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- Pentagon Leaves Anthropic Out, Openai Introduces Codex Pets and more...
Pentagon Leaves Anthropic Out, Openai Introduces Codex Pets and more...
And everything else you need to catch up on that happened this week yet!
What's Up in AI
May 04, 2026
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Welcome Back, AI Geeks!
It’s time to stay updated with What’s Up in AI.
The Pentagon is deciding which AI companies get inside its most sensitive systems and OpenAI is has made the cutest pets to give you better insights of your code.
Um, also this is a little overwhelming but AI can temporarily take control of your hand now: CLICK
In today’s issue:
🪖 Pentagon Leaves Anthropic Out
🐾 Openai Introduces Codex Pets
⚡ 5-4-3-2-1 hits you just can't miss
📰 What Else Happened in AI
😂 Your AI-Powered Laugh
Read time: 6 mins
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#1 LATEST IN AI TODAY📎
What Happened (Apr 2026):
The Pentagon added 8 AI companies to its classified networks, including OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft — but excluded Anthropic, despite similar safety limits in the contracts.
What You Need to Know:
Approved companies include SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, Nvidia, Microsoft, AWS, Oracle, and Reflection.
The DoD says this is part of becoming an “AI-first fighting force”, integrating models into defense systems.
Anthropic remains labeled a “supply chain risk”, even as officials acknowledged its Mythos model as a major national security moment.
Why It Matters:
This isn’t about capability — it’s about trust. In AI, who gets access to government infrastructure may matter more than who builds the best model.
#2 LATEST IN AI TODAY📎
What Happened (May 2026):
OpenAI introduced Codex Pets, small animated companions inside the Codex app that visually show what your AI agent is doing in real time.
What You Need to Know:
These pets aren’t just for fun — they reflect the agent’s state (thinking, waiting, stuck, done) so you don’t have to keep checking logs or progress bars.
They sit as a floating overlay across your desktop, letting you track long-running tasks without switching tabs.
Users can customize or generate their own pets, turning agent workflows into something more intuitive and visible.
Why It Matters:
As AI agents start running tasks for minutes or hours, the real problem becomes “what is it doing right now?” and this is OpenAI’s attempt to make invisible AI work feel visible and understandable.
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QUICK HITS 💥
It’s time for some quick hits that you’ll love. Let’s go in…..5-4-3-2-1 👇️
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3-THINGS IN TREND
This infographic breaks down the 8 critical aspects of a great prompt, including the task, success brief, alignment plan, and more (4,000 bookmarks)
You can now give Claude a name, face, and personality thanks to a new plugin powered by Pika Labs.
A viral realtor ad explains what to do if you fall out of an airplane — before taking an unexpected twist
2-USEFUL LINKS
Engineers in Germany are developing tele-operated robotic arms to retrieve 126,000 radioactive waste barrels from the Asse II salt mine—a location too unstable and contaminated for human workers.
If successful, the effort could become a blueprint for cleaning up aging Cold War-era nuclear sites around the world.
WHAT ELSE HAPPENED IN AI 📰
🤖 OpenClaw Taps ChatGPT Subscriptions
Sam Altman said OpenClaw users can use their OpenAI ChatGPT subscriptions inside the tool, pushing back on rival limits.
🛒 Maryland Bans AI Price Discrimination
Maryland passed the first U.S. ban on AI driven grocery pricing. Stores face fines up to 25K for using personal data to raise prices.
🎬 Actors Union Wins AI Protections
SAG-AFTRA secured new AI safeguards in its studio deal. Negotiators held out until protections were added.
⚖️ Court Rejects AI Job Replacement Firings
A court in China ruled that replacing workers with AI is not valid grounds for termination. The company must pay damages.
🏥 Harvard Study Tests AI in ER Cases
Harvard University research published in Science found OpenAI’s o1 preview outperformed physicians in diagnosing 76 ER cases using text records.
Funding 💰️
South Korea to invest $381 million in AI startup Upstage to boost sovereign AI ambitions
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