Google's AI "co-scientist" is based on the firm's Gemini large language models Google has unveiled an experimental artificial intelligence system that "uses advanced reasoning to help scientists synthesize vast amounts of literature, generate novel hypotheses, and suggest detailed research plans", according to its press release. "The idea with [the] 'AI co-scientist' is to give scientists superpowers," says Alan Karthikesalingam at Google. The tool, which doesn't have an official name yet, builds on Google's Gemini large language models. When a researcher asks a question or specifies a goal – to find a new drug, say – the tool comes up with initial ideas within 15 minutes. Several Gemini agents then "debate" these hypotheses with each other, ranking them and improving them over the following hours and days, says Vivek Natarajan at Google. During this process, the agents can search the scientific literature, access databases and use tools such as Google's AlphaFold system for predicting the structure of proteins.

The recent advances in large language models (LLMs) attracted significant public and policymaker interest in its adoption patterns. In this paper, we systematically analyze LLM-assisted writing across four domains-consumer complaints, corporate communications, job postings, and international organization press releases-from January 2022 to September 2024. Our dataset includes 687,241 consumer complaints, 537,413 corporate press releases, 304.3 million job postings, and 15,919 United Nations (UN) press releases. Using a robust population-level statistical framework, we find that LLM usage surged following the release of ChatGPT in November 2022. By late 2024, roughly 18% of financial consumer complaint text appears to be LLM-assisted, with adoption patterns spread broadly across regions and slightly higher in urban areas. For corporate press releases, up to 24% of the text is attributable to LLMs. In job postings, LLM-assisted writing accounts for just below 10% in small firms, and is even more common among younger firms. UN press releases also reflect this trend, with nearly 14% of content being generated or modified by LLMs. Although adoption climbed rapidly post-ChatGPT, growth appears to have stabilized by 2024, reflecting either saturation in LLM adoption or increasing subtlety of more advanced models. Our study shows the emergence of a new reality in which firms, consumers and even international organizations substantially rely on generative AI for communications.

Qualcomm is bringing AI to its mid-range mobile chip lineup with the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 Mobile Platform, the company announced. The new chips also promise improved CPU and GPU performance, lower power requirements and faster Wi-Fi and mobile connectivity compared to the previous chip. The new AI features are made possible with support for Qualcom's on-device Gen AI support, allowing voice-activated assistants, background noise reduction during calls and more. It's also the first 6-series Snapdragon processor with support for INT4 that allows generative AI to run more efficiently on small devices. Qualcomm is also promising 11 percent improved CPU performance via its latest Kryo CPU and a 29 percent boost in GPU performance.

Google has set the date for its next I/O developer conference. This year, the annual event will take place over two days starting on May 20, the company announced on Tuesday. As in previous years, the conference will feature an in-person component at the Shoreline Amphitheatre right on the company's doorstep in Mountain View, California. "We'll start day one with keynotes, followed by breakout sessions, workshops, demos, networking opportunities and more continuing on day two," Google said. In a separate email the company sent to Engadget, it promised to share updates on Gemini and Android, alongside new innovations related to web and cloud development.

This week in tech: Elon Musk and Donald Trump flood the zone and deploy brinkmanship as a negotiating tactic; US Immigration and Customs Enforcement learns search engine optimization amid arrests and deportations; and Spotify tries to soften its algorithmic image with human-centric public relations. Donald Trump has issued a record number of executive orders since his presidency began: ending birthright citizenship, banning gender transitions for anyone under 19, pardoning the rioters of the January 6 attack, and more. Elon Musk, the world's richest man in charge of the "department of government efficiency", has raided an equally dizzying swath of federal agencies with the stated goal of "slashing waste, fraud, and abuse". Among the half-dozen bureaus are the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Department of Education, Department of Labor and, most viciously, the US Agency for International Development (USAid). Trump and Musk are doing their utmost to "flood the zone" – a tactic that the former Trump administration strategist Steve Bannon has touted as one that will purposefully overwhelm the opposition and the media.

SoftBank Group will spend 3 billion a year to adopt and deploy OpenAI technology throughout its operations, while the two companies have agreed to form a joint venture to market the artificial intelligence as an enterprise solution. "This initiative will not only transform the way SoftBank Group operates but also revolutionize the way companies work in Japan and around the globe," SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said in a statement Monday. The technology, which the company describes as an advanced enterprise AI called Cristal intelligence, will be used at all companies under the SoftBank group, including Arm, Line and PayPay, to improve productivity and drive innovation. For instance, SoftBank's telecom unit plans to make more than 100 million workflows automated, the company said in the press release.

Coca-Cola's new futuristic flavor was co-created using artificial intelligence. Some Americans said it tasted better than the original recipe, but others couldn't stomach a whole can. Coca-Cola is debuting a new flavor – and it's got a hint of citrus in it. Coca-Cola Orange Cream will be available nationwide starting Feb. 10, the Atlanta-based soda company announced on Monday morning. Described as "the delicious taste of Coca-Cola infused with refreshing orange and smooth, creamy vanilla flavors," Coca-Cola Orange Cream will also be available in a Zero Sugar version.

The 2025 Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday, and two New Yorker films are among the contenders. "Incident," which uses body-camera and surveillance footage to examine a police shooting in Chicago, is nominated in the Documentary Short Film category, while "I'm Not a Robot," a darkly humorous Dutch film about a woman taking a series of CAPTCHA tests, is nominated for best Live Action Short. Seventeen previous New Yorker films have been nominated for Academy Awards; a victory at this year's ceremony, scheduled for March 2nd in Los Angeles, would be the magazine's first win. "Incident," directed by Bill Morrison, who produced with Jamie Kalven, chronicles a police killing and its aftermath. On a Chicago sidewalk, an African American man named Harith (Snoop) Augustus is questioned and then pursued by a foot patrol after leaving the barbershop where he works; after a brief scuffle, he is fatally wounded.

DJI has lifted its geofence that prevents users in the US from flying over restricted areas like nuclear power plants, airports and wildfires, the company wrote in a blog post on Monday. As of January 13th, areas previously called "restricted zones" or no-fly zones will be shown as "enhanced warning zones" that correspond to designated Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) areas. DJI's Fly app will display a warning about those areas but will no longer stop users from flying inside them, the company said. In the article, DJI wrote that the "in-app alerts will notify operators flying near FAA designated controlled airspace, placing control back in the hands of the drone operators, in line with regulatory principles of the operator bearing final responsibility." It added that technologies like Remote ID [introduced after DJI implemented geofencing] gives authorities "the tools needed to enforce existing rules," DJI's global policy chief Adam Welsh told The Verge.

At CES last year, Sony teased an AR/VR headset prototype focused on "spatial content creation." And at the same time, Siemens announced it was working with Sony to use that same hardware, including the two new controllers it developed, for something it was calling the "industrial metaverse." That's a lot of buzzwords, but at CES 2025 both Siemens and Sony showed the headsets and associated software in action which helped clear up a lot of what the companies are trying to do here. During Sony's CES press conference, it announced its XYN brand of software and hardware solutions, with the headset being a key part of the equation. The XYN "spatial capture solution" uses mirrorless cameras to scan and make photorealistic 3D objects. Using the XYN headset, you can see those objects in 3D production software for animation, video games and other potential uses.