Google – Page 11

Chrome’s new dynamic bottom bar gives websites a little more room to breathe

Apps, chrome, Google, Tech / 9u50fv / April 12, 2025

The Internet might look a bit different on Android soon. Last month, Google announced its intent to make Chrome for Android a more immersive experience by hiding the navigation bar background. The promised edge-to-edge update is now rolling out to devices on Chrome version 135, giving you a touch more screen real estate. However, some websites may also be a bit harder to use.

Moving from button to gesture navigation reduced the amount of screen real estate devoted to the system UI, which leaves more room for apps. Google’s move to a “dynamic bottom bar” in Chrome creates even more space for web content. When this feature shows up, the pages you visit will be able to draw all the way to the bottom of the screen instead of stopping at the navigation area, which Google calls the “chin.”

As you scroll down a page, Chrome hides the address bar. With the addition of the dynamic bottom bar, the chin also vanishes. The gesture handle itself remains visible, shifting between white and black based on what is immediately behind it to maintain visibility. Unfortunately, this feature will not work if you have chosen to stick with the classic three-button navigation option.

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Researcher uncovers dozens of sketchy Chrome extensions with 4 million installs

Biz & IT, chrome, Chrome Web Store, extensions, Google, Security / Shannon Garcia / April 11, 2025

The extensions share other dubious or suspicious similarities. Much of the code in each one is highly obfuscated, a design choice that provides no benefit other than complicating the process for analyzing and understanding how it behaves.

All but one of them are unlisted in the Chrome Web Store. This designation makes an extension visible only to users with the long pseudorandom string in the extension URL, and thus, they don’t appear in the Web Store or search engine search results. It’s unclear how these 35 unlisted extensions could have fetched 4 million installs collectively, or on average roughly 114,000 installs per extension, when they were so hard to find.

Additionally, 10 of them are stamped with the “Featured” designation, which Google reserves for developers whose identities have been verified and “follow our technical best practices and meet a high standard of user experience and design.”

One example is the extension Fire Shield Extension Protection, which, ironically enough, purports to check Chrome installations for the presence of any suspicious or malicious extensions. One of the key JavaScript files it runs references several questionable domains, where they can upload data and download instructions and code:

URLs that Fire Shield Extension Protection references in its code. Credit: Secure Annex

One domain in particular—unknow.com—is listed in the remaining 34 apps.

Tuckner tried analyzing what extensions did on this site but was largely thwarted by the obfuscated code and other steps the developer took to conceal their behavior. When the researcher, for instance, ran the Fire Shield extension on a lab device, it opened a blank webpage. Clicking on the icon of an installed extension usually provides an option menu, but Fire Shield displayed nothing when he did it. Tuckner then fired up a background service worker in the Chrome developer tools to seek clues about what was happening. He soon realized that the extension connected to a URL at fireshieldit.com and performed some action under the generic category “browser_action_clicked.” He tried to trigger additional events but came up empty-handed.

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Google Pixel 9a review: All the phone you need

Features, Google, Google Pixel, pixel 9a, Tech / Mike M. / April 10, 2025

The Pixel 9a looks great and shoots lovely photos, but it’s light on AI.

The Pixel 9a adopts a streamlined design. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

It took a few years, but Google’s Pixel phones have risen to the top of the Android ranks, and its new Pixel 9a keeps most of what has made flagship Pixel phones so good, including the slick software and versatile cameras. Despite a revamped design and larger battery, Google has maintained the $499 price point of last year’s phone, undercutting other “budget” devices like the iPhone 16e.

However, hitting this price point involves trade-offs in materials, charging, and—significantly—the on-device AI capabilities compared to its pricier siblings. None of those are deal-breakers, though. In fact, the Pixel 9a may be coming along at just the right time. As we enter a period of uncertainty for imported gadgets, a modestly priced phone with lengthy support could be the perfect purchase.

A simpler silhouette

The Pixel 9a sports the same rounded corners and flat edges we’ve seen on other recent smartphones. The aluminum frame has a smooth, almost silky texture, with rolled edges that flow into the front and back covers.

Pixel 9a in hand — The 9a is just small enough to be cozy in your hand. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

On the front, there’s a sheet of Gorilla Glass 3, which has been a mainstay of budget phones for years. On the back, Google used recycled plastic with a matte finish. It attracts more dust and grime than glass, but it doesn’t show fingerprints as clearly. The plastic doesn’t feel as solid as the glass backs on Google’s more expensive phones, and the edge where it meets the aluminum frame feels a bit more sharp and abrupt than the glass on Google’s flagship phones.

Specs at a glance: Google Pixel 9a
SoC	Google Tensor G4
Memory	8GB
Storage	128GB, 256GB
Display	1080×2424 6.3″ pOLED, 60–120 Hz
Cameras	48 MP primary, f/1.7, OIS; 13 MP ultrawide, f/2.2; 13 MP selfie, f/2.2
Software	Android 15, 7 years of OS updates
Battery	5,100 mAh, 23 W wired charging, 7.5 W wireless charging
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 6e, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, sub-6 GHz 5G
Measurements	154.7×73.3×8.9 mm; 185 g

Were it not for the “G” logo emblazoned on the back, you might not recognize the Pixel 9a as a Google phone. It lacks the camera bar that has been central to the design language of all Google’s recent devices, opting instead for a sleeker flat design.

The move to a pOLED display saved a few millimeters, giving the designers a bit more internal volume. In the past, Google has always pushed toward thinner and thinner Pixels, but it retained the same 8.9 mm thickness for the Pixel 9a. Rather than shave off a millimeter, Google equipped the Pixel 9a with a 5,100 mAh battery, which is the largest ever in a Pixel, even beating out the larger and more expensive Pixel 9 Pro XL by a touch.

Pixel 9a and Pixel 8a — The Pixel 9a (left) drops the camera bar from the Pixel 8a (right). Credit: Ryan Whitwam

The camera module on the back is almost flush with the body of the phone, rising barely a millimeter from the surrounding plastic. The phone feels more balanced and less top-heavy than phones that have three or four cameras mounted to chunky aluminum surrounds. The buttons on the right edge are the only other disruptions to the phone’s clean lines. They, too, are aluminum, with nice, tactile feedback and no detectable wobble. Aside from a few tiny foibles, the build quality and overall feel of this phone are better than we’d expect for $499.

The 6.3-inch OLED is slightly larger than last year’s, and it retains the chunkier bezels of Google’s A-series phones. While the flagship Pixels are all screen from the front, there’s a sizable gap between the edge of the OLED and the aluminum frame. That means the body is a few millimeters larger than it probably had to be—the Pixel 9 Pro has the same display size, and it’s a bit more compact, for example. Still, the Pixel 9a does not look or feel oversized.

Pixel 9a edge — The camera bump just barely rises above the surrounding plastic. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

The OLED is sharp enough at 1080p and has an impressively high peak brightness, making it legible outdoors. However, the low-brightness clarity falls short of what you get with more expensive phones like the Pixel 9 Pro or Galaxy S25. The screen supports a 120 Hz refresh rate, but that’s disabled by default. This panel does not use LTPO technology, which makes higher refresh rates more battery-intensive. There’s a fingerprint scanner under the OLED, but it has not been upgraded to ultrasonic along with the flagship Pixels. This one is still optical—it works quickly enough, but it lights up dark rooms and lacks reliability compared to ultrasonic sensors.

Probably fast enough

Google took a page from Apple when it debuted its custom Tensor mobile processors with the Pixel 6. Now, Google uses Tensor processors in all its phones, giving a nice boost to budget devices like the Pixel 9a. The Pixel 9a has a Tensor G4, which is identical to the chip in the Pixel 9 series, save for a slightly different modem.

Pixel 9a flat — With no camera bump, the Pixel 9a lays totally flat on surfaces with very little wobble. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

While Tensor is not a benchmark speed demon like the latest silicon from Qualcomm or Apple, it does not feel slow in daily use. A chip like the Snapdragon 8 Elite puts up huge benchmark numbers, but it doesn’t run at that speed for long. Qualcomm’s latest chips can lose half their speed to heat, but Tensor only drops by about a third during extended load.

However, even after slowing down, the Snapdragon 8 Elite is a faster gaming chip than Tensor. If playing high-end games like Diablo Immortal and Genshin Impact is important to you, you can do better than the Pixel 9a (and other Pixels).

9a geekbench — The 9a can’t touch the S25, but it runs neck and neck with the Pixel 9 Pro. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

In general use, the Pixel 9a is more than fast enough that you won’t spend time thinking about the Tensor chip. Apps open quickly, animations are unerringly smooth, and the phone doesn’t get too hot. There are some unavoidable drawbacks to its more limited memory, though. Apps don’t stay in memory as long or as reliably as they do on the flagship Pixels, for instance. There are also some AI limitations we’ll get to below.

With a 5,100 mAh battery, the Pixel 9a has more capacity than any other Google phone. Combined with the 1080p screen, the 9a gets much longer battery life than the flagship Pixels. Google claims about 30 hours of usage per charge. In our testing, this equates to a solid day of heavy use with enough left in the tank that you won’t feel the twinge of range anxiety as evening approaches. If you’re careful, you might be able to make it two days without a recharge.

Pixel 9a and 9 Pro XL — The Pixel 9a (right) is much smaller than the Pixel 9 Pro XL (left), but it has a slightly larger battery. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

As for recharging, Google could do better—the Pixel 9a manages just 23 W wired and 7.5 W wireless, and the flagship Pixels are only a little faster. Companies like OnePlus and Motorola offer phones that charge several times faster than Google’s.

The low-AI Pixel

Google’s Pixel software is one of the primary reasons to buy its phones. There’s no bloatware on the device when you take it out of the box, which saves you from tediously extracting a dozen sponsored widgets and microtransaction-laden games right off the bat. Google’s interface design is also our favorite right now, with a fantastic implementation of Material You theming that adapts to your background colors.

Gemini is the default assistant, but the 9a loses some of Google’s most interesting AI features. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

The Pixel version of Android 15 also comes with a raft of thoughtful features, like the anti-spammer Call Screen and Direct My Call to help you navigate labyrinthine phone trees. Gemini is also built into the phone, fully replacing the now-doomed Google Assistant. Google notes that Gemini on the 9a can take action across apps, which is technically true. Gemini can look up data from one supported app and route it to another at your behest, but only when it feels like it. Generative AI is still unpredictable, so don’t bank on Gemini being a good assistant just yet.

Google’s more expensive Pixels also have the above capabilities, but they go further with AI. Google’s on-device Gemini Nano model is key to some of the newest and more interesting AI features, but large language models (even the small ones) need a lot of RAM. The 9a’s less-generous 8GB of RAM means it runs a less-capable version of the AI known as Gemini Nano XXS that only supports text input.

As a result, many of the AI features Google was promoting around the Pixel 9 launch just don’t work. For example, there’s no Pixel Screenshots app or Call Notes. Even some features that seem like they should work, like AI weather summaries, are absent on the Pixel 9a. Recorder summaries are supported, but Gemini Nano has a very nano context window. We tested with recordings ranging from two to 20 minutes, and the longer ones surpassed the model’s capabilities. Google tells Ars that 2,000 words (about 15 minutes of relaxed conversation) is the limit for Gemini Nano on this phone.

Pixel 9a software — The 9a is missing some AI features, and others don’t work very well. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

If you’re the type to avoid AI features, the less-capable Gemini model might not matter. You still get all the other neat Pixel features, along with Google’s market-leading support policy. This phone will get seven years of full update support, including annual OS version bumps and monthly security patches. The 9a is also entitled to special quarterly Pixel Drop updates, which bring new (usually minor) features.

Most OEMs struggle to provide even half the support for their phones. Samsung is neck and neck with Google, but its updates are often slower and more limited on older phones. Samsung’s vision for mobile AI is much less fleshed out than Google’s, too. Even with the Pixel 9a’s disappointing Gemini Nano capabilities, we expect Google to make improvements to all aspects of the software (even AI) over the coming years.

Capable cameras

The Pixel 9a has just two camera sensors, and it doesn’t try to dress up the back of the phone to make it look like there are more, a common trait of other Android phones. There’s a new 48 MP camera sensor similar to the one in the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which is smaller and less capable than the main camera in the flagship Pixels. There’s also a 13 MP ultrawide lens that appears unchanged from last year. You have to spend a lot more money to get Google’s best camera hardware, but conveniently, much of the Pixel magic is in the software.

Pixel 9a back in hand — The Pixel 9a sticks with two cameras. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

Google’s image processing works extremely well, lightening dark areas while also preventing blowout in lighter areas. This impressive dynamic range results in even exposures with plenty of detail, and this is true in all lighting conditions. In dim light, you can use Night Sight to increase sharpness and brightness to an almost supernatural degree. Outside of a few edge cases with unusual light temperature, we’ve been very pleased with Google’s color reproduction, too.

The most notable drawback to the 9a’s camera is that it’s a bit slower than the flagship Pixels. The sensor is smaller and doesn’t collect as much light, even compared to the base model Pixel 9. This is more noticeable with shots using Night Sight, which gathers data over several seconds to brighten images. However, image capture is still generally faster than Samsung, OnePlus, and Motorola cameras. Google leans toward keeping shutter speeds high (low exposure time). Outdoors, that means you can capture motion with little to no blur almost as reliably as you can with the Pro Pixels.

The 13 MP ultrawide camera is great for landscape outdoor shots, showing only mild distortion at the edges of the frame despite an impressive 120-degree field-of-view. Unlike Samsung and OnePlus, Google also does a good job of keeping colors consistent across the sensors.

You can shoot macro photos with the Pixel 9a, but it works a bit differently than other phones. The ultrawide camera doesn’t have autofocus, nor is there a dedicated macro sensor. Instead, Google uses AI with the main camera to take close-ups. This seems to work well enough, but details are only sharp around the center of the frame, with ample distortion at the edges.

There’s no telephoto lens here, but Google’s capable image processing helps a lot. The new primary camera sensor probably isn’t hurting, either. You can reliably push the 48 MP primary to 2x digital zoom, and Google’s algorithms will produce photos that you’d hardly know have been enhanced. Beyond 2x zoom, the sharpening begins to look more obviously artificial.

A phone like the Pixel 9 Pro or Galaxy S25 Ultra with 5x telephoto lenses can definitely get sharper photos at a distance, but the Pixel 9a does not do meaningfully worse than phones that have 2–3x telephoto lenses.

The right phone at the right time

The Pixel 9a is not a perfect phone, but for $499, it’s hard to argue with it. This device has the same great version of Android seen on Google’s more expensive phones, along with a generous seven years of guaranteed updates. It also pushes battery life a bit beyond what you can get with other Pixel phones. The camera isn’t the best we’ve seen—that distinction goes to the Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL. However, it gets closer than a $500 phone ought to.

Pixel 9a with keyboard — Material You theming is excellent on Pixels. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

You do miss out on some AI features with the 9a. That might not bother the AI skeptics, but some of these missing on-device features, like Pixel Screenshots and Call Notes, are among the best applications of generative AI we’ve seen on a phone yet. With years of Pixel Drops ahead of it, the 9a might not have enough muscle to handle Google’s future AI endeavors, which could lead to buyer’s remorse if AI turns out to be as useful as Google claims it will be.

At $499, you’d have to spend $300 more to get to the base model Pixel 9, a phone with weaker battery life and a marginally better camera. That’s a tough sell given how good the 9a is. If you’re not going for the Pro phones, stick with the 9a. With all the uncertainty over future tariffs on imported products, the day of decent sub-$500 phones could be coming to an end. With long support, solid hardware, and a beefy battery, the Pixel 9a could be the right phone to buy before prices go up.

The good

Good value at $499
Bright, sharp display
Long battery life
Clean version of Android 15 with seven years of support
Great photo quality

The bad

Doesn’t crush benchmarks or run high-end games perfectly
Missing some AI features from more expensive Pixels

Ryan Whitwam is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering the ways Google, AI, and mobile technology continue to change the world. Over his 20-year career, he’s written for Android Police, ExtremeTech, Wirecutter, NY Times, and more. He has reviewed more phones than most people will ever own. You can follow him on Bluesky, where you will see photos of his dozens of mechanical keyboards.

Google Pixel 9a review: All the phone you need Read More »

Google announces faster, more efficient Gemini AI model

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Google, Google Gemini, Tech / Kelly Newman / April 10, 2025

We recently spoke with Google’s Tulsee Doshi, who noted that the 2.5 Pro (Experimental) release was still prone to “overthinking” its responses to simple queries. However, the plan was to further improve dynamic thinking for the final release, and the team also hoped to give developers more control over the feature. That appears to be happening with Gemini 2.5 Flash, which includes “dynamic and controllable reasoning.”

The newest Gemini models will choose a “thinking budget” based on the complexity of the prompt. This helps reduce wait times and processing for 2.5 Flash. Developers even get granular control over the budget to lower costs and speed things along where appropriate. Gemini 2.5 models are also getting supervised tuning and context caching for Vertex AI in the coming weeks.

In addition to the arrival of Gemini 2.5 Flash, the larger Pro model has picked up a new gig. Google’s largest Gemini model is now powering its Deep Research tool, which was previously running Gemini 2.0 Pro. Deep Research lets you explore a topic in greater detail simply by entering a prompt. The agent then goes out into the Internet to collect data and synthesize a lengthy report.

Gemini vs. ChatGPT chart — Credit: Google

Google says that the move to Gemini 2.5 has boosted the accuracy and usefulness of Deep Research. The graphic above shows Google’s alleged advantage compared to OpenAI’s deep research tool. These stats are based on user evaluations (not synthetic benchmarks) and show a greater than 2-to-1 preference for Gemini 2.5 Pro reports.

Deep Research is available for limited use on non-paid accounts, but you won’t get the latest model. Deep Research with 2.5 Pro is currently limited to Gemini Advanced subscribers. However, we expect before long that all models in the Gemini app will move to the 2.5 branch. With dynamic reasoning and new TPUs, Google could begin lowering the sky-high costs that have thus far made generative AI unprofitable.

Google announces faster, more efficient Gemini AI model Read More »

Gemini “coming together in really awesome ways,” Google says after 2.5 Pro release

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Google, Google Gemini / Shannon Garcia / April 5, 2025

Google’s Tulsee Doshi talks vibes and efficiency in Gemini 2.5 Pro.

Google was caught flat-footed by the sudden skyrocketing interest in generative AI despite its role in developing the underlying technology. This prompted the company to refocus its considerable resources on catching up to OpenAI. Since then, we’ve seen the detail-flubbing Bard and numerous versions of the multimodal Gemini models. While Gemini has struggled to make progress in benchmarks and user experience, that could be changing with the new 2.5 Pro (Experimental) release. With big gains in benchmarks and vibes, this might be the first Google model that can make a dent in ChatGPT’s dominance.

We recently spoke to Google’s Tulsee Doshi, director of product management for Gemini, to talk about the process of releasing Gemini 2.5, as well as where Google’s AI models are going in the future.

Welcome to the vibes era

Google may have had a slow start in building generative AI products, but the Gemini team has picked up the pace in recent months. The company released Gemini 2.0 in December, showing a modest improvement over the 1.5 branch. It only took three months to reach 2.5, meaning Gemini 2.0 Pro wasn’t even out of the experimental stage yet. To hear Doshi tell it, this was the result of Google’s long-term investments in Gemini.

“A big part of it is honestly that a lot of the pieces and the fundamentals we’ve been building are now coming together in really awesome ways, ” Doshi said. “And so we feel like we’re able to pick up the pace here.”

The process of releasing a new model involves testing a lot of candidates. According to Doshi, Google takes a multilayered approach to inspecting those models, starting with benchmarks. “We have a set of evals, both external academic benchmarks as well as internal evals that we created for use cases that we care about,” she said.

The team also uses these tests to work on safety, which, as Google points out at every given opportunity, is still a core part of how it develops Gemini. Doshi noted that making a model safe and ready for wide release involves adversarial testing and lots of hands-on time.

But we can’t forget the vibes, which have become an increasingly important part of AI models. There’s great focus on the vibe of outputs—how engaging and useful they are. There’s also the emerging trend of vibe coding, in which you use AI prompts to build things instead of typing the code yourself. For the Gemini team, these concepts are connected. The team uses product and user feedback to understand the “vibes” of the output, be that code or just an answer to a question.

Google has noted on a few occasions that Gemini 2.5 is at the top of the LM Arena leaderboard, which shows that people who have used the model prefer the output by a considerable margin—it has good vibes. That’s certainly a positive place for Gemini to be after a long climb, but there is some concern in the field that too much emphasis on vibes could push us toward models that make us feel good regardless of whether the output is good, a property known as sycophancy.

If the Gemini team has concerns about feel-good models, they’re not letting it show. Doshi mentioned the team’s focus on code generation, which she noted can be optimized for “delightful experiences” without stoking the user’s ego. “I think about vibe less as a certain type of personality trait that we’re trying to work towards,” Doshi said.

Hallucinations are another area of concern with generative AI models. Google has had plenty of embarrassing experiences with Gemini and Bard making things up, but the Gemini team believes they’re on the right path. Gemini 2.5 apparently has set a high-water mark in the team’s factuality metrics. But will hallucinations ever be reduced to the point we can fully trust the AI? No comment on that front.

Don’t overthink it

Perhaps the most interesting thing you’ll notice when using Gemini 2.5 is that it’s very fast compared to other models that use simulated reasoning. Google says it’s building this “thinking” capability into all of its models going forward, which should lead to improved outputs. The expansion of reasoning in large language models in 2024 resulted in a noticeable improvement in the quality of these tools. It also made them even more expensive to run, exacerbating an already serious problem with generative AI.

The larger and more complex an LLM becomes, the more expensive it is to run. Google hasn’t released technical data like parameter count on its newer models—you’ll have to go back to the 1.5 branch to get that kind of detail. However, Doshi explained that Gemini 2.5 is not a substantially larger model than Google’s last iteration, calling it “comparable” in size to 2.0.

Gemini 2.5 is more efficient in one key area: the chain of thought. It’s Google’s first public model to support a feature called Dynamic Thinking, which allows the model to modulate the amount of reasoning that goes into an output. This is just the first step, though.

“I think right now, the 2.5 Pro model we ship still does overthink for simpler prompts in a way that we’re hoping to continue to improve,” Doshi said. “So one big area we are investing in is Dynamic Thinking as a way to get towards our [general availability] version of 2.5 Pro where it thinks even less for simpler prompts.”

Gemini models on phone — Credit: Ryan Whitwam

Google doesn’t break out earnings from its new AI ventures, but we can safely assume there’s no profit to be had. No one has managed to turn these huge LLMs into a viable business yet. OpenAI, which has the largest user base with ChatGPT, loses money even on the users paying for its $200 Pro plan. Google is planning to spend $75 billion on AI infrastructure in 2025, so it will be crucial to make the most of this very expensive hardware. Building models that don’t waste cycles on overthinking “Hi, how are you?” could be a big help.

Missing technical details

Google plays it close to the chest with Gemini, but the 2.5 Pro release has offered more insight into where the company plans to go than ever before. To really understand this model, though, we’ll need to see the technical report. Google last released such a document for Gemini 1.5. We still haven’t seen the 2.0 version, and we may never see that document now that 2.5 has supplanted 2.0.

Doshi notes that 2.5 Pro is still an experimental model. So, don’t expect full evaluation reports to happen right away. A Google spokesperson clarified that a full technical evaluation report on the 2.5 branch is planned, but there is no firm timeline. Google hasn’t even released updated model cards for Gemini 2.0, let alone 2.5. These documents are brief one-page summaries of a model’s training, intended use, evaluation data, and more. They’re essentially LLM nutrition labels. It’s much less detailed than a technical report, but it’s better than nothing. Google confirms model cards are on the way for Gemini 2.0 and 2.5.

Given the recent rapid pace of releases, it’s possible Gemini 2.5 Pro could be rolling out more widely around Google I/O in May. We certainly hope Google has more details when the 2.5 branch expands. As Gemini development picks up steam, transparency shouldn’t fall by the wayside.

Gemini “coming together in really awesome ways,” Google says after 2.5 Pro release Read More »

DeepMind has detailed all the ways AGI could wreck the world

agi, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Google / Shannon Garcia / April 4, 2025

As AI hype permeates the Internet, tech and business leaders are already looking toward the next step. AGI, or artificial general intelligence, refers to a machine with human-like intelligence and capabilities. If today’s AI systems are on a path to AGI, we will need new approaches to ensure such a machine doesn’t work against human interests.

Unfortunately, we don’t have anything as elegant as Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. Researchers at DeepMind have been working on this problem and have released a new technical paper (PDF) that explains how to develop AGI safely, which you can download at your convenience.

It contains a huge amount of detail, clocking in at 108 pages before references. While some in the AI field believe AGI is a pipe dream, the authors of the DeepMind paper project that it could happen by 2030. With that in mind, they aimed to understand the risks of a human-like synthetic intelligence, which they acknowledge could lead to “severe harm.”

All the ways AGI could harm humanity

This work has identified four possible types of AGI risk, along with suggestions on how we might ameliorate said risks. The DeepMind team, led by company co-founder Shane Legg, categorized the negative AGI outcomes as misuse, misalignment, mistakes, and structural risks. Misuse and misalignment are discussed in the paper at length, but the latter two are only covered briefly.

table of AGI risks — The four categories of AGI risk, as determined by DeepMind. Credit: Google DeepMind

The first possible issue, misuse, is fundamentally similar to current AI risks. However, because AGI will be more powerful by definition, the damage it could do is much greater. A ne’er-do-well with access to AGI could misuse the system to do harm, for example, by asking the system to identify and exploit zero-day vulnerabilities or create a designer virus that could be used as a bioweapon.

DeepMind has detailed all the ways AGI could wreck the world Read More »

Gmail unveils end-to-end encrypted messages. Only thing is: It’s not true E2EE.

Biz & IT, Encryption, Gmail, Google, Security / Mike M. / April 4, 2025

“The idea is that no matter what, at no time and in no way does Gmail ever have the real key. Never,” Julien Duplant, a Google Workspace product manager, told Ars. “And we never have the decrypted content. It’s only happening on that user’s device.”

Now, as to whether this constitutes true E2EE, it likely doesn’t, at least under stricter definitions that are commonly used. To purists, E2EE means that only the sender and the recipient have the means necessary to encrypt and decrypt the message. That’s not the case here, since the people inside Bob’s organization who deployed and manage the KACL have true custody of the key.

In other words, the actual encryption and decryption process occurs on the end-user devices, not on the organization’s server or anywhere else in between. That’s the part that Google says is E2EE. The keys, however, are managed by Bob’s organization. Admins with full access can snoop on the communications at any time.

The mechanism making all of this possible is what Google calls CSE, short for client-side encryption. It provides a simple programming interface that streamlines the process. Until now, CSE worked only with S/MIME. What’s new here is a mechanism for securely sharing a symmetric key between Bob’s organization and Alice or anyone else Bob wants to email.

The new feature is of potential value to organizations that must comply with onerous regulations mandating end-to-end encryption. It most definitely isn’t suitable for consumers or anyone who wants sole control over the messages they send. Privacy advocates, take note.

Gmail unveils end-to-end encrypted messages. Only thing is: It’s not true E2EE. Read More »

Google shakes up Gemini leadership, Google Labs head taking the reins

AI, artifical intelligence, Google, Google Gemini, Tech / DJ Henderson / April 3, 2025

On the heels of releasing its most capable AI model yet, Google is making some changes to the Gemini team. A new report from Semafor reveals that longtime Googler Sissie Hsiao will step down from her role leading the Gemini team effective immediately. In her place, Google is appointing Josh Woodward, who currently leads Google Labs.

According to a memo from DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, this change is designed to “sharpen our focus on the next evolution of the Gemini app.” This new responsibility won’t take Woodward away from his role at Google Labs—he will remain in charge of that division while leading the Gemini team.

Meanwhile, Hsiao says in a message to employees that she is happy with “Chapter 1” of the Bard story and is optimistic for Woodward’s “Chapter 2.” Hsiao won’t be involved in Google’s AI efforts for now—she’s opted to take some time off before returning to Google in a new role.

Hsiao has been at Google for 19 years and was tasked with building Google’s chatbot in 2022. At the time, Google was reeling after ChatGPT took the world by storm using the very transformer architecture that Google originally invented. Initially, the team’s chatbot efforts were known as Bard before being unified under the Gemini brand at the end of 2023.

This process has been a bit of a slog, with Google’s models improving slowly while simultaneously worming their way into many beloved products. However, the sense inside the company is that Gemini has turned a corner with 2.5 Pro. While this model is still in the experimental stage, it has bested other models in academic benchmarks and has blown right past them in all-important vibemarks like LM Arena.

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Apple enables RCS messaging for Google Fi subscribers at last

Apple, Google, google fi, rcs, Tech / Beth Washington / April 2, 2025

With RCS, iPhone users can converse with non-Apple users without losing the enhanced features to which they’ve become accustomed in iMessage. That includes longer messages, HD media, typing indicators, and much more. Google Fi has several different options for data plans, and the company notes that RCS does use mobile data when away from Wi-Fi. Those on the “Flexible” Fi plan pay for blocks of data as they go, and using RCS messaging could inadvertently increase their bill.

If that’s not a concern, it’s a snap for Fi users to enable RCS on the new iOS update. Head to Apps > Messages, and then find the Text Messaging section to toggle on RCS. It may, however, take a few minutes for your phone number to be registered with the Fi RCS server.

In hindsight, the way Apple implemented iMessage was clever. By intercepting messages being sent to other iPhone phone numbers, Apple was able to add enhanced features to its phones instantly. It had the possibly intended side effect of reinforcing the perception that Android phones were less capable. This turned Android users into dreaded green bubbles that limited chat features. Users complained, and Google ran ads calling on Apple to support RCS. That, along with some pointed questions from reporters may have prompted Apple to announce the change in late 2023. It took some time, but you almost don’t have to worry about missing messaging features in 2025.

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DeepMind is holding back release of AI research to give Google an edge

AI, deepmind, Gemini, Google, syndication / Mike M. / April 1, 2025

However, the employee added it had also blocked a paper that revealed vulnerabilities in OpenAI’s ChatGPT, over concerns the release seemed like a hostile tit-for-tat.

A person close to DeepMind said it did not block papers that discuss security vulnerabilities, adding that it routinely publishes such work under a “responsible disclosure policy,” in which researchers must give companies the chance to fix any flaws before making them public.

But the clampdown has unsettled some staffers, where success has long been measured through appearing in top-tier scientific journals. People with knowledge of the matter said the new review processes had contributed to some departures.

“If you can’t publish, it’s a career killer if you’re a researcher,” said a former researcher.

Some ex-staff added that projects focused on improving its Gemini suite of AI-infused products were increasingly prioritized in the internal battle for access to data sets and computing power.

In the past few years, Google has produced a range of AI-powered products that have impressed the markets. This includes improving its AI-generated summaries that appear above search results, to unveiling an “Astra” AI agent that can answer real-time queries across video, audio, and text.

The company’s share price has increased by as much as a third over the past year, though those gains pared back in recent weeks as concern over US tariffs hit tech stocks.

In recent years, Hassabis has balanced the desire of Google’s leaders to commercialize its breakthroughs with his life mission of trying to make artificial general intelligence—AI systems with abilities that can match or surpass humans.

“Anything that gets in the way of that he will remove,” said one current employee. “He tells people this is a company, not a university campus; if you want to work at a place like that, then leave.”

Additional reporting by George Hammond.

DeepMind is holding back release of AI research to give Google an edge Read More »

Google solves its mysterious Pixel problem, announces 9a launch date

Google, Google Pixel, pixel 9a, Tech / Shannon Garcia / March 30, 2025

Google revealed the Pixel 9a last week, but its release plans were put on hold by a mysterious “component quality issue.” Whatever that was, it’s been worked out. Google now says its new budget smartphone will arrive as soon as April 10. The date varies by market, but the wait is almost over.

The first wave of 9a releases on April 10 will include the US, Canada, and the UK. On April 14, the Pixel 9a will arrive in Europe, launching in Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland, France, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Switzerland, Poland, Czechia, Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Finland. On April 16, the phone will come to Australia, India, Singapore, Taiwan, and Malaysia.

You may think that takes care of Google’s launch commitments, but no—Japan still has no official launch date. That’s a bit strange, as Japan is not a new addition to Google’s list of supported regions. It’s unclear if this has anything to do with the previous component issue. Google says only that the Japanese launch will happen “soon.” Its statements about the delayed release were also vague, with representatives noting that the cause was a “passive component.”

Google solves its mysterious Pixel problem, announces 9a launch date Read More »

Google discontinues Nest Protect smoke alarm and Nest x Yale lock

Google, Nest, Smart Home, Tech / 9u50fv / March 29, 2025

Google acquired Nest in 2014 for a whopping $3.4 billion but seems increasingly uninterested in making smart home hardware. The company has just announced two of its home gadgets will be discontinued, one of which is quite popular. The Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector is a common fixture in homes, but Google says it has stopped manufacturing it. The less popular Nest x Yale smart lock is also getting the ax. There are replacements coming, but Google won’t be making them.

Nest launched the 2nd gen Protect a year before it became part of Google. Like all smoke detectors, the Nest Protect comes with an expiration date. You’re supposed to swap them out every 10 years, so some Nest users are already there. You will have to hurry if you want a new Protect. While they’re in stock for the moment, Google won’t manufacture any more. It’s on sale for $119 on the Google Store for the time being.

Likewise, Google is done with the Nest x Yale smart lock, which it launched in 2018 to complement the Nest Secure home security system. This device requires a Thread-enabled hub, a role the Nest Secure served quite well. Now, you need a $70 Nest Connect to control this lock remotely. If you still want to grab the Nest x Yale smart lock, it’s on sale for $229 while supplies last.

Smart home hangover

Google used to want people to use its smart home devices, but its attention has been drawn elsewhere since the AI boom began. The company hasn’t released new cameras, smart speakers, doorbells, or smart displays in several years at this point, and it’s starting to look like it never will again. TV streamers and thermostats are the only home tech still getting any attention from Google. For everything else, it’s increasingly turning to third parties.

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