NerdNews

Google is offering a free year of its AI Pro plan to eligible college students in the US, which includes 5TB of cloud storage, quadruple Gemini usage limits, and access to the Spark agentic platform. The plan typically costs $200 per year and is likely an attempt to increase Gemini usage numbers.

Meta has released a standalone desktop app for Meta AI on Mac, offering new features such as screen sharing and integration with Google Workspace, to help businesses manage ad campaigns and get tailored advice. The app is part of Meta's push to provide AI tools for business owners and creators.

Waymo has launched its next-generation robotaxi, called Ojai, which is cheaper to build and maintain. The Ojai is available to all riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco, and will be rolled out in Denver, Las Vegas, and San Diego later this year. The vehicle is equipped with Waymo's sixth-generation self-driving system and a redesigned user interface.

OpenAI has announced a new service called Private Safety Processing, which is an automated system that watches for potential abuse while retaining none of the customer's data. This move is seen as a way to one-up its rival Anthropic, which has a data-retention policy that has concerned some enterprises. Private Safety Processing widens the scope of OpenAI's Zero Data Retention policy, allowing for long-horizon safety monitoring that assesses inputs and outputs of multiple conversations.

A new report by D&AD suggests that replacing creative jobs with AI could have a hidden cost, as entry-level positions where people learn to build judgment are disappearing, and AI alone cannot replace human creativity. The report highlights the need to preserve human judgment and redesign junior roles to focus on critique, taste, and cultural awareness.

Warp Factories is a new system designed to make building and operating AI software factories easier, providing an infrastructure layer for deploying agents and a roadmap for their use, targeting smaller companies without the resources to develop a system from the ground up

Amazon is offering free access to its Alexa+ AI assistant for users with eligible Fire TV devices in the US. Compatible devices include current-generation Amazon Fire TV Sticks, Fire TV Cube, and smart TVs with Alexa+ built-in. Alexa+ can understand natural language, allowing for more conversational interactions, and can control other smart home devices.

OpenAI is adding stricter controls to its AI models after a recent incident with Hugging Face. The company is introducing workload sandboxing, network isolation, and continuous security testing to prevent similar incidents. OpenAI is also evolving its Preparedness Framework to track and prepare for advanced AI capabilities that could introduce new risks.

TerraPower's nuclear reactor is designed to power AI data centers with a secret weapon - energy storage. The reactor can store excess heat in a giant vat of molten sodium, allowing it to ramp up and down quickly to meet the demands of data centers. This approach takes the best of nuclear power and pairs it with an energy-storage technology, giving TerraPower an advantage in the race to power AI.

Google is introducing a dedicated student hub in Gemini, allowing students to collect research, create flashcards, and take practice quizzes. The hub also integrates with Google Lens to provide explanations and help with complicated concepts. Eligible students in the US can get one year of Google AI Pro for free.

Ericsson and MediaTek completed a successful end-to-end test of high-precision outdoor positioning over a commercial 5G network, achieving decimetre-level accuracy using standardised 3GPP technology for Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Real-Time Kinematic (RTK). The test demonstrates the potential for industrial, mission-critical, and enterprise use cases, enabling precise location data for applications such as autonomous vehicles and industrial robots.

Vivodyne, a biotech startup, claims that current AI models lack the necessary data to cure cancer. They've developed a machine called HIVE that can grow human tissue and test drug candidates, generating causal biological data that can be used to train new AI models.

Huntress observed a 155x increase in password spraying attacks in the first half of 2026, with a campaign targeting Microsoft's Azure CLI. The attacks exploited gaps in multi-factor authentication (MFA) policies, with 8 out of 23 affected businesses having no MFA in place. To mitigate these attacks, organizations should enforce password hygiene, disable ROPC, restrict Azure CLI access, and require MFA for all users and cloud apps.

A critical-severity remote code execution (RCE) flaw in the Windows Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Service Extensions component is being actively exploited by hackers. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-33824, affects all supported Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server releases, allowing attackers to gain code execution by sending maliciously crafted packets to unpatched Windows systems.

Flock Safety's new AI tool, OS Investigate, can identify drivers and track vehicles based on patterns of movement. The tool uses a network of cameras and can pick out potential witnesses based on how often their cars pass through a neighborhood. It can also surface a driver's 'associates' from the cameras they pass together. The tool has raised concerns about privacy and surveillance.

Apple has announced a simplified commission structure for apps in the European Union, replacing its per-install Core Technology Fee with a flat 5% commission on digital goods in apps distributed outside the App Store or on the web. The new terms also loosen requirements for developers to operate alternative app stores.

Waymo has announced the full rollout of its Ojai driverless vans in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. The vans offer spaciousness and backseat entertainment features. This expansion is the second for Waymo in the past week, following permission to operate in Sacramento and San Diego.

Amazon's Prime Air drone delivery service is expanding to nearly 500 US cities by the end of 2026, with a focus on safety and ultrafast delivery. The service will operate in 11 new locations and offer free delivery on eligible orders over $50 for Prime members.

Amazon is bringing Alexa Plus to Fire TV device owners in the US for free, providing features like movie recommendations and smart home control. The upgrade will be automatically applied to all Fire TV owners.

Amazon's Prime Air drone delivery service will expand to nearly 500 US cities and towns by the end of the year, increasing its coverage by six times. The service aims to deliver packages of up to 5 pounds or less within 60 minutes of checkout, using its 'industry-leading Detect-and-Avoid system' for safety.