Google this week launched Gemini 3.5 Flash, a new AI model that’s expected to be significantly better at programming than its predecessors. The new model is also said to be four times as fast as its competitors, Claude Opus 4.7 and GPT-5.5, and more than twice as fast as Gemini 3.1 Pro.
Google stressed the possibility of using the model as a tool for autonomous AI agents, which could, among other things, help users with planning various projects. To ensure Gemini 3.5 Flash is not used for malicious purposes, Google added a number of new safety mechanisms.
The new model is available via the Gemini app, Gemini API, Gemini Enterprise, Google AI Search, and Antigravity. And professional users, will soon have access to Gemini 3.5 Flash Pro, according to TechCrunch.
Google announced a new YouTube Shorts Remix feature that lets users restyle clips or even insert themselves into other people's videos using Gemini Omni. Now, at the bottom of a YouTube Short, when you click the remix icon, you'll see an option to "reimagine" it. Here, you can prompt Gemini to turn a video into pixel art, an anime, or a found-footage horror film. But, beyond that, you can also alter the contents by, say, inflating heads, inserting background actors, dressing people in pirate costumes, or even putting yourself in the clip.
Creators can enable or disable the ability to reimagine videos. So, if you upload a short of your kids …
Read the full story at The Verge.
Some ads will have chatbots built in. | Image: Google
Google's AI-powered Search era apparently also extends to its ads. Now, when you search for a product, Google's Gemini AI chatbot will surface relevant items and generate a "custom explainer" about why you should purchase a specific one.
The update comes just one day after Google revealed a new Search box for larger, more conversational queries, along with a focus on AI-generated results. In an example shared by Google, someone searching for a "compact espresso pod machine" might see a Nespresso Vertuo Up under a "Sponsored Product" label, alongside an AI-generated description saying:
For a quality machine, look for capsule compatibility …
Read the full story at The Verge.
Exclusive: Workers sign petitions over applications of AI by governments for defence and intelligence, and vote to unionise
Google DeepMind has agreed to enter formal talks with UK tech workers that could lead to trade union representation, in a groundbreaking move that comes amid growing staff concerns about the use of its AI by the US and Israeli governments’ defence and intelligence.
The artificial intelligence arm of the multi-trillion dollar Google empire, led by the Nobel prize winner Demis Hassabis, has agreed to meet the Communications Workers Union and Unite at the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) after several hundred workers based at its London headquarters earlier this month voted to unionise.
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Google has released Gemini 3.5 Flash, a new AI model built for coding and AI agents. It is now generally available in the Gemini API, and Google says it is made for long tasks, agent workflows, and fast coding loops. The main idea is simple. Google wants Gemini to move beyond basic chatbot answers. With […]
For years, tech companies have promised AI will give everyone a capable personal assistant but delivered something more like a clueless intern. Over the past six months, that has started to change, thanks largely to the viral open-source AI agent platform OpenClaw. And among the top AI labs now chasing similar success, one seems particularly well-poised to make agents succeed at a large scale: Google.
At I/O 2026, Google announced new AI agents for gathering information, planning events, summarizing your inbox and calendar, and more. The agents can run continuously in the background, and the company claims they'll seamlessly integrate into …
Read the full story at The Verge.
Google is recasting its enterprise AI roadmap around autonomous systems and AGI, with DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis telling I/O attendees the industry now sits at the “foothills of the singularity.”
“When we look back at this time, I think we all realise that we were standing in the foothills of the singularity,” Hassabis said in his speech at Google I/O. “It will be a profound moment for humanity.”
The remarks capped a keynote spanning AI agents, cybersecurity systems, scientific research tools, coding platforms, and simulations — suggesting Google increasingly views AI not as standalone enterprise features, but as a broader operational platform capable of executing complex tasks across environments.
“AGI is now on the horizon, and it will be the most profound and impactful technology ever invented,” Hassabis said. “If built right, it could propel human progress and flourishing beyond our imaginations.”
While terms such as AGI and singularity have historically remained largely confined
