Author: Art Ryan

During its Cloud Next conference this week, Google unveiled the latest generation of its TPU AI accelerator chip. The new chip, called Ironwood, is Google’s seventh-generation TPU and is the first optimized for inference — that is, running AI models. Scheduled to launch sometime later this year for Google Cloud customers, Ironwood will come in two configurations: a 256-chip cluster and a 9,216-chip cluster. “Ironwood is our most powerful, capable, and energy-efficient TPU yet,” Google Cloud VP Amin Vahdat wrote in a blog post provided to TechCrunch. “And it’s purpose-built to power thinking, inferential AI models at scale.” Ironwood arrives…

On Wednesday, Google rolled out updates to several of its first-party media-generating AI models available through its Vertex AI cloud platform. Lyria, Google’s text-to-music model, is now available in preview for select customers, and the company’s Veo 2 video-creation model has been enhanced with new editing and visual effects customization options. The company has also launched a voice-cloning feature powered by Chirp 3, Google’s audio understanding model, for “allow-listed” users. And the Imagen 3 image generator now delivers what the company describes as “significantly” better performance. The updates, timed for Cloud Next, are Google’s latest push to corner the enterprise market for generative AI. The…

The European Union can become a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and promote the development and deployment of AI solutions that benefit society and the economy. The Commission has presented the AI continent action plan to turn EU strengths, such as unparalleled talent and strong traditional industries, into AI accelerators. The AI continent action plan explains how to harness the untapped potential of our researchers and industries. It aims to shape the next phase of AI development, boosting economic growth, and strengthening our competitiveness in areas such as healthcare, cars, science and more. Main actions of the AI continent action plan Building…

The promise of AI is that it’ll make all of our lives easier. And with great convenience comes the potential for serious profit. The United Nations thinks AI could be a $4.8 trillion global market by 2033 – about as big as the German economy. But forget about 2033: in the here and now, AI is already fueling transformation in industries as diverse as financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, marketing, agriculture, and e-commerce. Whether it’s autonomous algorithmic ‘agents’ managing your investment portfolio or AI diagnostics systems detecting diseases early, AI is fundamentally changing how we live and work. But cynicism is snowballing around…

News articles produced by artificial intelligence (AI) do not have the same creative flair as stories written by human journalists, according to research into the stylistic differences between the storytellers. Charles Darwin University (CDU) researchers sought to find the linguistic difference between journalist-written and AI-generated news articles. The paper “Distinguishing Human Journalists from Artificial Storytellers Through Stylistic Fingerprints” was published in Emerging Trends in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, a special issue of the journal Computers. Researchers fed 150 news articles on topics such as politics, sports, military affairs, and technology, into chatbot Gemini and prompted it to compose 150 articles aligned with the content…

The US federal government’s central human resources office will begin deploying artificial intelligence to clean up its personnel records this year, marking the boldest public move yet into using the technology on sensitive records. The Office of Personnel Management’s disclosure — in a privacy impact memo posted Wednesday — follows government-wide guidance last week directing agencies to “lean forward” on the use of the technology to improve services and cut costs. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January revoking former President Joe Biden’s more cautious AI policy, which Trump said put in place “barriers to American…

Dubai, UAE – April 2025 – CloudAngles, a values-driven digital transformation company, is proud to announce its participation as an exhibitor at the Dubai AI Festival 2025, taking place on April 23–24 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. With a distinct focus on transforming enterprises through innovation, human-first culture, and inclusive values, CloudAngles is redefining how technology can create meaningful impact for both business and society. Engineering Change Through Innovation and Integrity At CloudAngles, digital transformation isn’t just about technology—it’s about people, purpose, and progress. The company empowers enterprises across industries to scale with agility and resilience by leveraging cutting-edge tools in…

Dubai, UAE – April 2025 – Asembl Global, a visionary fintech company shaping the future of inclusive digital finance, is set to exhibit at the highly anticipated Dubai AI Festival 2025, taking place on April 23–24 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. With a bold mission to make the global financial market accessible to all, Asembl Global is leveraging cutting-edge technology and product innovation to empower individuals and unlock opportunity at scale. Democratizing Access to the Global Financial Ecosystem Asembl Global is pioneering a new wave of fintech solutions aimed at eliminating the barriers that keep people—especially in emerging markets—on the sidelines…

Dubai, UAE – April 2025 – Nashdata, a trailblazer in data-driven transformation, is proud to announce its participation as an exhibitor at the Dubai AI Festival 2025, taking place on April 23–24 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. With its core belief that data is the fuel of innovation, Nashdata is helping enterprises unlock the full potential of their data to power automation, AI, and future-ready decision-making. Data at the Heart of Innovation In an era where agility and intelligence define competitive advantage, Nashdata places structured and unstructured data at the center of enterprise evolution. By combining data engineering, analytics, and AI…

Dubai, UAE – April 2025 – izDOX AI, a next-generation AI platform transforming document processing and compliance automation, is set to exhibit at the upcoming Dubai AI Festival 2025, held on April 23–24 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. With its powerful AI engine, izDOX is enabling enterprises to significantly reduce financial risk, achieve regulatory compliance, and accelerate business growth through smart document intelligence. Transforming Documents into Strategic Assets Documents are the lifeblood of any organization, yet managing them has long been a time-consuming and error-prone process. izDOX AI is redefining this landscape by using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language…

Dubai, UAE – April 2025 – Boaient, a cutting-edge AI company developing intelligent agents to autonomize and augment enterprise processes, will be a featured exhibitor at the Dubai AI Festival 2025, taking place on April 23–24 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. With a strong focus on healthcare innovation, Boaient is set to demonstrate how AI agents are reshaping clinical and operational workflows—bringing automation, accuracy, and intelligence to the heart of the industry. Pioneering the Next Generation of Healthcare AI Boaient’s AI agents are designed not just to automate tasks but to collaborate with human professionals, making processes smarter, faster, and more…

Dubai, UAE – April 2025 – Shift Technologies, a strategic partner in AI and Intelligent Process Automation (IPA), is set to exhibit at the prestigious Dubai AI Festival 2025, taking place on April 23–24 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. With a mission to empower businesses to shift toward a smarter, more efficient tomorrow, Shift Technologies is transforming how enterprises operate in a rapidly evolving digital economy. Driving the Shift to Smart Enterprises Shift Technologies offers end-to-end support for businesses aiming to embrace AI-driven transformation, enabling them to modernize their operations, enhance customer experiences, and boost workforce productivity. With a strong focus…

ChatGPT has emerged as the most widely used generative AI app among Korean smartphone users across all age groups, according to a survey by market research firm Wiseapp Retail Goods. The survey, conducted from March 3-9 across Android and iOS platforms, reveals that ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, leads the generative AI app market in Korea. Among users under 20, ChatGPT was the top choice, followed by Wrtn. For those in their 20s and 30s, ChatGPT ranked first, with Wrtn and Perplexity trailing. Users in their 40s and 50s favored ChatGPT, SK Telecom’s A. (pronounced “A dot”) and Wrtn, while individuals…

The University at Buffalo is taking a big step forward in artificial intelligence by creating a new department focused not just on the tech, but the people impacts. BUFFALO, N.Y. — The University at Buffalo is taking a big step forward in artificial intelligence by creating a new department. It’s focused not only on the tech of AI, but the people impacts too. AI is already in our phones, our cars, and even many of our jobs. Now, UB is building a department to make sure students understand how to use it the right way. The department is called ‘AI and Society,’…

A new company, Deep Cogito, has emerged from stealth with a family of openly available AI models that can be switched between “reasoning” and non-reasoning modes. Reasoning models like OpenAI’s o1 have shown great promise in domains like math and physics, thanks to their ability to effectively fact-check themselves by working through complex problems step by step. This reasoning comes at a cost, however: higher computing and latency. That’s why labs like Anthropic are pursuing “hybrid” model architectures that combine reasoning components with standard, non-reasoning elements. Hybrid models can quickly answer simple questions while spending additional time considering more challenging queries. All of Deep Cogito’s…

Tech giants like Microsoft might be touting AI “agents” as profit-boosting tools for corporations, but a nonprofit is trying to prove that agents can be a force for good, too. Sage Future, a 501(c)(3) backed by Open Philanthropy, launched an experiment earlier this month tasking four AI models in a virtual environment with raising money for charity. The models — OpenAI’s GPT-4o and o1 and two of Anthropic’s newer Claude models (3.6 and 3.7 Sonnet) — had the freedom to choose which charity to fundraise for and how to best drum up interest in their campaign. In around a week, the…

Ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati’s new AI venture, Thinking Machines Lab, has gained two new prominent advisers: Bob McGrew, previously OpenAI’s chief research officer, and Alec Radford, a former OpenAI researcher behind many of the company’s more transformative innovations. Thinking Machines Lab’s website was quietly updated with McGrew and Radford’s names sometime in March. A spokesperson for the startup didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. McGrew joined OpenAI as a member of the technical staff in 2017 and was promoted to VP of research in 2018 before assuming the role of chief research officer. He left in September 2024, saying at the time…

Snapchat is introducing Sponsored AI Lenses, a new ad format that lets brands engage with consumers in an immersive way. While Snapchat has offered brands the opportunity to pay for sponsored lenses on the platform for years, now they can leverage AI-generated experiences powered by Snap’s proprietary generative AI technology. With these interactive lenses, brands can reach and engage users in a more fun and interactive way when compared to traditional ads, as they allow users to take selfies to see themselves transported into different AI-generated scenes. When users take a selfie for an AI Lens, Snap analyzes their face…

On Tuesday, Amazon debuted a new generative AI model, Nova Sonic, capable of natively processing voice and generating natural-sounding speech. Amazon claims that Sonic’s performance is competitive with frontier voice models from OpenAI and Google on benchmarks measuring speed, speech recognition, and conversational quality. Nova Sonic is Amazon’s answer to newer AI voice models such as the model powering ChatGPT’s Voice Mode, which feel more natural to speak with than the more rigid models from Amazon Alexa’s early days. Recent technological breakthroughs have made legacy models and the digital assistants they underpin, such as Alexa and Apple’s Siri, seem incredibly stilted…

IBM is releasing the latest version of its mainframe hardware that includes new updates meant to accelerate AI adoption. The hardware and consulting company on Monday announced IBM z17, the latest version of its mainframe computer hardware. This fully encrypted mainframe is powered by an IBM Telum II processor and is designed for more than 250 AI use cases, the company says, including AI agents and generative AI. Mainframes might seem like old hat, but they’re used by 71% of Fortune 500 companies today, according to one source. In 2024, the mainframe market was worth an estimated $5.3 billion, per consulting…