Googles Gemini 4 Argon is the latest super-smart AI that most cannot get
Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Creator Playbook Mashable Selects In My Bag Look Up Say More AI at School Safety Net Versus Trending Now Back to School Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age All Series Google's Gemini 4 Argon is the latest super-smart AI that most cannot get Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.
Google's first Gemini 4 model is 'Argon'
Google has launched Gemini 4 Argon, its latest most advanced model that was designed to be able to sustain deep reasoning when dealing with complex questions. The company says it can handle intricate tasks involving finance, software engineering, coding, creative writing and cybersecurity defense. A spokesperson said Google sees Argon as comparable to other companies' frontier models, like OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra and Anthropic's Opus, when it comes to key benchmarks. According to independent AI benchmarking company Artificial Analysis, Gemini 4 Argon matches GPT-6 Astra's score for its Intelligence Index -- its composite score for multiple AI benchmarks -- at 60 percent of the cost per task at current discounted prices. At the moment, Argon is available for an introductory price of 2 per million input tokens and 10 per million output.
Adios, Gems: Google's new Gemini skills won't be paywalled
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Gemini Skills are the new Gems, and they're not just for paid Gemini users anymore. One of the easiest ways to create your own, customized Gemini chatbot is about to be retired, but we just got a pair of encouraging updates about their replacements. We learned earlier this week that skills, a Gemini feature that was previously reserved for the Gemini Spark AI assistant, would step in for Gems, and that existing Gems would be converted to skills in the runup to the November sunset date. One of the big questions about skills, which are essentially custom instructions for Gemini that can be summoned within a prompt, was whether they'd be available to free as well as paid users.
OpenAI launches 'dots,' personal AI assistant 'built to handle everything'
OpenAI launches'dots,' personal AI assistant'built to handle everything' Share OpenAI launches'dots,' personal AI assistant'built to handle everything' on social media OpenAI has launched an "always-on" personal AI assistant designed to manage tasks ranging from restaurant bookings to website design. The AI giant's release of "dots" on Tuesday marked the latest addition to the growing field of virtual assistants billed as a solution for busy people wishing to cut down on their hectic workloads. In its announcement of the release, OpenAI said dots were "built to handle everything", with each personal agent capable of working on a user's goals autonomously around the clock. "The magic of dots is when they bring you work done the way you would do it, sometimes before you even think to ask," the San Francisco-based company said. "With dots alongside you, ambitious ideas and projects you haven't had the time or support to pursue start to feel achievable."
Reanimated AI Greta Garbo stars again … in a ball-bearing advert
Her likeness was created using AI imaging technology, including Google's Nano Banana Pro. Her likeness was created using AI imaging technology, including Google's Nano Banana Pro. She shimmered in Hollywood's silent movie era and lit up the first talkies - now Greta Garbo may be about to star in cinema's new AI age. More than a century after her screen debut and decades after her ashes were laid to rest in a Swedish woodland cemetery, the Hollywood superstar's descendants are ready to consider an AI version of her taking a 21st-century film role. Her likeness has already been reanimated for an advert for a Swedish industrial company, using AI generation technology.
Trump, top tech firms sign accord to 'self-police' AI development
United States President Donald Trump and top tech executives have signed an accord to "self-police" artificial intelligence, as calls grow for more guardrails to mitigate risks associated with the technology's rapid growth. Trump announced the accord on Tuesday after meeting with a large group of AI company leaders at the White House. The accord - which Trump posted on his Truth Social platform - said the companies would implement "robust internal controls", partner with an "independent external auditor" to assess whether the controls were working, and set up a committee among each company's board of directors to evaluate reports from internal and external auditors. The companies also said they would work to ensure their AI tools do not "hack or access technical systems in unintended ways". "Over time, it may make sense to codify these steps into laws and regulations," the accord said.
Google partners with known nerd Henry Cavill on a video game to showcase Googlebooks
Earlier this year, Google announced its new line of Googlebook laptops, which are based on Android software rather than ChromeOS. While we have had our own take on what this next chapter of computing will look like after some hands-on time with the first five models available, Google is giving the initiative an extra hard sell by teaming up with actor and producer (and known nerd) Henry Cavill to promote the devices. Cavill is collaborating with the company to release a video game using Googlebook. The pair is anticipating a November release, which is pretty dang fast to make a game of any scale. Google's announcement doesn't have any details about genre or additional creative partners, and with the emphasis on AI in the new machines, it seems like a safe bet that some amount of vibe coding will be involved.
There's now an official US government AI chatbot
The US government now has its own AI chatbot. America.gov is an interface for people to ask natural language questions about information and services from federal agencies. The chatbot's web page states that it "uses AI to get simple answers only from official government sources." While it currently is just a way to sort through openly available information, the platform is intended to offer users more actions next year, such as enrolling in Medicare, applying for a passport or finding employment with the federal government. A new executive order further directs administrative leaders "to establish and operate America.gov
Gemini and Find Hub can help you locate your important documents -- here's how
First thing you should do is make sure Find Hub is enabled. You can do that by downloading and setting up the Find Hub app or going to Settings Google All services Find Hub. After that, set Gemini as your device's assistant by going to the Google app and then tapping on your profile icon at the top right corner of the screen. From there, go to Gemini or Google Assistant Digital assistants from Google. Choose Gemini as the default.