AI News and Headlines

[Tutorial] Building a Visual Document Retrieval Pipeline with ColPali and Late Interaction Scoring
NewsFeb 19, 2026

[Tutorial] Building a Visual Document Retrieval Pipeline with ColPali and Late Interaction Scoring

The tutorial demonstrates how to build a visual document retrieval pipeline using the open‑source ColPali model. It walks through creating a stable Python environment, rendering PDF pages as images, and generating multi‑vector embeddings for each page. Late‑interaction scoring matches natural‑language...

By MarkTechPost
Q4: Omnicom’s IPG Merger Is An AI Test Case
NewsFeb 19, 2026

Q4: Omnicom’s IPG Merger Is An AI Test Case

Omnicom reported Q4 results after closing its $13.5 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group, positioning AI as the chief growth driver for the merged firm. The company highlighted its Omni platform, now integrated with Acxiom’s Real ID and Flywheel’s Commerce Cloud, to...

By Chief Marketer
Q4: Omnicom’s IPG Merger Is An AI Test Case
NewsFeb 19, 2026

Q4: Omnicom’s IPG Merger Is An AI Test Case

Omnicom reported its first earnings after completing the $13.5 billion acquisition of IPG, positioning AI as the core growth engine for the combined firm. The company highlighted its Omni platform, now linked with Acxiom’s Real ID and Flywheel’s Commerce Cloud, to...

By AdExchanger
Just 15 Minutes of Lawyer Work – AI-Driven Law Firm Targets Remortgages
NewsFeb 19, 2026

Just 15 Minutes of Lawyer Work – AI-Driven Law Firm Targets Remortgages

Former DLA Piper UK managing partner Paul Firth is launching AI‑driven law firm LEXcelerate, promising to cut remortgage lawyer time to 15 minutes and complete transactions in nine working days. The platform automates about 90% of administrative tasks, delivering roughly...

By Legal Futures (UK)
CJC Calls for Declaration About AI Use in Drafting Witness Statements
NewsFeb 19, 2026

CJC Calls for Declaration About AI Use in Drafting Witness Statements

The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has issued an interim report proposing that litigators must declare they have not used AI to generate the content of trial witness statements, while allowing AI assistance for other court documents provided the responsible lawyer’s...

By Legal Futures (UK)
IPAA ACT Virtual AI Summit: Building a Trusted Digital Future
NewsFeb 19, 2026

IPAA ACT Virtual AI Summit: Building a Trusted Digital Future

The Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) is hosting a virtual AI Summit on 18 March 2026. The half‑day event will focus on building a trusted digital future for the public sector, featuring breakout sessions on workforce upskilling, AI governance, digital stewardship,...

By The Mandarin (Australia)
Epam Systems Inc (EPAM) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
NewsFeb 19, 2026

Epam Systems Inc (EPAM) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

EPAM Systems reported Q4 2025 revenue of $1.4 billion, a 12.8% year‑over‑year increase, and AI‑native revenue topped $105 million, on track to exceed $600 million in 2026. The company posted GAAP EPS of $1.98 and non‑GAAP EPS of $3.26, while free cash flow...

By Motley Fool – Earnings Transcripts
‘An AlphaFold 4’ – Scientists Marvel at DeepMind Drug Spin-Off’s Exclusive New AI
NewsFeb 19, 2026

‘An AlphaFold 4’ – Scientists Marvel at DeepMind Drug Spin-Off’s Exclusive New AI

Isomorphic Labs unveiled IsoDDE, a proprietary AI engine touted as an “AlphaFold 4”‑level breakthrough in drug discovery. The 27‑page technical report claims the model outperforms AlphaFold 3, the open‑source Boltz‑2, and traditional physics‑based methods in predicting binding affinity and antibody‑protein interactions. Researchers...

By Nature – Health Policy
Agentic AI, Enterprise Control: Self-Hosted Duo Agent Platform and BYOM
NewsFeb 19, 2026

Agentic AI, Enterprise Control: Self-Hosted Duo Agent Platform and BYOM

GitLab 18.9 launches a self‑hosted Duo Agent Platform for online cloud license customers, enabling AI‑driven automation while keeping models on‑premise or in approved clouds. The new offering uses a usage‑based billing model powered by GitLab Credits, delivering transparent per‑request metering...

By GitLab Blog
Booking CEO Touts Ties With Independent Hotels as Agentic AI and Airbnb Seek Gains
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Booking CEO Touts Ties With Independent Hotels as Agentic AI and Airbnb Seek Gains

Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel emphasized the platform’s deep ties with independent hotels, which supply the bulk of its room nights, as the company confronts rising pressure from AI‑driven travel agents and Airbnb’s expansion into the boutique‑hotel segment. He announced...

By Skift – Technology
ChatGPT Search Often Switches To English In Fan-Out Queries: Report via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
NewsFeb 18, 2026

ChatGPT Search Often Switches To English In Fan-Out Queries: Report via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern

ChatGPT Search rewrites user prompts into multiple “fan‑out” queries for its search partners. An analysis of 10 million prompts and 20 million fan‑out queries found that 43 % of those sub‑queries run in English, even when the original prompt is non‑English. Overall, 78 %...

By Search Engine Journal
Do Teachers Have the Skills to Use AI? New Test Aims to Find Out
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Do Teachers Have the Skills to Use AI? New Test Aims to Find Out

ETS’s Futurenav Adapt AI test, a 30‑minute assessment, gauges teachers’ ability to recognize, ethically navigate, evaluate, and apply generative AI in classrooms. The test, piloted with 75 secondary teachers, delivers individual and district‑level dashboards of strengths, gaps, and equity concerns....

By Education Week (Technology section)
New Agent Framework Matches Human-Engineered AI Systems — and Adds Zero Inference Cost to Deploy
NewsFeb 18, 2026

New Agent Framework Matches Human-Engineered AI Systems — and Adds Zero Inference Cost to Deploy

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara introduced Group‑Evolving Agents (GEA), a framework that evolves entire groups of AI agents instead of single individuals. By sharing a collective experience archive and using a reflection module, GEA combines innovations across agents, leading to...

By VentureBeat
The Blueprint for Commercializing Breakthrough Healthtech
NewsFeb 18, 2026

The Blueprint for Commercializing Breakthrough Healthtech

AI‑driven medtech firms must prove tangible ROI for patients, providers and payers to move from lab to bedside. Brent Ness outlines three pillars—capital efficiency with payer alignment, rigorous evidence and reimbursement pathways, and operational scalability paired with strong IP—that determine...

By Medical Design & Outsourcing
Inside the DOE’s 26 AI Challenges for Genesis Mission
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Inside the DOE’s 26 AI Challenges for Genesis Mission

The U.S. Department of Energy unveiled 26 artificial‑intelligence challenges that underpin its Genesis Mission, spanning nuclear systems, grid modernization, materials science, advanced manufacturing, microelectronics and national security. The announcement shifts AI from a purely analytical tool to the connective tissue...

By EnterpriseAI
TreviPay Leverages AI to Help Businesses Anticipate Buyer Behavior
NewsFeb 18, 2026

TreviPay Leverages AI to Help Businesses Anticipate Buyer Behavior

TreviPay unveiled its AI‑powered Growth Center, a module inside the client portal that flags early signs of buyer dormancy and suggests targeted incentives. In a pilot with a U.S. retailer, the system identified 60 previously inactive buyers who generated $103,946...

By Finovate
Another Early AI Accounting Startup Just Bit the Dust
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Another Early AI Accounting Startup Just Bit the Dust

Botkeeper, an early AI accounting platform founded in 2015, announced its closure after eleven years despite achieving high‑accuracy transaction coding and a sophisticated AI suite. The company raised substantial venture capital and built an “Infinite” platform that could reconcile data...

By Going Concern
Opkey Launches Design Studio for ERP Implementation Planning
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Opkey Launches Design Studio for ERP Implementation Planning

Opkey introduced Design Studio, an AI‑driven module within its application lifecycle automation platform that streamlines ERP and HCM implementation planning. The visual canvas embeds more than 20 domain‑specific AI agents to automate discovery, requirements capture, process mapping, and configuration design....

By ERP Today
Managing Legal Risk in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: What Key Stakeholders Need to Know Today
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Managing Legal Risk in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: What Key Stakeholders Need to Know Today

In 2026 enterprises are scaling AI from pilots to company‑wide deployments, prompting a surge in legal exposure across governance, compliance, privacy, contracting and IP. Boards face heightened fiduciary duties under the Caremark standard, yet only 36% have formal AI oversight...

By JD Supra (Labor & Employment)
Football Commentator Permits EA to Use an AI Version of His Voice for EA Sports FC
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Football Commentator Permits EA to Use an AI Version of His Voice for EA Sports FC

EA Sports FC commentator Guy Mowbray has authorized Electronic Arts to clone his voice using artificial intelligence, allowing the game to generate pronunciations for more than 20,000 footballer names. Mowbray currently records each name several times to capture different emphases,...

By GamesIndustry.biz
Generative AI Reduces M&A Costs by 20%, McKinsey Says
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Generative AI Reduces M&A Costs by 20%, McKinsey Says

McKinsey reports that generative AI has slashed M&A costs by roughly 20% and accelerated deal timelines by 10% to 30%. The technology enables faster target identification, due diligence, and integration, especially amid geopolitical and supply‑chain disruptions. Bain finds one in...

By CFO Dive
Canadian Fintech Investment Down Nearly 75% Last Year, After Record-High 2024
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Canadian Fintech Investment Down Nearly 75% Last Year, After Record-High 2024

Canadian fintech investment plunged 75% in 2025, falling to US$2.4 billion across 113 deals, down from a record US$9.9 billion in 2024. AI and digital‑asset firms dominated the reduced deal flow, while later‑stage platforms attracted the bulk of capital. The three biggest...

By Financial Post — Finance
OpenAI, Google, and Perplexity Near Approval to Host AI Directly for the U.S. Government (Exclusive)
NewsFeb 18, 2026

OpenAI, Google, and Perplexity Near Approval to Host AI Directly for the U.S. Government (Exclusive)

OpenAI, Google, and Perplexity are on the cusp of receiving FedRAMP 20x authorization, allowing them to host AI services on their own clouds for U.S. government use. The approval will be limited to low‑impact, pilot deployments but marks a shift toward...

By Fast Company AI
Loft Orbital, SmartSat CRC to Demonstrate Wildfire Detection Technology
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Loft Orbital, SmartSat CRC to Demonstrate Wildfire Detection Technology

Loft Orbital and Australia’s SmartSat Cooperative Research Center have begun a joint mission to test AI‑driven wildfire detection software on Loft’s low‑Earth‑orbit satellites. The system uses hyperspectral imaging to differentiate smoke from ordinary cloud cover and to flag nascent blazes,...

By Via Satellite
Arista Hints at In-the-Works Telemetry Tools to Manage AI Fabrics
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Arista Hints at In-the-Works Telemetry Tools to Manage AI Fabrics

Arista Networks announced extensions to its telemetry stack aimed at AI‑driven environments, adding host‑level data such as RDMA counters, NIC buffering, and flow‑control metrics to its CloudVision platform. The new capabilities will merge in‑network and host telemetry into a single,...

By Network World
Albertsons Outlines Top 4 AI Priorities
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Albertsons Outlines Top 4 AI Priorities

Albertsons announced four AI priorities for fiscal 2026—digital customer experience, merchandising, labor, and supply chain—backed by a full cloud migration and unified data platform. Chief technology officer Anuj Dhanda emphasized these are long‑term investments already delivering measurable impact, such as...

By CIO Dive
Cutting-Edge Technologies Are Poised to Transform Orthopedics
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Cutting-Edge Technologies Are Poised to Transform Orthopedics

Orthopedic surgery is rapidly adopting AI, robotic assistance, VR/AR and wearable digital tools, shifting from experimental concepts to routine practice. AI now supports imaging interpretation, predictive risk modeling, personalized surgical planning, training simulations and remote postoperative monitoring. Robotic platforms improve...

By Healio
Intel Turns To Microsoft’s Copilot Studio For Partner Support After Dialing Back Phone Use
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Intel Turns To Microsoft’s Copilot Studio For Partner Support After Dialing Back Phone Use

Intel is launching "Ask Intel," an AI‑driven virtual assistant built on Microsoft’s Copilot Studio, to handle customer and partner support after scaling back phone and social‑media channels. The assistant can open cases, verify warranties and route complex issues to human...

By CRN (US)
Niqo Robotics Showcases 3-in-1 Precision AI Robot at Southwest Ag Summit 2026
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Niqo Robotics Showcases 3-in-1 Precision AI Robot at Southwest Ag Summit 2026

Niqo Robotics unveiled its 3‑in‑1 AI robot at the Southwest Ag Summit, demonstrating a single‑pass solution for precision weeding, crop thinning, and targeted spraying. The showcase followed a successful pilot that generated the company’s first commercial order in the region....

By RoboticsTomorrow
INL Enlists NVIDIA on ‘PROMETHEUS’ AI Effort to Halve Nuclear Deployment Timelines Under DOE Genesis Mission
NewsFeb 18, 2026

INL Enlists NVIDIA on ‘PROMETHEUS’ AI Effort to Halve Nuclear Deployment Timelines Under DOE Genesis Mission

Idaho National Laboratory has teamed with NVIDIA to launch PROMETHEUS, an AI‑driven autonomous reactor demonstration under the DOE Genesis Mission. The partnership targets a 50% reduction in nuclear deployment timelines and multi‑billion‑dollar cost savings by embedding AI across design, licensing,...

By POWER Magazine
NextGen Supply Chain Conference 2026 Opens Speaker Submission Process
NewsFeb 18, 2026

NextGen Supply Chain Conference 2026 Opens Speaker Submission Process

The NextGen Supply Chain Conference 2026 has opened its speaker submission window, inviting senior supply‑chain leaders to present case studies at the event scheduled for Oct. 21‑23, 2026, in Nashville’s W Hotel. The conference’s theme, “Innovate. Upskill. Transform.”, signals a shift...

By Supply Chain Management Review (SCMR)
Recurring Revenue Strategies for the AI Business Era
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Recurring Revenue Strategies for the AI Business Era

The article examines how AI’s high variable costs are reshaping recurring‑revenue models, moving firms away from flat‑rate SaaS subscriptions toward hybrid, usage‑based, and outcome‑based pricing. It cites McKinsey data showing 50% of firms plan AI adoption and highlights that 72%...

By SmartData Collective
Sumo Logic Moves Into Sovereign Cloud Regions in Europe
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Sumo Logic Moves Into Sovereign Cloud Regions in Europe

Sumo Logic announced the extension of its cloud‑native analytics platform into the AWS European Sovereign Cloud and an AWS data center in Switzerland. The move lets customers keep logs, telemetry, and security data within national borders, satisfying GDPR and other...

By ChannelE2E
Spirent Luma Brings Agentic AI to Network Testing, Slashes Triage Time
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Spirent Luma Brings Agentic AI to Network Testing, Slashes Triage Time

Spirent Communications, now part of Keysight, launched Luma, an agentic AI platform that automates network test case generation, root‑cause analysis, and knowledge retrieval. Built on a domain‑specific knowledge graph, deterministic rule engine and a suite of 10‑12 specialized AI agents,...

By Network World
AI Agents and How to Govern Them: Tailscale, Sayvint Offer Solutions
NewsFeb 18, 2026

AI Agents and How to Govern Them: Tailscale, Sayvint Offer Solutions

AI agents are moving from occasional chat tools to always‑on assistants, prompting enterprises to confront identity‑governance gaps. Tailscale introduced Aperture, an open‑alpha governance layer that ties AI usage to user or workload identities, offering policy controls, audit‑ready session logs, and...

By Biometric Update
Snowflake CEO: ‘I’m Not In The Business Of Selling AI. I’m In The Business Of Creating Value.’
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Snowflake CEO: ‘I’m Not In The Business Of Selling AI. I’m In The Business Of Creating Value.’

Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy told CRN that the company’s focus is on creating customer value, not merely selling AI. He highlighted the rapid expansion of Snowflake’s partner ecosystem to more than 14,200 global partners, a 22% year‑over‑year increase. Ramaswamy emphasized...

By CRN (US)
Snowflake Partners: AI’s Impact Can Withstand A Potential Bubble
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Snowflake Partners: AI’s Impact Can Withstand A Potential Bubble

Snowflake’s ecosystem of solution partners says AI’s impact will endure despite concerns of a bubble. Executives from BlueCloud, RiskSpan, Viewnear and Slalom stress that solid data foundations and cost‑driven efficiencies are essential for sustainable AI adoption. They note a shift...

By CRN (US)
Outcome-Based Business Models Gain Traction In The Channel As A Way To Navigate AI Economics
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Outcome-Based Business Models Gain Traction In The Channel As A Way To Navigate AI Economics

Solution providers are abandoning hourly billing in favor of outcome‑based models as AI automation turns software development into a commodity. Eduardo Ramos founded Viewnear to align pricing with measurable client results, leveraging Snowflake’s data platform and AI tools. RiskSpan and...

By CRN (US)
[Webinar] AI Trade Secrets: Litigation Trends and Risk Management - March 4th, 9:00 Am - 10:00 Am PST
NewsFeb 18, 2026

[Webinar] AI Trade Secrets: Litigation Trends and Risk Management - March 4th, 9:00 Am - 10:00 Am PST

Fenwick & West’s March 4 webinar will examine the surge in trade‑secret litigation targeting AI companies’ core assets, such as algorithms, training data, and deployment strategies. The session will dissect recent high‑profile cases and the sizable damages awarded, highlighting how employee...

By JD Supra – Legal Tech
Milwaukee Sheriff Moves to Integrate Biometrica Despite MPD Facial Recognition Freeze
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Milwaukee Sheriff Moves to Integrate Biometrica Despite MPD Facial Recognition Freeze

Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office has signed a letter of intent to partner with Biometrica, aiming to access its UMbRA facial‑recognition database. The draft contract would let the sheriff’s office search a de‑identified collection of mugshots, felony warrants and missing‑person images,...

By Biometric Update
Amazon Halts Blue Jay Robotics Project After Less than 6 Months
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Amazon Halts Blue Jay Robotics Project After Less than 6 Months

Amazon has halted its Blue Jay warehouse robotics project less than six months after its public debut. The multi‑armed robot, unveiled in October to speed same‑day delivery, was built in roughly a year—significantly faster than Amazon’s prior robot programs. Amazon says...

By TechCrunch Robotics
CharmHealth Advances Its AI Strategy With MCP Server
NewsFeb 18, 2026

CharmHealth Advances Its AI Strategy With MCP Server

CharmHealth introduced its Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, a secure, standardized interface that lets AI applications access electronic health record (EHR) data directly within the clinician’s workflow. The server translates natural‑language requests from large language models into structured EHR interactions,...

By Digital Health Global
National Robotics Week 2026 Underscores Robotics as a Critical U.S. Industry and Workforce Engine
NewsFeb 18, 2026

National Robotics Week 2026 Underscores Robotics as a Critical U.S. Industry and Workforce Engine

National Robotics Week runs April 4‑12, 2026, spotlighting robotics as a strategic U.S. industry. Organized by MassRobotics, the week aggregates over a hundred events nationwide, linking manufacturers, startups, and research labs. Partnerships such as Microsoft’s sponsorship of STEM sessions and...

By RoboticsTomorrow
OpenAI Must Stop Using ‘Cameo’ Term in Sora App, Judge Rules
NewsFeb 18, 2026

OpenAI Must Stop Using ‘Cameo’ Term in Sora App, Judge Rules

A U.S. district judge granted a preliminary win to video‑request platform Cameo, ordering OpenAI to stop using the "Cameo" label for its Sora AI video feature, citing likely consumer confusion and recent deep‑fake controversies. OpenAI had previously renamed the feature...

By Mashable AI
AI Connected to Slightly More Hiring, but Growth Favors Older Workers with Less Exposure
NewsFeb 18, 2026

AI Connected to Slightly More Hiring, but Growth Favors Older Workers with Less Exposure

Payroll data from Gusto shows that small businesses that increase AI‑exposed work see modest revenue gains and a slight rise in hiring. For every 10‑point boost in AI exposure, monthly revenue climbs about 2.2% after six months, while headcount grows...

By Accounting Today
ECL Targets AI Data Centers with Fuel-Agnostic Power Platform
NewsFeb 18, 2026

ECL Targets AI Data Centers with Fuel-Agnostic Power Platform

ECL unveiled FlexGrid, a power‑agnostic platform that lets modular data centers draw electricity from hydrogen, natural gas, renewables or diesel. The system is designed for AI training and inferencing workloads, allowing operators to start with modest 2‑10 MW grid connections and...

By Network World
Pakistan Super App for Gov’t Services, Document Verification Advances Toward Launch
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Pakistan Super App for Gov’t Services, Document Verification Advances Toward Launch

Pakistan’s government is set to launch a mobile "Super App" that will consolidate public services, document verification, and digital payments into a single platform. The initiative builds on NADRA’s National Digital Identity system and the existing Pak ID app, leveraging...

By Biometric Update
‘The Future Is About Fixing Business Problems:’ New Charter CEO On AI‑Native MSP Strategy
NewsFeb 18, 2026

‘The Future Is About Fixing Business Problems:’ New Charter CEO On AI‑Native MSP Strategy

New Charter Technologies is reshaping the managed services provider (MSP) model by embedding AI into its core operations, turning reactive support into automated, self‑healing processes. The company recently hired Microsoft veteran Michelle Curtis as chief revenue officer to drive a...

By CRN (US)
Williams-Sonoma to Test Ads in ChatGPT
NewsFeb 18, 2026

Williams-Sonoma to Test Ads in ChatGPT

Williams‑Sonoma has joined OpenAI’s ad pilot, becoming one of the first retailers to test sponsored placements inside ChatGPT. The experiment will surface high‑end home‑goods ads to free and Go users as they ask product‑related questions, while paid subscribers remain ad‑free....

By Retail Dive