Google's AI Surge and GM's Robo-Taxi Retreat | Tech News of the Week

Chaos Lever Podcast

Welcome to another episode of Tech News of the Week, where we break down the hottest stories in technology with a dose of snark and insight. This week, we’re diving into Google’s AI extravaganza, GM’s retreat from robo-taxis, quantum computing milestones, and Microsoft’s push for eco-friendly data centers. Grab your coffee and let’s get into it!

Google’s AI Blitzkrieg 🚀
Google is doubling down on artificial intelligence, unveiling a slew of announcements including Gemini 2.0, a next-gen model with audio and video capabilities, and ASTRA, which can summarize videos and answer questions. They also revealed Trilium, an AI training chip, and Jules, an AI coding assistant capable of fixing bugs. But don’t get too excited—most of these features are still in development, with limited demos and no hands-on access yet. For now, it’s a lot of promises, but we’ll see how it shakes out in January. Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/11/gemini-2-0-googles-newest-flagship-ai-can-generate-text-images-and-speech/

GM Pulls the Plug on Robo-Taxis 🚗
GM is merging its Cruise division into its Super Cruise engineering team and stepping back from the robo-taxi race. This comes after a string of incidents, including a high-profile crash that led to California revoking Cruise’s operating license. With plans to integrate the tech into personal vehicles instead, GM hopes to salvage their investment. But for now, fully autonomous taxis are hitting a red light. Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/11/gm-is-giving-up-on-cruise-robotaxis-pivots-to-personal-autonomous-vehicles

Google’s Quantum Leap 🧮
Google made headlines with Willow, a quantum chip boasting over 100 quality qubits. They claim it can complete specific computations that would take conventional supercomputers septillions of years. While this sounds groundbreaking, the practical use of this technology is still unclear, and some remain skeptical of Google’s claims. However, advancements in error rates and quantum stability are undeniably impressive. Read more: https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/quantum-computing/google-claims-its-new-willow-quantum-chip-can-swiftly-solve-a-problem-that-would-take-a-standard-supercomputer-10-septillion-years

Microsoft’s Water-Cooled AI Data Centers 🌊
Microsoft announced a shift to water-saving, closed-loop cooling systems for their AI-heavy data centers. These new systems reduce water usage in drought-prone areas like Phoenix, Arizona, and are part of a larger push to retrofit existing facilities. It’s a smart move to address the environmental toll of AI, though some wonder why this wasn’t done sooner. Read more: https://siliconangle.com/2024/12/10/microsoft-previews-new-water-efficient-data-center-design/

Thanks for tuning in! Be sure to subscribe, share your thoughts in the comments, and take our listener survey at https://chaoslever.com/survey. See you next week!