Unveils

Federal health minister Mark Butler announces major changes and says scheme is costing ‘too much and is growing too fast’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAt least 160,000 people are expected to be removed from the National Disability Insurance Scheme by 2030, as the Albanese government looks to claw back savings by changing who can access the scheme.The health minister, Mark Butler, also announced on Wednesday the $50bn scheme’s growth rate will be brought down to just 2% every year until 2030 in an effort to curb annual plan inflation and produce billions in savings before the 12 May federal budget. Continue reading...

• Anthropic launched Claude Mythos Preview on April 7, 2026, an advanced AI model designed for defensive cybersecurity that uncovered thousands of major vulnerabilities in every major operating system and web browser. • Through Project Glasswing, access granted to tech giants including Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple, and over 40 organizations maintaining critical software infrastructure. • Rising concerns from experts and governments about misuse risks to economies, public safety, and national security; US software stocks tumbled on April 9 amid fears of AI disruption to traditional security firms.

• Nvidia launched the Blackwell Ultra B300 GPU series on April 19, 2026, claiming 50% faster AI training speeds compared to the prior B200 model. • The new chips feature 208 billion transistors and support FP4 precision, targeting data centers for large language model workloads. • This positions Nvidia to maintain dominance amid intensifying competition from AMD and custom silicon by hyperscalers like Amazon and Google.

• Salesforce announced Headless 360 on Wednesday, enabling AI agents to access its platform capabilities via APIs, MCP tools, or CLI commands. • The initiative marks the company's most ambitious architectural transformation in 27 years, aiming to enhance AI integration across its ecosystem. • This development matters as it positions Salesforce as a leader in AI-driven enterprise software, potentially accelerating agentic AI adoption in business operations.

• IBM launched IBM Autonomous Security on April 17, 2026, a multi-agent AI service automating detection, policy enforcement, and remediation against frontier AI-driven attacks in hybrid environments. • The solution addresses emerging 'agentic attacks' where adversaries use advanced AI models, with nearly 80% of global IT leaders citing AI as a major security risk. • IBM also released an enterprise cybersecurity assessment tool focused on threats from large language models and generative AI.

• Anthropic announced a new frontier AI model on April 16, 2026, capable of advanced performance that sent shockwaves through the tech industry. • Investors reacted negatively, resuming an AI-driven slump in software stocks as the model's capabilities raised concerns over market dynamics. • The release highlights ongoing US AI breakthroughs and their immediate impact on Wall Street valuations.

• NTT Research in Sunnyvale, California, launched Scale Academy on April 15, 2026, an incubator led by SVP Bennett Indart to commercialize lab technologies from NTT divisions. • The first product, SaltGrain, is a zero-trust data security suite using attribute-based encryption (ABE) developed by NTT's Cryptography lab director Dr. Amit Sahai and Dr. Brent Waters. • Scale Academy aims to accelerate breakthrough products for market, focusing on quantum-safe security amid rising threats.

• Data I/O announced a new company vision, products, services, and branding on April 13, 2026, targeting advancements in semiconductor programming technology. • Key launches include AI-driven tech support, an AI-powered chatbot for customer assistance, and AI-expanded device search capabilities to enhance user experience. • The updates position Data I/O to leverage AI in streamlining support and search functions amid growing demand for efficient semiconductor solutions.

• OpenAI released its Child Safety Blueprint on April 8, 2026, to address rising AI-generated child sexual abuse material in the US. • The blueprint focuses on faster detection, improved reporting, and efficient investigations, responding to over 8,000 IWF reports in early 2025, up 14% year-over-year. • It targets criminals using AI for fake explicit images and grooming messages amid policymaker scrutiny.

Australian treasurer says Iran war having ‘extreme impact on global economy’ as Albanese to address nation about fuel crisis Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJim Chalmers has unveiled a suite of Covid-era support measures including tax deferrals for businesses struggling with soaring fuel prices, in the latest sign the government is preparing for a more severe economic downturn from the US-Israel war on Iran.Addressing the media on Wednesday morning, the treasurer said “the war in the Middle East is having an extreme impact on the global economy, [and[ Australians and Australian small businesses are paying the price for that”. Continue reading...

• NASA released initiatives on March 24, 2026, to advance America's National Space Policy, including an RFI for payloads supporting 2027-2028 lunar flights and the Rosalind Franklin Rover launch to Mars in 2028 with a mass spectrometer for organic matter analysis. • A new Earth science mission launching next year will measure convective storm dynamics to predict extreme weather up to six hours in advance; near-term lunar payloads include VIPER rover and LuSEE-Night, with up to 30 robotic landings from 2027. • These efforts ensure U.S. presence in low Earth orbit, expedite lunar science via commercial partnerships, and release new Saturn images from James Webb and Hubble telescopes, underpinning future Moon and Mars exploration.

• The Trump Administration released a comprehensive national AI plan on March 21, 2026, designed to establish one clear federal standard and prevent state patchwork rules that could undermine U.S. competitiveness. • Key initiatives include workforce training, creator protections, safe AI tools under human oversight, and focused efforts on protecting children and supporting communities across the country. • White House Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios stated the framework will "unleash American ingenuity to win the global AI race," signaling administration commitment to maintaining global AI leadership.

• Georgia Tech researchers developed SAIL (Speed Adaptation for Imitation Learning), allowing robots to learn and execute complex tasks like stacking cups, folding cloth, and food packing significantly faster than human demonstrations. • SAIL robots completed tasks three to four times quicker across 12 evaluated scenarios in simulation and on physical platforms, while preserving precision, control, and safety. • The breakthrough addresses speed barriers in imitation learning, advancing general-purpose robots capable of any human-hand task for industrial and household use.

• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang introduced the BlueField-4 STX storage infrastructure and new Vera CPU at the company's GTC conference in California on March 16, with the Vera CPU delivering twice the efficiency and 50% faster performance than traditional processors. • The Vera Rubin AI platform now has seven new chips in full production destined for the world's largest AI factories, alongside a preview of DLSS 5, described as Nvidia's most significant graphics breakthrough since real-time ray tracing in 2018. • Growing public skepticism about AI adoption is emerging, with a Pew Research Centre poll showing 50% of US adults feel more concerned than excited about increased AI in daily life, up from 37% in 2021.

• Elon Musk has unveiled 'Macrohard,' a Tesla-xAI agent that combines Grok and screen-reading technology to automate entire software company operations, representing a significant step toward autonomous software development. • The system runs on Tesla's AI4 infrastructure and demonstrates the convergence of multiple AI capabilities—natural language processing and computer vision—to handle complex software engineering tasks. • This development signals accelerating competition in AI agent technology beyond traditional model training, as companies race to deploy autonomous systems that can perform knowledge work at scale.

Trams, buses and hire bikes will be integrated under molten orange and asphalt black brand highlighting industrial heritage, says Oliver CoppardSouth Yorkshire’s transport system will be known as the “People’s Network”, with trams, buses and hire bikes all coming under public control.The plan was unveiled on Monday by the region’s mayor, Oliver Coppard, who said it would create an affordable, joined-up network in molten orange and asphalt black colours. A large fleet of electric buses and 25 new trams will be introduced over the next five years. Continue reading...

• Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) released the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, merging House H.R. 6644 and Senate S. 2651. • Provisions restrict large institutional investors from single-family home purchases, prohibit Federal Reserve digital dollar, and expand manufactured housing via HUD standards. • Bill reflects Trump administration priorities, eliminates chassis requirements for manufactured homes, and reauthorizes PRICE grants for community preservation.

NVIDIA announced the Rubin platform, named after astronomer Vera Rubin, marking a shift from Blackwell with extreme co-design across six new chips targeting 1.6nm processes for massive computing power gains. First Rubin systems will launch in the second half of 2026 through AWS, Microsoft, and Google, with Microsoft integrating them into 'Fairwater' AI superfactories. This hardware leap supports edge-centric AI via specialized ASICs, enabling real-time insights, amid rising demand projected over $700 billion in global datacenter leases.

Microsoft launched Copilot Health on March 13, 2026, an AI tool designed to organize users' medical records, health histories, and fitness tracker data into coherent summaries for doctor consultations. The product integrates data from wearables and electronic health records to provide personalized health insights ahead of appointments. This move highlights Big Tech's aggressive expansion into the $4 trillion US healthcare market, emphasizing AI's role in sensitive consumer domains. Industry analysts predict it could streamline patient-doctor interactions, though privacy concerns remain prominent.