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Microsoft is introducing new Copilot features for Microsoft 365 that let users create small apps and automate routine tasks with text commands. App Builder lets employees set up basic tools like tables or project dashboards that use data from Word, Excel, or SharePoint. Workflows can handle repetitive chores such as sending emails or posting updates in Teams. Both features are managed through the Microsoft 365 admin console with standard access controls.

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Microsoft says the new tools follow its existing security and compliance rules. Workflows is available now for Frontier Program participants, and App Builder will be added later.

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Anthropic is adding new features to Claude designed for financial analysts, including an Excel extension, expanded data connections, and a set of AI-powered skills for tasks like cash flow modeling and valuation comparisons. The Claude for Excel add-in, powered by Sonnet 4.5, is now in beta for select business customers. It can analyze, edit, and comment on spreadsheets directly within Excel.

The release also features real-time data connections to providers including Moody's, LSEG, and Aiera. Six new agent functions are intended to support due diligence reviews and company analyses, further automating standard analytical tasks.

With these additions, Anthropic goes head-to-head with similar tools from Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT. Still, none of these platforms have a well-defined error rate for everyday office work. Even though reasoning models have made progress on math-heavy tasks, these systems are still probability-based and can and will make mistakes.

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Qualcomm is making its debut in the data center hardware market with two new AI accelerator chips, the AI200, set for release in 2026, and the AI250, expected in 2027. Designed for liquid-cooled server racks, the chips focus on AI inference—running pre-trained models—rather than training them. Until now, Qualcomm has been best known for its mobile processors.

The move puts Qualcomm in direct competition with Nvidia and AMD. According to the company, the new chips are designed to offer advantages in power efficiency, cost, and memory capacity, supporting up to 768 GB per card. Early large-scale customers are already on board, including a Saudi operator planning deployments with energy demands of up to 200 megawatts. Following the announcement, Qualcomm’s stock price rose by 15 percent.

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China's military uses domestic AI models like Deepseek and Alibaba's Qwen for autonomous weapons, report says.

A Reuters analysis shows that China's People's Liberation Army is systematically integrating artificial intelligence from domestic companies such as Deepseek and Alibaba into military systems. Hundreds of research papers, patents, and procurement documents point to widespread use of AI for battlefield automation. The projects include robotic dogs, drone swarms with autonomous target recognition, and real-time combat analysis.

According to Reuters, Chinese military institutions also continue to use Nvidia hardware, including A100 chips that fall under US export restrictions. Thirty-five patent filings reference these components.

Several of the army's procurement documents specifically mention Deepseek, while only one cites Alibaba's Qwen model. Researchers at Xi'an Technological University reported that their Deepseek-based system can analyze 10,000 combat scenarios in 48 seconds—a task that would take traditional planning teams 48 hours. The US State Department recently warned that Deepseek plays a role in supporting China's military and intelligence operations.

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