As the Sun sets on the week, Friday gave us a variety of updates from the world of AI and technology. Amid the student protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, the tech scene in India remained busy, with major announcements spanning consumer hardware, digital platform regulation, legal precedents for generative AI, and personalised health platforms. From Samsung initiating pre-orders for its newest Galaxy Watch 9 series wearable fleet to Indian courts issuing a decisive ruling on AI training data rights, we saw significant developments taking place across the board.
Hence, even though as you settle in for a weekend, here’s a roundup of all the major tech and AI updates for July 24.
Indian govt orders GitHub to block Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat app
In a significant regulatory intervention, the Centre issued an executive directive to GitHub to block repositories hosted by Jack Dorsey’s messaging platform, Bitchat. The order follows growing administrative scrutiny surrounding end-to-end peer-to-peer communication tools utilised during ongoing protests. Authorities cited national security protocols and non-compliance with local data traceability norms as primary reasons for the restriction. The blocking order targets both source code distribution and application build repositories hosted on the developer platform.
OpenAI-ANI High Court verdict
The Delhi High Court delivered a landmark interim order in the copyright infringement suit filed by news agency Asian News International (ANI) against OpenAI. In a major victory for generative AI developers, Justice Amit Bansal ruled that storing published news content to train Large Language Models (LLMs) falls under the “fair dealing” exception of Section 52(1)(a) of the Indian Copyright Act, declining ANI’s plea for an interim injunction. While the court affirmed Indian jurisdiction to try the broader case, it held that output generated by ChatGPT did not constitute substantial reproduction of ANI’s original copyrighted material.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 9, Watch Ultra 2 pre-orders go live
Samsung has officially opened pre-orders in India for its newest smartwatches following its global hardware showcase. The Galaxy Watch 9 is starting at Rs 37,999 for the 40mm Bluetooth variant) and the premium, titanium-clad Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is priced at Rs 64,999. Both are now available for reservation across official online stores and authorised offline outlets. Samsung is offering early-bird incentives, including trade-in bonuses, corporate discounts, and zero-cost EMI plans. Deliveries and open sales are scheduled to begin early next month across major metro markets.
Instagram audio swap on published posts
Meta has rolled out a long-requested feature on Instagram, allowing creators to swap or edit background audio tracks on already-published posts and carousels. Users can modify audio by tapping the three-dot options menu on any published post, selecting “Edit,” and tapping the newly added audio track header to replace or re-sync music. This removes the necessity of deleting and re-uploading content to fix audio errors, update outdated trending sounds, or clear region-based licensing muted warnings. The feature is currently rolling out globally on the latest iOS and Android app.
ChatGPT Health arrives officially
OpenAI officially unveiled ChatGPT Health, a dedicated health-oriented platform integration designed to provide personalised medical insights and health data organisation. Built with specialised HIPAA-compliant security protocols and encrypted data isolation, ChatGPT Health enables users to connect external fitness trackers, analyse lab diagnostic PDFs, and ask structured health questions. The platform emphasises tailored wellness answers, synthesising complex medical information into actionable, clear summaries and tailored questions designed to help users consult directly with certified medical professionals. It is available only in the US for now.
Unitree’s new robodog is an athlete
Robotics maker Unitree posted a showcase for its latest compact robotic platform, the Unitree Super Athlete AS2-W. The wheeled-quadruped hybrid robot boasts fluid mobility across uneven terrain, high-speed sprinting up to 6 m/s, and high-platform dive landings. The AS2-W supports a continuous 16 kg payload capacity and offers an extended 30+ km unloaded driving range, targeting both industrial inspection and complex terrain navigation.
