Research & Development news

• Anthropic Offers Moral AI Solution With ‘Claude’s Constitution’

  22-01-2026 15:16 via eweek.com
  Anthropic seems to have consciously turned on ‘paladin’ mode with noble, honest plans for Claude.
  Before we all get as sarcastic and facetious as a weary detective in a gritty, TV police drama, let’s hear what they have to say.
  Anthropic’s has unveiled it latest constitutional framework for Claude. It’s the first major AI document to seriously question whether machines might actually be conscious. The document also explains how Claude should balance honesty, compass
  
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• This $800M Startup Makes ChatGPT 24x Faster

  23-01-2026 19:24 via eweek.com
  Every time ChatGPT takes three seconds to respond instead of 30, there’s probably infrastructure like vLLM working behind the scenes. You’ve been using it without knowing it. And now, the team behind it just became an $800 million company overnight.Here are the detailsToday, Inferact launched with a massive $150 million seed round to commercialize the open-source inference engine that’s already powering AI at Amazon, major cloud providers, and thousands of developers world
  
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• AI Is Becoming a Default Job Requirement, Indeed Report Finds

  23-01-2026 17:45 via eweek.com
  AI is rapidly becoming a baseline expectation in hiring, showing up across job listings far beyond engineering and IT. Employers are adding language about artificial intelligence to job postings across industries, from sales and marketing to finance and operations.New research from Indeed’s Hiring Lab shows AI references spreading rapidly across job listings, including roles where the technology is not yet central to the day-to-day work. The trend suggests AI is becoming a default qualific
  
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• Datensouveränität heute: Sicherheit beginnt am Endpunkt

  23-01-2026 17:28 via eweek.com
  Die Bedrohungslage entwickelt sich weiter in rasantem Tempo. Während Cloud-Dienste und Identity Platforms attraktive Ziele bleiben, konzentrieren sich Angreifer zunehmend auf eine Ebene, die viele Unternehmen noch immer unterschätzen: den Endpunkt. Ausgereifte Phishing-Kampagnen, Firmware-basierte Implants und KI-generierte Exploits verwischen die Grenzen zwischen Nutzerinteraktion und Eindringen – und umgehen klassische Schutzmechanismen dabei häufig.Mit der Verfestigung vo
  
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• Arbeit neu denken: HP zeigt, dass Unternehmen 85 % der Faktoren beeinflussen, die die Mitarbeiterzufriedenheit prägen

  23-01-2026 16:54 via eweek.com
  An einem regnerischen Montagmorgen im Jahr 2016 sitzt eine Teamleitung in München in einem grell beleuchteten Büro und prüft Tabellen auf einem Desktop-PC. Das Team arbeitet im selben Gebäude – verbunden durch räumliche Nähe statt durch ein gemeinsames Ziel. Meetings finden an physischen Tischen statt, nicht per Videocall. Entscheidungen werden top-down getroffen. Tools sind einheitlich. Und Technologie ist zwar hilfreich, passt sich jedoch nicht an die Bed&uu
  
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• Google AI Mode Can Now Use Gmail, Photos to Personalize Search Results

  23-01-2026 15:54 via eweek.com
  Google is giving its AI-powered search a memory boost. The company says its AI Mode can now draw on users’ Gmail and Google Photos to deliver answers that feel far more personal.In a blog post published Thursday, Google announced it is expanding a feature called Personal Intelligence to AI Mode in Google Search. The update allows AI Mode to securely connect with Gmail and Google Photos, giving the system more context about a user’s plans, habits, and preferences.“Personal Intel
  
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• Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs in Talks for Fundraising at $5B Valuation

  23-01-2026 14:44 via eweek.com
  The “godmother of AI” is open to offers she can’t refuse.
  Silicon Valley is preparing for another high-profile AI fundraising, as Fei-Fei Li is reportedly in talks to raise fresh investment that would value her start-up World Labs at $5 billion.
  Sources spoke to Bloomberg about the potential deal. It signals growing investor appetite for AI companies working beyond text and images and into what some see as the next frontier: systems capable of understanding and operating inside
  
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• Huang: Nvidia Has Dethroned Apple as TSMC’s Top Customer

  23-01-2026 14:34 via eweek.com
  Apple ruled Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s order book for years. That crown has now changed hands.Nvidia has overtaken Apple as the largest customer of TSMC, marking a major shift in the global semiconductor industry. The confirmation came directly from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang during a recent podcast appearance, putting an end to speculation about how far AI chip demand has reshaped foundry priorities.Huang made the remark on “A Bit Personal with Jodi Shelton,” a podc
  
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• Google Invests in Sakana AI to Strengthen Gemini’s Reach in Japan

  23-01-2026 13:08 via eweek.com
  Sakana AI, fresh off its Series B funding round, has announced a new partnership with Google that includes a financial investment from the tech giant.
  The investment amount has not been disclosed, but the move highlights how major global cloud and AI providers are increasingly seeking deeper relationships with fast-moving research labs and startups, especially those positioned to commercialize advanced AI in heavily regulated markets.
  For Sakana AI, the partnership represents both a vote of conf
  
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• Scarlett Johansson Joins Hollywood Stars in Blasting AI Giants for ‘Theft’

  23-01-2026 10:24 via eweek.com
  Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars have joined forces in what could be the most consequential legal battle against AI companies.
  Scarlett Johansson, Cate Blanchett, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are backing a major campaign targeting AI firms for what they call outright theft of celebrity voices and likenesses.
  They have accused unnamed tech giants of “theft” and called on the companies to pursue “ethical” partnerships when accessing artistic content. The letter represent
  
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• KI-Agenten und On-Device-Intelligenz definieren den Arbeitsplatz völlig neu

  23-01-2026 09:57 via eweek.com
  Enterprise-KI bedeutete einst, Daten an einen Cloud-Endpunkt zu senden, auf das Ergebnis zu warten und dieses dann in lokale Tools zu integrieren. Doch dieses Muster verändert sich. 43 % aller PC-Lieferungen im Jahr 2025 waren KI-PCs und Prognosen zufolge werden KI-Laptops – d. h. Laptops mit integrierten Neural Processing Units (NPUs) neben Central Processing Units (CPUs) und Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) – im Jahr 2026 die einzige Wahl1 für große Unternehmen sei
  
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• I-Agenten und On-Device-Intelligenz definieren den Arbeitsplatz völlig neu

  23-01-2026 09:57 via eweek.com
  Enterprise-KI bedeutete einst, Daten an einen Cloud-Endpunkt zu senden, auf das Ergebnis zu warten und dieses dann in lokale Tools zu integrieren. Doch dieses Muster verändert sich. 43 % aller PC-Lieferungen im Jahr 2025 waren KI-PCs und Prognosen zufolge werden KI-Laptops – d. h. Laptops mit integrierten Neural Processing Units (NPUs) neben Central Processing Units (CPUs) und Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) – im Jahr 2026 die einzige Wahl1 für große Unternehmen sei
  
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• Google Pulls Top Talent From AI Voice Firm Hume AI

  23-01-2026 08:54 via eweek.com
  Google DeepMind has executed a talent heist that reveals its new strategy for emotional AI dominance.
  Hume AI’s CEO Alan Cowen, who holds a PhD in psychology, is joining Google DeepMind alongside several key engineers as part of a major licensing agreement, according to Wired.
  The startup, which has secured $74 million in funding and projects $100 million in revenue for 2026, specializes in technology that detects emotions in users’ voices and creates incredibly realistic voice inter
  
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• The ‘App’ Era Is Dying — Welcome to the ‘Agent’ Era

  22-01-2026 22:17 via eweek.com
  Allow us to reframe the current moment: for the last 15 years, we’d argue we have lived in the “Read/Write” era of technology. You tap a glass screen, you open an app, you press buttons, and you get a result.But reports from both China and Silicon Valley yesterday confirm that 2026 is the year we switch to what we’re calling the “Instruct/Verify” era: where the primary interaction paradigm is you tell an AI what you want, and it goes and does it for you.This s
  
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• Elon Musk: Tesla’s Optimus Robot Will Go on Sale in 2027

  22-01-2026 20:09 via eweek.com
  Tesla CEO Elon Musk is tightening the timeline for when you can actually own one of the company’s humanoid robots. Speaking at a panel during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Thursday, Musk announced that public sales for the Optimus robot are slated to begin by the end of 2027.The billionaire noted that the robots are already getting their hands dirty, performing “simple tasks in the factory,” according to a report by Electric Vehicles (EV). Musk expects these m
  
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• YouTube CEO Says Cutting ‘AI Slop’ Is a 2026 Priority

  22-01-2026 18:47 via eweek.com
  YouTube is taking a sledgehammer to the low-grade AI garbage cluttering up your feed.In his annual look-ahead letter, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan laid out a year of big bets, including AI tools alongside a crackdown on what the internet has nicknamed “AI slop.” This comes after announcing that more than a million channels used its AI creation tools every day last December.The irony of the war on “slop” is that YouTube is actually giving creators more AI tools, not fewer. Later
  
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• Liza Minnelli, Art Garfunkel Join Artists Co-Creating Songs With ElevenLabs AI Tech

  22-01-2026 16:46 via eweek.com
  What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play. Life is a Cabaret, old chum, come to the Cabaret.
  And it’s an ‘AI Cabaret’. Liza Minnelli and Art Garfunkel are two of the stars joining ElevenLabs as it pushes further into the music business.
  “The Eleven Album” is a compilation created through a partnership between human musicians and its AI-based model capable of generating “studio-quality compositions.” The album is available to strea
  
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• Adobe Adds AI Tools to Turn PDFs Into Podcasts, Presentations

  22-01-2026 16:22 via eweek.com
  Adobe is adding more generative AI features to its Acrobat Studio PDF reader and editor to give users more ways to summarize content. Acrobat Studio users will be able to generate audio and visual summaries of PDFs as presentations and podcasts, which can be distributed to other team members or the public. A chat-based editing tool will be available to make adjustments to the summaries.In the Generate Podcast feature, users can feed the AI audio model a variety of PDFs and have it generate
  
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• ‘ChatGPT for Doctors’ Startup OpenEvidence Secures $12B Valuation

  22-01-2026 15:47 via eweek.com
  OpenEvidence, the Miami-based AI platform that has quickly become the digital right hand for nearly half of American physicians, announced on Wednesday that it has closed a massive $250 million Series D funding round. This latest injection of cash, co-led by Thrive Capital and DST Global, has doubled the company’s valuation from $6 billion to $12 billion in just three months.The startup’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric. Since its first outside capital raise less than a
  
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• Elon Musk’s xAI Is Testing ‘Employees’ That Aren’t Human

  22-01-2026 15:23 via eweek.com
  At Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI, some “employees” don’t breathe, sleep, or even exist in the real world.Instead, they run on code.The company is quietly testing what it calls “human emulators” — AI systems designed to mimic the behavior of real white-collar workers. According to a former xAI engineer, these AI workers are already operating inside the company, appearing on internal org charts and interacting with staff, sometimes without people realizing th
  
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• AI and Robotics Are Reshaping Pharmacy Workflows

  22-01-2026 15:00 via eweek.com
  Pharmacies around the world are under strain from rising prescription volumes, staffing shortages, and expanding clinical responsibilities.To cope with the growing demand, many are turning to artificial intelligence and robotics to automate routine work and keep services running smoothly.From robotic dispensing systems to AI platforms that manage inventory and workflows, these tools are increasingly integrated into pharmacy operations.Automation takes on routine pharmacy workAutomation is increa
  
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• OpenAI Pursues $50B Investment From Middle East

  22-01-2026 13:45 via eweek.com
  OpenAI is actively pursuing investments from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds for a new funding round that could reach $50 billion.
  CEO Sam Altman is currently in the United Arab Emirates conducting these high-stakes negotiations, with the round expected to close within the first quarter of this year, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
  Bloomberg reported it first, and CNBC confirmed the news.
  This represents a shift from OpenAI’s previous funding history. The company
  
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• Palantir Helps Ukraine Turn Battlefield Data Into Drone Intercepts

  22-01-2026 13:06 via eweek.com
  Ukraine is partnering with Palantir to turn battlefield data into AI systems designed to counter drone attacks, launching a secure new platform aimed at accelerating autonomous air defense. The initiative places AI at the center of Ukraine’s effort to keep pace with increasingly large-scale aerial threats.In a LinkedIn post, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said the project will give Ukrainian defense developers access to a secure AI environment buil
  
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• Cool AI Tools for Beginners You Can Use Right Now

  22-01-2026 13:02 via eweek.com
  AI shows up everywhere now, from your messaging apps to scheduling tools, but figuring out where to start isn’t always straightforward. Some tools promise big results but turn out to be harder to use than expected, while others seem helpful but never quite fit into everyday work routines. But here’s the good news: a growing number of AI tools are designed to be practical first. These AI platforms focus on saving time, enhancing clarity, and automating routine tasks that pile up
  
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• Microsoft Debuts Rho-alpha Robotics Model for Next Phase of ‘Physical AI’

  22-01-2026 11:46 via eweek.com
  A growing push in AI aims to move robots beyond repetitive factory work and into the messy, dynamic environments where people live and work.
  Microsoft Research says that shift is now accelerating with the rise of vision-language-action systems designed to connect perception, reasoning, and movement in a single model.
  With that ‘vision’ to ponder, the tech firm has announced Rho-alpha, its first robotics model derived from the company’s Phi series of vision-language models. The
  
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• Davos 2026: Nvidia CEO Says AI Boom Will Spur Demand for Electricians and Plumbers

  22-01-2026 09:50 via eweek.com
  That sink-ing feeling about AI? Actually, it may be OK if the CEO of Nvidia is correct.
  At the World Economic Forum’s Davos 2026, Jensen Huang delivered an announcement that the biggest beneficiaries won’t be software engineers or data scientists—they’ll be electricians and plumbers.
  While tech workers worry about being replaced, skilled tradespeople are seeing their salaries nearly double to six-figure incomes as demand explodes for the massive infrastructure buildout po
  
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• 7 Practical Ways to Build Real AI Skills in 2026

  21-01-2026 19:49 via eweek.com
  AI keeps popping up in every corner of work life, and it’s becoming the skill people use to run circles around everyone else. You don’t need to be a coder or a tech diehard to get value out of it, but you do need to understand how it fits into the way you solve problems. The ones who pick it up early usually land the faster workflows, the better ideas, and, often, the better roles.If you’re wondering where to begin, here are seven ways to build real AI skills: simple, doable, a
  
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• ChatGPT’s New Age Detection System Includes ‘Selfie’ Verification

  21-01-2026 19:35 via eweek.com
  OpenAI has officially launched a new system that aims to predict your age by watching how you use ChatGPT.Announced on Tuesday, the AI giant is rolling out an “age prediction” model across its ChatGPT consumer plans. Instead of just taking your word for it, the system now looks for digital clues to determine if an account belongs to a minor.According to the company, “When the age prediction model estimates that an account may belong to someone under 18, ChatGPT automatically ap
  
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• 14 Ways to Use Microsoft Copilot More Effectively at Work

  21-01-2026 18:05 via eweek.com
  The novelty of AI has officially worn off, replaced by the reality of the “blank prompt box” stare. While Copilot is baked into every corner of Microsoft 365, many users are still getting robotic, “corporate-speak” results that require more time to edit than they saved in the first place.The secret isn’t in the software — it’s in the instructions. Think of Copilot not as a mind-reader, but as an incredibly capable — yet very literal — in
  
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• This $4.4B AI Startup, Backed by Jeff Bezos, Focuses on Human Workers

  21-01-2026 17:45 via eweek.com
  While much of the AI sector focuses on replacing human labor, one new startup is centering its technology on people instead. Enter Humans&, a freshly launched AI lab that is already turning heads and wallets across Silicon Valley.The San Francisco–based company has raised a staggering $480 million in seed funding, instantly valuing the startup at approximately $4.48 billion before a public product has even emerged. Backers include some of the most influential names in tech and venture
  
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