WEBVTT 1 00:00:14.250 --> 00:00:18.290 Good evening. It's five past ten at night on Wednesday the 14th of October. 2 00:00:18.410 --> 00:00:21.080 This is Not Perfect News. I'm James. 3 00:00:21.200 --> 00:00:22.010 And I'm Julie. 4 00:00:22.130 --> 00:00:23.990 Here are today's main stories. 5 00:00:24.110 --> 00:00:29.290 Pope Leo the fourteenth has undergone successful surgery for lung cancer. 6 00:00:29.410 --> 00:00:34.840 Bank of America faces a fine of one point two one billion dollars from the United States Treasury. 7 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:40.660 Germany puts a Ukrainian former military officer on trial for Nord Stream pipeline sabotage. 8 00:00:40.780 --> 00:00:50.170 Coming up, artificial intelligence, technology, and today's feature: Google releases Gemini 4 Argon model globally to developers and businesses. 9 00:00:50.290 --> 00:00:55.200 This programme is researched and voiced using AI, and every source is on our website. 10 00:00:55.320 --> 00:00:56.770 Here's Julie with the world news. 11 00:00:57.470 --> 00:01:04.940 Thanks, James. Pope Leo the fourteenth has undergone successful surgery at Rome's Gemelli Hospital to remove part of his lung. 12 00:01:05.060 --> 00:01:10.370 The Vatican says tests following the procedure have confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma. 13 00:01:10.490 --> 00:01:17.240 A Ukrainian former military officer has gone on trial in Hamburg accused of blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines. 14 00:01:17.360 --> 00:01:22.460 German prosecutors allege the plot was carried out under the orders of Ukrainian state agencies. 15 00:01:22.580 --> 00:01:28.130 Bank of America has been ordered to pay one point two one billion dollars by the United States Treasury. 16 00:01:28.250 --> 00:01:35.320 The department states the bank admitted willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to maintain compliant programmes. 17 00:01:35.440 --> 00:01:37.480 Here's James with the UK news. 18 00:01:38.180 --> 00:01:45.300 Thanks, Julie. The head of MI5 warns the UK faces more state-threat investigations than during the Cold War. 19 00:01:45.420 --> 00:01:52.870 Sir Ken McCallum says hostile activities and artificial intelligence are driving a fourfold increase in foreign threats over the past decade. 20 00:01:52.990 --> 00:01:59.110 Britain has formally asked Interpol to reject Argentine arrest requests over a Falkland Islands oil project. 21 00:01:59.230 --> 00:02:03.600 The government describes the legal moves as politically motivated intimidation. 22 00:02:03.720 --> 00:02:08.710 Several major UK fashion retailers have been hit by a wave of cyber attacks. 23 00:02:08.830 --> 00:02:19.270 TFG London confirms an incident affecting IT systems at Phase Eight, Hobbs and Whistles, alongside security investigations at H and M and ASOS. 24 00:02:19.390 --> 00:02:22.460 Here's Julie with the technology and AI news. 25 00:02:23.160 --> 00:02:31.070 Thanks, James. An OpenAI employee has been arrested and fired after a hidden recording device was found in a company conference room. 26 00:02:31.190 --> 00:02:37.380 OpenAI reported the incident to the FBI and stated that no model weights or customer data were compromised. 27 00:02:37.500 --> 00:02:45.010 Experts have dismissed claims that Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian firm Yandex data centres destroyed Kremlin bot networks. 28 00:02:45.130 --> 00:02:50.750 Analysts clarified that the perceived drop in bot traffic was caused by a misinterpretation of Cloudflare data. 29 00:02:50.870 --> 00:02:57.700 Dating app Bumble has been bought by investment firm Ithaca Holdings for one point three billion dollars and taken private. 30 00:02:57.820 --> 00:03:02.650 Ravi Gupta and John Hegeman are set to take over as co-chief executives. 31 00:03:02.770 --> 00:03:09.920 Nvidia backed Australian artificial intelligence startup Firmus has shelved its planned five billion dollar initial public offering. 32 00:03:10.040 --> 00:03:15.220 The company is now exploring a private funding round of two to three billion dollars instead. 33 00:03:15.340 --> 00:03:24.560 Global semiconductor shares fell on Tuesday after Broadcom chief executive Hock Tan compared many artificial intelligence investors to casino gamblers. 34 00:03:24.680 --> 00:03:29.500 He also highlighted ongoing capital hurdles facing the artificial intelligence sector. 35 00:03:29.620 --> 00:03:39.130 Microsoft president Brad Smith argues that artificial intelligence is currently less regulated than everyday consumer goods like milk and washing machines. 36 00:03:39.250 --> 00:03:43.850 He called for global safety standards and legal accountability for rogue systems. 37 00:03:43.970 --> 00:03:47.200 Here's James with some updates on stories we've been following. 38 00:03:47.900 --> 00:03:53.290 Thanks, Julie. A cargo ship has sunk off the coast of Bulgaria in the Black Sea following a drone attack. 39 00:03:53.410 --> 00:04:02.650 Eleven sailors remain missing after the incident. Bulgaria now plans to join a NATO anti drone initiative by the end of October. 40 00:04:02.770 --> 00:04:09.400 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited London to meet Prime Minister Andy Burnham at Downing Street. 41 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:15.390 Kyiv has reported that new Starlink restrictions are disrupting front line military operations. 42 00:04:16.090 --> 00:04:23.670 Google has officially released its flagship artificial intelligence model, Gemini four Argon, to developers and businesses worldwide. 43 00:04:23.790 --> 00:04:31.180 This global rollout follows earlier restricted testing phases that limited access to vetted cybersecurity experts. 44 00:04:31.300 --> 00:04:38.570 The model is now available globally through the application programming interface in AI Studio and the Gemini platform. 45 00:04:38.690 --> 00:04:48.540 It is also ready for Google AI Ultra subscribers in Google Antigravity, and for Ultra and Pro subscribers in the Gemini app and AI Mode in Search. 46 00:04:48.660 --> 00:04:54.110 This major launch comes after months of delays and a leadership shakeup at the DeepMind lab. 47 00:04:54.230 --> 00:05:01.550 Industry analysts note the release aims to help Google regain ground against fierce rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic. 48 00:05:01.670 --> 00:05:09.550 For ordinary people and enterprises, this software represents a significant push into advanced generative automation and heavy workloads. 49 00:05:09.670 --> 00:05:16.740 Google reports that engineers using Argon in Antigravity increased agentic code submissions by more than thirty-five per cent. 50 00:05:16.860 --> 00:05:23.040 They also say it reduced code rollbacks by nearly a third, speeding up complex software engineering tasks. 51 00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:31.170 Optimists argue that this global availability lets businesses everywhere leverage powerful capabilities to boost productivity. 52 00:05:31.290 --> 00:05:37.720 However, sceptics suggest the public release after months of internal upheaval shows Google rushing to catch up. 53 00:05:37.840 --> 00:05:44.830 Critics also point out that earlier restrictions due to safety concerns raise questions about potential risks for a global audience. 54 00:05:44.950 --> 00:05:50.170 The true extent of these productivity gains outside of Google is not yet independently verified. 55 00:05:50.290 --> 00:05:58.320 The model will now face real-world testing across diverse enterprise applications as developers begin working with it at scale. 56 00:05:58.440 --> 00:06:06.070 Google must now prove that its flagship artificial intelligence can maintain market leadership while keeping safety a top priority. 57 00:06:06.190 --> 00:06:12.550 Gemini four Argon is out in the wild, and software development may never look quite the same again. 58 00:06:12.670 --> 00:06:16.710 It is certainly moving from the secret lab to the daily grind at quite some speed. 59 00:06:16.830 --> 00:06:23.650 Google DeepMind points to specific internal projects to demonstrate the practical power of this new model. 60 00:06:23.770 --> 00:06:31.210 The company reports that Argon helped the Chrome team separate core webpage handling from a legacy folder of browser features. 61 00:06:31.330 --> 00:06:37.690 That particular engineering challenge was reportedly completed in just weeks rather than the months it usually takes. 62 00:06:37.810 --> 00:06:41.920 Such internal case studies highlight the scale of ambition behind the software. 63 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:47.790 However, those metrics originate entirely from within Google and await independent confirmation. 64 00:06:47.910 --> 00:06:54.100 Observers also remember that initial access was strictly limited under something called the Fairwind Program. 65 00:06:54.220 --> 00:07:00.820 That restricted phase was designed specifically to keep the technology away from potential misuse by hackers. 66 00:07:00.940 --> 00:07:07.210 Early testers in that programme even used the model to uncover vulnerabilities in critical hospital software. 67 00:07:07.330 --> 00:07:14.220 Transitioning from that highly guarded environment to a general global release leaves lingering questions. 68 00:07:14.340 --> 00:07:20.120 Security analysts are asking whether those serious safety concerns have truly been mitigated. 69 00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:25.600 Others wonder if safety checks were simply deprioritised in the fierce race for market share. 70 00:07:25.720 --> 00:07:31.430 Google maintains that safety remains a top priority even as the software goes out to millions. 71 00:07:31.550 --> 00:07:36.700 The coming weeks will reveal how the model performs when it leaves the controlled confines of Google. 72 00:07:36.820 --> 00:07:41.920 Enterprises everywhere are now beginning to put those grand productivity claims to the test. 73 00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:46.950 Let us just hope the code writes itself without needing too many coffee breaks. 74 00:07:47.070 --> 00:07:52.220 Quite, though thirty-five per cent more submissions sounds like a lot of typing saved. 75 00:07:52.340 --> 00:07:56.610 Developers everywhere will be putting those claims to the test right now. 76 00:07:57.310 --> 00:08:00.690 Thanks, James. Before we go, a reminder of today's main stories. 77 00:08:00.810 --> 00:08:06.030 Pope Leo the fourteenth is recovering in hospital following successful surgery for lung cancer. 78 00:08:06.150 --> 00:08:11.730 A German court has begun the trial of a Ukrainian former military officer accused of Nord Stream sabotage. 79 00:08:11.850 --> 00:08:17.340 You'll find all our sources, the transcript and chapters at news.notperfect.biz. 80 00:08:17.460 --> 00:08:22.100 This programme is made with AI, so please check the linked sources for anything important. 81 00:08:22.220 --> 00:08:24.170 That's all from us this evening. I'm Julie. 82 00:08:24.290 --> 00:08:27.250 And I'm James. Thanks for listening, and goodbye.