Emma Roth

Burger King deployed Patty, an OpenAI-powered voice chatbot integrated into employee headsets that assists with meal preparation and monitors customer interactions for friendliness markers like 'please' and 'thank you.'

“Author of "Burger King deployed Patty"”

Sam Altman acknowledges the AI market is in a bubble with irrational valuations for early-stage startups, comparing it to the dot-com bubble, though he believes it will ultimately create net economic value.

“Author of "Sam Altman says 'yes,' AI is in a bubble" in The Verge”

Google is testing an AI-powered Flight Deals tool that uses natural language descriptions to find cheap flights and suggest destinations when users don't have a specific location in mind.

“Author of "Google Flights can help you book a trip when you don't know where to go" in The Verge”

OpenAI has officially launched an advertising pilot in ChatGPT with major retailers and brands including Target, Adobe, Ford, and Mazda showing targeted ads to free and $8/month users.

“Author of "Retail Has Entered the Chat"”

Apple released an updated AirTag with enhanced ultra-wideband technology enabling 50% longer range precision tracking and a 50% louder speaker at the same $29/$99 price point.

“Author of "Apple Unveils New AirTag With Enhanced Ultra-Wideband Technology"”

Google expands its AI video generation tool Flow to Business, Enterprise, and Education Workspace users, adding vertical video support and audio generation capabilities.

“Author of "This is Canva Energy, But for Video People" in Google”

Microsoft is launching a Copilot Checkout feature that allows users to purchase products directly within the chatbot without leaving the app, competing with similar features from OpenAI, Google, and Perplexity.

“Author of "Microsoft Is Testing How Fast Humans Will Tap Buy" in Microsoft”

Merriam-Webster selected 'slop' as its 2025 word of the year, defining it as low-quality digital content produced in quantity by artificial intelligence, reflecting widespread concern about AI-generated content flooding the internet.

“Author of "AI Content Finally Got a Label" in Merriam-Webster”

Meta announced new AI licensing partnerships with CNN, Fox News, USA Today, and other publishers to improve its AI chatbot's ability to deliver timely news content, as part of an industry-wide shift toward legal content agreements.

“Author of "Meta Just Rewired How Its AI Learns The News"”

Meta is planning to slash Reality Labs' metaverse budget by up to 30 percent next year while shifting investment toward AI glasses and wearables, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg prioritizes AI superintelligence over virtual world development.

“Author of "Reality Labs Just Became A Lot Less Limitless" in Bloomberg”

Apple's AI chief John Giannandrea is stepping down following delays in launching a personalized Siri, with former Microsoft AI VP Amar Subramanya replacing him as the company plans a spring 2025 Siri relaunch powered partly by Google's Gemini model.

“Author of "The Siri Delay Now Has Leadership Consequences"”

Apple's AI chief John Giannandrea is stepping down following repeated delays to the company's personalized Siri assistant, replaced by Amar Subramanya, a former Google and Microsoft AI executive.

“Author of "Apple AI Chief Steps Down Following Siri Setbacks" in The Verge”

OpenAI is rolling out group chats in ChatGPT globally, allowing users to invite up to 20 people to collaborate with the chatbot on tasks like planning and drafting.

“Author of "Your Friends Won't Reply, But ChatGPT Will" in OpenAI”

Disney CEO Bob Iger announced plans to integrate AI-generated video creation tools into Disney Plus to allow viewers to create and consume short-form AI videos.

“Author of "Disney CEO Bob Iger Says Company Plans AI-Generated Video Creation Tools for Disney Plus"”

Microsoft AI announced a new team dedicated to developing 'humanist superintelligence' that remains bounded, controllable, and subordinate to human interests rather than pursuing unbounded autonomous AGI.

“Author of "Microsoft's Pitch for Humanist Superintelligence"”

OpenAI clarified that ChatGPT's usage policy regarding legal and medical advice has not changed with its October 29th update, contradicting viral social media claims of a new ban.

“Author of "No, ChatGPT Didn't Ban Legal or Medical Talk"”

OpenAI will allow erotica and other mature content for age-verified ChatGPT users starting in December while relaxing content restrictions after implementing mental health detection tools.

“Author of "OpenAI's New Update Might Need A Content Warning"”

OpenAI allegedly subpoenaed AI regulation advocates and their personal communications, claiming they are investigating Elon Musk's involvement while critics argue it is intimidation of AI safety advocates.

“Author of "OpenAI Allegedly Sent Police to an AI Regulation Advocate's Door" in The Verge”

Google launches AI-powered virtual try-on feature for shoes on Google Shopping that generates realistic images of shoes on users' feet without requiring personal photos.

“Author of "Use AI to Try on Shoes Before You Buy"”

Google is rolling out Search Live to all US users, enabling real-time conversational AI search with voice and camera input integrated into Google Search and Lens.

“Author of "Forget Typing, Search Just Started Talking Back"”

A federal judge halted Anthropic's $1.5 billion book piracy settlement, citing concerns about lack of transparency in the claims process and insufficient protections for affected authors.

“Author of "Judge Puts Anthropic's $1.5 Billion Book Piracy Settlement on Hold" in The Verge”

Amazon launched Lens Live, an AI-powered camera feature that identifies products in real-time and surfaces matching marketplace listings for direct purchase.

“Author of "Goodbye Browsing, Hello Scanning"”

Google is launching AI-powered language learning lessons in its Translate app using Gemini models, directly competing with Duolingo's personalized lesson approach.

“Author of "Duolingo Has Competition, and It Speaks Gemini"”

Google is expanding Gemini Live with visual guidance on-screen, app integrations for Messages and Phone, and an improved audio model that adapts tone based on speech intonation and content.

“Author of "Google's Gemini Live AI assistant will show you what it's talking about" in The Verge”

ESPN launches a revamped streaming app with AI-generated SportsCenter commentary, TikTok-style vertical video feed, and multiview capabilities for $29.99 per month starting August 21st.

“Author of "ESPN Wants Your Attention. All of It"”

Google is testing an AI-powered Flight Deals tool that allows users to describe their ideal trip and receive personalized cheap flight suggestions across multiple destinations.

“Author of "Google wants AI to pick your next trip"”

Google is rolling out an automatic memory feature for Gemini that recalls user preferences and past conversations without prompting, enabled by default with opt-out controls available.

“Author of "Gemini's Got A Memory Now. Are You Ready For That?"”

Google is rolling out an automatic memory feature for Gemini that will recall user preferences from past conversations without explicit prompting, available by default but toggleable in settings.

“Author of "Google's Gemini AI will get more personalized by remembering details automatically" in The Verge”

Perplexity disguised its AI crawlers as Google Chrome and rotated IP addresses to bypass website restrictions and access content blocked by robots.txt files and firewall rules, according to Cloudflare's investigation of tens of thousands of domains.

“Author of "Perplexity just got caught pretending to be Chrome"”

“Journalist who reported on Google's Project Suncatcher satellite successfully running an AI model in orbit.”

“Byline author reporting on Amazon's upgrades to Alexa for Shopping AI assistant.”

“Byline author of article about companies restricting AI agents from their platforms.”

“Reported on Meta pausing Muse sharing feature after researchers discovered AI chats publicly available on the web.”

“Reported on NorForge's discovery of Cairn attacks targeting John Deere, SharkNinja, and Cummins.”

“Reported on Universal Music Group's partnership with ElevenLabs for AI music platform.”

“Roth wrote the article about Google adding AI-powered tools to Discover for customizing feed preferences.”

“Reported on Microsoft confirming Copilot 'super app' combining chat, coding and agentic capabilities launching this year.”

“Reported on Midjourney's acquisition of astrology app Co-Star.”

“Journalist reporting on Netflix's use of generative AI in approximately 300 titles for post-production visual effects.”

“Emma Roth co-authored the article about OpenAI's ChatGPT smart speaker device plans and reported on multiple AI developments.”

“Byline author reporting on Apple's plan to raise prices due to ongoing memory shortage.”

“Emma Roth wrote the article about Google shutting down Project Mariner and its integration into other Google products.”

“Byline author reporting on Meta's AI clone of Mark Zuckerberg to interact with employees in meetings.”

“Reported on WordPress.org launching new browser-based workspace tool at my.WordPress.net for creating private websites without signup or hosting.”

“Reported on Anthropic's Claude generating interactive charts and diagrams directly in chat.”