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Simply the latest news, updated on the hour.

Wed, Mar 11, 2026, 3:21 AM EDT

Tech

AI Summary

  • Google is integrating its Gemini AI model more deeply into Chrome and its productivity suite, aiming to enhance user experience and content creation capabilities across various applications.
  • The burgeoning AI legal tech sector is witnessing significant growth, exemplified by Legora's substantial valuation, while companies like Adobe and Zoom are actively incorporating AI assistants and tools into their offerings.
  • Security remains a paramount concern, with Mandiant's founder raising substantial funds for an AI security startup and reports highlighting instances of data theft and sophisticated iPhone hacking tools.
  • Major tech players like Meta are expanding their AI-driven platforms, with Threads adding new features and Meta acquiring AI agent social networks, signaling a continued investment in decentralized and AI-powered social experiences.
  • Amazon is expanding its AI integration into healthcare and e-commerce, while also facing scrutiny over AI-assisted changes following past outages, underscoring the complex interplay between innovation and reliability.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


Engadget

  • Google starts rolling out Gemini in Chrome to users in Canada, India and New Zealand 6 hours ago by Igor Bonifacic
    Social & Online Media, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Igor Bonifacic

    At the start of the year, Google brought a host of new Gemini-powered features, including built-in Nano Banana image generation, to Chrome. After debuting in the United States, those features are now making their way to Chrome users in Canada, India and New Zealand, with support for 50 additional in tow. Among the new languages Gemini in Chrome can now converse in are French, Gujarati, Hindi and Spanish.    To try out Gemini in Chrome, tap the sparkle icon at the top right of the interface. This will open the sidebar interface Google introduced in January. From there, you can chat with

  • Social Security watchdog investigating claims that DOGE engineer copied its databases 11 hours ago by Anna Washenko
    Politics & Government, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Anna Washenko

    The inspector general's office of the Social Security Administration is investigating allegations of a security breach by a member of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency operation spearheaded by Elon Musk. A whistleblower has claimed that a former software engineer from DOGE said he possessed two databases from the SSA, "Numident" and the "Master Death File." The person reportedly asked for help transferring the databases from a thumb drive "to his personal computer so that he could ‘sanitize’ the data before using it at [the company]," an unnamed government contractor where he is currently employed. Those databases include personal information

  • Metadata company Gracenote is the latest to sue OpenAI for copyright infringement 12 hours ago by Anna Washenko
    Business, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Anna Washenko

    AI companies have been spending a lot of time in court arguing copyright cases over the past year and the latest plaintiff is Gracenote, the metadata company owned by Nielsen. Axios reports that Gracenote is suing OpenAI for the unauthorized and unpaid use of both its metadata and its framework for connecting that information. Gracenote specializes in entertainment metadata, creating descriptions and identifiers for content that clients such as TV providers use to help their own customers with discovery. Most of the lawsuits against AI businesses have focused on the content used to train LLMs, but the Gracenote case brings an

  • Epic is increasing the price of Fortnite's V-Bucks currency 13 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    National Basketball Association, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    The real world price of impulse-buying Fortnite skins is going up, Epic has announced. Not because skins themselves are getting more expensive on paper, but because V-Bucks, Fortnite's digital currency, is. The same prices you paid for bundles of V-Bucks in February will now effectively earn you fewer bucks starting on March 19, along with several other Fortnite-related pricing changes. Epic will still offer bundles of V-Bucks starting at $8.99 and running all the way to $89.99, but with a new "conversion rate.” The new bundle prices breakdown as follows: * $8.99 will get you 800 V-Bucks, down from 1,000 V-Bucks

  • Amazon wins a temporary injunction against Perplexity's Comet browser 13 hours ago by Anna Washenko
    Internet & Networking Technology, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Anna Washenko

    Amazon has secured a temporary win in its fight with Perplexity over the use of AI shopping bots. Bloomberg reported that a San Francisco federal court has determined that Perplexity must stop using its Comet web browser's AI agent to make purchases for users on Amazon's marketplace. The AI company will have a week to appeal the decision, otherwise it has been ordered to stop accessing any password-protected areas of Amazon's systems and destroy its copies of Amazon's data while the two companies continue to argue their cases.   "Amazon has provided strong evidence that Perplexity, through its Comet browser, accesses with


The Verge

  • How the spiraling Iran conflict could affect data centers and electricity costs 10 hours ago by Justine Calma
    AI, Analysis, Energy, Policy, Report, Science

    A commercial ship is viewed anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, in the Strait of Hormuz, Dubai, on March 2nd, 2026. Increased maritime traffic led to a buildup of vessels waiting near Dubai, highlighting the strategic importance of the strait, which handles 20 percent of global energy trade. | Photo: Getty Images Soon after the Trump administration launched its war on Iran, I called up Reed Blakemore, director of research and programs at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, to talk about the consequences. While oil and gas prices were already on the rise, there was still more

  • A live-action Samurai Champloo is in the works 10 hours ago by Charles Pulliam-Moore
    Entertainment, Music, News, TV Shows

    Though the live-action Cowboy Bebop was a big disappointment, Shinichirō Watanabe is ready to give it another go with one of his other iconic pieces of IP. Variety reports that Watanabe has given his blessing and agreed to work on a new live-action Samurai Champloo adaptation from Tomorrow Studios, the same production house behind Netflix's Cowboy Bebop (which Watanabe wasn't directly involved in) and the streamer's surprisingly excellent take on One Piece. The project is in its earliest stages of development and is not attached to a distributor. After Cowboy Bebop, this all feels a little iffy, but Tomorrow Studios heads

  • Listen to the Live Nation CEO’s alleged threats to a concert venue 10 hours ago by Lauren Feiner
    Antitrust, Entertainment, Policy, Report

    Was it a threat or a reality check? That's a key question in the government's anti-monopoly case against Live Nation, which is currently in limbo after the Justice Department reached a settlement with the company and as dozens of states push ahead. The Verge obtained the audio of a 2021 call at the center of the case. The recording, a public exhibit that was played for jurors in the first week of trial, features then-CEO of Barclays Center John Abbamondi and Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino arguing over a ticketing deal for Brooklyn's Barclays Center arena. A transcript of the call

  • Ford is giving its commercial fleet business an AI makeover 11 hours ago by Andrew J. Hawkins
    AI, Cars, Ford, News, Transportation

    Ford announced a new AI-powered service for its commercial fleet and telematics software customers called Ford Pro AI. The generative AI system analyzes data generated by commercial vehicles - including vehicle speed, seat belt activity, and engine health - and converts it into actionable items for fleet managers. The new system manifests as - what else? - an AI chatbot within Ford's Telematics software that customers can ask questions about their fleets or delegate tasks. Managers can ask the chatbot for recommendations to lower fuel costs, insight about specific vehicles in their fleets, or even to draft emails to a supervisor

  • Nosh Robotics’ $1,500 robot chef doesn’t need any help with dinner 11 hours ago by Stevie Bonifield
    News, Robot, Tech

    Anyone who finds themselves wishing they could spend less time on meal prep might have a solution in the form of the recently-launched Nosh One from Nosh Robotics, an AI kitchen appliance that can autonomously cook for you. All users need to do is load their ingredients into the robot's tray then select a recipe. The Nosh One adds the ingredients into its pot at the appropriate time, stirs everything, uses AI to monitor the ingredients with a built-in camera, and completes the meal without needing any intervention along the way. Nosh's app notifies users when the meal is ready. They


Wired


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