AI explained. Tools tested. Ideas worth trying.By Sam Taylor & Samwise ↗

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Tools5 min read

Microsoft built a model that doesn't talk. That's the point.

Microsoft launched Decision-1 on October 9, post-trained from Alibaba's Qwen3.5-9B, that returns probability scores for a fixed option set rather than generating text. At $0.042/M input with output tokens free and 35× faster than GPT-6 Sol at P50 latency, it reframes what the routing layer of an AI system should look like.

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Field note3 min read

Five AI ideas tested: what earned another look

A bonus field-notes series on image generation, design prompts, browser automation, website-grounded answers and voice latency. Small tests, specific decisions, and the gaps still open.

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Tools5 min read

There's now a standard for AI agents to operate lab robots. It's the infrastructure layer nobody was writing about.

Anthropic and HHMI Janelia released a research preview of the Model Hardware Standard on August 27 — a shared specification enabling AI agents to control lab equipment like microscopes, liquid handlers, and robotic arms via MCP. Integration that previously took weeks now takes hours. Partners include Genentech, Carnegie Mellon, and Danaher. The spec is open-source-bound after safety evaluations.

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Tools7 min read

OpenAI opened the Codex harness as a product. Here's what you're actually renting.

OpenAI put the internal machinery that runs its own coding agents behind a public API on September 10. Any developer with an API key can now point a session at GPT-6 Astra, hand it a task, and let it run against nine partner sandbox providers. The fee structure is explicit: model tokens, tool calls, and container session time — no bundled plan, no coordinator layer you can't see.

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Tools5 min read

OpenAI's Jalapeño has benchmarks now. The watt story is the real one.

OpenAI shared first benchmark results for Jalapeño at Hot Chips 2026: 1.5–1.9x more throughput per watt and 1.7–3.6x lower latency than Nvidia GB300. The chip runs at 700W versus roughly 1,400W for Nvidia's flagship. Mass deployment comes in 2027, but the direction of API pricing is already set.

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Tools5 min read

Cursor's first post-SpaceX product is a GitHub rival. The timing is not subtle.

Cursor launched Origin on August 18 — a code-hosting platform with repos, pull requests, code review, and GitHub sync. It's the first major product since SpaceX closed its $60B acquisition five weeks ago. It launched the same day GitHub hit a 20% error rate. The product is early. The thesis behind it isn't.

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