New releases, benchmarks, pricing and API changes from GPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Qwen and other large language models, updated daily.
Baidu just upgraded its foundation model to Ernie 3.5, claiming it beats ChatGPT and GPT 4 on multiple Chinese language benchmark tests. The update also adds plugin support, letting Ernie Bot connect directly to tools like Baidu search. While it still trails OpenAI on English and broad academic tests, Baidu is pushing hard to defend its home turf.
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis revealed that the team is building Gemini, a flagship model designed to surpass OpenAI's GPT-4. By integrating AlphaGo-style reinforcement learning and tree search, DeepMind aims to equip the system with advanced planning and problem-solving skills, taking on ChatGPT directly.
Inflection just took the wraps off Inflection-1, the in-house LLM powering its conversational assistant, Pi. Matching GPT-3.5 in training compute, it shines on common sense and high-school-level test benchmarks, though it still falls behind on coding. The team says a larger model comparable to GPT-4 is already in the oven.
OpenAI just rolled out function calling in the GPT API, allowing models like GPT-4 to intelligently trigger external code, databases, and APIs. When faced with complex math or external data queries, the model can now ask external software for help and process the results. Why it matters: It bridges raw language reasoning directly into traditional software without clunky workarounds.
OpenAI just overhauled its Chat Completions API with native function calling, letting GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 reliably output structured JSON to trigger external tools. The update also introduces a 16k context window for GPT-3.5 Turbo and slashes embedding costs by 75%. Why it matters: developers can now build real-world agents and database workflows without hacking fragile prompts.
Anthropic just expanded Claude’s context window from 9K to 100K tokens, or about 75,000 words. The model can now digest hundreds of pages of documentation, books, or financial reports and synthesize answers in seconds. The 100K context window is available now via Anthropic's API.
Google just unveiled its next-gen PaLM 2 language model at I/O, powering the newly updated Bard and serving as the foundation for the company's latest AI updates. Instead of chasing pure parameter scale, PaLM 2 sharpens logic, math, and support for over 100 languages. It also spawns specialized variants like Codey and Med-PaLM 2, plus a mobile version hitting 20 tokens per second.
Google is reportedly planning to launch its latest large language model, PaLM 2, at its developer conference this week. Internal documents show the model supports over 100 languages with advanced coding and math skills, alongside new generative experiences rolling out to Bard, Search, and Workspace. Why it matters: Google is ramping up its defense against Microsoft and OpenAI by aggressively injecting generative AI across its flagship products.
Russian banking giant Sberbank just unveiled GigaChat, an AI chatbot designed to rival ChatGPT that is currently in closed, invite-only testing. The lender claims its key edge is superior Russian language fluency, coming as Moscow pushes hard to replace foreign tech amid Western sanctions.
OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman took the TED stage to break down the design principles behind ChatGPT, demoing several unreleased plug-ins in the process. He also sat down with TED head Chris Anderson to address the timeline of its creation and the risks of putting such powerful tech into the wild.
Alibaba just unveiled Tongyi Qianwen, its bilingual large language model designed to compete directly with ChatGPT. The company plans to roll out the AI across its entire product lineup, starting with workplace tool DingTalk and smart speaker Tmall Genie. Enterprise clients and developers can also apply for beta access on Alibaba Cloud to fine-tune custom models.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai just revealed that Bard will soon be upgraded to Google's larger PaLM models, bringing sharper reasoning, coding, and math capabilities. Addressing criticism that the bot lags behind rivals, Pichai admitted the initial launch on a lightweight LaMDA was like putting a "souped-up Civic" into a supercar race, but updates are rolling out next week.
Baidu just hosted a closed-door session unveiling new capabilities for Ernie Bot, demonstrating automated financial summaries, PowerPoint deck creation, and virtual avatar generation. The company also confirmed a dedicated industrial version is coming alongside its chatbot, opening for enterprise signups on March 31. Why it matters: Baidu is aggressively positioning Ernie as the foundational B2B interface for Chinese enterprises.
OpenAI just published a technical post-mortem detailing the March 20 ChatGPT outage. A bug in the open-source redis-py library corrupted cache connections, accidentally exposing chat titles and payment info—including names, emails, and credit card last four digits—for about 1.2% of active Plus subscribers. OpenAI has patched the issue alongside Redis maintainers and restored service.
Baidu just unveiled its ChatGPT rival Ernie Bot in Beijing, but reliance on pre-recorded video demos instead of a live test triggered an investor selloff. Shares dropped 6.4% in Hong Kong, wiping out $3 billion. Why it matters: China's biggest AI launch stumbled right out of the gate, with CEO Robin Li admitting the tool is not yet ready.
Anthropic just made its next-gen AI assistant Claude available across chat and API. Designed to be helpful, honest, and harmless, it arrives in two versions: the flagship Claude and a faster, cheaper Claude Instant. Early partners like Notion and Quora highlight its steerability and natural conversational style.
OpenAI just launched GPT-4, a multimodal model that accepts text and image inputs while showing human-level benchmark performance. It scored in the top 10% of a simulated bar exam—trouncing GPT-3.5's bottom 10% showing—and cuts disallowed responses by 82%. Text capabilities are live for ChatGPT Plus and API waitlists, while image features remain in research preview.
Microsoft Germany CTO Andreas Braun just let slip at an AI event that GPT-4 is coming next week, confirming it will feature multimodal capabilities. The upgrade is expected to handle modalities beyond text, including possibilities like video. Why it matters: Adding multimodal powers directly to OpenAI's flagship model marks a major leap toward making AI understand the world in more formats than just text.
Microsoft just launched a preview of its Florence-powered Vision API in Azure, bringing on Reddit to automatically generate image alt text for accessibility and search ranking. The multimodal model is trained on billions of image-text pairs and can spit out up to 10,000 tags per image, though access is currently restricted to existing Azure customers.
Google just shared new details on its Universal Speech Model (USM), a 2-billion-parameter system trained on 12 million hours of audio across 300+ languages. It currently supports speech recognition and translation for over 100 languages, and is already powering YouTube's closed captions. Why it matters: It marks Google's first critical milestone toward understanding the world's 1,000 most-spoken languages.
