Top signals in AI, education, and the future of work.
Samsung is increasing production and R&D investment by 22% in 2026 — a $73B commitment — targeting Nvidia's memory supply chain and attempting to overtake SK Hynix. Co-CEO Jun Young-hyun explicitly cited "agentic AI" demand as the catalyst, with funds directed toward advanced robotics and future-oriented sectors. The AI infrastructure arms race just got a new front.
After Anthropic sued the DoD over a "supply chain risk" designation, the Pentagon filed a rebuttal this week — alleging Anthropic could "disable its technology or preemptively alter the behavior of its model during warfighting operations" if its ethical red lines were crossed. This is a landmark moment: an AI safety company's own alignment commitments are being framed as a national security threat. The future of sovereign AI control is playing ou
The late Val Kilmer (died December 2025) will appear in upcoming film *As Deep As The Grave* via AI-generated likeness — with his estate's consent. This marks a new frontier in entertainment: posthumous AI performances, licensed by the deceased's heirs. The creative, legal, and ethical template being set here will define digital actors for decades.
Amazon launched Alexa Plus in the UK — the first European rollout of its AI-upgraded assistant. Free during early access, then £19.99/month (waived for Prime members). Amazon trained it to understand "knackered," "cuppa," and "taking the mickey." Small detail. Big signal: AI assistants are entering the localisation war, competing on cultural fluency, not just capability.
Perplexity's AI-native browser Comet hit iOS this week — a browser built around search-as-answer rather than search-as-query. The browser wars are back, and this time the weapon is inference, not rendering speed.