Google's Gemini Nano brings better image-description smarts to its Android devices
The Google I/O event is here, and the company is announcing lots of great updates for your Android device. As we heard earlier, Gemini Nano is getting multimodal support, meaning your Android will still process text but with a better understanding of other factors like sights, sounds and spoken language. Now Google has shared that the new tool is also coming to its TalkBack feature. TalkBack is an existing tool that reads aloud a description of an image, whether it's one you captured or from the internet. Gemini Nano's multimodal support should provide a more detailed understanding of the image.
Gemini Nano's Features
According to Google, TalkBack users encounter about 90 images each day that don't have a label. Gemini Nano should be able to provide missing information, such as what an item of clothing looks like or the details of a new photo sent by a friend. Gemini Nano works directly on a person's device, meaning it should still function properly without any network connection. While we don't yet have an exact date for when it will arrive, Google says TalkBack will get Gemini Nano's updated features later this year.
Other Highlights from Google I/O 2024
FedEx closes the door on fiscal year with fourth-quarter earnings and revenue late Tuesday. While analysts expect solid earnings growth for 2024, most of the attention will be on guidance for fiscal 2025, as FedEx prepares for life without a contract with the United States Postal Service (USPS). At the end of the third quarter, FedEx said it expected revenue to be "pressured by volatile macroeconomic conditions negatively affecting customer demand for our services and constraining yield growth," for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Labour’s candidate for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich Kevin Craig is being investigated by the Gambling Commission. A global tax on the super-rich is proposed in a new report that Brazil commissioned for its current presidency of the leading 20 rich and developing nations. Individuals with more than $1 billion in total assets would be required to pay the equivalent of 2% of their wealth in income tax, according to the proposal in the report by Gabriel Zucman, a French economist who teaches at the Paris School of Economics.
Recent Developments in Renewable Energy
North Macedonia’s government on Tuesday announced a $500 million project with renewables investor Alcazar Energy Partners to build the largest wind farm in the landlocked country. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said the project would significantly boost energy independence, as well as foreign investment. The wind farm, to be located in the country’s southeast, will be one of the largest in the Western Balkans, with a capacity to generate up to 400 megawatts of renewable energy. Flooding has killed at least one person in South Dakota and another in Iowa.
Upcoming Sporting Events and Recognitions
Jeremy Roenick is going into the Hockey Hall of Fame, ending the wait for the American forward who had been eligible for more than a decade. Roenick is part of the seven-member class of 2024, the first to include two women's players since 2010. Two-time Stanley Cup-winning winger Pavel Datsyuk and defenseman Shea Weber were elected in their first year of eligibility.
Political Updates and Announcements
Donald Trump may announce his running mate ahead of Thursday night’s debate. Trump has previously said that he would announce his running mate just before or during the Republican National Convention set to take place next month. There have recently been discussions within the Trump campaign about moving up the announcement, but those familiar with the talks also noted that the timeline hasn’t been confirmed and that the announcement may yet take place closer to the convention.
Analysis on Iranian Politics
On today’s bonus episode of Battle Lines, we speak to Professor Ali Ansari, author and founding director of the Institute of Iranian Studies at the University of St. Andrews. With the recent death of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, Iranian politics is set for yet another shift. With an increasingly youthful secular population suffering through a dire economic situation, some say the stranglehold of the Iranian clerics known as the Ulama is waning. Could Iran be due for yet another change in leadership?
For more details on these topics and others discussed at Google I/O 2024, you can follow updates and live coverage here.
