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Explainers

The concepts behind the launches, explained once and kept current — so the next announcement makes sense.

65 stories

All explainers · 65

Industry · ExplainerAnthropic IPO explained: what's confirmed about the date, price, ticker and exchange, and how shares are allocatedThe Anthropic IPO date, price and ticker haven't been announced. Anthropic has confirmed only a confidential draft S-1, filed June 1, 2026. Here's what's confirmed, what Bloomberg and Reuters have reported, and how IPO shares are generally allocated.Oct 16·8 min read

Products · ExplainerWhy is Claude 18+? Anthropic's age rule, how accounts get flagged as minors, and how to get back inWhy is Claude 18+? Anthropic's consumer terms require Claude users to be adults, and the company disables accounts its systems think belong to minors. Here's how flags happen, what the Yoti age check involves, and the documented ways to unlock a wrongly flagged account.Oct 16·7 min read

Products · ExplainerCharacter.AI alternatives after the bankruptcy: what to switch to, age rules, and how to export your chats firstLooking for a Character.AI alternative after its October 12, 2026 bankruptcy filing? Export your chats first, since it takes three to four weeks. Then compare five options on what their official pages say about age limits, data export, pricing and availability.Oct 16·8 min read

Open source · ExplainerJanas runs LLMs larger than RAM by streaming experts from SSD: how it works and what it needsJanas, a GPL-licensed engine written in C, runs mixture-of-experts models larger than RAM by streaming experts from SSD and keeping the busiest ones in memory. Its developer reports 24 tokens per second for an 80-billion-parameter model on a 32 GB laptop. Here's how it works and what the numbers do and don't show.Oct 16·6 min read

Products · ExplainerAds in ChatGPT explained: who sees them, how targeting works and how to turn them offChatGPT ads have run on the Free and Go plans since February 9, 2026, and OpenAI is about to test visual ads during image generation. How ChatGPT ads work, what data targets them, how to limit or remove them, and what The Information reports about OpenAI cutting ad prices.Oct 16·7 min read

Models · ExplainerAnthropic's distillation defenses explained: preserved thinking, extraction classifiers and account bansOn October 12, 2026, Anthropic said new defenses against distillation have cut the data harvested from Claude by around 90 to 99%. What distillation is, why reasoning transcripts are the prize, how preserved thinking and the new classifiers work, and what they change for developers.Oct 14·7 min read

Models · ExplainerOpenAI loop transformers: what's reported about GPT-6.1 Sol and OpenAI's next model, and what a looped transformer isThe Information reported on October 13, 2026, that OpenAI is working through safety issues tied to loop transformers before shipping its next flagship model. What's actually confirmed, what OpenAI's GPT-6.1 Sol safety addendum shows, how the cancelled GPT-6.1 Astra fits in, and how looped transformers work.Oct 14·7 min read

Products · ExplainerChatGPT plans compared (October 2026): Free, Go, Plus, Pro 100/200/500, Business and Enterprise prices and limitsChatGPT now has eight price points, from $0 to the $500 Pro 500 plan. Prices, models, Work and Codex allowances, dots, Ultrafast and context windows for every ChatGPT plan, from OpenAI's own pages, as of October 12, 2026.Oct 13·7 min read

Agents · ExplainerPrompt injection explained: why AI agents that read web pages, email and documents can be hijacked, and which defenses workPrompt injection lets text an AI agent reads, such as a web page, an email or a README, override what you asked it to do. Why models can't reliably tell instructions from data, the incidents that prove it, and the defenses OWASP, NIST, Google DeepMind, Anthropic and OpenAI say actually reduce the risk.Oct 13·8 min read

Agents · ExplainerOpenAI dots explained: who gets ChatGPT's always-on agents, what they can do and how to control themDots are always-on ChatGPT agents with their own cloud computer, launched on September 29, 2026 for Pro and Business Premium. Who can get one, what it can do, the controls, the privacy rules and how dots differ from ChatGPT Work.Oct 13·8 min read

Developers · ExplainerSign in with ChatGPT explained: using your Plus or Pro plan in Devin, Notion, Vercel and other appsSince September 29, 2026, Sign in with ChatGPT lets Plus and Pro subscribers spend their plan's usage in 16 partner tools, including Devin, Notion, Vercel and Warp. How identity sign-in differs from plan usage, what's shared, the limits you can set, and how developers integrate it.Oct 13·7 min read

Products · ExplainerWhat happened to Sora? OpenAI's shutdown timeline, why it closed, and what happens to your videosOpenAI announced Sora's end on March 24, 2026, closed the app and website on April 26 and shut the Sora API on September 24. Here's the timeline, the reasons OpenAI and reporters gave, how to export your videos, and where to go instead.Oct 13·6 min read

Models · ExplainerDecision models explained: Microsoft-Decision-1, OpenAI's Decisions API and when to use themMicrosoft-Decision-1 and OpenAI's Decisions API don't write text. They score a fixed set of answers and return probabilities your code can act on. How decision models work, what they cost, and where they fit: classification, routing and verification.Oct 13·7 min read

Models · ExplainerMeta Muse Spark explained: the closed model behind Meta AI, the Muse agent app, and what's openMuse Spark, launched April 8, 2026, is Meta's proprietary replacement for Llama at the top of its lineup. It now powers Meta AI, the Muse personal agent (on iPad since October 7) and a paid API. What it is, what it costs, and how much of it is actually open.Oct 13·7 min read

Products · ExplainerGemini-powered Siri explained: what shipped in iOS 27, what Google actually does, and what's still comingSiri AI arrived as an English-only beta in iOS 27 on September 14, 2026, built on Apple models developed with Google's Gemini. Where it stands in October: who can use it, how much Gemini is really inside, and what Apple hasn't delivered yet.Oct 13·7 min read

Policy · ExplainerAnthropic's new rule against abusing Claude, explained: what the usage policy says and how it's enforcedFrom November 12, 2026, Anthropic's usage policy bans "sustained and needless abusive or cruel behavior" toward Claude. What the text says, what it doesn't cover, how it's enforced and how it ties to Anthropic's model-welfare work.Oct 13·7 min read

Developers · ExplainerClaude Code's "Compacted while idle" message, explained: why it happens and how to turn it offSince about version 2.1.286, Claude Code can summarize a large conversation on its own shortly before its one-hour prompt cache expires. Why Anthropic does it, when it fires, what it costs you, and the one-line setting that stops it.Oct 12·9 min read

Hardware · ExplainerWhat an NPU actually does, and why the TOPS number on your laptop matters less than you thinkCopilot+ PCs need a 40-TOPS 'AI engine'. Here's what that chip accelerates, which apps really use it, and why tools like Ollama mostly ignore it.Oct 9·7 min read

Products · ExplainerHow Gemini handles a 900-page PDF: the limits, the costs and what long-context benchmarks showOn paper, a 900-page document fits comfortably in Gemini's 1M-token context. Whether it works depends on file size, your plan and what you ask.Oct 9·6 min read

Products · ExplainerThe Claude app, explained: plans, models, Cowork and how usage limits workClaude now covers chat, the Cowork agent, a Chrome extension and Claude Code under one subscription. Here's what each plan gets in October 2026.Oct 9·7 min read

Products · ExplainerChatGPT agent mode, explained: what it was, why it's gone, and what ChatGPT Work does insteadOpenAI's help center says ChatGPT agent is no longer available. ChatGPT Work, a cloud browser and dots now do its job. Here's how they work.Oct 9·7 min read

Models · ExplainerHow to choose a small AI model for your laptop: the memory math and the current shortlistParameters, quantization and context length decide whether a model fits. Here's how to do the arithmetic, and which open models to try at 8, 16 and 32 GB.Oct 9·7 min read

Agents · ExplainerOpenAI Codex explained: where it runs, which models and limits you get, and how its sandbox worksWhat Codex is in October 2026, from OpenAI's docs and pricing pages: where it runs, which plans get which models, how far the allowance goes, and what its sandbox enforces.Oct 9·7 min read

Agents · ExplainerClaude Code mods, explained: what Anthropic's new extension layer can do, where it runs, and the security trade-offSince October 1, 2026, Claude Code can load JavaScript and TypeScript 'mods' that redraw its interface, rewrite prompts and approve tool calls. What Anthropic's docs say they can do, and what they can reach.Oct 9·8 min read

Policy · ExplainerWhat the EU AI Act means if you only use model APIsYou may never train a model and still be a "provider" under the AI Act. How the roles work, which duties are live in October 2026, and a checklist for teams building on hosted models.Oct 9·8 min read

Developers · ExplainerModel routing explained: how to mix cheap, mid and frontier modelsSending every request to a frontier model can cost 40 times more than it needs to. How routers, cascades and advisor patterns work, and what vendors actually offer.Oct 9·8 min read

Models · ExplainerReasoning models explained: thinking tokens, what they cost, and when to use themClaude, GPT-6 and Gemini all bill hidden thinking as output tokens. How each vendor exposes it, what it costs in practice, and when to turn it down.Oct 9·7 min read

Industry · ExplainerOpenAI explained: who controls it, what it sells, and how it makes moneyFrom a 2015 nonprofit to a public benefit corporation reportedly seeking a $1.4 trillion valuation: OpenAI's structure, Microsoft deal, products, prices and revenue.Oct 9·7 min read

Industry · ExplainerAnthropic explained: history, products and how it makes moneyFounded in 2021 by former OpenAI staff, Anthropic was valued at $965 billion in May 2026. Here's how it's governed, funded and paid, and what's unresolved.Oct 9·9 min read

Policy · ExplainerThe EU AI Act in October 2026: what actually applies nowThe AI Omnibus pushed high-risk rules to late 2027, but general-purpose AI obligations, transparency duties and EU enforcement are already live. The dates, from official EU sources.Oct 9·9 min read

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