The Week in AI: Anthropic Agents, OpenAI’s Swarm and an Apple iOS Update Debut

This week in artificial intelligence, Anthropic and OpenAI unveiled new AI systems capable of controlling computers and working in teams, while the U.S. Department of the Treasury demonstrated AI’s real-world impact by recovering $3.8 billion in fraudulent payments.

The developments coincide with Apple’s AI pivot in iOS 18.2 and mounting legal tensions, as News Corp publishers sue AI search startup Perplexity for allegedly misusing copyrighted content.

Anthropic’s AI Agents Can Control Computers, Raising Stakes in Tech Race

Anthropic unveiled AI agents Wednesday (Oct. 23) that can independently control computers and navigate the web, intensifying competition with Microsoft, Google and OpenAI.

While the technology shows promise in automating routine office tasks, success rates remain at 14.9%. Unlike competitors who build AI agents for specific applications, Anthropic’s approach lets its AI system operate computers like humans do — using the mouse and keyboard to interact with any program.

OpenAI’s ‘Swarm’ Tech Lets AI Agents Team Up on Complex Tasks

OpenAI released Swarm, an experimental open-source framework that enables AI agents to collaborate on complex tasks.

The technology allows specialized AI helpers to hand off work to each other, with potential applications in supply chain management, financial trading and customer service. While Swarm is a test bed, experts told PYMNTS Monday (Oct. 21) that it could change business automation by coordinating multiple AI agents to handle complex operations in real time.

Treasury’s AI Fraud Fighter Saves Taxpayers $3.8 Billion in First Year

The Treasury Department’s new AI-powered detection system proved effective at fighting financial crime, as it froze suspicious transactions and recovered fraudulent payments, saving taxpayers $3.8 billion in its first year.

The system uses expanded screening and AI to spot threats early and detect check fraud faster. The success sparked interest from businesses looking to implement similar AI-driven fraud prevention measures.

Apple Goes All-in on AI With iOS Update

Apple unveiled iOS 18.2’s developer beta Wednesday, packed with AI features, including ChatGPT integration and image generation tools.

The update introduced Image Playground for creating images from text prompts, Image Wand for converting sketches into illustrations, and Genmoji for custom emoji creation. Siri got an upgrade through ChatGPT integration, while the Mail app received AI-powered smart categorization.

News Corp Publishers Take AI Search Engine Perplexity to Court

The Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones and the New York Post filed a lawsuit against AI search startup Perplexity Monday, alleging unauthorized use of their content.

The publishers claimed Perplexity serves up their copyrighted articles to answer user queries, diverting valuable traffic from their sites. The legal action followed an ignored July licensing proposal and came as Perplexity reportedly seeks $500 million in funding at an $8 billion valuation.

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