Google Chrome is closing the loopholes that let old ad blockers keep working
Google Chrome is closing the loopholes that let old ad blockers keep working

Google Chrome version 150 and 151, expected in late June and July, respectively, will cut off support for the last remaining workarounds for running older ad blockers, 9to5Google reports. Google phased out support for ad-blocking extensions built for Manifest V2, like uBlock Origin, in 2024. At that point, most Chrome users either switched to newer […]

Google Earth’s flight simulator is now available in your browser
Google Earth’s flight simulator is now available in your browser

On Friday Google announced it was making a relatively unknown feature of Google Earth available to a wider audience. The desktop version of Google Earth has had a hidden flight simulator mode since 2007, but it’s now easily accessible through a web browser without having to download or install any apps. To take to the […]

Google’s Sundar Pichai chose optimism over AI at Stanford. Graduates walked out anyway
Google’s Sundar Pichai chose optimism over AI at Stanford. Graduates walked out anyway

The man who runs one of the world’s largest artificial-intelligence companies stood up to address Stanford’s graduating class and, for the most part, declined to talk about artificial intelligence. Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of Google and Alpha…

UK plans social media ban for under-16s in major online safety push

The UK government plans to ban social media access for under-16s and introduce stricter protections aimed at reducing harmful online interactions and excessive screen time.

Google is about to disable uBlock Origin and every other Manifest V2 extension in Chrome
Google is about to disable uBlock Origin and every other Manifest V2 extension in Chrome

Google is weeks away from permanently disabling every Manifest V2 browser extension in Chrome, a change that will kill uBlock Origin and fundamentally limit what content blockers can do inside the world’s most popular browser. Chrome 150, scheduled to …

Wear OS 7 looks ready to land on Pixel Watchs soon

Pixel Watch 2, Pixel Watch 3, and Pixel Watch 4 may soon receive Wear OS 7, according to updated Verizon support pages spotted before the rollout.

Google Search can now monitor the web for updates on things you care about

Google AI Mode now lets users create Search agents that keep tracking the web in the background and send updates when something changes.

The future of Hollywood isn’t feeding prompts into vanilla gen AI models 
The future of Hollywood isn’t feeding prompts into vanilla gen AI models 

For all the noise that’s been made about how generative AI is poised to revolutionize the filmmaking industry, there haven’t really been any projects created with the technology that felt like the sort of entertainment people would pay to see. Most AI firms’ video models are still only capable of churning out short bursts of […]

Buying a laptop may soon come with an instant carbon score thanks to AI

Researchers are developing AI agents capable of calculating a product’s carbon footprint in real time, potentially helping consumers make more sustainable purchasing decisions.

Google sues Chinese cybercrime ring that used Gemini to build phishing sites and send 2.5 million scam texts
Google sues Chinese cybercrime ring that used Gemini to build phishing sites and send 2.5 million scam texts

Google filed a lawsuit on Friday to dismantle the infrastructure behind a Chinese cybercrime operation called Outsider Enterprise. The group used AI, including Google’s own Gemini, to generate phishing websites and send scam text messages impersonating…