Last Week’s AI News #23

AI is moving fast, and last week was no exception. From Pentagon showdowns to luxury fashion controversies, multi-model AI breakthroughs, and record-shattering funding rounds, the AI landscape is buzzing. For SMBs, staying ahead means spotting trends early and finding practical ways to leverage these tools,  from automating tasks every Friday to experimenting with next-gen AI agents. 

Let’s dive into the key news shaping business and innovation:

• Practical tips: automate one task every friday, small wins, big impact
• Pentagon gives ultimatum to Anthropic: remove Claude safeguards or lose contracts
• Standard intelligence launches FDM-1: AI that learns computer tasks from video\
• Anthropic co-work update: department AIi agents, plugins, and connectors
• Perplexity launches computer: multi-model AI that runs tasks autonomously
• Google launches Nano Banana 2: high-quality image AI at half price
• Gucci faces backlash for AI-generated images at Milan fashion week
• Pew study: teens use AI heavily, cheating widespread but impact seen positive
• OpenAI raises $110B at $730B valuation, Amazon leads $50B deal
• Everything else that happened in AI last week

PRACTICAL TIPS: AUTOMATE ONE TASK EVERY FRIDAY, SMALL WINS, BIG IMPACT

Every Friday, ask:

“What repetitive tasks did I do this week? Which manual task took most of my time.”

Choose one.

Automate or systemise it:

• Build an AI assistant (Gem + NotebookLM, Copilot Agent, or ChatGPT Project)
• Improve the prompt
• Use Google AppScript or Copilot Macro

Not sure which one to choose?

Simply ask your favourite AI chat: “Our company is using [insert tool name] and I am spending X hours on [describe a task]. Act as AI strategist and help me streamline this process as much as possible with simple to use AI tools and without IT team.”

Compound small wins weekly.

PENTAGON GIVES ULTIMATUM TO ANTHROPIC: REMOVE CLAUDE SAFEGUARDS OR LOSE CONTRACTS

The Pentagon has given Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei an ultimatum: remove Claude’s military safeguards or risk losing a $200M contract, government blacklisting, and forced compliance under the Defense Production Act. Amodei refuses to allow autonomous weapons or bulk citizen surveillance. Meanwhile, xAI’s Grok has secured Pentagon access after agreeing to lawful use, and OpenAI and Google are being fast-tracked for classified work.

Why does it matter for businesses?
AI safety rules and ethical limits may soon collide with government contracts and legal pressure. Companies developing AI could face lost deals, forced compliance, or reputational risk if they push ethical boundaries.

STANDARD INTELLIGENCE LAUNCHES FDM-1: AI THAT LEARNS COMPUTER TASKS FROM VIDEO

Standard Intelligence unveiled FDM-1, a “computer action” AI that learns tasks by watching video. It can already do CAD modeling, find software bugs, and even drive a real car in San Francisco. FDM-1 was trained on 11M hours of screen footage and can track nearly two hours of continuous activity, giving it 50x more visual context than previous models.

Why does it matter for businesses?
FDM-1 could transform how AI supports knowledge work. By learning from video, AI can automate complex computer tasks, speeding up workflows, improving efficiency, and reducing the need for manual training.

ANTHROPIC COWORK UPDATE: DEPARTMENT AI AGENTS, PLUGINS, AND CONNECTORS

Anthropic updated its Cowork platform with department-specific AI agents, private plugin stores, and new connectors for Gmail, DocuSign, and more. Pre-built agents cover 10 departments from HR to banking, and companies can push custom AI agents to teams with admin controls. Claude can now move between Excel and PowerPoint, analyzing data in one and creating decks in the other.

Why does it matter for businesses?
Enterprise AI is accelerating. Tools like Cowork let companies integrate AI across departments, streamline workflows, and build private agent ecosystems, raising the bar for productivity and competitive advantage in the knowledge economy.

PERPLEXITY LAUNCHES COMPUTER: MULTI-MODEL AI THAT RUNS TASKS AUTONOMOUSLY
Perplexity launched Perplexity Computer, a multi-model orchestration system that dispatches tasks across 19 AI models. Users describe an outcome, and sub-agents autonomously browse, code, connect to apps, and handle tasks. Each task runs in its own sandbox, mixing models safely and continuously for months.

Why does it matter for businesses?
This platform brings flexible, multi-model AI to enterprise workflows, allowing companies to optimize outcomes by choosing the best model for each task while maintaining sandboxed safety. It sets a new standard for scalable, autonomous AI operations.

GOOGLE LAUNCHES NANO BANANA 2: HIGH-QUALITY IMAGE AI AT HALF PRICE

Google released Nano Banana 2, an upgraded text-to-image model with higher resolution, improved consistency, better text rendering, and faster speed-all at half the price of its predecessor. It topped text-to-image leaderboards and now integrates across Gemini and Google’s ecosystem.

Why does it matter for businesses?
Companies can now generate high-quality images quickly and affordably, removing the usual trade-off between cost and output quality. This empowers marketing, design, and creative workflows at scale.

GUCCI FACES BACKLASH FOR AI-GENERATED IMAGES AT MILAN FASHION WEEK

Gucci released AI-generated images for creative director Demna’s debut Milan Fashion Week show. The campaign blended synthetic and traditional visuals but faced backlash online, with fans calling it “cheap” for a luxury brand. Gucci has previously experimented with AI in runway clips and NFTs.

Why does it matter for businesses?
AI in marketing can boost creativity and efficiency, but brand perception is critical. Misusing AI risks alienating customers, especially in luxury sectors where authenticity and craftsmanship drive value.

PEW STUDY: TEENS USE AI HEAVILY, CHEATING WIDESPREAD BUT IMPACT SEEN POSITIVE

Pew Research finds U.S. teens heavily use AI for school, information, and fun. While most see AI positively, 60–75% report AI-assisted cheating among peers. Many parents haven’t discussed AI with their children, creating a knowledge gap.

Why does it matter for businesses?

Teens are growing up with AI as a normal part of life, shaping future expectations for education, tech products, and digital services. Companies that understand this early adoption can better design tools, content, and experiences for Gen Z.

OPENAI RAISES $110B AT $730B VALUATION, AMAZON LEADS $50B DEAL

OpenAI raised $110B at a $730B valuation, led by Amazon ($50B) and $30B each from Nvidia and SoftBank. This deal marks a pivot from Microsoft-only infrastructure. ChatGPT now has 900M weekly users and 50M+ paying subscribers, with Codex usage tripling since January.

Why does it matter for businesses?

The massive raise underscores AI’s explosive growth and infrastructure demand. Companies must navigate partnerships, compute costs, and market positioning as major AI players scale rapidly toward IPOs and global adoption.

EVERYTHING ELSE THAT HAPPENED IN AI LAST WEEK

• Sonar Summit: Explore the future of AI-driven development at Sonar Summit on March 3rd. SMBs can gain insights into the latest AI dev tools and apply them to their projects.
  
• Anthropic – Remote Control for Claude Code: Anthropic launched Remote Control, letting users hand off terminal tasks to phone or browser. SMBs can manage code and workflows more efficiently remotely.
• Google Labs – ProducerAI: Google Labs acquired ProducerAI and integrated it with DeepMind Lyria 3, enabling creators to generate full tracks and instruments from text. SMB creative teams can produce content quickly.
• Inception Labs – Mercury 2: Inception Labs released Mercury 2, a diffusion-based reasoning model processing over 1,000 tokens/sec, three times faster than competitors. SMBs can accelerate AI-powered decision making.
• Meta & AMD: Meta and AMD announced a multi-year deal for up to 6GW of GPUs, reducing Nvidia-only dependency. SMB tech providers can learn how to manage AI infrastructure efficiently.
• OpenAI – Arvind KC: OpenAI hired Arvind KC as Chief People Officer to scale teams. SMBs can learn how major AI companies manage growth and talent.
• MatX: MatX raised $500M+ led by Jane Street and Situational Awareness fund. SMB AI startups can take inspiration for funding and investment opportunities.
• Anthropic – Vercept Acquisition: Anthropic acquired AI perception startup Vercept to expand Claude’s computer use capabilities. SMBs can leverage AI agents for automated tasks.
• Samsung – Galaxy S26 AI Agents: Samsung launched Galaxy S26 with Bixby, Gemini, and Perplexity as swappable AI agents. SMBs can experiment with agent integrations for products or services.
• Cursor – Cloud Agents Upgrade: Cursor upgraded cloud agents with virtual machines and desktop control, letting them autonomously build, test, and validate 

The AI revolution isn’t slowing down, and neither should your business. Whether it’s automating mundane tasks, experimenting with multi-model AI, or understanding emerging risks, each insight brings a competitive edge. Stay curious, stay proactive, and turn these small wins into lasting impact.

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