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India Tells University To Leave AI Summit After Presenting Chinese Robot as Its Own

Slashdot.org - Wed, 02/18/2026 - 09:00
An anonymous reader shares a report: An Indian university has been asked to vacate its stall at the country's flagship AI summit after a staff member was caught presenting a commercially available robotic dog made in China as its own creation, two government sources said. "You need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University," Neha Singh, a professor of communications, told state-run broadcaster DD News this week in remarks that have since gone viral. But social media users quickly identified the robot as the Unitree Go2, sold by China's Unitree Robotics for about $2,800 and widely used in research and education globally. The episode has drawn sharp criticism and has cast an uncomfortable spotlight on India's artificial intelligence ambitions.

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Get your first look at the new Pixel 10a.Get your first look at the new Pixel 10a.

GoogleBlog - Wed, 02/18/2026 - 08:13
Pixel 10a is here! Our newest, most durable A-series phone has our best-in-class camera system and many of our most advanced AI tools, powered by our custom-built Google…
Categories: Technology

Thousands of CEOs Just Admitted AI Had No Impact On Employment Or Productivity

Slashdot.org - Wed, 02/18/2026 - 08:00
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Fortune: In 1987, economist and Nobel laureate Robert Solow made a stark observation about the stalling evolution of the Information Age: Following the advent of transistors, microprocessors, integrated circuits, and memory chips of the 1960s, economists and companies expected these new technologies to disrupt workplaces and result in a surge of productivity. Instead, productivity growth slowed, dropping from 2.9% from 1948 to 1973, to 1.1% after 1973. Newfangled computers were actually at times producing too much information, generating agonizingly detailed reports and printing them on reams of paper. What had promised to be a boom to workplace productivity was for several years a bust. This unexpected outcome became known as Solow's productivity paradox, thanks to the economist's observation of the phenomenon. "You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics," Solow wrote in a New York Times Book Review article in 1987. New data on how C-suite executives are -- or aren't -- using AI shows history is repeating itself, complicating the similar promises economists and Big Tech founders made about the technology's impact on the workplace and economy. Despite 374 companies in the S&P 500 mentioning AI in earnings calls -- most of which said the technology's implementation in the firm was entirely positive -- according to a Financial Times analysis from September 2024 to 2025, those positive adoptions aren't being reflected in broader productivity gains. A study published this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that among 6,000 CEOs, chief financial officers, and other executives from firms who responded to various business outlook surveys in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Australia, the vast majority see little impact from AI on their operations. While about two-thirds of executives reported using AI, that usage amounted to only about 1.5 hours per week, and 25% of respondents reported not using AI in the workplace at all. Nearly 90% of firms said AI has had no impact on employment or productivity over the last three years, the research noted. However, firms' expectations of AI's workplace and economic impact remained substantial: Executives also forecast AI will increase productivity by 1.4% and increase output by 0.8% over the next three years. While firms expected a 0.7% cut to employment over this time period, individual employees surveyed saw a 0.5% increase in employment.

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Drive with World of Warcraft on Waze.Drive with World of Warcraft on Waze.

GoogleBlog - Wed, 02/18/2026 - 06:38
Waze is once again teaming up with World of Warcraft, this time bringing a darker presence to your turn-by-turn directions: the Harbinger of the Void, Xal’atath.After th…
Categories: Technology

AI Impact Summit 2026: How we’re partnering to make AI work for everyoneAI Impact Summit 2026: How we’re partnering to make AI work for everyoneSVP, Research, Labs, Technology & Society

GoogleBlog - Wed, 02/18/2026 - 05:30
An overview of Google’s new global partnerships and funding announcements at the AI Impact Summit in India.An overview of Google’s new global partnerships and funding announcements at the AI Impact Summit in India.
Categories: Technology

We’re launching the Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Science.We’re launching the Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Science.

GoogleBlog - Wed, 02/18/2026 - 05:30
AI isn’t just helping people solve problems faster, it’s unlocking new possibilities for discovery and scalability. To support organizations at the forefront of scientif…
Categories: Technology

We’re announcing the new Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Government Innovation.We’re announcing the new Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Government Innovation.

GoogleBlog - Wed, 02/18/2026 - 05:30
Government AI adoption isn't just a technical upgrade, it's a way to solve real world challenges and drive societal impact for communities. Yet new data reveals that whi…
Categories: Technology

Single Dose of DMT Rapidly Reduces Symptoms of Major Depression

Slashdot.org - Wed, 02/18/2026 - 05:00
In a small double-blind clinical trial, a single intravenous dose of DMT produced rapid and clinically meaningful reductions in symptoms of major depressive disorder within a week, with effects lasting up to three months in some patients. "Unlike psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide ( LSD), whose effects can last for hours, intravenous DMT has a half-life of around five minutes," notes ScienceAlert. "Its psychedelic effects are correspondingly brief, potentially making it more practical to administer in clinical settings." From the report: "A single dose of DMT with psychotherapeutic support produced a rapid, significant reduction in depressive symptoms, sustained up to three months," writes a team led by neuroscientists David Erritzoe and Tommaso Barba of Imperial College London. [...] They recruited 34 participants with major depression and divided them into two groups of 17 for a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. In the first stage of the trial, one group received an intravenous dose of DMT, while the other received an active placebo. Neither the researchers nor the participants were informed which participants received the DMT. The doses took around 10 minutes to administer, and a therapist sat with each participant to ensure comfort and safety while the psychedelic effects were active, remaining silent throughout the treatment. The treatment was generally well tolerated. Most side effects were mild to moderate, and included nausea, temporary anxiety, and pain at the injection site. No serious adverse events related to the treatment were reported, although brief increases in heart rate and blood pressure were observed immediately after dosing. In the second, open-label stage, two weeks after the first dose, all participants were given the opportunity to receive a dose of DMT. Participants were assessed before and at intervals after each dose using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale. Just a week after the first dose, participants who had received DMT had improved scores compared to the placebo group, and improvements were sustained during follow-up assessments. Two weeks after the first dose, the participants who received DMT scored about seven points lower, on average, than those who received a placebo. On this commonly used clinical scale, a drop of that size is generally considered a meaningful reduction in symptom severity. There was no significant difference between patients who received one or two doses of DMT, suggesting a single dose may be sufficient. These effects persisted for up to three months, and some patients remained in remission for at least six months following the treatment. The findings have been published in Nature Medicine.

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