LOCAL NEWS

Alphabet’s Google on Thursday released a smartphone app for its artificial intelligence chatbot on Apple’s App Store that introduced the latest generation of its voice assistant to the popular mobile operating system. The new Gemini app will include Gemini Live, a voice-based feature that allows users to have natural conversations with the chatbot. Apple has already said it will incorporate OpenAI’s ChatGPT into a refreshed version of its voice assistant, Siri. “It’s great for when you want to practice for an upcoming interview, ask for advice on things to do in a new city, or brainstorm and develop creative ideas,” Brian Marquardt, a senior director of product management at Google, said in a statement. Gemini… Read More »Google Launches Gemini Live, AI Voice Assistant For iOS Users

The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has taken steps to put Alphabet’s Google under formal federal supervision, the Washington Post reported, potentially mounting yet another regulatory challenge for the Big Tech giant. Google has fiercely resisted the idea over months of highly secretive talks, the report said on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the discussions. Federal supervision status can allow regulators access to a company’s internal records. CFPB and Alphabet declined to comment. Google already faces government action that could force the company to divest parts of its business, as well as a court order to open up its mobile app store to competition.

Since Wednesday morning, north India has been covered in a thick blanket of smog, leading to low visibility, a drop in temperature and the air quality deteriorating to the ‘Severe’ category. Air quality remained a concern all over the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP), with satellite images showing the alarming scale of the smog cover over northwest India including Delhi and its adjoining areas. Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, parts of north Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, are covered with smog. Hiren Jethwa, an aerosol remote sensing scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, shared the satellite images, detailing the extent of the smog covering the IGP, the reasons behind the dense smog in November, and how… Read More »Wary Of NASA Satellites, How Farmers Time Crop-Burning, Scientist Explains

India’s top product certification agency will investigate e-scooter maker Ola Electric’s deficiency in service standards and product issues, India’s consumer affairs secretary told Reuters on Thursday. Last month, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) sent Ola Electric a notice seeking an explanation from the SoftBank-backed company after the consumer rights agency received an unusually high 10,000 complaints. Ola, India’s top e-scooter maker, responded that it had resolved 99.1% of the complaints. After reviewing that response, the CCPA has now asked the Bureau of Indian Standards to conduct a detailed investigation into the matter, consumer affairs secretary Nidhi Khare said on Thursday. Ola Electric did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comment. The complaints… Read More »Key Government Agency To Probe Ola Electric Over Product Issues

“Complicated” is going to be the middle name of the assembly election in Maharashtra this year. But the state is bracing for an even tougher battle once the dust settles – one for the Chief Minister’s chair. No matter which side wins, ruling alliance Mahayuti or the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, that decision is unlikely to be simple or straightforward – so much so that many are expecting a political reconfiguration post-result, a sequel of what happened in 2019 that set the stage for a drastic political upheaval two years down the line. What makes the situation complicated is resolute nature of the claimants — on each side, only two appear to be running for… Read More »After Maharashtra Polls, A Fresh Battle Brews For The Top Post