or stolen, be my guest. But I'd end up using the stand option more, because that simply works brilliantly on the workstation and the bedside table. Except when the phone's to be plugged in for charging. Cellular service providers have to take the lead in the battle against spam and scams. There are no two ways around that uneasy conversation. Apps such as Truecaller, as brilliant as they are, aren't on everyone's phone yet. And even if they are, network-level protective mechanisms are really the only way to counter the volume of scam and spam floating around on our mobile networks, and ingenuity that's being shown by these scammers. They could've used their brain cells towards nation building, but targeting vulnerable senior citizens and swindling them of their savings, is the path they chose instead. But I digress. Airtel's spam detection for incoming calls and incoming SMS on their network, has been a responding success. A much-needed warning for 'suspected scam', enough to alert even the most unsuspecting and technologically not inclined, phone user. Bharti Airtel isn't done yet. They're now integrating something called 'Fraud Detection Solution', which they say is a first of its kind solution worldwide. It may well be, because the scope and relevance, at least with the potential that's being talked about, is astounding. This solution will use artificial intelligence (AI; of course, would you expect anything that doesn't have AI these days?) detect and block malicious web links that are often included in messages sent by spammers and scammers in WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, SMSes, and they also say across emails and web browsers too, in real time. 'Our AI based tool scans internet traffic, checks with global repositories and our own database of threat actors in real-time and blocks fraudulent websites,' notes Gopal Vittal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti Airtel, adding, 'Our solution has already reached a remarkable level of accuracy in the 6 months of trials.' The service works at a network-level which means no app download or update is necessary, and will be auto- enabled for all Airtel mobile and broadband customers at no additional cost. You could ask a question about how much data is Airtel getting access to, for every link that it detects and flags in any SMS or email or web browsing sessions? There are no clear answers yet, in terms of how the link data is collected, what else is alongside, and how secure is the chain of scan and storage. Airtel says that for now, this feature rolls out in the Haryana telecom circle, and a nationwide rollout will happen in the coming weeks. We really need more from mobile service providers to counter the risks that scammers and spammers pose. Perplexing enough, is Reliance Jio's silence on any similar network-level features. It may perhaps be too much to ask Vodafone Idea, or Vi, considering they've more struggles to contend with.
Irish Independent
20-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Google launches AI ‘agents' to pick and pay for your everyday online shopping
The tech giant has unveiled a new feature at its 'I/O' conference that will let an AI 'agent' suggest, pick and even pay for things on your behalf. The new AI shopping feature will use Google's access to 50 billion product listings, from small boutiques to large chains, to incorporate details like reviews, prices, colour options and availability. 'Behind the scenes, we'll add the item to your cart on the merchant's site and securely complete the checkout on your behalf,' the company says. 'When you've made up your mind, our new agentic checkout will help you easily buy at a price that fits your budget.' Google says that the information will be updated constantly, with two billion product listings updated every hour. The feature is initially being launched in the US. The tech giant also unveiled a new feature that will allow people to virtually try on billions of clothes listings from online shops by uploading a photo of themselves. 'When you're shopping for shirts, pants, skirts and dresses on Google, simply tap the 'try it on' icon on product listings,' the company says. 'From there you can upload a full-length photo of yourself and within moments, you'll see how that wedding-season maxi dress or playful shirt for your next vacation looks on you.' Google says that the feature is powered by a new custom image generation model for fashion, which understands the human body and nuances of clothing, like how different materials fold, stretch and drape on different bodies. 'It preserves these subtleties when applied to poses in your photos,' the company says. The "try on" experiment is rolling out in Search Labs in the US today. The new online features were announced as part of a slew of new AI enhancements and services at Google's annual I/O conference in the US. The tech giant, which is in an AI arms race against Microsoft-backed OpenAI, has deepened the integration of AI into its globally-dominant Google search engine with a new 'AI Mode' available in the US. Google is also giving real-time speech translation a reinvigorated shot with a new Al-powered feature that instantly translates spoken languages between participants 'in real-time, preserving the quality, nuance, and personality in their voices, so you can communicate naturally with anyone, regardless of their native languages'. Separately, Google will make its high-end Gemini 2.5 Flash and Pro tiers 'generally available' soon, the company says. It will also launch Deep Think, an enhanced reasoning mode in Gemini 2.5 Pro, with higher performance on complex maths and coding tasks. The company is also introducing a new top-tier AI subscription plan, Google Al Ultra, 'with the highest usage limits and access to our most capable models and premium features'. This new plan will initially roll out in the US for $250 (€224) per month, Generative media models with Imagen 4 and Veo 3, its video and image generation models with native audio generation, will also be introduced, the company said. And there's expanded access to Lyria 2, 'giving musicians more tools to create music', while a new Al filmmaking tool called 'Flow' is also being launched. Google is also enhancing its AI-based coding capabilities via a public beta of 'Jules', an asynchronous agentic coding assistant that integrates directly with a coder's existing repositories and handles tasks on the user's behalf. Meanwhile, camera and screenshare capabilities will be available to everyone on Android and iOS. "More intelligence is available, for everyone, everywhere,' said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and (parent firm) Alphabet. 'And the world is responding, adopting Al faster than ever before. What all this progress means is that we're in a new phase of the Al platform shift. Where decades of research are now becoming reality for people, businesses and communities all over the world."
