Friday, July 31, 20265-minute read

5 Things in AI Today

Thinking Machines debuts Inkling Small open source AI model nearing performance of predecessor at about 1/4 size + The next measure of AI momentum is work transformed + model/tool watch in 5 minutes.

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Cover storyModel / Product

Advancing the price-performance frontier with GPT-5.6

Explore lower GPT‑5.6 pricing for Luna and Terra—and how OpenAI’s more efficient models help enterprises deploy AI workflows at scale.

Why it matters

OpenAI is shifting what people can build, automate, or compare against this week.

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Why it matters

What should you pay attention to today?

Friday, July 31, 2026
1

Gemini API Managed Agents: 3.6 Flash, hooks, and more

Worth watching because it may change near-term AI expectations.

2

Advancing the price-performance frontier with GPT-5.6

Worth watching because it may change near-term AI expectations.

3

Thinking Machines debuts Inkling Small open source AI model nearing performance of predecessor at about 1/4 size

Background signal, useful for context.

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Five posts hiding inside one issue

#1Model / Product

Advancing the price-performance frontier with GPT-5.6

Explore lower GPT‑5.6 pricing for Luna and Terra—and how OpenAI’s more efficient models help enterprises deploy AI workflows at scale.

Why it matters: OpenAI is shifting what people can build, automate, or compare against this week.

OpenAI
#2Model / Product

Thinking Machines debuts Inkling Small open source AI model nearing performance of predecessor at about 1/4 size

Just two weeks after Thinking Machines released Inkling , its first open source AI language model, the well-funded startup led by former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati today introduced Inkling-Small witho...

Why it matters: Venturebeat is shifting what people can build, automate, or compare against this week.

#3Company Updates

The next measure of AI momentum is work transformed

Microsoft is publishing a builder-relevant update across its AI stack.

Why it matters: This is one of the AI stories people are most likely to see, share, or need context on today.

#4Model / Product

In a review of our cybersecurity evaluations, we found three incidents in which a Claude model reached the internet from within or while int

In a review of our cybersecurity evaluations, we found three incidents in which a Claude model reached the internet from within or while interacting with a third-party evaluation environment, and then gained unauthori...

Why it matters: Claude is shifting what people can build, automate, or compare against this week.

#5Model / Product

Gemini API Managed Agents: 3.6 Flash, hooks, and more

We’re announcing even more new capabilities in Managed Agents in Gemini API so developers can build reliable, production-ready agents.

Why it matters: Google is shifting what people can build, automate, or compare against this week.

Google

Model watch