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Snowflake reported fiscal second-quarter revenue of $1.55 billion, up 35% year over year, and adjusted earnings of 62 cents per share, both beating analyst expectations. The company raised its full-year product revenue forecast to $6.07 billion and pointed to growth in its CoCo AI coding agent, which now serves over 9,100 accounts after adding 2,000 in the quarter.
A writer draws a parallel between the fictional Records of FATE from the game Chrono Cross and today's real-world AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Grok. In the game, an AI secretly nudges an unsuspecting population's choices through supposedly neutral advice terminals; the essay observes people at a live event turning to chatbots instead of engaging with what's in front of them, suggesting a similar dynamic is emerging in daily life.
The federal government filed a letter in court supporting OpenAI and Microsoft against the New York Times' 2023 copyright lawsuit over AI training data. The filing argues that using copyrighted articles to train large language models qualifies as fair use because it is 'extraordinarily transformative' and doesn't directly compete with the Times' journalism.
An early build of Google's Device Intelligence app, discovered ahead of the Googlebook laptop launch, reveals an opt-in feature that automatically groups related local files into topic-based collections, such as trip planning documents. These collections can be viewed through desktop widgets, and Google states the sorting happens on-device without files leaving the machine or being used for AI training.
The Trump administration filed a 20-page brief supporting OpenAI in its copyright dispute with The New York Times, arguing that training large language models on copyrighted material qualifies as fair use. The filing cites an executive order calling for the US to maintain global leadership in artificial intelligence, and warns that restricting AI training practices could harm American innovation and economic competitiveness.
An Entrepreneur contributor argues that AI, despite its ability to analyze emotion and language, cannot truly feel, sense danger in a room, or trust someone instinctively the way humans do. The piece contends AI's real value lies in handling information, research and execution while humans supply instinct, purpose and irrational confidence.
Fast Company has unveiled its Pacesetters list, spotlighting 40 executives who are embedding generative AI, autonomous agents, and machine learning into their companies' operations and customer interactions. The recognition highlights how these leaders are moving beyond basic chatbots toward more dynamic, AI-driven engagement with customers.
Fast Company published an explanation of how it compiled its 2026 Pacesetters ranking, a list of 40 executives recognized for embedding generative AI, autonomous agents, and machine learning into their companies and customer experiences. The selections were made by a mix of internal editors and writers alongside external judges who evaluated candidates across multiple industries.
Researchers led by Kenny et al. published in Nature a system called Concept-Wrapper Network (CW-Net) that opens up the 'black box' of autonomous vehicle decision-making. Instead of opaque outputs, CW-Net translates a car's reasoning into human-understandable concepts, such as recognizing a pedestrian or obstacle, so passengers can better anticipate its next move. Testing showed this approach improved people's ability to predict vehicle behavior even in cases where the car made errors.
Apple has added a feature to the Messages app that lets users personalize the background of individual conversations. Users can choose from built-in animated wallpapers like Color, Sky, Water, and Aurora, or upload their own photos, with the app also suggesting images from their library. An AI-powered Playground option can generate backgrounds too, though that requires an iPhone 15 Pro or newer.
Palo Alto Networks reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $3.41 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share, both above analyst expectations, with revenue up 34% year-over-year. The company posted a net loss of $282 million due to one-time charges, a reversal from the prior year's profit, even as CEO Nikesh Arora pointed to rising AI-related cyberattacks as a long-term growth driver. Despite the earnings beat, shares fell roughly 2% in after-hours trading following a 5% drop during the regular session.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told CNBC that many AI data center developers disregard the concerns of communities where they build, contrasting them with companies like Chobani that engage locally. His remarks followed an August executive order imposing strict new requirements on data center projects and removing them from a fast-track approval process.