Plus: OpenAI is also creating a super app. OpenAI has a new grand challenge: building an AI researcher--a fully automated agent-based system capable of tackling large, complex problems by itself. The San Francisco firm said the new goal will be its "north star" for the next few years. By September, the company plans to build "an autonomous AI research intern" that can take on a small number of specific research problems. The intern will be the precursor to the fully automated multi-agent system, which is slated to debut in 2028. In an exclusive interview this week, OpenAI's chief scientist, Jakub Pachocki, talked me through the plans.

The Download: The Pentagon's new AI plans, and next-gen nuclear reactors Plus: The OpenClaw frenzy has led to a new Nvidia product. The Pentagon plans to set up secure environments for generative AI companies to train military-specific versions of their models on classified data, MIT Technology Review has learned. AI models like Anthropic's Claude are already used to answer questions in classified settings, including for analyzing targets in Iran. But allowing them to train on and learn from classified data is a major new development that presents unique security risks. It would also bring AI firms closer to classified data than ever before. What do new nuclear reactors mean for waste?

Plus: China has approved the world's first commercial brain chip. Where OpenAI's technology could show up in Iran OpenAI has controversially agreed to give the Pentagon access to its AI. But where exactly could its tech show up, and which applications will its customers and employees tolerate? There's pressure to integrate it quickly with existing military tools. One defense official revealed it could even assist in selecting strike targets. OpenAI's partnership with Anduril, which makes drones and counter-drone technologies, adds another hint at what is to come.

Plus: Elizabeth Warren wants answers on xAI's access to military data. Human-made glass is thousands of years old. But it's now poised to find its way into the AI chips used in the world's newest and largest data centers. This year, a South Korean company called Absolics will start producing special glass panels that make next-generation computing hardware more powerful and efficient. Other companies, including Intel, are also pushing forward in this area. If all goes well, the technology could reduce the energy demands of chips in AI data centers--and even consumer laptops and mobile devices.

The Download: how AI is used for military targeting, and the Pentagon's war on Claude Plus: an ex-DOGE staffer has been accused of stealing social security data. The US military might use generative AI systems to rank targets and recommend which to strike first, according to a Defense Department official. A list of possible targets could first be fed into a generative AI system that the Pentagon is fielding for classified settings. Humans might then ask the system to analyze the information and prioritize the targets. They would then be responsible for checking and evaluating the results and recommendations. OpenAI's ChatGPT and xAI's Grok could soon be at the center of exactly these sorts of high-stakes military decisions.

Plus: AI fakes of the Iran war are flooding X--and Grok is failing to flag them. Pokémon Go was the world's first augmented-reality megahit. Released in 2016 by Niantic, the AR twist on the juggernaut Pokémon franchise fast became a global phenomenon. "500 million people installed that app in 60 days," says Brian McClendon, CTO at Niantic Spatial, an AI company that Niantic spun out last year. Now Niantic Spatial is using that vast trove of crowdsourced data to build a kind of world model--a buzzy new technology that grounds the smarts of LLMs in real environments. The firm wants to use it to help robots navigate more precisely.

As AI drives extraordinary power demands, energy intelligence is rapidly becoming a core business metric. Loudoun County, Virginia, once known for its pastoral scenery and proximity to Washington, DC, has earned a more modern reputation in recent years: The area has the highest concentration of data centers on the planet. Ten years ago, these facilities powered email and e-commerce. Today, thanks to the meteoric rise in demand for AI-infused everything, local utility Dominion Energy is working hard to keep pace with surging power demands. The pressure is so acute that Dulles International Airport is constructing the largest airport solar installation in the country, a highly visible bid to bolster the region's power mix. Data center campuses like Loudoun's are cropping up across the country to accommodate an insatiable appetite for AI.

For decades, handmade narco subs have been some of the cocaine trade's most elusive and productive workhorses, ferrying multi-ton loads of illicit drugs from Colombian estuaries toward markets in North America and, increasingly, the rest of the world. Now off-the-shelf technology--Starlink terminals, plug-and-play nautical autopilots, high-resolution video cameras--may be advancing that cat-and-mouse game into a new phase. Uncrewed subs could move more cocaine over longer distances, and they wouldn't put human smugglers at risk of capture. And law enforcement around the world is just beginning to grapple with what this means for the future. This story is from the next print issue of magazine, which is all about crime. Google DeepMind is calling for the moral behavior of large language models--such as what they do when called on to act as companions, therapists, medical advisors, and so on--to be scrutinized with the same kind of rigor as their ability to code or do math.

Thank you for joining us on the Enterprise AI hub. In this episode of the Infosys Knowledge Institute Podcast, Dylan Cosper speaks with Prasad Banala, director of software engineering at a large US-based retail organization, about operationalizing agentic AI across the software development lifecycle. Prasad explains how his team applies AI to validate requirements, generate and analyze test cases, and accelerate issue resolution, while maintaining strict governance, human-in-the-loop review, and measurable quality outcomes. A "QuitGPT" campaign is urging people to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions Michelle Kim Here are our picks for the advances to watch in the years ahead--and why we think they matter right now. A "QuitGPT" campaign is urging people to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions Backlash against ICE is fueling a broader movement against AI companies' ties to President Trump. The viral social network for bots reveals more about our own current mania for AI as it does about the future of agents.

Thank you for joining us on the Enterprise AI hub. In this episode of the Infosys Knowledge Institute Podcast, Dylan Cosper speaks with Sriram Kalyan, head of applications and data at Nutrien Ag Solutions, Australia, about turning a high-risk post-acquisition IT landscape into a scalable digital foundation. Sriram shares how the merger of two major Australian agricultural companies created duplicated systems, fragile integrations, and operational risk, compounded by the sudden loss of key platform experts and partners. He explains how leadership alignment, disciplined platform consolidation, and a clear focus on business outcomes transformed integration from an invisible liability into a strategic enabler, positioning Nutrien Ag Solutions for future growth, cloud transformation, and enterprise scale. A "QuitGPT" campaign is urging people to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions Michelle Kim Here are our picks for the advances to watch in the years ahead--and why we think they matter right now. A "QuitGPT" campaign is urging people to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions Backlash against ICE is fueling a broader movement against AI companies' ties to President Trump.