Welcome back to Daily Zaps, your regularly-scheduled dose of AI news ⚡️ 

Here’s what we got for ya today:

• 🤖 xAI debuts Grok 3

• 🥽 Anduril is taking over Microsoft military headset project

• 📝 New York Times greenlights AI tools for staff

• 🐡 AI used to locate ghost nets in the ocean

Let’s get right into it!

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STARTUPS

xAI debuts Grok 3

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, has launched Grok 3, its latest AI model, which he claims is the “smartest on Earth” with 10 times more computing power than its predecessor. Developed over several months, Grok 3 was trained using a massive dataset, including legal cases, and was built with the help of a 200,000-GPU data center in Memphis. xAI asserts that Grok 3 outperforms OpenAI’s GPT-4o on multiple benchmarks, including math and science problem-solving. If you add in o3 full (not yet fully released) to chart then smartest AI on Earth is not true.

Available for Premium+ subscribers on X, the model offers distinct modes such as "Think" and "Big Brain" for complex queries, along with a DeepSearch feature for scanning the web and social media for more comprehensive answers. A voice mode is also in development. Musk stated that Grok 2 will be open-sourced once Grok 3 is stable.

BIG TECH

Anduril is taking over Microsoft military headset project

Anduril Industries, led by Palmer Luckey, is set to take over Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) project, pending government approval. The transition will see Anduril handling production, hardware, software, and delivery, while Microsoft provides cloud and AI support.

Luckey envisions a range of mixed-reality headsets for soldiers, from sleek Oakley-style glasses to advanced helmet-like systems, emphasizing their battlefield necessity over civilian adoption. Microsoft previously faced employee protests over military contracts, but the Army continues advancing the program, recently seeking industry feedback on IVAS Ne

ENVIRONMENT

AI used to locate ghost nets in the ocean

WWF Germany, in collaboration with Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab and Accenture, has launched GhostNetZero, an AI-powered platform to tackle ocean pollution by detecting ghost nets—lost fishing gear that threatens marine life and ecosystems. Utilizing AI to analyze global sonar images, the platform efficiently identifies ghost nets in heavily fished areas, turning scattered data into actionable insights.

With 90% accuracy, the AI automates what was previously a manual process, enhancing the speed and scale of ghost net detection. WWF is calling for support from research institutes, authorities, and companies to contribute sonar data. This innovative approach demonstrates how AI can transform environmental conservation efforts, making ghost net recovery more effective and helping protect marine ecosystems.

MEDIA

New York Times greenlights AI tools for staff

The New York Times is now allowing its product and editorial teams to use AI tools for tasks like writing social copy, SEO headlines, and coding. The company introduced Echo, an internal AI summary tool, and outlined approved AI programs such as GitHub Copilot, Google’s Vertex AI, and OpenAI’s non-ChatGPT API for specific uses.

Editorial staff can use AI for brainstorming, research, and suggesting edits but cannot draft or significantly revise articles or input confidential sources. The Times may also explore AI-generated audio articles and translations. This AI adoption comes as the publication continues its lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft over alleged copyright violations in AI training.