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Google has unveiled a new project that will reduce the environmental impact of AI on Earth. The tech company unveiled Project Suncatcher, which aims to launch data centers in space powered by solar energy, Business Insider reports. Google is exploring bringing the project to life through a web of solar-powered satellites, equipped with its Tensor Processing Unit AI chips, according to a press release. The project aims to “one day scale machine learning in space.” “Inspired by other Google moonshots like autonomous vehicles and quantum computing, we’ve begun work on the foundational work needed to one day make this future possible,” notes the press release. Google CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed that the company plans to launch the space data centers by 2027. “We’ll send tiny, tiny racks of machines, and have them in satellites, test them out, and then start scaling from there,” Pichai said, according to Business Insider. “At Google, we’re always proud of taking moonshots. One of our...
Google is making it easier for anyone with a Gmail account to create polished, AI-powered videos through its Google Vids product. According to a Nov. 17 blog post from the tech company, advanced Gemini features, previously limited to paid users, are now available to all, letting creators add AI-generated voiceovers, trim silences and filler words, and enhance visuals with built-in AI image editing. To help users get started, Google has released a series of instructional videos on YouTube. One introduction video shows how teams can use the platform for training materials, customer-facing content, project updates, recruiting, and marketing communications. Casual users can also create personalized videos, from vacation highlights to birthday greetings, without needing advanced editing skills, as the blog post notes. According to the same video, Google Vids can be accessed through the Google Apps launcher in Gmail, the “New” button in Google Drive, or by visiting vids.google.com. Typing...
Perplexity AI has released its artificial intelligence-powered browser, Comet, worldwide. The browser is now being offered for free after initially being available only to paid subscribers, CNBC reports. According to the outlet, Comet was first introduced in July. At that time, access was limited to Perplexity Max subscribers at a monthly cost of $200. The company stated that a waitlist of millions had formed before the broader rollout was announced. The browser is designed to serve as a personal digital assistant. Users are able to search the web, organize tabs, draft emails, and shop directly within the browser. According to CNBC, these functions are powered by AI technology intended to simplify everyday online activities. The decision to release Comet for free comes amid growing competition in AI-powered browsers in 2025. Google added Gemini to Chrome in September, Anthropic introduced a browser-based AI agent in August, and OpenAI unveiled Operator in January. CNBC notes that...
AI data centers that continue to pop up across the United States are driving power costs to record highs — and consumers are left bearing the burden. According to Bloomberg, Kevin Stanley, a blind Baltimore resident living on disability benefits, says his electric bill has surged about 80% over the past three years — despite living over an hour from northern Virginia’s “Data Center Alley.” As a result, Stanley has found himself stretching supplies for his diabetes and sleep apnea, and occasionally relies on food banks to cut costs. “They can say this is going to help with AI, but how is that going to help me?” Stanley said, Bloomberg reported. “How’s that going to help me pay my bill?” Connor Waldoch, co-founder of Grid Status, an energy data analytics platform, says the surge in electricity demand from data centers is driving up utility bills, adding to the strain of rising costs for food, housing, and other essentials. How AI Data Centers Are Driving Up Energy Costs A Bloomberg...
Google has laid off hundreds of contractors working on its AI products, WIRED reports. The tech giant has been outsourcing work related to evaluating, editing, or rewriting its Gemini chatbot to improve the technology’s intelligence and make it sound more human. WIRED reports that thousands of contractors were tapped for this work from companies including Hitachi-owned GlobalLogic. Most of the work was based in the U.S., and the requirements for these roles include holding a master’s or a Ph.D., and experience as a writer, teacher, or creative. The outlet states that GlobalLogic employed “generalist raters” to assist with Google’s search results. In spring 2023, Google allegedly contacted the company to recruit “super raters” to help with its products, starting with AI Overviews. “We as raters play an incredibly vital role, because the engineers, between messing with the code and everything, they’re not going to have the time to fine-tune and get the feedback they need for the bot....
Recent reports suggested that Google issued a broad warning to all 2.5 billion Gmail users following a hack of Salesforce by the group ShinyHunters (also tracked as UNC6040). Those reports, however, were inaccurate. Google clarified in a statement that no widespread Gmail security breach has occurred, and its protections remain highly effective, blocking more than 99.9% of phishing and malware attempts. While attackers continue to look for ways to infiltrate inboxes, including exploiting publicly available or leaked business information, Gmail’s security measures remain strong, the company states. “Security is such an important item for all companies, all customers, all users — we take this work incredibly seriously,” Google said in a statement. “Our teams invest heavily, innovate constantly, and communicate clearly about the risks and protections we have in place. It’s crucial that conversation in this space is accurate and factual,” the statement continued. The Salesforce breach,...
Google has issued an urgent warning to all Gmail users after a major third-party breach exposed billions of individuals to potential cyberattacks , Geek Spin reports. While Google says its own systems remain secure, the incident shows how stolen data from other platforms can be exploited to target Gmail accounts. The alert follows a breach of Salesforce’s cloud platform, which has left users of Google services more vulnerable to attacks. According to a Google Cloud blog post, Google’s Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) first spotted these attacks in June. Hackers used social engineering tactics, such as posing as IT support staff, to trick users into sharing their login credentials. By August, the attackers had already carried out multiple “successful intrusions” using accessed passwords, Geek Spin reports. While the stolen information was initially considered “basic and largely publicly available business data,” Google warned that it is now being used for more damaging purposes. The...
Google has revealed that each text prompt given to its Gemini AI apps uses about 0.24 watt-hours of electricity — roughly the same as watching TV for less than nine seconds. As concerns grow about AI’s environmental impact, Google released a detailed technical report via blog post on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, estimating the energy use , water consumption and carbon emissions per prompt. The report — which is the most transparent disclosure yet from a leading tech company — offers a long-awaited insight into AI’s energy use, detailing the amount of power consumed by AI chips and their supporting infrastructure. “We wanted to be quite comprehensive in all the things we included,” Jeff Dean, Google’s chief scientist, told the MIT Technology Review. The MIT Technology Review reports that Google’s custom AI chips take up 58% of the .24 watt-hours of electricity. The remaining energy goes to supporting equipment: CPUs and memory use 25%, backup systems 10% and data center overhead — like...
In a blog post, Google and Stephen Curry announced a long-term strategic partnership on Aug. 20, 2025, teaming up across the Google Pixel 10, Health, and Cloud to drive innovation and enhance personal well-being through technology. Curry, a long-time Google supporter, has a history of collaborations with the company dating back to 2015. As Google’s new Performance Advisor, he will actively shape the future of Google Health and Fitbit products and features. “Stephen’s ethos around health is holistic – it’s all interrelated (fitness, sleep, mental wellness), which is aligned with Google’s vision for the future of health,” it was said in information provided to AFROTECH™. With the partnership, Curry collaborates directly with Google’s health and AI engineers to fine-tune products, train algorithms, and craft next-generation health experiences. Off the court, the four-time NBA champion uses Google Cloud’s AI to analyze shot quality, improve his training strategy, and guide business...
Perplexity is reportedly looking to buy out its competition. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Perplexity is an AI-powered answer engine co- founded by former Google intern Aravind Srinivas alongside Johnny Ho, Denis Yarats, and Andy Konwinski in 2022. Perplexity summarizes findings from web pages and offers footnotes, while Google provides users with links to access information. Google also now offers “ AI Overviews ” to summarize information about a question and topic, and more recently launched “ AI Mode, ” which more closely aligns with Perplexity. Perplexity has since countered with its own search engine called Comet. Quest To Purchase Google Chrome In an interview with Fortune, Srinivas said he aspires to create “ something bigger than Google. ” Now, it appears Srinivas is on a quest to purchase Google Chrome’s browser, placing a $34.5 billion bid, Perplexity spokesperson Jesse Dwyer confirmed to CNN. The company’s bid is influenced by its belief in the open web, Dwyer said....
Perplexity Founder Aravind Srinivas is planting his flag in the fierce race to lead in AI. Srinivas is a former intern at Google and OpenAI who was inspired to create his own billion-dollar tech company. Fortune reports that Srinivas had been a Google student his entire life. So, it is no surprise that he was greatly inspired by Google CEO Sundar Pichai, also from his hometown, Chennai, India. A turning point in his journey to becoming a founder was reading the book, “In the Plex.” He came across it while interning at Google DeepMind’s headquarters in London, and the book detailed Google’s first 15 years. Srinivas’s exact vision for his startup would be molded later during his time at OpenAI, behind the popular large language model ChatGPT, which was first released in 2022. The company, led by CEO Sam Altman, has announced its latest innovation, GPT-5, describing it as a “Ph.D.-level expert” in your pocket, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. However, Srinivas did not want to...
Google has removed more than 50 organizations tied to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) from a public list of groups that receive support through its U.S. Government Affairs and Public Policy team, according to a report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP). The report found that Google dropped 214 organizations from the list and added 101 new ones in February. Of those removed, 58 were categorized as DEI-related — the largest category of removals, based on mission language referencing terms such as “diversity,” “equity,” “inclusion,” “race,” “activism,” or “women,” according to TTP. DEI Organizations No Longer Listed Several organizations that were previously listed as recipients of Google’s public policy contributions are no longer included. Some are: African American Community Service Agency, which supports Black and historically excluded communities Latino Leadership Alliance, which focuses on equity for Latino populations Enroot, which offers support for immigrant...
Google is making a major investment in Africa’s AI future. According to a blog post, Google.org announced a $37 million investment to support research and advance AI initiatives, recognizing the continent’s role as a key player in climate resilience, agriculture, healthcare, education, and more sectors. Efforts will include a $25 million commitment to support African researchers and nonprofits leveraging AI tools to “improve hunger forecasting, strengthen crop resilience, and support smallholder farmers with real-time, actionable insights,” based on the post. Breakdown Of Commitment Additionally, the blog post states $3 million will be allocated to the Masakhane African Languages AI Hub to enhance the representation of over 40 African languages by funding new research opportunities and supporting open-source tools. An amount of $1 million will also be awarded to both the African Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AfriDSAI) at the University of Pretoria and...
Voice assistants and speech recognition tools have struggled for years to understand the way many Black people naturally speak. Commands get misinterpreted. Responses often miss the mark, and as a result, users usually feel unheard unless they change their voices to fit technology that wasn’t built with them in mind. Howard University and Google Research are working to change that. The two institutions have collaborated on Project Elevate Black Voices and have released a first-of-its-kind dataset: over 600 hours of African American English (AAE) collected from communities across 32 states, according to a press release from Howard University, obtained by AFROTECH™. The goal is to help artificial intelligence systems recognize, respect, and respond to the full range of Black speech, not just edited, flattened, or code-switched versions of it. Project Elevate Black Voices is a multi-year research initiative co-designed and led by Black researchers to build high-quality AAE speech data...
Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving a wave of transformation, reshaping how organizations adapt and compete — making it essential to foster a culture of innovation and adaptability to navigate disruption and ensure long-term success. At AFROTECH™ 2024, Temi Soleye, the senior director of learning & performance at Merlin Labs, and Ashley Gatewood, the change & transformation leader at Google, came together to discuss the opportunities and challenges AI presents for businesses, how to lead effective transformations and what it takes to build a future-ready workforce. When it comes to AI and transformation, Soleye noted that AI has productivity tools, such as support for coding and coders — but its challenges and opportunities go hand in hand. “High performance culture depends on the people, but it also depends on the processes and the systems,” Soleye said. Adding that, to streamline workflow, people should consider what the person currently does and how artificial intelligence...