Artificial intelligence

Gigawatt-scale AI marks Anthropic’s next compute leap

Anthropic will massively expand on Google Cloud, planning to deploy up to 1 million TPUs and bring well over a gigawatt online in 2026. The multiyear investment totals tens of billions to accelerate research and product development.

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said Anthropic’s move reflects TPUs’ price-performance and efficiency, citing ongoing innovations and the seventh-generation ‘Ironwood’ TPU. Google will add capacity and drive further efficiency across its accelerator portfolio.

Anthropic now serves over 300,000 business customers, with large accounts up nearly sevenfold year over year. Added compute will meet demand while enabling deeper testing, alignment research, and responsible deployment at a global scale.

CFO Krishna Rao said the expansion keeps Claude at the frontier for Fortune 500s and AI-native startups alike. Increased capacity ensures reliability as usage and mission-critical workloads grow rapidly.

Anthropic’s diversified strategy spans Google TPUs, Amazon Trainium, and NVIDIA GPUs. It remains committed to Amazon as its primary training partner, including Project Rainier’s vast US clusters, and will continue investing to advance model capabilities.

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Meta expands AI safety tools for teens

Meta has announced new AI safety tools to give parents greater control over how teenagers use its AI features. The update will first launch on Instagram, allowing parents to disable one-on-one chats between teens and AI characters.

Parents will be able to block specific AI assistants and see topics teens discuss with them. Meta said the goal is to encourage transparency and support families as young users learn to navigate AI responsibly.

Teen protections already include PG-13-guided responses and restrictions on sensitive discussions, such as self-harm or eating disorders. The company said it also uses AI detection systems to apply safeguards when suspected minors misreport their age.

The new parental controls will roll out in English early next year across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Meta said it will continue updating features to address parents’ concerns about privacy, safety, and teen wellbeing online.

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Australia demands answers from AI chatbot providers over child safety

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has issued legal notices to four major AI companion platforms, requiring them to explain how they are protecting children from harmful or explicit content.

Character.ai, Nomi, Chai, and Chub.ai were all served under the country’s Online Safety Act and must demonstrate compliance with Australia’s Basic Online Safety Expectations.

The notices follow growing concern that AI companions, designed for friendship and emotional support, can expose minors to sexualised conversations, suicidal ideation, and other psychological risks.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the companies must show how their systems prevent such harms, not merely react to them, warning that failure to comply could lead to penalties of up to $825,000 per day.

AI companion chatbots have surged in popularity among young users, with Character.ai alone attracting nearly 160,000 monthly active users in Australia.

The Commissioner stressed that these services must integrate safety measures by design, as new enforceable codes now extend to AI platforms that previously operated with minimal oversight.

A move that comes amid wider efforts to regulate emerging AI technologies and ensure stronger child protection standards online.

Breaches of the new codes could result in civil penalties of up to $49.5 million, marking one of the toughest online safety enforcement regimes globally.

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Train your own language model for $100 with NanoChat

Andrej Karpathy has unveiled NanoChat, an open-source framework that lets users train a small-scale language model for around $100 in just a few hours. Designed for accessibility and education, the project offers a simplified path into AI model development without requiring large-scale hardware.

Running on a single GPU, NanoChat automates the full training process, from tokenisation and pretraining to fine-tuning and deployment, using a single script. The resulting model contains about 1.9 billion parameters trained on 38 billion tokens, capable of basic reasoning, text generation, and code completion.

The framework’s compact 8,000-line Python codebase is readable and modifiable, encouraging users to experiment with model design and performance benchmarks such as MMLU and ARC. Released under the MIT Licence, NanoChat provides open access to documentation and scripts on GitHub, making it an ideal resource for students, researchers, and AI enthusiasts eager to learn how language models work.

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CraftGPT: Language model built in Minecraft

A Minecraft creator known as Sammyuri has unveiled CraftGPT, an in-game language model powered entirely by redstone circuits. Built from nearly 439 million blocks, the project turns Minecraft into a working simulation of AI.

CraftGPT was trained on a tiny dataset called TinyChat, containing only 64 tokens—a minuscule amount compared to the billions used by modern large language models. Despite its simplicity, it demonstrates how AI can turn input into structured responses.

The model works by translating player inputs into redstone signals that flow through logic gates and memory circuits. It’s a creative and educational blend of engineering and imagination, showing how fundamental AI concepts can be explored inside a virtual game world.

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NVIDIA AI Day Sydney showcases Australia’s growing role in global AI innovation

Australia took centre stage in the global AI landscape last week as NVIDIA AI Day Sydney gathered over a thousand participants to explore the nation’s path toward sovereign AI.

The event, held at ICC Sydney Theatre, featured discussions on agentic and physical AI, robotics and AI factories, highlighting how the next generation of computing is driving transformation across sectors.

Industry leaders, including Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Canva and emerging startups, joined NVIDIA executives to discuss how advanced computing and AI are shaping innovation.

Brendan Hopper of the Commonwealth Bank praised NVIDIA’s role in expanding Australia’s AI ecosystem through infrastructure, partnerships and education.

Speakers such as Giuseppe Barca of QDX Technologies emphasised how AI, high-performance computing and quantum research are redefining scientific progress.

With over 600 NVIDIA Inception startups and more than 20 universities using NVIDIA technologies, Australia’s AI ecosystem is expanding rapidly. Partners like Firmus Technologies, ResetData and SHARON AI underscored how AI Day Sydney demonstrated the nation’s readiness to become a regional AI hub.

The event also hosted Australia’s first ‘Startup, VC and Partner Connect’, linking entrepreneurs, investors and government officials to accelerate collaboration.

Presentations from quantum and healthcare innovators, alongside hands-on NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute sessions, showcased real-world AI applications from generative design to medical transcription.

NVIDIA’s Sudarshan Ramachandran said Australia’s combination of high-performance computing heritage, visual effects expertise and emerging robotics sector positions it to lead in the AI era.

Through collaboration and infrastructure investment, he said, the country is building a thriving ecosystem that supports discovery, sustainability and economic growth.

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Amazon launches Help Me Decide to simplify shopping

Amazon has introduced Help Me Decide, a new AI-powered feature designed to make shopping faster and more personalised. The tool analyses browsing history and preferences to recommend the best product with one tap, offering clear explanations.

The feature appears after viewing several similar items, allowing shoppers to quickly narrow choices. It also offers options for an upgrade or a budget-friendly alternative.

Help Me Decide works alongside Amazon’s existing AI tools, including Interests, Shopping Guides, and the assistant Rufus, which provide notifications, expert guidance, and real-time answers.

Using large language models and AWS services, the tool cross-references your shopping data with product details and customer reviews. A family browsing camping gear might get a tent recommendation based on prior searches for sleeping bags, stoves, and hiking boots.

Available on the Amazon app and mobile browser, Help Me Decide helps users save time, reduce guesswork, and shop with confidence. Amazon says the feature reflects its ongoing commitment to AI-driven, user-focused shopping experiences.

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Microsoft unveils major Copilot update focused on personal and human-centred AI

Microsoft has launched its Copilot Fall Release, introducing twelve new features designed to make AI more personal, social, and human-centred. The update makes Copilot a flexible AI companion that boosts creativity and productivity while ensuring trust and user control.

A key addition is Groups, which transforms Copilot into a shared workspace for real-time collaboration. Users can brainstorm, plan, and co-write with up to 32 participants as the AI keeps discussions summarised and tasks aligned.

New creative tools such as Imagine encourage remixing and sharing of AI-generated ideas, promoting collaboration over isolation.

The update also introduces Memory & Personalisation, allowing Copilot to remember important information and recall it later, while connectors link services like OneDrive, Gmail, and Google Calendar for seamless data access. Privacy remains central, with explicit consent required for all connections.

Meanwhile, the new animated character Mico brings warmth and expression to voice-based interactions.

Beyond productivity, Microsoft is positioning Copilot as a tool for wellbeing and learning. The AI now supports health queries through trusted medical sources, helps users find doctors, and serves as a Socratic tutor in Learn Live.

Integration across Edge and Windows enhances browsing and multitasking, while the ‘Hey Copilot’ voice command enables hands-free interaction. Microsoft says the update represents a milestone in building AI that truly serves people, not the other way around.

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Meta seeks delay in complying with Dutch court order on Facebook and Instagram timelines

Meta has yet to adjust Facebook and Instagram’s timelines despite an Amsterdam court ruling that found its current design violates European law. The company says it needs more time to make the required changes and has asked the court to extend its deadline until 31 January 2026.

The dispute stems from Meta’s use of algorithmic recommendation systems that determine what posts appear on users’ feeds and in what order. Both Instagram and Facebook have the option to set your timeline to chronological order. However, the option is hard to find and is set back to the original algorithmic timeline as soon as users close the app.

The Amsterdam court earlier ruled that these systems, which reset user preferences and hide options for chronological viewing, breach the Digital Services Act (DSA) by denying users genuine autonomy, freedom of choice, and control over how information is presented.

The judge ordered Meta to modify both apps within two weeks or face penalties of €100,000 per day, up to €5 million. More than two weeks later, Meta has yet to comply, arguing that the technical changes cannot be completed within the court’s timeline.

Dutch civil rights group Bits of Freedom, which brought the case, criticised the delay as a refusal to take responsibility. ‘The legislator wants it, experts say it can be done, and the court says it must be done. Yet Meta fails to bring its platforms into line with our legislation,’ said Evelyn Austin, the organisation’s director said in a statement.

The Amsterdam Court of Appeal will review Meta’s request for an extension on 27 October.

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South Korea moves to lead the AI era with OpenAI’s economic blueprint

Poised to become a global AI powerhouse, South Korea has the right foundations in place: advanced semiconductor production, robust digital infrastructure, and a highly skilled workforce.

OpenAI’s new Economic Blueprint for Korea sets out how the nation can turn those strengths into broad, inclusive growth through scaled and trusted AI adoption.

The blueprint builds on South Korea’s growing momentum in frontier technology.

Following OpenAI’s first Asia–Pacific country partnership, initiatives such as Stargate with Samsung and SK aim to expand advanced memory supply and explore next-generation AI data centres alongside the Ministry of Science and ICT.

A new OpenAI office in Seoul, along with collaboration with Seoul National University, further signals the country’s commitment to becoming an AI hub.

A strategy that rests on two complementary paths: building sovereign AI capabilities in infrastructure, data governance, and GPU supply, while also deepening cooperation with frontier developers like OpenAI.

The aim is to enhance operational maturity and cost efficiency across key industries, including semiconductors, shipbuilding, healthcare, and education.

By combining domestic expertise with global partnerships, South Korea could boost productivity, improve welfare services, and foster regional growth beyond Seoul. With decisive action, the nation stands ready to transform from a fast adopter into a global standard-setter for safe, scalable AI systems.

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