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Google Play used AI to help block 1.75 million bad apps in 2025

Engadget

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 is Feb. 25 Google Play used AI to help block 1.75 million bad apps in 2025 It also prevented review bombing and banned 80,000 developer accounts. Google has announced that with the help of AI, it blocked 1.75 million apps that violated its policies in 2025, significantly down from 2.36 million in 2024. The lower numbers this year, it said, are because its AI-powered, multi-layer protections are deterring bad actors from even trying to publish bad apps. Google said it now runs more than 10,000 safety checks on every app and continues to recheck them after they're published. Its use of the latest generative AI models helps human reviewers discover malicious patterns more quickly, it added.


US president's son Eric Trump invests in drone maker with gov't contracts

Al Jazeera

Why was El Paso airspace shut down? US president's son Eric Trump invests in drone maker with gov't contracts United States President Donald Trump's son Eric is investing in an Israeli drone manufacturer, prompting renewed conflict-of-interest concerns as the Trump family expands its business holdings during its patriarch's second term as president. Eric Trump is investing in a $1.5bn merger between Israeli drone maker Xtend and Florida-based JFB Construction Holdings, a small construction company, in a deal aimed at taking Xtend public this year, JFB said in a news release on Tuesday. Drone maker Unusual Machines, which tapped Eric's brother Donald Trump Jr in November 2024 as an adviser, is also investing in the merger, JFB said. JFB builds commercial and residential properties, including multifamily communities and shopping centres.


AI risk is dominating conference calls as investors dump stocks

The Japan Times

In what's turning out to be a great quarter for corporate earnings growth, company executives and investors alike are focused on something else entirely: the threat from artificial intelligence. Mentions of AI disruption on management calls almost doubled compared to the previous quarter, an analysis of transcripts shows. While the technology hasn't yet noticeably reduced earnings estimates, investors aren't waiting around and instead are selling any company perceived to be at risk. Last week, commercial real estate company CBRE Group published better-than-expected earnings. In a call with analysts following the results, its chief executive officer said it's possible AI will reduce demand for office space in the long term. The comments sparked a 20% selloff in the stock over two days.


Airbnb is testing out AI search with a 'small percentage' of users

Engadget

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 is Feb. 25 Valve's Steam Machine: Everything we know Airbnb is testing out AI search with a'small percentage' of users Beyond improving search, Airbnb wants to lean heavily into artificial intelligence to help users with with booking, managing listings and customer service. Airbnb plans to double down on artificial intelligence to improve its user experience for both guests and hosts. During a fourth-quarter earnings call, Airbnb's CEO, Brian Chesky, said the company is building an AI-native experience aimed at helping guests book trips, assisting hosts with their listings, and running the company more efficiently. According to Chesky, there's an AI search tool to help guests book trips that's live for a small percentage of users right now. In a shareholder letter posted on Airbnb's website, the company said it's conducting early testing with an AI-powered search that is focused on giving guests a more natural way to describe what they're looking for, and ask questions about the listing and location.

  Country: North America (0.06)
  Genre: Press Release (0.57)
  Industry: Consumer Products & Services > Hotels (1.00)

SoftBank swings to profit on valuation boost from OpenAI bet

The Japan Times

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son (left) and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attend an event in Tokyo in February 2025. SoftBank's investment gain on OpenAI stood at an estimated $19.8 billion as of December. SoftBank Group sprang back to a quarterly profit after investment gains from OpenAI neared $20 billion, a promising start for one of CEO Masayoshi Son's signature gambles alongside ByteDance and Alibaba Group Holding. The Tokyo-based company has invested about $34.6 billion in OpenAI, accumulating an 11% stake as of December, and has been in talks to invest as much as $30 billion more in a round that would value the startup at about $750 billion to $830 billion. As of December, SoftBank's investment gain on OpenAI stood at $19.8 billion, the company said Thursday.


SoftBank swings to profit on valuation boost from OpenAI bet

The Japan Times

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attend an event in Tokyo in February 2025. SoftBank's investment gain on OpenAI stood at an estimated $19.8 billion as of December. SoftBank Group sprang back to a quarterly profit after Masayoshi Son's bet on OpenAI paid off in valuation gains, cementing the Japanese company's position as an investment proxy for the ChatGPT creator. The Tokyo-based company has invested more than $30 billion (¥4.58 trillion) in OpenAI, accumulating an 11% stake as of December, and has been in talks to invest as much as $30 billion more in a round that would value the startup at about $750 billion to $830 billion. As of December, SoftBank's investment gain on OpenAI stood at an estimated $19.8 billion, the company said Thursday.


Sam Altman's Orb Was Built for the Bot Era. So Why Isn't It Everywhere?

TIME - Tech

Sam Altman's Orb Was Built for the Bot Era. Welcome back to, TIME's twice-weekly newsletter about AI. If you're reading this in your browser, why not subscribe to have the next one delivered straight to your inbox? What to Know: Is Sam Altman's Orb missing its moment? When Moltbook, a social network for AI agents, went viral earlier this month, it should have been a vindication moment for Tools for Humanity -- the startup co-founded by Sam Altman, whose eyeball-scanning "Orb" was designed to solve exactly this kind of problem. Instead, it may have exposed the product's limitations.


Lies, horror, trauma: Kenyans recount forced Russian recruitment

The Japan Times

Charles Ojiambo Mutoka, 72, with portraits of his son Oscar, who he learned was killed in August, during a press conference where relatives of conscripts demanded urgent government action to repatriate their kin, in Nairobi on Jan. 27 | AFP-JIJI Nairobi - The scars on Victor's forearm remind him constantly of the day a Ukrainian drone attacked him after he was forcibly conscripted, like hundreds of young Kenyans, into the Russian military. It was a war that had nothing to do with him and which he was exceptionally lucky to survive. Four Kenyans -- Victor, Mark, Erik and Moses -- recounted the web of deception that took them to the killing fields of Ukraine. Their names have been changed for fear of reprisals. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.


OpenAI starts testing ads in ChatGPT

Engadget

Valve's Steam Machine: Everything we know Anthropic poked fun at the company for doing so in a Super Bowl ad. Users on ChatGPT's free and Go plans in the US may now start to see ads as OpenAI has started testing them in the chatbot. The company announced plans to bring ads to ChatGPT. At the time, the company said it would display sponsored products and services that are relevant to the current conversations of logged-in users, though they can disable personalization and clear the data used for ads" whenever they wish. "Our goal is for ads to support broader access to more powerful ChatGPT features while maintaining the trust people place in ChatGPT for important and personal tasks," OpenAI wrote in a blog post .


EU says TikTok uses 'addictive design' and must change

Engadget

EU says TikTok uses'addictive design' and must change The company failed to address potential harms to'the physical and mental wellbeing of its users' includng minors. TikTok's signature features that hooked users around the world are its algorithm and endless scroll. Now, though, the European Union has called those aspects of the app illegal and may order the company to alter them. "Today, the European Commission preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act for its addictive design," the EU's regulator said in a press release. "This includes features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and its highly personalized recommender system."