20 May 2025

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Google Brings AI-Powered Live Translation To Meet

Google is adding AI-powered live translation to Meet, enabling participants to converse in their native languages while the system automatically translates in real time with the speaker's original vocal characteristics intact. Initially launching with English-Spanish translation this week, the technology processes speech with minimal delay, preserving tone, cadence, and expressions -- creating an effect similar to professional dubbing but with the speaker's own voice, the company announced at its developer conference Tuesday. In some testings, WSJ found occasional limitations: initial sentences sometimes appear garbled before smoothing out, context-dependent words like "match" might translate imperfectly (rendered as "fight" in Spanish), and the slight delay can create confusing crosstalk with multiple participants. Google plans to extend support to Italian, German, and Portuguese in the coming weeks. The feature is rolling out to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers now, with enterprise availability planned later this year. The company says that no meeting data is stored when translation is active, and conversation audio isn't used to train AI models.

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20 May 2025 6:00pm GMT

Adobe Forces Creative Cloud Users Into Pricier AI-Focused Plan

Adobe will rebrand its Creative Cloud All Apps subscription to "Creative Cloud Pro" on June 17 for North American users, making significant price increases while bundling AI features. Individual annual subscribers will see monthly rates jump from $59.99 to $69.99, while monthly non-contracted subscribers face a $15 hike to $104.99. The revamped plan includes unlimited generative AI image credits, 4,000 monthly "premium" AI video and audio credits, access to third-party models like OpenAI's GPT, and the beta Firefly Boards collaborative whiteboard. Adobe will also offer a cheaper "Creative Cloud Standard" option at $54.99 monthly with severely reduced AI capabilities, but this plan remains exclusive to existing subscribers -- forcing new customers into the pricier AI-focused tier.

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20 May 2025 5:20pm GMT

Microsoft is Putting AI Actions Into the Windows File Explorer

Microsoft is starting to integrate AI shortcuts, or what it calls AI actions, into the File Explorer in Windows 11. From a report: These shortcuts let you right-click on a file and quickly get to Windows AI features like blurring the background of a photo, erasing objects, or even summarizing content from Office files. Four image actions are currently being tested in the latest Dev Channel builds of Windows 11, including Bing visual search to find similar images on the web, the blur background and erase objects features found in the Photos app, and the remove background option in Paint. Similar AI actions will soon be tested with Office files, The Verge added.

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20 May 2025 4:40pm GMT

19 May 2025

feedArs Technica

Biotech company Regeneron to buy bankrupt 23andMe for $256M

Regeneron will use trove of 23andMe genetic data to develop medical advances.

19 May 2025 9:24pm GMT

Space Force official: Commercial satellites can do a lot more than we thought

"They could shave off about a third of the time and over half the cost."

19 May 2025 9:12pm GMT

Labor dispute erupts over AI-voiced Darth Vader in Fortnite

SAG-AFTRA claims Epic didn't negotiate video game AI voice replacement terms.

19 May 2025 8:50pm GMT