18 July 2025
AI news today
OpenAI launches a general purpose agent in ChatGPT
OpenAI announced the launch of ChatGPT agent, which the company claims to be its most capable AI agent product yet....
TL;DR
OpenAI introduces the ChatGPT agent, a general-purpose AI tool that can complete various tasks and automate workflows for users.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- ChatGPT agent can automate tasks such as accessing calendars, generating presentations, and running code, and is available to OpenAI Pro, Plus, and Team subscribers.
- The model underlying ChatGPT agent shows state-of-the-art performance on several benchmarks, including a 41.6% score on Humanity's Last Exam and 27.4% on FrontierMath.
- OpenAI has implemented new safety measures, including real-time monitoring and safeguards against biological and chemical threats, to mitigate potential risks.
OpenAI’s new ChatGPT Agent can control an entire computer and do tasks for you
OpenAI is going all-in on the most-hyped trend in AI right now: AI agents, or tools that go a step beyond chatbots to complete complex, multi-step tas...
TL;DR
OpenAI has debuted ChatGPT Agent, a tool that can complete complex, multi-step tasks on a user's behalf, offering a new level of automation and efficiency in various aspects of life and work.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- ChatGPT Agent combines the capabilities of OpenAI's Operator and Deep Research AI tools, allowing it to perform tasks like planning, research, and automation with increased efficiency.
- The model behind ChatGPT Agent has been trained on complex tasks using reinforcement learning and has access to the entire computer, enabling it to perform tasks that would require multiple tools or browsers.
- The tool is initially rolling out to Pro, Plus, and Team users, with availability for ChatGPT Enterprise and Education users expected later this summer, and restrictions are in place for financial transactions and high-risk tasks.
Mistral’s Le Chat adds deep research agent and voice mode to challenge OpenAI’s enterprise dominance
Mistral added deep research capabilities to its Le Chat platform, bringing it in direct competition against ChatGPT and Gemini....
TL;DR
Mistral launches Le Chat, a chat platform with advanced features like deep research capabilities, voice mode, and image editing with prompts.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- Le Chat's deep research capabilities are powered by a Deep Research agent and can generate comprehensive reports, potentially threatening human analyst jobs.
- The platform's voice mode, supported by the new speech recognition model Voxtral, allows users to chat out loud with the platform.
- Le Chat now sports features like image editing with prompts, project organization, and language support for its chatbot, Magistral.
Anthropic will face a class-action lawsuit from US authors
A California federal judge ruled Thursday that three authors suing Anthropic over copyright infringement can bring a class action lawsuit representing...
TL;DR
Anthropic, an Amazon-backed OpenAI competitor, will face a class-action lawsuit from US authors accusing the company of 'Napster-style downloading of millions of works' for AI model training.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- The class-action lawsuit alleges that Anthropic downloaded up to 7 million copies of books from libraries of pirated works.
- A California federal judge previously ruled that Anthropic didn't infringe on copyright by using legally-purchased books for AI training, but may have in using pirated books.
- This is part of a growing trend of media outlets and platforms suing AI companies over copyright infringement or partnering with them to provide training data.
Zuckerberg and Meta investors reach settlement in $8B privacy case
The shareholders' lawsuit alleges Facebook execs intentionally violated an FTC agreement by sharing user data with third-party apps without user conse...
TL;DR
Mark Zuckerberg and other Meta executives have settled a lawsuit filed by shareholders over the Cambridge Analytica scandal for an undisclosed amount.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- The lawsuit alleged that Meta executives intentionally violated a Federal Trade Commission agreement by sharing user data without consent.
- The FTC fined Facebook $5 billion in 2019 for failing to protect users' personal data.
- The settlement terms remain undisclosed, as per Reuters.
Mistral’s Le Chat chatbot gets a productivity push with new ‘deep research’ mode
French AI lab Mistral introduced a range of new features to its Le Chat chatbot on Thursday that bring it closer to the capabilities of rivals like Op...
TL;DR
Mistral's Le Chat chatbot gets new features, including deep research mode, native multilingual reasoning, and advanced image editing, bringing it closer to rivals like OpenAI and Google.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- Mistral's Le Chat now has a 'deep research' mode that can plan, clarify needs, search, and synthesize data, and perform tasks like exhaustive research for consumers and enterprise use cases.
- The new features, including native multilingual reasoning, allow Le Chat to handle sensitive data on-premises, differentiating it from cloud-native LLM platforms like OpenAI and Gemini.
- Le Chat's updates also include improved image-editing capabilities, and the addition of Projects to help users stay organized, further positioning it as a full-stack contender in the AI industry.
Slack gets smarter: New AI tools summarize chats, explain jargon, and automate work
Slack launches comprehensive AI features including enterprise search and writing assistance as Salesforce challenges Microsoft's workplace AI dominanc...
TL;DR
Slack rolls out an array of AI features to eliminate routine tasks and turn the messaging platform into a central hub for enterprise productivity.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- Slack's AI-powered writing assistance can generate project briefs, extract action items, and reformat meeting notes within existing workflows.
- Slack's enterprise search capabilities allow users to query information across connected applications, potentially saving 41% of time spent on repetitive tasks.
- Salesforce restricts external AI companies from accessing Slack data, creating a walled garden approach to protect customer data and drive AI adoption.
The AI-native nonprofit era is coming
It’s going to transform how we solve global problems “I can’t believe it only took a week.” That’s what a nonprofit leader will say in 2030 after laun...
TL;DR
Nonprofits that start preparing now for AI transformation will have a massive advantage in solving complex social problems at scale.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- 58% of nonprofits are using AI for communications, and 68% for data analysis, outpacing private companies in AI adoption.
- There's a significant gap between using AI tools and actually transforming how organizations work, requiring responsible and ethical implementation.
- Five archetypes are emerging in the nonprofit landscape: Pioneers, Scalers, Explorers, Starters, and Community-based organizations, each with unique approaches to AI adoption.
UAE’s deal to buy Nvidia AI chips reportedly on hold
The U.S. is reportedly holding up the deal due to concerns that AI chips could be smuggled to China from the UAE....
TL;DR
UAE's massive AI chip deal with the US is on hold due to national security concerns that the chips may end up in China.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- US officials are concerned that AI chips could be smuggled to China, exacerbating existing concerns.
- The Trump administration is considering imposing chip export restrictions on Thailand and Malaysia to curb smuggling.
- Malaysia has recently introduced export permit requirements for US AI chips.
Blaxel raises $7.3M seed round to build ‘AWS for AI agents’ after processing billions of agent requests
Blaxel raises $7.3M seed funding to build specialized cloud infrastructure for AI agents, challenging AWS with purpose-built platform for autonomous A...
TL;DR
Blaxel, a startup building cloud infrastructure for AI agents, has raised $7.3 million in seed funding to develop specialized infrastructure for autonomous AI systems.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- Blaxel has demonstrated significant traction, processing millions of agent requests daily across 16 global regions.
- The company's approach centers on providing infrastructure that AI agents can operate themselves, rather than requiring human administrators.
- Blaxel's pay-as-you-go pricing model delivers 50% cost savings over traditional serverless solutions.
You’re Not Imagining It: AI Is Already Taking Tech Jobs
Daily Cover Since the rise of generative AI, many have feared the toll it would take on the livelihood of human workers. Now CEOs are admitting AI’s i...
TL;DR
AI is already taking tech jobs, with younger and inexperienced programmers seeing a drop in employment rates, and companies starting to focus on precision hiring of exceptional employees.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- The employment rate for entry-level developers has declined slightly since the launch of ChatGPT, with a significant decline projected in the engineering field.
- Companies are starting to prioritize hiring experts in their fields, with AI potentially wiping out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs and spiking unemployment up to 20% within the next five years.
- While AI automation has limits, sectors like manufacturing, finance, and healthcare are adopting AI tools, creating a modest increase in demand for engineers outside of the tech industry.
Why the ‘Tim Cook Doctrine’ Is Preventing Apple From Winning at AI
How Apple’s biggest strength suddenly became its biggest problem. Apple has a problem, and it isn’t that Siri is, well, still just as dumb. I mean, it...
TL;DR
The 'Tim Cook Doctrine' of owning and controlling primary technologies may be hindering Apple's development in AI, as it prioritizes control over collaboration and openness.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- Apple's insistence on building AI technologies in-house, rather than partnering with other companies, is preventing it from catching up with rivals in the AI space.
- The company's late start in AI development is being compounded by its failure to adapt to new technologies and integrate third-party solutions, such as ChatGPT.
- Apple might consider a different approach, similar to its existing strategy for search, where it uses Google's technology but maintains a strong platform and ecosystem.
ChatGPT for Mac now doubles as an AI meeting assistant
ChatGPT for Mac can now record and transcribe your meetings. The feature, which went live in early June, is now rolling out to the Mac app. Besides me...
TL;DR
ChatGPT for Mac now allows recording and transcribing meetings, voice notes, and brainstorming sessions with superior natural language understanding.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- ChatGPT's record mode is available to Plus users globally in the macOS desktop app.
- There's a limit of 120 minutes per recording session, and the app saves the transcription while discarding the recorded audio afterwards for privacy and security reasons.
- Record mode is exclusive to macOS, and ChatGPT listens locally to the meeting without requiring permission from other participants, potentially violating recording laws in some countries.
India family in AI video appears totally normal – until you look closer
The AI-generated birthday video featuring an Indian family appears deceptively realistic – until you look closer and spot the errors. A woman places a...
TL;DR
A newly generated AI video of an Indian family celebrating a birthday appears surprisingly realistic but contains multiple errors that reveal it was created using AI.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- The AI video demonstrates significant progress in AI-generated visuals, making it harder to distinguish between real and fake videos.
- The model used to generate the video combines Flux Pro with Seedance, allowing for a 'sh**ty old camcorder or outdated phone' style output.
- Users can spot errors in AI-generated content, such as mismatched earrings, unusual lighting, and nonsensical text, which may be more effective at revealing AI-generated content in the future.
Generative AI is changing the game in Hollywood
Key Takeaways• Generative AI is changing every part of filmmaking, from writing and acting to effects and global distribution. • AI tools allow faster...
TL;DR
Generative AI is transforming the film industry, reshaping writing, acting, effects, and distribution from scriptwriting to virtual actors and marketing to global distribution.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- Generative AI changes every part of filmmaking, allowing faster and cheaper content creation.
- AI tools empower studios and independent creators to personalize content, adapt to global audiences, and reach more viewers, sparking a global AI arms race and creative explosion.
- The new technology raises both creative and ethical questions, as Hollywood faces a race to adapt and balance AI-driven innovation with the value of human storytelling.
OpenAI nonprofit jam
At OpenAI, we build tools to help people solve hard problems—including nonprofits working on the frontlines of their communities. The OpenAI Academy i...
TL;DR
OpenAI is teaming up with nonprofit organizations to host the Nonprofit Jam, a one-day nationwide event.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- The event will bring together over 1,000 nonprofit leaders across 10 locations.
- The event is a collaboration between OpenAI Academy, the Walton Family Foundation, and Emerson Collective.
- The Nonprofit Jam aims to help nonprofit organizations solve hard problems and make a positive impact in their communities.
Agent bio bug bounty call
OpenAI invites researchers to its Bio Bug Bounty. Test the ChatGPT agent’s safety with a universal jailbreak prompt and win up to $25,000....
TL;DR
OpenAI invites researchers to its Bio Bug Bounty, offering up to $25,000 for testing ChatGPT agent's safety with a universal jailbreak prompt.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- Researchers can test ChatGPT's safety with a universal jailbreak prompt.
- OpenAI is offering up to $25,000 for participating researchers.
- The Bio Bug Bounty aims to improve the safety of ChatGPT, the company's popular chatbot agent.
Anthropic tightens usage limits for Claude Code – without telling users
Claude Code users have been hit with unexpectedly restrictive usage limits. The problems, many of which have been aired on Claude Code’s GitHub page, ...
TL;DR
Heavy users of Anthropic's Claude Code service are experiencing unexpectedly restrictive usage limits, despite paying for the $200 Max plan, leading to confusion and lost productivity.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- Heavy users of the $200 Max plan are experiencing usage limits, which was unexpected and may be unsustainable for Anthropic in the long term.
- Anthropic's pricing system does not guarantee a set level of access, leading to confusion about usage limits and service availability.
- Users are calling for greater transparency from Anthropic about usage limits and service performance.
Roblox’s New Age Verification Feature Uses AI to Scan Teens’ Video Selfies
Roblox will scan video selfies of teens to assess their ages as part of a new Trusted Connections feature that gives users access to unfiltered chatti...
TL;DR
Roblox introduces AI-powered age verification for minors, allowing them to use a new 'Trusted Connections' feature with filtered chat communications, while also emphasizing parental involvement and online safety literacy.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- Roblox's new age verification uses AI to estimate a user's age based on a video selfie, with a 30-day deletion policy for biometric data.
- The platform introduces a tiered friend system with 'Connections' and 'Trusted Connections' for verified users, requiring in-person QR code scanning for users 18 or older.
- Critics argue that the system doesn't go far enough, relying on user-initiated verification and lacking robust safeguards against grooming and predation.
Meta appoints generative AI VP to run Threads
Meta appointed Connor Hayes, Meta's VP of product for generative AI, to become the head of Threads....
TL;DR
Meta appoints Connor Hayes, VP of product for generative AI, as the new head of Threads, signaling the platform's growing importance.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- Threads' mobile daily active user (DAU) numbers are approaching those of X, with around 115 million DAUs compared to X's 132 million.
- The platform has grown beyond being a side product of Instagram, necessitating additional leadership.
- Adam Mosseri, Instagram head, will no longer be in charge of Threads.
ChatGPT Data Analysis : Turn Raw Data into Gold with the DIG Framework
What if you could transform the way you analyze data in just 12 minutes? Picture this: a mountain of raw numbers and spreadsheets that once felt …...
TL;DR
The DIG framework simplifies data analysis into three clear steps, making it accessible and efficient for users of all skill levels, when paired with a tool like ChatGPT.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- The DIG framework (Description, Introspection, Goal Setting) simplifies data analysis into three clear steps, making it accessible and efficient for users.
- The framework is particularly beneficial for non-technical users, offering accessibility, efficiency, and the ability to uncover trends, patterns, and gaps in data.
- Best practices for effective data analysis include anticipating stakeholder needs, focusing on relevant data, validating AI outputs, and addressing data quality issues early in the process.
7 AI features coming to iOS 26 that I can't wait to use (and how you can try them)
Hold Assist alone could be a serious timesaver. Apple Worldwide Developers' Conference (WWDC) was a little over a month ago -- meaning the iOS 26 …...
These Are the 6 Apple Intelligence Features I'm Actively Using
Apple's AI tech isn't making the great strides we expected last year, but I'm still finding it actually useful. Apple conversations are currently more...