I ranked six AI agents--from Meta's Muse to Anthropic's Claude Duet--on how well they completed basic tasks. Last year, I remember sitting in WIRED's office, complaining to my colleagues nonstop about how much AI agents suck. They were just bad at everything. As a software reporter, I sat through meeting after meeting where tech bros --mostly men--demonstrated how their new agent would revolutionize my everyday life and automate away the tedium. The catch was that none of these so-called "agents" actually worked. Fast-forward to today, and always-on AI agents are booming, with major players racing to release their own versions to attract early adopters.

Drone strike kills at least 21 and injures 40 in Sudan's Nyala Share Drone strike kills at least 21 and injures 40 in Sudan's Nyala on social media At least 21 people have been killed and 40 others were wounded in a drone strike in Nyala, Darfur, the AFP news agency reported, citing a medical source and witnesses. A Nyala resident said that the attack took place at around 8pm (18:00 GMT) on Monday at a market in the north of the city - which serves as the de facto capital of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Another Nyala resident told AFP that the market was frequented by armed men, particularly RSF fighters. The Sudanese military, which has been at war with the RSF since April 2023, regularly strikes Nyala, where the RSF has declared an administration rivalling the military-backed, internationally recognised government in Khartoum.

Developments in the Gulf since the beginning of this year have raised fundamental questions about the security of the region in general and Qatar in particular. How can Qatar and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states become effective, independent military powers that do not rely on external security guarantees to ensure their safety? The question for Qatar is how it can build, over the next five years, a national defence capability that would enable it to protect the state and its vital interests even in the absence of Gulf or regional support, or if the United States provides only limited assistance. The aim is to explore whether Qatar can achieve what might be described as defence autonomy, rather than isolation. In other words, Qatar should remain open to alliances and partnerships without making its security dependent on the decisions of another state.

Safety Net Look Up Versus Trending Now Say More Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Creator Playbook Mashable Selects Getting Technical with Mashable Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List In My Bag Mashable @Home All Series Today's will be easier for people who live in Chicago. As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans. Like the original, the game is all about finding the common threads between words. And just like, resets after midnight, and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier -- so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle. If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest solution.

Safety Net Look Up Versus Trending Now Say More Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Creator Playbook Mashable Selects Getting Technical with Mashable Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List In My Bag Mashable @Home All Series We have everything you need right here. Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the catalog. Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit. Currently, if you're stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move on to the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered!

Members of the Save Brick Lane campaign protested against the construction of an AI datacentre in the east London neighbourhood in June. Members of the Save Brick Lane campaign protested against the construction of an AI datacentre in the east London neighbourhood in June. The UK's policy on datacentres and AI was developed without any meetings with environmental groups, an investigation has found. The nonprofit organisation Spotlight on Corruption said a "considerable revolving door" shaped the government's development of "AI growth zones", a central plank of the former prime minister Keir Starmer's AI and economic policy, with 38 ministers, senior civil servants and special advisers hired to positions in AI companies between July 2024 and September 2026. Meanwhile, even as top officials left government for jobs at OpenAI and Anthropic, government departments largely failed to engage meaningfully with stakeholders outside the technology industry.

OpenAI has announced that its AI models have made several scientific discoveries in mathematics, computer science and physics. The AI giant said on Monday that the three new discoveries concerned the fields of harmonic analysis, complexity theory and quantum field theory. Researchers in harmonic analysis, a branch of mathematics that studies how complex signals and functions can be broken down into elementary waves, had previously only proved the theory in three dimensions. Alex Iosevich, a professor of mathematics at the University of Rochester who specialises in harmonic analysis, said OpenAI appeared to have "cracked" the conjecture in a "historic development". "The conjecture was formulated by my PhD adviser, Chris Sogge, so it is near and dear to my heart, and the news was a shock at first," Iosevich told Al Jazeera.

The 92-page document released on Monday talks about Anthropic's explosive growth and the risks AI has brought to the business. The 92-page document released on Monday talks about Anthropic's explosive growth and the risks AI has brought to the business. The AI company's first public financial disclosures reveal explosive growth, huge costs and risks ranging from cyber-attacks to the limits of safeguards Anthropic has filed to go public on the US stock market, revealing for the first time the AI research lab's financials and all the risks - more than 90 pages of them - that might negatively impact its business. The company's investor prospectus, released Monday, veers from hyperbolic predictions about AI's "incredible potential" to existential risks of the technology to the reality of its current business: explosive but incredibly expensive growth. The filing to US financial regulators, known as an S-1, provides the public's first look at an audited version of Anthropic's finances.

Beijing has doubled down on robotics - also known as embodied AI - as the key to rolling out the technology across society. Beijing has doubled down on robotics - also known as embodied AI - as the key to rolling out the technology across society. Lack of profits and the threat posed by western countries are raising concern about the sustainability of Beijing's AI boom Trillions of dollars have been wiped from China's stock markets in recent months amid increasing anxiety about the future of artificial intelligence, as Beijing races against the United States for dominance in the sector. The STAR 50 Index, which tracks technology and innovation companies on the Shanghai stock exchange, has plunged 40% since June. Other indexes of major companies dropped by about 20% over the same time period.

Safety Net Look Up Versus Trending Now Say More Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Creator Playbook Mashable Selects Getting Technical with Mashable Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List In My Bag Mashable @Home All Series Every hint, nudge and outright answer you need to complete today's NYT Strands puzzle. Today's NYT Strands hints will be easy if you have a bug problem. Strands, the ' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters -- up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer.