News — 2026-04-20

The National Security Agency has begun using Mythos Preview, Anthropic’s advanced AI model that the company kept out of public release. The move follows a clash with the Department of Defense, which had labeled Anthropic a supply‑chain risk after the firm refused unrestricted Pentagon access to its tools. Anthropic limited Mythos to roughly 40 vetted organizations, naming only a handful publicly; the NSA is now among the undisclosed users, employing the model to scan for exploitable cyber vulnerabilities. The development coincides with a tentative thaw in Anthropic’s ties to the Trump administration, highlighted by a recent meeting with senior White House officials. Read more

Around 10 a.m. ET (3 p.m. GMT) on April 20, 2026, OpenAI’s flagship chatbot ChatGPT and its code‑generation tool Codex experienced a partial outage. Users reported problems ranging from login failures to missing conversation histories and sluggish image generation. A poll conducted by TechRadar showed 63 percent of respondents struggled to access old chats, while 27 percent could not sign in. By early afternoon the number of complaints on Downdetector began to fall, and OpenAI’s status page indicated ongoing investigation but no clear timeline for full restoration. Read more

Anthropic's new Mythos AI model has sparked concern among security experts after data from CrowdStrike showed AI‑enabled cyber attacks jump 89 percent in 2025. The model's ability to automate vulnerability hunting could overwhelm defenders, with internal warnings that companies may discover more flaws than they can patch. Recent incidents, including a Chinese‑linked AI espionage campaign that used Anthropic's Claude Code to breach dozens of high‑profile targets, underscore the growing threat. Analysts argue that granting AI agents unrestricted access to data, the internet, and external communication creates a “lethal trifecta” for hackers. Read more

Google’s Gemini AI now lives in most of its consumer services, from Gmail to Search, often surfacing suggestions that feel intrusive. Users can pull back the AI by disabling Google Workspace smart features and turning off experimental labs. The process involves a few clicks inside account settings, but it also means losing conveniences like calendar event auto‑creation and personalized search results. This guide walks readers through the exact steps to mute the AI while explaining what functionality they’ll give up. Read more

OpenAI announced two back‑to‑back acquisitions: personal‑finance startup Hiro and media company TBPN, a business‑talk show producer. The moves come as the company faces pressure to expand beyond ChatGPT and to counter Anthropic’s gains in the enterprise market. Analysts see the deals as talent grabs aimed at diversifying OpenAI’s product lineup and improving its public image amid growing scrutiny. Read more

The National Security Agency has begun using Anthropic’s new Mythos Preview, a general‑purpose language model touted for its strength in computer‑security tasks. Sources familiar with the rollout say the NSA is one of roughly 40 agencies granted access and that usage is expanding within the department. The move comes despite a months‑long feud between the AI firm and the Pentagon, a February order from former President Trump to halt government use of Anthropic services, and ongoing lawsuits over the company’s designation as a supply‑chain risk. Read more

Anthropic announced Claude Design, an AI‑powered design platform that lets users create prototypes, presentations and marketing assets by simply describing what they need. Built on the company’s Claude Opus 4.7 vision model, the tool is now in research preview for paid Claude subscribers and will roll out gradually. It promises to cut design time, automate brand‑system application and enable real‑time collaboration, positioning itself as a bridge between seasoned designers and non‑technical creators. Read more

A growing cohort of AI researchers, tech leaders and content creators—dubbed “doom influencers”—is pushing warnings about the risks of increasingly powerful artificial intelligence. Their messages, ranging from job displacement to existential threats, are gaining traction as companies like Anthropic hold back the release of its most advanced model, Mythos, limiting access to a handful of vetted partners. Governments in the UK, Canada and India are also taking note, sparking a broader debate on how to balance rapid AI progress with safety and regulation. Read more

Google announced that its Gemini Notebooks feature, previously limited to paid AI subscribers, is now available to anyone using the free version of Gemini on the web. The move lets users store conversations, files and sources in a dedicated workspace that Gemini can draw on for context. Free accounts can add up to 50 sources per notebook, while paid tiers enjoy higher limits. The feature, which syncs with Google’s NotebookLM research tool, is currently limited to the web platform, with mobile and desktop apps slated for future release. Read more