Hello AiNews Readers!
UPDATE: I’m including this note in today’s newsletter again in case some of you missed it yesterday. It’s important to me that you know how we’re working for you at AiNews.com — and why our commitment to human journalism in an AI world matters.
Editor’s Note
Last week, we asked for your input on the newsletter format, and the results were clear: most of you like the way we’re delivering the news today. That feedback matters — we’re always working to make AiNews.com better, and your votes help guide the experience.
With that in mind, I’m excited to share a new tagline that captures what we stand for:
“Human journalism in an AI world.”
For those of you who are new here — welcome! My name is Alicia Shapiro, and I’m the CMO & Head of News Reporting at AiNews.com. Every morning, I spend about four hours researching, writing, and editing this newsletter to give you the clearest picture of what’s happening in AI — fast, factual, and without the fluff. While AI is now being used to generate news elsewhere, I want you to know: this newsletter is written by me — not by AI.
What makes us different is how we approach complex AI topics. We break them down so they’re accessible and understandable, while keeping the technical accuracy intact. You can trust our reporting to remain factual and neutral — any of my opinions on article topics or AI trends will be clearly marked as editorial articles.
You’ll also notice an “In Other News” section in every issue. These are important AI stories I’ve curated for you to be aware of, but they’re not articles I’ve written or covered in depth. My reporting and analysis will always appear in the top section of this newsletter.
And if you ever do want to know my personal take on something, I’d love to connect — just reply to this email or find me on LinkedIn. My goal is to bring you journalism that earns your trust, the way anchors like Walter Cronkite and Barbara Walters once did. In a landscape full of opinions, spin, and noise, sometimes what people want most is just a trusted source for the news — and that’s exactly what we’re here to deliver.
From time to time, you may also see a special “Breaking News” edition from me — whether it’s a major interview with an industry leader or a significant AI development that can’t wait until the next issue. These won’t happen often, but when they do, you’ll know it’s worth opening right away.
Thank you for your continued support, and if you find our newsletter helpful, please share it with someone who might benefit — and consider subscribing to our YouTube channel so you’ll be notified whenever a new interview is released.
– Alicia
Today’s Headlines:
Anthropic Launches Claude Sonnet 4.5 With Breakthrough Coding and Agentic AI Capabilities - Anthropic has announced the release of Claude Sonnet 4.5, calling it the strongest AI model yet for coding, agent creation, and advanced computer use. The company said the model delivers “substantial gains in reasoning and math,” while maintaining long focus on complex, multi-step tasks.
Perplexity Launches Comet AI Browser for All Users, Free of Charge - Perplexity has officially released its Comet AI browser to all users free of charge, ending its waitlist phase and embedding AI assistants directly into each tab to help with tasks like research, coding, shopping, and email. It also features background AI agents that run tasks asynchronously, while its mobile version (currently in preview) will bring voice-enabled assistance to phones.
Google Adds AI-Powered Ransomware Protection to Drive for Desktop - Google is rolling out AI-powered ransomware protection for Drive on desktop (Windows & macOS), halting file sync when suspicious behavior is detected and enabling quick recovery of clean versions. This open beta feature is included at no extra cost for most Workspace and consumer users.
In Other News:Apple halts Vision Pro overhaul to focus on AI glasses - Apple has paused development of a next-gen Vision Pro headset to reallocate resources toward AI-powered smart glasses, reportedly shelving its lighter, lower-cost “N100” variant. This signals Apple’s shift toward wearable AI devices as its next big bet.
Microsoft Commits $33B in “Neocloud” Deals to Grow AI Infrastructure - Microsoft is investing $33 billion across neocloud providers like Nebius and CoreWeave, with the Nebius deal alone securing over 100,000 Nvidia GB300 chips. By renting outside servers for its own workloads, Microsoft frees up its in-house infrastructure to support more customers. This helps Microsoft scale faster without hitting data center bottlenecks.
OpenAI is the world’s most valuable private company after private stock sale - After a secondary stock sale valued at $6.6 billion, OpenAI’s valuation surged to $500 billion, making it the most valuable privately held tech company on Earth. The milestone cements AI as the hottest sector in tech investment today.
Create a professional headshot with Gemini
In this tutorial, you will learn to transform a casual selfie into a polished professional headshot using Gemini 2.5 Flash, with no expensive studio session required.
Step-by-step:
Go to gemini.google.com and toggle on "Create Images" at the top of the prompt box
Upload your selfie and paste this prompt: "Transform my selfie into a fresh but professional image suitable for a social media profile. The lighting should be natural, flattering, and multi-dimensional. My head is slightly tilted so it doesn't look stiff, and it should look like I'm in a modern, bright office with a blurred background"
Review the result and tweak the prompt if needed, and adjust the background description or lighting until it feels right
Download your finished headshot to use for LinkedIn, résumés, websites, or speaking profiles
Pro tip: Play around with different backgrounds like "warm café," "neutral studio," or "outdoor blurred park" to see which one aligns with your professional brand.
AI Tools:
Please note that AiNews.com does not endorse the following AI tools. We aim to share the tools we come across that you may find helpful in you work or daily lives.
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Ask Steve: Time-Saving AI Agents For Your Browser. Ask Steve agents work on any website or web application. Now AI agents can help you right where you already are.
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Our LinkedIn Community is growing - Will you join us? We invite you to join our LinkedIn group to participate in AI discussions and share developments with the rest of the group. Join today!