Google pays Apple nearly $20 bn a year to be on your iPhone, but this fantastic deal is in danger

Alphabet Inc.'s Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai sought to portray Google's position as the dominant internet search engine as constantly challenged by the whims of rivals such as Apple Inc., as he took the witness stand Monday to defend his company against the US government's antitrust charges. 

President Joe Biden is directing the US government to take a sweeping approach to artificial intelligence regulation, his most significant action yet to rein in an emerging technology that has sparked both concern and acclaim. The lengthy executive order, released on Monday, sets new standards on security and privacy protections for AI, with far-reaching impacts on companies. Developers such as Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc.'s Google will be directed to put powerful AI models through safety tests and submit results to the government before their public release. 

Can't come to Washington? Couldn't get a ticket to tour the White House? Don't worry.

We have entered the weekend, and yet, artificial intelligence developments are happening at full throttle. In the first incident, a new report has found that due to the possibility of AI-based deepfakes, people online are questioning even genuine videos and photos that are coming from the ground zero in Gaza. In other news, Google has committed to invest $2 billion in the AI company Anthropic, solidifying its relationship with the startup. The move is seen as similar to Microsoft investing in OpenAI. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.

It's common knowledge that Google pays Apple to be the default search engine on Apple devices, but the exact amount has been the subject of much debate. Typical guesses are north of $10 billion, but two sources tell The New York Times that the bill was "around $18 billion" in 2021.

The core of the US government's argument that Google is an illegal monopoly is a process that involves, on an iPhone, exactly four taps and a swipe. That's what it takes to switch search engines. To explain it step by step, prosecutors called to the witness stand on Sept. 26 one of Apple Inc.'s most powerful executives, Eddy Cue.

Google Maps is about to get a lot more immersive with the rollout of an AI-enhanced feature that gives you bird's-eye view of your route complete with 3D imagery along the way.

The unlikeliest comics crossover of 2023 is halfway through its four-issue run, and it's turning out to be a good deal of blood-soaked fun. 

On Tuesday, Meta was served a lawsuit by more than 30 US states, including 8 individual lawsuits from states, over the alleged use of features in Instagram and Facebook to lure children to the platform and get them hooked on harmful content. This fresh case has again opened the longstanding issue of companies exploiting children, one of the most vulnerable demographics of any digital user base in order to gain profit. However, Meta is not the only one to blame here. For years, many tech firms including Google, Microsoft, Apple, and others have faced similar lawsuits for failing to protect underage users.

Japan's anti-trust watchdog said Monday it is investigating whether Google violated rules by asking smartphone manufacturers for preferential treatment.

By Jay Peters, a news editor who writes about technology, video games, and virtual worlds. He’s submitted several accepted emoji proposals to the Unicode Consortium.

Meta and Google have pulled out of the Web Summit, one of the tech sector's biggest annual events, after the organizer criticized Israel's actions following the Hamas attacks, the companies said on Friday.