2026-08-20

Taco Bell’s voice AI expansion shows the drive-thru has entered a new phase

Voice AI in the drive-thru is becoming less of an experiment and more of an operating decision for quick-service restaurants. Food On Demand recently reported that Taco Bell has expanded its voice AI technology to more than 890 U.S. restaurants across 38 states, deepening its partnership with Omilia. The deployment follows a broader wave of […]<br /> This story continues at The Next Web [...]

2026-08-20

A recent Windows 11 update is causing game crashes and all kinds of other problems

The company has launched an investigation. [...]

2026-08-20

LLMs could write like humans but post-training guardrails make their text detectable

LLMs don't write in a recognizable style because they can't do better. Post-training and safety guardrails sharply narrow their expressive range, argues Pangram CTO Bradley Emi. Base models without these constraints already write with far more variety.<br /> The article LLMs could write like humans but post-training guardrails make their text detectable appeared first on The Decode [...]

2026-08-20

Apple's smart home springs a leak - here's everything we expect to see in September

We're already waiting for the new gen-AI-powered Siri, but a home hub may be on the way as well. [...]

2026-08-20

Why replacing staff with AI backfires - and 5 ways smart leaders generate real value instead

Three-quarters of organizations have found AI layoffs cost more than they saved, and as many as nine in 10 companies would rethink them given the chance. [...]

2026-08-20

California AG says settling Paramount-WBD merger lawsuit would require structural breakups

Rob Bonta said a negotiated resolution is possible but that any deal would need to address concentration in film and basic cable TV markets [...]

2026-08-20

Par Chadha, Founder, CEO and CIO of HandsOn Global Management – Interview Series

Par Chadha, Founder, CEO and CIO of HandsOn Global Management, is an entrepreneur, investor, and technology executive with decades of experience building and scaling technology-enabled businesses. Since founding HandsOn Global Management in 2001, he has focused on investments in workflow automation, big data, robotic process automation (RPA), cognitive technologies, and artificial intelligence acr [...]

2026-08-20

Google’s Gemma Open Models Pass 1 Billion Downloads as Variants Top 100K

Google DeepMind's Gemma family of open models has passed one billion cumulative downloads, the company said on August 20, 2026, capping two years in which outside developers published more than 100,000 variants built on the models' open weights. The figures, disclosed in Google's official announcement by Clement Farabet, a vice president at Google DeepMind, and product director Oliv [...]

2026-08-20

Mark Zuckerberg buys a 440-acre Irish estate in County Waterford

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan have bought Strancally Castle and its 440-acre estate in County Waterford as an Irish base. He is the third tech billionaire to buy a large Irish country estate since 2021, after Stripe’s John Collison and James Dyson. Mark Zuckerberg has bought a castle in Ireland. He and Priscilla Chan have […]<br /> This story continues at The Next Web [...]