Google DeepMind x Hume AI: Chatbots Get an "Emotional IQ"

In a massive move for voice technology, Google DeepMind today announced a licensing agreement with Hume AI. The goal is to integrate Hume’s "Empathic AI" into Gemini, allowing your voice assistant to detect your mood—such as frustration, excitement, or exhaustion—and adjust its tone and helpfulness accordingly. Experts predict 2026 will be the year voice assistants finally stop sounding like robots and start acting like intuitive companions. Read more: Google recruits Hume CEO to bolster emotional Voice AI

Meta at Davos: Smart Glasses as "Superhuman" Vision

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos today, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth declared that AI wearables will soon provide humans with "superhuman" abilities. He highlighted how future smart glasses will act as a permanent memory aid—instantly recognizing faces at a conference or reminding you where you left your keys by "looking back" through your day's footage.

Read more: Davos 2026: India key to Meta's wearable and AI push

The "Operator" Era: OpenAI’s Agent Now Navigates the Web for You

OpenAI's "Operator" tool is officially becoming the cornerstone of the ChatGPT experience this week. Unlike a search engine that gives you links, Operator uses a Computer-Using Agent (CUA) model to look at a website's pixels, find buttons, and complete tasks. It can autonomously book a flight or research a complex topic, only "pausing" and handing control back to you when it reaches a payment or login screen.

Read more: The End of the Search Bar: OpenAI's 'Operator' and Agentic Web

Shopping Revolution: 65% of Consumers Now Use AI to Research Products

A new report released today by Clutch reveals a massive shift in how we buy things. Over two-thirds of consumers now use AI to compare products and find deals before making a purchase. While shoppers are saving hours of time, "trust" remains the final hurdle: only 17% of people currently trust AI to make the final purchase without a human double-checking the cart. Read more: Clutch Report: 65% of Consumers Use AI to Research Products

Daily Tip: The "Agentic Shopping" Hack

Since "agentic commerce" is the buzzword of the day, you can use any current AI to do the "boring" part of shopping for you. Don't just search for a product; ask the AI to be your Consumer Advocate.

The Prompt:

"I want to buy a [product name, e.g., noise-canceling headphones] under [price, e.g., $200]. Search for the 3 most recent expert reviews and find 5 common complaints from real users on Reddit or Amazon. Create a table comparing these 3 models based on battery life, comfort, and how well they handle wind noise."