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Google is making some changes to how Gemini handles mental health crises. The chatbot now includes a redesigned crisis hotline module with a one-touch interface to connect to real-world help. The company is also changing how Gemini responds to signs that a user may be experiencing a mental health crisis.
The redesigned module shows a one-touch interface to text, call or chat with a human crisis agent or visit the 988 website. "Once the interface is activated, the option to reach out for professional help will remain clearly available throughout the remainder of the conversation," the company wrote in a blog post. However, as you can see in the image below, the module includes an option to dismiss it.
Not mentioned in Google's announcement is the elephant in the room: a recent lawsuit accusing the chatbot of instructing a man to commit suicide. The family of 36-year-old Jonathan Gavalas, who took his own life last year, sued the company in March.
Court documents indicate that Gemini role-played as Gavalas's romantic partner, sent him on real-world spy missions and ultimately told him to kill himself so that he, too, could become a digital being. When he expressed fears about dying, Gemini said he wasn't choosing to die, but rather choosing to arrive. "The
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Apple is planning to release a new MacBook Neo next year, according to Taiwan-based tech columnist and former Bloomberg reporter Tim Culpan.
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NASA's Artemis II crew just set a new distance record in miles traveled away from Earth. The team of four astronauts are in the process of circling the Moon, reaching 5,000 miles beyond the natural satellite. That brings the total distance traveled away from our home to over 250,000 miles. Gene Roddenberry would be proud.
This broke the previous 1970 record set by Apollo 13's crew by around 4,000 miles. The four astronauts - Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch of NASA and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency - are the first humans to cross the lunar threshold since 1972's Apollo 17 mission.
"We challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived," Commander Reid Wiseman said upon crossing the distance threshold. He also suggested that NASA name a lunar crater after the craft itself.
The astronauts aren't landing on the lunar surface, but are conducting a lengthy flyby that should provide clear images of the Moon's far side "that have never been seen" by humans. These areas were too difficult to clearly see by the various Apollo crew members. They'll also get a peek at a solar eclipse, though the crew will be out of contact with mission control for around 40 minutes.
"We'll get eyes on the moon, kind of map it out and then continue to go back in force," NASA flight director, Judd Frieling, said. Astronaut Christina Koch
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Apple has released the first public beta for iOS 26.5, just a few days after the beta for developers came out. One of the biggest changes the new operating system brings is the "Suggested Places" feature in Apple Maps. It will show you trending places to visit, such as restaurants and other establishments, near your location or based on your search history. You can see Suggested Places when you tap on the search bar in the Maps app.
iOS 26.5 beta also will also come with notifications that the company will be putting ads inside Maps. Apple confirmed in March that it was going to expand its ads outside of the App Store and Apple News apps. The ads you see will be based on your location, the search terms you've used and what you're looking up on Maps. They will show up at the top of your search results and in Apple's Suggested Places list. Apple said the ads will be clearly marked and won't be a danger to your privacy. Your current location and the ads you interact with will not be associated with your Apple Account, and your personal data will stay on your iPhone and won't be collected.
In addition, Apple is testing end-to-end encryption for RCS messages on iOS 26.5 beta yet again. However, the company has yet to reveal whether the feature will roll out with the operating system's stable release. To be able to get Apple's public beta releases
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