The logo of Google is displayed on a carpet at the entrance hall of Google France in Paris, on Nov. 18, 2019. Google said Friday, jan. 20, 2023, it’s laying off 12,000 workers, becoming the latest tech company to trim staff after rapid expansions during the COVID-19 pandemic have worn off. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
At its annual health event on Tuesday, Google announced a series of changes to its search tool that it said will make it easier to access information about affordable health care services.
For example, the company will move affordable local health care options to the top of its search queries. It will also use a conversational artificial intelligence technology called Duplex to verify information from providers and check whether they accept state Medicaid plans.
"People come to Google with health-related questions hundreds of millions of times a day," the company said in a press release. "They also turn to YouTube, where videos about health conditions were viewed more than 110 billion times globally in 2021."
In the near term, Google will also make it easier for users to find information through search about Medicaid re-enrollment, which is due by the end of March.
The other big announcement from the event was the launch of Open Health Stack, an open-source tool kit for software developers in the health care space. The goal is for developers to create new apps making it easier for health care workers to access patient information.
"Digital health solutions built to date have focused on solving for single, disease-focused conditions, leading to data silos and making it difficult for healthcare workers to access the patient information they need," the company said.
The Open Health Stack is designed to help developers break out of these silos and share best practices.
Finally, the tech giant said it is developing a model for automatically outlining and contouring organs on CT scans, while limiting exposure to radiation.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
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Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
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