Google Commits $2 Billion To AI Startup Anthropic

Google CEO Sundar Pichai took a stand in front of the court for the second time in 2 weeks earlier today in the antitrust lawsuit by Fortnite publisher Epic Games, who have claimed that the unlawful and monopolistic policies implemented in Google Play store make it difficult for third-party app makers given that the marketplace controls the entire Android ecosystem. During the testimony, Pichai spent almost 90 minutes answering questions about the business practices of the Google Play store, as well as general policies in Google. Let us take a look at the 10 biggest things to come from the testimony.

Google Chrome turned 15 last month, and to commemorate the occasion, Google announced that the web browser will receive a makeover. The makeover would include “a fresh look and new features”, the company stated. As per the redesign, Chrome will be adopting the Material You theme that Google first introduced in Android. This means more rounded corners, refreshed icons, and the removal of the lock icon from the address bar. This will also mark the first redesign for the browser in 5 years, with its last makeover coming in 2018 when it shifted to Google Material Theme.

Yesterday, Warframe developer Digital Extremes became the latest company hit by layoffs. As the company decided to cease work on external projects, including publishing, this means changes for Wayfinder . Developer Airship Syndicate now has full ownership and control over Wayfinder , and they are committing to moving forward with development.

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Sony president Hiroki Totoki has said the company is reviewing PlayStation's live service game push amid development trouble that has already seen Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us multiplayer game hit with setbacks.

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Google Meet is rolling out a significant update for its enterprise Workspace users, introducing the ability to make direct one-on-one calls without the need for cumbersome links. This feature, previously exclusive to personal users, is now extended to Workspace customers, simplifying communication within organisations.

In her one-room home on a quiet street in Agara, a tiny village three hours southwest of Bangalore that's fringed by rice paddies and groundnut fields, Preethi P. sits on a stool near a sewing machine. Normally, she would spend hours mending or stitching clothes, averaging  less than $1 a day for her work. On this day, however, she is reading a sentence in her native Kannada language into an app on a phone. She pauses briefly, then reads another.

A senior Google executive disputed suggestions that the company rushed to release its artificial intelligence-based chatbot Bard earlier this year to beat a similar offering from rival Microsoft Corp. Testifying in Google's defense at the Justice Department's antitrust trial against the search giant, Elizabeth Reid, a vice president of search, acknowledged that Bard gave “a wrong answer” during its public unveiling in February. But she rejected the contention by government lawyer David Dahlquist that Bard was “rushed” out after Microsoft announced it was integrating generative AI into its own Bing search engine.