Claude Haiku 4.5: Fast, Cheap & Smart(ish)

AND: Google’s AI Sees the Unseeable Tumors

Welcome, Humans!

Ready for your daily dose of AI chaos? I’ve rounded up Today’s Top AI Headlines for those who like to stay ahead – and for the curious, I’ve got some eyebrow-raising stories Beyond the Headlines. Let’s dive in.

In a Nutshell:

  • Claude Haiku 4.5 trims cost, keeps muscle

  • Google Veo 3.1 gets audio + scene upgrades

  • Walmart taps ChatGPT for Instant Checkout

  • AI model detects tumors humans can’t see

  • MIT’s recursive RLMs outscore GPT-5 (yes, really)

🚀Today’s Top AI Headlines:

  1. Claude Haiku 4.5 trims cost, keeps muscle: Anthropic has unveiled Claude Haiku 4.5, a compact yet capable AI model designed for developers who want performance without the high cost or latency of larger models. Positioned as the budget-friendly sibling to Claude Sonnet 4.5, Haiku delivers impressive results across tasks like coding, visual reasoning, and tool use, reportedly matching Claude Sonnet 4, GPT-5, and Gemini 2.5 on several benchmarks. Despite its smaller size, Haiku 4.5 shines in real-time responsiveness, making it ideal for applications requiring instant output, such as chatbots, multi-agent systems, or on-device AI assistants. Anthropic emphasizes that Haiku 4.5 balances accuracy and speed, offering developers a scalable solution for lightweight deployments. With lower costs, faster inference times, and broad compatibility with Anthropic’s ecosystem, the model strengthens Anthropic’s position in the growing market for efficient, enterprise-grade AI tools.

    Source: Anthropic

    🤖 Robi: “Finally, an AI model that won’t bankrupt your R&D budget by Tuesday.”

  2. Google Veo 3.1 gets audio + scene upgrades: Google has rolled out Flow, its upgraded AI video creation platform powered by Veo 3.1, bringing Hollywood-level control to AI-generated films. The new version adds audio generation for features like “Ingredients to Video” and “Frames to Video,” allowing users to create immersive clips with synchronized sound. Creators can now build multi-image scenes, extend videos beyond one minute, and generate smooth, cinematic transitions. Veo 3.1 also introduces advanced precision-editing capabilities, enabling users to insert or erase objects seamlessly, perfect for refining AI-generated scenes. The updates make Flow one of the most capable AI video tools on the market, merging generative storytelling with practical editing controls. Google says the goal is to help creators, educators, and advertisers move from text prompts to production-ready videos faster than ever. The update positions Flow as a serious competitor to tools like Runway and Pika, further blurring the line between human and machine-directed creativity.
    Source: Google DeepMind

    🤖 Robi: “It’s like Adobe Premiere got bit by a radioactive Transformer.’’

  3. Walmart taps ChatGPT for Instant Checkout: Walmart has announced a major collaboration with OpenAI that allows customers to shop directly inside ChatGPT using a new Instant Checkout feature. The integration enables users to search for items, get personalized recommendations, and complete purchases without ever leaving the chatbot. Walmart and its membership brand Sam’s Club are leveraging this feature to simplify shopping journeys through natural conversation, turning AI chat into a digital storefront. This move builds on Walmart’s growing AI strategy, which includes its in-app assistant Sparky, designed to summarize reviews and recommend products. By partnering with OpenAI, Walmart aims to bring AI-driven retail experiences to millions of users, merging convenience, personalization, and conversational commerce. The feature is expected to set a new standard for how consumers shop online, reflecting a broader industry shift toward AI-embedded eCommerce platforms.
    Source: Reuters

    🤖 Robi: “Finally, the dream of buying toilet paper while ranting to a chatbot.”

🔍Beyond the Headlines:

  1. AI model detects tumors humans can’t see: Google and Yale University have introduced C2S-Scale, a groundbreaking 27-billion-parameter AI model capable of spotting cancer cells invisible to human specialists. Built on Google’s Gemma architecture, the model analyzes cellular data to identify “cold” tumors and even suggested a treatment combination, using silmitasertib with low-dose interferon, to make them visible to the immune system. Early lab tests confirmed the model’s predictions, marking a major leap in AI-assisted oncology.
    Source: Google Blog

    🤖 Robi: “Somewhere, a PhD student just rage-quit after seeing this headline.’’

  2. MIT’s recursive RLMs outscore GPT-5 (yes, really): MIT researchers have developed Recursive Language Models (RLMs), a new architecture that allows AI systems to process extended contexts by recursively calling themselves. A prototype RLM-powered GPT-5 mini outperformed the standard GPT-5 by 114% on long-context benchmarks, demonstrating superior memory and reasoning over lengthy documents. This innovation could redefine how future AI handles complex, multi-step tasks like research, analysis, and long-form conversation.

    Source: Alexzhang

    🤖Robi: “So GPT-5 got beat by its own Mini Me. Yikes.”

🤖Prompt of the Day:

Employee Engagement Roadmap

Prompt: You are an organizational development consultant focusing on workforce motivation. Your task is to create an employee engagement roadmap for a [company size/type] with [number] employees.
Your framework should include: (1) employee sentiment assessment, (2) recognition and reward systems, (3) leadership communication initiatives, (4) growth and learning opportunities, (5) wellbeing and culture programs, and (6) KPIs such as engagement score, retention rate, and productivity uplift.

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Robi’s Hot Take on X