🔥 The Week in AI News - January 12 - 16, 2026
- Corey Tate
- Jan 16
- 3 min read
Microsoft, OpenAI, Google Gemini, Apple, Slackbot, Anthropic Claude, Google Veo, ChatGPT, AI deepfakes, Nvidia, Bandcamp and more.
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▪️ Elon Musk’s case against OpenAI and Microsoft are headed to court.
A federal judge in Oakland, California, rejected requests by OpenAI and Microsoft to dismiss claims by Elon Musk and ordered the case to proceed to a jury trial.
▪️ Google Gemini is learning to act before you ask.
A new beta lets Gemini proactively respond using your emails, photos, and activity, pushing AI closer to ambient decision-making instead of reactive chat.
▪️ Apple has bundled creator tools into a single $12.99 AI-friendly subscription.
The new Creator Studio package shows Apple’s intent to lock creators deeper into its ecosystem with predictable pricing and integrated workflows.
▪️ Google Gemini is now part of Apple’s AI backbone, including Siri.
Apple will use Gemini for Siri features shows how even platform giants are mixing external models into their AI stacks.
▪️ An AI journalism startup just signed a deal with Rupert Murdoch’s empire.
Symbolic AI’s partnership with News Corp highlights how legacy media is choosing collaboration over resistance with AI.
▪️ Slackbot officially evolved into an AI agent.
What started as a helper bot is now positioned as an autonomous workplace actor that can take action, not just answer questions.
▪️ Anthropic Claude is moving fast into healthcare AI.
Claude for Healthcare arrives right after OpenAI’s health push with ChatGPT, making clinical AI a direct battleground.
▪️ Google’s Veo 3.1 update is now optimized for vertical video.
The changes make it clear Google wants AI video creation to map cleanly onto Shorts, Reels, and mobile-first storytelling.
▪️ Anthropic’s new cowork tool lets people use Claude without touching code.
This is another signal that AI companies are racing to remove technical friction and reach non-developers directly.
▪️ OpenAI just invested in Sam Altman’s brain-computer interface startup.
The move ties OpenAI’s future to human-machine integration, not just better text or images.
▪️ Google is adding Gemini intelligence to Google Trends. Trend analysis is shifting from passive charts to active interpretation and predictive insight.
▪️ OpenAI launched a built-in ChatGPT translation tool for websites. This positions ChatGPT as infrastructure for global publishing, not just a writing assistant.
▪️ U.S. senators are demanding answers from Big Tech on sexualized AI deepfakes. Lawmakers are escalating pressure on Meta, X, and Google as regulation inches closer.
▪️ Elon Musk says he had no knowledge of Grok-related underage images. A California probe into Grok’s outputs adds fresh scrutiny to AI safety claims made by platform owners.
▪️ The U.S. cleared a path for Nvidia to sell H200 chips to China. A new rule shows how geopolitics and AI supply chains are being carefully renegotiated, not fully severed.
▪️ Bandcamp banned AI-generated music. The decision draws a hard line around human creativity as platforms choose values over scale.
▪️ AI video startup Higgsfield just hit a $1.3B valuation. Founded by a former Snap exec, the company’s rise underscores how fast AI video is becoming venture catnip.
▪️ Meta is launching its own AI infrastructure initiative. Meta wants tighter control over compute, models, and costs as AI becomes core to everything it builds.
▪️ Google removed AI Overviews for certain medical searches. The rollback shows where automation still crosses trust and safety lines.
▪️ Google announced a new protocol for AI-driven commerce. AI agents negotiating purchases and transactions are moving from concept to standard.
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