While we were taking a break, the industry kept moving: OpenAI added personality settings, and Yann LeCun launched a new startup. Here's the weekend roundup.
AI & Neural Networks
Personality settings in ChatGPT. OpenAI added a "Personalization" section where you can adjust the tone of responses and how often it uses emojis.
Alibaba Qwen: layered editing. The Qwen-Image-Layered model treats images as a set of layers (similar to Photoshop). You can modify individual objects without affecting the background.
Yann LeCun's new startup (AMI Labs). Meta's chief AI scientist launched Advanced Machine Intelligence. The project will focus on "world models" at a valuation of ~$3.5–5B.
Andrej Karpathy's 2025 takeaways. Key trends: RLVR as the new training standard and the rise of "vibe coding."
App store inside ChatGPT. A catalog of third-party services right inside the chat.
Business & Markets
- **iRobot (Roomba)** [filed for bankruptcy](https://vacuumwars.com/irobot-chapter-11-bankruptcy/) after the Amazon deal fell through
- **Coursera and Udemy** [announced a merger](https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/17/coursera-and-udemy-enter-a-merger-agreement-valued-at-around-2-5b/) (~$2.5B)
- **ByteDance** [agreed to sell](https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2025/1219/1549765-bytedance-to-form-joint-venture-to-operate-tiktok-us-app) 80% of TikTok in the US
- **Mercury** [applied for a banking license](https://www.pymnts.com/news/banking/2025/fintech-company-mercury-submits-applications-to-become-national-bank/)
Development & Cybersecurity
- **UEFI motherboard vulnerability.** Riot Games researchers [found](https://www.gigabyte.com/Support/Security/2338) a critical flaw in Gigabyte, MSI, Asus, and ASRock board firmware that allows attacking a computer before OS boot via DMA devices
- **Python 3.15 release.** An [alpha version](https://docs.python.org/3.15/whatsnew/3.15.html) with improved JIT compiler, unified profiling module, and clearer error messages
- **Grafana v12.** The monitoring platform [released](https://grafana.com/about/press/2025) version 12, adding an AI assistant for log analytics
Science & Hardware
- [US nuclear program](https://westinghousenuclear.com/strategic-partnership/) worth $80B — the largest since the 1970s
- The Webb Telescope [discovered](https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-observes-exoplanet-whose-composition-defies-explanation/) a lemon-shaped exoplanet
- JPMorgan [launched](https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/jpmorgan-deploys-jpm-coin-on-base-blockchain-expands-into-public-chain-ecosystem) digital dollars on the Base blockchain