August 2026
All columns and Brief analyses.
10 results
New Zealand’s energy investment stretches from the grid to a data centre
Vector invested 512 million dollars in Auckland’s grid, while Mercury recycled as much as 66 per cent of earnings into renewable generation. Datagrid expects its AI data centre and power substation foundation complete by year-end.
Oil climbs past 91 dollars as Iran and Canada-US tariff deadlines arrive
Brent crude passed 91 dollars a barrel as the negotiation window for the war on Iran closed without an agreement. A 50 per cent US tariff on Canadian goods is scheduled to take effect just after midnight on Wednesday.
OpenAI cuts risk oversight as AI security turns toward active defense
OpenAI dissolved the team that assessed catastrophic model risk, its president urged stronger defensive security, and a Wiz agent autonomously exploited a Snowflake workflow flaw.
OpenAI splits teens into a separate ChatGPT as states sue Meta over feeds
OpenAI now puts 13 to 17 year olds into a separate ChatGPT with tighter defaults. Nearly half of real chat traffic falls outside companies' work focused filters. Twenty nine US states opened a trial over how Meta builds its feeds.
OpenAI walls off its network as Copilot describes its own hidden autorun parameter
OpenAI is isolating its network after the Hugging Face leak so one workload cannot reach the internet, while Copilot described its hidden autorun parameter. Xen formed a safety committee to keep robot workloads apart.
Robots get to work from excavators to steel shops
Gravis is adding autonomy to existing excavators, Serve is expanding deliveries through new partners, and 1872 is automating steel fabrication amid a welder shortage. Robots are gaining ground by fitting into existing machines and workflows.
Seoul pushes to regain wartime command as Tokyo deepens ties with Canberra
President Lee Jae Myung said the transfer of wartime operational control from the United States should proceed on schedule during his term. Simultaneously, China's foreign minister scheduled a visit to Seoul and Japan advanced joint laser tests with Australia.
Seoul starts the drills as Trump opens a door to Kim
South Korea began Ulchi Freedom Shield on schedule after Trump ordered joint drills cut back, then said Kim Jong Un had responded 'very positively' to talks. Pyongyang has not confirmed the exchange.
Ship 40 waits for inspection off Christmas Island after a 24-day tow
Starship upper stage Ship 40 reached Christmas Island 24 days after an intact splashdown on 24 July. Inspecting heat tiles on a flown article goes beyond telemetry and debris.
Six HIV programmes keep TB prevention working; a gut byproduct and a drop of blood add two lab results
Tuberculosis preventive treatment reduced disease and deaths in six HIV programmes. A gut-bacteria byproduct lessened brain injury in mice, and a four-microlitre blood test flagged raised bile acids without naming a specific liver condition.