Artificial intelligence is more a part of our lives than ever before. While some might call it hype and compare it to NFTs or 3D TVs, generative AI is causing a sea change in nearly every part of the technology industry. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is still the best-known AI chatbot around, but with Google pushing Gemini, Microsoft building Copilot, and Apple adding its Intelligence to Siri, AI is probably going to be in the spotlight for a very long time. At The Verge, we’re exploring what might be possible with AI — and a lot of the bad stuff AI does, too.
The biggest public offering ever is financial nihilism’s final form.
After launching on Mac, Codex’s computer use feature is headed to Windows, which means the app can “see” your screen and perform tasks on your device. OpenAI says you can also manage and review Codex’s jobs while away from the computer using the ChatGPT app.
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The app will combine GitHub Copilot, the Copilot chatbot, Copilot Cowork, and a “new agentic workflow capability internally named Autopilot” into one place, Fortune reports. Sounds like a Microsoft version of something like OpenAI’s “super app” ambitions.
Perhaps it will be shown off at Microsoft Build next week?
The feature, which let you edit code or text side-by-side with ChatGPT, will no longer be available with GPT-5.5 Instant or GPT-5.5 Thinking, according to OpenAI. ChatGPT subscribers can still access Canvas for a “limited time” through legacy models.
OpenAI is also trying to make GPT-5.5 Instant’s responses easier to read by trimming their length and cutting down on “bullet-heavy” text.
[OpenAI]
Copilot Health, first announced in March, is now open to Microsoft 365 subscribers. Microsoft says they can use it to find doctors and get insights on data from connected medical records, wearables, and other apps like Apple Health, similar to health AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic.
[Microsoft Copilot Blog]
Following online backlash, Jorge Gutierrez announced that he will no longer be making the AI series Punky Duck:
My intent was to showcase artists, both new and seasoned, both inside and outside the studios, driving this new tech. My sincerest apology to those I upset. I promise to do better moving forward. Thank you for your patience with me. I will try harder.
Punky Duck was one of three animated AI series set to appear on Prime Video as part of Amazon’s GenAI Creators’ Fund.
The new Google Workspace feature, rolling out to users starting June 3rd, adds an option to share a snapshot of Gemini conversations using Google Drive’s sharing interface. As Neowin reports, whoever you share Gemini chats with can continue them, but “those new changes do not alter the owner’s original thread.”
The Firefly AI Assistant isn’t as good as a professional human designer or photo editor, but it’s fun to watch it work.
That’s what Amazon exec Dave Treadwell told employees after the company shuttered an internal leaderboard tracking which staff members use AI the most, the Financial Times reports:
The decision came after the tool led some workers to assign AI agents — autonomous bots that can take actions on behalf of users — to carry out needless tasks in an apparent attempt to climb the rankings.
As computing becomes more expensive, employee “toxenmaxxing” reportedly increased costs at Amazon.
Governor JB Pritzker says he plans to sign a bill passed Wednesday by the state legislature, which would require independent audits and whistleblower protections at AI companies. Those features go beyond recently passed AI safety laws in New York and California, according to NBC News, while also including similar protections.
The $65 billion Series H round gives Anthropic an eye-watering $900 billion valuation. That gives the company a higher valuation than OpenAI’s last valuation of $730 billion, according to The New York Times.
Anthropic says the funds will go toward advancing safety research, expanding compute, and scaling its products.
Wassym Bensaid on why AI-powered voice control should be the future interface of car software.
Teams can use Figma Make as a visual surface for building and editing real software by connecting Make with a production or sandbox repository via the Figma desktop app. Figma is also introducing a new editing panel in Figma Make for “precise design adjustments like layouts, colors, font sizes, and effects.”
The Alphafold costs $6,880 (and that’s if you want to slum it with a calfskin finish), with more expensive options including alligator leather, gold, and diamonds. That gets you a year-old Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip, a five-megapixel telephoto (yes, five, not 50), and an AI agent called Hermes.
If you’ve set up preferred sources — like, say, The Verge — they’ll be labeled in AI Overviews and AI Mode, according to Google. The company says that “people are twice as likely to click through to a Preferred Source.”
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Amazon MGM Studios greenlit three shows as part of its GenAI Creators’ Fund, which gives producers access to the company’s AI filmmaking platform. The projects include Cupcake & Friends from BuzzFeed Studios; Love, Diana Music Hunters from former Nickelodeon exec Albie Hecht; and Punky Duck from animator Jorge R. Gutierrez.
All three shows will debut on Prime Video “at a future date.”
Its new Music v2 model can generate songs that can switch from opera to heavy metal mid-track, while handling faster rap delivery and non-musical sound effects, according to ElevenLabs. The new model is available today and is trained “only on licensed data and cleared for commercial use.”
The ecommerce giant is now selling access to the tech behind its Alexa for Shopping assistant, giving other retailers — like Kate Spade — abilty to build their own AI shopping chatbot. Amazon says its AI shopping interface can offer personalized recommendations with images and pricing, as well as answer store policy questions.
Since Friday, Google hasn’t shown an AI Overview for the word “disregard.” The term was making AI Overviews “disregard” instructions instead of giving an AI search result summary.
As of this morning, however, when I search for “disregard,” Google shows an old-school featured snippet with the definition, sourced from vocabulary.com. I prefer this, but I assume the AI Overview will return soon enough.
AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:
Since Google announced its Search box overhaul at I/O last week, DuckDuckGo says its own iOS installs have increased by an average of 33 percent week over week in the US. Visits to the “No AI” version of DuckDuckGo’s search platform also jumped by up to 27.7 percent compared to the week prior.
Steve Jobs famously told Houston his startup was “a feature, not a product” when trying to acquire it back in 2009. Houston turned down the nine-figure buyout offer and Apple went on to launch iCloud. Houston, now 43 and worth about $2 billion, leaves behind a service used by millions worldwide. He now wants to do something entrepreneurial with — you guessed it — AI.
