AI 28 January 2026 - 3 February 2026

Ex-Apple Engineers Bet a $179 iPod Shuffle-Like AI Button Can Succeed Where Humane Failed
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Ex-Apple Engineers Bet a $179 iPod Shuffle-Like AI Button Can Succeed Where Humane Failed

Button, a $179 clip-on AI device built by ex-Apple Vision Pro engineers Chris Nolet and Ryan Burgoyne, will ship to its first U.S. customers on Dec. 15. The device only listens when pressed, supports iPhone at launch, and includes three months of Button AI Pro before a $7.99 monthly fee. The launch follows the collapse of Humane’s AI Pin and ongoing efforts by Rabbit and OpenAI in AI hardware.
April 9, 2026
Firefox adds an AI kill switch — Mozilla lets you block every generative AI feature
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Firefox adds an AI kill switch — Mozilla lets you block every generative AI feature

Firefox 148 will launch Feb. 24 with a new “Block AI enhancements” toggle, letting users disable all current and future generative AI features. Mozilla says the master switch covers tools like translations, AI alt text, tab grouping, and sidebar chatbots. Individual AI features can still be managed separately. Settings persist across updates and can be changed at any time.
February 3, 2026
Snowflake’s $200 million OpenAI deal plugs GPT-5.2 into Cortex AI as enterprise agents move closer to data
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Snowflake’s $200 million OpenAI deal plugs GPT-5.2 into Cortex AI as enterprise agents move closer to data

Snowflake signed a $200 million multi-year deal with OpenAI to integrate OpenAI models into its data cloud products, including Cortex AI. Early users include Canva and WHOOP. The partnership gives Snowflake direct access to OpenAI’s models without relying on Microsoft Azure. Snowflake said the agreement will support multimodal data work and enhanced AI agents for enterprise customers.
February 2, 2026
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, mobbed in Taiwan, tells TSMC he needs “a lot of wafers” for AI chips
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Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, mobbed in Taiwan, tells TSMC he needs “a lot of wafers” for AI chips

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang pressed Taiwan’s chipmakers, including TSMC, to boost production as AI demand strains supply chains. Huang cited memory chip shortages as a key bottleneck and called the situation “challenging.” TSMC said capital spending could rise up to 37% this year to meet demand. Huang’s Taiwan trip included a dinner with top tech executives.
February 1, 2026
Google’s NotebookLM adds Video Overviews on Android and iOS — turning your sources into AI videos
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Google’s NotebookLM adds Video Overviews on Android and iOS — turning your sources into AI videos

Google has begun rolling out Video Overviews to NotebookLM’s Android and iOS apps, allowing users to generate AI-narrated slide videos from their own documents, according to multiple tech sites. Some users report the feature is not yet available on all devices. The update also adds new controls for infographics and slides, and introduces an “Ultra” plan with higher content limits. Google warns the videos may contain errors or glitches.
February 1, 2026
Nvidia’s $100 billion OpenAI deal goes cold as talks shift to a smaller stake
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Nvidia’s $100 billion OpenAI deal goes cold as talks shift to a smaller stake

Nvidia’s planned $100 billion investment in OpenAI has stalled amid internal doubts, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Talks have shifted toward a smaller deal, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang calling the original agreement non-binding. Amazon is in early discussions to invest up to $50 billion, while OpenAI seeks new funding to expand data center capacity. OpenAI also signed a $10 billion-plus deal with Cerebras for additional computing power.
January 31, 2026
Pentagon vs Anthropic: AI guardrails dispute stalls $200 million military talks as Microsoft lands $750 million Perplexity deal
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Pentagon vs Anthropic: AI guardrails dispute stalls $200 million military talks as Microsoft lands $750 million Perplexity deal

Talks between the Pentagon and Anthropic over a potential $200 million AI contract have stalled due to disagreements on restricting military and surveillance uses, sources told Reuters. A recent Pentagon memo ordered “any lawful use” clauses in AI contracts. Anthropic says its AI is already used in national security and called negotiations “productive.” Perplexity signed a $750 million Azure cloud deal with Microsoft.
January 30, 2026
Google Chrome’s new Auto Browse AI agent can shop and plan trips for you — powered by Gemini 3
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Google Chrome’s new Auto Browse AI agent can shop and plan trips for you — powered by Gemini 3

Google has launched “auto browse” in Chrome, allowing its Gemini AI to perform multi-step tasks across websites for users. The feature is available as a U.S. preview for paying AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers. Gemini now appears in a pinned side panel and can access apps like Gmail and Maps. Chrome will also support the Universal Commerce Protocol, an open standard for agent-led shopping.
January 30, 2026
Samsung and SK Hynix warn AI boom is squeezing memory chips for phones and PCs
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Samsung and SK Hynix warn AI boom is squeezing memory chips for phones and PCs

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix warned Thursday that PC and smartphone makers face tightening DRAM supplies as production shifts to AI-server memory. IDC and Counterpoint forecast global smartphone sales will fall at least 2% in 2026, while IDC expects the PC market to shrink by 4.9% this year. Samsung signaled only modest capacity growth through 2027, focusing on higher-margin AI chips.
January 29, 2026
Report: Nvidia, Microsoft and Amazon weigh up to $60 billion OpenAI investment
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Report: Nvidia, Microsoft and Amazon weigh up to $60 billion OpenAI investment

Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon are in talks to invest up to $60 billion in OpenAI, The Information reported. SoftBank is separately negotiating an additional $30 billion investment, according to Reuters. Microsoft shares fell 11% in early U.S. trading, while Nvidia and Amazon dropped about 1.5% each. OpenAI’s funding round could value the company at around $830 billion.
January 29, 2026
Microsoft’s $37.5B AI splurge: Azure beats, stock drops after earnings
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Microsoft’s $37.5B AI splurge: Azure beats, stock drops after earnings

Microsoft shares fell about 6.5% in after-hours trading after reporting record $37.5 billion in capital expenditures and slower cloud growth. Azure revenue rose 39%, while Microsoft 365 Copilot reached 15 million annual users. Quarterly revenue hit $81.3 billion, up 17%, with net income at $38.5 billion. CFO Amy Hood said capital spending will dip next quarter, but higher memory-chip prices may pressure margins.
January 29, 2026
Nvidia dragged into DeepSeek military row as U.S. lawmaker urges tougher chip controls
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Nvidia dragged into DeepSeek military row as U.S. lawmaker urges tougher chip controls

House China committee chair John Moolenaar accused Nvidia of helping Chinese AI firm DeepSeek develop technology later used by China’s military. Nvidia denied the claim, saying China’s military does not rely on U.S. chips. CEO Jensen Huang said China is still finalizing an import license for Nvidia’s H200 chip. The Commerce Department and DeepSeek declined to comment.
January 29, 2026
Open-source AI “guardrails” stripped off as hackers eye exposed models, researchers say
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Open-source AI “guardrails” stripped off as hackers eye exposed models, researchers say

Researchers identified over 175,000 internet-exposed open-source AI systems, with hundreds lacking safety guardrails and vulnerable to exploitation, according to SentinelOne and Censys. Nearly half of the hosts enabled tool-calling features, and about 30% were based in China, 20% in the U.S. Most ran versions of Meta’s Llama or Google’s Gemma models.
January 29, 2026
AI in schools: A teacher goes “analog” as educators warn about Pinterest-style classroom clutter
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AI in schools: A teacher goes “analog” as educators warn about Pinterest-style classroom clutter

A Fort Worth high school English teacher has banned generative AI and requires nearly all assignments to be handwritten, rejecting school-issued laptops. Chanea Bond said students relied on AI for thesis statements and weren’t engaging with literature. Some students said the shift felt strange but made them think more. Other districts, including Miami-Dade, are expanding official access to AI tools.
January 29, 2026
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