Overview
AI agents moved beyond routine office tasks, helping an independent researcher identify a possible planet in old NASA data and giving developers new ways to inspect software. Claude and Gemini also gained broader workplace roles, while questions around AI revenue, model welfare and access to skilled workers drew fresh scrutiny. Elsewhere, SpaceX rattled mobile carriers and Rockstar revealed the voices behind GTA VI’s radio stations.
The big picture
An independent researcher finds a possible planet with AI coding tools
Pavel Rabtsevich used Claude Code, Opus 5.5, Fable 5.1 and Codex to write more than 1,000 scripts analysing seven years of NASA TESS observations. The work uncovered a possible planet around TIC 4206066, a star 116 light-years away. The candidate appears to be about 1.4 times Earth’s radius, orbiting every 3.18 days in temperatures near 530°C.
The finding remains unconfirmed, but NASA has approved follow-up observations from 31 October to 26 November. It is a striking example of an independent researcher using coding agents to conduct transit searches, reject false positives and cross-check catalogues at a scale once reserved for larger teams.
Claude turns datasets into dashboards and ideas into animations
Claude Dashboards and Claude Motion entered beta, letting people create live visualisations and code-based animated explainers through conversation. Anthropic’s demonstration used bike-share data to build maps and charts, then turned the findings into an animated account of morning commutes.
The tools can draw from connected business platforms, update visualisations as data changes and export animations as MP4 files. Claude Docs, Slides and Design have also left beta and are now available across all plans, including the free tier.
Google pitches Gemini as a single workplace agent
Google Cloud introduced a new version of Gemini designed to handle questions, research, content creation and coding from the same prompt box. It can retain context, continue work in the cloud and assign parts of a task to specialised sub-agents.
Gemini connects with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack and BigQuery, with audit trails and controlled environments intended to meet company security needs. The aim is to replace a collection of separate assistants with a central agent that understands an organisation’s systems and working context.
Google brings AI-guided ultrasound to frontline health workers
Google is testing an ultrasound system that requires around eight hours of training rather than years of specialist education. A health worker moves a portable probe across the patient while on-device AI checks scan quality and estimates gestational age and fetal position.
Studies in Nairobi and Chicago found that gestational age estimates came within four days of those produced by trained sonographers. With battery-operated equipment and local processing, the approach could help clinics in places where specialists and reliable infrastructure are scarce.
Open-source agents take on software reverse engineering
REA, a local Node.js project for examining binaries, apps, websites and runtime behaviour, reached the top of GitHub’s trending list. It connects AI agents to tools such as Ghidra, Hopper and IDA, gathering evidence before reconstructing code or explaining how a feature works.
Demos include recovering game logic from x86 binaries and tracing features inside desktop apps. The enthusiastic claim that “software is done” is premature, but tools like this could make reverse engineering faster and more accessible to security researchers and developers.
OpenAI’s revenue figure comes back down to earth
OpenAI reportedly told investors that its annualised revenue was approaching $50 billion at the end of September, around $20 billion below figures circulated the previous month. The gap appears to come from accounting choices rather than a sudden fall in sales.
OpenAI excludes sales made through cloud partners such as AWS and Google Cloud from its own calculation, while outside estimates had counted them. The episode shows how quickly large run-rate numbers can travel, and how much the result depends on what is included.
US freezes green card processing for major technology employers
The Trump administration has suspended Microsoft, Adobe, Infosys, TCS and other technology firms from the PERM labour certification process used for employment-based green cards. New and pending applications are affected while officials investigate alleged fraud and hiring practices.
Vice President JD Vance pointed to Microsoft’s US job cuts alongside its use of skilled-worker visas. The action also includes scrutiny of several universities and forms part of a wider effort to restrict employment immigration, creating fresh uncertainty for companies that recruit internationally.
SpaceX’s mobile plans rattle AT&T and Verizon
SpaceX has acquired nationwide 800 MHz spectrum, giving Starlink Mobile access to low-band frequencies better suited to travelling through walls and other obstacles. It has also received approval for a next-generation constellation of 15,000 satellites intended to support direct connections to ordinary phones.
The announcement challenged earlier doubts from AT&T chief John Stankey about satellite coverage indoors. Shares in AT&T and Verizon fell sharply after hours as investors considered a future in which Starlink combines satellites with terrestrial spectrum to compete in mobile service.
Anthropic draws a line at sustained cruelty towards Claude
From 12 November, Anthropic’s usage policy will prohibit sustained and needless abusive or cruel behaviour towards its models. The rule is narrowly framed around repeated cruelty without a clear purpose, rather than ordinary frustration, criticism, dark fiction or safety testing.
The policy follows research into model welfare and Claude’s existing ability to end persistently abusive conversations. Anthropic also expanded restrictions covering election interference, surveillance and weapons development, but the clause about treatment of Claude drew the public’s attention.
GTA VI gives its radio dial a star-studded line-up
Rockstar has revealed hosts for six GTA VI radio stations, including Bad Bunny and RaiNao on Cocoteo FM, Burna Boy and Palms Trax on AfroBank FM, and Kerry King and Tom Araya on Chamber 106.6. Robyn, Alex Consani, Trick Daddy, Trina, Lana Del Rey and Morgan Wallen also feature across the line-up.
The game will add on-demand podcasts and let characters listen on foot through in-game headphones, taking audio beyond its traditional place inside vehicles. GTA VI is due to arrive on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on 19 November 2026.
