Vol. I · No. 18THU, MAY 7, 2026
Section · Labs

Frontier Laboratories

Dispatches from Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepMind, Mistral, Meta, xAI, and Cohere.

5 gardening tips you can try right in Search

Google demonstrates AI Mode in Search with gardening tips; product feature announcement, not technical or architectural interest.

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Grok Imagine Quality Mode API

xAI launches Grok Imagine Quality Mode API with improved image realism, text rendering, and creative control.

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Connectors now on Grok Web

xAI launches Connectors for Grok Web, enabling integrations with third-party apps within the chat interface.

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Agents for financial services

Anthropic releases ten Cowork and Claude Code plugins plus Microsoft 365 integrations and MCP app for financial services.

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GPT-5.5 Instant System Card

OpenAI releases GPT-5.5 Instant system card detailing model capabilities, limitations, and safety properties.

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New ways to buy ChatGPT ads

OpenAI launches self-serve Ads Manager for ChatGPT with CPC bidding and privacy-preserving measurement.

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Custom Voices and Voice Library

xAI launches voice cloning and voice library management features for Grok API, enabling custom branded voice synthesis from short audio samples.

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Claude for Creative Work

Anthropic positions Claude for creative writing and design tasks; feature/capability announcement targeting non-technical users.

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Our Principles

OpenAI publishes five guiding principles for AGI development under Sam Altman's leadership, emphasizing broad humanity benefit.

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8 Gemini tips for organizing your space (and life)

Consumer tips for using Gemini AI to organize homes and digital spaces via cleaning schedules and inbox management.

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Introducing GPT-5.5

OpenAI releases GPT-5.5, advancing capability in coding, research, and data analysis with improved speed and performance.

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Codex settings

OpenAI Codex configuration guide covering personalization, detail levels, and permissions settings.

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Working with Codex

Tutorial on setting up Codex workspace, threads, projects, and file management for task completion.

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