Evelyn Cheng / CNBC:
Alibaba says its Qwen AI model will be integrated into select car models from BYD, Volkswagen, and others, letting users buy food and tickets via voice commands  —  BEIJING — Chinese tech giant Alibaba said Friday that its Qwen artificial intelligence model will be integrated into vehicles …

Kai Nicol-Schwarz / CNBC:
As part of the Cohere-Aleph Alpha deal, Aleph Alpha backer Schwarz Group plans to invest $600M in Cohere's Series E, which a source says is set to close in 2026  —  Canadian AI lab Cohere announced on Friday that it planned to acquire German AI company Aleph Alpha, as it eyed major expansion in Europe.

Chinese AI company DeepSeek released a preview of its hotly anticipated next-generation AI model V4 on Friday, saying that the open-source model can compete with leading closed-source systems from US rivals including Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI. DeepSeek says V4 marks a major improvement over prior models, especially in coding, a capability that has become central […]

We love to muse over how "real" photography is defined here at The Verge now that generative AI is so prolific, and the World Press Photo competition might have the answer. The prestigious award celebrates the best of photojournalism, where capturing reality is paramount. The winning entry for 2026 - "Separated by ICE," captured by […]

Terje Solsvik / Reuters:
Norway plans to ban children from using social media until they turn 16; the government says it will introduce a bill in parliament by the end of 2026  —  Norway said on Friday it would present a bill in parliament by year-end to ban children from using social media until they turn 16 …