A Google Gemini model now has a “dial” to adjust how much it reasons
Google DeepMind’s latest update to a top Gemini AI model includes a dial to control how much the system “thinks” through a response. The new feature is ostensibly designed to…
US office that counters foreign disinformation is being eliminated
The only office within the US State Department that monitors foreign disinformation is to be eliminated, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, confirming reporting by MIT Technology Review.…
The Download: how AI is changing music, and a US city’s AI experiment
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. AI is coming for music, too…
A small US city experiments with AI to find out what residents want
Bowling Green, Kentucky, is home to 75,000 residents who recently wrapped up an experiment in using AI for democracy: Can an online polling platform, powered by machine learning, capture what…
How the federal government is tracking changes in the supply of street drugs
In 2021, the Maryland Department of Health and the state police were confronting a crisis: Fatal drug overdoses in the state were at an all-time high, and authorities didn’t know…
A vision for the future of automation
The manufacturing industry is at a crossroads: Geopolitical instability is fracturing supply chains from the Suez to Shenzhen, impacting the flow of materials. Businesses are battling rising costs and inflation,…
The Download: the dangers of DOGE, and how to blow up an asteroid
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. DOGE’s tech takeover threatens the safety…
Meet the researchers testing the “Armageddon” approach to asteroid defense
One day, in the near or far future, an asteroid about the length of a football stadium will find itself on a collision course with Earth. If we are lucky,…