Latest news with #Alphabet
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
YouTube adopts AI to spot underage viewers in US
YouTube, the video-sharing platform owned by Alphabet, is set to deploy AI to identify users in the US who are under 18 years old. The move comes amid increasing demands for technology companies to bolster online safety measures for children. In a blog post, YouTube announced that it plans to utilise AI technology to assess various signals such as longevity of the account, video searches, and preferred content categories, to estimate the age of its users. For those identified as under 18, the platform will automatically enforce standard protection measures designed for teenage accounts. "This will happen regardless of the birthdate you entered when creating your account. We'll then use that to extend age-appropriate product experiences and protections to more teens (like enabling digital well-being tools and only showing non-personalised ads)", the company stated in its blog. The initiative is set to commence on 13 August 2025 and will initially involve a limited group of users in the US. 'These protections for teens are not new - we now have enhanced technology to more accurately determine whether or not a user is under 18 and are now able to extend these protections to more teenagers. We've used this approach in other markets for some time, where it is working well and we are now gradually rolling it out to the US", the post added. This development aligns with the age verification laws passed in several US states and other countries, which mandate platforms to confirm users' ages to protect minors from inappropriate content. On YouTube, if the AI determines a user is under 18, the platform will activate safeguards such as privacy reminders and reduced recommendations of potentially problematic content. In scenarios where the AI inaccurately estimates a user's age, YouTube offers the option for users to verify their age through government ID, credit card, or by uploading a personal photograph. The video-sharing platform warned that some content creators might notice changes in their teenage audience demographics and potentially experience a decrease in ad revenue. However, it anticipates a "limited impact for most creators." This initiative follows YouTube CEO Neal Mohan's February announcement regarding the company's plans to expand the use of AI, including for age estimation. Additionally, creators will have access to AI features such as automatic dubbing between languages and tools to generate video titles or image thumbnails. YouTube said it intends to closely observe the AI-driven age estimation process before broadening its application, Bloomberg reported. "YouTube adopts AI to spot underage viewers in US" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Google is getting a boost from AI after spending billions
Google parent Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) is finally starting to cash in on the billions of dollars it's spending on its rapid AI buildout. The company reported better-than-anticipated earnings after the bell on Wednesday, with CEO Sundar Pichai pointing to AI as a key growth catalyst for its various products. Google cloud revenue climbed 32% and backlog, or purchase commitments from customers not yet realized, rose 38%. Search also performed better than expected during the quarter, with sales increasing 12% year over year. Wall Street previously raised concerns that chatbots and search offerings from AI upstarts like OpenAI ( Perplexity ( and Anthropic ( would steal users from Google's own Search product. But according to Pichai, Search revenue grew by double digits, and its AI Overviews feature, the small box at the top of the traditional search page that summarizes information, now has 2 billion monthly users. But Google also announced it's pouring even more money into its AI development, saying in its earnings release that it will spend an additional $10 billion on the technology this year, bringing its total capital expenditures from $75 billion to $85 billion. Despite that, analysts are riding high on Google's stock. In a note to investors on Wednesday, Jefferies analyst Brent Thill said Google's results back up its increased spending. 'After hiccups in early '23, [Google's] AI efforts picked up urgency and have now delivered benchmark-leading Gemini 2.5 Pro models,' Thill wrote. 'This is starting to show up in [key performance indicators], with Cloud [revenue accelerating] to 32% [year over year] from 28%, tokens processed 2x to 980 [trillion] tokens since April, and search ad [revenue accelerating] to 12% from 10%. This confidence supports '25 [capital expenditures] raise to $85B.' Morgan Stanley's Brian Nowak offered a similar outlook for Google, raising the firm's price target on the tech giant from $205 to $210. Wedbush's Scott Devitt also raised his price target on the company to $225. Malik Ahmed Khan at Morningstar pointed out that while AI Overview searches are monetizing at the same rate as standard Google searches, 'AI Overviews are helping increase search volumes within Google Search, with the feature driving over 10% more queries, leading to additional sales within the Search segment.' But behind all of that are the potentially devastating consequences from a judge's decision that held it liable for antitrust violations in search. Judge Amit Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia is expected to issue a ruling on "remedies" that follows the Justice Department's victory against the company sometime next month. Judge Mehta held that Google violated antitrust law by boxing out rivals in the online search engine and online search text markets. To restore competition, he could order Google to refrain from longstanding exclusivity deals like the one with Apple (AAPL) that set Google Search as the default option on the iPhone. Mehta could also force Google to sell off its Chrome browser, the most popular web browser in the world. That would put a dent in Google's all-important search business, a dangerous proposition for the Daniel Howley at dhowley@ Follow him on X/Twitter at @DanielHowley. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Time of India
an hour ago
- Business
- Time of India
TOI Bharat Abroad: Pichai's Payday, Pelosi's Challenger, Mamdani's Bash
Bharat in your inbox — every week. News, views, and stories that matter to the global Indian. This week in TOI Bharat Abroad: Sundar Pichai joins the billionaire club after a decade steering Google; Saikat Chakrabarti takes on the Democratic establishment with a direct challenge to Nancy Pelosi; and New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani throws a secretive, star-studded wedding in Uganda that felt part Bourne, part Bollywood. THE BIG STORY Sundar Pichai enters billionaire club after decade at Google's helm Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, has officially joined the billionaire ranks with a net worth of $1.1 billion, per Bloomberg — a rare feat for a non-founder in Silicon Valley. Why it matters: Pichai's rise marks a shift in tech's power structure, where operational leadership now rivals founder mythos. With just 0.02% ownership in Alphabet, he built his fortune through over $650 million in stock sales and bonuses, not equity windfalls. Driving the news: Alphabet's market value has surged by over $1 trillion since early 2023, fuelled by record AI infrastructure investment under Pichai's leadership. In 2025 alone, Alphabet will spend $85 billion on AI. YouTube and Google Cloud now earn more annually than all of Alphabet did when Pichai became CEO in 2015. Born in Tamil Nadu and educated at IIT Kharagpur and Stanford, Pichai's journey — from a two-room home to the helm of a trillion-dollar company — represents a new kind of tech success: quiet, global, and relentlessly effective. Read article. NRI Watch Saikat Chakrabarti takes on Dem Godmother Indian-origin political organiser Saikat Chakrabarti — best known as AOC's ex-aide and Justice Democrats co-founder — is taking on Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi in California's 11th District. His 'Mission for America' campaign blends climate action, jobs, and economic reform, and rejects all corporate PAC money. Born to Bengali parents in Texas, Chakrabarti is challenging what he sees as a complacent Democratic establishment post-Trump's re-election. Pelosi remains the favourite, but Chakrabarti's candidacy signals a deeper generational battle within the party — and a rare desi voice in the heart of America's progressive insurgency. Read article. Offbeat A Big Fat Ugandan Wedding New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's three-day wedding in Uganda made waves for its secrecy and scale. Held at his family's estate in Kampala's upscale Buziga Hill, the event featured armed guards, masked security, phone jammers, and luxury convoys. Mamdani, 33, born in Uganda and raised in New York, married artist Rama Duwaji in February but hosted the formal bash recently. Guests partied under tree canopies lit with fairy lights, overlooking Lake Victoria. The estate, owned by his parents—filmmaker Mira Nair and scholar Mahmood Mamdani—became a fortress, with over 20 guards and military-style tents. The celebration ended Friday night with a quiet teardown and no official comment from the couple. Read article. In the News Did you know? SPOTLIGHT Infographic Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Microsoft's (MSFT) Capex in FY26 Could Surprise to the Upside, Analysts Say
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the . On July 28,Stifel reiterated the stock as 'Buy' and raised its price target to $550 per share from $500 ahead of earnings later this week. The firm mentioned improving enterprise IT spending, booming Azure growth, and robust generative AI demand ahead of the company's upcoming results. 'We believe healthy results from GCP and NOW last week and our strong checks point to a Q/Q acceleration in the enterprise spending environment.' They added that this, combined with 'non-AI GTM execution improvements and robust genAI demand, should enable Azure to post ~100-200bps of upside vs. 34-35% Y/Y-CC guidance.' It believes fiscal 2026 capital expenditures may surprise to the upside, and that even though there may be a potential squeeze on gross margins, the outlook on profitability remains positive. 'Looking forward, we believe management's prior expectation that supply/demand imbalances would linger beyond June will be further pushed out to F2H26, and we also expect FY26 capex commentary could likely exceed our./street estimates of ~$110B/$100B, respectively, echoing Alphabet's commentary during earnings.' Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) provides AI-powered cloud, productivity, and business solutions, focusing on efficiency, security, and AI advancements. While we acknowledge the potential of MSFT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: and Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Epoch Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- Epoch Times
Google to Sign EU's AI Code of Practice
Europe Parent company Alphabet's global affairs president and chief legal officer announced the decision, with some reservations, in a blog post. Google will sign the European Union's artificial intelligence code of practice, despite some reservations, the global affairs president of the firm's parent company, Alphabet, said in a blog post on Wednesday. 'We will join several other companies, including U.S. model providers, in signing the European Union's General Purpose AI Code of Practice,' Kent Walker, who is also Alphabet's chief legal officer, said.
