Alice AI

Yandex Drops Earbuds Under X-Ray Microtomography: Detailed Internal Analysis of First AI-Powered TWS Headphones

Engineers used non-destructive X-ray microtomography to examine Yandex Drops, the company's first TWS earbuds featuring the Alice AI voice assistant. The scan revealed an eight-layer HDI PCB, three microphones per earbud arranged in a dual feedforward plus feedback ANC configuration, an 11 mm driver, and a QFN-packaged SoC with NPU. No hardware disconnect point was identified in the microphone signal path within visually accessible traces, connectors, and vias. Battery dimensions, coil windings in the case, and internal flex routing were measured directly from calibrated voxel data. The study also confirmed contact-based charging via spring-loaded claw contacts and a Hall-effect sensor in the case lid. The work demonstrates how industrial micro-CT can support hardware security reviews without destroying the sample.

Russia Weighs Mandatory Use of Sovereign AI Models Like GigaChat in Government Sectors

Russian authorities are discussing a draft government resolution that would require state bodies and companies to prioritize fully domestic AI models in multiple regulated areas even when they cost up to 50 percent more than alternatives. Only GigaChat developed by Sber currently meets the proposed sovereign criteria of being created by a Russian legal entity and running exclusively on Russian infrastructure. National models such as Yandex’s Alice AI would be allowed to incorporate open-source components. The measure would apply to law-making, national projects, taxes, customs, critical information infrastructure, education, healthcare and Gosuslugi services. The Ministry of Digital Development stresses that the list remains preliminary and open to further input from market participants. Industry players including Yandex and MWS AI have voiced concerns over reduced choice and potential quality or cost disadvantages for end users.

Yandex Alice AI Replaces VK Marusya in Russia's Mandatory Preinstalled Apps List for 2027

Russian authorities have approved the official list of software that device manufacturers and sellers must preinstall on smartphones, tablets, and computers starting in 2027. The updated requirements maintain most of the previous selections without major disruption. The only notable change involves voice assistants, where Yandex Alice AI will now take the place previously held by VK Marusya. This adjustment reflects ongoing government efforts to promote domestic software through mandatory preinstallation policies. The regulation continues to focus on ensuring Russian-developed applications receive prominent placement on new devices sold in the country.

DeepSeek User Conversations Appear in Google Search Results via Publicly Shared Links

Conversations between users and the Chinese AI service DeepSeek, including Russian-language exchanges, have surfaced in Google search results. The exposed pages belong to Shared Conversations that users themselves made public through shareable links. These pages display full question-and-answer histories along with the names of any uploaded documents. No actual breach of DeepSeek occurred, and security researchers note that search engines indexed similar public chatbot dialogues more than a year ago. MWS AI confirmed that no closed chat histories or account access were exposed. Meanwhile, Yandex stated that links to conversations with its Alice AI assistant are blocked from indexing, remain active for only 14 days, and do not transmit attached files to recipients.