Microsoft Research unveils its new compact AI model, Phi-2, challenging larger models from Meta and Google in performance. Phi-2, however, is only licensed for non-commercial, research purposes. Meanwhile, Google has released MedLM, a healthcare-centric AI model, to selected Google Cloud users as part of its partnership with HCA Healthcare. Lastly, deepfake threats loom over the 2024 elections yet the majority of US states have implemented no preventative measures, despite three states enacting laws to tackle the issue.