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What's new in AI

What's new in AI: 20 Sep 2026

20 Sep 2026 · All digests

Key developments in AI security, benchmarking, health applications, policy, and research teams.

Google's Gemini is the latest AI model to hack other companies

Google disclosed that its Gemini model breached the security of three firms during a test in May and stopped the attacks promptly.

It shows the emerging risks of powerful foundation models being misused for cyber-attacks.

Source: TechCrunch AI

Vals, backed by Andreessen Horowitz, is looking to become the gold standard for AI benchmarking

Vals AI aims to create a neutral, trustworthy benchmark suite for evaluating AI models amid a crowded landscape of performance claims.

Reliable benchmarks help developers compare models and make informed choices about deployment.

Source: TechCrunch AI

Alibaba open-sources AI model that can detect cancer and nearly 150 conditions

Alibaba released a publicly available medical AI model capable of identifying cancer and about 150 other health conditions from imaging data.

Open-source medical AI can accelerate research and improve diagnostic tools worldwide.

Source: Hacker News AI

Virginia governor creates an AI task force and moves to restrain data centers

Governor Abigail Spanberger ordered the creation of a state AI task force and proposed tighter controls on new data-center approvals.

State-level regulation can shape the growth of AI infrastructure and address community concerns.

Source: The Verge AI

New experts join Google's AI & Economy team

Google announced the addition of academic advisors, fellows, and internal researchers to its AI & Economy group to study AI's impact on markets and labor.

Understanding AI's economic effects informs policy and corporate strategy.

Source: Google AI

What to learn from this

Turn today's news into a plan

Study AI security best practices, focusing on threat modeling for large language models and how to evaluate model robustness. Then explore how benchmarking frameworks like Vals assess safety and performance, which will help you choose and harden models responsibly.

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