All articles tagged with #google
Google has acquired ProducerAI, the AI music platform formerly known as Riffusion, folding its team into Google Labs and DeepMind; the platform will run on Lyria 3 for music generation via Gemini, with Nano Banana for album art, Veo for AI music videos, and SynthID watermarking, as part of Google's expanding music AI tools and sandbox ecosystem.
ProducerAI, an AI-powered music‑making platform, is joining Google and will run under Google Labs powered by a preview of the Lyria 3 music model. It lets users chat with an AI producer to generate sounds, workshop lyrics, remix songs, and create new instruments, with Google coordinating Gemini‑style chat, Nano Banana image generation for album art, Veo for AI videos, and SynthID watermarking. ProducerAI remains a standalone service with free credits and tiered subscriptions, now available in 250+ countries.
Xcel Energy will power Google's new Pine Island data center in Minnesota under an Electric Service Agreement that will add 1,900 MW of new clean energy—1,400 MW wind, 200 MW solar, and 300 MW long-duration storage—plus a 300 MW/100-hour Form Energy iron-air battery (about 30 GWh). Google will cover its service costs, and the package includes a $50 million Capacity*Connect investment; the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will review the agreement. The move aims to support Minnesota’s economy and energy goals while keeping current customers’ bills stable.
Google is sunsetting the Android weather shortcut and replacing it with a Search-driven weather experience: tapping the shortcut now opens a Google Search page with a weather card, forecasts, air quality data, and an AI-generated summary. Pixel devices are largely unaffected; non-Pixel users may lean toward third-party apps, reflecting Google’s shift to centralize everyday info in Search.
A former Google software engineer alleges she was fired after two pregnancies and taking FMLA leave, with her supervisor allegedly imposing escalating milestones and harsh reviews despite meeting requirements, in a case alleging sex, pregnancy and disability discrimination under Washington state law and federal law.
Google’s AI Overviews can be hidden by appending an en dash and letters to your search query (for example, –ai), a trick that mostly works on desktop browsers; you can also switch to Classic Search or use another engine like DuckDuckGo or Brave to avoid AI summaries, but beware AI summaries can still be inaccurate and you should verify by visiting the source.
A Hacker News discussion centers on Google’s blog about new app-verification changes, including a dedicated student/hobbyist account to bypass full verification for limited devices and an advanced flow allowing unverified installs with warnings. Critics argue this token gesture doesn’t truly open Android, could undermine open ecosystems like F-Droid, and may entrench Google’s control over the platform. The thread contrasts these moves with regulatory pressure (EU DMA) and the fate of independent ROMs (e.g., GrapheneOS), while some see potential security benefits in clearer safeguards. Debates touch on how essential banking and other services move toward app-based ecosystems, the feasibility of truly open Android, and whether alternate OSes or web-based approaches are viable paths forward.
Two former Google employees and one of their husbands were indicted on 14 felony counts of conspiracy and theft of trade secrets related to Google’s Tensor processor for Pixel phones, potentially facing more than 20 years in prison if convicted.
Three Silicon Valley engineers were indicted for allegedly stealing hundreds of confidential files from Google and other tech companies and routing them to Iran, using personal devices and methods to evade detection. Google detected the theft via routine security monitoring and alerted law enforcement. The suspects face charges including conspiracy to steal trade secrets, theft and attempted theft, and obstruction of justice, with potential prison terms and fines if convicted.
Google unveils Gemini 3.1 Pro, claiming a major boost in reasoning to reclaim the AI throne. Independent testing places it at the top of benchmarks, including ARC-AGI-2 (77.1%), GPQA Diamond (94.3%), LiveCodeBench Pro (2887 Elo), SWE-Bench (80.6%), and MMMLU (92.6%), highlighting improved long-horizon thinking and task planning. The model enables functional outputs like vibe-coded SVGs, complex system synthesis, and interactive 3D design, with strong enterprise feedback. Pricing remains $2 per 1M input tokens, plus separate output fees and context caching charges; licensing is via Vertex Studio / Gemini API, and the release is in Preview ahead of general availability.
Google Chrome for Android updates to version 145 with a redesigned Home icon and a new Homepage feature, letting tapping the Home button open a user-specified site or the browser’s default page; users can update via the Play Store and verify their version to confirm the change.
Google's Android 17 Beta 1 introduces a lock-free MessageQueue (DeliQueue) that reduces UI frame drops, trimming missed frames by about 4% in apps and 7.7% in system UI, a boost that could make Samsung's One UI 9 feel smoother than One UI 8/8.5 when it ships mid-2026 on devices like the Galaxy Z Flip 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8.
Google's Lyria 3 music-generation model arrives in the Gemini app, letting users 18+ generate 30-second AI tracks in multiple languages with lyrics, style, tempo, and vocals customizable; free tier caps output at 30 seconds while higher limits apply to AI Plus/Pro/Ultra; outputs include AI-generated album art and are watermarked with SnythID, serving as a basic AI-songs tool rather than a serious musical masterpiece.
Google is deploying Lyria 3 in the Gemini app, allowing users to generate 30-second AI music from prompts (and image prompts), with auto lyrics optional, built-in album art, and an embedded SynthID for attribution. It enforces copyright safeguards (not copying named artists), and the feature is live in Gemini web today with mobile rollout in a few days; AI Pro/Ultra subscribers get higher usage limits.
Google is updating AI Overviews and AI Mode to show groups of links in a hover pop-up on desktop and to use more descriptive, prominent link icons across devices, aiming to improve source visibility and potentially increase clicks to publisher sites.