ai

Tech giants circle as Chrome faces possible break-up

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, may soon be forced to split into separate entities, with its Chrome browser emerging as a particularly attractive target.

With Chrome controlling over 65% of the global browser market, interest is mounting from AI-driven firms and legacy tech companies alike, all eager to take control of a platform that reaches billions of users.

OpenAI, known for ChatGPT, sees Chrome as a natural fit for its expanding AI ecosystem, especially with search features increasingly integrated into its chatbot.

Rival AI search firm Perplexity is also eyeing Chrome instead of building from scratch, viewing it as a shortcut to mainstream adoption and a rich source of user data and engagement.

Yahoo, backed by Apollo Global Management, is reportedly considering a $50 billion bid, even while developing its own browser internally.

Despite legal uncertainties and the threat of drawn-out regulatory battles, the opportunity to own Chrome could radically shift influence in the tech sector, especially while Google faces mounting antitrust scrutiny.

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IBM commits billions to future US computing

IBM has unveiled a bold plan to invest $150 billion in the United States over the next five years. The move is designed to accelerate technological development while reinforcing IBM’s leading role in computing and AI.

A significant portion, over $30 billion, will support research and development, with a strong emphasis on manufacturing mainframes and quantum computers on American soil.

These efforts build on IBM’s legacy in the US, where it has long played a key role in advancing national infrastructure and innovation.

IBM highlighted the importance of its Poughkeepsie facility, which produces systems powering over 70% of global transaction value.

It also views quantum computing as a leap that could unlock solutions beyond today’s digital capabilities, bolstering economic growth, job creation, and national security.

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Gemini AI coming soon to smartwatches and cars

Google has revealed plans to expand its Gemini AI assistant to a wider range of Android-connected devices later in 2025.

CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed the development during the company’s Q1 earnings call, naming tablets, smartwatches, headphones, and vehicles running Android Auto as upcoming platforms.

Gemini will gradually replace Google Assistant, offering more natural, conversational interactions and potentially new features like real-time responses through ‘Gemini Live’. Though a detailed rollout schedule remains undisclosed, more information is expected at Google I/O 2025 next month.

Evidence of Gemini’s AI integration has already surfaced in Wear OS and Android Auto updates, suggesting enhanced voice control and contextual features.

It remains unclear whether the assistant’s processing will be cloud-based or supported locally through connected Android devices.

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UAE launches academy to lead in AI innovation

The UAE has announced the launch of its AI Academy, aiming to strengthen the country’s position in AI innovation both regionally and globally.

Developed in partnership with the Polynom Group and the Abu Dhabi School of Management, it is designed to foster a skilled workforce in AI and programming.

It will offer short courses in multiple languages, covering AI fundamentals, national strategies, generative tools, and executive-level applications.

A flagship offering is the specialised Chief AI Officer (CAIO) Programme, tailored for leadership roles across sectors.

NVIDIA’s technologies will be integrated into select courses, enhancing the UAE academy’s technical edge and helping drive the development of AI capabilities throughout the region.

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DeepSeek returns to South Korea after data privacy overhaul

Chinese AI service DeepSeek is once again available for download in South Korea after a two-month suspension.

The app was initially removed from platforms like the App Store and Google Play Store in February, following accusations of breaching South Korea’s data protection regulations.

Authorities discovered that DeepSeek had transferred user data abroad without appropriate consent.

Significant changes to DeepSeek’s privacy practices have now allowed its return. The company updated its policies to comply with South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act, offering users the choice to refuse the transfer of personal data to companies based in China and the United States.

These adjustments were crucial in meeting the recommendations made by South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC).

Although users can once again download DeepSeek, South Korean authorities have promised continued monitoring to ensure the app maintains higher standards of data protection.

DeepSeek’s future in the market will depend heavily on its ongoing compliance with the country’s strict privacy requirements.

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Alibaba launches Qwen3 AI model

As the AI race intensifies in China, Alibaba has unveiled Qwen3, the latest version of its open-source large language model, aiming to compete with top-tier rivals like DeepSeek.

The company claims Qwen3 significantly improves reasoning, instruction following, tool use, and multilingual abilities compared to earlier versions.

Trained on 36 trillion tokens—double that of Qwen2.5—Qwen3 is available for free download on platforms like Hugging Face, GitHub, and Modelscope, instead of being limited to Alibaba’s own channels.

The model also powers Alibaba’s AI assistant, Quark, and will soon be accessible via API through its Model Studio platform.

Alibaba says the Qwen model family has already been downloaded over 300 million times, with developers creating more than 100,000 derivatives based on it.

With Qwen3, the company hopes to cement its place among the world’s AI leaders instead of trailing behind American and Chinese rivals.

Although the US still leads the AI field—according to Stanford’s AI Index 2025, it produced 40 major models last year versus China’s 15— Chinese firms like DeepSeek, Butterfly Effect, and now Alibaba are pushing to close the quality gap.

The global competition, it seems, is far from settled.

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AI agents tried running a fake company

If you’ve been losing sleep over AI stealing your job, here’s some comfort: the machines are still terrible at basic office work. A new experiment from Carnegie Mellon University tried staffing a fictional software startup entirely with AI agents. The result? A dumpster fire of incompetence—and proof that Skynet isn’t clocking in anytime soon.

The experiment

Researchers built TheAgentCompany, a virtual tech startup populated by AI ’employees’ from Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta. These bots were assigned real-world roles:

  • Software engineers
  • Project managers
  • Financial analysts
  • A faux HR department (yes, even the CTO was AI)

Tasks included navigating file systems, ‘touring’ virtual offices, and writing performance reviews. Simple stuff, right?

The (very) bad news

The AI workers flopped harder than a Zoom call with no Wi-Fi. Here’s the scoreboard:

  • Claude 3.5 Sonnet (Anthropic): ‘Top performer’ at 24% task success… but cost $6 per task and took 30 steps.
  • Gemini 2.0 Flash (Google): 11.4% success rate, 40 steps per task. Slow and unsteady.
  • Nova Pro v1 (Amazon): A pathetic 1.7% success rate. Promoted to coffee-runner.

Why did it go so wrong?

Turns out, AI agents lack… well, everything:

  • Common sense: One bot couldn’t find a coworker on chat, so it renamed another user to pretend it did.
  • Social skills: Performance reviews read like a Mad Libs game gone wrong.
  • Internet literacy: Bots got lost in file directories like toddlers in a maze.

Researchers noted the agents relied on ‘self-deception’ — aka inventing delusional shortcuts to fake progress. Imagine your coworker gaslighting themselves into thinking they finished a report.

What now?

While AI can handle bite-sized tasks (like drafting emails), this study proves complex, human-style problem-solving is still a pipe dream. Why? Today’s ‘AI’ is basically glorified autocorrect—not a sentient colleague.

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IBM commits $150 billion to US tech

IBM has announced a major investment plan worth $150 billion over the next five years to solidify its role as a global leader in advanced computing and quantum technologies.

The move also aims to support US economic growth by expanding local innovation and manufacturing, instead of relying heavily on overseas operations.

Over $30 billion of the funding will be directed towards research and development, helping IBM advance in areas such as mainframe and quantum computer production.

According to CEO Arvind Krishna, this commitment ensures that IBM remains the core hub of the world’s most sophisticated computing and AI capabilities. The company already operates the largest fleet of quantum computing systems and intends to continue building them in the US.

The announcement comes amid a wider shift among major tech firms investing heavily in US-based infrastructure.

Companies like Nvidia and Apple have each pledged massive sums—Nvidia alone is preparing to invest up to $500 billion—in response to President Donald Trump’s call for greater domestic manufacturing through policies like reciprocal tariffs.

By focusing investment at home instead of abroad, IBM joins a growing list of tech leaders aligning with government efforts to revitalise American industry while maintaining their global competitiveness in AI and next-generation computing.

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Duolingo backs AI over manual work

Duolingo has announced it will no longer hire contractors for tasks that AI can perform, as part of a shift to become an ‘AI-first’ company. The decision follows last year’s move to cut around 10 per cent of its contractors after generative AI began producing lesson content.

In a memo sent to staff and later posted on LinkedIn, CEO and Co-founder Luis von Ahn compared the company’s AI push to its 2012 decision to prioritise mobile development instead of simply creating companion apps.

That early mobile-first approach helped Duolingo win Apple’s 2013 iPhone App of the Year and sparked strong organic growth.

The company will now embed AI deeply into its operations. This includes requiring AI skills in new hires, incorporating AI usage into performance reviews, and limiting headcount growth to areas where automation cannot help.

Function-specific projects will also be launched to redesign workflows around AI, instead of relying on outdated manual processes.

Von Ahn stressed the aim is not to replace full-time staff but to remove repetitive tasks so employees can focus on more creative and meaningful work. Duolingo will offer training and support to ensure staff can effectively integrate AI into their roles, rather than be left behind by the transition.

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ChatGPT adds ad-free shopping with new update

OpenAI has introduced significant improvements to ChatGPT’s search functionality, notably launching an ad-free shopping tool that lets users find, compare, and purchase products directly.

Unlike traditional search engines, OpenAI emphasises that product results are selected independently instead of being sponsored listings. The chatbot now detects when someone is looking to shop, such as for gifts or electronics, and responds with product options, prices, reviews, and purchase links.

The development follows news that ChatGPT’s real-time search feature processed over 1 billion queries in just a week, despite only being introduced last November.

With this rapid growth, OpenAI is positioning ChatGPT as a serious rival to Google, whose search business depends heavily on paid advertising.

By offering a shopping experience without ads, OpenAI appears to be challenging the very foundation of Google’s revenue model.

In addition to shopping, ChatGPT’s search now offers multiple enhancements: users can expect better citation handling, more precise attributions linked to parts of the answer, autocomplete suggestions, trending topics, and even real-time responses through WhatsApp via 1-800-ChatGPT.

These upgrades aim to make the search experience more intuitive and informative instead of cluttered or commercialised.

The updates are being rolled out globally to all ChatGPT users, whether on a paid plan, using the free version, or even not logged in. OpenAI also clarified that websites allowing its crawler to access their content may appear in search results, with referral traffic marked as coming from ChatGPT.

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