Google launched an AI image generator inside Google Earth that let users overlay fake scenarios onto real satellite imagery. Within 48 hours, BBC Verify had used it to create a collapsed Eiffel Tower, a sinkhole swallowing the Great Pyramid, and Russian tanks in Kyiv — and that was just the journalists. Google has since paused the feature “while we work on implementing stronger guardrails.” The core problem, as one expert put it: fake imagery doesn’t need to look convincing on its own when it inherits the credibility of a trusted map. Google’s invisible watermarking was also found to be bypassable, with Gemini in some cases confirming fake images as real. Satellite imagery has long been treated as a reliable source for journalists and researchers working in conflict zones. This was a rare space largely untouched by AI doubt — and Google nearly blew it in two days.

Two Apple rumours worth noting. First, camera-equipped AirPods could arrive as early as this September — not to take photos, but to give Siri visual context about your surroundings. Think of them as eyes for your AI assistant. Privacy questions are obvious, and the design challenges are real, but code spotted in iOS 27 betas suggests it’s further along than previously thought. Second, looking further ahead, the iPhone 20 Pro — Apple’s 20th anniversary device, due September 2027 — is rumoured to feature a 6.4-inch display, wrap-around glass with zero visible bezel, solid-state buttons, and under-screen Face ID. Both still in rumour territory, but the direction of travel is clear: Apple is quietly making its devices a lot more interesting again.

Visa Wellington On a Plate runs 1–31 August across the Wellington region, from K?piti Coast to the Wairarapa, with nearly 100 events and 240+ Burger Wellington creations. This year’s guest of honour is George Motz — acclaimed burger scholar, filmmaker, and Head Judge for Burger Wellington 2026 — making his first visit to New Zealand. He’s hosting a live masterclass at the Opera House on 25 August and collaborating with Burger Liquor during Beervana. Beyond the burgers: free street fiestas, neighbourhood pop-ups, pay-what-you-can dining, and the returning Next Gen Cook Off where emerging chefs from Michelin-recognised restaurants cook three-course dinners using rescued food. Full programme and tickets at visawoap.com.

New research from One NZ finds 45% of New Zealanders are concerned about the environmental impact of AI — rising to 63% among 18–24-year-olds. The top worries are electricity use (66%), water consumption (51%), e-waste (50%), and carbon emissions (44%). Job displacement and reduced human interaction remain the leading concerns overall, but sustainability is quietly joining privacy and transparency as a trust issue businesses will need to address. The practical implication: vague commitments won’t cut it. Kiwis want renewable energy use, transparency about environmental impact, and independent audits. One NZ claims an 83% reduction in AI-related carbon emissions by shifting Salesforce workloads from the US to Sweden — which is the kind of specific, operational action the research says people actually want to see.

Canadian company ENVO Drive Systems has unveiled the UPT (Utility Personal Transporter), a modular EV platform that reconfigures into up to 18 different vehicle types — golf cart, cargo hauler, utility ATV, industrial transporter, and more — using interchangeable chassis components, battery packs, drivetrains, and accessories. Think LEGO, but for electric vehicles. Pricing runs from US$8,000–$12,000 depending on configuration, with first deliveries expected early 2027. The concept is clever: instead of building separate low-volume vehicles for every niche application, one common platform serves them all. Whether the modular promise survives real-world use remains to be seen, but as approaches to light EVs go, this one’s genuinely interesting.

Consumer NZ reports that Microsoft has quietly extended its Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) programme for personal devices to 12 October 2027, giving New Zealanders still on Windows 10 another year of free security patches. The piece explains how to check if your PC is enrolled, how to join the ESU programme at no cost, and why staying on an unpatched Windows 10 machine is increasingly risky. It also notes Consumer NZ’s earlier advocacy that helped make ESU free and highlights that roughly a quarter of Windows PCs worldwide still run Windows 10, a significant cohort of NZ consumers among them.

Augmental’s MouthPad — a tongue-driven Bluetooth mouse that fits over the upper teeth like a slim retainer — has just gone public in the US after an early access programme, with a waitlist already past 6,300. Users control cursors, clicks, and swipes via tongue gestures and head movement, and one user recently matched the cursor-control speed of state-of-the-art implanted brain-computer interfaces. Without the brain surgery. Alongside the public launch, Augmental has released VOX, a skin-worn microphone pendant that captures speech through the body as well as the air, allowing private dictation at a whisper in a library or a quiet voice in a noisy café. Together they’re designed as a hands-free computing ecosystem — particularly for people with mobility challenges, but with obvious broader appeal. VOX is $200 in beta; the MouthPad is $1,400 plus a dental scan.

Around 200 cryptocurrency ATMs are now operating across New Zealand, tucked into dairies, petrol stations and vape shops. They look like ordinary cash machines, but the fees are eye-watering — typically 15% or more compared to under 2% on an online exchange — and they’ve become a favourite tool for scammers impersonating Police, IRD, and bank staff. Once cash goes in, it’s essentially gone. The government considered an outright ban but has opted for regulation instead, with transaction limits and cooling-off periods among the measures being consulted on. University of Otago researchers are recommending a tiered approach: low limits for new users, mandatory scam warnings in multiple languages, and real-time reporting of suspicious activity. The golden rule in the meantime: if anyone asks you to deposit cash into a crypto ATM on their behalf, it’s a scam.

Walden Robotics has emerged from stealth with $300 million in seed funding and a $1.1 billion valuation, backed by Toyota, NVIDIA, Boeing, and Samsung Ventures. The pitch is general-purpose robots that learn on the job rather than needing years of programming for specific tasks — and they’re not waiting for perfection before deployment. Walden’s robots have been doing real production work at a Toyota plant in North America since February, less than two months after first pilot. The underlying tech is built on Large Behavior Models, a frontier model class that lets robots pick up new tasks quickly and improve through real-world practice. With labour shortages biting hard across manufacturing and logistics globally, the timing is pointed. We’re watching.