Apple has trained a custom large language model for the China market in partnership with Alibaba, a rare cross-border collaboration between an American tech giant and a Chinese domestic company. The AI model was developed with Alibaba's support, according to Reuters, citing three people familiar with the arrangement. The partnership underscores the challenge Apple faces in navigating geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington while serving its massive user base in China. Source
Google will allow users to remove visible watermarks from images, videos, and music generated with its AI tools. The update introduces a "Media watermark" setting in Gemini and Google's AI video generator, Flow, which users can toggle to remove the "sparkle" watermark that appears in the bottom-right corner of generated media. Google will retain invisible benchmarks used to identify AI-generated files even when the visible watermark is disabled. Source
Natural gas prices could triple in some parts of the United States, potentially imposing massive costs on hyperscale data-centre operators who have bet on the fuel to power their artificial intelligence infrastructure. The forecast presents a financial risk for companies that have embraced natural gas as a cheaper alternative to other energy sources for their computational operations. Source
Google has enabled artificial intelligence features in its Classroom app for all K-12 students whose schools have approved access to Gemini. Until this week, Google automatically made Gemini available in Classroom only for students aged 18 and older, restricting younger pupils from the tool. The expansion grants millions of school-age users access to Google's AI assistant during their academic work. Source
OpenAI and Anthropic have cut prices on their AI models as they face mounting competition from Chinese rivals, marking a shift from the pair's earlier premium positioning. The move comes as both companies grapple with challenges to their trillion-dollar ambitions from well-funded competitors in China gaining ground in the global AI market. Source