Josh Woodward is the vice president of Google Labs, the Gemini app, and AI Studio.
Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images
Google Labs leaders use ominous meeting invites to surprise and thank top staff.
It's a "secret society" ritual for the most valuable employees, Google Labs chief Josh Woodward said.
Woodward called the meetings "pretty fun" during an appearance on "Lenny's Podcast."
An unexpected meeting invite with the boss is often the kind of thing that sends employees spiraling. For Google Labs staffers, though, it could mean top brass are about to tell you how great you are.
Speaking on a recent episode of "Lenny's Podcast," Josh Woodward, the vice president of Google Labs, the Gemini app, and AI Studio, described the surprise appreciation meetings as a kind of "secret society" ritual for the team's most valuable employees.
"We'll basically like put an invite on someone's calendar, and we'll just, you know, it looks kind of scary because there's like four or five leaders on the team," Woodward told podcast host Lenny Rachitsky, adding that there's no agenda given.
"And then they show up, and we take turns. We go around the circle, and we just tell them why we appreciate them so much for being on the team," Woodward said.
Woodward called the sessions "pretty fun" and said employees are regularly surprised to learn what the meetings are about.
"I always start the meeting with like, 'This is not a bad meeting. This is a good meeting,'" he said. "Your mind may assume the worst, but we're actually doing the opposite. These are some of the most valuable people."
The surprise recognition meetings are one of the ways Google Labs celebrates the often unflashy work behind its AI products, according to Woodward.
He said the team also has a tradition of handing out quirky awards to employees.
There's the "TPU harvester" award, which consists of a "little miniature rake" from Etsy as well as a cash reward, for staffers who optimize Google's AI chips, known as Tensor Processing Units, Woodward said.
"A few of us wanted to figure out a way to reward people who do the grungy work of efficiency and reclaiming TPUs, harvesting TPUs, so we can build the next features and fuel our growth," he said, adding, "we kind of turned it into this big celebration."
Employees who fix small product flaws or "paper cuts" receive a golden Band-Aid, Woodward said. And those who find surprising ways to push AI models toward new capabilities can become an "LLM whisperer," earning them a giant set of ears and a "really nice" mechanical keyboard.
"We're trying to find like ways to kind of like I don't know encode the value in these like dorky symbols, but that means something," he said, explaining, "We're always coming up with weird stuff like this."
La red de ciberespionaje israelí logró infiltrarse en redes sensibles del Pentágono, la ONU, la OTAN y la Corte Penal Internacional. El entramado afectó además a la cadena Al Jazeera, empresas tecnológicas como Nvidia y una masiva cobertura digital en Palestina.
Bruno Bianchini quit his job at Google to focus on sustainability in Cambodia and green finance.
While still at Google, he pursued a degree at Harvard in sustainable studies.
He says leaving Google was a hard decision, but his career shift aligns with his values.
This as-told-to essay is based on an interview with Bruno Bianchini, the 40-year-old former Head of Global Partnerships for the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey for Google, who is based in the Netherlands. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Growing up in the Italian countryside, sustainability was simply part of everyday life. At 18, I left my small village near Milan to study at Bocconi University in Milan.
In 2005, I started my degree in accounting, corporate finance, and law. Then I did a master's in business administration. When I was about to graduate, a friend at the university said a group of professors had opened a boutique consulting firm. I interviewed for the role and landed it.
That path led me first to consulting and then to Google, where I spent more than 13 years before leaving to pursue work in sustainability.
I started work as a business analyst at the consulting firm in January 2011
At 25, I was working on three projects — a hotel, a food company, and a company that made pressure gauges. My experience was very much about seeing problems through an analytical lens.
In 2012, I was invited to a friend's birthday dinner, where I was seated opposite a guy working at Google. Although Google was already a huge company, I had little sense of its scale. I thought of it mainly as a search engine.
We stayed in touch, and they eventually asked if I'd be interested in an interview
I remember wearing a jacket and tie, and I thought, I can't show up at Google like this; they're never going to hire me. I roughed up my hair, removed my jacket and my tie, and went to the interview.
I had three interviews at Google on the same day. One interviewer asked me about role-related knowledge, the next about more general knowledge, and the third was Googleyness — whether I was a culture fit. I remember thinking in the interview that I wanted to work with these people.
About a week later, I had a fourth interview. The process moved quickly because it was for a temp job. In July 2012, I joined Google.
The Google office in Milan was colorful and playful
I remember there was a game area. In consulting, I'd start work at 8:30 a.m. and leave at 10:30 p.m. every day. At Google, people were coming and going whenever they wanted. The culture was a huge change for me. It was fantastic.
A year later, I applied for a full-time role working with DoubleClick for Publishers, now part of Google Ad Manager. I did lots of prep for the interview, and I got the job.
In 2016, my boss asked me to give a presentation at the Google office in Dubai
After the presentation, a guy who became my new boss asked if I'd consider moving to Dubai because they were expanding the team. Two months later, they opened the role; I applied, got the job, and moved to Dubai.
That same year, I got to see the San Francisco campus for the first time. When I saw the scale of the buildings, the number of meeting rooms, micro kitchens, and the bicycles employees rode around campus, I was mesmerized. Working for one of the most innovative companies on the planet, I felt like I was always at the forefront of tech innovation. I definitely got a kick out of that.
By 2024, I had become the Head of Global Partnerships for the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey at Google
As I was managing a large region, there was a lot of travel.
On office days, I generally worked 9-to-5, depending on projects and deadlines. I might have calls with people in the US, but travel was more hectic. From the moment I arrived, I was having breakfast with colleagues, attending an event, or meeting with clients.
Throughout my time at Google, my value system changed
I'd been thinking about sustainability for some time. When I was in Milan, I met someone from LA who told me they were vegan. They told me about the damage the dairy and meat industries are causing to the planet. I started reading more, and I went down the rabbit hole. I remember feeling that I wanted to be part of the movement for the solution.
While still at Google, I looked into which universities offered degrees in sustainability and came across a program at Harvard.
In December 2025, I resigned from Google
I pursued my master's degree in sustainable studies at Harvard online while working at Google. The last part of my studies involved a thesis. I took a sabbatical from Google and traveled to Cambodia to work on an ambitious project that plans to reforest 100,000 hectares of flooded forest. I worked on the feasibility study.
Google was kind enough to say, "Go pursue your dreams, and if something doesn't work, you're welcome to come back." Eventually, I decided it was time. After four months in Cambodia, I felt the umbilical cord was stretched enough. When I returned from my sabbatical, I handed in my notice.
I feel now that I have a big purpose in my heart, confidence in the abilities Harvard gave me, and, at the same time, I feel financially secure. I could leave a high-paying role where I was making more than $300,000 in annual total compensation for the unknown.
I'm now working as an independent consultant for this project in Cambodia.
Leaving Google was not an easy choice
Google nurtured me in so many ways, but as I was learning more about sustainability, my value system was changing. I was encouraging people to sell more stuff, and on my dark days, I remember thinking that staying at home on the couch was better for the environment.
I want to capitalize on my background in business and finance. I'm currently working on publishing a research paper about the project in Cambodia. I'm doing this long-distance while we're securing funds for the pilot. This month, I moved to the Netherlands, as it is one of the best places for green finance.
Discover-Tech could reportedly track and identify users even if they didn't click on ads, some of which were used to plant spyware from blacklisted Israeli firm Candiru
The European Commission is assessing changes to Google’s search engine and app-store practices after imposing two substantial fines in July. Regulators must now decide whether the company’s response satisfies EU competition requirements or leaves it exposed to further enforcement.
The European Commission is continuing discussions with Google over the company’s response to €890 million in penalties imposed under the Digital Markets Act, as Brussels examines whether changes to its search engine and app-store practices are sufficient to address infringements of European competition rules.
Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier confirmed on Wednesday, 14 October, that officials remained in dialogue with the American technology company. The Commission is assessing the measures Google has introduced, taking account of feedback from businesses affected by its services before reaching a conclusion on compliance.
The review follows two decisions adopted on 23 July, when the European Commission found Google in breach of the Digital Markets Act. A €460 million fine concerned preferential treatment for Google’s own services in search results, while a separate €430 million penalty addressed restrictions preventing app developers from freely directing customers towards alternative purchasing channels.
Search rankings remain under examination
The first infringement concerns Google’s treatment of competing online services offering hotel reservations, shopping comparisons, transport information and sports results.
Regulators concluded that Google had placed its own services in more prominent positions, sometimes providing them with enhanced visual features and search functions unavailable to competing businesses.
The Digital Markets Act prohibits designated gatekeepers from giving their own products preferential treatment when ranking services that compete with those offered by other companies.
Google has already modified its European search results in response to the Commission’s decision. The changes include revised presentations of commercial information and greater prominence for independent comparison services.
The company maintains that direct information previously available through its search engine may become harder for consumers to obtain.
For competitors, however, the question is whether Google’s adjustments provide genuine commercial opportunities or merely alter the appearance of search results without changing the underlying distribution of traffic.
Google Play fees face scrutiny
The second case concerns the Google Play application marketplace, where developers have historically depended on Google’s infrastructure to distribute software and sell subscriptions.
Under the DMA, developers must be able to inform customers about alternative offers and direct them towards purchasing arrangements outside the platform, including their own websites.
The Commission found that Google’s restrictions and fees had limited that freedom.
Although the company may charge for certain services associated with acquiring customers, the Commission concluded that the level and duration of its steering-related charges exceeded what the legislation permits.
Google has since adjusted its external-offers arrangements. European officials are examining whether those changes provide developers with a commercially workable alternative to transactions processed through Google Play.
The issue has consequences for subscription services, digital publishers and software companies seeking to maintain direct relationships with their customers.
A formal ability to direct consumers elsewhere is of limited benefit if the financial conditions make such transactions uneconomic.
Enforcement enters a more demanding phase
The Digital Markets Act was designed to address market practices that conventional competition investigations often took years to resolve.
Rather than requiring regulators to establish a new infringement through lengthy proceedings in every instance, the legislation imposes specific obligations on companies designated as gatekeepers.
The Commission’s DMA enforcement framework allows regulators to examine whether those obligations are being followed and to impose financial penalties when they are breached.
Google’s July fines represented an important enforcement decision. The current review concerns the company’s subsequent conduct and the practical effects of its compliance measures.
The continuation of discussions does not itself establish a fresh infringement. Further penalties would require an additional regulatory determination.
Google also faces broader obligations concerning the sharing of search data with competing providers, an issue addressed in a separate Commission decision issued in July.
These obligations concern access to anonymised information about searches, rankings and user interactions that competing search engines may need to improve their own services.
Taken together, the measures represent a substantial intervention in how Google’s European business operates.
Transatlantic tensions complicate the dispute
The proceedings have acquired a political dimension because most of the largest companies affected by the DMA are American.
President Donald Trump has criticised European penalties against US technology companies and threatened trade measures in response to what his administration regards as discriminatory regulation.
Brussels maintains that the legislation applies according to market position and commercial conduct, regardless of nationality.
European regulators must nevertheless enforce their decisions in an environment where competition policy has become entangled with wider trade relations between the United States and the European Union.
Google’s financial exposure extends beyond the €890 million imposed in July. Continued non-compliance could lead to further regulatory proceedings, while changes to the company’s services may also affect advertising revenue and its relationships with commercial partners.
The immediate assessment will concentrate on whether competing search services receive fair treatment and whether application developers can direct customers towards alternative transactions without unjustified restrictions.
The Commission has not announced a date for its final assessment. Its decision will help establish how far Europe’s digital competition legislation can change the conduct of companies whose platforms occupy central positions in online commerce.
Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis cautioned that recent AI-driven cyberattacks were “early warning shots”, as more serious incidents could emerge over time unless companies and governments stepped up efforts to secure AI systems.
Speaking at the International AI Summit in Dublin, Hassabis said the industry needs to adopt safety practices used in sectors such as biology and nuclear technology, calling for secure, isolated sandboxes to test AI agents before they are connected to the internet, alongside stronger cybersecurity measures.
“We’ve got to kind of asymmetrically power up our defensive side to keep ahead of the attackers,” he said, arguing banks and governments could deploy AI to identify and fix software vulnerabilities before systems are widely released.
He also renewed calls for an international standards body to oversee AI safety, but clarified any framework must be flexible enough to keep pace with technological developments without stifling innovation.
Microsoft president and CEO Brad Smith also advocated for stronger safeguards, describing 2026 as a “sobering year” for AI safety. “No company or technology should be above the law,” he said, adding that regulation needed to be “sensible” and “balanced” while accounting for innovation.
Smith added that companies should be prepared to slow development when necessary, citing Microsoft’s decision to move 34,000 engineers from product development to cybersecurity two and a half years ago. “It was painful, but it was the right thing to do.”
“This allergy that some in the industry have to regulation is frankly something we need to get over,” he quipped.
European AI research Separately, Google DeepMind and Google Cloud announced plans to provide up to 200 European scientific researchers with access to their frontier AI models, alongside $3 million in compute credits.
The initiative will support the European Union’s AI for Science agenda through the Resource for AI Science in Europe (RAISE), which aims to address computing resource gaps faced by researchers.
The companies will provide researchers with access to AI tools including AlphaFold 3, WeatherNext, AlphaGenome, AlphaEvolve and AlphaEarth Foundations. Google said the programme would equip researchers to tackle complex scientific challenges, including predicting extreme weather patterns and mapping molecular structures.
Ukraine has struck a major blow to Russia’s digital infrastructure. Since last Thursday, Ukrainian drones have carried out a series of attacks that destroyed three large data centers belonging to Yandex — known as “the Kremlin’s Google”— on the outskirts of Moscow. The Yandex Taxi ride-hailing app and the group’s payments service, Yandex Pay, have been temporarily taken offline. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy even said the bombings disabled Russian bots.
Cercare online informazioni sulla propria salute può aiutare a comprendere meglio sintomi e malattie. Può però anche alimentare preoccupazioni e aumentare il ricorso ai servizi sanitari. I dati europei mostrano le due facce del paziente digitale.
Anthropic, the maker of the Claude AI models, is preparing what could be the largest initial public offering in history, raising more than $100 billion, according to The New York Times, at a valuation near US$2 trillion. According to Reuters, which reviewed the draft prospectus (the document has not yet been made public), the company […]
Spain-based CaixaBank and Google Cloud extended their partnership to 2033 as the bank looks to expand its use of AI and cloud technologies to serve 13 million customers.
Under the agreement, CaixaBank will deploy Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise platform to develop and manage AI agents. The bank expects the agents to help employees analyse complex financial information, automate repetitive tasks and streamline everyday workflows.
The companies identified three areas for the expanded partnership. CaixaBank plans to use Gemini Enterprise to analyse large datasets and deploy specialised AI agents for document management, classification and summarising complex content.
CaixaBank will combine its private systems with Google Cloud infrastructure to increase resilience, scalability and service availability. The agreement also covers threat detection and security monitoring.
The agreement includes professional services, joint projects and training to help employees use the new technology. The work will operate under CaixaBank’s security, privacy and responsible AI policies.
CaixaBank first partnered with Google Cloud in 2023. The bank stated it has the largest digital customer base in Spain’s financial sector.
O Renault Boreal passa a ser o primeiro veículo produzido no Brasil a oferecer o Gemini de série. A inteligência artificial do Google amplia a experiência conectada a bordo, proporcionando interações mais naturais, intuitivas e personalizadas, transformando a cabine em uma verdadeira extensão digital da rotina dos ocupantes.
O SUV médio da Renault já havia elevado a experiência conectada a um novo patamar ao se tornar o primeiro veículo produzido no Brasil com Google Automotive Services (GAS), plataforma que integra Google Maps, Google Play e, agora, o Gemini como assistente virtual. O sistema substitui o Google Assistant e amplia suas capacidades com inteligência artificial generativa.
Agora, o Boreal dá mais um passo à frente com o Gemini. A tecnologia também está disponível como atualização opcional para os veículos Renault equipados com o openR link com Google integrado. Como evolução do Google Assistant, o Gemini amplia as capacidades do assistente virtual da plataforma, preservando todas as funcionalidades já disponíveis aos usuários e adicionando novos recursos baseados em inteligência artificial generativa.
Além de compreender contextos mais complexos e interpretar comandos mais naturais, o sistema passa a permitir o controle de um número ainda maior de funções do veículo por voz.
Além de realizar todas as tarefas já disponíveis com o Google Assistant, o Gemini integrado ao openR link amplia as possibilidades de interação com o veículo. Agora, os usuários podem controlar diretamente um número ainda maior de funções por comandos de voz, incluindo novas funcionalidades como abrir e fechar o teto solar e os vidros.
Com a nova tecnologia, o motorista não precisa mais recorrer a comandos específicos para interagir com o veículo. Em vez de dizer frases exatas, como “Ok Google, ligue o ar-condicionado”, basta utilizar a linguagem natural, por exemplo: “Ok Google, está muito calor aqui dentro”. O sistema compreende a intenção do usuário e pode ajustar automaticamente a climatização.
O comando de ativação por voz continua o mesmo. O Gemini pode ser acionado por meio das expressões “Hey Google” ou “Ok Google”, pelo botão de voz no volante ou pelo ícone do assistente na tela do openR link. Para iniciar uma conversa contínua com o Gemini Live, basta acionar o botão Gemini Live ou dizer: “Hey Google, vamos conversar” ou “Hey Google, vamos conversar ao vivo”.
O openR link com Google integrado é um sistema multimídia que oferece uma experiência conectada fluida, escalável e em constante evolução. O Gemini amplia ainda mais o conjunto de serviços disponíveis na plataforma, mantendo todas as funcionalidades já oferecidas pelo Google Assistant e adicionando novos recursos de inteligência artificial generativa e controle por voz.
Projetado para interagir de maneira mais natural com os ocupantes do veículo, ele é capaz de compreender o contexto das conversas, responder perguntas com maior precisão e lidar com solicitações mais complexas.
A atualização é gratuita, realizada remotamente por meio de tecnologia FOTA (Firmware Over-The-Air), e não altera a duração do pacote de conectividade. Sua implementação baseia-se em: – Conexão à conta Google no openR link utilizando a conectividade nativa do Boreal, sem necessidade de visita à concessionária. – Uma notificação na tela do openR link permite ao cliente decidir se deseja migrar para o Google Gemini. – Disponível para todos os veículos compatíveis, de acordo com os idiomas suportados e a versão do openR link.
O sistema multimídia aprimorado está disponível sem custo adicional para clientes conectados a uma conta Google em um dos idiomas compatíveis. O usuário escolhe se quer ativar o Gemini e também pode retornar ao Google Assistant a qualquer momento.
Como evolução do Google Assistant, o Gemini representa um grande avanço nos assistentes de voz embarcados. Alimentado pela tecnologia de IA do Google, ele é capaz de:
– Compreender o contexto da conversa e as intenções dos usuários. – Executar solicitações mais complexas. – Manter conversas naturais e contínuas. – Alternar idiomas durante a conversa.
Isso significa que os motoristas podem falar de forma natural, sem precisar memorizar comandos específicos. Os usuários também poderão ativar o Gemini Live para uma interação conversacional mais avançada. Esse recurso permite:
– Conversas livres e naturais. – Interromper o assistente a qualquer momento. – Fazer várias solicitações em sequência sem repetir a expressão “Ok Google”. – Alternar idiomas durante a conversa. – Uma experiência simplificada, projetada para segurança e conforto
Ao permitir tarefas mais complexas por comando de voz e reduzir a necessidade de interação por toque, o Gemini ajuda a:
– Minimizar distrações do motorista, mantendo o foco na estrada. – Ampliar e simplificar o acesso às funções do veículo por comandos de voz. – Melhorar o conforto e a praticidade no dia a dia.
Totalmente integrado ao veículo e ao ecossistema Google, o Gemini consegue responder a situações reais e executar várias tarefas em sequência sem necessidade de novas interações. Navegação inteligente com compreensão de contexto:
“Ok Google, leve-me para o centro de São Paulo, mas evite a Rebouças.” → O Gemini analisa o contexto e sugere uma solução adequada.
Controle por voz das funções do veículo:
“Está frio aqui dentro.” → O sistema ajusta automaticamente a climatização, elevando a temperatura da cabine.
Acesso a informações e conteúdos durante a viagem (modo Gemini Live):
“Ok Google. Está muito quente hoje. O que economiza mais combustível: abrir as janelas ou ligar o ar-condicionado?”
“Conte uma história sobre carros e dinossauros para meu filho de 8 anos.” “Crie um quiz sobre a história do Brasil para adultos e adolescentes.” | “Quais foram os resultados dos jogos do Brasileirão de ontem?” → O sistema consegue responder perguntas abertas, além de fornecer informações gerais, notícias e conteúdos de mídia.
O openR link com Google integrado é um sistema multimídia evolutivo que proporciona uma experiência conectada cada vez mais rica e intuitiva em qualquer lugar do mundo. Desde o lançamento, o Gemini oferece suporte a 16 idiomas, entre eles inglês, espanhol e português.
O Gemini contribui para uma experiência conectada consistente para clientes Renault em todos os mercados onde o sistema está disponível.
Os clientes Renault continuarão recebendo melhorias ao longo do tempo por meio de atualizações remotas, sem necessidade de levar o veículo à concessionária. Como plataforma de IA escalável, o Gemini recebe: – Atualizações contínuas e automáticas. – Capacidades e competências linguísticas ampliadas. – Novos recursos ao longo do tempo.
Finnish authorities told Google to suspend preparatory work on two planned data centres pending environmental reviews, after the company unveiled a €13 billion investment in the country’s AI infrastructure.
The Finnish Licencing and Supervision Agency (LVV) issued a notice to Google subsidiary Tuike Finland Oy to immediately suspend the data centre projects in Kajaani and Muhos regions “until the environmental impact assessment procedures for the projects have been completed”.
Tommi Muilu, head of the authority’s environmental department, stated available reports indicated extensive preparatory work had already taken place at the project sites, including tree and topsoil removal, construction of site roads and storage areas, alterations to ditches and culverts, and stormwater works.
“In our opinion, the measures in question will change the environment and cause impacts, the identification and assessment of which are among the key objectives of the EIA procedure,” he stated.
The suspension request applies, among other things, to the removal of trees, removal of topsoil, excavation, quarrying, crushing, transfer of soil masses, drainage and the construction of construction site roads and storage areas.
The request does not apply to planning, measurements, soil surveys or other measures with minor impacts and that can be easily restored.
The notice to Tuike Finland Oy ordered it to suspend work no later than 23 October until the environmental impact assessment procedures have been completed.
“We understand the concerns and have fallen short of our own high standards in this instance,” a Google representative told CNBC, adding it will follow the LVV’s guidance.
In addition to the data centres, the digital infrastructure project also includes AI facilities, nuclear power and renewable energy as part of Google’s largest single outlay in Europe.
“This guy is a monster,” Donald Trump said in front of Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief executive. “And nobody knows him. What a great life! To be a monster and not have to go through this,” Trump continued, pointing at the reporters who follow him everywhere. Pichai stood beside him, waiting to speak with an expression of resigned disbelief. Before the exchange ended, Trump joked about his Indian name: “Sundarrrrr is his name.” When Pichai finally spoke, he tried to play it down: “Hopefully, that will be a better tagline than ‘I’m a monster,’” he said.
It was the first face-to-face between the two men vying to govern California, the most populous state in the United States, with more than 39 million residents, just over a month before the midterm elections. Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra arrived at the CNN-organized debate with a twofold mission: lay out their proposals to lead what is considered the fourth-largest economy in the world and, at the same time, attack their opponent and explain to voters why they should not trust the other with their vote on November 3. Neither missed the chance to present their ideas on the state’s difficult economic situation, fears around artificial intelligence, and the ICE raids that threaten undocumented immigrants.
Google has asked the European Union’s General Court to suspend an order requiring it to make search data available to competing search engines and artificial-intelligence services while its wider legal challenge proceeds.
The application for interim measures follows Google’s challenge to a European Commission decision adopted in July under the Digital Markets Act. The company argues that implementation before the court rules on the main case could cause serious harm to the privacy of European users.
The Commission maintains that its requirements already contain safeguards for privacy, security and personal data.
At the centre of the dispute is Article 6(11) of the Digital Markets Act, which requires Google to give eligible rival search services access to anonymised ranking, query, click and viewing data on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.
The rules explicitly allow AI chatbots offering search functions to qualify for access.
Brussels argues that Google has accumulated a quantity of search information which competitors cannot readily reproduce. User queries and interactions can improve search algorithms, reinforcing the position of an established provider and creating a substantial entry barrier for newcomers.
The final July decision turned those proposals into binding requirements.
The inclusion of AI services gives the case wider significance. Generative AI products increasingly answer questions directly rather than sending users through a conventional list of search results. That is putting AI developers and traditional search engines into increasingly direct competition.
The Commission’s data-access framework is intended to reduce the advantage obtained from data accumulated by designated gatekeepers and make it easier for competing services to enter the market.
Access will not be unrestricted.
Applicants must operate a genuine online search service in the EU and satisfy eligibility requirements. Established applicants generally need at least 50,000 average monthly EU users during the previous year, while newer companies can qualify under investment criteria.
They must also comply with security and data-protection requirements and undergo independent auditing. The Commission can exclude applicants presenting public-security risks, while the data must be processed within the European Economic Area or under arrangements providing equivalent protection.
Google argues that these safeguards do not remove the underlying privacy risk.
The company has therefore asked the General Court for an interim suspension while judges consider the legality of the Commission’s decision.
The case adds another front to an increasingly difficult relationship between Google and Brussels.
In July, the Commission imposed two Digital Markets Act fines on Google totalling €890 million. As EU Today reported following the penalties, one case concerned Google’s treatment of its own services in search results while another dealt with restrictions preventing app developers from directing users towards alternative offers.
The dispute subsequently developed into a wider transatlantic issue when President Donald Trump threatened a Section 301 trade investigation in response to the EU penalties, a development examined by EU Today.
Google has meanwhile begun altering some of its European services in response to regulatory pressure. Earlier this month it changed the presentation of European search results, while warning that the new format could make searches less useful.
The present case is different because it deals with access to the underlying information generated by searches rather than only the way results are displayed.
The Commission wants qualifying competitors to obtain data that could help them improve their own services. Google says opening those datasets creates privacy and security risks which cannot simply be reversed if it eventually wins the court case.
That is why the interim application is important.
Google is not asking the court merely to overturn the Commission decision at the end of the litigation. It wants implementation halted before the full case is resolved.
Unless judges intervene, the Commission timetable continues.
The wider dispute will determine how far Brussels can require a dominant digital platform to share data accumulated through its own users in order to encourage competition — an issue that is becoming increasingly important as search and generative AI converge.
France has called for money collected through European Union fines against Google to be used to reduce national contributions to the EU budget as governments negotiate the bloc’s next seven-year financial framework.
Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad said proceeds from penalties imposed on the US technology company should be treated as EU revenue and used to lower the sums governments must pay into the common budget.
The proposal comes as negotiations intensify over the 2028–34 Multiannual Financial Framework, for which the European Commission has proposed expenditure of almost €2 trillion.
Haddad referred to about €4.6 billion in revenue associated with Google penalties and interest.
The proposal is less radical in budgetary terms than it first appears because fines that become final already enter the EU budget as “other revenue”.
The Commission’s explanation of EU budget revenue states that gross national income-based contributions act as the balancing element of the budget after customs duties, VAT-based resources and other revenues — including fines on companies — are taken into account.
Higher income from definitive competition fines can therefore reduce the amount required from national governments.
France is pressing for that mechanism to be applied clearly to the Google proceeds at a time when governments are seeking ways to limit increases in their national payments.
Google has accumulated substantial EU penalties through both competition law and the Digital Markets Act.
A €460 million penalty concerned the Commission’s finding that Google gave preferential treatment to its own services in search results. A further €430 million fine concerned restrictions affecting developers’ ability to direct users towards alternative purchasing channels outside Google Play.
Google has contested elements of the EU enforcement regime and has continued legal proceedings over Commission decisions.
France also faces a sharp increase in its projected contribution.
Against that background, governments are looking at both expenditure reductions and new revenue streams that could limit demands on national treasuries.
The wider negotiations cover possible EU “own resources” — revenue that flows directly or indirectly to the European budget rather than being provided through conventional national contributions.
Existing resources include customs duties, a VAT-based contribution, a plastics contribution and national payments calculated according to gross national income.
The Commission has also proposed additional sources linked to carbon pricing and other EU policies.
Company fines differ from permanent own resources because their size is unpredictable and depends on enforcement decisions and subsequent legal proceedings.
A large fine can provide a one-off boost to EU revenue, but it cannot readily finance recurring expenditure across a seven-year financial framework.
Definitive fines have nevertheless affected member-state contributions before. Commission budget amendments have explicitly incorporated competition penalties as additional revenue, reducing the amount that must be raised elsewhere.
France is now seeking to ensure that the Google proceeds are reflected directly in the sums demanded from national budgets.
The proposal comes before another round of negotiations over the Multiannual Financial Framework, where the size of the budget remains unresolved.
With agreement requiring unanimity among all 27 governments, even relatively small sources of additional revenue are becoming part of the bargaining over who ultimately pays for the EU’s expanding spending commitments.
For the first time in over a year, Google Maps has updated its satellite imagery of the Gaza Strip, allowing anyone with the app to see how a territory devastated by the Israeli military has changed. By updating imagery in 2024, 2025 and now 2026, Google has taken a step that other apps such as Apple Maps have not.
Zona leste de Teresina. A sala de aula de uma escola estadual tem estrutura similar às demais instituições de ensino do Piauí: é ampla, tem paredes claras e as mesas estão organizadas para atividades em grupo. Alguns elementos, porém, chamam atenção. A sala é equipada com Chromebooks. No centro, uma poltrona reproduz as cores e o formato do logotipo do Google. As mesas e cadeiras também seguem a paleta da multinacional: azul, vermelho, amarelo e verde. Ao fundo, ocupando praticamente toda a parede, um grande painel visual exibe a outra logomarca, a do Google for Education.
“Gostaram dessa sala? Mais uma sala tecnológica, de inovação, padrão Google, viu?”, disse o então secretário estadual de educação do Piauí, Washington Bandeira, em vídeo compartilhado nas redes sociais na época. Depois, ele conta aos alunos com orgulho que o pessoal do Liceu paraibano visitou a sede do Google nos Estados Unidos. “Usem muito o Gemini, porque o Google é nosso parceiro no ensino de IA”, completou, referindo-se à inteligência artificial.
Publicação de Washington Bandeira sobre a parceria do estado do Piauí com o Google na área da educação
A “sala Google” no Centro de Educação Tecnológica Professor Darcy Ribeiro foi a primeira inaugurada pelo governo estadual, em 20 de março de 2025. À época, o espaço foi apresentado como um marco da modernização da educação pública. Além de Teresina, outras duas cidades do Piauí, Regeneração e Amarante, também instalaram “salas Google” em escolas da rede pública. Estes ambientes coloridos, porém, são apenas um símbolo da proximidade do governo do Piauí com o Google e demais Big Techs.
Pelo menos desde 2022, o governo do Piauí tem firmado contratos milionários com multinacionais de tecnologia. O governador do estado, Rafael Fontelles (PT), é candidato à reeleição e tem aparecido como favorito nas pesquisas de intenção de voto.
Um levantamento realizado pela Agência Pública identificou R$ 93,7 milhões em acordos diretos e indiretos firmados pelo governo do Piauí nos últimos quatro anos com empresas como Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Amazon Web Services (AWS), além de empresas locais que atuam como integradoras de serviços das multinacionais. A maior parte destes contratos se referem a recursos para a área de educação. Foram R$ 36,4 milhões, mais de um terço do total.
Os contratos destinam-se à compra de plataformas digitais, infraestrutura em nuvem, licenças de software, equipamentos, soluções de inteligência artificial e, em muitos casos, para contratação de revendedores e integradores nacionais.
Parte desses recursos estão sendo investidos em tecnologia para o ensino de inteligência artificial nas escolas da rede pública. O estado foi o primeiro no Brasil a incluir a IA como disciplina obrigatória em 2024 – em algumas instituições, a ferramenta usada para o ensino de IA é a Teachable Machine, do Google. Em junho de 2026, o governo lançou um novo programa para levar o ensino de IA também às escolas municipais. Inicialmente, o projeto será implantado em 50 municípios, com previsão de alcançar todas as 224 cidades do Piauí até 2027.
Pesquisadores, especialistas em educação digital e organizações de defesa de direitos digitais questionam o modelo adotado no Piauí e em outros estados da federação. Eles alertam para o risco de dependência tecnológica e para a ausência de mecanismos transparentes de governança, proteção de dados e avaliação do impacto dessas tecnologias.
Governador Rafael Fonteles, em visita à Google, em maio de 2023
“É evidente que tem uma assimetria de poder, um acúmulo de saberes e de tecnologia bastante desigual entre os países do Norte e do Sul global”, afirma Rodrigo Nejm, doutor em psicologia e especialista em direitos digitais e educação digital no Instituto Alana. Para ele, é completamente possível reconhecer as assimetrias de capacidade tecnológica sem, para isso, “legitimar uma dependência de submissão”.
“O problema não é fazer uso de plataformas internacionais, mas é permitir que elas abusem e violem direitos dos estudantes no Brasil”, completa. Para Nejm, parte dos milhões de reais destinados à transformação digital da educação deveria ser utilizada para desenvolver “soluções livres, nacionais, se possível, mas que fossem auditáveis, transparentes, para que, por exemplo, o Tribunal de Contas ou um profissional da imprensa pudesse ter acesso integral a informações sobre o critério de funcionamento, ou as evidências das ciências da aprendizagem que fundamentam”, explica. Essa agenda, continua, é uma condição para fortalecer a soberania digital da educação brasileira.
Segundo Julia Abad, pesquisadora do Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor (Idec), plataformas educacionais não registram apenas informações cadastrais dos estudantes. Elas acumulam dados sobre frequência, desempenho, comportamento, pesquisas realizadas, interações, documentos compartilhados e, com o avanço da inteligência artificial, passam também a produzir inferências sobre perfis de aprendizagem e comportamento.
“Esses dados pertencem a crianças e adolescentes, que têm proteção especial pela LGPD [Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados], pelo ECA, pelo ECA Digital e também pelo Código de Defesa do Consumidor, que garante transparência e proteção contra práticas abusivas”, explica. “A inovação na educação não pode transformar estudantes em matéria-prima para modelos de negócio”, diz.
Na visão da entidade, os impactos extrapolam a privacidade e alcançam a própria soberania digital do Estado. À medida que Big Techs concentram plataformas de comunicação, produção de conhecimento, materiais didáticos, dados e ferramentas de inteligência artificial utilizadas nas escolas, elas passam a ocupar uma posição estratégica na formação de milhões de estudantes.
Especialistas apontam ainda para o risco de uma estratégia de “vendor lock-in”, ou “dependência de fornecedor”. É quando uma instituição passa a depender de um fornecedor específico porque migrar para outra solução exige novos investimentos, adaptação de sistemas, treinamento de usuários e, muitas vezes, transferência de grandes volumes de dados.
Para Abad, a principal pergunta talvez esteja sendo deixada de lado: qual é o custo democrático de construir a educação pública sobre plataformas privadas? Para ela, esse processo afeta a democracia, “já que parte importante da circulação do conhecimento passa a acontecer em ambientes controlados por essas empresas, cujo funcionamento é definido por interesses privados, com limitada transparência, possibilidade de controle social e participação democrática”.
Os contratos
Nossa reportagem analisou 981 Diários Oficiais do Piauí, entre os anos de 2022 e 2026, e localizou 56 contratos do poder executivo estadual relacionados às Big Techs, tanto de forma direta quanto indireta.
A Secretaria de Estado da Educação (Seduc) concentra o maior número de acordos. O de maior valor, fechado em 2022, previa a compra de 16.330 Chromebooks destinados aos professores da rede estadual. O investimento foi superior a R$ 29 milhões. Embora sejam fabricados por diferentes empresas, os Chromebooks operam exclusivamente com o ChromeOS, sistema operacional desenvolvido e operado pelo Google.
Nos anos seguintes, os investimentos passaram a se concentrar na contratação das plataformas utilizadas no cotidiano das escolas. Contratos de licenças Google Workspace for Education Plus garantem o acesso aos serviços de e-mail, armazenamento em nuvem, videoconferências, compartilhamento de documentos e gerenciamento das salas virtuais por meio do Google Classroom. As contratações aparecem em diferentes exercícios financeiros, indicando a renovação e a continuidade da utilização dessas ferramentas pela rede estadual de ensino.
Além das plataformas educacionais, a Seduc também comprou soluções voltadas para a gestão da informação. Entre elas estão as licenças do Microsoft Power BI, utilizadas para organização de indicadores e painéis de acompanhamento da rede de ensino.
Uma análise dos documentos revela que a criação da nova disciplina obrigatória – de ensino de IA – foi acompanhada pela incorporação gradual de ferramentas das gigantes tecnológicas ao cotidiano da rede estadual.
O Google passou a fornecer o ambiente digital utilizado por professores e estudantes em todas as escolas. A Microsoft ampliou contratos de plataformas corporativas e análise de dados. Já a Amazon Web Services assumiu a infraestrutura de computação em nuvem utilizada pelo Estado em um contrato que permaneceu parcialmente sob sigilo.
Milhões sob sigilo
Há ainda um contrato com o valor sob sigilo. Em outubro de 2024, o Governo do Estado do Piauí, por meio da Empresa de Tecnologia da Informação do Estado do Piauí (ETIPI), firmou um acordo com a GW Cloud Tecnologia e Serviços S.A. para a integração de serviços da Amazon Web Services (AWS). O único documento localizado pela reportagem foi um extrato publicado no Diário Oficial do Estado em 10 de outubro daquele ano, informando que o acordo havia sido assinado em 2 de maio, com vigência de 12 meses, prevendo serviços especializados de gerenciamento, orquestração e sustentação da infraestrutura em nuvem da AWS. Mas o valor global do contrato nunca foi divulgado oficialmente.
A reportagem, no entanto, localizou um aditivo com acréscimo de 25% no valor de R$ 4,3 milhões. Ou seja, o valor inicial do contrato por um ano deve chegar a R$ 21,7 milhões. Nossa reportagem procurou a ETIPI para confirmar os valores, mas a empresa se recusou a responder e orientou que a equipe solicitasse as informações via Lei de Acesso à Informação, segundo o órgão, “em razão da natureza da matéria, que envolve contratos que podem conter cláusulas de sigilo e informações sujeitas a análise quanto à possibilidade de acesso”, afirmou em nota.
Lobby internacional
A aproximação do Governo do Piauí com as Big Techs parece ser fruto de orgulho. Em agosto de 2023, por exemplo, o governador participou de uma missão aos Estados Unidos cuja agenda incluiu visitas ao Googleplex, a sede Global do Google, em Mountain View, e à Amazon Web Services, em Washington. No Google, Fonteles falou em “aprofundar” a relação com a empresa e em transformar o Piauí em um “celeiro de programadores, startups e engenheiros”. Em discussão estava a contratação de serviços de nuvem do Google, apoio a startups e ao hub de inovação da Investe Piauí, além de soluções de inteligência artificial (IA) para a área da saúde.
O tom adotado pelo governador é de entusiasmo e admiração. Em uma das falas registradas durante a visita, Fonteles descreve o Google como uma “gigante da tecnologia” que estaria promovendo a melhoria do mundo por meio de suas ferramentas e diz que a empresa estava “buscando parceria com o nosso Piauí”.
Sobre a Amazon, ele anunciou no seu Instagram: “Iniciamos hoje uma excelente parceria com a Amazon, gigante norte-americana de tecnologia. A empresa vai apoiar a transformação digital do Piauí e o crescimento das nossas startups por meio de sua plataforma de armazenamento em nuvem, a AWS (Amazon Web Services), a mais adotada e mais abrangente do mundo!”
Na visita – onde a missão também visitou as universidades de MIT e Harvard – o governador teve uma reunião de mais de cinco horas na Amazon para discutir um acordo de cooperação envolvendo tecnologia em nuvem, inovação, segurança, economicidade e capacitação tecnológica. Entre os 12 integrantes da comitiva estava o secretário de Educação, Francisco Washington Bandeira, e a presidente da ETIPI, Ellen Gera.
Em abril de 2024, a ETIPI anunciou uma parceria com a Amazon AWS, que passou a fornecer serviços de armazenamento em nuvem para ampliar a capacidade do Data Center do Estado. Em outubro, a ETIPI contratou a GW Cloud para integrar os serviços da AWS, sem divulgar o valor total do contrato.
‘Salas Google’ se espalham pelo Nordeste
O Piauí não inaugurou esse modelo de sala de aula em parceria com a Google. Em sete estados do Nordeste, à exceção do Maranhão e Sergipe, a reportagem conseguiu localizar exemplos de “Salas Google” instaladas em escolas públicas.
Embora existam experiências anteriores, como uma sala inaugurada no Rio Grande do Norte em 2017 e outra em Pernambuco em 2023, a expansão ganhou escala a partir de 2024 e 2025.
‘Usem muito o Gemini’, disse o ex-secretário de Educação do Piauí, Washington Bandeira, em inauguração da ‘sala Google
O levantamento também mostra que a estratégia extrapola os governos estaduais. Municípios de Alagoas, Paraíba, Bahia e Rio Grande do Norte passaram a inaugurar espaços semelhantes, muitas vezes associados a laboratórios “makers” (espaços montados, geralmente em escolas e universidades, para transformar a teoria em prática, desenvolvendo ideias e criações, até brinquedos e robôs), plataformas educacionais e programas de formação tecnológica. Apesar das diferenças de nomenclatura e formato, os ambientes compartilham características comuns: utilização do ecossistema Google for Education, equipamentos baseados em Chromebooks, metodologias voltadas ao ensino mediado por plataformas digitais e o visual, reproduzindo cores da marca.
Procurado, o Google preferiu não se pronunciar.
O que diz o governo do Piauí
A Secretaria de Estado da Educação afirma que a política de ensino de inteligência artificial foi concebida como parte de uma estratégia mais ampla de transformação da educação pública.
Segundo a superintendente Viviane Carvalhedo, a proposta busca preparar os estudantes para um cenário em que a inteligência artificial já faz parte da sociedade. O currículo foi estruturado para que os alunos “compreendam como a inteligência artificial funciona, quais impactos produz na sociedade e como utilizá-la de maneira ética”, completa.
Sobre a elaboração do currículo obrigatório de IA, a Seduc afirma que a condução pedagógica foi confiada a pesquisadores da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) e da Universidade Federal do Pampa (Unipampa), em parceria com a Unesco. A iniciativa recebeu reconhecimento internacional em 2025 ao ser uma das vencedoras do Prêmio UNESCO–Rei Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa para o Uso das Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação na Educação.
Formação de professores do Piauí sobre as plataformas do Google para o ensino
A professora Rosa Maria Vicari, que é doutora em Engenharia Eletrotécnica e Computadores, docente da UFRGS e participou da elaboração do currículo no Piauí, afirma que a equipe permaneceu envolvida não apenas na elaboração do referencial curricular, mas também na formação dos docentes ao longo dos três primeiros anos de implementação. Os treinamentos, continua, foram desenvolvidos prioritariamente em plataformas abertas. “Nós utilizamos a plataforma Moodle, plataforma aberta. Os dados ficam no Brasil de todos os professores”, disse.
A SEDUC explica ainda que as plataformas fornecem ferramentas, mas não definem os conteúdos pedagógicos.
Segundo Viviane, o Estado também vem desenvolvendo soluções próprias, como a SoberanIA, uma inteligência artificial própria, com capacidade de regionalização e especialização para o poder público. Segundo Ellen Gera, diretor-presidente da ETIPI. A ferramenta já está em funcionamento, atualmente na primeira versão e, segundo ela, funciona em plataformas do governo nas áreas de Educação, Desenvolvimento Econômico e Segurança, incluindo serviços como BO Fácil e o Regula Fácil.
Vale destacar que, embora seja apresentada como uma IA 100% brasileira, o treinamento do modelo de linguagem da SoberanIA foi realizado diretamente nos servidores da Amazon. Empresas como Claro e Oracle também foram citadas nas negociações sobre a infraestrutura e a conectividade do projeto. E mais: “estamos negociando a SoberanIA com a AWS, que quer colocar no seu marketplace, com o Serpro, também no marketplace e com a Claro, pensando na iniciativa privada”, afirmou Ellen Gera.
Questionamos a SEDUC sobre os aspectos relacionados à dependência tecnológica, sobre o volume de recursos empregados e uso desse dinheiro para alimentar as engrenagens das Big Techs, mas a secretaria se resumiu a dizer que “as contratações relacionadas a soluções e tecnologias digitais observam os critérios e procedimentos previstos na legislação vigente”, explicando ainda que a adoção desses recursos tem como finalidade qualificar os processos de ensino e aprendizagem e ampliar o acesso dos estudantes e profissionais da educação.
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