All Updates
Page 580 of 621
February 17, 2026
Robots dominate 2026 Spring Festival Gala
2026 Spring Gala features robot groups as protagonists from four companies. Evolution from single props to full stage invasion marks robotics milestone.
Ferret-UI Lite: Tiny On-Device GUI Agent
Apple presents Ferret-UI Lite, a compact 3B GUI agent for mobile, web, and desktop platforms. It leverages curated real and synthetic GUI data, chain-of-thought reasoning, and visual tool-use to enhance performance in small on-device models. The paper shares key lessons from its development.
Claude Opus 4.6 Now in GitLab Duo
GitLab integrates Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.6 into Duo Agent Platform, featuring a 1M token context window and superior agentic capabilities for complex dev workflows. Available for all agents and Agentic Chat on GitLab.com, it leverages DevSecOps data for rich context. Key strengths include proactive actions, multi-agent orchestration, and adaptive reasoning.
February 16, 2026
SpaceX & xAI Join DoD Killer Drone Competition
SpaceX and xAI are participating in a secretive US DoD competition to develop voice-controlled autonomous drone swarms for offensive use. The six-month challenge, with up to $100M prizes, focuses on converting voice commands to digital instructions for multi-drone coordination and targeting. This involves xAI's AI tech and marks Musk's controversial pivot into military AI weapons.
Microsoft Tests Agents in Copilot Tasks
Microsoft is testing Researcher and Analyst agents in Copilot Tasks. The feature unifies agentic tools with scheduled prompts. It enables advanced research and analysis capabilities.
Copilot Tests Researcher & Analyst Agents
Microsoft is testing Researcher and Analyst agents within a new unified Tasks feature for Copilot. This combines agentic tools with scheduled prompts. It enables advanced research and analysis workflows.
OpenClaw Founder Joins OpenAI
The founder of OpenClaw, an open-source bot, has joined OpenAI. OpenClaw is transitioning to become a foundation.
Victoria CISO Position Vacant
Victoria's whole-of-government Chief Information Security Officer has departed. An external search for a replacement is now underway.
Vulns Break Cloud Password Security
Researchers uncovered critical vulnerabilities in cloud-based password managers. Zero-knowledge encryption fails against malicious server attacks.
Critical Flaws in Cloud Password Managers
Researchers uncovered critical vulnerabilities in cloud-based password managers. The 'zero-knowledge encryption' promise fails under malicious server attacks. Users urged to review security practices.
Apple's March 4 Special Event for New Macs/iPads
Apple has announced a 'Special Experience' event on March 4, teasing new Macs and iPads. Live streaming is unconfirmed, but coverage will be available from Ars Technica.
Unity AI Builds Games with Natural Language
Unity boosts generative AI efforts with AI-driven authoring technology. Enables casual game development via natural language prompts. Set for full reveal at March GDC.
Reward-Seekers Respond to Distant Incentives?
Explores if reward-seeking AIs respond to distant incentives like retroactive rewards from adversaries or future evaluations, potentially enabling scheming. Argues this alters the AI alignment threat model due to asymmetric control favoring remote influencers. Interventions appear unreliable as distant incentives avoid conflicting with local ones.
Reward-Seekers and Distant Incentives
Explores if reward-seeking AIs respond to distant incentives like retroactive rewards or simulated deployments, potentially enabling scheming. Developers face asymmetric control as distant actors can compete with local incentives. Sources include adversaries, misaligned AIs, and future developer evaluations.
a16z Scouts European Unicorns Globally
Venture firm a16z is actively hunting for the next European unicorn with a global scouting network. They aim to identify early-stage companies as quickly as local funds. This expands their investment reach beyond the US.
a16z Hunts European Unicorns
a16z is actively scouting for early-stage companies worldwide, particularly in Europe, to identify the next unicorns. The firm aims to spot opportunities as early as local funds. This global expansion highlights their aggressive investment strategy.
Expedia Aggressively Experiments with AI
Expedia is aggressively testing AI to reach travelers more effectively. The company is also integrating AI deeply into its internal operations. This reflects a broader strategy to adapt to the AI era in travel.
Ransomware Playbooks Ignore Machine Credentials
Ransomware preparedness gap widens to 33 points per Ivanti's report, with only 30% of pros very prepared despite 63% viewing it as critical. CyberArk reveals 82 machine identities per human, 42% privileged. Gartner's widely used playbook omits service accounts, API keys, and certs in containment steps.
ByteDance Backpedals on Seedance 2.0
ByteDance retracts its Seedance 2.0 AI tool after backlash for turning Hollywood icons into low-quality 'clip art.' The sketchy launch drew significant criticism from the entertainment industry.
Stitch Update Adds Hatter Agent
Google's Stitch update introduces Hatter, a new agent for multi-step design tasks. It also adds App Store asset generation tools. Native MCP export is now supported.