Technology

• Saudi Arabia partners with Nvidia to build massive AI infrastructure by 2030
• New AI data centers will deploy hundreds of thousands of GB300 chips
• HUMAIN and Nvidia plan national AI training and simulation skill programs

Nvidia has signed a strategic agreement with HUMAIN, a new AI-focused subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, as part of an ambitious plan to establish the kingdom as a global leader in artificial intelligence by 2030.

The partnership includes large-scale infrastructure development, workforce training, and a massive hardware rollout featuring hundreds of thousands of Nvidia’s latest GB300 chips.

HUMAIN plans to deploy up to 500 megawatts of AI computing capacity, beginning with 18,000 GB300 Grace Blackwell superchips powered by Nvidia’s InfiniBand networking. These chips will be used in hyperscale data centers across Saudi Arabia, designed to train and operate sovereign AI models at scale.

Broader digital transformation goals

The move is intended to support the country’s broader digital transformation goals and economic diversification outlined in Vision 2030.

The partnership also includes the adoption of Nvidia’s Omniverse platform. According to HUMAIN, this will enable the development of physical AI and robotics applications across industries such as manufacturing, logistics, and energy.

By using digital twins and simulation tools, companies in the kingdom will be able to optimize physical environments for greater efficiency, safety, and sustainability.

Workforce development is a key component of the collaboration. HUMAIN and Nvidia plan to upskill thousands of Saudi citizens and developers in areas such as robotics, simulation, and digital twin technologies.

“AI, like electricity and internet, is essential infrastructure for every nation,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia. “Together with HUMAIN, we are building AI infrastructure for the people and companies of Saudi Arabia to realize the bold vision of the Kingdom.”

His Excellency Eng. Abdullah Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, added: “This lays the groundwork for a new industrial revolution, anchored in advanced infrastructure, talent and global ambition. This is how Saudi Arabia continues to lead as a partner of choice in shaping the future of AI.”

Our partnership with Nvidia is a bold step forward in realizing the Kingdom’s ambitions to lead in AI and advanced digital infrastructure,” said Tareq Amin, CEO of HUMAIN. “Together, we are building the capacity, capability and a new globally enabled community to shape a future powered by intelligent technology and empowered people.”

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• LegoGPT is a new AI model that turns text prompts into Lego designs you can actually build
• LegoGPT uses AI models and physics simulations to generate brick-by-brick instructions
• Carnegie Mellon researchers built LegoGPT as open-source and free to try

If you’ve ever stared at a pile of Lego bricks and despaired at making them match the vision in your head, you may be in luck thanks to a new, free AI tool that turns text prompts into real, buildable Lego designs. Describe what you want to build and the aptly named LegoGPT will produce a step-by-step plan using a limited palette of real Lego bricks, with a handy list of which bricks to use and how many you'll need..

To function in the real world, LegoGPT is notably cautious in its approach. While many AI image generators can comfortably spit out wild 3D shapes with zero regard for the laws of physics, LegoGPT runs every design through a literal physics simulator. It checks for weak points. It identifies problem bricks. And if it finds something unstable, it starts all over, reworks the layout, and tries again. It's like how most AI chatbots are a kind of auto-complete for words, hunting for the right one to add to a sentence. Except LegoGPT is predicting the next brick to auto-build a (digital) Lego model.

With LegoGPT's answers, you can learn how to turn that colorful plastic pile into brick art. You don’t need a PhD in structural engineering or a childhood spent mastering Technic sets, or even the Lego-building robot shown off in a video made by the Carnegie Mellon University researchers behind the new tool.

Brick AI

The magic behind LegoGPT comes from a very large dataset called StableText2Lego. The researchers made the dataset by building more than 47,000 stable Lego structures and pairing them with text captions describing their appearance. Rather than spend months or years on that tedious chore, the researchers roped in OpenAI’s GPT-4o AI model to analyze rendered images of the Lego structures from 24 different angles and come up with a detailed description they could use.

LegoGPT’s code, data, and demos are all publicly available on the researchers’ website and GitHub. There are some caveats. LegoGPT currently only builds with eight standard brick types, all rectangular, and operates inside a 20-brick cubed space. So you’re not getting intricate curved architecture or sprawling castles just yet. Think more early-70s Lego catalog than 4,000-piece Millennium Falcon. Still, the results are fun and very sturdy.

(Image credit: LegoGPT)

The broader implication for generating real-world objects with AI from casual language makes LegoGPT exciting beyond the novelty of making toy blueprints from text descriptions. It promises designs that aren’t just possible, but verified to be physically buildable. This could become a cornerstone of prototyping, architectural modeling, and, of course, a weekend activity for Lego hobbyists. But don't dwell too much on the details. You don’t need to understand the underlying math to enjoy it.

The limitations in size, scope, and brick variety ensure LegoGPT will not replace Lego’s in-house designers anytime soon, but it is a leap toward making design more accessible, playful, and connected to the real world. Also, right now, the system doesn’t care about color, unless you ask it to. The default focus is purely structural. However, the researchers have already added an optional appearance prompt feature that lets you layer on color schemes. So if you want your electric guitar built in metallic purple, go for it.

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Google put on an Android Show today to offer a glimpse at its upcoming interface changes with Android 16, in addition to a slew of Gemini news. It didn’t show off any new devices running the new look; instead, Google offered advice to developers and an explanation of its overall design philosophy. That philosophy seems very… purple.

The new Material 3 Expressive guidelines call for extensive use of color (especially shades of purple and pink), new shapes in a variety of sizes, new motion effects when you take action, and new visual cues that group and contain elements on screen.

A screengrab of examples from Google's Material 3 Expressive blog post (Image credit: Google)

Google says it has done more research on this design overhaul than any other design work it's done since it brought its Material Design philosophy to Android in 2014. It claims to have conducted 46 studies with more than 18,000 participants, but frankly, I’m not a UX designer, so I don’t know if that’s a lot.

Google's Material 3 Expressive is the new look of Android 16

After all of that work, Google has landed on this: Material 3 Expressive. The most notable features, once you get past the bright and – ahem – youthful colors, are the new motion effects.

For instance, when you swipe to dismiss a notification, the object you are swiping will be clear while other objects will blur slightly, making it easier to see. The other notifications nearby will move slightly as you swipe their neighbor. Basically, there will be a lot more organic-looking motion in the interface, especially on swipes and the control levers.

New shapes are coming to Android 16 with Material 3 Expressive (Image credit: Google)

There will be new type styles as well built into Android 16, with the ability to create variable or static fonts. Google is adding 35 more shapes to its interface library for developers to build with, along with an expanded range of default colors.

Google didn’t say that its new Material 3 Expressive design language was targeting iPhone fans, but the hints are there. The next version of Android won’t look cleaner and more organized, instead, Google wants to connect with users on an ‘emotional’ level. According to Google’s own research, the group that loves this new look the most are 18-24 year olds, ie, the iPhone’s most stalwart fan base.

Will this look win over the iPhone's biggest fans? We'll see in the months ahead (Image credit: Google)

In its official blog post, Google says, “It's time to move beyond 'clean' and 'boring' designs to create interfaces that connect with people on an emotional level.” That connection seems to be much stronger among young people. Google says that every age group preferred the new Material 3 Expressive look, but 18-24 year olds were 87% in favor of the new look.

Apple’s iPhone fanbase is strongest in this age group, if not the generation that’s even younger. It makes sense that Google is making big changes to Android. In fact, this refresh may be overdue. We haven’t seen many inspiring new features in smartphones since they started to fold, and foldable phones haven’t exactly caught on. I’m surprised Google waited this long to improve the software, since there wasn’t any huge hardware innovation in the pipeline (temperature sensors, anybody?).

Material 3 Expressive is coming to more than just Android phones

The new Material 3 Expressive look won’t be limited to Android 16. Google says Wear OS 6 will get a similar design refresh, with more colors, motion, and adaptable buttons that change shape depending on your watch display.

Wear OS watches will also be able to use dynamic color themes, just like Android phones. Start with an image or photo and Wear OS will create a matching color theme for your watch to complement what it sees.

Google demonstrated new buttons that grow as they fill more of the Wear OS display (Image credit: Google)

Even Google’s apps will start to look more Expressive. Google says apps like Google Photos and Maps will get an update in the months ahead that will make them look more like Android 16.

Google borrows a few iPhone features for Android 16, including a Lockdown Mode

Google also demonstrated Live Updates, a new feature that borrows from the iPhone to show you the progress of events like an Uber Eats delivery. The iPhone does this in the Dynamic Island, and Google is adding this feature to the top of the Android 16 display.

Security was a big focus of the Android Show, starting with new protections against calling and text message scams. Google is securing its phones against some common scammer tactics. For instance, scammers might call pretending to be from your bank and might ask you to sideload an app.

With Android 16, you won’t be able to disable Google’s Play Protect app-scanner or sideload any apps while you are on a phone call. You also won’t be able to grant permission to the Accessibility features, a common workaround to get backdoor access to a phone.

Google’s Messages app will also get smarter about text message scams. It will filter out scam messages that ask you to pay overdue toll road fees or try to sell you crypto.

The iPhone already has an extreme protection mode called Lockdown (Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)

Google is also enabling Advanced Protection, its own version of Apple’s Lockdown Mode, on Android 16. Advanced Protection is a super high-security mode that offers the highest level of protection against attacks, whether over wireless networks or physically through the USB port.

Basically, if you’re a journalist, an elected official, or some other public figure and you think a government is trying to hack your phone, Google’s Advanced Protection should completely lock your phone against outside threats.

(Image credit: Google)

If you don’t need that much security but you still want more peace of mind, Google is improving its old Find My Device feature. Android 16 will introduce the Find Hub, which will be a much more robust location to track all of your devices, including Android phones, wearables, and accessories that use ultra-wideband (UWB), similar to Apple AirTags.

Google is introducing new UWB capabilities to help find objects nearby, and those will roll out to Motorola’s Moto Tag first in the months ahead. The new Find Hub will also be able to use satellite connectivity to help locate devices and keep users informed. Plus, if you lose your luggage, Google is working directly with certain airlines like British Airways to let you share your tag information so they can go look for the bag they lost.

Gemini is coming to your car... and your TV... and your watch, and...

Today’s Android Show wasn’t all about Android. Google also made some big announcements about Google Gemini. Gemini is coming to a lot more devices. Gemini is coming to Wear OS watches. Gemini is coming to Android Auto and cars that run Google natively.

Gemini is coming to Google TV. Gemini is even coming to Google’s Android XR, a platform for XR glasses that don’t even exist yet (or at least you can’t buy them). For a brief moment in the Android Show, we caught a glimpse of Google's possible upcoming glasses.

Could these be Google's new XR glasses? Hopefully we'll find out at Google I/O (Image credit: Google)

You’ll be able to talk to Gemini Live and have a conversation in your car on the way to work. ‘Hey Gemini, I need advice on asking my boss for a promotion!’ or ‘Hey Gemini, why is my life so empty that I’m talking to a machine in my car when I could be listening to music or a true crime podcast?’

I may sound like an AI skeptic, but Google’s own suggestions are equally dystopian. Google says on the way to your Book Club, you might ask Gemini to summarize that book you read ages ago (and mostly forgot) and suggest discussion topics. That does not sound like a book club I want to join.

Google did not offer any specific timing for any of the features mentioned in the Android Show, and only said these concepts would appear in the months ahead. It’s unusual for Google to share so much news ahead of Google I/O, which takes place May 20-21 near its HQ in Mountain View, CA. I’ll be on the scene at Google I/O with our News Chief Jake Krol to gather up anything new.

With the Pixel 9a launch already passed, and now team Android spilling all the beans, I suspect Google I/O is going to be mostly about AI. Google is getting these tidbits out of the way so that I don’t waste time asking about new phones when it wants to talk more about Gemini and all the new AI developments. Or perhaps, even better, the Android XR news today was just a hint of what’s to come. Stay tuned, we’ll know more next week!

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Alongside the new feature, the company is revamping the way Airbnb Experiences will work in the future.

• Huawei is ditching Windows and replacing it with HarmonyOS on all future laptops
• HarmonyOS is gunning for a billion users as it spreads far beyond smartphones
• HarmonyOS Next ditches Android roots and is now a fully in-house Huawei operating system

Huawei’s software ambitions are rapidly expanding. What began as a survival strategy in response to U.S. sanctions has evolved into a bold initiative to position HarmonyOS as a dominant operating system across smartphones, tablets, TVs, and soon, PCs.

Now aiming to surpass one billion users, HarmonyOS is preparing for a new era of computing after Huawei lost access to Microsoft Windows licenses.

Originally unveiled in 2019 after seven years of development, HarmonyOS, known as Hongmeng in China, was Huawei’s answer to being cut off from Google’s Android ecosystem.

A billion smartphones powered by HarmonyOS

The operating system first appeared on smart TVs and quickly expanded to smartphones in 2021. By late 2024, over 900 million devices were already running HarmonyOS, with that number expected to cross the one-billion mark soon.

This rapid adoption is reflected in Huawei’s mobile performance; its smartphones recently overtook Apple’s in Chinese market share, reaching 19% compared to Apple’s 17%.

This growth has laid a strong foundation for Huawei to scale HarmonyOS across more devices as it seeks to unify its ecosystem, mirroring Apple’s seamless integration between iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

In March 2025, Huawei’s license to use Microsoft Windows expired. Due to ongoing U.S. sanctions, the company cannot renew the agreement. As a result, Huawei is taking another bold step by replacing Windows with HarmonyOS on its future laptops.

The company has already showcased a new, unnamed laptop running HarmonyOS 5, also referred to as HarmonyOS Next. Unlike previous versions, this edition is no longer based on Android and is fully developed in-house. Huawei is expected to officially launch the device later this month.

The new OS supports core productivity tools such as WPS Office and enterprise apps like DingTalk. Thousands of HarmonyOS mobile apps are expected to run on the new laptops, offering users a familiar, mobile-like experience on desktop devices.

With its large ecosystem, spanning smartphones and beyond, HarmonyOS could soon emerge as one of the best Windows alternatives, particularly in regions where access to Microsoft's operating system is restricted or banned.

However, if these laptops continue to use AMD or Intel chips, users may still have the option to install or dual-boot Windows, or even explore alternative Linux distros.

Via Tomshardware

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• Beelink AI Mini packs 16 cores and 126 TOPS into a Mac Studio rival
• This mini PC doubles as a local AI server, no cloud required
• Built for developers and creators handling massive AI workloads

In a bold attempt to rival Apple's Mac Studio, Beelink, a Chinese company, has announced its new mini workstation, dubbed the AI Mini. This compact yet powerful device is designed to meet demanding computing requirements.

The AI Mini is Beelink's second mini PC powered by AMD's Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor, which combines the Zen 5 CPU architecture with a high-performance integrated Radeon 8060S graphics card.

This 16-core, 32-thread chip delivers up to 126 TOPS of AI compute capability. Its APU architecture merges CPU and GPU processing into a unified platform, improving efficiency for both general-purpose computing and AI-specific tasks.

Huge RAM for handling large datasets

According to Beelink, the AI Mini can function as a local AI server, making it ideal for developers running intensive models like DeepSeek R1, without the need for external GPUs or cloud-based infrastructure.

The device supports up to 128GB of RAM, boosting its appeal as a high end workstation for professionals handling large datasets, video rendering, or machine learning workloads.

Beelink has confirmed the inclusion of dual USB4 ports, each capable of speeds up to 40 Gbps, along with a USB Type-C port located on the front panel. Additionally, the AI Mini supports dual 10 Gbps Ethernet ports, delivering seamless connections to multiple devices.

Priced at $1,999, this business PC is not inexpensive, at nearly double the cost of Beelink's previous SER9 HX-370. However, similar devices based on AMD’s Strix Halo chip, such as the GMKTec EVO-X2, have also crossed the $1,500 mark.

Via Beelink

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Airbnb has been a disruptor since it hit the scene in 2007. Now, at its annual Summer Release event, it’s redesigning its app to make navigating easier and ultimately leveling up what you might expect from a stay at one of its many properties worldwide.

For instance, while you get a bit more space with an Airbnb, you might lose out on some amenities, be it a gym, an attached restaurant, or even some self-care. The tech company's answer is dubbed Airbnb Services, essentially a way to book a service like a massage, a haircut, or even a chef to arrive at wherever you’re staying.

That aims to fill in the missing gap of what you might get from a hotel, but it also gives you, the visitor, a bit more control, with the option of looking through the available options and picking the ones that fit your needs the most.

Similarly, Airbnb Experiences aims to replace the mundane with memorable, allowing you to book activities from locals in the cities where you stay to get the most out of them. These seem especially fun, and at a launch event, Airbnb certainly brought out the talent to up this.

Then, tying this all together is a redesign app that looks a lot easier to navigate and acts more like a helpful companion. If you have a stay booked, as well as services or experiences, it can bundle them as an itinerary for you, listing important reminders.

1. Book a haircut, massage, or a catered meal with Services

(Image credit: Airbnb)

Services seem like the most approachable addition, and probably one of the most requested. Rather than finding out if the host approves of a third-party, Airbnb handles the vetting and will offer 10 categories of services at launch. Those include chefs, photographers, massages, spa treatments, personal training, hair treatments, makeup, nails, prepared meals, and catering.

It’ll launch in 260 cities across the globe at first and lives directly in the Airbnb app – there is an entire ‘services’ category at the top, and after you book a location, or are considering, you can see recommended services.

Airbnb is vetting the service providers and promises that each has around 10 years of experience in the respective industry. Additionally, each instructor or provider has to go through a verification process and list out applicable trainings or certifications.

(Image credit: Airbnb)

Services will start at $50 in the US (we’re waiting for exact starting prices to be confirmed in the UK and Australia, but that converts to around £40 / AU$80) and are rolling out now. Airbnb is also encouraging providers to apply to become hosts for services on the platform.

The real kicker here, though, and one that potentially could have TaskRabbit concerned, is that you don’t need to book an Airbnb home for a stay to use Services or Experiences (more on this in a bit).

If you need a photographer for a birthday party or a shower, you could fire up Airbnb on your iPhone or Android phone, look through reviews, and hire a professional. Same for a hibachi chef for a girls' night out – at an Airbnb or in your own home – or for a caterer specializing in soup dumplings.

2. Memorable moments dubbed Experiences

(Image credit: Airbnb)

Next to Services up-top in the Airbnb app will be ‘Experiences’ with a hot-air balloon icon. And similar to the 'Icons' homes that Airbnb lets folks enter to win a stay in – like the house from Up or the control room from Inside Out – Experiences is a bit more pie-in-the-sky, in the best way possible.

These are unique activities run by folks from where you’re staying that aim to let you really immerse yourself in the locale. It could be a cooking class or a dining experience, but rather than just a meal at a restaurant, it’s interactive and potentially led by a Michelin-star chef, or you can freshen your wardrobe with a celebrity stylist.

(Image credit: Airbnb)

Similarly, rather than just visiting a historical place, you can be led through the site with a dedicated historian or take a workout class with an expert in that specific field. The idea is to have true experts for a more compelling, well, experience.

Experiences will be launched in 650 cities worldwide, and Airbnb says that will be expanding. There will also be a higher tier dubbed Airbnb Originals, which the company promises could lead you to eating barbecue with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City or playing volleyball with an Olympian. There’s no word on pricing for these, but I suppose these might be more similar to Airbnb Icons, in that you enter for the chance to use these.

More likely, you’ll find yourself with the more standard Airbnb experiences, which aim to be more than just standard.

3. App redesign

(Image credit: Airbnb)

Helping to make all of these more appealing, and honestly more integrated into the booking of an Airbnb – maybe a beach bungalow, a fancy loft, or a classic cabin – the app is also getting smarter in some key ways. The layout aims to make this flow a bit easier, and for the app to act as a companion serving up reminders and suggestions.

The biggest change, though, is that Airbnb now allows users to search for properties worldwide alongside the best services and experiences all in one place. Under the hood, Airbnb says it’s built an entire new tech stack that adds capacity for these new offerings and sets up a large runway for the future.

And I think that hints at the broader play here – Airbnb doesn’t want to be an app you open once or twice a year for a big vacation or trip. Rather, it’s there and is an app with more tools in its chest, allowing you to book more casual everyday services but also more memorable ones, whether you’re on the go or for a staycation.

Carolina Milanesi, President and Principal Analyst at Creative Strategies, told TechRadar, “Expanding into services makes a great deal of sense as it allows for a richer experience than the stay itself and can certainly add to it by adding a more visceral component to the stay – say you are using a personal trainer while you travel or organizing a photographer for your girls reunion weekend. The option of booking even when you are not staying shows they are trying to expand and deepen the relationship with a customer by having multiple touch points through the year.”

It certainly adds up, and this could grow Airbnb’s user base as well. We’re going hands-on with the new app, and maybe even an experience or two soon, so we’ll report back with more. But if you’re keen to give it a go, update to the latest version of the Airbnb app now.

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• Windows 11 has a new preview build in the Beta channel
• It comes with an AI agent in Settings to help you change options
• Also a new hardware-related FAQ has been introduced in Settings, too

Windows 11 has a new preview build out and it comes with a big change: the introduction of AI to the Settings app in order to help Copilot+ PC owners find and choose the options they need.

This is a new piece of work Microsoft announced last week, but the company just said that it was coming to testing soon, at some stage this month. Well, that stage has now been set, and this ability has debuted in preview build 26120.3964 in the Beta channel.

That preview release comes with the full AI agent present in Settings, although of course, this is just the initial stages of testing. Also note that this is for Copilot+ PCs only, it won’t be applicable to normal Windows 11 PCs, as it leverages the peppy NPU that’s on board Copilot+ devices. (Microsoft also revealed fresh goodies inbound for non-Copilot+ machines, it should be noted too).

As I’ve covered before, the AI agent works via the usual query model. You type in what you’re looking for in Settings via a bar at the top of the panel using normal conversational language. For example, you could ask something like, “How do I put the YouTube video playing on my laptop onto my TV screen?” and the AI will find that relevant setting for screen mirroring.

The idea is to make tweaking settings or finding various capabilities a good deal easier, and with some options, AI will even recommended specific choices for you.

Another change to the Settings app in this preview build is a new hardware-related FAQ that provides info on your PC specs and how good they are. This nestles in the System > About panel within Settings, underneath the list of device specifications.

The questions-and-answers specifically relate to your PC, so if you only have 8GB of RAM for example, and you’re worried that might slow down apps – or moreover PC games – there’ll be a section on exactly what that memory loadout means for you in terms of expected performance levels.

Analysis: PC spec cards and AI accuracy

(Image credit: Future)

This is the first time we’ve seen this hardware FAQ appear in testing, though oddly, it’s not partnered with the related ‘PC spec cards’ (small info panels) that carry the individual details of your CPU, GPU, system RAM and storage (which have been spotted in testing before, minus the FAQ).

Presumably, these pieces of the puzzle are going to come together soon, delivering a useful extra for relative PC newbies who may not be so sure about what all these specs mean.

As for the AI agent, it looks nifty and offers plenty of promise, but there are a few notable catches here. Firstly, AI could get things wrong when it comes to the specific recommendations given for certain settings (but hopefully not in terms of the basic finding and displaying of relevant options).

So, we need to be cautious in that respect, and it’ll be interesting to see how accurate Windows 11 testers find the system, and what the initial feedback is – because this could be one of the best uses of AI Microsoft has found yet. Or the worst if it comes horribly off the rails, but Microsoft doesn’t appear overly ambitious here – yet – so that shouldn’t happen.

Secondly, only the English language is supported by the Settings agent for now. Finally, just Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon processors are supported in testing to begin with, but Microsoft has said the agent will come to Copilot+ devices with AMD and Intel CPUs soon enough. Perhaps that’ll be the next preview release, then.

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• Alibaba's ZeroSearch can generate training material for its AI
• Cost savings of up to 88% are possible
• The tech requires additional GPUs

Alibaba's Tongyi Lab has found a way to train AI search models without using real search engines, which it says can reduce search training costs by up to 88% compared to commercial APIs like Google.

In a paper entitled "Incentivize the Search Capability of LLMs without Searching," Alibaba explains how the development uses simulated AI-generated documents to mimic real search engine outputs.

Interestingly, Alibaba's researchers also note that using simulated documents can actually improve the quality of training, because "the quality of documents returned by search engines is often unpredictable" and risks introducing noise into the training process.

Alibaba will train AI search models on AI-generated documents

"The primary difference between a real search engine and a simulation LLM lies in the textual style of the returned content," the researchers wrote. ZeroSearch can also gradually degrade the quality of documents in order to simulate increasingly challenging retrieval scenarios.

Of course, the key benefit to this technology is the significant cost saving available. Training with ZeroSearch's 14B model costs around $70.80 per 64,000 queries, compared with around $586.70 via Google's APIs. Costs are even lower for the 7B and 3B models, at $35.40 and $17.70 per 64,000 queries, and yet all three of the ZeroSearch models and the Google API method take the same amount of time.

However, Alibaba acknowledged that one, two, or four A100 GPUs are required for its ZeroSearch method, compared with no GPU requirement via the Google API method, which could present a negative impact in terms of sustainability, like energy consumption and emissions.

"Our approach has certain limitations. Deploying the simulated search LLM requires access to GPU servers. While more cost-effective than commercial API usage, this introduces additional infrastructure costs," the researchers concluded.

Still, challenging the reliance on expensive and gated platforms like Google Search APIs and reducing the costs could help democratize AI development even further.

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