 |
|
|
|||||
Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Companys weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week here. OpenAI will acquire the AI device startup co-founded by Apple veteran Jony Ive and Sam Altman, called io, for nearly $6.5 billion, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. This almost certainly will put OpenAI in the consumer hardware business, and it seems like it will soon release a dedicated personal AI device. Ive is a pedigreed design guru with a track record of creating iconic tech products like the iPhone and the Apple Watch. Ive, a close friend of Steve Jobs, left Apple in 2019. I have a growing sense that everything Ive learned over the last 30 years has led me to this place and to this moment, Ive told Bloomberg. Coming from the worlds best device designer, thats saying a lot. OpenAI brings a lot to the table, too. After setting off the AI boom with the late 2022 release of ChatGPT, the startup has quickly built its chatbot into a mass market AI app and a household name. More than 400 million people around the world now use ChatGPT every week, OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap recently told CNBC. (For comparison, longtime Apple analyst Gene Munster estimates that there are 1.7 billion Apple device users and 2.35 billion active devices worldwide.) OpenAI has all of the core leadership and the best-in-class models, as well as some of the most widely used interfaces, says Gartner analyst Chirag Dekate. ChatGPT has defined and set the bar for what early experiences of generative AI ought to look like, Dekate says. Ive helped Apple set such standards for smartphones and smartwatches. Apples traditional power was its mastery of the user interfacethe technology that mediates between a human user and their digital tools and content. But iOS devices evolved from roots in traditional computing. AI models operate in a fundamentally different way, and may require a fundamentally different UX. (Apple, which has struggled to empower its devices with new generative AI capabilities, saw its stock price drop as much as 2.3% on news of the io deal Wednesday.) OpenAI will now get an opportunity to define the ideal software-hardware fusion for the new computing paradigm it helped usher inafter high-profile flops like Humanes AI pin. AI is such a big leap forward in terms of what people can do that it needs a new kind of computing form factor to get the maximum potential out of it, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Bloomberg. Ives and Altmans design firm has so far given the world no clue of its vision for a personal AI device. But whatever it buildsa pendant or a bracelet or some kind of glasseswill very likely provide an influential blueprint for how a vehicle for personal AI should look in the future. Jony Ive and io joining OpenAI is so important: It calls out the fact that in order to truly diffuse generative AI across society, we need to build new hardware experiences, Dekate says. The QWERTY keyboard may not be the best way to experience generative AI. Google got its AI mojo back Google looks like a company thats got its mojo back. Yes, yes, I know . . . the company still faces some very big problemsantitrust actions, changes in its core search business, etc.but it also seems to have fully woken up to the AI revolution it helped start, and seems to be navigating it with level-headedness and even a sense of fun. The companys two-hour keynote at its developer event in Mountain View Tuesday was all about AI, a showcase for a comprehensive strategy of applying the companys Gemini AI models broadly across its product portfolioto everything from search tools to coding agents to video generators to smart glasses. Remember that Google is a company that entered the AI race only reluctantly in 2023, in the wake of the ChatGPT launch. Even though it was Google researchers who figured out how to architect and train the type of large language models that power ChatGPT, the company was, for legal and safety reasons, deeply conflicted about exposing such models to the public. But after OpenAI, Microsoft, and others hurried to apply and commercialize LLMs, Google found itself on the back foot, punished by Wall Street for not leading the race: a lackluster February 2023 demo of the Bard chatbot caused an 8% drop in Alphabet stock. Googles biggest announcement Tuesday may mark the moment when it retook the leadwith a new AI product that could remake its core search business. AI Mode, a chatbot-format AI search tool that will compete directly against ChatGPT and Perplexity, went from being an experimental product to being available to all users. Its powered by Googles best model, Gemini 2.5 Pro. In AI Mode, rather than entering a search term or phrase, users can describe in detail what theyre looking for (often a solution to a problem rather than just some facts) and then work with Geminis reasoning abilities to get to a fully responsive package of custom information. Features from the companys Project Astra work will increasingly let the AI gather information about objects (or problems) it sees (through a phone camera or smart glasses) in the real world around the user. Its work in Project Mariner will give AI more and more power to operate the users device and call on various web tools (mapping, live weather, etc.) on the users behalf. This summer AI Mode will be able to book appointments on the users behalf, do deep research projects and data visualization, and help people shop for clothing and other products. The Gemini Live mode in the Gemini app leverages some of the same technologies. Googles Demis Hassabis described the experimental project as a universal AI assistant powered by a world model that understands the context in which the user is moving, and understands a certain amount about how the physics of the world works, and can plan and take action on behalf of the user. In the demo video during I/O, a young man talks to the assistant while fixing a bicycle. Through the phone camera, the Gemini Live identifies problems and replacement parts, places a phone call to order a part, looks up schematics on the web, and makes suggestions. It can also control a users device, analyze video, share its screen, and remember everything it sees or discusses in a session. Google ha always been a medium between humans and all the data and intelligence that resides on the public web. No other company has as much experience accessing, parsing, organizing, and packaging all that information. Google believes that AI can make that medium a lot smarter, proactive, and personalized. And the power of Gemini goes well beyond search to best-in-class video/audio generation tools (Veo 3, Flow) to coding assistants (Jules) and to wearables (Android XR glasses). Anthropic debuts new generation of Claude models Anthropic on Thursday debuted the fourth generation of its AI models with Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4, which the company says push the state of the art for coding, advanced reasoning, and AI agents. Both can use tools, such as web search. The company says Claude Opus 4 is its best model and the best coding model in the world. The model can work for several hours straight on complex, long-running tasks that involve thousands of steps, Anthropic says, and significantly expands what AI agents can accomplish. Claude Sonnet 4 replaces Anthropics previous best effort, Claude 3.7 Sonnet. The company says the new model does everything 3.7 did, but pushes the envelope further on coding, reasoning, and precise instruction following. Claude Opus 4 and Sonnet 4 are hybrid models offering two modes: near-instant responses and extended thinking for deeper reasoning. Both models are available on the Anthropic API, Amazon Bedrock, and Google Cloud’s Vertex AI. Claude Sonnet 4 is also available in the free version of the Claude chatbot. The new models use chain-of-thought processing, as Claude 3.7 Sonnet did. But instead of displaying the models raw thought process to users, Anthropic now shows summaries of the models reasoning steps. Anthropic says it made this change to preserve visibility for users while better securing our models. Anthropics competitors could potentially use the raw chain-of-thought output to train their own models. While Anthropics models are used to power a number of commercial coding assistants, the company has its own assistant, Claude Code, which it released as a research preview earlier this year. The assistant is now generally available. Anthropic says itll start to release model updates more frequently in an effort to continuously refine and enhance its models. More AI coverage from Fast Company: Forget return-to-office. Hybrid now means human plus AI What its like to wear Googles Gemini-powered AI glasses How Google is rethinking search in an AI-filled world Cartwheel uses AI to make 3D animation 100 times faster for creators and studios Want exclusive reporting and trend analysis on technology, business innovation, future of work, and design? Sign up for Fast Company Premium.
Category:
E-Commerce
Amazon and Grubhub are entering the second year of a five-year commercial agreement that gives Amazon Prime members access to the food delivery platform’s subscription program at no extra cost. As part of the deal, Grubhubs ordering tab was integrated directly into the Amazon app and website, allowing users to order burritos while shopping for face wash or streaming a show. That seamless experience appears to be paying off, say company executives. “Amazon Prime customers are a very engaged customer cohort,” says Jamil Ghani, Amazon’s worldwide vice president of Prime. More than nine out of 10 orders on Amazon.com or in the app are coming from Prime members returning to the order experience, the company says. Amazon plans to add food delivery through its Alexa+ service later this year, Ghani says. THIRD PARTY BOOST The collaboration arrives at a time when many companies are enhancing their subscription offerings. Amazon is competing with loyalty programs from Walmart and Target, hoping that added perks like Grubhub+ increase the appeal of its $139-a-year Prime membership. Amazon reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter of this year, though it is one of the many retailers caught up in President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs. Shares of the company were up almost 11% from this time a year ago, though they’ve decreased 7.8% year to date. “The main benefit to Amazon of the Grubhub partnership is that it helps underscore the value of Prime outside all the benefits Amazon offers via its own services,” GlobalData managing director Neil Saunders tells Fast Company. “Grubhub is a very complimentary service as meal delivery and pickup is not something Amazon does itself.” Grubhub operates in the same competitive space as Uber Eats and DoorDashboth of which also have loyalty programs bolstered by third-party deals, with companies like Delta and Chase, respectively. Although Grubhubs market share has declined steadily since 2021, integration with Amazon has introduced the platform to new users and increased awareness of Grubhub+. A Grubhub+ membership otherwise costs $120 a year and gives users $0 delivery fees and lower service fees. The companies claim that Prime members who use the service “save an average of $300 per year.” Amazon declined to share specific numbers on signups, but the company said there’s a more than 50% year-over-year increase in Grubhub+ signups since it integrated the platform “For Grubhub, the partnership expands the audience and the number or orders it fulfills,” Saunders says. “Amazon has a huge reach and Grubhub has been able to tap into this.”
Category:
E-Commerce
The Senate voted on Thursday to block Californias first-in-the nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, acting to kill the nations most aggressive effort to transition toward electric vehicles as President Donald Trumps administration has doubled down on fossil fuels. The resolution approved by the Senate goes to the White House, where Trump is expected to sign it, along with two other measures blocking Californias rules that the Senate is poised to pass. The House approved the three resolutions earlier this month. The GOP effort to kill the rules could have a profound impact on Californias longtime efforts to curb air pollution. The push comes after Senate Republicans established a new exception to the filibuster on Wednesday to allow them to weigh in on the issue. California makes up roughly 11% of the U.S. car market, giving it significant power to shape purchasing trends. Vehicles are one of the largest sources of planet-warming emissions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state air regulators say that what Congress is doing is illegal and they will likely sue to keep the rules in place. The two other resolutions would block rules to cut tailpipe emissions from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and curb smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks. Democrats charge that Republicans are acting at the behest of the oil and gas industry and they say California should be able to set its own standards after obtaining waivers from the Environmental Protection Agency. Republicans say the phaseout of gas-powered cars, along with other waivers that California has obtained from the EPA, is costly for consumers and manufacturers, puts pressure on the nations energy grid and has become a de facto nationwide electric vehicle mandate. The waivers in question allow California to implement a stringent electric vehicle mandate, whichgiven Californias size and the fact that a number of other states have signed on to Californias mandatewould end up not just affecting the state of California, but the whole country, said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., before the vote. Newsom, a Democrat, announced plans in 2020 to ban the sale of all new gas-powered vehicles within 15 years as part of an aggressive effort to lower emissions from the transportation sector. Plug-in hybrids and used gas cars could still be sold. The Biden administration approved the states waiver to implement the standards in December, a month before Trump returned to office. The California rules are stricter than a Biden-era rule that tightens emissions standards but does not require sales of electric vehicles. Bidens EPA said in announcing the decision that opponents of the California waivers did not meet their legal burden to show how either the EV rule or a separate measure on heavy-duty vehicles was inconsistent with the Clean Air Act. Through a series of votes on Wednesday, Republicans set a new precedent for the Senate to reject the state EPA waivers with a simple majority vote, as opposed to the 60 vote threshold on legislation that is subject to a filibuster. The votes were a workaround that enabled them to hold the votes after the Senate parliamentarian agreed with the Government Accountability Office that Californias policies are not subject to the Congressional Review Act, a law that allows Congress to reject federal regulations under certain circumstances. Democrats fought the changes, which were the latest attempt to chip away at the Senate filibuster after both parties have used their majorities in the past two decades to lower the threshold for nominations. Democrats tried in 2022 to roll back the filibuster for legislation, as well, but were thwarted by members of their own caucus who disagreed with the effort. Republicans have insisted that they would not try a similar move after regaining the majority this year. But Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the move to block Californias laws were a point of no return and called the Republicans fair weather institutionalists. Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||