Research & Development news

• Pentagon Weighs Axing $200M Anthropic Deal in Moral Standoff Over AI Safeguards

  17-02-2026 19:03 via eweek.com
  Here’s a sentence you don’t hear every day: the US military is threatening to punish an AI company for being too ethical.Axios reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is “close” to cutting ties with Anthropic and designating it a “supply chain risk,” a label normally reserved for foreign adversaries like Chinese tech firms. The reason? Anthropic won’t give the Pentagon blanket permission to use Claude for “all lawful purposes.”Anthropic&
  
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• Cohere’s Tiny Aya Models Bring 70+ Languages to Offline AI

  17-02-2026 19:00 via eweek.com
  In the world of generative AI, language support has often been a luxury reserved for a handful of global languages. That’s changing fast.
  Cohere just unveiled a suite of open multilingual models designed to push AI out of data centers and into everyday devices while embracing linguistic diversity at scale. These “Tiny Aya” models underscore a broader shift toward accessible, globally relevant AI without the cloud tether.
  And they’re opening doors for developers, researche
  
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• Alibaba Launches Qwen3.5 AI Model With 60% Lower Costs, 8x Throughput

  17-02-2026 16:44 via eweek.com
  Alibaba has officially launched Qwen3.5, the latest version of its flagship artificial intelligence model, positioning it as a system built for the emerging era of AI agents.The model was released on Feb. 16 in both open-weight and hosted versions, allowing developers to run it on their own infrastructure or through Alibaba Cloud. Alibaba says Qwen3.5 delivers major efficiency gains. According to the company, the model is 60% cheaper to run and offers eight times the throughput when handling lar
  
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• China’s Humanoid Robots Dazzle Millions at Lunar New Year Gala

  17-02-2026 16:32 via eweek.com
  At this year’s CCTV Spring Festival Gala, humanoid robots from four Chinese startups took center stage, turning what is usually a night of songs and comedy into a powerful display of the country’s fast-moving robotics industry.The annual gala, aired on Lunar New Year’s Eve, is China’s most-watched television event, often compared to the Super Bowl in the United States. This year, four companies — Unitree Robotics, MagicLab, Galbot, and Noetix — showcased their
  
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• ‘Robot Dogs’ to Lead First Response During 2026 World Cup

  17-02-2026 15:21 via eweek.com
  Authorities in Guadalupe, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, have unveiled four robot dogs that will help secure the BBVA Stadium during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The venue is one of Mexico’s host sites and is scheduled to stage three group-stage matches and one knockout game. The machines form part of a newly created K9-X unit and will patrol areas in and around the stadium, supporting local law enforcement personnel during the tournament.Officials say the robots are not armed
  
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• OpenAI Introduces New Safeguards in ChatGPT to Prevent AI Prompt Injection

  17-02-2026 15:15 via eweek.com
  OpenAI is tightening the bolts on ChatGPT as attackers zero in on AI systems.In a Feb. 13 announcement, the company introduced two new safeguards to combat prompt injection attacks, a growing threat that can trick AI into exposing sensitive data:
  The first is an “Elevated Risk” label that warns users before they take potentially dangerous actions such as opening external links or connecting to internal networks.The second is Lockdown Mode, which can limit or fully disable high-risk f
  
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• Apple Reportedly Working on Face ID Doorbell That Unlocks Your Home

  17-02-2026 14:57 via eweek.com
  In a year filled with talk of iPhones and AI upgrades, one of Apple’s most intriguing rumored products isn’t something you hold in your hand.It’s something that could greet you when you get home.Multiple reports suggest Apple is developing a smart video doorbell equipped with Face ID, designed to recognize residents and potentially unlock the door automatically. If it arrives, it would mark Apple’s most ambitious step yet into the smart home security space.The first credi
  
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