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The experimental productivity assistant called CC comes from Google Labs and runs on Gemini. After signing up, CC connects to Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, and the internet to understand your daily routine. AI agents with access to private data like this raise familiar security concerns.

Every morning, CC sends an email summary called "Your Day Ahead." It pulls together your appointments, important tasks, and relevant updates, like upcoming bills or deadlines. The agent can also draft emails and create calendar entries when needed. Users control CC by replying to its emails, sharing preferences, or asking it to remember ideas and tasks.

CC is launching as an early test for users 18 and older in the US and Canada. You'll need a personal Google account plus a subscription to Google AI Ultra or another paid service. Those interested can sign up for the waitlist on the Google Labs website.

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Google has released an update for Gemini 2.5 Flash Native Audio that makes voice assistants more capable. The model now handles complex workflows better, follows user instructions more precisely, and conducts more natural conversations. Compliance with developer instructions jumped from 84 to 90 percent, and call quality in multi-step conversations has also improved.

According to Google, the updated audio model scores 71.5 percent accuracy on function calls in the ComplexFuncBench benchmark, putting it ahead of OpenAI's gpt-realtime at 66.5 percent. It's worth noting, though, that Google likely didn't test against the latest realtime version, which OpenAI released just yesterday.

The update is now available in Google AI Studio, Vertex AI, Gemini Live, and Search Live. Google Cloud customers are already using the technology, and developers can test the model through the Gemini API.

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The Center for Humane Technology (CHT), a nonprofit organization advocating for ethical technology, has criticized a new executive order from the Trump administration that aims to undermine state AI laws.

According to the CHT, the regulation puts public safety at risk by preventing states from meaningfully regulating AI. At the same time, it offers no national replacement framework, creating what the organization calls a vacuum in accountability.

Americans understand the potential benefits and dangers of this technology. They believe government should help regulate AI, not provide a regulatory shield to an industry that prioritizes growth at any cost. (CHT)

The CHT points to documented AI harms, including deepfakes, fraud, and chatbot-related suicides among young people. Social media already showed what happens when technology goes unregulated, the organization argues. The government should protect the public instead of caving to the tech industry.

Trump argues that varying state regulations are slowing down the industry. AI companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google support national regulation.

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Deepmind co-founder Shane Legg puts the odds of achieving "minimal AGI" at 50 percent by 2028. In an interview with Hannah Fry, Legg lays out his framework for thinking about artificial general intelligence. He describes a scale running from minimal AGI through full AGI to artificial superintelligence (ASI). Minimal AGI means an artificial agent that can handle the cognitive tasks most humans typically perform. Full AGI covers the entire range of human cognition, including exceptional achievements like developing new scientific theories or composing symphonies.

Legg believes minimal AGI could arrive in roughly two years. Full AGI would follow three to six years later. To measure progress, he proposes a comprehensive test suite: if an AI system passes all typical human cognitive tasks, and human teams can't find any weak points even after months of searching with full access to every detail of the system, the goal has been reached.

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Adobe has integrated Photoshop, Acrobat, and Express directly into ChatGPT's interface. Users can now edit images and documents for free using text commands. The Photoshop integration lets people customize photos with simple descriptions; changing backgrounds or adding effects, for example. Adobe Express handles design tasks like creating invitations from templates, while Acrobat makes it possible to edit PDFs like resumes right in the chat.

To set it up, go to "Apps & Connectors" in ChatGPT's settings, select the Adobe app you want, and click "Connect." Then tap the plus sign in the chat, find the app under "More," and type your command. Alternatively, type "/AdobePhotoshop," "/AdobeExpress," or "/AdobeAcrobat" followed by what you want to do.

Adobe says commands work best when they're clear and specific, with complex tasks broken into individual steps. After each edit, sliders let users adjust the results.

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OpenAI wants to boost risk tolerance among its workforce. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company has scrapped a rule requiring new hires to stay for at least six months before their equity vests. The change aims to ease employee concerns about being laid off before receiving their first batch of shares. Previously, OpenAI had already shortened this waiting period from 12 months to six in April.

The move underscores the fierce competition for AI talent. Tech giants like Meta, Google, and Anthropic are courting top researchers with high compensation. OpenAI is set to spend around $6 billion on stock-based compensation this year, nearly half its projected revenue. These high personnel costs are putting additional pressure on margins in an increasingly competitive market.

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Google is integrating Gemini into Google Translate for better text translations and launching a beta for real-time voice translation through headphones. Gemini now handles idioms, local expressions, and slang more naturally instead of translating them word for word. The improved text translation is rolling out in the US and India for English and nearly 20 languages, including Spanish, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, and German. The app is available for Android, iOS, and on the web.

The live translation feature taps into Gemini's speech-to-speech capabilities to preserve the speaker's tone, intonation, and rhythm. The beta is currently available on Android in the US, Mexico, and India, supporting over 70 languages. iOS and more countries will follow in 2026.

Google is also bringing its language learning tools to nearly 20 new countries, including Germany, India, Sweden, and Taiwan.

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