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AI Advances in Science, Ring Ends Police Partnership, and Wendy's Closes Restaurants
In a week of diverse developments, Google DeepMind is expanding its AI tools for scientific research, Ring has ended a partnership with a police surveillance firm, and Wendy's is closing hundreds of restaurants. These stories highlight advancements in technology, shifts in business strategy, and evolving perceptions in the food industry.
Google DeepMind is creating cutting-edge AI science tools for 3 million researchers across 190+ countries, according to Fortune. The goal is to unlock AI's potential to accelerate scientific discovery, a defining goal for the company. Five years ago, their AlphaFold AI system solved the 50-year-old challenge of protein structure prediction.
Meanwhile, Ring, the smart doorbell maker owned by Amazon, has terminated its partnership with Flock Safety, a police surveillance tech company. This decision, announced after a 30-second Ring ad aired during the Super Bowl, sparked concerns about a dystopian surveillance society, according to Fortune. While the ad did not directly feature Flock, the partnership aimed to allow Ring camera owners to share video footage with law enforcement through a feature called Community Requests.
In the fast-food industry, Wendy's is closing several hundred U.S. restaurants and increasing its focus on value after a weaker-than-expected fourth quarter, as reported by Fortune. The Dublin, Ohio-based company announced that its global same-store sales fell 1% in the October-December period, worse than the 8.5% drop expected by analysts. Wendy's closed 28 restaurants in the fourth quarter of 2025 and ended the year with 5,969 U.S. locations. The company expects to close between 298 and 358 locations in the first half of the year.
In other news, U.S. Olympic speed skaters are adapting NASCAR "bump drafting," revolutionizing the team event, according to NPR News. "It's honestly a completely different race than an individual race. Everyone says it's the hardest event," U.S. speed skater Giorgia Birkeland said from Milan.
Finally, the perception of Chinese food is rapidly changing in top restaurant scenes, according to Fortune. Chef George Chen, who immigrated to Los Angeles in 1967, recalls how his school lunch was once looked down upon. Now, he serves Chinese fine dining in the Bay Area, aiming to break the bias. "Oh, God, what are you eating? That's gross," Chen recalled.
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