xAI Loses Court Bid Against Minnesota AI Nudification Ban
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has failed to convince a federal judge to block a new Minnesota law restricting AI tools from generating realistic fake nude images. U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank rejected xAI’s request for a preliminary injunction against the legislation, which took effect on August 1. The law prohibits website operators, software developers and others from facilitating the creation of AI-generated sexually explicit images without consent. xAI had challenged the restrictions, but the court declined to suspend the law while the legal battle continues. The decision represents another regulatory setback for companies developing increasingly powerful generative AI tools.
Google Gemini Spark Gets New Google Photos Powers
Google is expanding the capabilities of its personal AI agent, Gemini Spark, by integrating it with Google Photos. The company said users will be able to ask the AI to perform a range of tasks, including editing images, curating albums and automatically creating shared albums from selected photos. Gemini Spark can also turn information from concert flyer images into calendar appointments and execute other workflows within Google Photos. The new features are expected to roll out over the coming weeks to eligible Gemini AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the US using English. The move highlights Google’s broader push to turn Gemini into an AI assistant capable of completing tasks across its services.
US Defence Department Disables Ad Tracking on Military Devices
The U.S. Department of Defense has disabled advertising tracking on government-issued phones and computers used by military personnel, citing concerns over threats that could exploit location data. According to a letter shared with Senator Ron Wyden, the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Special Operations Command have all disabled advertising tracking across their government-issued devices. The measure is intended to reduce the risk of sensitive information being exposed through advertising technology and location-tracking systems. The move underscores growing concerns around the security implications of commercial data-collection tools, particularly when devices are used by military personnel operating in sensitive environments.
OpenAI Launches Astra AI Model With Advanced Computer Use
OpenAI has launched Astra, describing it as its most powerful and capable AI model yet. The company says Astra represents a new frontier in computer and browser use, allowing the model to perform tasks with improvements in speed, accuracy and safety. Astra was initially made available to OpenAI customers using its Daybreak cybersecurity programme. The company plans to expand access over the following week to paid customers, including Pro, Plus, Enterprise and Business users, as well as developers through its API. The launch reflects OpenAI’s growing focus on AI systems that can interact directly with computers and browsers rather than simply generating text or answering questions.
Circular Unveils Ring 3 Smart Rings With NFC and ECG
Smart-ring maker Circular has unveiled its upcoming Ring 3 lineup, consisting of the Ring 3 Pro and Ring 3 Slim. Both models feature an integrated NFC chip for contactless payments, vibrating alerts for alarms and reminders, and biometric monitoring capabilities. The Ring 3 Pro also includes FDA-cleared ECG functionality for AFib detection, blood-pressure trend tracking, glucose tracking and advanced sleep analysis. Circular says the Pro model can deliver up to 12 days of battery life, compared with seven days for its predecessor. The new lineup reflects the growing competition in the smart-ring market as wearable companies add health, payment and AI-powered features to compact devices.
Google Brings Conversational AI to Docs, Gmail and Keep
Google is rolling out new conversational AI features across Docs, Gmail and Keep, allowing users to interact with their documents, emails and notes through natural-language queries and dictation. The features, called Docs Live, Gmail Live and Keep Live, were previewed at Google I/O earlier this year. In Gmail, users can ask a Gemini-powered assistant questions about their inbox instead of relying solely on traditional search. A live transcript will appear while users interact with the assistant. The rollout represents another step in Google’s strategy to integrate Gemini across its productivity ecosystem, allowing users to move from searching for information to directly asking AI to find, interpret and act on it.
