Former Y Combinator president Geoff Ralston launches new AI ‘safety’ fund
Geoff Ralston, known for his years at Y Combinator, has a new AI VC fund called SAIF. It is seeking AI startups focused on safety.
Puzzle Corner
Ready for a fresh set of puzzles? Click here for the July/August 2025 Puzzle Corner, brought to you by guest editor Ed Faulkner ’03. Send problems, solutions (by August 1), and comments to puzzlecorner@technologyreview.com. Editor emeritus Allan Gottlieb ’67 launched Puzzle Corner in 1966. Find back issues through 2022 at cs.nyu.edu/~gottlieb/tr and more recent back issues at technologyreview.com/puzzle-corner.
5 Key Data and AI Innovations to Keep an Eye on in 2025
Here are five big innovations that businesses should watch and leverage for success this year.
A Google Gemini model now has a “dial” to adjust how much it reasons
Google DeepMind’s latest update to a top Gemini AI model includes a dial to control how much the system “thinks” through a response. The new feature is ostensibly designed to save money for developers, but it also concedes a problem: Reasoning models, the tech world’s new obsession, are prone to overthinking, burning money and energy…
Google’s latest AI model report lacks key safety details, experts say
On Thursday, weeks after launching its most powerful AI model yet, Gemini 2.5 Pro, Google published a technical report showing the results of its internal safety evaluations. However, the report is light on the details, experts say, making it difficult to determine which risks the model might pose. Technical reports provide useful — and unflattering, […]
Automakers selling cars in China banned from using ‘autonomous driving’ in ads
China is cracking down on how automakers advertise driver assistance features, banning terms like “autonomous driving,” “self-driving,” and “smart driving,” Reuters reported, citing a transcript of a meeting between the government and industry representatives. The updated rule will also prohibit automakers from rolling out improvements via software updates to advanced driving assistance systems in vehicles […]
3 Workplace Biases Inclusive Leaders Can Reduce Right Now
Here are three biases inclusive leaders should address and reduce to foster a more equitable, collaborative and high-performing workplace.
‘Anticompetitive Policies’: Google Partially Loses Antitrust Case
On Thursday, a judge ruled Google illegally monopolized online advertising technology in some markets.
AI benchmarking platform Chatbot Arena forms a new company
Chatbot Arena, the crowdsourced benchmarking project major AI labs rely on to test and market their AI models, is forming a company called Arena Intelligence Inc., reports Bloomberg. In a blog post published Thursday, Chatbot Arena said that the company will “give [it] the resources to improve [its platform] significantly over what it is today.” […]
How to Build Strategic Partnerships That Actually Drive Growth
In today’s fast-moving market, the most successful companies are rethinking growth — not as a solo act, but as a strategic collaboration.
Florida draft law mandating encryption backdoors for social media accounts billed ‘dangerous and dumb’
A digital rights group blasted the Florida bill, but lawmakers voted to advanced the draft law.