Google announced in July 2026 an update to Google Vids that allows users to create a custom digital avatar modeled on their own appearance and voice. By uploading a selfie and a voice recording,…
Anthropic is pressing U.S. states to adopt stricter artificial intelligence regulations in 2026, arguing that transparency laws passed just last year are no longer adequate to address the risks posed…
In 2026, X’s upgraded Grok AI flags duplicated posts at 3× its previous rate, finding 1.5M stolen posts and redirecting $1M+ in creator payouts to original uploaders. Watermarks or edits won’t help, and follow/reply begging 3+ times can remove users from the creator program.
Newsletter platform Beehiiv announced in July 2026 a set of new features aimed at expanding the platform beyond newsletters, including a community discussion tool, an AI assistant called Copilot, and…
Sheryl Sandberg has led a $10 million investment into Self Inspection, a San Diego-based startup that uses AI and smartphone cameras to assess vehicle body damage and generate detailed inspection…
Google announced in 2026 that it is renaming its AI-powered research tool NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook, continuing the company’s pattern of folding its AI products under the Gemini brand. The change…
Google announced on Thursday, July 16, 2026, that users can now link and interact with select third-party apps directly within AI Mode, its conversational search experience. The initial rollout…
EU DMA rulings (July 16, 2026) require Google to share Android and Google Search access with competitors comparable to Google’s own systems. Android assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity must get Gemini-level features/data, and Search data sharing starts by January 2027; penalties can reach 10% of annual worldwide turnover.
1Password’s July 2026 “1Password for Claude” lets Anthropic’s Claude complete multi-step tasks using stored logins after per-task biometric approval. Its “zero-exposure” channel injects credentials Claude can’t view and it scans pages after autofill. Available now on Mac for business, family, and individual plans, with both 1Password and Claude desktop/browser extensions.
Meta will notify parents when teens discuss suicide or self-harm with Meta AI starting July 16, 2026, via Instagram Parental Supervision in the US, UK, Australia and Canada. It flags chats with a clear self-harm reference for manual review, applies Instagram’s “Limited Content” to Meta AI, and plans global rollout before year-end.
Applied Computing, a London-based startup, announced in July 2026 that it has raised a $20 million Series A to expand its foundation AI model for the oil, gas, and petrochemical industry. The round…
xAI filed what it calls its first legal action against a Grok user, alleging South Carolina’s Terry Wayne Harwood bypassed safeguards and used the chatbot to alter nonconsensual images and generate CSAM. Harwood was arrested in Feb. 2026 and faces eight felony charges.
