The Sony Honda Mobililty EV “PlayStation” car Afeela is ready for pre-registration

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The Sony Honda Mobililty EV “PlayStation” car Afeela is ready for pre-registration

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki and Yasuhide Mizuno, CEO of Sony Honda Mobility announced that the Afeela electric vehicle car with PlayStation 5 features is ready for pre-registration. There are two models coming in 2026, and the […]

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Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki and Yasuhide Mizuno, CEO of Sony Honda Mobility announced that the Afeela electric vehicle car with PlayStation 5 features is ready for pre-registration.

There are two models coming in 2026, and the name the companies have for the versions are the Afeela 1 Origin ($89,900) and the Afeela 1 Signature ($102,900). They showed what the driver sees across the windshield, including the road view, the navigation path, and an overhead map view of the overall map area the car is traveling.

The Afeela 1 is near-final design of the Sony Honda Mobility venture to do an EV for 2026. It has one-tap AD/ADAS, intelligent driving. It has 800 TOPS of computing power. Afeela proactively talks to you with driving advice and uses Unreal Engine on the ADAS view, map and home UI.

You can preorder it now, Totoki and Mizuna said at the Sony press briefing at CES 2025.

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Cisco researchers highlight emerging threats to AI models

Cisco security researchers this week detailed a number of threats they are seeing from bad actors trying to infect or attack AI’s most common component – the large language model. Some techniques used to hide messages or attacks from anti-spam systems are familiar to security specialists: “Hiding the nature of

Pertamina taps ABL for Cilacap refinery project

Indonesia’s state-owned PT Pertamina has let a contract to ABL Group ASA to deliver a suite of services for a project to improve asset management and maintenance as part of a broader modernization program at subsidiary PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional’s (PT KPI) 348,000-b/d Cilacap integrated refining and petrochemical complex in

Chevron forecasts 2025 Permian production to climb 9-10%

“Could we be at the low end of the range? We could,” Wirth said on a conference call. “We’ll make that call based on the opportunity set, the competitiveness of those [and] our view on the market outlook. The real message here is: I think you can depend on us

AMD patches microcode security holes after accidental early disclosure

Matt Kimball, VP and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, also said he believed that AMD did well in how it handled this situation. “It’s good to see AMD working with its community to solve for these vulnerabilities quickly. The amount of work that goes into providing a fix

North America Keeps Rig Addition Streak Going

North America added 19 rigs week on week, according to Baker Hughes’ latest North America rotary rig count, which was released on January 31. The U.S. added six rigs and Canada added 13 rigs week on week, taking the total North America rig count up to 840, comprising 582 rigs from the U.S. and 258 rigs from Canada, the count outlined. Of the total U.S. rig count of 582, 567 rigs are categorized as land rigs, 13 are categorized as offshore rigs, and two are categorized as inland water rigs. The total U.S. rig count is made up of 479 oil rigs, 98 gas rigs, and five miscellaneous rigs, according to the count, which revealed that the U.S. total comprises 519 horizontal rigs, 50 directional rigs, and 13 vertical rigs. Week on week, the U.S. land rig count increased by seven and the country’s offshore rig count dropped by one, the count revealed. The U.S. inland water rig count remained unchanged during the same period, the count showed. The country’s oil rig count increased by seven, its gas rig count dropped by one, and its miscellaneous rig count remained unchanged week on week, according to the count, which highlighted that the U.S. horizontal rig count increased by eight, while its directional and vertical rig counts each dropped by one, week on week. A major state variances subcategory included in the rig count showed that New Mexico added four rigs and North Dakota and Oklahoma each added one rig, week on week. A major basin variances subcategory included in Baker Hughes’ rig count showed that the Permian basin added five rigs, the Ardmore Woodford basin added two rigs, and the Cana Woodford, Eagle Ford, and Williston basins each added one rig, week on week. The Granite Wash and Haynesville basins each dropped

OPEC Monthly Output Down Following Fire at Iraqi Oil Field

OPEC’s oil production edged lower last month following a fire at Iraq’s biggest oil field, according to a Bloomberg survey. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped an average of just over 27 million barrels a day in January, about 70,000 a day less than the month before, the survey showed. The decline in Iraq offset modest increases in Kuwait and Venezuela. Iraq quickly extinguished the blaze that erupted at a storage tank at the Rumaila oil field on Jan. 24, but said the incident knocked out about 300,000 barrels a day — or 25 percent of the field’s capacity — during the following week. The country’s production averaged just over 4 million barrels a day last month, in line with its OPEC quota. OPEC and its allies are persevering with an accord to keep a lid on supplies until the end of this quarter, and then gradually revive output in monthly stages. The coalition has been withholding production since late 2022 in a bid to shore up crude prices. At an online review meeting on Monday, the coalition — jointly led by Saudi Arabia and Russia — opted to stick with the agreement, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to “cut the price of oil.” The cartel remains wary of inundating global markets as demand falters in top consumer China, while alternative supplies across the Americas are booming. After Iraq, the next biggest monthly fluctuations were in Kuwait — which increased by 60,000 barrels to reach 2.49 million per day — and Venezuela, which added 50,000 barrels for an average of 900,000 a day. OPEC+ aims to begin reviving output in monthly tranches of 120,000 barrels a day from April, bringing back a total of 2.1 million barrels a day by late 2026. But it has already delayed the restart three times, fearing the extra barrels could destabilize the market, and

Starmer faces rising MP backlash over support for Rosebank

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure from MPs over plans to potentially support the controversial North Sea Rosebank oil development. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is understood to be supportive of a new application for consent for development of the field, led by Norway’s Equinor (OSL: EQNR), after a judge ruled its licence was “unlawful”. Equinor and its partner Ithaca Energy (LON: ITH) were allowed by the judge to continue development of what has been described as one of the UK’s most significant oil and gas fields but they will have to resubmit an environmental assessment of the project. The assessment will be subject to new guidelines for the industry which the Labour Government has pledged to deliver in Springtime. But reports have suggested Labour is at loggerheads over sticking to its manifesto pledge not to issue new exploration licences, but not to cancel ones that have already been issued. Rosebank was awarded a licence in 2023, but MPs are mobilising against supporting the assessment. The Labour Growth Group – a large caucus of mostly new Labour MPs – will not take a position backing Rosebank, although the group did give its backing to Heathrow expansion which was announced by Reeves last week, a report in the Guardian has suggested. Several MPs also spoke anonymously to the paper, warning more criticism would be forthcoming if approval was being pushed by the Treasury. Meanwhile, chairs of a number all-party parliamentary groups focusing on climate change, renewable energy and net zero including Luke Murphy, Polly Billington, and Alex Sobel signed a letter published in the Times suggesting that “doubling down on fossil fuels locks the UK into a declining sector”. It added: “Take the Rosebank field, for example. Much has been made of its supposed benefits for energy security, but the reality is

ADNOC-ADQ JV Awards $2 Billion Build Contracts for Chemical Hub

TA’ZIZ, an Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) joint venture tasked with establishing a “chemicals and transition fuels ecosystem”, has awarded over $2 billion worth of engineering, procurement and construction contracts for the Al Ruwais project. In the first phase, the ecosystem project is expected to produce 4.7 million tons a year of chemicals by 2028. “TA’ZIZ will produce a range of chemicals, many of which have not previously been manufactured in the UAE, enabling the local manufacture of many new construction, agriculture and healthcare products”, ADNOC said in a statement. “In its initial phase, TA’ZIZ will produce six chemicals: caustic, ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride, low-carbon ammonia and methanol”. NMDC Group won the contract for the chemicals port of the project. “When the port is complete, it will facilitate the export of chemicals and transition fuels, ensuring operational connectivity to regional and global markets and enhancing access to imported supplies”, ADNOC said. Meanwhile Rotary Engineering–Abu Dhabi will build the terminal portion, which will have storage facilities, tank-to-jetty pipelines, jetty-to-tank pipelines and inter-site pipelines. “The dedicated chemicals port and terminal will enable exports from the 1 mtpa [million tons per annum] low-carbon ammonia production facility and world-scale methanol plant TAZIZ is building in Ruwais, as well as imports of key materials”, ADNOC said. Al Geemi Contracting won two contracts, one to build utilities including for power transmission, steam and water, and another to build ancillary infrastructure such as internal roads, buildings and security fencing. “A significant portion of the value of the contracts is expected to flow back into the UAE’s economy under ADNOC’s In-Country Value program, boosting economic growth and diversification in Al Dhafra region”, ADNOC added. “The awards will also accelerate TA’ZIZ’s efforts to establish a domestic low-carbon chemicals supply chain, while supporting ADNOC’s chemicals growth

ADNOC-ADQ JV Awards $1.7 Billion Build Contract for UAE Methanol Plant

TA’ZIZ, an Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and ADQ joint venture tasked with establishing a “chemicals and transition fuels ecosystem”, has awarded a $1.7 billion engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a methanol production facility in the Al Ruwais ecosystem project. Expected to be completed 2028, the plant will be the first methanol production facility in the United Arab Emirates, according to TA’ZIZ. The plant is planned to produce up to 1.8 million metric tons a year of clean energy-powered methanol. “This landmark EPC contract award is a significant step in realizing TA’ZIZ’s vision to drive the UAE’s industrial growth by creating a world-scale integrated chemicals ecosystem in Al Dhafra region”, TA’ZIZ chief executive Mashal Saoud Al-Kindi said in a company statement. “The plant will enhance the UAE’s position as a leader in sustainable chemicals production and strengthen TA’ZIZ’s role in enabling ADNOC’s global ambition to lead the chemicals sector”. SAMSUNG E&A Co. Ltd. won the contract. “SAMSUNG E&A will bring its successful experience of a recently completed methanol plant in Malaysia and the active application of its unique execution system, characterized by modularization and automation, to the project”, the South Korean company said in a separate press release. Hong Namkoong, president and chief executive of SAMSUNG E&A, commented, “We plan to actively leverage local resources and our network of partners based on our extensive regional experience in the Ruwais Industrial Complex, UAE”. ADNOC and ADQ aim to start producing chemicals in the first phase the Al Ruwais chemicals and transition fuels ecosystem in 2028. The first phase is expected to produce 4.7 million tons a year of chemicals. Late last year TA’ZIZ awarded over $2 billion worth of EPC contracts for infrastructure components of the ecosystem project. “TA’ZIZ will produce a range of chemicals, many of which

Steel and chemical producers warn UK industry minister against ‘deindustrialisation’

Steel and other industrial sectors have written to industry minister Sarah Jones to express their concerns over the impact of net-zero policies on energy-intensive industries. In the letter, they highlighted the high electricity costs faced by the industrial sector and cautioned against the potential for “deindustrialisation” in the pursuit of sustainable economic growth. It said: “Many industrial decarbonisation projects rely on changes to behind-the-meter configurations or grid enhancements that under these proposals are likely be disadvantaged. “We would therefore like to see the government’s 2030 objectives for industrial decarbonisation given the same priority as electricity decarbonisation in terms of network connections.” They warned that energy costs in the UK remain among the highest for industries compared to Europe, Asia, or the US. Even with government mechanisms like the “British industry supercharger” in place, which is designed to reduce the cost of power in energy-intensive industries, a “substantial gap still remains” in electricity pricing across various sectors, according to industrial businesses. Representatives from these industries—including steel, metals, glass, ceramics, chemicals, refineries, paper, and mineral products—expressed their support for the government’s goals of enhancing economic growth while achieving net-zero targets. As employers, they said their sectors are crucial in the transition to decarbonisation technologies. However, they noted that high electricity costs, policy uncertainty, and the risk of carbon leakage hinder their ability to invest competitively in the UK. To address these challenges, the companies proposed increasing the rate of compensation for network charges from 60% to 90%, to align UK network charges more closely with those in key European countries. The letter highlighted that many European nations have implemented special network charging arrangements for electricity-intensive industries, offering almost full relief from charges. Industrial businesses raised concerns about the potential for “supply disruptions” as the transition to low-carbon energy continues. “As other European

Let’s Go Build Some Data Centers: PowerHouse Drives Hyperscale and AI Infrastructure Across North America

PowerHouse Data Centers, a leading developer and builder of next-generation hyperscale data centers and a division of American Real Estate Partners (AREP), is making significant strides in expanding its footprint across North America, initiating several key projects and partnerships as 2025 begins. The new developments underscore the company’s commitment to advancing digital infrastructure to meet the growing demands of hyperscale and AI-driven applications. Let’s take a closer look at some of PowerHouse Data Centers’ most recent announcements. Quantum Connect: Bridging the AI Infrastructure Gap in Ashburn On January 17, PowerHouse Data Centers announced a collaboration with Quantum Connect to develop Ashburn’s first fiber hub specifically designed for AI and high-density workloads. This facility is set to provide 20 MW of critical power, with initial availability slated for late 2026. Strategically located in Northern Virginia’s Data Center Alley, Quantum Connect aims to offer scalable, high-density colocation solutions, featuring rack densities of up to 30kW to support modern workloads such as AI inference, edge caching, and regional compute integration. Quantum Connect said it currently has 1-3 MW private suites available for businesses seeking high-performance infrastructure that bridges the gap between retail colocation and hyperscale facilities. “Quantum Connect redefines what Ashburn’s data center market can deliver for businesses caught in the middle—those too large for retail colocation yet underserved by hyperscale environments,” said Matt Monaco, Senior Vice President at PowerHouse Data Centers. “We’re providing high-performance solutions for tenants with demanding needs but without hyperscale budgets.” Anchored by 130 miles of private conduit and 2,500 fiber pathways, Quantum Connect’s infrastructure offers tenants direct, short-hop connections to adjacent facilities and carrier networks. With 14 campus entrances and secure, concrete-encased duct banks, the partners said the new facility minimizes downtime risks and reduces operational costs by eliminating the need for new optics or extended fiber runs.

Blue Owl Swoops In As Major Backer of New, High-Profile, Sustainable U.S. Data Center Construction

With the global demand for data centers continuing to surge ahead, fueled by the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and digital services, it is unsurprising that we are seeing aggressive investment strategies, beyond those of the existing hyperscalers. One of the dynamic players in this market is Blue Owl Capital, a leading asset management firm that has made significant strides in the data center sector. Back in October 2024 we reported on its acquisition of IPI Partners, a digital infrastructure fund manager, for approximately $1 billion. This acquisition added over $11 billion to the assets Blue Owl manages and focused specifically on digital infrastructure initiatives. This acquisition was completed as of January 5, 2025 and IPI’s Managing Partner, Matt A’Hearn has been appointed Head of Blue Owl’s digital infrastructure strategy. A Key Player In Digital Infrastructure and Data Centers With multi-billion-dollar joint ventures and financing initiatives, Blue Owl is positioning itself as a key player in the digital infrastructure space. The company investments in data centers, the implications of its strategic moves, and the broader impact on the AI and digital economy highlights the importance of investment in the data center to the economy overall. With the rapid growth of the data center industry, it is unsurprising that aggressive investment fund management is seeing it as an opportunity. Analysts continue to emphasize that the global data center market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2% from 2023 to 2030, reaching $517.17 billion by the end of the decade. In this rapidly evolving landscape, Blue Owl Capital has emerged as a significant contributor. The firm’s investments in data centers are not just about capitalizing on current trends but also about shaping the future of digital infrastructure. Spreading the Wealth In August 2024, Blue Owl

Global Data Center Operator Telehouse Launches Liquid Cooling Lab in the UK to Meet Ongoing AI and HPC Demand

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Flexential Partners with Lonestar to Support First Lunar Data Center

Flexential, a leading provider of secure and flexible data center solutions, this month announced that it has joined forces with Lonestar Data Holdings Inc. to support the upcoming launch of Freedom, Lonestar’s second lunar data center. Scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket via Intuitive Machines, this mission is a critical step toward establishing a permanent data center on the Moon. Ground-Based Support for Lunar Data Storage Flexential’s Tampa data center will serve as the mission control platform for Lonestar’s lunar operations, providing colocation, interconnection, and professional services. The facility was chosen for its proximity to Florida’s Space Coast launch operations and its ability to deliver low-latency connectivity for critical functions. Flexential operates two data centers in Tampa and four in Florida as part of its FlexAnywhere® Platform, comprising more than 40 facilities across the U.S. “Flexential’s partnership with Lonestar represents our commitment to advancing data center capabilities beyond conventional boundaries,” said Jason Carolan, Chief Innovation Officer at Flexential. “By supporting Lonestar’s space-based data center initiative, we are helping to create new possibilities for data storage and disaster recovery. This project demonstrates how innovative data center expertise can help organizations prepare for a resilient future with off-world storage solutions.” A New Era of Space-Based Resiliency The growing demand for data center capacity, with U.S. power consumption expected to double from 17 GW in 2022 to 35 GW by 2030 (according to McKinsey & Company), is driving interest in space-based solutions. Storing data off-planet reduces reliance on terrestrial resources while enhancing security against natural disasters, warfare, and cyber threats. The Freedom data center will provide resiliency, disaster recovery, and edge processing services for government and enterprise customers requiring the highest levels of data protection. The solar-powered data center leverages Solid-State Drives (SSDs) and a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) edge

Why DeepSeek Is Great for AI and HPC and Maybe No Big Deal for Data Centers

In the rapid and ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC), the emergence of DeepSeek’s R1 model has sent ripples across industries. DeepSeek has been the data center industry’s topic of the week, for sure. The Chinese AI app surged to the top of US app store leaderboards last weekend, sparking a global selloff in technology shares Monday morning. But while some analysts predict a transformative impact within the industry, a closer examination suggests that, for data centers at large, the furor over DeepSeek might ultimately be much ado about nothing. DeepSeek’s Breakthrough in AI and HPC DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, this month unveiled its R1 model, claiming performance on par with, or even surpassing, leading models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4 and Anthropic’s Claude-3.5-Sonnet. Remarkably, DeepSeek developed this model at a fraction of the cost typically associated with such advancements, utilizing a cluster of 256 server nodes equipped with 2,048 GPUs. This efficiency has been attributed to innovative techniques and optimized resource utilization. AI researchers have been abuzz about the performance of the DeepSeek chatbot that produces results similar to ChatGPT, but is based on open-source models and reportedly trained on older GPU chips. Some researchers are skeptical of claims about DeepSeek’s development costs and means, but its performance appears to challenge common assumptions about the computing cost of developing AI applications. This efficiency has been attributed to innovative techniques and optimized resource utilization. Market Reactions and Data Center Implications The announcement of DeepSeek’s R1 model led to significant market reactions, with notable declines in tech stocks, including a substantial drop in Nvidia’s valuation. This downturn was driven by concerns that more efficient AI models could reduce the demand for high-end hardware and, by extension, the expansive data centers that house them. For now, investors are re-assessing the

Timeline of HPE’s $14 billion bid for Juniper

June 20, 2024: HPE-Juniper merger faces antitrust inquiry in UK An inquiry into HPE’s $14 billion takeover of Juniper Networks by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), a move that potentially could delay approval of the deal, will have little impact on data center managers, said one analyst with Info-Tech Research Group. Both companies were informed of the inquiry by the CMA, the UK’s principal antitrust regulator, on Wednesday. July 17, 2024: Juniper advances AI networking software Juniper continues to improve its AI-native networking platform while HPE’s $14 billion deal to acquire Juniper continues to advance through the requisite regulatory hurdles. The latest platform upgrades are designed to help enterprise customers better manage and support AI in their data centers. Juniper is also offering a new validated design for enterprise AI clusters and has opened a lab to certify enterprise AI data center projects. Aug. 01, 2024: EU clears HPE’s $14 billion Juniper acquisition Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s proposed acquisition of Juniper Networks took a big step forward this week as the European Commission unconditionally approved the buy. Next up: US and UK regulatory approval? Nov. 21, 2024: AI networking a focus of HPE’s Juniper deal as Justice Department concerns swirl HPE’s acquisition of Juniper has been under regulatory scrutiny ever since HPE announced the $14 billion deal in January. The proposed deal has passed muster with a number of world agencies so far, but there is reportedly some concern about it from the US Department of Justice. Jan. 30, 2025: U.S. Justice Department sues to block HPE’s $14 billion Juniper buy After months of speculation, the U.S. Justice Department sued to block the $14 billion sale of Juniper Networks to HPE. The DOJ said reduced competition in the wireless market is the biggest problem with the proposed buy. “This proposed acquisition risks substantially lessening competition in

Microsoft will invest $80B in AI data centers in fiscal 2025

And Microsoft isn’t the only one that is ramping up its investments into AI-enabled data centers. Rival cloud service providers are all investing in either upgrading or opening new data centers to capture a larger chunk of business from developers and users of large language models (LLMs). In a report published in October 2024, Bloomberg Intelligence estimated that demand for generative AI would push Microsoft, AWS, Google, Oracle, Meta, and Apple would between them devote $200 billion to capex in 2025, up from $110 billion in 2023. Microsoft is one of the biggest spenders, followed closely by Google and AWS, Bloomberg Intelligence said. Its estimate of Microsoft’s capital spending on AI, at $62.4 billion for calendar 2025, is lower than Smith’s claim that the company will invest $80 billion in the fiscal year to June 30, 2025. Both figures, though, are way higher than Microsoft’s 2020 capital expenditure of “just” $17.6 billion. The majority of the increased spending is tied to cloud services and the expansion of AI infrastructure needed to provide compute capacity for OpenAI workloads. Separately, last October Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said his company planned total capex spend of $75 billion in 2024 and even more in 2025, with much of it going to AWS, its cloud computing division.

John Deere unveils more autonomous farm machines to address skill labor shortage

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Self-driving tractors might be the path to self-driving cars. John Deere has revealed a new line of autonomous machines and tech across agriculture, construction and commercial landscaping. The Moline, Illinois-based John Deere has been in business for 187 years, yet it’s been a regular as a non-tech company showing off technology at the big tech trade show in Las Vegas and is back at CES 2025 with more autonomous tractors and other vehicles. This is not something we usually cover, but John Deere has a lot of data that is interesting in the big picture of tech. The message from the company is that there aren’t enough skilled farm laborers to do the work that its customers need. It’s been a challenge for most of the last two decades, said Jahmy Hindman, CTO at John Deere, in a briefing. Much of the tech will come this fall and after that. He noted that the average farmer in the U.S. is over 58 and works 12 to 18 hours a day to grow food for us. And he said the American Farm Bureau Federation estimates there are roughly 2.4 million farm jobs that need to be filled annually; and the agricultural work force continues to shrink. (This is my hint to the anti-immigration crowd). John Deere’s autonomous 9RX Tractor. Farmers can oversee it using an app. While each of these industries experiences their own set of challenges, a commonality across all is skilled labor availability. In construction, about 80% percent of contractors struggle to find skilled labor. And in commercial landscaping, 86% of landscaping business owners can’t find labor to fill open positions, he said. “They have to figure out how to do

2025 playbook for enterprise AI success, from agents to evals

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More 2025 is poised to be a pivotal year for enterprise AI. The past year has seen rapid innovation, and this year will see the same. This has made it more critical than ever to revisit your AI strategy to stay competitive and create value for your customers. From scaling AI agents to optimizing costs, here are the five critical areas enterprises should prioritize for their AI strategy this year. 1. Agents: the next generation of automation AI agents are no longer theoretical. In 2025, they’re indispensable tools for enterprises looking to streamline operations and enhance customer interactions. Unlike traditional software, agents powered by large language models (LLMs) can make nuanced decisions, navigate complex multi-step tasks, and integrate seamlessly with tools and APIs. At the start of 2024, agents were not ready for prime time, making frustrating mistakes like hallucinating URLs. They started getting better as frontier large language models themselves improved. “Let me put it this way,” said Sam Witteveen, cofounder of Red Dragon, a company that develops agents for companies, and that recently reviewed the 48 agents it built last year. “Interestingly, the ones that we built at the start of the year, a lot of those worked way better at the end of the year just because the models got better.” Witteveen shared this in the video podcast we filmed to discuss these five big trends in detail. Models are getting better and hallucinating less, and they’re also being trained to do agentic tasks. Another feature that the model providers are researching is a way to use the LLM as a judge, and as models get cheaper (something we’ll cover below), companies can use three or more models to

OpenAI’s red teaming innovations define new essentials for security leaders in the AI era

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More OpenAI has taken a more aggressive approach to red teaming than its AI competitors, demonstrating its security teams’ advanced capabilities in two areas: multi-step reinforcement and external red teaming. OpenAI recently released two papers that set a new competitive standard for improving the quality, reliability and safety of AI models in these two techniques and more. The first paper, “OpenAI’s Approach to External Red Teaming for AI Models and Systems,” reports that specialized teams outside the company have proven effective in uncovering vulnerabilities that might otherwise have made it into a released model because in-house testing techniques may have missed them. In the second paper, “Diverse and Effective Red Teaming with Auto-Generated Rewards and Multi-Step Reinforcement Learning,” OpenAI introduces an automated framework that relies on iterative reinforcement learning to generate a broad spectrum of novel, wide-ranging attacks. Going all-in on red teaming pays practical, competitive dividends It’s encouraging to see competitive intensity in red teaming growing among AI companies. When Anthropic released its AI red team guidelines in June of last year, it joined AI providers including Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, and even the U.S.’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which all had released red teaming frameworks. Investing heavily in red teaming yields tangible benefits for security leaders in any organization. OpenAI’s paper on external red teaming provides a detailed analysis of how the company strives to create specialized external teams that include cybersecurity and subject matter experts. The goal is to see if knowledgeable external teams can defeat models’ security perimeters and find gaps in their security, biases and controls that prompt-based testing couldn’t find. What makes OpenAI’s recent papers noteworthy is how well they define using human-in-the-middle

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