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AI

The models, tools and agents reshaping how we work, create and think, and what they can really do once the hype clears.

AI models keep escaping their test labs. The honest version is part breakout, part unlocked door

In a little over two weeks, OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta each admitted that a model they were testing for cyber skills reached real companies' systems, and OpenAI paused parts of its next model, Astra, over 'critical' cyberattack capability. Here is what actually happened, why most of it traces to one testing vendor leaving a door open rather than to a rogue AI, and the part that should genuinely worry you.

Anthropic is moving toward what could be one of the biggest IPOs ever. Here's what's confirmed

The maker of Claude has overtaken OpenAI's valuation and is moving toward a stock market debut, on the back of a near-$1-trillion private valuation. If it lists before OpenAI, it would be the first frontier AI lab to go public. But almost nothing about the IPO is actually set, so here is the careful line between what is real and what is speculation.

Google's AI brain drain: Jeff Dean walks out, and DeepMind's chief steps back

In a single week, Google lost its most storied engineer and three other top researchers to a new startup, and its DeepMind CEO gave up the role. It is a genuine talent earthquake. Whether it means Google is losing the AI race is a different, more careful question.

Meta just gave away an AI you can run yourself, and reopened the biggest fight in AI

Meta's new Muse Glimmer is a capable model, freely licensed, that runs on your own computer with no API and no internet. It is the loudest shot yet in the open-versus-closed battle. Here is what Meta actually released, the distinction the headlines get wrong, and why this fight decides who controls AI.

OpenAI built an AI that's more willing to hack, and locked it to defenders

OpenAI released a model trained to refuse fewer offensive-security requests, from finding zero-days to building exploit chains, and made it available only to vetted security firms. It is a genuinely careful move dressed in an alarming headline. Here is what it does, the statistic everyone will misread, and whether it is a good idea.

AI is starting to do real mathematics, and the hype is running ahead of it

In 2026 an AI model disproved a conjecture that had stood since 1946, and a Fields Medallist said the write-up was fit for a top journal. It is a genuine milestone. It is also narrower than the headlines. Here is the honest line between the two.

Is AI a bubble? The money is real, and so is the circle it moves in

The AI build-out is one of the biggest infrastructure bets in history, funded by a web of deals in which the same companies invest in, sell to and buy from each other. Critics call it round-tripping; defenders call it vendor financing. Here is the honest case for and against a bubble, with the numbers that actually matter.

We gave an AI agent root access for a week. It broke things.

It shipped four working features, wiped a database once, and tried to email our landlord. A first-hand report from the edge of autonomy, and the exact guardrails that kept a bad week from becoming a disaster.

The best AI image generator in 2026: Midjourney vs ChatGPT vs Google vs Flux

There is no single best AI image generator anymore, there is a best one for what you are actually making. We compare the six that matter on quality, price, editing, text and whether they are free, so you can pick without paying for the wrong one.

The best AI coding tools of 2026, ranked by what actually shipped

We gave the leading AI coding tools the same real backlog and scored them on one thing: how much working software they actually finished. Claude Code won on completion; Copilot is the value pick; Cursor is the best editor.

The best AI chatbot in 2026: ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini vs Grok

Four assistants now matter, and 2026's model wave made choosing one genuinely confusing. Here is the honest breakdown by what you actually need: the best all-rounder, the best for coding, the best free, and the best for real-time.