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US commission proposes ‘Manhattan Project-like’ initiative for AI
A US congressional commission has called for a “Manhattan Project-like” initiative to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) development, urging Congress to grant the executive branch sweeping, multiyear contracting authority to fund advancements in AI, cloud computing, and data centers.
The bipartisan US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) issued the recommendations in a 793-page report on Tuesday, highlighting the growing urgency to outpace China’s rapid strides in emerging technologies, including AI, quantum computing, and biotechnology.
“Congress should establish and fund a Manhattan Project-like program dedicated to racing and acquiring an Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) capability,” the report stated, drawing parallels to the WWII-era government project that developed the first atomic bombs.
“Provide broad multiyear contracting authority to the executive branch and associated funding for leading artificial intelligence, cloud, and data center companies and others to advance the stated policy at a pace and scale consistent with the goal of US AGI leadership,” the report further added as a suggestion to Congress.
The report also advised the Secretary of Defense to designate AI projects as having the highest national priority, underscoring the strategic importance of staying technologically ahead of China to protect US economic and military interests.
“Direct the US secretary of defense to provide a Defense Priorities and Allocations System “DX Rating” to items in the artificial intelligence ecosystem to ensure this project receives national priority,” it stated.
A “DX Rating” is assigned to programs of highest national priority.
The USCC, established in 2000 to monitor and report on US-China trade and economic relations, issued its latest report amid mounting geopolitical tensions and a race to dominate the technologies of the future.
Tech rivalry with global implicationsThe commission warned that China’s technological progress, if left unchecked could threaten US deterrence in the Pacific region and destabilize the global balance of power. “China’s advancements could erode the United States’ economic and military position and tip the global balance of power,” the report said.
The US has already taken steps to limit China’s access to critical technologies. On Monday, the Treasury Department finalized a rule restricting US investments in Chinese AI, quantum computing, and semiconductor sectors — a move building on President Joe Biden’s executive order last year aimed at curbing the export of technologies that could bolster China’s military and intelligence capabilities.
Tuesday’s report also detailed tensions between the two nations over issues such as sanctions on Chinese officials, restrictions on semiconductor imports, and national security concerns surrounding the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok.
“Despite a bilateral agreement reached in late 2023 to pursue limited cooperation on military communication, climate change, countering fentanyl and other drugs, artificial intelligence (AI), and people-to-people ties, China has continued its efforts to counter or weaken US policies without changing its own behavior,” the report observed.
Generative AI is central to the recommendations of the report, which pointed out that while the US currently leads development in the domain by over a year, “Chinese companies are making a concerted effort to develop generative AI models similar in sophistication to those of US companies.”
The USCC report also emphasized the US’ need to maintain leadership in developing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) — AI systems capable of performing any intellectual task that a human can do.
The proposed initiative echoes the strategic and national security urgency of the original Manhattan Project, highlighting the role of advanced technology in shaping global power dynamics.
ChatGPT’s Windows app beats Microsoft Copilot for productivity
Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant appears to be transforming into a chatty AI sidekick, and I’ve seen quite a few Copilot users who aren’t happy about it. Thankfully, there’s now another option for anyone interested in using AI purely for productivity — a full-featured ChatGPT app for Windows PCs.
Even at launch, ChatGPT’s Windows app is already a better productivity tool than Copilot. It’s quite a setback for Microsoft’s AI assistant — which, when it first launched as Bing Chat, had a more powerful AI model than ChatGPT and offered features that went beyond what ChatGPT offered, such as the ability to search the web.
Things have certainly changed.
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Meet ChatGPT’s new Windows appOpenAI technically launched its ChatGPT app for Windows in October. But at the time, the ChatGPT Windows app was only for paying ChatGPT subscribers. Now, it’s free for anyone to use — including free ChatGPT users.
That means you can now get ChatGPT’s Windows app from the Microsoft Store, whether you’re paying for the premium version of the service or not. The app runs on both Windows 11 and Windows 10 PCs. Once you launch it, you’ll have to sign in with an account. (The web-based version of ChatGPT doesn’t require an account, but the desktop app does.)
The official ChatGPT app offers more options than Copilot.Chris Hoffman, IDG
(While I’m focusing on Windows here, it’s worth noting that official ChatGPT apps are also available for Mac, Android, iPhone, and iPad.)
ChatGPT’s app is just like Copilot — but betterUnder the hood, both Copilot and ChatGPT use much of the same technology. While Google’s Gemini assistant uses Google’s own AI models, Microsoft’s Copilot uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT models — along with something Microsoft calls the “Microsoft Prometheus model.”
Comparing the two, you’ll first notice how similar the interface is. But ChatGPT feels more like a more focused productivity tool, whereas Copilot feels like it’s trying to be more friendly and approachable. Copilot has pastel colors, lots of graphics, and greets you by name with requests about how your day is going.
Microsoft Copilot is starting to feel more like an “AI friend” than an AI assistant.Chris Hoffman, IDG
For example: Both ChatGPT and Copilot offer voice chat. When I click the voice chat button in ChatGPT, I hear silence — the AI model won’t respond until I speak to it. When I click the voice chat button in Copilot, I hear a friendly “Hey Chris! How’s your day going?”
It really makes me wonder: Were few people using Copilot in Windows? Did Microsoft have to redesign it to make it more approachable?
ChatGPT provides a selection of voice options, just like Copilot does.Chris Hoffman, IDG
ChatGPT’s app also beats Copilot when it comes to working with files:
- Copilot lets you drag and drop image files to upload them — but that’s it.
- ChatGPT lets you drag and drop PDF files, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and more to the ChatGPT app to upload them and ask questions about them.
It’s just a much more powerful interface. ChatGPT offers more flexibility with its built-in hotkeys, too:
- To launch Copilot, you’ll need a new-ish laptop that comes with a Copilot key on its keyboard. (Microsoft used to let the Windows+C hotkey launch Copilot, but that’s been removed.)
- To launch ChatGPT, you can press Alt+Space — or you can change this shortcut to anything you’d prefer in the ChatGPT app’s settings. (If you have Microsoft PowerToys installed, the Alt+Space shortcut may launch the PowerToys Run launcher instead. You’ll need to change the hotkey for either tool.)
If you do have a laptop with a Copilot key, you’ll be able to go into the Settings app in Windows and tell Windows to launch the ChatGPT app instead of the Copilot app when you press it.
ChatGPT launches a convenient small window when you press the shortcut.Chris Hoffman, IDG
ChatGPT also offers more flexibility when it comes to working with saved conversations:
- Copilot will let you start a new conversation, if you like — but that’s it.
- ChatGPT lets you start new chats, and it also lets you switch to recent chats you’ve used right from its sidebar.
Some features are similar. Both Copilot and ChatGPT can search the web for you to find up-to-date information. Neither can search the web while you’ve having a voice conversation, however — hopefully that’ll arrive in the future.
Both ChatGPT and Copilot offer different answers, too. You should experiment with both to see which best fits your needs. However, in my testing, I found that ChatGPT was more verbose in its responses — in a good way. Since the update where Copilot started trying to be your best friend, Copilot has been giving shorter responses with a focus on follow-up questions for you, to keep the conversation going.
Copilot Pro still beats ChatGPT for Office integrationFor all of ChatGPT’s advantages, Copilot does still have one trick up its sleeve: If you pay for a $20 per month Copilot Pro subscription, you get access to Copilot AI integration in Microsoft Office apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
If this is a feature you like, Copilot is unbeaten. ChatGPT can’t get its hooks into Office apps directly. And it’s a good argument for paying Microsoft’s $20-per-month Copilot Pro subscription rather than OpenAI’s $20-per-month ChatGPT Plus subscription if you’re going to be spending money on a premium AI chatbot subscription.
But for people who aren’t spending any money, ChatGPT is a better productivity tool.
I haven’t found it worthwhile to spend $20 a month to use Copilot in Office apps, although I use Microsoft Word and Excel all the time. But everyone has different workflows, and some professionals are finding it to be useful.
ChatGPT is more of a productivity tool than CopilotI haven’t covered every option in the ChatGPT app here. In general, ChatGPT has more options and feels like more of a productivity tool, while Copilot feels more like it’s trying to be the new ELIZA. (ELIZA was a chatbot from the 1960s. It was a mock therapist that asks questions like “How does that make you feel?”)
ChatGPT also offers more for free, for anyone whose company isn’t already footing a premium subscription. For example: ChatGPT lets you upload Office documents to analyze them; on Microsoft’s side, that feature requires the $20 per month Copilot Pro subscription to do the same thing in Word or other Microsoft 365 apps.
And, again, Copilot refuses to let you launch it with a hotkey — unless you buy a new PC that comes with a Copilot key; ChatGPT lets you choose your own key.
ChatGPT pulls ahead — for nowIs the race over? Of course not. Remember, when Microsoft launched Bing Chat, it surpassed ChatGPT. Bing Chat originally had more advanced AI models that only came to ChatGPT later. Microsoft could improve the ChatGPT app and integrate it better with Windows — currently, it’s really just a web app. And Microsoft could create its own AI models and use them with Copilot.
But, for now, ChatGPT is in the lead here. Windows users who rely on ChatGPT — or Windows users who just want a more powerful AI chatbot app than what Microsoft is delivering with Copilot — should install the app and give it a look.
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An Android-ChromeOS merger might actually make sense now
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: Google’s got two primary user-facing platforms, Android and ChromeOS — and, if the latest rumors are to be believed, the company may be on the brink of bringing ’em together and combining ’em into a single, streamlined entity.
If you’re feeling a funny sense of déjà vu, you aren’t alone. We’ve been going through some version of this same exact scenario more or less nonstop since the advent of ChromeOS nearly a decade and a half ago.
The buzz reached a boiling point around 2015, when a string of reports told us with no uncertainty that Google was, like, totally gonna merge Android and ChromeOS and that the long-predicted one-or-the-other duel was nearing its inevitable conclusion.
The reality, of course, has thus far turned out to be far more nuanced and less dramatic. Instead of merging the two platforms into one, Google’s spent the past several years working to align them and bring more Android-inspired elements into the ChromeOS environment. The result has been an experience that feels noticeably more consistent, complementary, and connected — and that’s turned Chromebooks into a much more versatile, capable, and broadly appealing computing product that’s genuinely compelling for professional purposes.
And yet, the notion of Android and ChromeOS coming together continues to come up. A fresh set of rumors about a pending platform merger is gaining steam this second, in fact. And while I’m usually the first person to throw water on such possibilities and raise the curtain of skepticism around those claims, for the first time, I’m actually thinking: You know, right now, this might make an awful lot of sense.
Let me explain.
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Google’s never-ending Android-ChromeOS sagaThese latest rumors, from known Android oracle Mishaal Rahman, stem from an unnamed “source within Google.” And they state, unequivocally, that Google is “working on a multi-year project to fully turn ChromeOS into Android,” with an intended end result of creating a single platform “that finally bests the iPad.”
To better compete with the iPad as well as manage engineering resources more effectively, Google wants to unify its operating system efforts. Instead of merging Android and ChromeOS into a new operating system like rumors suggested in the past, however, a source told me that Google is instead working on fully migrating ChromeOS over to Android. While we don’t know what this means for the ChromeOS or Chromebook brands, we did hear that Google wants future “Chromebooks” to ship with Android.
While this specific suggestion may sound somewhat new, the idea behind it actually dates back to the first set of serious rumors around an Android-ChromeOS combo. Back then, in 2015, the theory was that Google would somehow “fold” ChromeOS into Android to create a single combined mega-platform.
And that same basic scenario is almost exactly what’s being proposed again today.
It’s a significant twist from the most recent set of Android-ChromeOS merger rumors, from 2018, which suggested that Google was cookin’ up an entirely new piece of software called Fuchsia that’d ultimately act as an all-purpose replacement for Android and ChromeOS alike. That rumor had echoes of a previous narrative (!) around a similarly all-new operating system called Andromeda from 2016, even down to the alleged Pixel-branded laptop being prepped to showcase the newly combined software.
Spoiler alert: Neither possibility ended up playing out as predicted.
At those times, I was adamant that a full-fledged merger of any sort with Android and ChromeOS seemed unlikely and that, just like early on in the platforms’ coexistence, more nuanced ongoing alignments seemed like the more logical progression. Those analyses have proven somewhat prophetic over time.
But now, I’m not nearly as convinced that that sort of sanity-seeking, perspective-drawing counternarrative needs to exist.
Reconsidering an Android-ChromeOS comboTo be clear, I’m not basing my conclusions here off any sort of inside info. I’ve reached out to Google to ask for clarity around the latest Android-ChromeOS combo reports, and as of this writing, I’ve yet to hear back with any official answers.
My views are based entirely on my own observations, as someone who’s both personally used and closely covered Android and ChromeOS since their earliest eras.
And unlike with every past rumor along these lines, this one feels almost shockingly sensible — from the perspective of Google, as a business, and also from the perspective of those of us who use and rely on devices across the Android-ChromeOS spectrum as part of our professional and/or personal lives.
As I’ve continued to contemplate this over the past few days, I’ve realized I have a couple core reasons why this strikes me as being such a sensible shift from all perspectives at this point:
1. The Google benefitFirst and foremost, we have to remember that Google is a business — and so any move it makes has to be something that’d benefit it from a business perspective as well as, ideally, benefitting us as its users.
And on that front, an Android-ChromeOS combo has never made more sense.
For months now, we’ve been watching Google “realign” its business to cut costs and streamline, simplify, and eliminate areas that aren’t actively moving the organization forward in any measurable way. Part of that has even involved an ongoing shift in the teams responsible for Android and ChromeOS — divisions that recently lost their longtime leaders and became part of a broader Google “Platforms and Devices” team under the same single executive previously responsible only for homemade hardware.
At the same time, Google’s been increasing its under-the-hood alignment of Android and ChromeOS in some eyebrow-raising ways. Most notably, this past summer, the company announced it would begin working on revamping the under-the-hood ChromeOS engine to use the same foundation as Android — a nerdy-sounding pivot that, one could contend, sets the stage for something exactly like what we’re hearing about now to follow.
On top of that, we’ve seen signs suggesting work is afoot on a new Android-based version of Chrome that’d support extensions and an effort to allow Linux access within Android — just like we already have within ChromeOS. Let’s not forget, too, about the new under-development desktop windowing system for Android tablets (for which my first reaction upon using it was: “This feels a lot like ChromeOS!”) and even the decreased emphasis of the signature Chromebook Launcher/Search/Everything key. Considered under the umbrella of this latest rumor, it sure seems reasonable to see these once-disparate-seeming shifts as pieces that’d build toward that same broader puzzle.
Factor in fresh questions around whether Google could one day be forced to sell off Chrome entirely as part of its ongoing U.S. monopoly investigation, and it’s easy to see why a move to Android as the underpinnings of a Chromebook could now add up in a way that didn’t entirely come together in the past.
But there’s another side to the story, too, and it’s every bit as important.
2. The user benefitAs someone who uses both Android and ChromeOS every single day, two truths about the platforms are undeniable:
- The Android touch experience is exceptional. When you’re using Android on a phone or a tablet — in an optimal Android environment, at least — you’re typically left wanting for nothing.
- At the same time, the Chromebook desktop experience is in a league of its own. Using a ChromeOS device as a computer is incredible and something that, despite all the ongoing progress over the years, Android in the same scenario simply can’t match.
Now, don’t get me wrong: Android and ChromeOS both provide perfectly passable experiences in their alternate forms. A Chromebook in its tablet mode is fine, as is an Android device in its desktop environment. But neither holds a candle to what the other platform can offer in its more native-feeling “default” version of that same environment — Android on the touch side and ChromeOS with a keyboard.
So if Google managed to create a situation where you could essentially enjoy Android when a device is in a touch-centric form and then seamlessly switch to something that felt like a Chromebook when a keyboard is attached, it could create a brilliant best-of-both-worlds mashup — a scenario where you don’t have to settle for passable and could instead have the best possible option for any given way you’re using a device at any moment, whether it’s an “Android tablet” or a “Chromebook” in name.
It’s not far removed from my long-standing dream of owning a gadget that’d seamlessly switch to either Android or ChromeOS to match which arrangement would be most advantageous depending on how, exactly, you’re using the thing. Perhaps not coincidentally, in fact, “experiments” around a system just like that showed up in some of Google’s source code earlier this year.
And speaking of such subjects…
The Android-ChromeOS combo path no one’s consideringMy revelation about the two-pronged benefit of an Android-ChromeOS merger today took me back to something a ChromeOS executive said to me in an interview a couple years ago:
“What’s underneath doesn’t really matter to the user. You could have 10 different operating systems, one for each form factor, if you wanted that. The important piece is what you present to the user.”
That, [Google Senior Director of Product Management Alexander] Kuscher says, is why Android and ChromeOS have continued to grow more consistent and connected over the years. In Google’s view, the operating system is less important than the experience — and increasingly, it’s working to present experiences that are so similar that they feel more like different branches of the same tree than completely separate forests.
And that, in turn, reminded me of some musings I shared back in 2016 — when the previous “Android and ChromeOS coming together” rumors were taking shape and everyone was convinced, again, that Google was on the brink of beginning an effort to “fold” ChromeOS into Android and create a single streamlined operating system.
At that time, I raised this newly intriguing notion:
What if [this] were essentially just a way to give Android devices a “desktop mode” — a ChromeOS-like environment that appears when, say, a physical keyboard is present, with a more traditional Android interface remaining in place for touch-centric use? A ChromeOS-like environment wouldn’t be ideal as a core part of the regular touch-centric Android experience, after all, but it sure could be valuable as an option for scenarios involving more productivity-oriented and laptop-like use.
And what if this best-of-both-worlds, dual-purpose mentality applies not only to convertible systems but also to phones? …
Such a setup could effectively turn any compatible Android device into a versatile all-purpose computer that packs the strengths of Google’s two platforms into a single superpowered package.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
To be clear, the current state of these current rumors makes it sound like Google’s moving toward a more full-fledged adoption of Android on the Chromebook front — a full merger, as opposed to any sort of harmonious coexistence.
But still: Perhaps there could be more nuance involved. Perhaps the Chromebook/”Android desktop mode” side of the equation could still look and feel largely like what we consider to be ChromeOS today, only with Android running as the foundation beneath it. Perhaps Android could be the base of the future Chromebook experience and not the entire experience itself, in any front-facing, user-visible way. And perhaps those Google-exec comments about what’s underneath not mattering and the operating system being less important than the experience could come into play once more.
If Google can manage to pull that off effectively without sacrificing too much of what makes ChromeOS special, this could be a very good thing for both the company and for those of us who rely on its platforms — Android and ChromeOS alike.
But that involves an awful lot of “if”-type questions. And right now, most of them remain vexingly unanswered.
Android-ChromeOS combo caveats — and a philosophical ponderingSo, yes: I see a lot of logic in the notion of an Android-ChromeOS combo now — for Google and for us, as users of its software and devices. But I also have a lot of concerns about how this could play out, particularly as someone who’s long been immersed in the Chromebook universe and appreciative of the unique advantages that platform offers for businesses, schools, and also regular ol’ individual computer owners.
Specifically:
- ChromeOS has some significant security advantages in the way its software is structured. These are an important part of the Chromebook proposition, particularly for businesses and other organizations. If the ChromeOS base is replaced with Android, would these architectural advantages be lost?
- Chromebooks also offer some incredibly important advantages around updates, with fresh software showing up every few weeks — quickly and reliably, regardless of who made a device or how old it may be. And most Chromebooks are now promised a minimum of 10 years of ongoing software support. This, suffice it to say, is quite a contrast from the update situation on Android, where the manufacturer- and carrier-dependent nature of that operating system creates a bit of a Wild West scenario (outside of Google’s own closely controlled Pixel devices).
- On the same note, a big part of why Chromebooks can offer such a stable update experience is because of the consistency ChromeOS creates from one device to the next. Unlike Android, where device-makers and carriers alike are able to modify the software in all sorts of ways, every Chromebook is essentially identical in terms of its interface and software experience. And so Google can send out updates universally, without third-party companies needing to be involved (the variable that always leads to extended delays and irksome uncertainty on Android).
- Finally, on a less tangible but every bit as consequential consideration, using a Chromebook feels noticeably and meaningfully different from using Android in a desktop state. ChromeOS has always offered a true desktop-caliber experience in a way that Android has never managed to match. If Google isn’t able to maintain that — and if the Chromebook/”Android desktop mode” interface feels more like a traditional Android tablet experience instead of a true desktop-caliber, Chromebook-style setup — that’d be a massive stumble in the wrong direction and a major devolution for the productivity-first focus the company has managed to create with ChromeOS.
Google’s got its work cut out for it, in other words. But unlike in the past, this possibility seems promising. And the more you think about it, the more sense it really makes — again, if Google manages to get it right.
A decade ago, I posed a philosophical question about the ever-overlapping future of Android and ChromeOS. At the time, the question represented my thinking about these platforms from a slightly different perspective, with the notion of ChromeOS potentially taking over for Android at some theoretical point down the road.
The tables may have turned in the other direction, but the question itself feels freshly relevant today:
If all Android apps can eventually run on ChromeOS — and if ChromeOS evolves to look more like Android while web apps and Android apps grow increasingly similar in design — would you notice the difference between a phone running Android and a phone running Chrome?
Flip that question around, and you’ve got a fascinating slice of food for thought for this current situation. If all these factors come together and Google manages to make the surface-level Chromebook interface similar enough while maintaining each environment’s under-the-hood advantages — a tall order, to be sure — would you even realize if your Chromebook technically ran Android?
We may not know the answer for some time yet. This project is said to be a multi-year effort, and that’s providing all the still-unofficial details are accurate and the plans continue to push forward. (All tech companies test out ideas internally that never end up seeing the light of day, and Google in particular is notorious for developing concepts and then abandoning ’em before they ever turn into anything.)
But this sure is an interesting notion to chew over. And for the first time, it feels like there could be something to it beyond just misguided excitement.
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