Face à la concurrence grandissante de Perplexity et de ChatGPT, Google riposte. Ce mercredi 5 mars 2025, la firme de Mountain View a dévoilé les contours d’un outil particulièrement ambitieux. Baptisé AI Mode, il est capable de générer des réponses exhaustives à des requêtes « nécessitant une exploration plus approfondie », précise un blog post.

Contrairement à AI Overviews, qui génère une réponse précise et synthétique à une requête dans un encart en haut de la page, AI Mode dispose de sa propre interface, « alimentée par une version customisée de Gemini 2.0 », qui offre la possibilité de « formuler des questions complexes, à plusieurs niveaux » et d’approfondir la recherche « grâce à des questions de suivi ».

AI Mode, une nouvelle interface alimentée par l’IA dans Google Search

Actuellement en phase expérimentale aux États-Unis, AI Mode est censé répondre à une demande formulée par les power users d’AI Overviews, d’après Google : obtenir davantage de résultats générés par l’IA pour un plus grand nombre de requêtes, avec des réponses qui vont au-delà d’un simple résumé.

Avec AI Mode, ce vœu semble exaucé. L’outil se présente sous la forme d’un nouvel onglet dans l’interface de Google Search, aux côtés des historiques Images, Actualité ou Vidéos. À l’image de Perplexity ou de la fonctionnalité de recherche de ChatGPT, il fournit des réponses particulièrement détaillées à des questions qui, normalement, nécessitent plusieurs recherches. Il peut notamment servir à explorer un nouveau concept, ou comparer plusieurs options, précise l’entreprise.

Voici à quoi ressemble concrètement l’interface d’AI Mode :

Ce nouveau mode de Search étend les capacités d’AI Overviews en intégrant un raisonnement plus avancé, des capacités de réflexion et multimodales. Vous posez n’importe quelle question et obtenez une réponse alimentée par l’IA, avec la possibilité d’approfondir grâce à des questions de suivi.

Mais comment ça marche, au juste ? Dans l’exemple ci-dessous, un utilisateur pose la question : « Quelle est la différence entre les fonctionnalités de suivi du sommeil d’une bague connectée, d’une montre connectée et d’un tapis de suivi du sommeil ? ». Pour y répondre, AI Mode adopte une approche en plusieurs étapes. Après une première phase de réflexion, qui peut durer plusieurs secondes selon le média spécialisé 9to5Google, il va « élaborer un plan, effectuer des recherches pour trouver de l’information et ajuster le plan en fonction des résultats », précise la firme. L’utilisateur peut, ensuite, poser une question de suivi pour compléter sa recherche.

L’outil, particulièrement prometteur, s’appuie à la fois sur des données récentes issues du web, sur un catalogue incluant des milliards de produits et sur des sources en temps réel comme Knowledge Graph.

Cette version préliminaire d’AI Mode est accessible uniquement sur invitation, et réservée aux utilisateurs souscrivant à l’offre Google One AI Premium. Pour un déploiement à plus grande échelle, il faudra sans doute patienter.

Google améliore la fonctionnalité AI Overviews, toujours indisponible en Europe

Parallèlement, Google a également annoncé des évolutions pour AI Overviews, qui bénéficie aussi des capacités avancées de Gemini 2.0. Déjà déployés dans plus d’une centaine de pays depuis octobre 2024 et utilisés par « plus d’un milliard d’utilisateurs », selon la firme, ces résumés générés par IA, qui apparaissent dans un encart en haut de page, seront proposés pour un plus grand nombre de requêtes, en particulier les plus complexes. Google précise, en outre, qu’il ne sera « plus nécessaire de se connecter pour y accéder ».

En Europe, la fonctionnalité, censée révolutionner la manière de rechercher et trouver des informations en ligne, n’est toujours pas disponible, bien que des tests aient été repérés en Allemagne, en Suisse ou en Espagne. Aucune date de sortie n’a été communiquée.

La récente mise à jour du Mac Studio avec des options de puces M4 Max et M3 Ultra a suscité l’étonnement dans la communauté tech. Cette configuration inhabituelle laisse planer le doute sur l’existence future d’une puce M4 Ultra, pourtant attendue par de nombreux professionnels.

Plusieurs éléments suggèrent qu’Apple pourrait effectivement renoncer à développer cette puce haut de gamme. Tout d’abord, la technologie UltraFusion, qui permettait jusqu’à présent de fusionner deux puces Max pour créer une puce Ultra, est absente de la M4 Max selon Numerama. Cette omission rend impossible la création d’une M4 Ultra selon la méthode traditionnelle.

L’Apple M4 Ultra pourrait ne jamais voir le jour

Le développement d’une puce M4 Ultra entièrement nouvelle se heurterait à des obstacles majeurs. Selon les informations rapportées par Mark Gurman de Bloomberg, Apple serait réticent à se lancer dans cette entreprise en raison des défis de production, des coûts élevés et du volume de ventes relativement faible des ordinateurs de bureau haut de gamme comme le Mac Studio.

La création d’une puce M4 Ultra monolithique, sans recourir à la fusion de deux puces Max, impliquerait un processus de développement complexe et coûteux. Les estimations suggèrent que le coût de production d’une seule unité fonctionnelle serait prohibitif, rendant difficile la rentabilisation du projet. De plus, les ventes limitées des Mac Pro et Mac Studio ne justifieraient pas un tel investissement, malgré l’avantage technologique que cela pourrait apporter face à la concurrence.

Cette situation pourrait pousser Apple à repenser sa stratégie pour les puces haut de gamme. Une option envisagée serait de sauter une génération et de se concentrer sur le développement d’une puce M5 Ultra. Cela impliquerait que la future puce M5 Max soit équipée d’un connecteur UltraFusion, ouvrant la voie à une nouvelle itération de la technologie Ultra. En attendant, les utilisateurs professionnels devront se contenter des performances offertes par les puces M4 Max et M3 Ultra.

Confidential documents obtained by Radio France and Le Monde reveal how Nestlé managed to obtain derogations to illegally filter its bottled water, despite health warnings and opposition from the Direction Générale de la Santé.

In an affair that has shaken the highest echelons of the French state, a vast lobbying operation led by food giant Nestlé enabled the company to circumvent regulations on natural mineral waters, despite proven health risks. Exchanges of e-mails, ministerial memos and inspection reports reveal a chain of political responsibility stretching right up to the highest levels of government.

Contamination concealed since 2021

It all began in August 2021, when Nestlé, concerned by a DGCCRF investigation, organized an initial meeting with the cabinet of Agnès Pannier-Runacher, then Minister of Industry. The company was using banned filters in its factories to treat water contaminated with fecal bacteria and other chemical pollutants.

Intensive lobbying of the highest authorities

The documents reveal successive meetings with advisors to Emmanuel Macron, Élisabeth Borne, Bruno Le Maire and other ministers. The Secretary General of the Élysée Palace, Alexis Kohler, himself received Nestlé representatives. The company steps up the pressure, notably by threatening to cut jobs.

Health authorities ignored

Despite repeated warnings from the French health authorities (Direction Générale de la Santé and Anses) about the health risks, particularly viral, and their recommendations to suspend the operation of the sources, the government gave in to Nestlé’s demands in February 2023. The company obtained authorization to use non-compliant filters, despite warnings from health experts.

A victory for lobbying at the expense of public health

The epilogue to this case illustrates the victory of industrial lobbying over public health considerations. Nestlé won its case to continue using its controversial filters, and its CEO, Muriel Lienau, was even promoted to President of Nestlé France in the process. Faced with these revelations, political leaders are now passing the buck, or claiming not to remember the details of the affair.
This affair highlights the mechanisms of influence that can be exerted at the highest levels of government, even when public health is at stake. It also raises questions about the transparency of decision-making processes and consumer protection in the face of corporate interests.

ENQUETE. Scandale des eaux en bouteille : de l’Élysée à Matignon, révélations sur le lobbying de Nestlé au sommet de l’Etat https://t.co/Eg0z9rk110

— Yves Pozzo di Borgo (@YvesPDB) February 4, 2025

Issued on: 11/03/2025 – 12:05

2 min

During the Paris Olympic Games and the rest of the year, 2024 was marked by a “large number of destabilisation attacks”, noted Anssi in its report entitled Panorama de la cybermenace (Panorama of Cyberthreats), published on Tuesday.

Anssi‘s director Vincent Strubel, told France Inter radio that for example, a pro-Russian group “threatened to attack sewage treatment plants, to pollute the Seine during the Olympic Games”.

He said that these actions were mainly carried out by pro-Russian and pro-Palestinian hacktivist groups, some of which may be affiliated with States,” he said.

Anssi refers to “hacktivist groups with a low level of technicality” but “a strong capacity to publicise their activities.”

In the report Anssi names operators like Cyber ​​Army of Russia Reborn (CARR) and Lulzsec Muslims, who “managed to access management interfaces exposed on the Internet.”

Hackers target Grand Palais Olympics venue and other Paris museums

Strubel says the actions put in place by French authorities to deter the wave of attacks was a success and “no computer attack disrupted the smooth running” of Olympic sporting events.

Anssi says that 4,386 security incidents were reported in 2024, representing 15 percent more than in 2023. 

Of the total, 3,004 concerned abnormal or unexpected behavior on computer systems and 1,361 were labelled as security events where Anssi confirmed that a cyberattack had been detected.

Make an impression

Although a peak was reached in July, the incidents did not all concern the Olympics.

With regards to the other attacks carried out throughout the year, their aim was “to disrupt the functioning of different infrastructures, to make an impression,” Strubel told French news agency AFP.

According to Anssi, these attacks targeted renewable energy production sites, the State Interministerial Network (RIE) and telecom infrastructures.

In its analysis, Anssi noted an increase in attacks targeting IT security tools such as firewalls or VPNs.

France deploys crisis cell to deal with fallout of major cyberattack

“When these devices have vulnerabilities, it’s pretty quickly catastrophic,” Strubel says. “It’s a little troubling to think that we’re buying security equipment that ends up being the gateway for attackers, but beyond that, the reality of the threat and the ability of attackers to seize it is something that concerns us.”

At the same time, ransomware attacks, capable of blocking access to a computer system in exchange for the payment of a ransom, have continued to flourish.

Small and medium-sized companies continue to be the preferred targets: in 2024, they represented 37 percent of ransomware victims, compared to 34 percent the previous year.

Universities and higher education institutions represent 12 percent of these types of ransomware attacks, Anssi reported.

Over the past few years, French President Emmanuel Macron has addressed the issue of cyber security and promised to inject significant funds into readying the country to tackle new threats.

(with newswires)

France had some 200,000 cafes in 1960, often serving as the social centre of gravity for communities around the country.

By 2015, that number had fallen to just 36,000, with most closures in rural areas, according to a 2017 report from the France Boissons industry body and the CREDOC consumer studies agency.

The new legislation, which would loosen strict restrictions on new bar permits to sell hard liquor, does away with “an old and obsolete legal framework,” said the centrist lawmaker behind the bill, Guillaume Kasbarian.

He and other lawmakers argued the change was needed to bring back cafes and bars to remote countryside areas, thus cementing social ties, boosting local economies and creating jobs.

The drinking spots in question “are, above all, places for people to come together in very rural areas and in a society where people have a tendency to close in on themselves,” one parliamentarian, Fabien Di Filippo, said.

Under French law, a type-4 alcohol licence in a bar or bistro allows the consumption of alcoholic beverages, including those containing more than 18 percent alcohol, such as spirits.

But no new such permit can be created, and aspiring bar managers must often wait until another type-4 bar closes permanently to acquire their licence from them.

The new legislation would allow cafe owners in rural municipalities with less than 3,500 inhabitants that do not already have a type-4 bar to request a brand-new permit instead of waiting for an old one to become free. The local mayor would have the right to approve — or deny — the request.

The measure was adopted nearly unanimously by the French parliament, with 156 lawmakers backing it and just two voting against. It now has to be approved by the Senate.

Advertisement

Additional bar

While the original idea of the bill was to allow just one type-4 bar to open in a village lacking one, an amendment added by the centre-right MoDem party gave municipal authorities the power to approve one additional bar.

It is difficult to estimate how many villages could benefit from the law, but 31,000 out of 35,000 rural municipalities have fewer than 3,500 inhabitants, according to the association of French mayors.

Detractors of the bill fear a rise in alcohol consumption in areas where social services to help people fight addiction are not readily available.

They have questioned why the law needs to allow the consumption of spirits in villages, and why a type-3 licence that allows the selling of beer and wine is not sufficient.

Advertisement

Some lawmakers also expressed concern the new legislation might be broadened in the future to allow bigger villages or towns to authorise more bars selling spirits.

Supporters have said the measure is important to draw residents out of isolation, and that hard liquor is available for sale at nearby supermarkets anyway.

Alcohol causes 49,000 deaths each year, according to the French health ministry’s website.

Cryolite entered the Greenland election campaign on February 8. On that day, the cultural center in Nuuk, the capital of the autonomous Danish territory, premiered a documentary entitled Greenland’s White Gold, broadcast the following day on the Danish public channel DR. It revealed that, for more than a century, the extraction of this mineral, used in the production of aluminum, and whose only deposit, now depleted, was on the island’s west coast, had earned the equivalent of 400 billion kroner (nearly 54 billion euros) for the company in charge of its extraction and the Danish state. A fortune!

While the figures have since been disputed by Danish economists and the documentary withdrawn from the channel’s platform, Greenlanders saw it as confirmation of the enormous potential nestled in their subsoil, which, if exploited, could lead the territory’s 56,500 inhabitants towards independence. Donald Trump’s desire for the island, which is four times the size of France, has only served to validate this hypothesis.

You have 87.36% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.