Vodafone has announced a significant development in its Giga TV service, as part of a renewed billion-dollar partnership with Google Cloud. Over the next ten years, Google’s artificial intelligence capabilities will be integrated into the platform to enhance personalisation and content discovery for its users.
The companies plan to leverage Google Cloud’s AI to improve Vodafone’s Android-based TV system in Germany. New features will help users find content more easily and deliver a more tailored viewing experience. Additionally, Google Ad Manager will be integrated into Giga TV, enhancing the advertising landscape within the platform.
Further collaboration will see YouTube become more deeply embedded in Vodafone’s TV devices, providing a richer video experience. These improvements are set to bring significant advancements in how viewers engage with television content, both in entertainment and beyond.
Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group CEO, expressed excitement about the partnership, emphasising how these AI-driven innovations will transform communication and learning. She highlighted the unprecedented scale on which the new content and services will be delivered to millions of users.
The UK is setting up a Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) to fast-track the approval of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, drones, and healthcare advancements. This initiative is a key part of the Labour government’s efforts to boost economic growth by reducing bureaucratic barriers and supporting innovation in critical sectors. By easing regulatory hurdles, the RIO aims to encourage businesses to bring cutting-edge technologies to market more quickly, stimulating growth and job creation.
The launch of the RIO comes ahead of a major investment summit on 14 October 2024, where Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Finance Minister Rachel Reeves will meet with global investors. The government hopes to demonstrate that the UK is open for business and committed to fostering a thriving tech and innovation sector. The summit will target infrastructure and clean energy investment as part of the country’s transition to a net-zero economy.
Science and Technology Minister Peter Kyle emphasised that the RIO will help industries such as bioengineering and healthcare, enabling earlier diagnosis of diseases, the development of cleaner fuels, and more sustainable agricultural practices. The new office will collaborate with existing regulators to reduce red tape and unlock economic potential, creating more jobs and strengthening the UK economy.
MediaTek has announced that its upcoming Dimensity 9400 chipset will feature support for Gemini Nano, a multimodal AI technology. This integration promises to enhance the chip’s AI capabilities, particularly in image, text, and speech processing areas. The Dimensity 9400 will also feature a next-generation Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for improved on-device AI performance.
Beyond the Dimensity 9400, MediaTek plans to extend Gemini Nano support to other Generative AI-enabled processors. However, specific details about which additional chipsets will receive this functionality still need to be clarified. The company’s collaboration with Google plays a key role in its efforts to enhance AI experiences across the Android ecosystem.
Gemini Nano, which debuted on Google’s Pixel 9 series using the Tensor G4 chipset, has grown in popularity. It powers features like Pixel Recorder, allowing devices to perform smaller-scale AI tasks directly on hardware. This multimodal AI technology is designed to manage complex operations efficiently on smartphones and other devices.
With this new integration, MediaTek promises users more advanced AI features, such as capturing images and receiving detailed descriptions. The Dimensity 9400 is set to launch in October, paving the way for more AI-enhanced experiences across various devices.
A study conducted by UC San Francisco found that ChatGPT, when applied in emergency care, often recommends unnecessary treatments such as X-rays and antibiotics. It also admits patients who don’t require hospitalisation. Despite its strengths in certain areas, the AI model struggles to match the accuracy of a human doctor in more complex decision-making.
Researchers discovered that while ChatGPT can excel in simpler tasks like determining which patient is sicker, it tends to overprescribe when faced with real emergency cases. ChatGPT-4 performed 8% worse than resident doctors, while version 3.5 was 24% less accurate. These overprescriptions could lead to unnecessary treatments, increased healthcare costs, and strain on resources.
The research highlighted that the AI models are influenced by their internet training, often erring on the side of caution by recommending medical consultations. Although this approach is appropriate for general safety, it can be problematic in emergency settings, where unneeded treatments can harm patients. More refined frameworks are needed before AI can reliably assist in EDs.
Researchers are working on better ways for AI to evaluate clinical information in emergency care. A balance must be found between preventing serious oversight and avoiding excessive medical interventions.
Vodafone has announced a significant expansion of its partnership with Google in a ten-year deal worth over a billion dollars. This agreement aims to introduce Google’s generative AI-powered devices to customers in Europe and Africa, capitalising on the 5G network. The collaboration will also promote the Android ecosystem in these regions.
Vodafone intends to extend the availability of Google’s AI-powered Pixel devices, enhancing customer access to innovative technology. By 2025, the company will begin offering Google One AI Premium subscription plans, which include advanced features such as Gemini Advanced.
In addition to customer-focused advancements, this multinational telecommunications company will use Google Cloud’s AI platform for enterprise-level applications. The integration of AI will streamline operations and enhance services within the company.
Google remains in fierce competition in the AI sector, vying against other major tech companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and NVIDIA. The partnership with Vodafone strengthens its position in this fast-evolving market.
Meta has launched Movie Gen, a powerful AI model designed to produce 1080p videos with synchronised audio. The system can edit videos based on instructions, allowing for personalised content creation using user-supplied images.
With a transformer model containing 30 billion parameters, Movie Gen can generate 16-second videos at 16 frames per second. The model’s advanced techniques improve video motion realism, trained on over 100 million video-text pairs and 1 billion image-text pairs.
Movie Gen outperforms previous models, including Runway Gen3 and OpenAI Sora, particularly in video editing and text-to-video tasks. Benchmarks show its superiority in maintaining video structure and fine details, especially in the TGVE+ test.
Future developments for Movie Gen include improving scene understanding, safeguarding against misuse, and making the system more accessible. Meta envisions applications in social media, film production, and marketing campaigns.
In Virginia’s 8th congressional district, independent challenger Bentley Hensel has come up with an unconventional approach to engage incumbent Democrat Don Beyer, who secured a decisive win in 2022. Upset by Beyer’s refusal to join further debates, Hensel developed an AI chatbot called ‘DonBot,’ which mimics Beyer’s public positions. The AI uses OpenAI’s technology and pulls information from Beyer’s official platforms to generate responses. Set for 17 October, the debate will have Hensel and independent candidate David Kennedy facing off against DonBot, with Republican candidate Jerry Torres potentially joining if he responds in time.
Beyer’s campaign stated that he would not attend the upcoming debate, noting that he had already participated in a previous forum and had no plans for additional events. His spokesperson highlighted Beyer’s dedication to regulating AI to curb election misinformation but did not comment on the legality of Hensel’s AI tactic. Legal experts indicate that Beyer has few options to prevent the debate as long as the AI’s use remains non-commercial and clearly identified as artificial.
Hensel, who has raised about $17,000 for his campaign compared to Beyer’s $1.5 million, admits the AI debate is a last-ditch effort to gain attention in a race he acknowledges is heavily tilted in Beyer’s favour. He believes the event will highlight the potential of AI in politics while advocating for more transparency in election campaigns.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs (MDA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to bolster their collaboration in cybersecurity and emerging technology. This MOU strengthens the longstanding partnership between the United States and Poland, providing a structured framework for coordinated efforts in addressing global security challenges, including cyber threats and responsible technology development.
By focusing on key areas such as cyber policy, Secure by Design practices, information sharing, incident response, human capital development, and the safe deployment of AI and the Internet of Things (IoT), both nations demonstrate a shared commitment to transatlantic security. The timing of this MOU, which coincides with the Fourth Counter Ransomware Initiative Summit, reflects a united stance against the growing ransomware threat, as nearly 70 countries gathered to reinforce global resilience against cybercrime.
Various agencies will spearhead the implementation of the MOU as part of the agreement. In the United States, DHS entities like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans, and the Science and Technology Directorate will drive projects that enhance cybersecurity and support critical infrastructure. On the Polish side, the National Research Institute (NASK) will be instrumental in coordinating these efforts, positioning Poland for its upcoming EU Council presidency in 2025, where it aims to strengthen US-EU relations and prioritise European information security.
Why does it matter?
Together, these agencies will focus on collaborative initiatives that ensure safe technology practices, build critical skills, and enable a proactive response to digital threats, securing a stronger digital future for both nations.
Google has rolled out its Gemini-powered AI assistant, Gmail Q&A, to iOS users, allowing select Gmail accounts to ask questions about their emails within the app. First introduced to Android in August, the feature is now available to Google One AI Premium subscribers and Google Workspace accounts with specific add-ons. Users can ask the AI for insights into their inbox, like summarising email threads or finding particular messages.
Adding the Gemini button next to Gmail’s search bar aims to encourage users to rely on AI to navigate their inbox, offering a more intuitive alternative to the traditional search bar. Google plans to expand Gemini’s capabilities to include information from Google Drive.
Gmail Q&A is part of Google’s broader push to integrate AI across its products, adding features like email summaries, package tracking, and reminders. With these updates, Google seeks to stay competitive against Apple’s Mail app, which recently introduced features similar to iOS 18. However, free Gmail users may not have access to these premium AI tools anytime soon, as Google uses them to drive subscription growth.
Google is adding ads to AI-generated summaries, known as AI Overviews, which appear in response to certain search queries. These ads, labelled ‘Sponsored,’ will appear alongside non-sponsored content, offering users quick access to relevant products and services. This marks Google’s latest effort to monetise its AI search feature and boost user engagement, particularly among younger audiences.
Along with ads, Google is also rolling out AI-organised search results. These new pages will display more diverse content, including videos, articles, and forum posts. While these AI-organised results will not include ads, they aim to make search results more relevant and visually appealing, offering users a more tailored experience.
As Google continues to expand its AI-driven search features, there are concerns about the impact on web traffic for publishers. Some studies suggest AI-generated summaries could reduce page views and ad revenues, potentially costing publishers billions. However, Google says it is working to address these concerns while continuing to refine its AI search technology.
