Google-Improved SynthID AI Detector; Apple New Smart Home Gadgets; Ring’s Smart Lock-Really Smart Feature; Grok Bot to Use Claude Opus 5.5, Midjourney & Suno

Google is rolling out an improved version of its SynthID AI detector. For a little context, arstechnica.com reports that every piece of AI content from Google’s Gemini models has a hidden SynthID label, which makes it very difficult to pass the content off as authentic. SynthID has also gotten buy-in from other major AI players, but actually checking for those invisible watermarks has been a convoluted process. With the updated version, it’s going to be a little easier. Google has announced that its SynthID detector now supports watermarks from all its partners, and it’s available for anyone to use on a new dedicated website. The partners include OpenAI, Nvidia, Kakao, and (soon) Apple. You will have to log in to use the tool, but it supports Google, OpenAI, and Apple accounts. If you are interested, go to SynthID.com to check a piece of content for a watermark. I support any advance that helps folks figure out what’s original human-created content and what’s AI. 

Apple is getting set to beef up its smart home offerings. According to 9to5mac.com, Cupertino has partnered with LG on a doorbell, thermostat, smart deadbolt lock, indoor security cam, and outdoor security cam, and  a floodlight camera. Although Apple worked with LG on the devices, they will still all carry the LG brand, not Apple’s. Also…even though Apple is rolling out its new smart home hub and more next week, the new LG devices won’t be out for a few more months. The devices will support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Thread, and Matter. In addition, the smart lock also includes UWB (ultra-wideband), which will enable proximity-based features such as automatic door unlocking.

Ring has rolled out its first smart lock. The device is a $249 deadbolt with no keyhole at all. What if the battery runs down? Well, that’s what I consider the coolest feature. I have a keypad lock…not really a smart lock..but always carry a key, in case the battery dies. Geekwire.com points out that the new Ring smart lock has a little dial on it. If the battery is dead, you can turn the dial about 10 times, and it will give the device enough charge to open the lock. When it is good to go again, a light turns green, and you can use your fingerprint, the keypad, or the Ring app to enter. It is slated to ship the first quarter of next year. For a battery, no 9-volt job…it uses the standard Ring battery….which for the lock, ought to last about a year. 

Grok Bot will now not just run on SpaceX’s own AI models. Thenextweb.com reports that it will also use models of rivals like Anthropic’s Claude Opus 5.5, Midjourney, and Suno. The announcement was made by Elon Musk in a post on X. Grok Bot is the AI agent app from SpaceXAI, the AI business Musk has folded into SpaceX. It launched in August. Each Bot works on its own computer and can carry out several tasks in parallel. Musk did not say which tasks would go to which outside model. Grok Bot will still compete with Agents like Meta’s Muse….which has now exceeded 3 million weekly users. As we have reported, some users have backed away from Muse…which wants really deep access into your computer and data. No info yet on how deeply Grok Bot will want to burrow into your personal info. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.