🤖 Hugging Face Releases a $399 Robot Duck

The open-source $399 MicroDuck can walk, lift objects, recover after falling, tumble, and even roller-skate.

Its main feature is reinforcement learning in MuJoCo. Train a policy in Hugging Face Jobs or locally, then transfer it to the duck without fine-tuning. Preorders are open.

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🤖 ChatGPT Work Can Log Into Sites

Authentication happens separately, so the agent does not see the login or password. It then works through the browser on the authorized site.

It can book a doctor, process a return, or fill out applications. It can also move invoices from email into accounting software.

The feature is starting to roll out on the web and mobile to users on the Plus tier, Pro, or Business.

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🤖 OpenAI to cut Cursor off from its models

OpenAI told SpaceX it will terminate Cursor’s contract and plans to disable access to its models on 12 November 2026. Until then, Cursor users can continue using them. The models currently handle about 5% of Cursor traffic.

OpenAI says it cannot confirm compliance with its terms after Cursor came under SpaceX control, citing earlier breaches by Elon Musk’s companies. It also will not provide future models, including Astra.

Cursor’s CEO says the company is negotiating with OpenAI. Cursor had worked with OpenAI for nearly 4 years and relied on its platform as neutral infrastructure.

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🛍️ Alibaba Launches QwenWork

Users describe a task in plain language, and the AI agent carries it out. It gradually remembers their working habits and applies them in later sessions.

QwenWork can create and launch web apps without code or server setup. It also generates media, with simpler or more advanced models available for different tasks.

The service is now in public beta worldwide. It runs in a browser and in a separate desktop app.

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🤖 Perplexity launches a local AI agent

Portable Computer runs its models and agent system on the user’s computer. It can search local files and code, then run commands and handle long tasks without sending data to the cloud.

It uses Qwen 3.8 27B and PPLX 27B. Local tasks do not consume Perplexity credits. Internet access or a stronger cloud model requires permission first.

It supports Google Drive plus Gmail, Slack and GitHub. For now, access is limited to Pro and Max subscribers using NVIDIA DGX Spark on Linux. Support for regular NVIDIA RTX computers and Windows will come later.

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🔍 Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash Reaches GA

Videos can now be extended in 10-second chunks up to 40 seconds. The model uses the last 10 seconds of the source, rather than only its final second. The preview will soon be unavailable.

A 360p draft mode costs $0.03 per second, compared with $0.10 for 720p. 1080p costs $0.15, while 4K costs $0.30. Both are upscales, not native generations.

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✈️ Telegram Launches Gram Wallet

Gram Wallet is already available to some users. Full access is promised within the next couple of weeks.

Telegram says it will become the “largest non-custodial crypto wallet in history”. Gram rose 4.5% within minutes of the announcement.

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🧠 OpenAI Orders Tens of Thousands of Macs

The shift from traditional GPUs is tied to Apple’s unified memory architecture, which gives the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine shared access to memory, reducing data transfers during agent training.

Reinforcement learning combines inference with interaction with an environment. Many compact Macs can therefore cost less than GPU clusters built for matrix-heavy workloads.

Anthropic reportedly uses Mac mini too, renting them from AWS. Demand has stretched delivery times for high-memory Mac mini and Mac Studio configurations to weeks or months.

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🍏 Apple Shelved a Foldable iPhone Pencil

The prototype was a shortened Apple Pencil made for the foldable iPhone. It was designed to attach magnetically to the side of the case, where it could also charge.

Testing exposed 2 problems. The stylus was awkward to use in some positions, and its hard tip left marks on the inner display. Foldable screens are softer than regular ones.

Mark Gurman believes the accessory will not launch with the foldable iPhone expected next month. The project may also clash with Apple’s long-standing position, linked to Steve Jobs’s 2007 claim that nobody needs a stylus. The Pencil will likely remain an internal prototype.

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🤖 Claude 5.1 Puts Science to the Test

Anthropic released Claude Fable 5.1 and Claude Mythos 5.1, the same model with different restrictions. Fable is open to everyone. Mythos requires verification for cybersecurity and life sciences work. With open protein-design tools, almost 50% of designs worked across 12 targets, versus 10-15% normally. Binding affinity was 10 times higher than leading Adaptyv Bio contest entries for 3 targets.

The model also built a new elevation map for a third of Venus from Magellan radar images. Resolution improved to 2 to 3 km. Terminal-Bench-Science reached 52.6%, up from 24.7%. Cached reads are 75% cheaper, cutting typical task costs by about 25% and agentic costs by up to 45%.

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🌬️ Dyson puts camera in $499 toothbrush

The CameraJet’s tiny camera captures 28 photos per second. An AI system trained on 470,000 dental images finds gaps between teeth and directs a small rinse stream there during brushing.

It can also stream a live view of the mouth to the MyDyson app, showing cleaning coverage and close-up images of the teeth.

Dyson says development took 6 years and involved 661 engineers. The $499.99 device combines an electric toothbrush, oral irrigator, and camera.

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🛸 Rainmaker Reports 71 Million Liters

During a three-hour test over Alaska, Rainmaker’s drones released small amounts of silver iodide into cold clouds. The company says this helped form ice crystals that fell as rain or snow, producing an estimated 71 million liters of additional precipitation.

Rainmaker uses weather algorithms, radar, and satellite data to select clouds and time each seeding flight. Atmo’s AI models help identify clouds with high seeding potential. The estimate is based on Rainmaker’s own analysis.

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🎧 MiPAL Sends Sound in a Narrow Beam

Researchers at POSTECH built MiPAL, a parametric speaker with one emitter and 2 metamaterial layers. A front acoustic metasurface focuses ultrasound, while elastic metacells suppress vibrations that would spread audio sideways.

MiPAL modulates an ultrasonic wave with an audio signal, using nonlinear behavior in air to send sound along a narrow path. Tests in a mock aircraft cabin covered 500 Hz to 10 kHz, while the adjacent seat stayed quiet.

The modules are 3D-printed, so the design can be adapted to seat spacing, beam angle, or other conditions. Possible uses include personal announcements on planes and audio guides at museum displays.

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📍 World Labs Unveils 3D Model Atlas

Atlas reconstructs a surrounding space in 3D from text or visual files. Users can then move the camera and change the view while the scene geometry stays intact.

With several photos, it builds a complete 3D space. From one image, it can infer hidden parts, while more source frames improve accuracy. Atlas also generates controllable video up to 1 minute in 1440p, with the camera path set directly. The same system can turn footage of a real room into a simulation for robot training.

Atlas is currently available only to early-access partners. It will later serve as the basis for new versions of Marble and other World Labs products.

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🗣️ A Man Broke AI Recruiters

He gives absurd answers to routine interview questions, and the recruiter treats them as normal. Asked about salary, he mentions a sideways drill bit in the first quarter.

The AI turns that into a question about horizontal drill diameters, then thanks him for sharing his expectations. That is how to behave around neuro-HR.

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🤖 Astra Posts 98% on ARC-AGI-3

OpenAI’s new model scored 98% on ARC-AGI-3, a difficult abstract-reasoning test. It reached 100% on ExploitBench, which measures vulnerability discovery and exploitation.

Astra also shows gains in coding and advanced math, plus science and CAD. OpenAI is testing it as an agent that can execute long action chains. Its cyber capabilities led to tighter safety limits before release.

Some results come from OpenAI’s own agent system, making direct comparisons with other models difficult. GPT-6 Astra will first be available to organizations in Daybreak Access, then to Plus and Pro, Business and Enterprise users in the next few days.

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