The United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is reportedly moving to place Alphabet’s Google under formal federal supervision, according to a Washington Post report. This development comes after months of confidential talks, during which Google has strongly resisted the idea. If implemented, federal oversight would provide regulators with access to Google’s internal records, marking a significant step in regulatory scrutiny of the tech behemoth. The CFPB, which typically oversees financial firms, is now expanding its reach to include more tech companies, particularly those with extensive consumer data handling.
This move is yet another regulatory challenge for Google, which is already facing multiple legal hurdles. Current government actions include pressure for the company to divest parts of its operations and a court mandate to open up its mobile app store to competition. Antitrust lawsuits and investigations continue to question Google’s dominance in digital markets, pushing the company to defend its business practices amid mounting legal pressure.
Google, alongside Alphabet, declined to comment on the CFPB’s intentions. However, industry analysts note that increased federal oversight could lead to greater regulatory enforcement on how tech giants manage consumer data and financial operations. As regulatory measures tighten, Google may have to adopt new strategies to mitigate risks and comply with evolving US oversight regulations.
Google has rolled out Imagen 3, its advanced text-to-image generation model, directly within Google Docs. The tool allows users to create realistic or stylised images by simply typing prompts. Workspace customers with specific Gemini add-ons will be the first to access the feature, which is gradually being made available. The addition aims to help users enhance communication by generating customised images without tedious searches.
Imagen 3 initially faced setbacks due to historical inaccuracies in generated images, causing Google to delay its release. Following improvements, the feature launched quietly earlier this year and is now integrated into the Gemini platform. The company emphasises the tool’s ability to streamline creativity and simplify the visual content creation process.
Google has also introduced its Gemini app for iPhone users, following its February release on Android. The app boasts advanced features like Gemini Live in multiple languages and seamless integration of popular Google services such as Gmail, Calendar, and YouTube. Users can also access the powerful Imagen 3 tool within the app.
The Gemini app is designed as an AI-powered personal assistant, bringing innovation and convenience to mobile users globally. Google’s Brian Marquardt highlights the app’s capability to transform everyday tasks, offering users an intuitive and versatile digital companion.
Google has introduced its Gemini app on Apple’s App Store, offering a new voice-based feature named Gemini Live. Designed to enable natural conversations, the tool marks the latest step in the evolution of voice assistants. Apple’s plans to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT into Siri highlight growing competition in the field.
Gemini, initially launched as Bard in 2023, is Google’s response to ChatGPT by OpenAI. The app, now enhanced with features like Gemini Live, aims to support diverse tasks such as interview preparation, travel advice, and creative brainstorming. Its rollout follows an announcement in August, with Android users receiving early access.
The app showcases advances in AI-powered voice assistants that surpass previous iterations like Amazon Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google Assistant. Google retired its older Assistant, an eight-year-old product, earlier this year after layoffs within its Voice Assistant team. These changes are part of broader efforts to streamline operations.
Google has also restructured its AI efforts, merging the Gemini app team into DeepMind, its research lab. DeepMind focuses on improving AI capabilities while overcoming challenges associated with traditional model expansion. These developments position Google at the forefront of next-generation AI solutions.
Google has started rolling out its AI-powered Scam Detection feature for the Pixel Phone app, initially available only in the beta version for US users. First announced during Google I/O 2024, the feature uses onboard AI to help users identify potential scam calls. Currently, the update is accessible to Pixel 6 and newer models, with plans to expand to other Android devices in the future.
Scam Detection analyses the audio from incoming calls directly on the device, issuing alerts if suspicious activity is detected. For example, if a caller claims to be from a bank and pressures the recipient to transfer funds urgently, the app provides visual and audio warnings. The processing occurs locally on the phone, utilising the Pixel 9’s Gemini Nano chip or similar on-device machine learning models on earlier Pixel versions, ensuring no data is sent to the cloud.
This feature is part of Google’s ongoing efforts to tackle digital fraud, as the rise in generative AI has made scam calls more sophisticated. It joins the suite of security tools on the Pixel Phone app, including Call Screen, which uses a bot to screen calls before involving the user. Google’s localised approach aims to keep users’ information secure while enhancing their safety.
Currently, Scam Detection requires manual activation through the app’s settings, as it isn’t enabled by default. Google is seeking feedback from early adopters to refine the feature further before a wider release to other Android devices.
Google is testing an AI-driven feature for YouTube Shorts, allowing creators to alter licensed audio tracks to fit different styles or genres. Part of YouTube’s Dream Track experiment, the feature lets select creators customise songs by simply describing their desired transformation, such as changing the music genre. YouTube’s AI then generates a 30-second soundtrack for the creator’s short video, maintaining the original vocals and lyrics.
The experimental tool has clear attribution rules, ensuring viewers can see that the song has been restyled with AI. Videos featuring these AI-enhanced tracks will display the original song information and note that AI was used to alter the sound. This setup helps protect the rights of original music creators while giving video makers new artistic possibilities.
The Dream Track experiment has been in testing since last year, initially giving creators access to AI-generated artist voices with approved songs. This latest feature now expands to allow broader soundtrack customisation within Shorts, aiming to boost creator flexibility and viewer engagement.
Separately, YouTube is testing a swipe-up feature for its Android app, making it easier to navigate between videos. Available to a limited number of users, the swipe-up gesture now brings a navigation method similar to Instagram Reels, potentially signalling an interface shift across YouTube’s mobile platform.
Google has announced plans to open a new AI-focused data centre in Saudi Arabia, aligning with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to expand research in Arabic language AI models and ‘Saudi-specific AI applications.’ The project arrives as Google continues to face scrutiny over meeting its own climate goals, including its commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 2030.
The tech giant’s choice of location, a region highly dependent on fossil fuels, has raised eyebrows, given Google’s 2020 pledge to avoid developing AI algorithms for oil and gas. Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned petroleum company, currently uses AI to enhance production, with one oil field reportedly seeing a 15% boost through AI integration. While Google has stated the partnership ‘comports’ with its climate pledges, the data centre may contribute to advancing AI within the oil and gas sector.
The exact nature of ‘Saudi-specific AI applications’ remains unclear, though the centre could have implications for energy production as AI’s role in Saudi industry expands.
A federal judge has dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit claiming Google illegally profited from scams involving Google Play gift cards. The plaintiff, Judy May, alleged she lost $1,000 after a scammer posed as a government official, instructing her to purchase Google Play gift cards to claim grant money. She argued that Google should have warned consumers about such scams on the card packaging.
However, Judge Beth Labson Freeman ruled that Google was not responsible for May’s losses, as the tech giant neither caused her financial harm nor knowingly benefited from the stolen funds. Freeman also dismissed claims that Google’s 15% to 30% commission on purchases using the gift cards was linked to the initial fraud.
The Federal Trade Commission reported that Americans lost $217 million to gift card fraud in 2023, with Google Play cards implicated in roughly 20% of reported cases. Though May’s case was dismissed, the judge allowed her the option to refile.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is examining the rapid growth of energy-intensive data centers being built next to US power plants. Known as co-location, this trend is driven by the tech sector’s need for large amounts of power for AI and other data-heavy operations. Co-locating data centers near power plants offers companies quicker access to electricity, bypassing the longer process of connecting to the broader grid.
However, regulators and industry experts are concerned about the impact on costs and reliability for other electricity consumers. If data centers use power plants that typically supply the public grid, there are questions about how such facilities will handle power disruptions and whether they will lean on the grid as backup. This could mean higher electricity bills for consumers who fund grid infrastructure, a point raised by FERC Commissioner Mark Christie.
The regulatory scrutiny comes as companies like Amazon and Google look to establish co-located data centers to meet growing energy needs. A recent arrangement in Pennsylvania, where Amazon bought a data center linked to a nuclear plant, has stirred debate among electric utilities over infrastructure costs and reliability. FERC’s review could lead to new guidelines clarifying financial responsibilities and operational rules for these partnerships.
Google has won a trademark lawsuit brought by Shorts International, a British company specialising in short films, over the use of the word ‘shorts’ in YouTube‘s short video platform, YouTube Shorts. London’s High Court found no risk of consumer confusion between Shorts International’s brand and YouTube’s platform, which launched in 2020 as a response to TikTok‘s popularity.
Shorts International, known for its short film television channel, argued that YouTube Shorts infringed on its established trademark. However, Google’s lawyer, Lindsay Lane, countered that it was clear the ‘Shorts’ platform belonged to YouTube, removing any chance of brand confusion.
Judge Michael Tappin ruled in favour of Google, stating that the use of ‘shorts’ by YouTube would not affect the distinctiveness or reputation of Shorts International’s trademark. The court’s decision brings the legal challenge to a close, dismissing all claims of infringement.
Google researchers announced a breakthrough in cybersecurity, revealing they have discovered the first vulnerability using a large language model. This vulnerability, identified as an exploitable memory-safety issue in SQLite—a widely used open-source database engine—marks a significant milestone, as it is believed to be the first public instance of an AI tool uncovering a previously unknown flaw in real-world software.
The vulnerability was reported to SQLite developers in early October, who promptly addressed the issue on the same day it was identified. Notably, the bug was discovered before being included in an official release, ensuring that SQLite users were unaffected. Google emphasised this development as a demonstration of AI’s significant potential for enhancing cybersecurity defences.
The initiative is part of a collaborative project called Big Sleep, which involves Google Project Zero and Google DeepMind, stemming from previous efforts focused on AI-assisted vulnerability research.
Many companies, including Google, typically employ a technique known as ‘fuzzing,’ where software is tested by inputting random or invalid data to uncover vulnerabilities. However, Google noted that fuzzing often needs to improve in identifying hard-to-find bugs. The researchers expressed optimism that AI could help bridge this gap. ‘We see this as a promising avenue to achieve a defensive advantage,’ they stated.
The identified vulnerability was particularly intriguing because it was missed by existing testing frameworks, including OSS-Fuzz and SQLite’s internal systems. One of the key motivations behind the Big Sleep project is the ongoing challenge of vulnerability variants, with more than 40% of zero-day vulnerabilities identified in 2022 being variants of previously reported issues.
