Redesigned MacBook Pro ‘Significantly Lighter’; Windows 11 Update Cuts RAM Usage; Insurers Brace for Big Claims Due to Rogue AI Agents; OpenAI Will Watermark ChatGPT Text in the EU

We are awaiting the teased updated MacBook Pros. There is a good deal of excitement about the top line models having a touch screen. 9to5mac.com reports that a really major improvement that Apple hasn’t touted is that the imminent MacBook Pros are ‘significantly lighter.’ We should see these new Macs before the end of November. What did Apple do? They have reengineered the guts, miniaturizing parts and rearranging components to get the lighter laptops. We don’t have an exact weight reduction yet, but any amount will be nice…especially if you are schlepping a 16-inch model. 

Windows 11 got an update, numbered 26H2 last week. Microsoft touted improvements in Windows Search, more Start menu options, and an allegedly smarter File Explorer. According to mashable.com, one of the biggest improvements wasn’t mentioned…less RAM usage. One writer found that after installing the update, their Windows 11 was using 2 gigs less RAM after the installation. Another that posted on Reddit reported RAM use down by 3 gigs. This is especially big if you have a bit older computer, like a 3 year or 4 year old laptop.. Thanks, Microsoft…for tigntening up sloppy code. 

Insurance companies are gearing up for claims totaling in the millions after some AI agents have escaped sandboxing and hacked sites. The-decoder.com notes that personal liability of executives like Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Dario Amodei (Anthropic) is now in play, too. The most widely known attack by AI agents gone rogue is the one against AI platform Hugging Face by OpenAI agents. Anthropic has also had escaped agents that have hacked others…including a couple of government sites. One insurance broker, Aon, has checked over more than 300 AI-related legal cases. Big insurance payouts and especially liability by the CEOS might help put up some safety guardrails faster than any government actions!

OpenAI is going to add an invisible watermark to text generated by ChatGPT in the EU, to comply with the European Union’s AI Act. Techcrunch.com reports that the new transparency rules, which went into effect August 2nd, require AI companies to mark AI-generated content in a way other systems can identify. According to OpenAI, it is possible to remove the watermark by editing. The firm also said that short math answers and translated text cause limitations for the watermarking. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.