Author HubMatthias Bastian

Matthias is the co-founder and publisher of THE DECODER, exploring how AI is fundamentally changing the relationship between humans and computers.
AI research
Update

So-called reasoning models are more efficient but not more capable than regular LLMs, study finds

AI in practice

Google leans on token metrics, not revenue, adding to bubble talk about AI growth

AI and society

The long-predicted deepfake dystopia has arrived with Sora 2

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AI in practice
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Samsung and SK are teaming up with OpenAI to boost South Korea's AI infrastructure as part of the Stargate initiative. The plan includes ramping up DRAM chip production through Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, along with building new data centers. OpenAI has signed several agreements to support the effort, including one with the Ministry of Science to scout potential data center sites outside Seoul.

The new agreements also include a separate partnership with SK Telecom to explore building an AI data center in South Korea. OpenAI has also signed deals with Samsung C&T, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Samsung SDS to evaluate options for expanding data center capacity in the country.

AI in practice
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Zhipu AI has launched GLM-4.6, the latest version of its open-source language model. The update brings a larger 200,000-token context window, improved programming abilities, and stronger logical reasoning. According to Zhipu, GLM-4.6 nearly matches Claude Sonnet 4 in real-world tests, winning 48.6 percent of head-to-head comparisons, and is more efficient than the previous GLM-4.5 release. In eight benchmark tests, GLM-4.6 outperformed models like Deepseek-V3.2-Exp, but still trails Claude Sonnet 4.5 in code generation.

Image: Zhipu AI

GLM-4.6 is available through Z.ai, OpenRouter, HuggingFace, and ModelScope. Technical documentation can be found at docs.z.ai.

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AI in practice
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ChatGPT now offers instant checkout directly in the chat, letting users complete purchases without leaving the conversation. The feature is rolling out first for logged-in US users on ChatGPT (Pro, Plus, and Free) shopping on Etsy, with support for more than one million Shopify merchants coming soon. The new Agentic Commerce Protocol, developed by OpenAI and Stripe and released as open source, handles everything from product recommendations to payment entirely within the chat. Merchants interested in joining can sign up through OpenAI's form.

OpenAI will likely use this feature to monetize free ChatGPT users by taking a cut of purchases made through the chat, creating a new revenue stream to help cover operating costs. With ambitious sales targets and mounting costs through 2030, this move is a practical step for the company.

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AI in practice
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Physicist David Deutsch argues that you can't test for AGI the way you test a piece of software. Instead, what sets humans apart is that they have their own history, shaped by choosing what matters to them in the first place.

"How do we know that people are general intelligences? By telling their story. Human thinking is not about mechanically translating motivations into actions - prompts into output. It is primarily about choosing motivations. Just as science is not about extracting theories from data, but about seeing a problem, guessing at explanations, criticizing and testing them."

Deutsch responds to a test proposed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman: if a future GPT-8 could solve quantum gravity and explain why it picked that problem and how it arrived at its solution, Deutsch says that would be convincing evidence of general intelligence.

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AI research

More AI agents isn't always better, new Google and MIT study finds

AI in practice

GPT-5.2 lands to top Google's Gemini 3 in the AI benchmark game just four weeks after GPT-5.1

AI research

Corporate AI agents use simple workflows with human oversight instead of chasing full autonomy

Google News