Technologies

Google Says New Gemini 3 AI Model Is Its Most Capable Yet

Gemini 3 is available to all users in the Gemini app, along with powering AI Mode in Google Search.

Gemini 3, the latest AI model from Google, is the company’s most intelligent model to date, with more advanced multimodal and vibe coding capabilities, the company said in a blog post on Tuesday. It’s available now.

Google says Gemini 3 is «built to grasp depth and nuance» and is better at understanding the intent behind a user’s request. The company also touted Gemini 3’s multimodal capabilities, such as its ability to turn a long video lecture into interactive flash cards or to analyze a person’s pickleball match and find areas for improvement.

Gemini 3 isn’t limited to the app. It’ll also be available in AI Mode in Search and, for Pro and Ultra subscribers, in AI Overviews. In AI Overviews, Gemini 3 can generate interactive elements.

Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis and Koray Kavukcuoglu said in a blog post that Gemini 3 Pro is less sycophantic, a problem that’s been plaguing AIs and leading to AI psychosis in some. It’s also more secure against prompt injection attacks, in which bad actors try to make an AI ignore its original instructions and perform unintended actions.

The company also unveiled Google Antigravity, a new agentic development platform. Google says Antigravity is like having an active partner while making tools or working on projects, autonomously planning and executing complex software tasks while validating its own code. It works in tandem with Gemini 2.5’s Computer Use model for browser control and works with nano banana, Gemini 2.5’s image model.

Gemini 3’s new, more powerful, agentic capabilities will only be available to $250/month Google AI Ultra subscribers at first. This will allow the Gemini Agent to do multi-step workflows, like planning a travel itinerary.

Read more: AI Essentials: 29 Ways You Can Make Gen AI Work for You, According to Our Experts

Google’s release of Gemini 3 comes as an AI war is heating up between it, OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI. Google’s consistently been leading AI leaderboards, although other AI models haven’t been far behind, sometimes trading spots at the top. With the release of Gemini 3, Google seems to be trying to solve for some of AI’s more annoying problems, like hallucinations or sycophancy. It’s also trying to prove that AIs can be truly agentic, being able to accomplish tasks on the user’s behalf. Other agentic models have proven to be problematic in real-world usage and run into various security concerns, especially in web browsers.

The latest AI release from Google also comes at a time when there are fears of an AI bubble forming in the stock market. AI companies, including Nvidia, Google, Meta and Microsoft, account for 30% of the S&P 500. Google currently has a valuation of $3.4 trillion. Even Google CEO Sundar Pichai says the trillion-dollar AI investment boom has «elements of irrationality» and that a burst would affect every AI company, in an interview with the BBC. Still, if Google is to keep its stock price moving upward, it needs to demonstrate that its AI models beat the competition.

Technologies

Meta Wins Antitrust Case, Won’t Have to Give Up WhatsApp or Instagram

The FTC claimed Meta held an illegal monopoly in social networking.

Meta has won its antitrust case against the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC said Meta held an illegal monopoly in social networking — centering on the company’s acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram.

Judge James Boasberg of the US District Court for the District of Columbia released a memorandum opinion on Tuesday, stating that the FTC failed to prove its claims in court.

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«Whether or not Meta enjoyed monopoly power in the past,» Boasberg wrote in the filing, «the agency must show that it continues to hold such power now.»

Boasberg initially dismissed the FTC’s complaint in 2021, stating that the agency lacked sufficient evidence that Meta holds «market power» in the social networking industry. At the time, the FTC argued that «Facebook’s course of conduct has eliminated nascent rivals,» preventing «the benefits of competition, including increased choice, quality and innovation» from developing for US social media users.

After the FTC amended its filing with information about Meta’s user numbers and acquisitions of the WhatsApp and Instagram applications, Boasberg allowed the case to proceed in 2022.

The trial began in April, and multiple high-ranking current and former Meta executives testified before the court — chief among them, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Much of Zuckerberg’s testimony focused on refuting the FTC’s primary claim, which hinged on an argument Zuckerberg made in 2008: «It is better to buy than compete.»

Meta’s win means the company will be able to continue operating WhatsApp and Instagram unimpeded. Had the FTC proven its claims in court, Meta likely would have had to break these applications off into their own separate social networking companies.

Meta released a public statement on Tuesday, stating that the decision «recognizes that Meta faces fierce competition» in the social networking industry.

«Our products are beneficial for people and businesses and exemplify American innovation and economic growth,» the statement read. «We look forward to continuing to partner with the Administration and to invest in America.»

FTC Director of Public Affairs Joe Simonson said the agency is «deeply disappointed» with the outcome of the case.

«The deck was always stacked against us with Judge Boasberg, who is currently facing articles of impeachment,» he said. «We are reviewing all our options.»

Republican lawmakers have tried multiple times to impeach Boasberg, a frequent political target of the Trump administration.

While Meta’s antitrust case may be over, it didn’t take place in a vacuum. Google recently settled a case with the FTC that resulted in the search giant being told it must share limited search and user-interaction data with «qualified competitors.» Another case targeting Google’s AI overview feature is ongoing in the European Union, as a group of publishers claims the company is causing harm due to a loss of traffic, readership, and revenue.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 19, #892

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 19, #892

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has one of those classic purple categories, where four words have hidden connected words inside them. If you need help sorting them into groups, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Not petite.

Green group hint: You learn this in driver’s ed.

Blue group hint: Nevermore!

Purple group hint: Look for hidden words having to do with the body.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Stocky.

Green group: Steer.

Blue group: Second words in Poe stories, after «The.»

Purple group: Organ plus a letter.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is stocky. The four answers are husky, solid, squat and thick.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is steer. The four answers are direct, guide, lead and shepherd.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is second words in Poe stories, after «The.» The four answers are cask, fall, masque and pit.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is organ plus a letter. The four answers are colony (colon), hearth (heart), lunge (lung) and skink (skin).

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 19 #626

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Nov. 19, No. 626.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is easier than most days. It helps if you know world religions. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I delve into the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Divinely inspired.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Different beliefs.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

BRIM, BEAR, PEST, RIGS, ROPE, GRIP, GRIPE, GOES, GUILE, MAIM, GRAD

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: