AI assistants

Anthropic has released Claude Sonnet 5.5, which the company says is a faster version of its Claude Sonnet AI model. The launch is drawing attention from users and industry watchers comparing its speed and performance against earlier Claude releases and rival models from OpenAI and Google. Details on pricing and availability beyond the speed claim remain limited.

The US military is changing how it uses artificial intelligence in lethal targeting decisions following a strike that hit a school in Minab, Iran. The modifications to the AI-assisted targeting process follow scrutiny of the incident, which has raised questions about the safeguards governing automated systems in combat and accountability for civilian harm.

Google is pushing back against a European Union effort that would require it to open Android to rival AI assistants. The dispute forms part of ongoing enforcement of the EU's Digital Markets Act, under which Brussels has pressed the company to give competitors greater access to its dominant mobile platform. Google argues the changes would harm user security and privacy, while regulators see them as key to fair competition in the fast-moving AI market.

Walmart says neither the company nor its AI shopping assistant uses customers' personal information to set prices. The statement, reported by Fortune, comes amid growing scrutiny of how retailers and AI tools use shopper data for personalized pricing, a practice critics say can disadvantage some consumers.

OpenAI is reportedly preparing a new always-on ChatGPT assistant, referred to as "o," that could manage tasks such as handling email. The system would run continuously in the background and act on behalf of users rather than responding only to prompts. The report has drawn attention in technology circles, with observers weighing the convenience of an AI personal assistant against privacy questions raised by always-on access to personal communications.

France's literary world is in turmoil after an award-winning author was accused of using artificial intelligence in their work. The allegations have sparked fierce debate in French publishing circles about authorship, creativity and whether AI-assisted writing should disqualify books from literary prizes. The BBC reports on the uproar, which comes amid growing scrutiny of AI's role in creative industries worldwide.

Meta has launched Muse, a new AI agent. Details beyond the announcement remain limited, but the news is drawing attention across tech communities as Meta continues to expand its artificial intelligence offerings alongside rivals such as OpenAI and Google. Users are weighing in on what the agent could mean for Meta's apps and the broader AI assistant market.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Meta is positioning AI agents as tools for everyday consumers, not just companies. The piece suggests the technology is expanding into personal use, marking a shift in how AI assistants are marketed and deployed.

Instinct, a startup building an everyday personal AI assistant, has raised $1 billion in funding at a $10 billion valuation, according to SiliconANGLE. The round places the company among the most valuable private players racing to put general-purpose AI assistants in consumers' daily lives. The size of the raise and the valuation will fuel debate about how much demand and differentiation genuinely exist in the crowded personal AI assistant market.

YouTube has announced an AI-powered editing assistant along with new insight tools aimed at helping creators produce and improve their content. The announcement, reported by Mashable, signals YouTube's continued push into artificial intelligence features for its creator community. The new tools are expected to streamline video editing and give creators deeper data about their audiences and performance.

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has dismissed concerns that widespread use of AI tools is eroding people's skills, arguing that AI should be treated as a tool that augments workers rather than replaces their abilities. His remarks come amid ongoing debate in the tech industry about whether reliance on AI systems, from coding assistants to chatbots, is weakening critical thinking and expertise among workers and students.

Meta is preparing to launch three new devices: smart glasses without a built-in camera, an AI-powered keychain, and a new pair of VR glasses. The camera-free design is drawing particular attention as it addresses privacy concerns that have weighed on previous smart glasses. The AI keychain suggests the company is exploring smaller, wearable form factors for its assistant technology. Tech commentators are watching to see how the trio of products fits into Meta's broader push into artificial intelligence hardware.

Microsoft has moved GitHub's coding engine into the office application that workers already use daily, tying its developer tools directly into mainstream productivity software. The move signals Microsoft's push to bring automated coding assistance beyond developers to everyday business users, reinforcing its position in workplace AI tools.

A Norwegian science news report describes a study finding that children and teenagers aged 9 to 18 increasingly turn to AI assistants instead of Google for information and answers. Researchers say the shift is happening fast, but the effects on how young people learn, judge sources and handle misinformation are not yet known, prompting calls for closer attention from educators and parents.

OpenAI is reportedly developing an assistant called "o," an always-on version of ChatGPT designed to proactively help users with tasks such as managing and handling their email. The project suggests a shift from reactive chatbots toward assistants that continuously monitor context and act on a user's behalf, intensifying competition in the AI assistant space.

Wired has published a feature arguing that solving mathematics' greatest problems was long considered an art form, and that artificial intelligence is now changing that. The piece examines how AI tools are entering a field long defined by human creativity and intuition, prompting discussion about what machine assistance means for the future of mathematical discovery and proof.

Anthropic says its Claude AI model has independently discovered a new enzyme system after analysing DNA databases, marking the first discovery to come out of the company's newly established biotech laboratory. The announcement is being shared widely in German-language tech and science circles, with commentators framing it as a milestone for AI-assisted biological research.

Apple has launched a settlement website to pay some iPhone owners as part of a $250 million agreement reached in May to settle a U.S. class action lawsuit over the delayed launch of Siri AI features. Eligible users can now visit the site to file claims for compensation. The case stemmed from Apple's failure to deliver promised AI upgrades to its voice assistant on schedule, drawing attention from iPhone owners seeking payouts.

Shopify has opened its checkout system to browser-based AI agents, according to TechCrunch. The move means autonomous shopping assistants could complete purchases on merchants' stores on behalf of users, rather than only browsing. It signals a shift in e-commerce toward agentic commerce, where software agents search, select and pay for goods directly, raising questions about merchant control, fraud prevention and how retailers adapt to agent-driven traffic.

Amazon has blocked Meta's Muse AI agent from making purchases on its platform, according to a report by Mashable. The move prevents Meta's shopping-focused AI assistant from operating on Amazon's storefront, highlighting growing friction between major tech companies over who controls automated commerce. The story is circulating widely as tech outlets cover the escalating rivalry between the two companies over AI agents and retail access.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has revised its plan for Google, proposing a 12-slot search choice screen for Android and Chrome users that would include AI assistants alongside traditional search engines. The proposal also requires clear attribution of publisher sources. It signals UK regulators moving to extend choice-screen remedies beyond search into the AI era.

Google has begun testing a feature that lets users in India buy products from Flipkart, the Indian e-commerce platform owned by Walmart, directly through its Gemini assistant and AI Mode in Search. The trial points to a broader push to turn AI chat and search experiences into shopping channels, as tech companies race to blend conversational AI with online commerce.

Anthropic is facing pushback over a claimed biology breakthrough made using its Claude AI system, after a scientist said he had already achieved the same result. The dispute raises questions over whether the AI truly produced something novel or merely rediscovered existing work, a recurring issue in AI-assisted scientific claims.

Alibaba has launched Qwen Intelligence as a full-stack agentic AI platform designed for smartphones. The platform is positioned to let phone makers run AI agents that can handle tasks on a user's behalf, extending Alibaba's Qwen model family beyond cloud services and into on-device mobile experiences. Coverage so far frames it as Alibaba's push to compete in the fast-moving smartphone AI space, where Google, Apple and Chinese rivals are also racing to embed assistants.

GitHub says its AI agent identified 24 vulnerabilities in Android applications, adding to growing evidence that autonomous coding assistants can take on security research tasks. The finding, reported by Help Net Security, highlights both the potential of AI-driven bug hunting and the questions it raises about verifying machine-discovered flaws. Security teams are watching closely as AI agents move into vulnerability discovery.

AI agents are increasingly handling tasks traditionally performed by human travel agents, such as planning itineraries and booking trips. The shift revives debate about whether automated assistants can replicate the personalised service that human agents once provided, and what it means for the travel industry's workforce as conversational AI tools gain mainstream adoption among travellers.