Nano Banana, the viral image generation and editing model Google released in August as part of Gemini 2.5 Flash, has been used to generate more than 5 billion images to date, and now Google is looking to increase its usage by introducing the model to other popular services. Officially known as Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, the visual tool is now available in Google Search via a Create tab that activates it in Google Lens and AI Mode. It’s also been incorporated into NotebookLM, powering the Video Overviews tool that transforms documents into narrated explainer videos. The company says Nano Banana is also coming soon to Google Photos. Continue reading Nano Banana AI Image Tool Is Added to Search, NotebookLM

DeepSeek-R1-0528 is here, and this latest iteration is generating almost as much stir as the initial open-source R1 reasoning model did in January. The Chinese startup, owned by quantitative analysis firm High-Flyer Capital, is touted by one media outlet as “near parity in reasoning capabilities with proprietary paid models such as OpenAI’s o3 and Google Gemini 2.5 Pro.” Promised are stronger capabilities in complex reasoning centered on math, science, business and coding, along with improved features for developers and researchers. As with the earlier release, the DeepSeek-R1-0528 is available under the MIT License, which supports commercial use and allows customization. Continue reading DeepSeek’s New Update Heightens Rivalry with U.S. AI Firms