Digital business models

Copilot Mode turns Edge into an active assistant

Edge says the browser should work with you, not just wait for clicks. Copilot Mode adds chat-first tabs, multi-tab reasoning, and a dynamic pane for in-context help. Plan trips, compare options, and generate schedules without tab chaos.

Microsoft Copilot now resumes past sessions, so projects pick up exactly where you stopped. It can execute multi-step actions, like building walking tours, end-to-end. Optional history signals improve suggestions and speed up research-heavy tasks.

Voice controls handle quick actions and deeper chores with conversational prompts. Ask Copilot to open pages, summarise threads, or unsubscribe you from promo emails. Reservations and other multi-step chores are rolling out next.

Journeys groups past browsing into topic timelines for fast re-entry, with explicit opt-in. Privacy controls are prominent: clear cues when Copilot listens, acts, or views. You can toggle Copilot Mode off anytime.

Security features round things out: local AI blocks scareware overlays by default. Built-in password tools continuously create, store, and monitor credentials. Copilot Mode is in all Copilot markets on Edge desktop and mobile and is coming soon.

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Microsoft revives friendly AI helper with Mico

Microsoft has unveiled a new AI companion called Mico, designed to replace the infamous Clippy as the friendly face of its Copilot assistant. The animated avatar, shaped like a glowing flame or blob, reacts emotionally and visually during conversations with users.

Executives said Mico aims to balance warmth and utility, offering human-like cues without becoming intrusive. Unlike Clippy, the character can easily be switched off and is intended to feel supportive rather than persistent or overly personal.

Mico’s launch reflects growing debate about personality in AI assistants as tech firms navigate ethical concerns. Microsoft stressed that its focus remains on productivity and safety, distancing itself from flirtatious or emotionally manipulative AI designs seen elsewhere.

The character will first appear in US versions of Copilot on laptops and mobile apps. Microsoft also revealed an AI tutoring mode for students, reinforcing its efforts to create more educational and responsibly designed AI experiences.

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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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Noetix Robotics launches a humanoid robot for everyday use at under $1,400

China’s Noetix Robotics has introduced Bumi, a compact humanoid robot that could bring robotics into everyday homes and classrooms.

Priced at around $1,370, the 94-centimetre robot marks a major step in making advanced robotics accessible to ordinary consumers.

Weighing 12 kilograms, Bumi can walk on two legs and perform coordinated movements such as dancing. Built with lightweight composite materials, it integrates Noetix’s self-developed motion control system and an open programming interface designed for both learning and creativity.

Aimed at education and domestic use, Bumi represents Noetix Robotics’ entry into the consumer robotics sector, long dominated by high-cost prototypes and research models.

The company plans to open preorders between China’s Double 11 and Double 12 shopping festivals, describing the launch as a milestone in moving humanoid robots from laboratories into everyday life.

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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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Russia orders Apple to set Russian search engine by default

Russia’s federal anti-monopoly service has ordered Apple to preinstall a Russian-made search engine, such as Yandex or Mail.ru, by default on all devices sold in Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union. The regulator claims Apple’s current setup gives foreign providers unfair market advantages.

The letter from FAS director Maxim Shaskolsky said Apple’s practices breach consumer protection laws by denying users equal access to local services. Authorities argue that default settings favour non-Russian search engines and restrict fair competition within domestic markets.

Apple has until 31 October to comply or face potential fines and restrictions. Russia’s Ministry of Digital Affairs warned of serious consequences if the company ignores the directive. Officials noted that Google previously avoided penalties after offering users a search engine choice.

Apple’s relations with Moscow have been tense since 2024, when the firm removed VPN apps under government pressure. Digital rights groups described the move as a threat to privacy, and analysts see the latest demand as part of Russia’s push for greater online control.

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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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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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