News — Page 4

OpenAI announced a major upgrade to its Agents SDK, introducing sandboxing capabilities and an in-distribution harness for frontier models. The new features let businesses run AI agents in isolated environments and test them with advanced models while keeping systems secure. Initially available in Python, with TypeScript support slated for later, the tools aim to help enterprises build longer‑horizon, multi‑step agents without risking unintended actions. OpenAI says the enhancements will be offered through its standard API pricing. Read more

Indian startup Emergent has introduced Wingman, a messaging‑centric autonomous AI agent that operates through WhatsApp, Telegram and iMessage. The new tool lets users assign routine tasks via chat while it runs in the background across email, calendars and workplace apps. Wingman is the latest move for the Bengaluru‑based firm, which previously built a low‑code vibe‑coding platform, and follows a wave of AI agents that aim to automate everyday workflows. The rollout begins with a limited free trial before shifting to a paid model. Read more

Venture capital firms have been circling Anthropic with offers that could value the AI startup at more than $800 billion, but the company has so far declined to engage. The offers come after Anthropic raised $30 billion in a February round that set its valuation at $380 billion, and they rival OpenAI’s recent $852 billion post‑money valuation. With $50 billion earmarked for its own data‑center build‑out, $30 billion committed to Microsoft’s cloud, and billions spent on AWS, Anthropic appears intent on funding growth internally rather than seeking fresh equity. Read more

Anthropic has formally rejected Illinois Senate Bill 3444, a proposal that would shield AI developers from liability for large‑scale harms such as mass casualties or billion‑dollar property losses. The bill, championed by state Senator Bill Cunningham and supported by OpenAI, would exempt labs that publish safety frameworks from responsibility if their models are misused. Anthropic’s U.S. state‑government liaison, Cesar Fernandez, called the measure a “get‑out‑of‑jail‑free card,” urging instead for transparency paired with real accountability. Illinois officials, including Governor JB Pritzker’s office, have signaled they will monitor the legislation but are wary of granting blanket immunity. Read more

A tiny tweak to how users phrase prompts can shift ChatGPT from guessing to clarifying. By appending a request for three follow‑up questions, the model pauses to gather missing details before answering. The method cuts down on back‑and‑forth corrections, delivers more tailored responses, and saves time on tasks ranging from travel planning to recipe ideas. Tech writers and everyday users alike are testing the approach, reporting smoother interactions and higher accuracy without any code changes. Read more

After a tweet from Google’s Gemini AI highlighted the need for more specific image prompts, users are experimenting with detailed instructions to boost the quality of generated visuals. The advice calls for defining subject, composition, aspect ratio, lighting, camera settings and precise text placement. Early adopters report sharper composition, realistic lighting and clearer text when they follow the guidelines, marking a shift from generic descriptions to cinematographer‑style direction. Read more

OpenAI announced Monday that it has acquired Hiro Finance, an AI‑driven personal finance tool, in what appears to be an acquihire. The deal, first reported by TechCrunch, includes no disclosed financial terms. Hiro’s founder, Ethan Bloch, said the service will shut down on April 20, giving users until May 13 to export their data. While OpenAI has not detailed plans for a dedicated financial‑planning product, the move follows a series of recent purchases aimed at bolstering its AI ecosystem, including the Prism research app and a media company, TBPN. Read more

A software developer using the handle Aloshdenny says he has reverse‑engineered Google DeepMind’s SynthID system, allowing him to strip or embed the near‑invisible watermarks that tag AI‑generated images. The open‑source method, posted on GitHub and detailed in a Medium post, relies on generating 200 pure‑black or pure‑white images with Gemini and applying signal‑processing tricks. Google disputes the claim, stating the tool cannot systematically remove SynthID and that the watermark remains robust. The back‑and‑forth highlights the ongoing tug‑of‑war over AI‑generated content attribution. Read more

OpenAI’s $852 billion valuation is under fire from several backers who say the company’s rapid shift toward enterprise customers and frequent roadmap changes threaten its focus ahead of a possible IPO. Critics point to a series of product cancellations, a disputed revenue run‑rate comparison with rival Anthropic, and a $122 billion funding round that, while oversubscribed, has not quelled doubts about strategic direction. Read more

OpenAI announced it has acquired Hiro Finance, a fledgling AI‑driven personal finance startup founded by serial entrepreneur Ethan Bloch. The deal brings roughly ten Hiro employees into OpenAI as the startup prepares to shut down its service on April 20 and delete user data by May 13. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Backed by Ribbit Capital, General Catalyst and Restive, Hiro offered a verification‑enabled tool that modeled salary, debt and expense scenarios for consumers. The acquisition marks OpenAI's latest foray into financial‑services technology, though its exact plans for the talent remain unclear. Read more

Google announced on Tuesday that its Gemini Personal Intelligence feature is now available to AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers in India. The add‑on lets users link Gmail, Google Photos and other services so Gemini can answer personalized queries, such as travel plans drawn from emails or photo collections. Initially limited to paid tiers, Google says the tool will roll out to free accounts in the coming weeks. The move expands Gemini’s reach beyond the United States and Japan, targeting one of the company’s largest markets. Read more

London-based AI startup Helical announced a $10 million seed round led by redalpine, with participation from Gradient, BoxGroup and Frst. Angel investors include Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez and HuggingFace CEO Clément Delangue. The funding will fuel expansion of Helical’s Virtual Lab and Model Factory tools, which aim to bridge the gap between large biological foundation models and day‑to‑day drug‑discovery workflows. Helical already counts several top‑20 pharmaceutical companies among its customers, including a public collaboration with Pfizer. Read more

A developer using Claude Code noticed a consent prompt for telemetry even in projects that lack any Vercel configuration. Investigation revealed that the Vercel plugin injects system‑level instructions, captures full Bash command strings, device identifiers, OS details and other usage data, and transmits them without an explicit opt‑in. Disabling the data collection requires manual changes to environment variables or configuration files, steps that are not presented during installation. Vercel has not responded to requests for comment. Read more

Google has expanded its Gemini AI chat tool with a new feature that creates interactive visualizations instead of static images. Users can ask Gemini to "show me" or "help me visualize" a topic, then click a button to launch a dynamic simulation with sliders and adjustable views. The capability, demonstrated with a moon‑orbit model and a car‑engine animation, is now available worldwide for Pro‑model users, though it remains excluded from Education and Workspace accounts. Anthropic recently introduced a similar function for Claude, but Gemini currently lacks a save option for the visuals. Read more

Anthropic announced that its AI assistant Claude is now available as a Microsoft Word add‑in. The beta‑tested feature is free for customers on the company’s Team or Enterprise plans and lets users generate and edit documents, respond to comments, and even negotiate contract language. Claude joins a growing list of workplace integrations that includes Google Workspace, Slack and the Claude Cowork desktop app, positioning the tool as a direct competitor to Microsoft’s own Copilot. Read more

OpenAI announced Monday that it has bought Hiro Finance, an AI‑driven personal finance startup founded by serial entrepreneur Ethan Bloch. The deal, confirmed by both parties, will see Hiro shut down its consumer app and transfer its roughly ten‑person team to OpenAI. Backed by Ribbit Capital, General Catalyst and Restive, Hiro offered users scenario‑based budgeting powered by a model trained for financial math. While terms remain undisclosed, the acquisition signals OpenAI’s push to deepen its foothold in the fintech space and expand talent ahead of its next growth phase. Read more

Developers from London have unveiled Pixel Societies, a proof‑of‑concept platform that uses customized large‑language‑model agents to mimic a person’s speech, interests and mannerisms in virtual interactions. The system, built during a University College London hackathon, lets users create digital twins that converse with other agents to surface potential colleagues, friends or romantic partners. While still experimental, the team hopes the technology could streamline the early stages of relationship building by running countless high‑fidelity simulations in minutes. Read more

A former programmer’s impassioned address to the Ravenna, Ohio, city council has gone viral after he warned that a proposed AI data center would drain local water supplies, surge power demand and deliver few jobs despite generous tax breaks. The clip, which has amassed tens of thousands of likes on Reddit, spotlights growing community resistance to AI infrastructure and forces officials to weigh environmental costs against promised economic benefits. Read more

Anthropic has added its Claude AI assistant to Microsoft Word, rolling it out in beta for Teams and Enterprise customers. The integration promises document‑level assistance such as instant citations, formatting‑preserving edits, and a tracked‑changes mode that fits naturally into review workflows. Claude can also pull data from open Excel files and respond to comment threads, aiming to streamline work for lawyers, finance teams and other document‑heavy users. The move follows Anthropic's recent expansions into Excel and PowerPoint, signaling a broader push to embed its AI across the Microsoft Office suite. Read more

College instructors say AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude are turning inboxes into a parade of generic, soulless papers. The writing often repeats prompt keywords, includes factual errors, and lacks the personal voice students usually display. Faculty are adopting detection software and new grading tactics to spot the "Wikipedia voice" and protect academic integrity. Read more