GOOGLE SEARCH DEFAULTS
Google sued over suicide-related AI chats on school computer
The parents of a 13-year-old girl have sued Google claiming she planned a potential suicide and funeral using its AI technology on a school-issued computer. Developers of fast-evolving AI technology are facing a litany of similar lawsuits in the US. OpenAI faces several wrongful death suits, including from the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, a teenager who committed suicide allegedly using methods advised by ChatGPT. Google and the startup Character.
Google turns off AI for schoolchildren by default
Google has said it will switch off its AI tools for schoolchildren by default, after drawing criticism for pushing artificial intelligence features to students while schools are still debating how the technology should be used in classrooms. The feature was switched on by default for students at schools that had already enabled Gemini.
Google hands schools the AI switch as learning concerns grow
Google plans to restrict access to its AI tools for K-12 students, pending administrator approval. This change follows feedback aimed at enhancing control over classroom AI usage. The company is also expanding its Guided Learning feature, which helps students solve problems systematically. Research shows mixed results regarding AI's impact on student performance and learning outcomes.
Google will cut off search access for students at schools that reject AI
The Mountain View, California, company has been facing pushback from educators, child development experts and parents over the use of its technology in schools, with the backlash heating up since it announced in August that it had turned on its Gemini chatbot for many K-12 students who use Google Classroom.
Lessons from Chinese AI Firms on Owning Customers’ Habits
As U.S. AI firms compete in an escalating race for superior models, bigger benchmarks, and more advanced features, Chinese companies are pursuing a fundamentally different strategy: embedding AI into users’ everyday habits. The authors argue that this “habit moat” approach may prove more durable than competing on raw capability alone. Whereas Western firms position AI as a destination consumers consciously visit, companies like Alibaba integrate AI into existing routines such as shopping, payments, food delivery, and travel booking, reducing friction until using AI becomes automatic behavior. Once AI capabilities become “good enough,” marginal technical improvements matter less than becoming the default path through recurring customer tasks. The authors outline four strategic imperatives for Western leaders: focus on behavioral cues rather than feature gaps, subsidize customer behavior instead of subscriptions, embed AI invisibly into existing workflows, and optimize for repeat usage rather than first-time adoption. The central warning is stark: AI may not replace employees first—it may instead capture the critical customer moments businesses currently own.
Google faces UK push to put AI assistants on Android, Chrome choice screens
The tougher rules would require Google to show users a choice of search providers when they first set up an Android phone or open Chrome, prompt them once a year to pick a default, and allow AI assistants that meet its technical and security criteria to appear on those screens.
NPCI unveils UPI MDR; Meta's new child safety measures
The NPCI has finalised the long-awaited MDR framework for UPI transactions, paving the way for changes to the payments ecosystem. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Google probed by Swiss regulator over Android default search feature
The "Choice Screen" feature allows users to choose their default search engines during the initial set up of their new Android device. COMCO said Google had removed this feature in Switzerland, even though it remained available in other countries in Europe.
ETtech Explainer: Google vs US in search monopoly case
After hearing arguments from both the US government and Google, US federal Judge Amit P Mehta gave his ruling on the suit filed to break up the search major as it broke antitrust law. The judgment could reshape how Google strikes deals and continues to maintain its supremacy in online search.
Google offers to loosen search deals in US antitrust case remedy
Google urged U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington to move cautiously in deciding what the company must do to restore competition, after his ruling that the company holds an illegal monopoly in online search and related advertising. Courts have cautioned against imposing antitrust remedies that chill innovation, Google said in court papers.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledges importance of being default search engine in US trial
Google, which started paying for default status on devices in 2005, monitored for compliance. At one point, the company expressed concern to Apple that its Safari browser would send particular queries, especially lucrative ones, to companies like Amazon.com.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai to testify in landmark US antitrust trial
The government, in cross-examination, will likely also ask Pichai why the company pays billions of dollars annually to ensure that Google search is the default in smartphones.
Google paid $26 billion to be default search engine in 2021: report
Google's revenue from search advertising came in at $146.4 billion in 2021, while the payments for the default setting were its biggest cost, Raghavan was mentioned as saying in the Bloomberg report.
'Google's deals lock up 50% of US searches'
Google's exclusive deals to be the default search engine on mobile devices and PC browsers in the US block rivals from up to half of all queries, according to an economist hired by the Department of Justice. Michael Whinston, a professor at MIT, highlighted the significant power of defaults and noted that Google's payments to ensure its default status indicate a reason for concern.
What Google's antitrust trial means for your search habits
However, a blanket ban on default search agreements that have been highly profitable for Apple and other companies such as wireless provider Verizon could trigger unintended consequences, such as raising prices on other popular products.
Five things to know about the Google antitrust trial as it hits halfway mark
In the trial that started on Sept. 12 and is scheduled to go to about mid-November, the Justice Department accused Google of manipulating online auctions - a multibillion dollar industry dominated by Google - with these formulas to favor its own bottom line.
Google antitrust trial: Verizon executive to kick off second week of hearing
The Justice Department argues that Google agreements with mobile carriers and others worth $10 billion annually to win powerful default positions on smartphones and elsewhere so that it would dominate search to drive up its own profits.
Google gives a glimpse of its defense in once-in-a-generation antitrust trial
The Justice Department is arguing in a trial that began on Tuesday that the Alphabet unit sought agreements with mobile carriers to win powerful default positions on smartphones to dominate search.
Google pays $10 billion a year to maintain monopoly, says US
The Justice Department and 52 attorneys general from states and US territories allege Google illegally maintained its monopoly by paying billions to tech rivals, smartphone makers and wireless providers in exchange for being set as the preselected option or default on mobile phones and web browsers.
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