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The U.K.’s top antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), issued a critical ruling against Google on Wednesday, calling for the search giant to provide content creators with more agency over how their content is used by the company’s AI tools.The proposal deals with a concern that arose when Google first introduced its AI Overviews, which use content pulled from publisher websites to answer user queries on the search page, reducing users’ need to visit the websites themselves. The new ruling calls for Google to allow publishers to opt-out of AI Overview feature without harming their visibility on search. This…
Mark Zuckerberg says Meta users will start to see new AI models and products from the company in a matter of months. “In 2025, we rebuilt the foundations of our AI program,” Zuckerberg said on an investor call Wednesday, referring to the company’s recently restructured AI lab. “Over the coming months, we’re going to start shipping our new models and products… and I expect us to steadily push the frontier over the course of the new year.” But while Zuckerberg didn’t give specific timelines or products, he highlighted AI-driven commerce as a particular area of focus for Meta. “This also…
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is leveraging Palantir’s generative artificial intelligence tools to sort and summarize immigration enforcement tips from its public submission form, according to an inventory released Wednesday of all use cases the Department of Homeland Security had for AI in 2025.The AI Enhanced ICE Tip Processing service is intended to help ICE investigators “to more quickly identify and action tips” for urgent cases, as well as translate submissions not made in English, according to the inventory. It also provides a “BLUF,” defined as a “high-level summary of the tip,” produced using at least one large language…
This story was originally published in On Background with Mark Stenberg, a free, weekly newsletter that explores the key themes shaping the media industry. You can sign up for it here.The outlet, which caters to a niche audience of serial travelers, brought in $18.3 million in revenue last year, up from $15.6 million in 2024, according to chief executive Louise Story. The top-line figure still represents a downturn from years previous—in 2023, the company was on pace to bring in $24 million in total earnings—but the publisher was able to turn a profit this year of $2.6 million.
Earlier this month, Meta laid off 10% of the staff for Reality Labs, its virtual reality unit, reportedly cutting as many as 1,000 employees. Now, in a development that seems directly related, the company has revealed that the unit lost many billions of dollars last year. On Wednesday, Meta’s earnings report showed that its embattled virtual reality business had lost some $19.1 billion in 2025, which is slightly more than it lost in 2024 (that year, the losses hovered around $17.7 billion). In its fourth quarter, the unit posted a loss of $6.2 billion, the report shows. Those losses stood…
Data centers have caused the demand for gas-fired power in the US to explode over the past two years, according to new research released Wednesday. More than a third of this new demand, the research found, is explicitly linked to gas projects that will power data centers—the equivalent of energy that would power tens of millions of US homes.The findings from Global Energy Monitor, a San Francisco–based nonprofit that tracks oil and gas developments, come as the Trump administration is both encouraging data center build-out and doing away with pollution regulations on power plants and oil and gas extraction. They…
The numbers$58.1 billion: Meta’s Q4 2024 ad revenue, up 24% year-over-year. Overall revenue was $59.89 billion, also up 24% year-over-year.18%: The year-over-year increase in ad impressions delivered across Meta’s apps.6%: The average increase in price per ad year-over-year.3.5 billion: Number of people using at least one of Meta’s apps daily. $955 million: Reality Labs revenue, down 12% year-over-year.30%: The year-over-year increase in Instagram reels watch time in the U.S.$115 to $135 billion: Investment in capital expenditures in 2026.Watercooler talkMeta boss Mark Zuckerberg looks to leverage more AI agents, saying “there’s a big delta” between people who use, and don’t use agents.…
Three weeks ago, Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, revealed it raised $20 billion in a Series E funding round. Now we know Tesla is among its investors. Tesla disclosed in a letter to shareholders on Wednesday that it invested $2 billion in xAI, the startup behind the Grok chatbot that also owns Musk’s social media company X. Other previously disclosed investors in xAI include Valor Equity Partners, Fidelity, Qatar Investment Authority, as well as Nvidia and Cisco as “strategic investors.” This is a truly circular deal and one that Tesla shareholders voted against last year. In November, shareholders were asked…
Are you looking for a new Windows laptop to get some work done from your local coffee shop? You can pick up the 15-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop from Best Buy for $1,110, a $400 break from the usual $1,500 price tag. It’s our favorite Windows laptop for non-gamers, and it sports smooth performance and great battery life.Photograph: Brenda StolyarMicrosoftSurface Laptop (7th Edition, 2024)There are big improvements to the screen for this generation, with thinner bezels that give you more real estate without expanding the footprint. Even if you won’t be doing much gaming, the 120-Hz refresh rate will help daily…
The Super Bowl is an advertiser’s biggest opportunity to reach a massive audience. But at roughly $267,000 per second, brands rarely take any risks or depart from expected norms of humor, celebrity cameos, and dazzling visuals.A handful, however, have used their time to deliver contentious messages—84 Lumber took on President Trump’s border wall in 2017, for example. And in 2010, Focus on the Family ran an ad in which Tim Tebow’s mother expressed her gratitude for carrying her pregnancy to term, referencing abortion without saying it. But when it comes to making audiences squirm, few spots can compete with Nationwide…
Organic food company Once Upon a Farm, known for its baby food and kids snacks, is resuming its IPO plans, per an SEC filing and Reuters. The company had initially planned to hold its IPO last year, though it paused it amid the government shutdown. But it filed an updated S-1 on Tuesday which offered a price range of $17- $19 a share, indicating that the process has resumed, perhaps signalling that the overall IPO market is starting to thaw. The company is expected to make its debut on February 6, according to IPO Scoop. Once Upon A Farm was…
Google debuted a new “Auto Browse” feature for Chrome on Wednesday. The tool, powered by Google’s current Gemini 3 generative AI model, is an AI agent designed to take over your Chrome browser to help complete online tasks like booking flights, finding apartments, and filing expenses.The release of Auto Browse is part of Google’s continued integration of AI features into Chrome. Last year, Google dropped the “Gemini in Chrome” mode to answer questions about what’s on web pages and synthesize details from multiple open tabs.Auto Browse, which users can access by launching the Gemini sidebar in Chrome, will only be…
Ro and tennis legend Serena Williams are bringing the GLP-1 conversation to the Super Bowl.Ro, a direct-to-consumer healthcare business that sells GLP-1 medications including Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound, is making its Super Bowl debut with an ad starring its brand ambassador, Williams. The commercial will air nationally during NBC’s broadcast and kick off a new campaign, “Healthier on Ro,” spanning TV, paid social, and out-of-home takeovers in cities across the U.S.The goal behind “Healthier on Ro” is to destigmatize the drug and promote its other health benefits beyond weight loss. It continues Ro’s partnership with Williams that began in August,…
2025 was the year when a swarm of AI browsers from companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, Opera, and The Browser Company launched with an aim to replace Chrome with features like sidebar assistants and automated tasks. Now, Google is flexing its own AI muscles by adding similar features to Chrome, the world’s largest browser by market share. While Google had introduced Gemini to Chrome last September, the assistant lived in a floating window. With this update, the company will put its AI helper into a persistent sidebar, so you can ask questions about the current website or other open tabs. One…
Introducing the gaming side paints a slightly clearer picture. In older 3DMark benchmarks, again using the RTX 5080, the difference in scores was extremely minor, with wider margins in newer benchmarks. Time Spy, for example, saw under a one percent increase, while Speedway was closer to 10 percent.via Brad BourqueWhen it comes to actual gaming benchmarks, there’s a difference, but in practice you aren’t going to notice it. Cyberpunk 2077 is one of my go-to games, because it’s a popular title that’s also quite demanding, and the in-game benchmark means it’s very consistent. At 1440p, with the settings on ultra…
Ben Stiller and Benson Boone are bringing a retro, over-the-top energy to Instacart’s 2026 Super Bowl ad.The grocery delivery app’s return to the Super Bowl follows last year’s better-than-expected debut, said chief marketing officer Laura Jones in a statement. The 2025 ad featuring a gaggle of brand mascots like Chester Cheetah and the Kool-Aid Man “propelled our business forward,” she said.This year, Instacart’s using a more traditional Big Game playbook, enlisting celebrities to play out an absurdist narrative—all while communicating a key part of how the app tries to differentiate itself from competitors.“Instacart lets you choose your bananas,” Boone sings…