The company behind the Opera browser is launching yet another AI tool with Opera Neon, an agentic AI browser. This basically means that it's a browser with an AI agent built in, which can go beyond answering questions and will purportedly be able to browse the internet for you to help you get various things done. This includes helping you plan trips, booking vacations, and even creating web apps with simple natural language prompts. Oddly enough, this isn't Opera's first go at agentic AI, as it follows the announcement for the standard Opera browser's Browser Operator tool. Technically, Browser Operator isn't released yet, but it seems the difference is that Neon's use cases will be a bit broader, as the AI will supposedly even able to generate content in the cloud while you're offline.The catch is that Neon isn't free, and is currently invite-only. Opera says it'll require a paid subscription when it launches, and while the company hasn't revealed the pricing or the launch date yet, you can join a waitlist to get notified about details closer to release, plus get in line for an invite. Opera says you'll be able to use the integrated AI as a chatbot and it will be able to search the web to find answers for you. It'll also be able to handle repetitive tasks such as filling forms and shopping. The biggest draw seems to be its ability to create content, though. On the Opera Neon website, a sample screenshot shows a someone requesting the AI to make a "retro snake game" for them.One plus going for this product is that it claims to be able to analyze webpages without recording your screen all the time (looking at you, Recall). Opera also claims that your browsing history, website data, and login information will be stored locally on your computer, which is good for anyone with privacy concerns.It goes without saying that all of these features will only be as useful as the AI model is accurate. The last thing I'd want is to have a faceless AI model book an overpriced hotel in a shady location, so I'll be taking all these trip planning claims with a pinch of salt until I see Neon in action. While launching new products always gets more attention, the sheer number of Opera's recent releases means that its browser lineup is getting a bit confusing. Opera currently has the following browsers listed on its website: Opera Browser, Opera GX, Opera Air, and Opera Mini. This makes Opera Neon the fifth product in the lineup. Each has its own specialty, but I'm starting to feel a little choice paralysis here.

According to Bloomberg, the next versions of Apple’s operating systems may be labeled by year, starting now. It makes sense. At this point, we’ve got VisionOS 2, watchOS 11, macOS 15, iOS 18 and iPadOS 18. Instead, they might all be tagged 26 — even if they launch this year. It’s not the first tech company to align new products with the year of release. Samsung started naming its phones by year of release in 2020 with the S20, which followed the S10. We’ll learn for sure in under two weeks: WWDC kicks off June 9. — Mat Smith Get Engadget's newsletter delivered direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! The news you might have missed Fujifilm GFX100RF review: A powerful, fun camera that’s far from perfect Can you still buy a Switch 2 on launch day? Maybe Weber Smoque review: A simplified smart grill that’s still a workhorse Video Games Weekly: Grand Theft Auto is no friend to the queer community Volkswagen ID.Buzz review: A head-turning EV microbus with unfortunate flaws PlayStation’s DualSense Edge wireless controller is cheaper than ever Sony is discounting consoles, accessories, games and subscriptions. Engadget One of the standout deals of this year’s Days of Play sale is the PS5 DualSense Edge controller. You can pick one up for $169, which is 15 percent off its usual price. The deal is available on Amazon and directly from Sony. The Edge resembles a regular DualSense controller, but there’s a lot more to it. For instance, there are function buttons below each thumbstick and rear paddles, and you can choose between a set of levers or shorter half-domes. If you haven’t jumped on the PS5 yet, the PS5 Pro also gets a $50 discount. Continue reading. The new Opera browser can surf the web for you It’s not Chrome, Safari or Edge, but if you’re willing to be different… Opera has launched another… Opera browser. Neon is its first fully agentic browser. That means it’s baked in AI chat with users and can surf the web on their behalf.  It… clicks for you. It can even fill out forms and shop for you. If you’re feeling more ambitious, you can ask Neon to build websites, animations, even games, and it can continue chipping away at big projects while you’re offline. Will that all be enough to swing you away from all your Chrome plugins or Safari passwords? According to recent figures, just over 2 percent of internet users use Opera. You can try it for yourself now. Oh wait, no, there’s a waitlist. Continue reading. This gaming mouse has a tiny fan inside For the pro gamers. Pulsar Pulsar’s latest competitive gaming mouse features a premium tiny fan from Noctua, the renowned fan brand. (Apparently, no one makes fans quite like the Austrians). With a skeletal shell designed to enhance airflow, it’s for sweaty-palmed professional gamers. Like the original Feinmann mouse from Pulsar, it has a 32,00 DPI sensor and an ultra-fast 8,000 Hz polling rate. Due to the fan, it’s a little heavier than the original at 65 grams. And the price of dry palm calm? $180. Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121525453.html?src=rss

DeepSeek's R1 update, plus the rest of the AI news this week. Credit: Thomas Fuller / SOPA Images / LightRocket / Getty Images This week, DeepSeek released an updated version of its R1 model on HuggingFace, reigniting the open-source versus closed-source competition. The updated version, called DeekSeek-R1-0528, has 685 billion parameters, an upgrade from January's version, which had 671 billion. Unlike OpenAI and Google's models, which are famously closed-source, DeepSeek's model weights are publicly available. According to the benchmarks, the R1-0528 update has improved reasoning and inference capabilities and is closing the gap with OpenAI's o3 and Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro. DeepSeek also introduced a distilled version of R1-0528 using Alibaba's Qwen3 8B model. This is an example of a lightweight model that is less capable but also requires less computing power. DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B outperforms both Google's latest lightweight model Gemini-2.5-Flash-Thinking-0520 and OpenAI's o3-mini in certain benchmarks. But the bigger deal is that DeekSeek's distilled model can reportedly run on a single GPU, according to TechCrunch. You May Also Like To… distill all this information, the Chinese rival is catching up to its U.S. competitors with an open-weight approach that's cheaper and more accessible. Plus, DeepSeek continues to prove that AI models may not require as much computing power as OpenAI, Google, and other AI heavyweights currently use. Suffice to say, watch this space.That said, DeepSeek's models also have their drawbacks. According to one AI developer (via TechCrunch), the new DeepSeek update is even more censored than its previous version when it comes to criticism of the Chinese government. Of course, a lot more happened in the AI world over the past few days. After last week's parade of AI events from Google, Anthropic, and Microsoft, this week was lighter on product and feature news. That's one reason DeepSeek's R1 update captured the AI world's attention this week. In other AI news, Anthropic finally gets voice mode, AI influencers go viral, Anthropic's CEO warns of mass layoffs, and an AI-generated kangaroo. Google's Veo 3 takes the internet by stormOn virtually every social media platform, users are freaking out about the new Veo 3, Google's new AI video model. The results are impressive, and we're already seeing short films made entirely with Veo 3. Not bad for a product that came out 11 days ago. Not to be outdone by AI video artists, a reporter from The Wall Street Journal made a short film about herself and a robot using Veo 3.Mashable's Tech Editor Timothy Werth recapped Veo's big week and had a simple conclusion: We're so cooked.More AI product news: Claude's new voice mode and the beginning of the agentic browser eraAfter last week's barrage, this week was lighter on the volume of AI news. But what was announced this week is no less significant.  Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up! Anthropic finally introduced its own voice mode for Claude to compete with ChatGPT, Grok, and Gemini. The feature is currently in beta on mobile for the Claude app and will even be available to free plans with a limit of 20 to 30 voice conversations per day. Anthropic says you can ask Claude to summarize your calendar or read documents out loud. Paying subscribers can connect to Google Workspace for Calendar, Gmail, and Docs access. OpenAI is exploring the ability to sign into third-party apps with ChatGPT. We don't know much yet, but the company posted an interest form on its site for developers using Codex, its engineering agent, to add this capability to their own apps. It may not sound like a big deal, but it basically means users could easily link their personalized ChatGPT memories and settings to third-party apps, much like the way it works when you sign into a new app with your Google account.Opera announced a new agentic AI browser called Neon. "Much more than a place to view web pages, Neon can browse with you or for you, take action, and help you get things done," the announcement read. That includes a chatbot interface within the browser and the ability to fill in web forms for tasks like booking trips and shopping. The announcement, which included a promo video of a humanoid robot browsing the robot, which is scant on details but says Neon will be a "premium subscription product" and has a waitlist to sign up.The browser has suddenly become a new frontier for agentic AI, now that it's capable of automating web search tasks. Perplexity is working on a similar tool called Comet, and The Browser Company pivoted from its Arc browser to a more AI-centric browser called Dia. All of this is happening while Google might be forced to sell off Chrome, which OpenAI has kindly offered to take off its hands. Dario Amodei's prediction about AI replacing entry-level jobs is already starting to happenAnthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned in an interview with Axios that AI could "wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs." Amodei's predictions might be spot on because a new study from VC firm SignalFire found that hiring for entry-level jobs is down to 7 percent from 25 percent in the previous year. Some of that is due to changes in the economic climate, but AI is definitely a factor since firms are opting to automate the less-technical aspects of work that would've been taken on by new hires.  Related Stories The latest in AI culture: That AI-generated kangaroo, Judge Judy, and everything elseGoogle wants you to know its AI overviews reach 1.5 billion people a month. They probably don't want you to know AI Overviews still struggles to count, spell, and know what year it is. As Mashable's Tim Marcin put it, would AI Overviews pass concussion protocol?The proposal of a 10-year ban on states regulating AI is pretty unpopular, according to a poll from Common Sense Media. The survey found that 57 percent of respondents opposed the moratorium, including half of the Republican respondents. As Mashable's Rebecca Ruiz reported, "the vast majority of respondents, regardless of their political affiliation, agreed that Congress shouldn't ban states from enacting or enforcing their own youth online safety and privacy laws."In the private sector, The New York Times signed a licensing deal with Amazon to allow their editorial content to be used for Amazon's AI models. The details are unclear, but from the outside, this seems like a change of tune from the Times, which is currently suing OpenAI for copyright infringement for allegedly using its content to train its models. That viral video of an emotional support kangaroo holding a plane ticket and being denied boarding? It's AI-generated, of course. Slightly more obvious, but no less creepy is another viral trend of using AI to turn public figures like Emmanuel Macron and Judge Judy into babies. These are strange AI-slop-infested times we're living in. AI has some positive uses too. This week, we learned about a new humanoid robot from HuggingFace called HopeJr (with engineering by The Robot Studio), which could be available for sale later this year for just $3,000.And to end this recap on a high note, the nonprofit Colossal Foundation has developed an AI algorithm to detect the bird calls of the near-extinct tooth-billed pigeon. Also known as the "little dodo," the tooth-billed pigeon is Samoa's national bird, and scientists are using the bioacoustic algorithm to locate and protect them. Want to get the latest AI news, from new product features to viral trends? Check back next week for another AI news recap, and in the meantime, follow @cecily_mauran and @mashable for more news.Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems. Topics OpenAI DeepSeek Cecily Mauran Tech Reporter Cecily is a tech reporter at Mashable who covers AI, Apple, and emerging tech trends. Before getting her master's degree at Columbia Journalism School, she spent several years working with startups and social impact businesses for Unreasonable Group and B Lab. Before that, she co-founded a startup consulting business for emerging entrepreneurial hubs in South America, Europe, and Asia. You can find her on X at @cecily_mauran.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.Two months ago, I downloaded and started using the Steppin app, which locks up your most distracting apps and forces you to trade your real-world steps for them. After just three days, I was finding it enjoyable enough to review it, but now that I've spent 68 days with the app, I'm even more impressed. While it's still only available on iOS, an Android version is available on a waitlist and not much has changed in terms of interface or use since I first reviewed it, but I've found it much easier to navigate and incorporate into my life. My social media use is definitely downThe app works by syncing with your Apple Health data and pulling in the steps your phone or fitness tracker record, then converting them to minutes that you can redeem on your preferred apps. Once you add an app to your blocklist, you'll be prompted to open Steppin every time you try to open the blocked app. Then, you have the choice of selecting between one and 30 minutes of unlocked time or just abandoning the pursuit altogether. My settings are calibrated such that 50 steps unlocks one minute of app time. When I started, I added two apps to my blocklist: Instagram and a game called Project Makeover. My time on those apps has absolutely bottomed out. For the most part, this is a good thing. I can't even tell you the last time I watched a nonsensical Reel. On the flip side, though, I'll admit it's actually had a little bit of an impact on my social life. Instagram is where, for better or worse, people broadcast the goings-on in their lives, so I've missed out on a few things like milestone announcements from people I consider friends, but not best friends who would text me good news directly. I do feel rude for not "liking" these posts or congratulating them in the DMs when I eventually see or hear about the news days later. For as much as my mom complains that "social media isn't real life," that's not exactly true anymore and I am missing out on some real-life-adjacent things in my quest to stop looking at so many stupid Reels. I think it's a fine trade-off, but it's definitely something I've noticed.Still, it's given me a lot of time back and I'm grateful for it. I check my screen time every week and have seen it taking a nosedive. This week, my daily average is down 18% from last week, my "pickups"—or the amount of times I've unlocked my phone—are down 14% from last week, and my average notifications are down 8% from last week, though Poshmark, with over 6,000 notifications this week, is an outlier because I get a notification every time someone shares, likes, or buys one of my listings and have been using a third-party app to maximize how often those things happen. Don't worry, though. I set those alerts to appear quietly in my notification feed; they don't generate a push notification that lights up my lock screen.As it all relates to the little dopamine bops my brain has become wired to seek out from short-form videos and bite-sized hot takes, I've definitely noticed I'm just less interested in seeking that stuff out—to a point. Time without it has certainly acted like a detox and I don't necessarily feel the urge to look at posts that will shock, enrage, titillate, or otherwise entertain me, which wasn't true three months ago. That said, I've noticed that it's been a little easier for me to get sucked in by other apps that I didn't used to look at that often and didn't initially add to my blocklist—it was as though some of my previous Instagram time just spilled over into other apps. For a while there, I was spending an inordinate amount of time on X, for example. I noticed, added it to my Steppin blocklist while writing this, and carried on. Streaks make this workI am motivated heavily by arbitrary personal rewards. My workout streak on Peloton keeps me motivated to hop on my bike every day. My self-care streak on Finch keeps me motivated to log all my daily wins. My listing streak on Poshmark and my purchase streak on the Dunkin' Donuts app even earn me real-world rewards like discounted shipping and free coffee, respectively. It's no surprise the streak feature on Steppin has kept me similarly locked in. You maintain your streak by not removing any apps from your blocklist or overriding the app to get at your blocked apps. I have maintained my streak for 68 days and am quite proud of it. Adding new apps to your blocklist doesn't reset your streak and neither does altering the amount of steps you have to take to earn one minute.My steps aren't necessarily up (but I knew they wouldn't be)My distracting app use is definitely down and I'm feeling the positive effects, but Steppin's whole deal is that it facilitates change by encouraging you to be more active. It's supposed to be a two-for-one benefit. I was already active before downloading this and haven't noticed a significant increase in my daily average steps, but I don't mind. I teach three to four spin classes per week and do the majority of my cardio using my Peloton bike at home—while those activities burn calories and keep me active, they don't count toward "steps." I still take as many steps in an average day as I ever did, walking to the post office, Dunkin', the gym, and the bus—all the places I was already walking before installing Steppin. I have noticed I have not just a willingness, but an eagerness, to walk slightly farther distances than normal, though. Sometimes, instead of taking my Poshmark sales to the post office two blocks from my apartment, I walk up to the one 10 blocks away. I also get off the bus two or so stops early from time to time just to walk a little, although that might have more to do with my excitement that it's finally getting warmer outside. Generally, I know I'm doing this so I can bank some minutes of Instagram time, but I don't really end up using it, anyway. My banked minutes reset every Sunday at midnight and I usually end up with about five to six hours of unclaimed time. (It is very annoying to wake up on Sundays and not be able to even glance at Instagram while I brush my teeth and make my coffee, which results in me kind of shuffling around in a circle in the living room to generate some quick steps, but if I were to reconfigure my settings so that my minutes rolled over week-to-week, I'd lose my streak and I simply can't do that.) All in all, my Apple Health data shows I'm taking the same amount of steps now, on average, as I was this time last year, but I consider it a win that I'm even consciously choosing to walk when I wouldn't normally. Just this week, besides going to the farther post office, I've opted to go golfing for my weekly sports outing, walk around a shopping center instead of order all my summer clothes online, and use Peloton's guided walking workouts instead of doing all my cardio on my bike. This is definitely because of Steppin, which is forcing me to consciously make minor, healthy tweaks to my day.When I first reviewed Steppin, I interviewed its founder, Paul English. He mentioned he and his team are looking into ways to count things beyond steps that could equate to unblocked minutes, like time spent reading on a Kindle. That's a feature I'll be looking forward to. It would be great if the workouts my Apple Health records—like my cycling and my strength training—could somehow reflect in my Steppin time bank, although at this point, I'm not sure I'd use the extra minutes, anyway. I'm just not as interested in social media anymore.

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! For those U.S.-based readers out there, enjoy the long Memorial Day weekend, and if you’re on the road, expect it to be crowded. AAA projects 45.1 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the Memorial Day holiday period, from Thursday to Monday. About 39.4 million of those folks will use a car. Let’s get to it! This edition has news on loads of companies, including Aurora, Uber, Tesla, and Waymo. Plus, a number of startups you may be interested in. A little bird Image Credits:Bryce Durbin Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Or check out these instructions to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop. Deals! Image Credits:Bryce Durbin Luminar, the lidar startup turned SPAC, appears to be grasping for capital. Why else would the company make a deal with Yorkville Advisors Global that could bring another $200 million into its coffers through the sale of convertible preferred stock over an 18-month period? Under the terms, Luminar will issue $35 million in convertible preferred stock to the investors. Luminar may issue additional tranches in amounts of up to $35 million no more than every 60 days at a purchase price equal to 96% of the stated value of the convertible preferred stock. You might recall Luminar’s board recently replaced founder Austin Russell as its CEO. The company is also going through another restructuring — its third in a year. Other deals that got my attention … Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 REGISTER NOW SparkCharge, which offers what it calls “charging-as-a-service” for fleets, raised $15.5 million in a Series A-1 round led by Monte’s Fam, with participation from Cleveland Avenue, Collab Capital, Elemental Impact, MarcyPen, and non sibi ventures. Alongside the equity round, SparkCharge also secured a $15 million venture loan from Horizon Technology Finance Corp. Sylndr, a Cairo-based online used car sales startup that is expanding into auto financing, servicing, and tools for dealers, raised $15.7 million. The round was led by Development Partners International’s Nclude Fund. The startup also raised nearly $10 million in debt financing from local banks in the past year. Is an auction a deal? Perhaps for someone. Nikola’s hydrogen trucks, which have a value of about $114 million, are up for auction — one of the company’s last steps in unloading all of its assets after filing for bankruptcy in February. Notable reads and other tidbits Image Credits:Bryce Durbin Autonomous vehicles Aurora has put human “observers” in its self-driving trucks at the request of its partner PACCAR, a disclosure that has some scratching their heads about the move. To be clear, these “observers” are not human safety operators, meaning they can’t intervene. An Aurora spokesperson confirmed and noted they have a different role than the human safety operators in the company’s supervised hauls.  This news prompted folks to send me a slew of messages with questions like “Why?” and “What’s the point?”  Einride founder Robert Falck is stepping down from the role of CEO. Einride’s CFO, Roozbeh Charli, will take over the role of chief executive effective immediately. Reliable Robotics, the autonomous aviation company, appointed Marc Stoll as its new CFO. Stoll is the former VP of Finance at Apple and partner at Eclipse Ventures. Zoox has completed the “initial mapping phase” and will begin testing its self-driving vehicles in Atlanta later this summer. The California Public Utilities Commission approved Waymo’s request to expand its commercial robotaxi service area into more communities south of San Francisco. Meanwhile, Waymo and Uber plan to start offering robotaxi rides in Atlanta to select customers who signed onto a waitlist earlier this year. Tesla plans to limit where its robotaxis operate in Austin, Texas, to specific areas the company deems “the safest,” according to Elon Musk. Using a geofence represents a major strategy shift for Musk, who spent years claiming his company would be able to create a general-purpose self-driving solution that could be dropped into any location and work without human supervision.  Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries Arc unveiled a new electric boat called the Arc Coast, a $168,000 watercraft with a center console design. Senate Republicans have voted to overturn a waiver that allowed California to set stricter air pollution standards for vehicles. The state has received waivers more than 100 times since federal laws granted the right some 50 years ago. Gig economy Uber plans to launch a B2B logistics service in India through a partnership with a government-backed nonprofit that aims to break the domination of Flipkart, the e-commerce giant backed by Amazon and Walmart. AI Uber Freight recently launched a suite of AI features to shippers around the world as part of its existing supply chain software. That includes an expansion of Insights AI, which Uber Freight quietly launched in 2023, as well as more than 30 AI agents built to “execute key logistics tasks throughout the freight lifecycle.” Senior reporter Sean O’Kane interviewed CEO Lior Ron about the company’s dive into AI — including the how, why, and what’s next. This week’s wheels Image Credits:Rebecca Bellan Yup, “This week’s wheels” is back with Rebecca Bellan, who writes about her time on the new Heybike Alpha, a sturdy, fat-tire, all-terrain e-bike with a $1,699 price tag.  The entire review can be read here.  For those who want the highlights: The Alpha ticked a lot of boxes for Bellan — notably the mid-drive motor with torque sensor and long-lasting battery. There were some frustrations, though, too. Putting the bike together, the app, and outsized horn were disappointments. But generally, Rebecca felt the Alpha was an excellent all-around e-bike, whether you want to take it on off-road adventures or use it in the city to do your weekly Trader Joe’s shopping.

Home Google Launches SynthID Detector – A Revolutionary AI Detection Tool. Is This the Beginning of Responsible AI Development? News Google Launches SynthID Detector – A Revolutionary AI Detection Tool. Is This the Beginning of Responsible AI Development? 7 min read Published: May 22, 2025 Key Takeaways Google has introduced SynthID Detector, a powerful tool that can detect AI-generated content. It works by identifying SynthID-generated watermarks in content served up by Google AI tools, such as Imagen, Gemini, and Lyria. The detector is currently in the testing phase and only available for use by joining a waitlist. SynthID Detector is also open-source, allowing anyone to build on the tech architecture. Google has launched SynthID Detector, a tool that can recognize any content generated through the Google suite of AI tools. SynthID, in case you didn’t know, is a state-of-the-art watermarking tool launched by Google in August 2023. This technology adds a watermark on AI-generated content, which is not visible to the naked eye.  Initially, SynthID was launched only for AI-generated images, but it has now been extended to text, video, and audio content generated using tools like Imagen, Gemini, Lyria, and Veo. The detector uses this SynthID watermarking to identify AI content. When you upload an image, audio, or video to the detector tool, it’ll look for this watermark. If it finds one, it’ll highlight the part of the content that is most likely to be watermarked. It’s worth noting, though, that the SynthID Detector is currently in the testing phase. Google has released a waitlist form for researchers, journalists, and media professionals. Google has also partnered with NVIDIA to watermark videos generated on their NVIDIA Cosmos AI model. More importantly, Google announced a partnership with GetReal Security, which is a leading pioneer in detecting deepfake media and has raised around $17.5 million in equity funding. We’re likely to see an increasing number of such partnerships from Google’s end, meaning SynthID Detector’s scope will keep broadening. So, you’ll be able to detect not just Google-generated AI content but also content generated with other AI platforms. The Need for SynthID Detector Notwithstanding all of the benefits that artificial intelligence has brought us, it has also become a powerful tool in the hands of criminals. We have seen hundreds of incidents where innocent people were scammed or threatened using AI-generated content. For example, on May 13, Sandra Rogers, a Lackawanna County woman, was found guilty of possessing AI-generated child sex abuse images. In another incident, a 17-year-old kid extorted personal information from 19 victims by creating sexually explicit deepfakes and threatening to leak them. A man in China was scammed out of $622,000 by a scammer using an AI-generated voice over the phone impersonating the man’s friend. Similar scams have become popular in the US and even in countries like India that aren’t really at the forefront of AI technology. In addition to crimes against civilians, AI is also being used to cause a lot of political unrest. For instance, a consultant was fined $6M for using fake robocalls during the US presidential elections. He used AI to mimic Joe Biden’s voice and urged voters in New Hampshire not to vote in the state’s Democratic primary. Back in 2022, a fake video of Ukrainian President Zelensky was broadcast on Ukraine 24, a Ukrainian news website, which was allegedly hacked. The fake AI video showed Zelensky apparently surrendering to Russia and ‘laying down arms.’ This is only the tip of the iceberg. The internet is filled with such cases, with newer ones coming out almost every single day. AI is increasingly being weaponized against institutions, government, and the societal order to cause political and social unrest. Image Credit – Statista Therefore, a tool like SynthID Detector can be a beacon of hope to combat such perpetrators. News houses, publications, and regulators can run a suspected image or content through the detector to verify a story before running it for millions to view. More importantly, tools like SynthID will also go a long way in instilling some semblance of fear among criminals, who will know that they can be busted anytime. And What About the Legal Grey Area of AI Usage? Besides the above outright illegal use of AI, there’s also a moral dilemma attached to increasing AI use. Educators are specifically worried about the use of LLMs and text-generating AI models in schools, colleges, and universities. Instead of putting in the hard yards, students now just punch in a couple of prompts to generate detailed, human-like articles and assignments. Research at the University of Pennsylvania formed two groups of students: one with access to ChatGPT and another without any such LLM tools.  The students who had used ChatGPT could solve 48% more mathematical problems correctly. However, when a test was conducted, the students who had used ChatGPT solved 17% fewer problems than those who didn’t.  This shows that the use of LLM models isn’t really contributing to learning and academic development. They’re, instead, tools to simply ‘complete tasks,’ which is slowly robbing us of our ability to think. Another study called ‘AI Tools in Society: Impacts on Cognitive Offloading and the Future of Critical Thinking’ shows that people in the age group 17-25 have the highest AI usage as well as the lowest critical thinking scores. Coincidence? We don’t think so. Clearly, the use of AI tools isn’t contributing to the development of young minds. Instead, it has become a watchdog for laziness for people who wish to cut corners. We call this a moral dilemma because the use of AI tools for education or any other purpose, for that matter, is not illegal. Instead, it’s more of a conscious decision to let go of our own critical thinking, which, as most would argue, is what makes us human. Contemporary AI Detectors Are Worthless Because AI is replacing critical thinking and being used to outsource work by students, it’s understandable why educational institutions have resorted to AI detectors to check for the presence of AI-generated content in student submissions and assignments.  However, these AI detectors are no more accurate than a blind person telling you the way ahead. Apologies if we stepped on any toes here! We forgot our stick! Christopher Penn, an AI expert, made a post on LinkedIn titled ‘AI Detectors are a joke.’ He fed the US Declaration of Independence to a ‘market-leading’ AI detector, and guess what? Apparently, our forefathers used 97% AI to pen down the Declaration. Time travel? The inaccurate results from these detectors stem from their use of parameters such as perplexity and burstiness to analyze texts. Consequently, if you write an article that sounds somewhat robotic, lacks vocabulary variety, and features similar line lengths, these ‘AI detectors’ may classify your work as that of an AI language model. Bottom line, these tools are not reliable, which is possibly why OpenAI discontinued its AI detection tool in mid-2023, citing accuracy issues. However, the sad part is that a large part of the system, including universities, still relies on these tools to make major decisions such as student expulsions and suspensions. This is exactly why we need a better and more reliable tool to call out AI-generated content. Enter SynthID Detector. SynthID Detector Is Open-Source Possibly the biggest piece of positive news with regard to Google’s SynthID Detector announcement is that the tool has been kept open source. This will allow other companies and creators to build on the existing architecture and incorporate AI watermark detection in their own artificial intelligence models. Remember, SynthID Detector currently only works for Google’s AI tools, which is just a small part of the whole artificial intelligence market. So, if someone generates a text using ChatGPT, there’s still no reliable way to tell if it was AI-generated. Maybe that’s why Google has kept the detector open-source, hoping that other developers would take a cue from it. All in all, it’s really appreciable that Google hasn’t gate-kept this essential development. Other companies that are concerned about the increasing misuse of their AI models should go ahead and contribute to the greater good of making AI safe for society. Krishi is a seasoned tech journalist with over four years of experience writing about PC hardware, consumer technology, and artificial intelligence.  Clarity and accessibility are at the core of Krishi’s writing style. He believes technology writing should empower readers—not confuse them—and he’s committed to ensuring his content is always easy to understand without sacrificing accuracy or depth. Over the years, Krishi has contributed to some of the most reputable names in the industry, including Techopedia, TechRadar, and Tom’s Guide. A man of many talents, Krishi has also proven his mettle as a crypto writer, tackling complex topics with both ease and zeal. His work spans various formats—from in-depth explainers and news coverage to feature pieces and buying guides.  Behind the scenes, Krishi operates from a dual-monitor setup (including a 29-inch LG UltraWide) that’s always buzzing with news feeds, technical documentation, and research notes, as well as the occasional gaming sessions that keep him fresh.  Krishi thrives on staying current, always ready to dive into the latest announcements, industry shifts, and their far-reaching impacts.  When he's not deep into research on the latest PC hardware news, Krishi would love to chat with you about day trading and the financial markets—oh! And cricket, as well. View all articles by Krishi Chowdhary Our editorial process The Tech Report editorial policy is centered on providing helpful, accurate content that offers real value to our readers. We only work with experienced writers who have specific knowledge in the topics they cover, including latest developments in technology, online privacy, cryptocurrencies, software, and more. Our editorial policy ensures that each topic is researched and curated by our in-house editors. We maintain rigorous journalistic standards, and every article is 100% written by real authors. More from News View all View all

For years, the URL bar in your browser has done double duty: you can enter a web address, sure, but you can also use it to enter search requests. Now Norton has a new “free” browser, Neo, which adds a third function: AI prompting. Norton—most famous for its antimalware solutions like Norton 360 Deluxe—is entering the browser market with Norton Neo, an AI-first browser that you can sign up for and join the waitlist. Norton already ships a browser, the Norton Private Browser, which is similar but lacks AI. Neo replaces the search/URL bar with what it calls the “magic box,” where you can “search, generate, and take action,” according to Norton. It’s not immediately clear whose AI solution you’ll be able to use or whether it will run in the cloud or locally on your PC. When you do search, however, Norton promises that you’ll be able to “peek” at a search result to get an AI-powered summary—and yes, it appears to be a list of links, rather than Norton’s own take on Google’s AI Mode. The Magic Bar will also enable you to perform AI-powered writing tasks, such as drafting an email, directly from it. There’s another tweak that Norton is making, although I can’t tell how it’s going to work out: tables browsing. “No more tab chaos—Neo organizes everything, so you don’t have to,” Norton promises. Rather than remove tabs entirely from the AI, Neo will just use AI to auto-group them, according to a related FAQ. Opera One’s Tabs Islands already does this, as does Microsoft Edge, using the “Tab groups” feature. And yes, there’s an integrated ad blocker, which more and more browsers are integrating natively. Norton says that it will not sell your browsing data, leaving room to use “minimal, anonymized data” itself; it also will block “intrusive ads” and trackers by default. Norton does explicitly say that it will not use your data to train AI. Norton doesn’t explicitly say that it’s built on Chromium, the open-source underpinnings of Chrome and Edge, though you can use Chrome plugins, Norton says. Most browsers are free, though Norton waffles a bit in this regard as well. “Yes, Neo is free to download and use with an invitation code for Alpha testing,” Norton says. “We may introduce optional premium features later, but the core experience will always remain accessible.” Although most users still use either Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, there’s a small collection of third-party browsers, including Brave, Opera, Vivaldi, and more, that promise to do more than the mainstream browsers do. Soon, you can add Neo to the list.

Google announced a new SynthID Detector tool at Google I/O that lets you check if content has been made with the assistance of Google’s AI tools.In a blog post, Google DeepMind’s Pushmeet Kohli describes SynthID Detector as “a verification portal” that can “quickly and efficiently identify AI-generated content made with Google AI.” It’s also able to “highlight which parts of the content are more likely to have been watermarked with SynthID.”SynthID watermarks are applied to AI-generated images, text, audio, and videos, including content generated by Google’s Gemini, Imagen, Lyria, and Veo models, Kohli says.Here’s how the tool works, according to Kohli:When you upload an image, audio track, video or piece of text created using Google’s AI tools, the portal will scan the media for a SynthID watermark. If a watermark is detected, the portal will highlight specific portions of the content most likely to be watermarked.For audio, the portal pinpoints specific segments where a SynthID watermark is detected, and for images, it indicates areas where a watermark is most likely.Google is starting to roll out the tool to “early testers,” Kohli says in the post. “Following the initial testing phase, the portal will gradually be rolled out to users who sign up to the waitlist to gain access to the SynthID Detector,” Kohli tells The Verge. “We will take learnings from this cohort of professionals and work to implement content transparency more broadly.”I’m on the waitlist, but I haven’t tested the tool myself, so I can’t vouch for how well it might work. And will people actually use it when it’s widely available? I hope so, but we’ll have to wait and see.See More:

Google I/O 2025 keynote session on Tuesday was focused on new artificial intelligence (AI) updates and features. Alongside, the Mountain View-based tech giant also introduced a new tool to bring more transparency when it comes to AI-generated content. Dubbed SynthID Detector, it is an under-testing verification portal which can detect and identify multimodal AI content made using the company's AI models. The technology can identify audio, video, image, and text, allowing individuals to easily assess if a piece of content is human-made or synthetic.Google Tests SynthID Detector Verification PlatformThe company first unveiled SynthID in 2023 as a technology that can add an imperceptible watermark into content that cannot be removed or tampered with. In 2024, the company open-sourced the text watermarking technology to businesses and developers. The invisible watermark shows up when analysed using special software. Google is now testing a verification portal dubbed SynthID Detector that will allow individuals to quickly check if a media is generated using AI or not.In a blog post, the tech giant said the portal provides transparency “in a rapidly evolving landscape of generative media.” With Veo 3 and Imagen 4 AI models that can generate hyperrealistic images and videos, the risk of deepfakes has also increased significantly.While measures such as the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) standard have offered a way for AI companies to highlight AI-generated content, they are not completely tamper-proof. Advanced watermarking technologies enable users and institutions to protect themselves from misinformation and synthetic abusive content.The portal is straightforward to use, Google explains. Users can upload media they suspect to have been generated using Google's AI tool and SynthID Detector then scans the uploaded media and detects any SynthID watermark. Afterwards, it shares the results, and if a watermark is detected, it highlights which part of the content is likely to be AI-generated. Notably, the tool does not work with non-Google AI products. One of the biggest advantages of SynthID is that the imperceptible watermark does not compromise the quality of the media, and at the same time, it is not possible to remove or alter it. Currently, Google is rolling out the portal to early testers, and it plans to make it available more broadly later this year. Journalists, media professionals and researchers can join the waitlist to gain early access to the SynthID Detector. For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube. Further reading: Google IO 2025, Google, SynthID, Gemini, AI, Artificial Intelligence Akash Dutta Akash Dutta is a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In his free time, he can be seen supporting his favourite football club - Chelsea, watching movies and anime, and sharing passionate opinions on food. More Related Stories