Comment on 2014: A look back at the year in Kansas City business

Actress Scarlett Johannson was "shocked" and "angered" upon hearing ChatGPT's "Sky" voice, which some had likened to her own. Johannson famously voiced a fictional digital assistant in the 2013 film Her. In a statement released Monday, obtained by NBC News, Johannson felt the comparisons were apt and said the Sky voice was "eerily similar" to hers.

In an interview with The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai discussed AI-powered search, a major topic at the founder's recent Google I/O developer conference. At the event, Google announced a slew of new AI tools and models: Ask Photos, AI Agents, Project Astra, Gemini 1.5 Pro and Gemini 1.5 Flash, Nano, and AI Teammate, to name a few.

Ahead of Build 2024, Microsoft just dropped the new Surface Pro, a competitor to iPad — and we're curious about whether it can beat the popular Apple tablets. Typically, a discussion about whether Microsoft Surface device can beat an Apple equivalent wouldn't be had, but there's something special about this Surface Pro.

TL;DR: As of May 20, the newest iteration of the Microsoft Surface Pro is available to pre-order at the Microsoft Store. There are two different models — one with a Snapdragon X Plus processor and LCD display, and the other with a Snapdragon X Elite processor and OLED display. The former model starts at $999.99, and the latter at $1,499.99. Quick links Snapdragon X Plus with LCD Display model Microsoft Surface Pro $999.99 at Microsoft Pre-order Now Snapdragon X Elite with OLED Display model Microsoft Surface Pro $1,499.99 at Microsoft Pre-order Now Just as the Microsoft Surface Pro 10 enters the chat, another model follows soon after.

TL;DR: The new Microsoft Surface Laptop is available for preorder through the Microsoft Store as of May 20. It comes in two sizes (13.8- and 15-inch) that start at $999.99 and $1,299.99, respectively. Quick links: 13.8-inch model Microsoft Surface Laptop Starting at $999.99 in the Microsoft Store Pre-order Now 15-inch model Microsoft Surface Laptop Starting at $1,299.99 in the Microsoft Store Pre-order Now A hot new MacBook rival enters the villa: Microsoft debuted a redesigned, AI-powered Surface Laptop ahead of its annual Build developer conference.

Back in the day, "Mac vs. PC" was a big deal. They even made TV commercials about it. Thanks to the latest Microsoft Surface announcement, we might be back to that era. Ahead of Microsoft Build 2024, the Windows maker announced its most powerful consumer-grade Surface Laptop yet. The new flagship Windows laptop from Microsoft itself packs in an "elite" new processor to potentially compete with the MacBook Pro currently on the market.