Latest AI News

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has called on the Department of Defense to implement competitive practices in artificial intelligence procurement as Elon Musk's xAI chatbot Grok gains traction in federal agencies. In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Warren requested details on the Pentagon's AI acquisition strategy, vendor lock-in prevention measures, and data protection safeguards. The push comes shortly after Musk's second high-level meeting at the Pentagon in May 2025, raising concerns about market concentration in defense AI contracting.

Engineers at Caltech have unveiled ATMO (aerially transforming morphobot), a groundbreaking robot that can transform from a flying drone to a wheeled vehicle while still airborne. Unlike conventional hybrid robots that must land before changing form, ATMO's ability to morph mid-flight allows it to navigate rough terrain without getting stuck. The innovation relies on a sophisticated control system that continuously predicts and adjusts to complex aerodynamic forces during transformation.

At Google I/O 2025, the tech giant announced significant upgrades to its AI ecosystem, with Project Astra and AI Mode taking center stage. Project Astra, now integrated with Gemini Live, brings advanced camera and screen-sharing capabilities to both Android and iOS users. Meanwhile, AI Mode is rolling out to all U.S. users with powerful features like Deep Search and real-time visual analysis through Search Live.

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek announced on May 29, 2025, that it has enhanced Alibaba's Qwen 3 8B Base model through a knowledge distillation process using its updated R1-0528 reasoning model. The distillation technique transferred DeepSeek's advanced reasoning capabilities to Alibaba's model, resulting in performance improvements exceeding 10%. This collaboration highlights DeepSeek's growing influence in the AI sector and its commitment to advancing model efficiency through innovative optimization approaches.

A groundbreaking study by researchers from the University of Geneva and University of Bern has revealed that six leading AI systems, including ChatGPT, significantly outperformed humans on standard emotional intelligence assessments. The AIs achieved an impressive 82% accuracy compared to humans' 56% when responding to emotionally charged scenarios. Furthermore, ChatGPT-4 demonstrated the ability to create new, high-quality emotional intelligence tests that matched the reliability of expert-designed assessments.

The Business Intelligence Group has unveiled the winners of its prestigious 2025 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards, recognizing outstanding organizations, products, and individuals driving innovation in AI. This year's honorees showcase exceptional advancements in predictive analytics, generative AI, and explainable AI across diverse industries. Selected by industry experts, these winners demonstrate how AI can effectively address real-world challenges and improve lives.

Researchers at Duke University have developed WildFusion, a groundbreaking framework that combines vision, touch, and vibration sensing to help robots navigate complex outdoor environments. This multi-sensory approach enables four-legged robots to better understand and interact with challenging terrains by processing environmental data similar to how humans do. Successfully tested in forests, grasslands, and gravel paths, WildFusion represents a significant advancement for robots operating in unpredictable natural settings.

Researchers at South Korea's POSTECH have developed innovative haptic devices that allow operators to remotely control industrial robots with precise tactile feedback. The POstick-KF and POstick-VF devices transmit real-time sensations to users' fingertips, creating a more intuitive control experience while keeping workers safely distanced from hazardous environments. This technology integrates with digital twin simulations and augmented reality to further enhance safety and training capabilities.

VentureBeat, the authoritative source on transformative technology, published multiple AI news stories on May 29, 2025, featuring articles by Sean Michael Kerner and Dean Takahashi. The coverage focuses on the enterprise shift to AI, data infrastructure, and intelligent security, highlighting sweeping arrays of new technologies in the artificial intelligence landscape. The large language model boom continues to show no signs of slowing down, with numerous new LLMs being introduced by established tech giants and startups alike.

Chinese robotics firm MagicLab has successfully integrated advanced AI models including DeepSeek, Alibaba's Qwen, and ByteDance's Doubao into its humanoid robots, marking a significant step toward real-world manufacturing applications in 2025. CEO Wu Changzheng highlighted DeepSeek's critical role in developing the robots' reasoning and comprehension capabilities, effectively creating their 'brains.' This breakthrough positions China to maintain its manufacturing dominance through AI-powered humanoid workers that can transition from demonstrations to productive, self-learning machines.

Researchers from the University of Surrey and University of Hamburg have developed a groundbreaking simulation method that eliminates the need for human participants when training social robots. The study, published on May 19, 2025, introduces a dynamic scanpath prediction model that enables robots to predict where humans would look in social settings, effectively mimicking human-like eye movements. This advancement could significantly accelerate social robotics development by removing a major bottleneck in the training process.

The New York Times has entered a multi-year licensing agreement with Amazon, allowing the tech giant to use its editorial content for AI products including Alexa. This landmark deal covers content from The Times, NYT Cooking, and The Athletic for both real-time display in Amazon services and training of Amazon's proprietary foundation models. The partnership represents a significant shift in media-tech relations amid ongoing legal battles between publishers and AI companies over data usage.

Grammarly has secured $1 billion in non-dilutive financing from General Catalyst to expand beyond its writing assistant roots into a comprehensive AI productivity platform. The company plans to use the capital for sales, marketing, and strategic acquisitions while developing communication-based productivity tools and hosting third-party applications. Under CEO Shishir Mehrotra, who joined after Grammarly's acquisition of Coda in January 2025, the company is evolving from a single-purpose tool to an agent platform serving 40 million daily users.

Engineers at Caltech have developed ATMO (aerially transforming morphobot), a groundbreaking robot capable of morphing in midair to seamlessly transition from flight to ground operations without interruption. This real-life transformer uses four thrusters for flying that convert into wheels for ground travel, controlled by sophisticated AI algorithms that manage complex aerodynamics. Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Osaka have created a new type of insect cyborg that navigates autonomously using UV light instead of invasive electrical stimulation.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has intensified its enforcement efforts against companies making false or misleading claims about their artificial intelligence capabilities, a practice known as 'AI washing.' At the Securities Docket Enforcement West conference on May 15, 2025, SEC officials emphasized the need for transparency and accurate communication regarding AI technology. This regulatory focus comes as securities class action filings related to AI misstatements doubled in 2024 compared to 2023, with further growth projected for 2025.

A federal judge is considering less aggressive remedies than the 10-year regime proposed by antitrust enforcers in the Google search monopoly case. During closing arguments on May 30, 2025, Judge Amit Mehta noted that technology changes rapidly, citing OpenAI's recent $6.5 billion acquisition of Jony Ive's device startup. The case has significant implications for AI search competition, with OpenAI's product head testifying that access to Google's search data would improve ChatGPT.

Google has unveiled Gemini Diffusion, a groundbreaking text generation model that converts random noise into coherent text at speeds up to five times faster than previous models. The experimental model uses diffusion technology—similar to image generation techniques—to produce up to 2,000 tokens per second while matching the coding performance of existing models. Google has also enhanced its Gemini 2.5 lineup with thinking budgets that give developers precise control over reasoning capabilities and cost.

Sennos, formerly known as Precision Fermentation, has secured $15 million in Series A funding led by TomEnterprise to expand its AI-powered fermentation platform. The North Carolina-based company's technology combines real-time sensing with machine learning to analyze and optimize microbial processes across industries. With this investment, Sennos plans to scale beyond brewing into alternative proteins, biofuels, and pharmaceuticals by 2026.

CoffeeCo Upcycle, a Greek startup combining AI and biotechnology to transform coffee waste into valuable products, has secured €715,000 in funding as part of a €1 million seed round. The company uses proprietary chemical-free extraction technology to convert spent coffee grounds into skincare ingredients and experimental bioplastics. This investment will fuel CoffeeCo's expansion into key markets including the UK and US while scaling their flagship Auraskin product line.

Engineers at Caltech have developed ATMO (Aerially Transforming Morphobot), a groundbreaking robot that can transform between flying drone and ground vehicle configurations while airborne. Unlike traditional multi-mode robots that must land before changing form, ATMO uses advanced AI-driven control systems to morph mid-flight, enabling immediate ground operations upon landing. This innovation could revolutionize applications in delivery services, search and rescue, and exploration of hazardous environments.