Feed aggregator

The AI Case Against Indian IT Ignores What Indian IT Actually Does

Slashdot.org - Thu, 02/26/2026 - 12:20
A fictional memo set in June 2028, published by short seller Citrini Research, wiped roughly $10 billion off Indian IT stocks in a single trading session on February 24 and sent the Nifty IT index down as much as 5.3% -- its worst single-day fall since August 2023 -- on the argument that AI coding agents have collapsed the cost advantage of Indian developers to the price of electricity. The index has shed more than $68 billion in market value in February alone, its worst month since 2003. But the core claim that India's entire $205 billion software export industry rests on cheap labor is roughly 15 years out of date, an analysis argues, custom application maintenance alone accounts for about 35% of a typical Indian IT firm's revenue, per HSBC, and enterprise platforms require deterministic outputs that probabilistic AI systems cannot wholesale replace. HSBC estimates gross AI-led revenue deflation for the sector at 14-16%, a measured headwind rather than an extinction event. The story adds: 24 years of software export data that has never posted a decline, $200 billion in annual revenue, partnerships with the very AI labs whose products are supposed to be the instrument of the sector's destruction, possibly a new $1.5 trillion market category emerging at the intersection of services and software, and the largest U.S. corporates in the middle of mapping their entire workforces into process architectures that require technology partners to modernise. I think India's IT is going to be fine.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

3 Google AI tools that helped me get my new job3 Google AI tools that helped me get my new job

GoogleBlog - Thu, 02/26/2026 - 12:00
From analysis paralysis to a new role, see how one Googler used 3 AI tools to navigate a career lattice.From analysis paralysis to a new role, see how one Googler used 3 AI tools to navigate a career lattice.
Categories: Technology

New York Sues Valve For Enabling 'Illegal Gambling' With Loot Boxes

Slashdot.org - Thu, 02/26/2026 - 11:40
New York state has filed a lawsuit against Valve alleging that randomized loot boxes in games like Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2, and Dota 2 amount to a form of unregulated gambling, letting users "pay for the chance to win a rare virtual item of significant monetary value." From a report: While many randomized video game loot boxes have drawn attention and regulation from various government bodies in recent years, the New York suit calls out Valve's system specifically for "enabl[ing] users to sell the virtual items they have won, either through its own virtual marketplace, the Steam Community Market, or through third-party marketplaces." The vast majority of Valve's in-game loot boxes contain skins that can only be resold for a few cents, the suit notes, while the rarest skins can be worth thousands of dollars through marketplaces on and off of Steam. That fits the statutory definition of gambling as "charging an individual for a chance to win something of value based on luck alone," according to the suit. The Steam Wallet funds that users get through directly reselling skins "have the equivalent purchasing power on the Steam platform as cash," the suit notes. But if a user wants to convert those Steam funds to real cash, they can do so relatively easily by purchasing a Steam Deck and reselling it to any interested party, as an investigator did while preparing the lawsuit.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Burger King Will Use AI To Check If Employees Say 'Please' and 'Thank You'

Slashdot.org - Thu, 02/26/2026 - 11:03
An anonymous reader shares a report: Burger King is launching an AI chatbot that will live in the headsets used by employees. The voice-enabled chatbot, called "Patty," is part of an overarching BK Assistant platform that will not only assist employees with meal preparation but also evaluate their interactions with customers for "friendliness." Thibault Roux, Burger King's chief digital officer, tells The Verge that the company compiled information from franchisees and guests on how to measure friendliness, resulting in the fast food chain training its AI system to recognize certain words and phrases, such as "welcome to Burger King," "please," and "thank you." Managers can then ask the AI assistant how their location is performing on friendliness. "This is all meant to be a coaching tool," Roux says, adding that the company is "iterating" on capturing the tone of conversations as well.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Build with Nano Banana 2, our best image generation and editing modelBuild with Nano Banana 2, our best image generation and editing modelProduct ManagerGroup Product Manager

GoogleBlog - Thu, 02/26/2026 - 11:00
Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) delivers Pro-level intelligence and fidelity for all image applications.Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) delivers Pro-level intelligence and fidelity for all image applications.
Categories: Technology

Nano Banana 2: Combining Pro capabilities with lightning-fast speedNano Banana 2: Combining Pro capabilities with lightning-fast speedProduct Manager

GoogleBlog - Thu, 02/26/2026 - 11:00
Our latest image generation model offers advanced world knowledge, production-ready specs, subject consistency and more, all at Flash speed.Our latest image generation model offers advanced world knowledge, production-ready specs, subject consistency and more, all at Flash speed.
Categories: Technology

This March 23, we’ll be introducing the Gemini advantage in Google Marketing Platform.This March 23, we’ll be introducing the Gemini advantage in Google Marketing Platform.General Manager

GoogleBlog - Thu, 02/26/2026 - 11:00
A look ahead at Google Newfront 2026, and how Gemini models bring more value for programmatic advertisers and biddable tools.
Categories: Technology

HBO Max's Password-Sharing Crackdown Will Expand Globally in 2026

Slashdot.org - Thu, 02/26/2026 - 10:00
HBO Max will be cracking down on password sharing around the world. From a report: The streamer first started cracking down on password sharing in the United States late last August. Subscribers are now able to add an additional out-of-household account for $7.99 a month. Before that August change, Warner Bros. Discovery had been testing for months to determine who may or may not be a "legitimate user," as CEO and President for Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming and Games JB Perrette described the plan. On Thursday during the company's fourth quarter earnings call for 2025, WBD revealed that the streaming limitations would be expanding. This news came as part of an answer about which levers the company plans to pull to grow HBO Max. Password crackdowns have proven to be a lucrative way to both boost revenue and subscriptions. Netflix, for example, saw 9 million more subscribers after its first wave of password crackdowns in 2024. The caveat is that password crackdowns do not lead to consistent growth, and they often infuriate subscribers.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Syndicate content
Comment