Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

MIT Spearheads AI Innovation in Health, Chemistry, and Simulation

This week’s AI news highlights several key developments from MIT. A new AI model named VaxSeer now surpasses the WHO in predicting effective flu vaccine strains. Concurrently, a generative AI called FlowER, also developed by MIT, can accurately model complex chemical reactions. Furthermore, MIT is establishing a new DOE-funded center dedicated to exascale simulations, pushing the boundaries of computational research.

Progress Launches Agentic RAG Platform for Generative AI

Progress Software has launched Progress Agentic RAG, a new SaaS platform built on Retrieval-Augmented Generation technology. This platform enables organizations to leverage generative AI with their proprietary business data for more reliable and verifiable outcomes. Designed as a no-code solution, it aims to democratize generative AI by transforming unstructured data into actionable intelligence. The platform, originating from Progress’s acquisition of Nuclia, is now available on the AWS Marketplace and directly from Progress, with pricing from $700 per month.

OpenAI Refines Model Spec for Agentic AI Safety

OpenAI has updated its Model Spec, the core document guiding its AI models’ behavior. The update provides clearer guardrails for agentic use cases, where models can take action. A key change is renaming the highest authority level from “Platform” to “Root” to clarify which rules are non-negotiable. The new authority hierarchy is Root, System, Developer, User, and Guideline. OpenAI has also incorporated public feedback to expand guidance on model personalities and safety protocols.

Anthropic Partners with US & UK AI Safety Institutes

Anthropic has announced a collaboration with the US AI Safety Institute (US CAISI) and the UK AI Safety Institute (UK AISI) to bolster the safeguards of its AI models. This partnership will concentrate on enhancing the security and safety of their AI systems. The announcement coincides with the release of Claude Opus 4.1, an upgraded model featuring improved performance in agentic tasks, coding, and reasoning.

Robotics & Autonomous Systems

USC’s MOTIF Hand: A Leap in Robotic Sensing Technology

A research team at the University of Southern California has developed the MOTIF Hand, a sensory robot hand that uses optical fibers to detect force, temperature, and vibrations without direct physical contact. This multimodal optical tactile sensing marks a significant improvement over older sensor technologies prone to wear. The non-contact design of the MOTIF Hand’s sensors promises safer human-robot collaboration and opens applications in precision manufacturing, surgery, and culinary automation.

Oxa Debuts Autonomous Bradshaw T800 Electric Tow Tractor

Autonomous vehicle specialist Oxa has unveiled the autonomous Bradshaw T800, an electric tow tractor powered by Oxa’s proprietary self-driving software. Capable of towing up to eight tonnes, the vehicle is engineered for continuous operation in complex environments like airports and warehouses. The T800 addresses labor shortages and rising operational costs by providing a safe, efficient, and scalable ground logistics solution. Its advanced sensors enhance safety by detecting obstacles, enabling it to operate indoors and outdoors around the clock.

Cloud Native & DevOps

OpenTelemetry Adds Support for AI Agent Observability

The open-source OpenTelemetry project is being updated with semantic extensions to support telemetry data collection from AI agents. This enhancement will allow observability platforms to monitor AI agents within the same ecosystem as other applications, removing the need for separate AI-specific platforms. As OpenTelemetry becomes easier to deploy, its adoption is growing. This initiative aligns with industry trends, as companies like Cisco integrate AI agents into their observability platforms to automate data collection, root cause analysis, and issue resolution, reducing manual IT overhead.

Kubernetes 1.34 ‘Of Wind & Will’ Enhances Day-2 Operations

Kubernetes 1.34, codenamed ‘Of Wind & Will’, has been released with a focus on improving usability, DevOps, and Day-2 operations. This version avoids critical API deprecations, promising a smoother upgrade process. Key enhancements include new container restart rules for better application resilience and ordered namespace deletion for increased reliability in large clusters. Additionally, production-ready OpenTelemetry-powered distributed tracing for the kubelet and API server provides deeper end-to-end infrastructure visibility.

Quantum Computing

Quantum Entanglement Breakthrough Unlocks Teleportation Potential

Scientists in Japan have achieved a major breakthrough by developing a method to identify the elusive ‘W state’ of quantum entanglement, a challenge that has stumped researchers for decades. This discovery creates new pathways for quantum teleportation and other advanced quantum technologies. The team from Kyoto and Hiroshima Universities used a high-stability optical quantum circuit to demonstrate their method with three photons, successfully distinguishing between different types of three-photon W states. This achievement could inspire new quantum communication protocols and measurement-based quantum computing approaches.