Good morning. It’s Thursday, March 12. Today we are covering:
You can now ask Google Maps ‘complex, real-world questions’ - and Gemini will answer
Microsoft launches Copilot Health, a dedicated space for personal health data and AI-driven insights
Elon Musk’s ‘Macrohard’ explained: A new Tesla xAI software project
Disney+ is rolling out its TikTok-like ‘Verts’ short-form video feed
Iran Expands War With Major Cyberattack Against U.S. Company
Let’s dive in
You can now ask Google Maps ‘complex, real-world questions’ - and Gemini will answer
By Andrew J. Hawkins via The Verge
Google Maps is launching Ask Maps, a new Gemini-powered feature that lets users ask nuanced, conversational queries, such as finding a cozy vegetarian restaurant for four or a clean nearby public bathroom, then returns personalized recommendations based on Maps reviews, photos, saved places, and past search behavior.
Google says Ask Maps will rely only on Google Maps data for its answers, not information from apps like Gmail, and that paid placements do not currently affect recommendations; the feature is rolling out this week in the US and India on iOS and Android, with desktop support coming soon.
Google is also introducing Immersive Navigation, a major visual overhaul for Maps that adds 3D buildings, realistic terrain, lane and crosswalk highlights, route-explanation tools, and parking or walking guidance after arrival; it begins rolling out in the US next week across mobile, CarPlay, Android Auto, and vehicles with Google built-in.
𝕏: Google Maps just got its biggest upgrade in over a decade. India and the US are getting it first. Two massive changes just dropped: →Ask Maps: a conversational AI built right into Maps →Immersive Navigation: your drive in vivid 3D - Poonam Soni (@CodeByPoonam)
Microsoft launches Copilot Health, a dedicated space for personal health data and AI-driven insights
By Beatrice Nolan via Fortune
Microsoft launched Copilot Health, a new space inside Copilot that aggregates personal health data from wearables, lab results, and electronic health records, then uses verified medical sources, Harvard Health answer cards, and U.S. provider directories to deliver AI-driven health insights and clinician search.
The product positions Microsoft squarely against OpenAI’s ChatGPT Health and Anthropic’s Claude for Healthcare, while the company says it will not use Copilot Health data to train models, has added extra privacy controls, earned ISO/IEC 42001 certification, and involved more than 230 physicians across 24 countries in safety and clinical review.
Microsoft said Copilot already handles more than 50 million consumer health questions a day, and its analysis of 500,000 de-identified January 2026 conversations found heavy use for symptom assessment, caregiving, and healthcare navigation—especially during evening and overnight hours—while Copilot Health is initially opening to a waitlist for English-speaking U.S. adults.
𝕏: Microsoft is announcing Copilot Health today. It can connect to your medical records and wearables, and is designed to help users decipher lab test results and find doctors - Tom Warren (@tomwarren)
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Elon Musk’s ‘Macrohard’ explained: A new Tesla xAI software project
BusinessToday
Elon Musk says Tesla and xAI are building a joint software project called “Macrohard,” or “Digital Optimus,” designed to emulate the functions of an entire software company rather than a single app.
Musk described a two-part architecture: xAI’s Grok serves as the “master conductor” or navigator, while a Tesla-built AI agent executes tasks in real time by watching a computer screen and responding to keyboard and mouse inputs like a human operator.
The system is expected to run on Tesla’s AI4 chip and xAI’s Nvidia-based servers; the announcement follows Tesla’s reported $2 billion investment in xAI in January, as Tesla AI VP Ashok Elluswamy said the company is actively hiring for the “high-impact project.”
𝕏: Macrohard or Digital Optimus is a joint xAI-Tesla project, coming as part of Tesla’s investment agreement with xAI. Grok is the master conductor/navigator with deep understanding of the world to direct digital Optimus, which is processing and actioning the past 5 secs of real-time computer screen video and keyboard/mouse actions. Grok is like a much more advanced and sophisticated version of turn-by-turn navigation software… - Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
Disney+ is rolling out its TikTok-like ‘Verts’ short-form video feed
By Aisha Malik via TechCrunch
Disney+ is rolling out Verts, a TikTok-style short-form video feed for U.S. mobile users, letting viewers swipe through clips from movies and shows, add titles to a watchlist, or jump straight into full content.
Disney says Verts is meant to boost daily engagement, improve content discovery across its catalog, and appeal to mobile-first, younger viewers who are used to consuming quick vertical videos on platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels.
The company says early testing on Disney+ and ESPN showed stronger engagement, powered by an advanced recommendation algorithm, and plans to expand Verts beyond catalog clips to include creator content, new storytelling formats, and more personalized experiences.
𝕏: Starting this week, Disney+ is rolling out “Verts,” a vertical video feed that lets users swipe through clips from movies and shows, add titles to their Watchlist, or jump straight into playback. It’s the first step in a strategy to bring more short-form content to Disney+. - Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin)
Iran Expands War With Major Cyberattack Against U.S. Company
By James Rundle via WSJ
Stryker, the medical-technology giant, was hit by a major cyberattack that wiped Windows devices used by thousands of employees, forcing the company to tell its roughly 56,000 workers to disconnect from networks and avoid turning on company-issued hardware.
The attackers appeared to invoke Handala, a hacking group widely linked by threat researchers to Iran, framing the strike as retaliation tied to the widening Middle East conflict and raising fears that more disruptive cyberattacks on U.S. companies could follow.
Stryker said the breach caused a global disruption to its Microsoft systems and warned operations could remain affected for an undetermined period, while security experts said the incident highlights how adversaries may target critical suppliers to create wider disruption across the healthcare ecosystem.
𝕏: The hackers say they targeted Stryker in retaliation for US bombing of all-girls school in Iran. They say they have wiped more that 200,000 Stryker systems, servers, and mobile devices and stole 50 terabytes of critical data, forcing Stryker offices in 79 countries to shut down - Kim Zetter (@KimZetter)
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