Learners Live

The Radical Changes That Are Making Your Smart Home Less Dumb

Most homes are “smart”. Now that they’re getting a generative-AI overhaul, the question is: Can we get more out of devices that until now have been great at setting kitchen timers, reading the weather and playing music?  Amazon’s Alexa+ and Google’s Gemini aim to fix that, by making smart homes less dumb. The tech giants introduced new speakers, home displays and cameras this week to capitalize on their evolved assistants, but most existing devices are also compatible. Gemini for Home arrives at the end of the month, and Amazon says 10 million households already have early access to Alexa+. As we wait for Apple’s Siri to catch up—and we’re hoping for news sometime next year—here are the three big changes coming to our homes right now.

    1. Cameras that tell you what’s happening
    2. Speakers that have real conversations
    3. Automation without the app headache

Your Smart Home’s AI Upgrade: Alexa+, Ring ‘Search Party,’ Google’s Gemini for Home and More – WSJ

DOE Announces Accelerated Siting of Data Centers

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Elementl Power have teamed up to advance a data-driven siting approach for advanced nuclear projects. The work started through a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) GAIN voucher and contributed to Elementl’s recent agreement with Google to prepare three U.S. sites for advanced nuclear deployment. Each site would have at least 600 megawatts of capacity and would likely be used to power large-scale data centers. Nuclear energy can provide around-the-clock abundant and reliable electricity, making it an attractive solution to meet rising energy demand from AI and data centers. Google will provide early-stage capital to develop three sites for advanced reactor projects with final technology selection and site confirmation pending further development milestones. DOE Announces Accelerated Siting of Data Centers – electrifiED

Google to Fund NECA Training Program

Google is announcing a new paper and support for an effort to train 100,000 electrical workers and 30,000 new apprentices in the United States. This is Google’s news release: AI presents the United States with a generational opportunity for extraordinary innovation and growth. The deployment of AI will grow the American economy, create jobs, accelerate scientific advances and more. Fully realizing these opportunities requires an effort to rapidly increase the capacity of the nation’s existing, sometimes antiquated energy system. This in turn requires accelerating innovation and investment in advanced energy technologies; optimizing use of the existing grid and unlocking construction of new transmission infrastructure; and developing the labor force needed to build new energy infrastructure. Through shared public and private efforts to introduce and support training programs like this one, the U.S. can develop a model for training the next generation workforce. Google to Fund NECA Training Program – electrifiED

The Push to Triple Global Nuclear Energy by 2050

In recent years, the world has faced unprecedented growth in energy demand caused by digitalization, the development of artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and other energy-consuming technologies. In an attempt to handle this challenge, Amazon, Meta, and Google — top stock gainers during previous years — as well as 14 leading banks and financial institutions, energy suppliers, and representatives of heavy industry, have joined forces to achieve the ambitious goal of tripling global nuclear power capacity by 2050. The World Nuclear Association initiated this program — for the first time, companies not directly involved in nuclear energy have publicly supported scaling nuclear power plants to meet their needs.  Powering the Future: The Push to Triple Global Nuclear Energy by 2050 – Programming Insider

Google’s Gemini Deep Research Is Now Available to Everyone by Igor Bonifacic

After being one of the first companies to roll out a Deep Research feature at the end of last year, Google is now making that same tool available to everyone. Starting today, Gemini users can try Deep Research for free in more than 45 languages — no Gemini Advanced subscription necessary. For the uninitiated, Deep Research allows you to ask Gemini to create comprehensive but easy-to-read reports on complex topics. Compared to say Google’s new AI Mode, Deep Research works slower than your typical chatbot, and that’s by design. Gemini will first create a research plan before it begins searching the web for information that may be relevant to your prompt. When Google first announced Deep Research, it was powered by the company’s powerful but expensive Gemini 1.5 Pro model. With today’s expansion, Google has upgraded Deep Research to run on its new Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental model.  Google’s Gemini Deep Research is now available to everyone

Google Announces Gemini 2.5, its Next-Gen AI model

Google announced Gemini 2.5 on Tuesday, its next-generation family of artificial intelligence large language models that can “think.” “Gemini 2.5 models are thinking models, capable of reasoning through their thoughts before responding, resulting in enhanced performance and improved accuracy,” Google said in a blog post. “In the field of AI, a system’s capacity for ‘reasoning’ refers to more than just classification and prediction. It refers to its ability to analyze information, draw logical conclusions, incorporate context and nuance, and make informed decisions.” Google announces Gemini 2.5, its next-gen AI model

National Football League – American football began as a hybrid of soccer and rugby on post-Civil War college campuses. Football was wildly popular but disorganized in the early 1900s. In an effort to standardize and organize, the National Football League was formed in 1920 in Canton, Ohio.  The NFL is the premier professional organization for American football, with 32 teams in two conferences and almost 1,700 active players. In 2023, the NFL generated nearly $20B in revenue. With its teams valued at $190B combined, it is the most valuable sports league in the world. The popularity of the NFL has made it a global sport. In 2002 the NFL began featuring fantasy games on its site.  The NFL is the most valuable sports league in the world.  NFL teams are worth a total of $163B. Each team holds an average value of over $5.1B, almost as much as the NBA and MLB combined. The Dallas Cowboys, valued at $9B, are the most valuable sports franchise on Earth. (NY Yankees are at 8.2B….just saying).