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Google Hopes to Reach Gemini Deal with Apple this Year

FILE PHOTO: Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks to media following his meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (not pictured) at Google Campus in Warsaw, Poland, February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks to media following his meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (not pictured) at Google Campus in Warsaw, Poland, February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel/File Photo
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Google Hopes to Reach Gemini Deal with Apple this Year

FILE PHOTO: Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks to media following his meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (not pictured) at Google Campus in Warsaw, Poland, February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks to media following his meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (not pictured) at Google Campus in Warsaw, Poland, February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel/File Photo

Google hopes to enter an agreement with Apple by the middle of this year to include its Gemini AI technology on new phones, CEO Sundar Pichai said in testimony at an antitrust trial in Washington on Wednesday.
Pichai testified in the Alphabet unit's defense against proposals by the US Department of Justice which include ending lucrative deals with Apple, Samsung, AT&T and Verizon to be the default search engine on new mobile devices, Reuters reported.
During questioning by DOJ attorney Veronica Onyema, Pichai said that while Google does not yet have an agreement with Apple to include its Gemini AI on iPhones, Pichai spoke with Apple CEO Tim Cook about the possibility last year.
A potential deal this year would see Google's Gemini AI included within Apple Intelligence, Apple's own set of AI features, Pichai said.
Google also plans to experiment with including ads in its Gemini app, Pichai said.
Prosecutors have sought to illustrate how Google could extend its dominance in online search to AI. Google maintained its monopoly in part by paying billions of dollars to wireless carriers and smartphone manufacturers, US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled last year.
The judge is now weighing what actions Google should take to restore competition. The outcome of the case could fundamentally reshape the internet by potentially unseating Google as the go-to portal for information online.
The DOJ and a broad coalition of state attorneys general are pressing for remedies including requiring Google to sell off its Chrome web browser, banning it from paying to be the default search engine and requiring it to share search data with competitors.
The data-sharing provisions would discourage Google from investing in research and development, Pichai testified on Wednesday.
Provisions that would require the company to share its search index and search query data are "extraordinary," and amount to a "defacto divestiture of our IP related to search," Pichai said.
"It would be trivial to reverse engineer and effectively build Google search from the outside," he said.
That would make it "unviable to invest in R&D the way we have for the past two decades," Pichai added.
Google has said it plans to appeal once the judge makes a final ruling.

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Technology

KSrelief Holds Workshop on AI’s Role in Advancing Humanitarian and Development Work

The workshop discussed emerging trends and risks. SPA
The workshop discussed emerging trends and risks. SPA
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KSrelief Holds Workshop on AI’s Role in Advancing Humanitarian and Development Work

The workshop discussed emerging trends and risks. SPA
The workshop discussed emerging trends and risks. SPA

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), in collaboration with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), organized a two-day workshop titled “Data and Artificial Intelligence in the Humanitarian and Development Sectors: A Saudi-UK Partnership for Leadership and Impact” at its headquarters in Riyadh.

The workshop that started Tuesday was attended by KSrelief Director of Information Technology Eng. Tamim Al-Husain and UK Deputy Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dr. Alice Burt.

The event brought together experts from the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), and specialists from KSrelief, SFD, and FCDO.

The workshop discussed emerging trends and risks, facilitated the exchange of expertise, and explored opportunities for future cooperation and partnerships between Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom in the field of artificial intelligence to advance humanitarian and development work.

It also highlighted the importance of data and AI in humanitarian and development leadership, reviewed practical applications of AI in humanitarian needs assessments, early warning systems, inclusion efforts, and demographic trend analysis, and examined AI governance and safeguards for the safe and responsible use of emerging technologies.

In addition, participants discussed Saudi Arabia’s approach to leveraging technology in the humanitarian sector and developed a roadmap for the next round of strategic dialogue between the two countries.

The workshop was held as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation and coordination between Saudi Arabia and the UK in data and AI, to advance humanitarian, relief, and development work through the effective use of modern technologies.

Technology

Saudi Arabia: Tuwaiq Academy, Google Cloud Launch AI, Cloud Computing Initiative

The initiative was launched during Google Cloud’s annual AI Live + Labs event in Riyadh. SPA
The initiative was launched during Google Cloud’s annual AI Live + Labs event in Riyadh. SPA
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Saudi Arabia: Tuwaiq Academy, Google Cloud Launch AI, Cloud Computing Initiative

The initiative was launched during Google Cloud’s annual AI Live + Labs event in Riyadh. SPA
The initiative was launched during Google Cloud’s annual AI Live + Labs event in Riyadh. SPA

Saudi Arabia’s Tuwaiq Academy, in collaboration with Google Cloud, has launched the AI & Cloud Champions Program, aiming to build national capabilities and empower local talent to develop innovative cloud-based solutions using AI and emerging technologies.

The initiative, launched during Google Cloud’s annual AI Live + Labs event in Riyadh, builds on the strategic partnership between the two sides. It focuses on developing digital skills while expanding the Kingdom’s ecosystem of developers, tech startups, and tech professionals.

The program includes developing specialized training content and programs, as well as access to hands-on sandbox environments, cloud service credits, and vouchers for professional certification exams. It is further supported by a grant from Google Cloud’s economic and community development team to help drive its implementation.

Running from June through December, the program targets students, graduates, employees, tech startup entrepreneurs, and tech enthusiasts.

The initiative features three main tracks, including training programs and professional certifications designed to help participants strengthen their skills in applying AI in cloud computing. Additionally, a dedicated track will support more than 60 tech startups through intensive sessions and practical consulting to help them advance their growth and development.

The program will also offer a series of workshops and knowledge-sharing sessions led by experts and specialists to enhance participants’ expertise and capabilities in AI and cloud computing.

Technology

Intense AI Use Still Rare Among Euro Zone Firms, ECB Researchers Find

FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand miniature in this illustration taken, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand miniature in this illustration taken, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Intense AI Use Still Rare Among Euro Zone Firms, ECB Researchers Find

FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand miniature in this illustration taken, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand miniature in this illustration taken, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Only a small fraction of euro zone firms use artificial intelligence intensely and they tend to be small, young, service-oriented companies, leaving plenty of room for diffusion, a European Central Bank blog post said on Wednesday.

The vast majority of firms now say they have been using AI but economists have been debating just how intense this use is and whether it can yield the sort of efficiency gains that ⁠are relevant on a ⁠macroeconomic level.

Surveying more than 5,000 companies across the bloc, the ECB found that over 70% report using AI and much of the rest plan to start this year, Reuters reported. But use is moderate or infrequent and ⁠only 7% use AI intensely, the survey found.

"The intensive use that drives transformation and generates macroeconomic gains remains rare," the authors, all ECB researchers, said, in a post that does not necessarily represent the ECB's views.

Intense use is skewed towards smaller companies with large firms clearly lagging behind, the survey results showed. Younger firms also used AI more intensely than older companies ⁠and ⁠use was skewed towards high-tech, knowledge-intensive services.

"Firms at an early stage of adoption often cite cost reductions and improvements in operational efficiency as their main reasons for using it," the blog said. "Intensive users are more frequently motivated by growth and innovation."

Firms tend to invest in AI when their competitors do, succumbing to peer pressure, and intensive users spend heavily on customized solutions that go well beyond just purchasing licenses, the blog said.