Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.

Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.

Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.

Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.

“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.

As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.

For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.

A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”

Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.

Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.

The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.

The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.

Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.

CNBC

A new challenger in the global artificial intelligence race has entered the ring.

The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), an AI-focused research university established by the United Arab Emirates, announced on Tuesday the release of a new, low-cost reasoning model to rival OpenAI and DeepSeek.

It comes after DeepSeek, a Chinese AI lab, earlier this year shocked the world with the release of a reasoning model called R1 which it said could outperform OpenAI but with far less training costs.

At just 32 billion parameters, MBZUAI’s model, dubbed K2 Think, is much smaller than competing systems from OpenAI and DeepSeek. It was built on top of Alibaba’s open-source Qwen 2.5 model and is run and tested on hardware provided by AI chipmaker Cerebas.

For context, DeepSeek’s R1 has a total of 671 billion parameters, which is essentially another term for the variables that an AI language model learns to understand and generate language. OpenAI doesn’t disclose the parameter counts of its AI models.

K2 Think was developed in partnership with G42, the buzzy UAE-based AI firm backed by U.S. tech giant Microsoft. The researchers behind it say it delivers performance on par with the flagship reasoning models of OpenAI and DeepSeek — despite being a fraction of the size.

They cited the benchmarks AIME24, AIME25, HMMT25 and OMNI-Math-HARD, which relate to math, coding benchmark LiveCodeBenchv5 and science benchmark GPQA-Diamond.

How did they do it?

Hector Liu, director of MBZUAI’s Institute of Foundation Models, told CNBC the team behind K2 Think were able to achieve such high levels of performance by using a number of methods.

They include long chain-of-thought (CoT) supervised fine-tuning — a method of step-by-step reasoning — as well as so-called test-time scaling, which is a technique for improving performance by allocating extra computing resources during “inferencing” — or, applying learned knowledge to data it’s never seen before.

“What was special about our model is we treat it more like a system than just a model,” Liu told CNBC. “So, unlike a regular open-source model where we can just release the model, we actually deploy the model and see how we can improve the model over time.”

“If you ask me which one of the single steps is the most important, it’s very hard to say. It’s more like a system method work where all these methods combined delivered the final result,” he added.

Why does it matter?

There are two countries on the world stage that stand out as the forerunners in the AI race: the U.S. and China.

America’s tech giants and startups like OpenAI led the early momentum with so-called foundation models, which aim to fulfill a wide range of tasks by relying on vast amounts of training data. However, DeepSeek’s breakthrough with R1 earlier this year reinforced China’s position as a formidable AI player in its own right.

More recently, the UAE has sought to position itself as a global leader in AI in a bid to enhance its geopolitical influence and diversify its economy beyond crude oil dependency.

The region can point to its AI development firm G42 as an example of how it’s gaining ground in the space. However, it faces fierce competition from neighboring Saudi Arabia, which is looking to develop full-stack AI capabilities via Humain, a company launched under the Public Investment Fund in May.

Beyond that, there are also geopolitical complexities that shroud the UAE’s AI ambitions. Microsoft’s investment and partnership with G42 last year attracted a great deal of scrutiny in the U.S. related to the company’s relationship with China.

More broadly, the UAE’s AI industry still has a long way to go to reach the scale of its U.S. and Chinese counterparts. OpenAI and the Big Tech players have enjoyed a good head start with their respective foundation AI models, while Beijing has long considered AI a strategic priority.

Focus on scientific breakthroughs

While K2 Think demonstrates performance on par with OpenAI, the system’s developers say the aim is not to build a chatbot like ChatGPT. Richard Morton, managing director for MBZUAI’s Institute of Foundation Models, explains the model is intended to serve specific uses in fields like math and science.

“The fact is that the fundamental reasoning of the human brain is the cornerstone of all the thinking process,” Morton told CNBC.

“With this particular application, instead of taking 1,000, 2,000 human beings five years to think through a particular question, or go through a particular set of clinical trials or something like that, this vastly condenses that period.”

It could also expand the reach of advanced AI technologies in regions that don’t have access to the kind of capital and infrastructure U.S. firms possess.

“What we’re discovering is that you can do a lot more with less,” Morton said.

CNBC

A new AI trend is flooding Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and WhatsApp. Users upload selfies and ask ChatGPT to turn them into cartoon-style versions of themselves at work — surrounded by laptops, notebooks, coffee mugs, or office backdrops.

The viral prompt is simple: “Create a caricature of me and my job based on everything you know about me.”

What’s new about these AI caricatures?

Unlike older portrait apps that just stylised photos, this trend adds contextual personalisation:

• Analyses patterns from past interactions — tone, frequently discussed topics, interests, hobbies.
• Generates a cartoon scene reflecting your professional and personal life.
• Includes tools of your trade, subtle lifestyle cues, and workplace details.

Why it works:

These images go beyond simple cartoons — they reflect identity, profession, and mood, making them ideal for social media profiles.

The trend works because anyone can join in, no design skills or editing apps needed, just a photo and the right prompt.

How ChatGPT creates your caricature

• Analyses your photo: Facial features, expressions, and proportions.
• Applies your prompt: Defines style, background, mood, and exaggeration.
• Adds context: Combines visual cues with your chat history.
• Refines output: More detailed prompts = more personalised results.

Step-by-step: How to create an AI workplace caricature

• Log in to OpenAI: Ensure image upload is enabled.
• Upload a clear photo: Good lighting, visible face, plain background.
• Enter a detailed but safe prompt:

Example: “Create a high-quality caricature of me based on this photo. Keep my features recognisable but slightly exaggerated. Show me as a [profession] in a [setting — office, studio, cafe]. Use [style — cartoon, Pixar, hand-drawn] with vibrant colours and soft lighting.”

• Optional add-ons: Playful expressions, neutral props (laptops, books, coffee mugs).
• Review and refine: Regenerate until satisfied.
• Download and store locally: Share online only if comfortable.

Experiment with styles: hand-drawn, Pixar/3D, minimalist, bold caricatures.

Why this trend is different

Older apps only changed your facial features. ChatGPT incorporates context, creating a work identity:

• Job role and responsibilities
• Past chat topics
• Hobbies and interests
• Communication style

The result: a cartoon that feels personal — but it also reveals information about your life and work. But behind the fun lies a bigger question: how much personal and professional information are you sharing? 

Your digital footprint: What you’re really sharing

To improve accuracy, users often include:

• Employer name and department
• Job responsibilities and projects
• Daily routines and tools
• Travel plans and client types
• Family references

Once posted online, these images can be:

• Downloaded or screenshotted
• Shared, reposted, or indexed
• Used for impersonation or phishing attacks

The more detail in the image, the easier it is to connect to your real identity.

Could this affect your job and company data?

Even playful AI-generated images can reveal sensitive work details: your team, projects, office setup, or clients. Sharing documents or drafts on public AI platforms may breach policies, and combining your face with work info makes phishing and impersonation easier.

Key risks include:

Even fun, stylised images can reveal:

• Workplace layouts or internal systems
• Department or team structures
• Ongoing projects
• Daily routines or tools used
• Employer or client information

Combined with your name and visual likeness, this can:

• Help scammers craft realistic phishing or impersonation attempts
• Breach non-disclosure agreements or internal IT policies
• Expose confidential company data if photos include screens, whiteboards, or documents
• Trigger compliance issues in regulated sectors (finance, healthcare, government, tech)

Oversharing daily work on AI tools adds to the risk:

• Drafting emails, reports, or contracts
• Summarising sensitive PDFs or proposals
• Refining financial forecasts or internal strategy notes

Even if no breach occurs, uploading sensitive company content to public AI platforms may violate policies and put your job at risk. If you wouldn’t post the information on LinkedIn, think twice before pasting it into an AI tool.

Takeaway: Even exaggerated caricatures can reveal real-world details. In competitive or security-sensitive industries, small information leaks can have outsised consequences.

Where your data goes

AI platforms may use submitted content to:

• Provide and maintain services
• Improve products
• Conduct research
• Share with affiliates or service providers

Pro tip: Features like chat history or memory may be on by default. Deleting content may not remove it completely. 

Why the trend feels harmless

Many people love how “accurate” their caricature looks. That accuracy is not magic. It reflects information already shared over time. When the output feels personal, it creates a sense of familiarity and trust. But the AI is not discovering secrets — it is combining what you have already provided. Accuracy is built on aggregation.

Safe AI caricature tips

If you want to try the trend, keep it simple:

• Use temporary/private sessions; disable history if possible.
• Avoid real workplace photos — no screens, whiteboards, badges, or logos.
• Keep prompts general — skip employer names, projects, or client info.
• Remove metadata (location, timestamps) from images.
• Never upload sensitive work content — summarise ideas instead.
• Experiment safely with neutral props and styles.
• Store locally and share only if comfortable.
• Review platform policies periodically and delete old sessions.

 The bigger picture

The ChatGPT caricature trend shows how creative and powerful AI has become. It can turn scattered details into a polished digital identity in seconds. But it also shows how easily personal and professional information can merge into a single public snapshot.

The cartoon may trend for a week. Your digital footprint — and its impact on your career — can last much longer.

GN