United News of Bangladesh

OpenAI has teamed up with Walmart to allow shoppers to purchase products directly through ChatGPT, marking another step in the company’s effort to transform its popular chatbot into a virtual shopping assistant and strengthen its revenue base. In a statement on Tuesday, Walmart said the new feature will enable customers to “simply chat and buy,” meaning users can instantly check out items — from groceries and household goods to any product they might be discussing with the chatbot — without leaving ChatGPT. “For many years, e-commerce shopping experiences have relied on a search bar and a long list of items,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said. “That is about to change.” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the partnership will “make everyday purchases a little simpler.” The companies have not yet confirmed when ChatGPT users will be able to start buying Walmart products directly through the platform, but Walmart said the feature will roll out “soon.” The collaboration represents OpenAI’s latest expansion into online commerce, following similar partnerships launched recently with Shopify and Etsy. Working with Walmart — the largest retailer in the United States — marks a significant leap for OpenAI as it looks to compete with major players such as Amazon and Google for a share of the digital shopping market. OpenAI has yet to turn a profit and continues to rely on investor funding to cover the costs of developing and operating its advanced AI systems. When announcing its Shopify and Etsy partnerships last month, the company said it was working with payments firm Stripe to build the technical framework for purchases via its “Instant Checkout” system. Walmart, meanwhile, has been integrating AI across its operations and consumer platforms. On Tuesday, the Bentonville-based retail giant highlighted its AI shopping assistant “Sparky” and other uses of artificial intelligence at both Walmart and Sam’s Club. Members of Sam’s Club, owned by Walmart, will also be able to shop through ChatGPT once the new feature launches. “AI is transforming everything we do, from smarter catalogs to faster delivery — and it only works if people trust it,” said Daniel Danker, Walmart’s executive vice president of AI Acceleration, Product and Design, in a statement to the Associated Press. Shares of Walmart rose nearly 5% at market close on Tuesday following the announcement.   Source: AP

Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) on Wednesday announced Agentforce 360, a platform designed to connect humans and AI agents in a single trusted system, enabling employees to work smarter, deliver better customer experiences, and operate with unprecedented speed and intelligence. Presented at Dreamforce 2025, Agentforce 360 marks the next step in Salesforce’s vision of the Agentic Enterprise, where AI elevates human potential rather than replacing people. Salesforce has spent the past year proving the model through four major releases and thousands of customer deployments, including using the platform internally. “We’re entering the age of the Agentic Enterprise — where AI elevates human potential like never before,” said Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO, Salesforce. “Agentforce 360 connects humans, agents, and data on one trusted platform, helping every employee and company achieve more.” Over the past 12 months, Salesforce advanced Agentforce through four key releases: in October 2024, it launched Agentforce, the first enterprise AI agent platform; in December 2024, Agentforce 2 introduced an improved Atlas Reasoning Engine for more grounded results; in March 2025, Agentforce 2dx enabled agents to be embedded in any workflow; and in June 2025, Agentforce 3 delivered enhanced interoperability and governance to support enterprise-scale deployments. These developments culminate in Agentforce 360, transforming Salesforce beyond CRM to empower employees, streamline operations, and enable AI agents to collaborate with humans and other agents. Agentforce 360 integrates four core elements of an Agentic Enterprise: the Agentforce 360 Platform, offering enterprise-grade AI agents with a conversational builder, hybrid reasoning, and voice capabilities; Data 360, a unified data layer that provides context and insights using Intelligent Context and Tableau Semantics; Customer 360 Apps, which embed AI into workflows to understand business logic, processes, and customer interactions; and Slack, a conversational interface that connects humans, agents, apps, and data in real time. This integrated system allows businesses to deploy agents grounded in trusted data, collaborating across teams and workflows, and extending functionality via partners across industries. Agentforce 360 is already transforming operations: Reddit reduced support response time from 8.9 to 1.4 minutes, deflecting 46% of cases; Adecco automated 51% of candidate conversations outside working hours; OpenTable resolved 70% of diner and restaurant inquiries autonomously; Engine cut handle time by 15%, saving over $2 million annually; and 1-800Accountant achieved a 90% case deflection rate during tax week. Agentforce 360 includes several key innovations: Agentforce Builder, a conversational development studio for designing agents using natural language; Agentforce Voice, a native voice layer for real-time, integrated conversations; Hybrid Reasoning & Agent Script, which combines deterministic workflows with flexible LLM reasoning; Agentforce Vibes, enabling low-code AI app development; and Observability, providing dashboards to monitor reasoning, accuracy, and compliance. Additional features span Data 360, Customer 360 Apps (Sales, Marketing, Service, Field Service, Revenue Management, Commerce, IT), Slack integrations, and industry-specific solutions. Partner integrations allow companies to use AI models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and others directly within Salesforce and Slack. Agentforce 360 is available globally today, with ongoing innovations in pilot and beta programs.  

Teenagers on Instagram will be restricted to seeing PG-13 content by default and won't be able to change their settings without a parent's permission, Meta announced on Tuesday. This means kids using teen-specific accounts will see photos and videos on Instagram that are similar to what they would see in a PG-13 movie — no sex, drugs or dangerous stunts, among others. “This includes hiding or not recommending posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, and additional content that could encourage potentially harmful behaviors, such as posts showing marijuana paraphernalia,” Meta said in a blog post Tuesday, calling the update the most significant since it introduced teen accounts last year. Anyone under 18 who signs up for Instagram is automatically placed into restrictive teen accounts unless a parent or guardian gives them permission to opt out. The teen accounts are private by default, have usage restrictions on them and already filter out more “sensitive” content — such as those promoting cosmetic procedures. But kids often lie about their ages when they sign up for social media, and while Meta has began using artificial intelligence to find such accounts, the company declined to say how many adult accounts it has determined to be minors since rolling out the feature earlier this year. The company is also adding an even stricter setting that parents can set up for their children. The changes come as the social media giant faces relentless criticism over harms to children. As it seeks to add safeguards for younger users, Meta has already promised it wouldn’t show inappropriate content to teens, such as posts about self-harm, eating disorders or suicide. But this does not always work. A recent report, for instance, found that teen accounts researchers created were recommended age-inappropriate sexual content, including “graphic sexual descriptions, the use of cartoons to describe demeaning sexual acts, and brief displays of nudity.” In addition, Instagram also recommended a “range of self-harm, self-injury, and body image content” on teen accounts that the report says “would be reasonably likely to result in adverse impacts for young people, including teenagers experiencing poor mental health, or self-harm and suicidal ideation and behaviors.” Meta called the report “misleading, dangerously speculative” and that it misrepresents its efforts on teen safety. Josh Golin, the executive director of the nonprofit Fairplay, said he's “very skeptical about how this will be implemented.” “From my perspective, these announcements are about two things. They’re about forestalling legislation that Meta doesn’t want to see, and they’re about reassuring parents who are understandably concerned about what’s happening on Instagram," he said. “Splashy press releases won’t keep kids safe, but real accountability and transparency will," Golin said, adding that passing the federal Kids Online Safety Act would push for this accountability. Ailen Arreaza, executive director of ParentsTogether, was also skeptical. “We’ve heard promises from Meta before, and each time we’ve watched millions be poured into PR campaigns while the actual safety features fall short in testing and implementation. Our children have paid the price for that gap between promise and protection," Arreaza said. “While any acknowledgment of the need for age-appropriate content filtering is a step in the right direction, we need to see more than announcements — we need transparent, independent testing and real accountability.” Meta says the new restrictions go further than its previous safeguards. Teens will no longer be able to follow accounts that regularly share “age-inappropriate content” or if their name or bio contains something that isn't appropriate for teens, such as a link to an OnlyFans account. If teens already follow these accounts, they’ll no longer be able to see or interact with their content, send them messages, or see their comments under anyone’s posts, the company said. The accounts also won’t be able to follow teens, send them private messages or comment on their posts. Meta said it already blocks certain search terms related to sensitive topics such as suicide and eating disorders, but the latest update will expand this to a broader range of terms, such as “alcohol” or “gore” — even if they are misspelled. The PG-13 update will also apply artificial intelligence chats and experiences targeted to teens, Meta said, “meaning AIs should not give age-inappropriate responses that would feel out of place in a PG-13 movie.” The Motion Picture Association, which runs the film rating system that was established nearly 60 years ago, said it was not contacted by Meta prior to its announcement. “We welcome efforts to protect kids from content that may not be appropriate for them, but assertions that Instagram’s new tool will be ‘guided by PG-13 movie ratings’ or have any connection to the film industry’s rating system are inaccurate,” said Charles Rivkin, the chairman and CEO of the association, in a statement. For parents who want an even stricter setting for their kids, Meta is also launching a “limited content” restriction that will block more content and remove teens’ ability to see, leave, or receive comments under posts. To Maurine Molak, the cofounder of Parents for Safe Online Spaces, or ParentsSOS, whose son died by suicide in 2016 after being bullied online, Meta's announcement amounts to what she called a “PR stunt.” “Any time it seems like we’re getting close to federal legislation...that would actually hold them really accountable and create transparency and independent audits and require parental safety tools that work, it seems like they’re always releasing some new safeguard,” Molak said. “I think it's for Congress to see...'hey, we’ve got parents, we got you covered, we’re going to take care of you, we don’t need legislation' and it’s the same thing over and over again.” While some advocates worry that the announcement may give parents a false sense of security about the safety of their kids on Instagram, Desmond Upton Patton, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who studies social media, AI, empathy and race, said it gives a “timely opening for parents and caregivers to talk directly with teens about their digital lives, how they use these tools, and how to shape safer habits that enable positive use cases.” “I am especially glad to see changes around AI chatbots that make clear they are not human, they do not love you back, and should be engaged with that understanding,” he said. "It is a meaningful step toward a more joyful social media experience for teens.”  

OpenAI has partnered with Walmart to allow shoppers to buy products directly through ChatGPT, expanding the AI company’s growing move into digital commerce as it seeks new revenue sources. In a joint announcement Tuesday, Walmart said the new feature will let customers “simply chat and buy,” meaning users can instantly purchase items — from groceries and household essentials to other products they’re discussing with the chatbot — without leaving the app. “For many years now, eCommerce shopping experiences have consisted of a search bar and a long list of item responses,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement. “That is about to change.” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the partnership will “make everyday purchases a little simpler.” The companies did not specify when the feature will launch, only saying it would be available “soon.” The deal marks OpenAI’s latest move into online retail, following similar integrations with Shopify and Etsy sellers. Teaming up with Walmart — the world’s largest retailer — represents a major leap, potentially positioning ChatGPT as a competitor to Amazon and Google in the digital shopping space. Trump’s tariffs may mean Walmart shoppers pay more, his treasury chief acknowledges OpenAI, which has yet to turn a profit, has relied heavily on investor funding to maintain and expand its AI systems. The company said last month that it collaborated with payments firm Stripe to develop the technical framework for its “Instant Checkout” feature. Meanwhile, Walmart has been accelerating its own use of artificial intelligence across operations. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer highlighted tools like its AI shopping assistant “Sparky” and other innovations deployed in Walmart and Sam’s Club stores. Members of Sam’s Club will also be able to use ChatGPT’s new shopping feature once it launches. “AI is transforming everything we do, from smarter catalogs to faster delivery — and it only works if people trust it,” said Daniel Danker, Walmart’s executive vice president for AI Acceleration, Product and Design. Shares of Walmart closed nearly 5% higher on Tuesday following the announcement. Source: AP 

Google on Tuesday announced a $15 billion investment in India over the next five years to establish its first artificial intelligence hub in the country. The hub, located in Visakhapatnam in southern India, will be one of Google’s largest globally, featuring gigawatt-scale data centers, advanced energy infrastructure, and an expanded fiber-optic network, the company said. The investment highlights India’s role as a key technology and talent base in the global AI race. Google said the project will also include a new international subsea gateway connecting to its existing terrestrial and undersea cables spanning over 2 million miles. “The initiative creates substantial economic and societal opportunities for both India and the United States, while pioneering a generational shift in AI capability,” the company said. CEO Sundar Pichai told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the hub will accelerate AI innovation and drive growth across India. Modi welcomed the investment, saying it aligns with India’s vision of becoming a developed nation and will help democratize technology. The Adani Group confirmed its partnership with Google for developing the AI hub.

Global CRM leader Salesforce has unveiled a new Trusted AI foundation designed to help businesses scale accurate, explainable, and secure AI across all workflows. The announcement, made on Monday, introduces a unified framework called the “Agentic Enterprise,” where humans and AI collaborate seamlessly in decision-making and operations. Salesforce said the new system will ensure AI outputs are grounded in unified business data, embedding transparency, governance, and compliance into every process. Among the key innovations are Data Cloud Context Indexing, which allows AI agents to interpret complex documents; Data Cloud Clean Rooms, enabling secure data collaboration without exposing raw data; and Tableau Semantics, which translates raw data into business language for consistent insights. The company is partnering with Databricks, dbt Labs, and Snowflake to standardize semantics across platforms. It also plans to acquire Informatica by early FY27 to strengthen metadata management and data governance. Salesforce’s MuleSoft Agent Fabric will act as a central hub to register and orchestrate AI agents, supported by integrations with CrowdStrike and Okta for security and risk management. Rahul Auradkar, Salesforce’s EVP and GM of Unified Data Services, said the foundation aims to harmonize structured and unstructured data to unlock intelligent automation and actionable insights. “AI must be grounded in a deep business context to deliver true transformation,” Auradkar said. “With this foundation, we’re enabling our customers to scale responsibly and unlock the full potential of the Agentic Enterprise.”    

Wine technology innovator VIVANT has launched its new Wine App, an AI-driven platform that offers personalised guidance, expert insights, and precision control to enhance the wine experience for enthusiasts and professionals alike. Paired with VIVANT’s award-winning Titan Portable Electronic Decanter Chiller, the app combines artificial intelligence with sommelier-level knowledge to create a seamless “smart wine ecosystem” that helps users explore, serve, and enjoy wine with professional precision. The app provides instant recommendations on grape varieties, regions, vintages, ideal serving temperatures, decanting times, and food pairings. It also includes a wine label scanner, precise serving guides, and remote connectivity with VIVANT devices—making expert wine service as simple as using a smartphone. “VIVANT has built this app to make professional wine expertise available to everyone, regardless of their experience level,” said Daniel Fu, Founder of VIVANT. “Whether it’s temperature recommendations, a wine’s story, or perfect food pairings, this app helps unlock every wine’s full potential.” VIVANT’s brand ambassador Reeze Choi, the ASI Best Sommelier of Asia and Pacific 2025, added: “Temperature control is non-negotiable in professional wine service. VIVANT makes such expertise accessible through a simple app, enriching wine education and appreciation in Singapore’s vibrant culinary scene—from fine dining to boutique bars and home settings.” The Wine App’s debut marks the beginning of VIVANT’s digital transformation. Future updates will include social features, interactive learning tools, and new product integrations aimed at making wine enjoyment more engaging and community-driven. iPhone users can now screen unknown calls with iOS 26 update Seamless integration with the Titan decanter chillerThe VIVANT Wine App works hand in hand with the company’s flagship Titan Portable Electronic Decanter Chiller, recently honoured with the SMART LABEL 2025 Award for Product Performance and an iF Design Award.The Titan features a cooling range of 8–20°C, a portable battery life of up to four hours, and now connects directly with the app for precise control over wine temperature and decanting—anytime, anywhere. VIVANT plans to expand its smart wine ecosystem with new digital experiences, including social sharing, wine-related games, and enhanced hospitality integrations, bridging technology, design, and culture to make expert-level wine service accessible to all. The VIVANT Wine App is now available for free download on iOS, with an Android version set to launch soon. Premium features and expanded device integrations will be rolled out in the coming months. Source: AP 

The Taliban’s growing restrictions on internet and social media platforms are infringing upon the rights of Afghans, United Nations experts said Friday, after the country faced severe disruption to telecom services in recent weeks. Afghanistan suffered a 48-hour internet blackout from September 29, coinciding with a new “morality drive” introduced by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, who had earlier ordered the suspension of fiber-optic services in several provinces. Authorities confirmed the fiber-optic shutdown but offered no explanation for the two-day nationwide outage. Although connectivity was largely restored by October 1, U.N. experts — including Richard Bennett, the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan — said the Taliban have since imposed restrictions on access to major social media platforms starting October 7. According to the internet monitoring group NetBlocks, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat have been blocked across multiple service providers in Afghanistan. “These new restrictions, though not yet total, appear to form part of a broader and deliberate effort to control public discourse and regulate social behavior,” the U.N. team of experts said in a statement. They urged the Taliban authorities to immediately restore full access and refrain from further curbs that violate Afghans’ civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. The experts warned that such shutdowns further isolate the Afghan people from the international community and sever communication with relatives abroad, who often provide vital financial support through remittances. The U.N. experts, appointed by the Human Rights Council in Geneva, serve independently and on a voluntary basis. The Taliban government has not yet commented on the U.N. statement.  Source:AP 

Apple’s latest iOS 26 update brings a new feature designed to help users block spam and unwanted calls — a built-in call screening tool that acts as a virtual assistant between users and unknown callers. The feature, available on iPhone 11 and later models, can be activated by going to Settings → Apps → Phone, where users will find a new option titled Screen Unknown Callers. Choosing the “Ask Reason for Calling” option allows Siri to ask unknown callers for their name and purpose before deciding whether to connect the call. When a call is screened, users receive a live transcription of the caller’s response in message-style bubbles. They can then choose to answer, ignore, or reply with preset or custom messages that Siri reads aloud to the caller. While the feature offers an alternative to completely silencing unknown numbers, some users have reported mixed results. Many say it effectively filters robocalls and spam, but others note that legitimate callers—like delivery drivers or service technicians—sometimes hang up, mistaking the AI prompt for an answering machine. OpenAI, AMD sign partnership to build next-generation AI infrastructure If users find the feature inconvenient, it can be turned off anytime through the same settings menu. Apple’s move brings it in line with Android, where Google introduced automatic call screening for Pixel phones several years ago. The tool has since expanded to users in Australia, Canada, and Ireland. Samsung’s Galaxy devices also provide a similar option using its Bixby text call assistant. With spam and robocalls continuing to rise globally, Apple’s new screening function offers iPhone users a much-needed digital filter against the daily flood of unwanted calls. Source: AP

Growing doubts over the economic benefits of artificial intelligence are drawing the attention of financial institutions, with warnings emerging this week about a possible AI investment bubble. Officials at the Bank of England on Wednesday highlighted the increasing risk that tech stock prices, inflated by the AI boom, could sharply correct. The U.K. central bank said, The risk of a sharp market correction has increased. Hours later, the head of the International Monetary Fund echoed the concern. Global stock prices have been surging amid optimism about AI's productivity-boosting potential, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. But she warned that financial conditions could turn abruptly, ahead of the IMF’s annual meeting next week in Washington. Signs of a potential bubble Bubbles are notoriously difficult to pinpoint, but there are signs that a bubble may be forming in AI, according to Adam Slater, lead economist at Oxford Economics. He cited rapid growth in tech stock prices, technology stocks now representing about 40% of the S&P 500, market valuations appearing stretched, and widespread optimism about AI’s future despite significant uncertainties. Optimistic projections suggest generative AI could transform the global economy, producing annual productivity gains unseen since post-World War II Europe. On the other hand, MIT economist Daron Acemoglu projects a more modest U.S. productivity gain of just 0.7% over the next decade. Slater said, You’ve got this incredibly wide range of possibilities. Nobody really knows where it’s going to land. Investor caution Investors have closely monitored a string of deals between top AI developers, such as OpenAI, and companies producing the expensive chips and data centers that power these technologies. Privately held OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, does not yet turn a profit but is now valued at $500 billion, making it the world’s most valuable startup. It recently signed major deals with chipmakers Nvidia and AMD, and a $300 billion agreement with Oracle for future data center development. The Bank of England did not single out companies by name but said equity valuations appear stretched, particularly for AI-focused tech firms, and are comparable to the peak of the 2000 dotcom bubble. With tech stocks comprising an ever-larger share of market indexes, the bank warned that markets are vulnerable if AI-related expectations turn less optimistic. Downside risks include potential shortages of electricity, data, or chips that could slow AI progress, or technological shifts that reduce demand for existing AI infrastructure. Georgieva added, Current stock valuations are heading toward levels we saw during the internet boom 25 years ago. If a sharp correction occurs, tighter financial conditions could drag down global growth. Tech leaders push back Tech executives, however, have downplayed fears of a financial bubble, describing the current AI surge as an industrial rather than a financial phenomenon. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said the AI boom could benefit society even if some companies fail, comparing it to the biotech bubble of the 1990s that produced life-saving drugs. Bezos noted that the surge in funding is creating both opportunities and confusion for investors, who struggle to distinguish good ideas from bad in the midst of excitement. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned of short-term misallocations of capital and fluctuations in investment levels but expressed confidence that AI will drive unprecedented economic growth, scientific breakthroughs, and improvements in quality of life. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang acknowledged that OpenAI currently lacks the funds to purchase all the chips it needs but expects the company to raise money through revenue growth, equity, or debt. He emphasized that leading AI systems are now moving beyond basic chatbots to higher-level reasoning, capable of accessing online information, analyzing documents, and providing useful outputs. Future of AI tools AI developers have been promoting AI agents that go beyond chatbots by performing tasks like coding on behalf of users. However, Forrester analyst Sudha Maheshwari noted that businesses are increasingly scrutinizing whether these tools deliver adequate returns. She warned, Every bubble inevitably bursts, and in 2026, AI will lose its sheen, trading its tiara for a hard hat. The debate continues over whether the AI boom represents transformative technological progress or a financial bubble poised for correction. Source: AP