Google Expands $8 AI Plus Plan Globally
Google’s lower-cost AI Plus subscription, priced at $7.99 in the U.S., is now available in all markets offering Google AI plans, providing access to Gemini 3 Pro, AI filmmaking tools, and more.
BLEU, or Bilingual Evaluation Understudy, is an automatic metric originally developed for machine translation. It compares short sequences of words in generated text with one or more reference translations, combines precision across several n-gram lengths, and applies a penalty when output is too short. BLEU is inexpensive and useful for comparing systems on the same dataset, but it does not directly measure factuality, fluency, meaning, or human preference. Valid alternative wording can receive a low score, while awkward text can match many reference phrases. Results depend on tokenization and implementation, so reporting should include the exact evaluation settings and, when possible, human judgment.
Google’s lower-cost AI Plus subscription, priced at $7.99 in the U.S., is now available in all markets offering Google AI plans, providing access to Gemini 3 Pro, AI filmmaking tools, and more.
A new assessment by Common Sense Media finds xAI’s Grok chatbot exposes minors to sexual, violent, and unsafe content, with weak age verification and ineffective safety controls.
Climate tech startup Rainbow Weather has raised $5.5 million in seed funding to scale its AI-driven platform for hyper-local, real-time weather forecasting and environmental intelligence.
Microsoft has introduced Maia 200, a new AI chip built with TSMC and designed to power GPT-5.2 and Microsoft 365 Copilot, promising faster, more efficient AI performance.
Apple plans to debut a Gemini-based Siri in February, offering more natural conversations, complex tasks, and integration across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.
Utah launches an AI pilot for prescription renewals, letting algorithms handle routine medication management without physicians, highlighting regulatory and safety challenges.
OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT model has cited Elon Musk-backed Grokipedia across multiple topics, prompting concerns among researchers about how low-credibility sources can influence AI-generated answers.
Language learning app Praktika is using OpenAI models to power a multi-agent tutoring system designed to improve real-world speaking fluency through adaptive, conversational lessons.
Analysts warn 2026 could be a pivotal year for OpenAI and other private AI companies as investors focus on profitability amid rising compute costs and IPO speculation.
Apple is reportedly working on a pin-shaped AI wearable with cameras and microphones, potentially launching in 2027, signaling increased competition in the AI hardware space.