Author: Nick Gold

Google Photos is adding its digital SynthID watermarks to photos that have been edited using the Magic Editor’s generative AI feature. The new feature is rolling out “this week” according to Google, and is intended to make it easier for people to quickly identify images that have been manipulated using the “reimagine” tool in Magic Editor.SynthID is a watermarking system created by Google’s DeepMind team that embeds a digital metadata tag directly into images, video, audio, and text to identify if they were created or altered using AI tools. The watermark is already being applied to images that are entirely…

The Zenfone 12 Ultra officially launches today, but unlike previous generations, this one won’t be sold in the US.As expected, the 12 Ultra is a de-gamer-ified ROG Phone 9 Pro with a big screen, a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and a unique gimbal-like stabilizer in the main camera. It’s the same formula Asus followed with the Zenfone 11 Ultra, which was a fine device but failed to stand out in a sea of other big Android phones. Now, this edition isn’t even making landfall on our shores.As you’d expect of a phone with gaming DNA, the 12 Ultra offers a…

US consumers may already be seeing additional fees on shipments from China after President Donald Trump’s tariff on Chinese goods took effect on Tuesday.Clint Reid, the founder and CEO of a company that offers software to help with cross-border commerce, posted screenshots on X showing additional charges added to a shipment from DHL:Another X screenshot appears to show DHL requesting an import duty on a shipment from Hololive. We’ve seen a similar screenshot on Reddit. One Reddit user in a retro gaming handheld emulator community shared a screenshot of an email from Keepretro asking if a buyer would pay an…

Amazon sent out five different invites to its upcoming product event, and when pieced together, they spell out a familiar word: Alexa, the name of the company’s digital voice assistant.We assumed the event would be about Alexa’s long-heralded renaissance, and given this message, plus Amazon telling Reuters that the event will be Alexa-focused, it seems certain the new Alexa will arrive this month.The not-so-hidden message suggests that at the event, which is being held on February 26th in New York City, Amazon will launch the new generative AI-powered version of its voice assistant. First announced in September 2023, this “New”…

Google has edited Gemini’s AI response in a Super Bowl commercial to remove an incorrect statistic about cheese. The ad, which shows a small business owner using Gemini to write a website description about Gouda, no longer says the variety makes up “50 to 60 percent of the world’s cheese consumption.”In the edited YouTube video, Gemini’s response now skips over the specifics and says Gouda is “one of the most popular cheeses in the world.” Google Cloud apps president Jerry Dischler initially defended the response, saying on X it’s “grounded in the Web” and “not a hallucination.” The change to…

Microsoft Build is once again being held in Seattle this year, just over the lake from Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington. The developer conference will start on May 19th and run through May 22nd at the Seattle Convention Center.I’m also expecting a lot of announcements for Copilot at Build, whether it’s the consumer version or the Microsoft 365 Copilot that businesses pay for. Microsoft recently relaunched Copilot for businesses with free AI chat and pay-as-you-go agents, and it’s certainly not done trying to convince businesses that AI agents are the future. Microsoft also started bundling Office AI features into Microsoft…

Elgato is releasing a new version of its audio stream control software Wave Link that includes new AI-powered voice enhancements for your mic. It also has a new OS-level management system to redirect audio streams to certain apps, split audio to yourself and your audience, add audio effects, and quickly mute channels.The latest version 2.0 update is available to download now and works with Elgato hardware, including the company’s Mic and Stream Deck control ecosystem.Elgato and audio machine learning company AIcoustics are including Voice Focus in the Wave Link program, which can remove noise and fix acoustic problems so you…

OpenAI just gave itself a full rebrand, complete with a new typeface, logo, and color palette, as explained to Wallpaper in an interview about the process behind the changes. You’ll have to look closely to spot the difference between the redrawn logo and its old one, but a side-by-side comparison shows the updated “blossom” with a slightly larger space in the center and cleaner lines.Though the original logo was designed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and co-founder Ilya Sutskever, an in-house design team led by Veit Moeller and Shannon Jager took the reins this time around, intending to create a…

Apple has announced Apple Invites, an event-planning app for the iPhone that will let iCloud subscribers create and share invitations to parties and other events. Recipients can RSVP regardless of whether they have an iCloud subscription or an Apple device. It’s also available on the web.With Invites, Apple says hosts can “view and manage their events, share invitations with a link, review RSVPs, and choose the details they want included in the preview,” such as a home address or a specific background. Guests can use the app to contribute to a Shared Album with photos and videos from the event.When…

Sony Pictures Television says it’s taking over the distribution rights for top game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! from Paramount-owned CBS starting the week of February 10th, reports Bloomberg, while CBS is fighting back by seeking a temporary restraining order.According to Deadline, on Monday, CBS sent a statement to clients telling them to ignore what Sony is saying because “Sony has no rights under the distribution agreements to terminate them, and CBS remains the distributor for the Series, notwithstanding any communications from Sony to the contrary.”Earlier last year, Sony, which produces both game shows, reportedly attempted to buy out…