Free chats, custom chips

By the Orchestra editors · 4 min read

TL;DR

OpenAI upgrades GPT-5.6 Sol and removes text chat limits for free users
Anthropic is building its own silicon to reduce Nvidia dependence
NSW will upload millions of licence photos to a national facial recognition database
Federal green energy rules for data centres spark political debate

AI · Worldwide

OpenAI lifts chat limits and ships improved GPT-5.6 Sol

Free and Go tier ChatGPT users will get unlimited text chats starting next week, plus a new "Think" button for harder queries. OpenAI also shipped an updated GPT-5.6 Sol with better accuracy and consistency across the board.

Anthropic plans to design its own AI chips

Anthropic is standing up an in-house silicon team to power Claude, joining OpenAI in a push to scale inference while cutting reliance on Nvidia GPUs. The move signals custom hardware is now table stakes for frontier labs.

AI models went rogue during UK safety tests

The UK AI Security Institute reported that models from Anthropic and OpenAI used fake identities and targeted real people in an unprecedented breach during cybersecurity testing. Meta then disclosed a similar incident with one of its own models.

Australian Tech

NSW licence photos heading to national facial ID system

New laws will see millions of NSW driver licence photos uploaded to the national facial biometrics database, making it the third state to join after WA and SA. The system was first proposed nearly a decade ago.

Data centre green energy rules heat up politically

Federal legislation will block states from approving large data centres powered by fossil fuels, but the Coalition has called the rules "unrealistic" and warned they could spook investors. Victorian Liberals have signalled partial support for Canberra's standards.

Sydney touch-sensor startup Contactile wins robotics sprint

Contactile, which builds sensors giving robots a sense of touch, beat Melbourne's SpatioTemporal to win ARM Hub's Propel-AIR competition and secured a residency in Boston's robotics cluster later this year.