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Here Are 10 Big Announcements You Need to Know About Google I/O

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Google I/O 2024 showcased Google’s commitment to transforming the search experience through AI innovations. Here’s a breakdown of the key announcements:

  1. Gemini 1.5 Pro and Gemini 1.5 Flash: Google announced the general availability of Gemini 1.5 Pro, a powerful AI model with a 1 million token context window, enabling it to process vast amounts of information like an hour of video or 1,500 pages of a PDF and respond to complex queries about this source material. Gemini 1.5 pro will also be available in more than 35 languages starting today – providing access to the latest technical advances, including deep analysis of data files like spreadsheets, enhanced image understanding and a greatly expanded context window, starting at 1 million tokens.

Additionally, Google also introduced Gemini 1.5 Flash, a more cost-efficient model built based on user feedback, with lower latencies; and Project Astra, Google’s vision for the next generation of AI assistants, a responsive agent that can understand and react to the context of conversations. [Blog Post] [Visual assets]

  1. Generative AI in Search: Google is integrating Gemini into Search, enhancing its ability to understand and respond to complex queries. Blog Post, [Visual assets]

This includes features like:

  • AI Overview – designed for advanced multi-step reasoning, planning, and multimodal capabilities. This enhancement ensures that people can ask intricate, multi-step questions, tailor their search outcomes, and interact using videos for an enriched query experience. This is set to launch soon, starting in the US before expanding globally.

  • Multi-step reasoning: which breaks down complex questions into smaller parts, synthesising the most relevant information and stitching it all together into a comprehensive AI Answer.

  • Search with video: which allows users to ask questions about video content by taking a quick video and get AI-powered answers in response. This feature will be available beginning with the US and rolling out to other regions over time.

  1. Gemini for Android: Gemini is being integrated into Android to power new features like:

    • “Circle to Search,” which allows users to search for anything they see on their screen. This feature is expanding to more surfaces like Chrome desktop and tablets.

    • TalkBack: Gemini Nano will enhance TalkBack, Android’s screen reader, with new features that make it easier for people with visual impairments to navigate their devices and access information. This feature will come first to Pixel devices later in the year.

    • Live scam detection: Gemini Nano will be used to detect scam phone calls in real-time, providing users with warnings and helping them avoid falling victim to fraud. This feature will come first to Pixel devices later in the year.

    • Gemini as an Assistant on Android: An AI assistant providing contextual suggestions and anticipating user actions based on the current app screen. This feature will be available where the Gemini app is already available and requires Android 10+ and 2GB+ RAM. The new overlay features announced at I/O will roll out over the coming months.[Blog Post] [Visual asset]

  1. Gemini for Workspace: helps businesses and everyday users get more out of their Google apps — from drafting emails in Gmail to organising project plans in Sheets. Over the last year, more than a million people and tens of thousands of companies have used generative AI in Workspace when they need an extra hand or dose of inspiration. Today, Google announced more updates across Gemini for Workspace, including new Gemini in Gmail features on mobile and additional language support. [Blog Post] [Visual assets]

    • Gemini in the Workspace side panel: Now using the Gemini 1.5 Pro model, it is available for Workspace Labs and Gemini for Workspace Alpha users and will be generally available next month to Gemini for Workspace customers and Google One AI Premium subscribers. It has a longer context window and more advanced reasoning to give you more insightful responses. Plus, it’s easy to get started with proactive summaries, suggested prompts and more.

    • Gemini Advanced subscribers will also soon get access to Live, a new mobile conversational experience. With Live, you can talk to Gemini and choose from different natural-sounding voices. You can speak at your own pace and even interrupt with questions, making conversations more intuitive. [Blog Post]

    • New Gemini features in the Gmail mobile app:

      1. See more detailed suggested replies: Gemini will automatically provide draft email responses that you can edit, or simply send. This will be available to Workspace Labs users on mobile and web in the coming months, and to Gemini for Workspace customers and Google One AI Premium subscribers later this year.

      2. Get summaries: Gemini can analyse email threads and provide a summarised view directly in the Gmail app. Summaries will be available to Workspace Labs users this week, and to all Gemini for Workspace customers and Google One AI Premium subscribers next month.

      3. Chat with Gemini: Soon, Gemini in Gmail will offer helpful features, like “summarise this email,” “list the next steps,” or “suggest a reply,” when you click the Gemini icon in the mobile app. These features will be available to Workspace Labs users in the coming weeks, and to Gemini for Workspace customers and Google One AI Premium subscribers in the coming months.

    • Use Help me write in more languages: Starting today, Help me write in Gmail and Docs is supported in Spanish and Portuguese.

  1. Ask Photos: Google Photos is getting a new feature called “Ask Photos,” which uses Gemini to answer questions about photos and videos, such as finding specific images or recalling past events. This feature will be available beginning with the US and rolling out to other countries soon. [Blog Post] [Visual assets]

  1. Imagen 3: Imagen 3, Google’s latest text-to-image model, is now available to select creators in private preview. It generates high-quality images with incredible detail, high-quality lighting, fewer distracting artefacts, and significant improvements in their ability to render text. It will be available in three model variants: one optimised for speed, one balancing speed and quality, and one prioritising the highest quality images with the best text alignment. Upgrades to image-generation in Workspace and the Gemini app and web experience are coming soon. Imagen 3 will be available where Vertex AI and ImageFX are available, via waitlist. [Blog Post], [Visual assets]

  1. Veo: Veo is Google’s most capable video generation model, capable of creating high-quality 1080p videos up to a minute or more long. Veo closely follows user prompts and offers unprecedented creative control, accurately following directions like quick zooming or slow-motion crane shots. It captures the nuance and emotional tone of prompts in various visual styles, from photorealism to animation, and maintains consistency across complex details. Veo builds upon years of generative video model work and combines architecture, scaling laws, and novel techniques to improve latency and output resolution. Starting today, Veo is available to select creators in private preview in VideoFX by joining the waitlist. In the future, Veo’s capabilities will be included in YouTube Shorts and other products.[Blog Post] [Visual assets]

  1. Music AI tools: Our collaborations with the music community: Google is collaborating with musicians, songwriters, and producers, in partnership with YouTube, to better understand the role of AI in music creation. They are developing a suite of music AI tools that can create instrumental sections, transfer styles between tracks, and more. These collaborations inform the development of generative music technologies like Lyria, Google’s most advanced family of models for AI music generation. New experimental music created with these tools by Grammy winner Wyclef Jean, electronic musician Marc Rebillet, songwriter Justin Tranter, and others was released on their respective YouTube channels at I/O.[Blog Post].

  2. SynthID for text and video: Google is extending SynthID to text and video, allowing for watermarking of AI-generated content. SynthID can now embed a digital watermark directly into the pixels of an image or video, making it imperceptible to the human eye but detectable for identification. This technology will be integrated into Gemini and Search’s creative queries. [Blog Post]

  3. AI Test Kitchen: AI Test Kitchen is expanding its reach, now available in over 100 countries and territories, including several in Sub-Saharan Africa like Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and more. Users can now experience and provide feedback on Google’s latest AI technologies, like ImageFX and MusicFX, in 37 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish.


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Ugo Onwuaso is an ICT enthusiast. He believes technology should be used for general good. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Lagos state University. Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

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MTN & Ultima Studios Kick Off Hunt for Nigeria’s Next Afrobeats Icon

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L-R: Puffy Tee, Producer and MTN Next Afrobeats Star judge; Chimdinma Maduforo, General Manager, ONErpm Nigeria; Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, Chief Marketing Officer, MTNNigeria; Femi Ayeni, CEO, Ultima Studios; A’isha Umar Mumuni, Chief Digital Officer, MTN Nigeria and Andre Vibez, Producer and MTN Next Afrobeats Star judge at the media launch event for MTN Next Afrobeats Star held at the MTN Events Center, Ikoyi on Saturday, August 2, 2025.
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MTN Nigeria has officially launched Next Afrobeats Star (NAS), a bold new music reality competition designed to uncover and elevate the next generation of Afrobeats talent. The show was unveiled on Saturday, August 2, 2025, during a media event held at the MTN Rooftop Event Centre in Ikoyi, Lagos.


L-R: Puffy Tee, Producer and MTN Next Afrobeats Star judge; Chimdinma Maduforo, General Manager, ONErpm Nigeria; Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, Chief Marketing Officer, MTNNigeria; Femi Ayeni, CEO, Ultima Studios; A’isha Umar Mumuni, Chief Digital Officer, MTN Nigeria and Andre Vibez, Producer and MTN Next Afrobeats Star judge at the media launch event for MTN Next Afrobeats Star held at the MTN Events Center, Ikoyi on Saturday, August 2, 2025.

Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria, said: “Next Afrobeats Star is a bold initiative by MTN Nigeria, in partnership with Ultima Studios and ONErpm, to discover and elevate the next global icon of Afrobeats. At MTN, we believe in progress, not just as a brand stance but a purpose.

“We believe that every Nigerian, regardless of background, location, or education, deserves a chance to be connected, seen, heard, and celebrated. That is why we are taking this message to every corner of Nigeria, from the bustling cities to the most remote villages so that no youth is left behind. Because talent knows no boundaries, and neither should opportunity.

Today, Afrobeats is a global force, filling stadiums, topping charts, and inspiring millions. But the journey is far from over. The Next Afrobeats Star is our commitment to the future of this movement. It is a platform where raw real opportunity. Where the rhythm of Nigeria meets the reach of the world.”

A partnership between MTN Nigeria, Ultima Studios, and ONErpm, one of the fastest-growing music companies in the world, Ikenna-Emeka revealed that the winner will receive a $100,000 music deal made possible by a collaboration between ONErpm and U-Records. The remaining four finalists will also walk away with music deals ranging from $25,000 to $75,000.

This effort, Ikenna-Emeka explained, aligns with the Nigerian Government’s Destination 2030 strategy, which aims to position Nigeria as Africa’s leading hub for creative excellence. “Through the Destination 2030 strategy, the government is working to position Nigeria as a leading global hub for creative excellence by the year 2030. This vision is about more than economic growth, it’s about cultural pride, global influence, and national identity. It’s about creating an enabling environment for artistic brilliance, promoting diversity and creativity, and preserving the rich heritage that makes Nigeria unique.”

MTN’s partnership with Ultima Studios brings decades of production and talent development expertise to the show. Known for their work on Project Fame and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Ultima brings its expertise in audio-visual production.

Femi Ayeni, CEO of Ultima Studios, explained the standout quality of the show. “What makes this show different is because for the first time, we are having the producers, the beat-makers, actually recording original songs for the contestants for the show. So, they [the contestants] will be doing covers, but at the end of the day, their original songs are the ones that will determine how well they do on the show.” The producers have been revealed as Andre Vibez, Puffy Tee, Sarz and P. Prime.

Head of Content at Ultima Studios, Oluwabori Richards, explained that Next Afrobeats Star will feature online registration and in-person auditions. “After texting NAS to 13013, you get a text back with a link and a unique code,” he said. “That link takes you to the Next Afrobeats Star website, and then you enter your unique code and email address. Once you do that, you fill in your registration details.”

Richards added that the website hosts 10 to 12 instrumentals from the four producers. “Download any of the tracks that you want, you make music on it and then you put it back on the website. When you do that, we have A&R execs from ONErpm who will be reviewing all the entries.”

He also noted that regional auditions will be held in Jos, Enugu, and Lagos, giving applicants the option to audition either digitally or in person. “So, once we collate all the entries, both regionally and on digital platforms, 300 people will be shortlisted to come to the trial. The trial is the first round of the show, and that’s the first time you will be performing before judges,” he said.

The competition is open to Nigerians and will focus not only on discovering talent but also on nurturing it through professional development, mentorship, and access to industry-standard resources. To apply, text NAS to 13013 using an MTN line. Visit mtn.ng/NAS for more information.


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WhatsApp Cracks Down on Criminal Scammers & Introduces New Safety Tools

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WhatsApp on Tuesday announced significant advancements in its ongoing fight against sophisticated messaging scams, including taking down millions of accounts linked to criminal scam centers and the rollout of new in-app safety features designed to protect users globally. These efforts underscore WhatsApp’s commitment to user security amidst a landscape of increasingly complex fraudulent schemes.

In the first six months of this year alone, WhatsApp proactively detected and banned over 6.8 million accounts associated with criminal scam centers. These decisive actions were taken before scam centers could fully operationalize their fraudulent campaigns, preventing potential harm to countless users.

“The fight against scams is a relentless one, and we are continually evolving our defenses to stay ahead of bad actors,” said Kojo Boakye, Vice President of Public Policy, Africa, Middle East and Türkiye at Meta. “This is part of our unwavering commitment to protect our users, not just by banning malicious accounts, but by empowering individuals with the tools and knowledge they need to recognize and avoid these sophisticated threats. We believe that a safer messaging environment is built through a combination of robust technology, proactive detection , and user education.”

How Scammers Operate: Criminal scam centers often run multiple campaigns simultaneously, ranging from deceptive cryptocurrency investments to elaborate pyramid schemes. A common red flag for these scams is the demand for upfront payments to secure promised returns. These fraudulent activities frequently span multiple platforms, starting on dating apps or via text messages, then migrating to social media, private messaging apps like WhatsApp, and ultimately to payment or crypto platforms. This multi-platform approach is designed to evade detection by individual services, making comprehensive disruption more challenging.

In the latest example of cross-industry collaboration, WhatsApp, Meta, and OpenAI jointly disrupted a scam operation linked to a criminal scam center in Cambodia. This network utilized ChatGPT to generate initial text messages directing targets to WhatsApp, then quickly moved them to Telegram where they were assigned a task of liking videos on TikTok, eventually coercing them into depositing money into crypto accounts.

New WhatsApp Anti-Scam Tools: In addition to disrupting scam centers, WhatsApp is rolling out new features designed to protect against known scam tactics:

  • Group Messaging: A new safety overview will now appear when a user is added to an unfamiliar group by someone not in their contacts. This overview provides key group information and safety tips, allowing users to exit the group without viewing the chat. Notifications from such groups will be silenced until the user explicitly chooses to engage.

  • Individual Messaging: WhatsApp is testing new approaches to caution users before they engage with unknown contacts. This includes providing additional context about the sender when initiating a chat with someone not in their contacts, enabling users to make informed decisions.

Tips to Avoid Scams in Private Messaging: WhatsApp encourages all users to adopt a “Pause, Question, Verify” approach when encountering suspicious or unusual messages:

  • PAUSE: Take time before responding. Think about whether this is a number you recognize, or whether it reads like a legitimate ask.

  • QUESTION: Does the request make sense? Does it seem too good to be true? Are they asking for money, gift cards, or PIN codes? Are they rushing you into taking action? These might be signs of a scam.

  • VERIFY: If the sender claims to be a friend or family member, verify their identity directly through another communication method (e.g., a phone call to a known number) before taking any action.

WhatsApp remains dedicated to continually enhancing its security measures and collaborating with industry partners to create a safer digital environment for its global community.


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Kenyan Court Blocks Paradigm Initiative’s Bid to Join Digital Freedom Lawsuit Against X Corp

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In a pivotal ruling with implications for digital rights and judicial neutrality, the High Court in Nairobi has rejected an application by Paradigm Initiative (PIN) to participate as amicus curiae in a landmark data protection case involving X Corp, formerly known as Twitter.

The suit, filed by petitioner Felix Kibet, seeks sweeping reforms in Kenya’s online environment. Kibet has called on the court to compel X Corp to delete Kenyan accounts operating under aliases, remove content deemed offensive—ranging from lewd and pornographic to hateful—and ensure government enforcement of constitutional safeguards on social media platforms.

PIN, a pan-African organization known for its advocacy of digital rights, argued that the case raised uncharted constitutional questions surrounding anonymity, freedom of expression, and privacy in Kenya. They offered to submit neutral, expert commentary rooted in both domestic and international legal frameworks.

However, their application was met with resistance from the petitioner and the Communication Authority of Kenya, who argued PIN’s brief revealed partisan inclinations.

In its ruling, the court acknowledged PIN’s expertise but emphasized the rigorous standards set by the Supreme Court in Trusted Society of Human Rights Alliance v. Mumo Matemo. According to those guidelines, amici must be neutral, legally grounded, and offer fresh perspectives not already presented.

The judge ruled that PIN’s previous publication—Devolved Impunity: The State of Safety and Security of Bloggers in Kenya—demonstrated bias and aligned with one side of the case.

“For those reasons, the application has failed the Supreme Court’s test… based on its prior and ongoing role within commentary on digital freedom,” the judgment read.

The decision underscores the judiciary’s effort to preserve objectivity in cases concerning digital freedoms and sets a high bar for civil society participation.

Analysts say the ruling may influence how courts across Africa assess third-party submissions in technology-related litigation.


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