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This episode is brought to you by Capital One Capital One's tech team isn't just talking about multi agentic AI. They already deployed one. It's called Chat Concierge and it's simplifying car shopping using self reflection and layered reasoning with live API checks. It doesn't just help buyers find a car they love, it helps schedule a test drive, get pre approved for financing and estimate trade in value. Advanced, intuitive and deployed. That's how they stack. That's technology at Capital One.
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hi, I'm Kara Berry, host of Everyone's Business But Mine. Think of me as your new friend and fellow busybody as I talk about everything under the pop culture sun, from the best way to detect a celebrity breakup or pregnancy to recapping your favorite reality TV shows from the Housewives cinematic universe. Welcome to Platteville, Kardashians and so much more. So check out Everyone's Business But Mine, airing multiple times a week everywhere you listen to podcasts.
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Acast helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com Foreign. These are the daily tech headlines for Friday, February 20, 2026. I'm Rob Dunwood. YouTube is expanding its experimental conversational AI tool to smart TVs, gaming consoles and streaming devices. This feature allows users to ask questions about video without pausing it. Accessible via a new on screen ax button and the remote microphone, this move capitalizes on the high volume of YouTube big screen viewing and enhances competition with rivals like Amazon, Alexa and Roku's AI assistance. This fits into YouTube's broader AI initiatives, including comment summaries and search carousels. New US Defense Department cybersecurity rules, launched last November, are prompting small defense suppliers to consider leaving military work due to high compliance costs and confusing requirements. The new regulations aim to protect sensitive, unclassified information, but the lack of clarity on what data is truly sensitive is forcing contractors to impose strict compliance standards even on suppliers who may not handle critical data. Companies face months long waits for stricter Level 2 audits, which are expected to begin around November. This situation risks slowing down production, despite the administration's push for increased output. Tech companies like Meta, Valerie and others are implementing internal bans on the experimental agentic AI tool OpenClaw due to concerns about its unpredictability, potential for privacy breaches and ability to take control of user computers. Valerie initially prohibited the software with Valerie's CEO citing risks to client data and GitHub code base basis, though Valerie later allowed a research team to study it in isolation. While some companies rely on existing security, others like Massive are cautiously moving to monetize the technology by integrating it into commercial services called clodpod. A federal grand jury indicted three Silicon Valley engineers Samana Gandali, Saror Gandali and Mohammad Javad Khosarvi, identified as Iranian nationals, for conspiracy and theft of trade secrets from Google and other tech companies. The engineers, two of whom worked at Google, are accused of exploiting their positions to steal hundreds of confidential files, including processor security data, and transferring the sensitive information to Iran. Google detected the theft through security monitoring and referred the case to law enforcement, which alleges the defendants took deliberate steps to evade detection. WhatsApp is introducing a new feature called Group Message History that allows group administrators to privately share a curated selection of recent messages with new members. This significantly improves the onboarding experience by providing new participants with necess necessary contacts without cluttering the main group chat with old forwarded messages. This feature is designed to maintain a clean conversation flow and enable newcomers to participate immediately. SoftBank's subsidiary SB Energy is planning a $33 billion 9.2 gigawatt natural gas fired power plant on the Ohio Kentucky border. If built, it would be the largest in the US capable of powering 7.5 million homes, though the power's use is unspecified for grid or data centers. Softbank is developing a proof of concept Data center at GM's former Lordstown plant in Ohio as well. The massive project is expected to take up to a decade and could annually emit around 15 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, with a potentially greater overall climate impact due to methane leaks. Google released Gemini 3.1 Pro, a new AI model with significantly improved reasoning, achieving a 77.1% score on the Arc AGI 2 test. The model, released after Anthropic's clodsonic 4.6, features advanced capabilities such as generating animated SVG, creating functional websites and developing interactive 3D simulations. Gemini 3.1 Pro is available to consumers via the Gemini app on NotebookLM and to developers and enterprises through the Gemini API and tools like AI Studio and Android Studio. Google's enhanced investment in proactive security and AI technology has significantly reduced malicious app activity on Google Play, preventing 1.75 million policy violating apps from publication in 2025, down from over 2 million banning over 80,000 bad developer accounts, a substantial drop from the 333,000 in 2023. These measures, including developer verification and AI assisted reviews, are deterring bad actors and raising ecosystem standards. However, the increase in malicious non play store apps detected by Google Play Protect suggests that malicious developers are shifting away from the official store. And finally, Sony is closing bluepoint Games, the studio behind the Shadow of The Colossus and Demon's Souls remakes in March, leading to about 70 job loss. The closure follows a business review and the cancellation of a live service God of War game the studio was developing after its 2021 acquisition. The decision reflects Sony's ongoing difficulties in the premium online multiplayer sector. For more analysis of the tech news of the day, subscribe to dailytechnewshow.com youm can find show notes and links to all the headlines there as well. Thanks for listening. We'll talk to you next time.