Plus : USAID cuts will affect the health of millions
With OpenAI, is Google playing catch-up in search?
-Food the female.
Recently, Will Heaven, our senior AI editor, made a point that I have been thinking about: All the major players in AI are moving in the same direction and convergent on the same things. Agents. Deep research Lightweight versions of models Etc. Google is no exception. It just announced that it will add new AI features to search and search features to Gemini.
I’m more impressed by how well they function than their performance. They are just catching up to OpenAI ChatGPT. Their late appearance in March 2025 is not a good sign for Google. Read more. This story was originally published in The Debrief With Mat Honan, our editor-in-chief’s weekly newsletter on the most important stories in technology. Sign up here to receive the next edition in your inbox every Friday. If you want to learn more about AI search then check out these stories:
AI chatbots joined the chatroom
The chatbots are changing the way we communicate with each other and with ourselves. Are these changes for better or worse, and how can they be monitored and regulated. Join me at a live Roundtable this Thursday, 12pm ET to learn more.
I’ll be chatting to MIT Technology Review editor Rachel Courtland, and senior reporter Eileen Guo. We’ll be delving into the world of chatbots. Register now to make sure you don’t lose out!
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
How Trump’s foreign assistance cuts will affect the health of millions of people
World is going to struggle with the loss of US aid. (Vox)
+ The result is that hundreds of thousands of people will likely lose their lives. New Yorker ($)
+ The reductions could make tuberculosis untreatable once again. The Atlantic $]
+ Leading scientific universities are forced to cut jobs. The Guardian
and Cuts to reproductive care may cause pregnant women to die. MIT Technology Review
Two left-leaning Americans have abandoned Tesla
and conservatives are facing a steep climb to close the sales gap. (NYT $)
+ Tesla is turning its back to the pro-EV customers that made it successful. The WP ($)
Three VC firms rush to invest in Israeli startups.
These firms bet that these firms will do business with the US in the future. (WSJ $)
+ Here is the defense technology at the heart of US aid to Israel Ukraine and Taiwan. MIT Technology Review
NASA is scheduled for the return of the two stranded Astronauts on Tuesday.
New crew arrived over the weekend to relieve them from their duties. (NPR)
+ We’ll see if they get home this week. Space travel is hard on the body. WP($)
Baidu’s new AI reasoning model is designed to compete with DeepSeek
Ernie X1 allegedly offers the same performance for half the price. (Insider $)
+ DeepSeek’s shocking success is triggering a new wave in AI investment. [Bloomberg[Bloomberg $]
+ There are four Chinese AI startups worth watching beyond DeepSeek. MIT Technology Review
Alphabet’s laser-based internet project has big plans
Taara is now out of the moonshot incubator. (FT $)
+ This is a rival network to Musk’s Starlink. The Verge
What if Bitcoin’s mysterious creator was just a loser.
The trail is getting older and all signs point to the shadowy figure as being… a bit jerk. (NY Mag)
Drone shows bring 3D artists’ visions to life
But they come with a warning. Rest of World
Google’s Gemini AI model is able to remove watermarks on images
Naughty! (TechCrunch)
+ Watermarks can be easily altered when AI-generated text is used. MIT Technology Review
What is exactly vibe coding?
The developers are giving up and letting AI dictate their own path. (The Information$)
Today’s Quote
According to the Guardian Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic Strategist, explains how Elon Musk’s unpopular actions will likely become a problem for Trump’s administration.
Big story
How conspiracies have led to a resurgence of AIDS denial
The two men were promoting dangerous, false ideas to the largest podcast audience in the entire world. These ideas were debunked decades ago.
These and other comments add up to a small, but unmistakable resurgence of AIDS denial–a false collection theories arguing that either HIV doesn’t lead to AIDS or there is no such thing as HIV.
These theories had fallen out of favour until the coronavirus. After the pandemic a renewed suspicion for public health figures and agencies has given new life to ideas which were long ago pushed to one side. Read the complete story.
-Anna Merlan.
You can still enjoy nice things.
A place to find comfort, fun, and distraction. (Do you have any ideas? Drop a line to me (or skeet them at me). If you’re celebrating St Patrick’s Day today, is a great way to start the day! This newsreader’s meltdown over the name of a inspirational pigwill be the most entertaining thing that you see today.
+ These one-pot spaghetti dishes provide the perfect low-maintenance recipe for a weekday meal.
+ Do you snerdle ? Me neither.
