Perplexity launches Personal Computer, a 24/7 AI agent running on a Mac mini that reportedly saved $1.6 million in labor costs during internal testing, performing 3.25 years of work in four weeks, and is now available via waitlist as a consumer-friendly alternative to engineer-focused AI tools.
A Harvard Kennedy School researcher warns that human-like AI chatbots are fueling emotional dependency and a dangerous new economic model called 'intimacy capitalism,' where companies profit by monetizing human attachment, potentially deepening societal loneliness on a massive scale.
Amazon launches Health AI, a HIPAA-compliant agentic assistant giving Prime members 24/7 personalized health guidance, lab result explanations, and up to five free medical consultations with One Medical providers — a value of up to $145 at no extra cost.
OpenAI is integrating its Sora video generator directly into ChatGPT, sparking deepfake fears as the tool has already been used to create realistic fake videos of historical figures, while the move signals a competitive push against Anthropic's rapidly growing Claude platform.
A powerful new open-source voice AI tool called RCLI now lets Apple Silicon Mac users run a full speech-to-text, LLM, and text-to-speech pipeline entirely on-device with no cloud or API keys required, supporting 38 voice-controlled actions and ultra-fast local document querying at just 4ms latency.
A16z partner Olivia Moore reveals which consumer AI apps are breaking into the mainstream, spotlighting personal AI agents, memory-driven systems, and coding tools that are rapidly reshaping how people build, create, and work in 2026.
Cathie Wood is calling Anthropic's Claude AI a 'True PC Moment' after it topped US app downloads, surpassing ChatGPT, while ARK Invest doubles down on AI investments amid Claude's rapid automation of complex finance workflows.
Anthropic launches Claude Cowork, a desktop AI agent that executes real tasks like organizing files and generating reports directly on users' computers, requiring step-by-step approval before acting and storing all data locally for privacy.
OpenAI indefinitely delays ChatGPT's 'adult mode' feature, originally teased in October, citing the need for stronger age verification and youth protection systems before it can responsibly launch.
Google's Circle to Search and Lens now use a powerful 'fan-out' technique driven by Gemini AI to simultaneously identify and search multiple objects in a single image, delivering one cohesive response in seconds for complex visual queries about outfits, rooms, and more.