Google Ties Search Access to AI Adoption

Google’s new policy requires K–12 schools to enable its AI tools to keep access to Google Search, which is now deeply integrated with AI features like Gemini. Schools disabling AI will lose Search access, causing backlash from educators and officials. DuckDuckGo has been promoted as an alternative for schools opposing Google’s AI mandate.

Meta acquired AI coding startup Conductor, which offers a platform enabling developers to run multiple AI coding agents simultaneously in isolated environments. Following the acquisition, Conductor announced it would shut down its cloud service by November 20, 2026, while continuing to support a local app until early 2027. Meta aims to integrate Conductor's multi-agent coordination technology to enhance its AI development tools, though details and financial terms remain undisclosed.

Tencent launched Hy4, a 770-billion-parameter multimodal AI model with vision and autonomous computer-use abilities, trained with limited cybersecurity data to reduce misuse risks. While strong in software operations, it trails in complex reasoning. Meanwhile, Oracle canceled a $7 billion AI chip leasing deal with Tencent due to U.S. government pressure amid US-China tensions, affecting Tencent's AI hardware access.

In the 2026 midterms, voters opposed data center expansion in 41 measures, favoring Democratic candidates who promised stricter AI regulations. Texas elected a governor supporting a data center moratorium. Although AI ranked low among voter priorities, tech stocks fell and companies faced regulatory uncertainty. OpenAI planned continued investments despite opposition, while AI chatbots spread voting misinformation.