Google Sideloading Restrictions, YouTube AI Search Feature, US Blocking Exports to China + more!

Duration: 06:50

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

0:11 Campaign Against Google’s Sideloading Restrictions

1:27 YouTube AI Search Feature

2:26 US Blocking Exports to China

3:43 QUICK BITS INTRO

3:52 Google Pixel 11 Tensor G6 Chip Leak

4:25 Supreme Court Weighs in on Geofence Warrants

4:52 Google Translate Updates

5:29 New Websites Increasingly AI Generated

6:02 OpenAI’s Oddly Specific Policy

NEWS SOURCES:

Mains

THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE SIDELOADED

Android developers revolt against Google’s 2026 sideloading registration mandate - https://startupfortune.com/android-developers-revolt-against-googles-2026-sideloading-registration-mandate/

Campaign launched against Google's upcoming sideloading restrictions, seems like F-Droid is involved?

https://keepandroidopen.org/en/

They’re revolting against the developer verification announced last year - https://developer.android.com/developer-verification

And the new advanced flow process announced in march - https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2026/03/android-developer-verification.html?m=1

Which introduced a 24 hour waiting period to install sideloaded apps - https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/google-details-new-24-hour-process-to-sideload-unverified-android-apps/

Alternative app stores like F-droid see this entire process as an existential threat - https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/09/f-droid-calls-for-regulators-to-stop-googles-crackdown-on-sideloading/

Where cyber security conscious organizations and individuals see this as a way to protect users - https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2026/03/advanced-flow-will-make-android-sideloading-safer

Did You-Ask-Tube?

YouTube is doubling down on AI with "Ask YouTube," a conversational search feature currently in testing - because scrolling through search results takes a lot of work, and my fingies hurt.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/28/youtube-is-testing-an-ai-powered-search-feature-that-shows-guided-answers/

This feature delivers a step-by-step mix of text, videos, and Shorts directly addressing your YouTube search.

https://images.macrumors.com/t/CjgXNqROvCnRMmPzpxA9O5lj1-U=/1600x0/article-new/2026/04/youtube-search-interface.jpg

The demo showcases how you can ask youtube for help planning a 3-day road trip from San Francisco to Santa Barbara. It returns a structured itinerary with local tips and must-see stops, and you can even ask follow-up questions like "where can I find good coffee."

Gif of the YT’s example:

https://storage.googleapis.com/support-forums-api/attachment/message-428804744-4238528618900524772.gif

Currently this is only available to U.S. based YouTube Premium subscribers who are 18+ , but they’re working on expanding it to non-Premium users in the future.

https://lmg.gg/ytquote

The Verge asked it to explain what a Steam Controller is and got a mostly-correct overview… that also confidently claimed the controller had no joysticks - which it definitely does. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MoYvER325gAX6UIW86WUmeV9p0mTLt2b/view?usp=sharing

NOT FOR ALL THE TEA IN CHINA

US Commerce Department blocks chip equipment shipments to China's number-two chipmaker Hua Hong - https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-orders-chip-equipment-companies-halt-some-shipments-hua-hong-chinas-second-2026-04-28/

The story so far:

US Blocked the sale of Nvidia chips to china back in November - https://www.theinformation.com/articles/u-s-block-nvidias-sale-scaled-back-ai-chips-china

Then in January it approved the sale WITH CONDITIONS - https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-eases-regulations-nvidia-h200-chip-exports-china-2026-01-13/

Then china said they didn’t want them, instructing customs to block chip imports - https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-customs-agents-told-nvidias-h200-chips-are-not-permitted-sources-say-2026-01-14/

Then the US announced a 25 percent tariff on those chips that china didn’t want - https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/15/the-us-imposes-25-tariff-on-nvidias-h200-ai-chips-headed-to-china/

THEN china approved the imports -https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/28/china-gives-green-light-importing-first-batch-nvidias-h200-ai-chips-sources-say.html

THEN the US said it would limit the number of chips being sent to china - https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/graphics-cards/in-yet-another-twist-in-the-us-china-chip-export-fiasco-it-seems-like-america-may-limit-the-number-of-h200-ai-chips-being-sent-to-china/

Then china capped the number of chips it would allow and limited it to specific companies - https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/graphics-cards/china-reportedly-approves-imports-of-nvidias-h200-gpu-but-the-us-government-may-cap-exports-to-individual-chinese-companies/

Then they chilled out on that - http://theregister.com/2026/03/17/nvidia_h200_china_sales_resume/

Then the US commerce secretary and oiliest man in the world Harold Lutnik said that china was blocking the imports - https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/u-s-commerce-secretary-says-nvidia-still-hasnt-sold-any-h200-ai-gpus-to-china-chinese-government-is-blocking-imports-in-an-attempt-to-push-domestic-semiconductor-industry

WHICH brings us to NOW. The US commerce secretary announced that chip equipment companies to halt shipments to Hua Hong, because... - ​​https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/us-orders-chip-equipment-companies-to-halt-some-shipments-to-hua-hong-chinas-second-largest-chipmaker/articleshow/130586017.cms?from=mdr

Also because jensen is sad about Nvidia’s market share dropping 60% - https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/nvidia-market-share-in-china-falls-to-less-than-60-percent-chinese-chip-makers-deliver-1-65-million-ai-gpus-as-the-government-pushes-data-centers-to-use-domestic-chips

Meanwhile China continues to make strides announcing a CPU-only exascale supercomputer with 47,000 domestic processors and zero foreign components - https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/china-plans-cpu-only-exascale-supercomputer-with-47000-domestic-processors

Quickbits

CHAD CPU, BETA GPU

Google's upcoming Tensor G6 chip for the Pixel 11 leaked, and it seems like a familiar story: shiny new cpu, embarrassing old GPU. https://9to5google.com/2026/04/28/google-pixel-11-tensor-g6-cpu-gpu-leak/

The Mystic Leaks telegram channel revealed a blacked out image with interesting specs pointing to ARM's latest C1 CPU cores paired with a PowerVR graphics chip that dates back to 2021

https://9to5google.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/04/image_5226a5.png

The aging GPU likely reflects Tensor's thermal limits and Google's willingness to sacrifice gaming benchmarks for AI efficiency.

https://lmg.gg/quotepixeltensor

Translation: the Pixel 11 should fly through Gemini prompts and absolutely limp through Genshin Impact.

SWINGING FOR THE GEO-FENCES

Supreme court is weighing if geofence warrants are unconstitutional https://www.cnet.com/news/privacy/supreme-court-hears-arguments-on-google-geofencing-warrants-case/

A bank robber was caught because of one of these warrants and is claiming they violated his 4th amendment rights to rob a bank - https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-geofence-warrants-unreasonable-searches-constitution-a61c200a806cba89ded43685279eccae

Geofencing Works by drawing a fence around a specific area has the supreme court split - https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/28/scotus-chatrie-geofence-search-warrant-ruling-arguments/

LOST IN PRONOUNCIATION

Google Translate is celebrating its 20th birthday by rolling out AI pronunciation practice on Android - in the US and India in English, Spanish, and Hindi.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/29/google-translate-now-lets-you-practice-pronunciation/

Talk into your phone and the AI gives you instant feedback on which sounds you butchered and how to fix them, something similar to how DuoLingo lets you practice speaking sentences.

https://lmg.gg/tweetdemovidgoogletranslate

DEAD MEN TYPING

A new paper from Imperial College London, Stanford, and the Internet Archive found that 35% of new websites since ChatGPT's launch are AI-generated or AI-assisted, with 17.6% being fully AI-written.

https://gizmodo.com/dead-internet-theory-is-17-of-the-way-to-becoming-reality-study-finds-2000751718

Surprisingly, the AI flood didn't make the web more factually wrong-

https://ai-on-the-internet.github.io/#:~:text=%22As%20AI%20content%20becomes%20more%20common%20on%20the%20internet%2C%20I%20am%20encountering%20factually%20incorrect%20information%20and%20hallucinations%20more%20frequently%2E%22

https://ai-on-the-internet.github.io/#:~:text=As%20AI%20text%20becomes%20more%20common%20on%20the%20internet%2C%20the%20range%20of%20unique%20ideas%20and%20diverse%20viewpoints%20shrinks%2E%22

https://ai-on-the-internet.github.io/#:~:text=AI%2Dgenerated%20websites%20had%20107%25%20higher%20positive%20sentiment%20scores%20than%20non%2DAI%20websites%20%280%2E7042%20vs%2E%200%2E3400%29%2E

OpenGoblin

And OpenAI's open-sourced Codex system prompt revealed an oddly specific rule about certain creatures and animals:

https://gizmodo.com/never-talk-about-goblins-openais-instructions-to-codex-have-a-weirdly-emphatic-no-creatures-policy-2000751984

"Never talk about goblins, gremlins, raccoons, ogres “ and other animals/creatures unless absolutely relevant.

https://simonwillison.net/2026/Apr/28/openai-codex/

A Google employee posted a search through chat logs from his GPT-5.5-powered Openclaw agents, showing one repeatedly using the word Goblin multiple times in a single day.

https://lmg.gg/tweetgoblinfxation

The same prompt also tells Codex it has "a vivid inner life"

https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/main/codex-rs/models-manager/models.json#L55

that is apparently haunted by goblins.