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- Slack Turns Slackbot Into a Full AI Agent for Work
Slack Turns Slackbot Into a Full AI Agent for Work
AND: UK Startup Unveils AI Models Trained on Evolution to Design New Medicines
Robi the robot
January 14, 2026
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TOP AI NEWS AI DEVELOPMENT |  OpenAI Explores Ear-Worn AI Hardware Beyond Traditional EarbudsOpenAI is reportedly developing an ear-worn AI device designed for always-on assistance, featuring a wrap-around design aimed at comfortable, all-day use beyond traditional earbuds. Source: Digital Trend |
AI DEVELOPMENT
Slack Turns Slackbot Into a Full AI Agent for Work
Slack has unveiled a major upgrade to Slackbot, transforming it from a simple assistant into a full-fledged AI agent designed to handle everyday work tasks directly inside Slack. The update marks one of the most significant changes to Slack’s core experience in years, positioning the platform as a central hub for AI-driven productivity.
The rebuilt Slackbot can now search for information across connected workplace apps, understand conversations and files, and deliver context-aware answers without requiring users to switch tools. Employees can ask Slackbot to locate documents, summarize discussions, or pull relevant data from integrated services, all from a single chat interface.
Beyond information retrieval, the AI agent can also draft emails, prepare messages, and schedule meetings, reducing the need to jump between calendars, inboxes, and productivity apps. Slack says the system is designed to work with the tools teams already use, connecting to existing messages, files, and third-party integrations rather than forcing users into a new workflow.
A key focus of the update is context. Slackbot uses conversation history, shared files, and connected app data to tailor responses, allowing it to understand not just what users are asking, but why they’re asking it. This makes the agent more useful for real workplace scenarios, such as following up on projects, preparing responses for clients, or coordinating meetings across teams.
The new AI-powered Slackbot is available immediately to Business+ and Enterprise+ customers, reflecting Slack’s strategy of rolling out advanced AI features first to larger organizations. Importantly, Slack noted that no new downloads or separate apps are required, as the AI agent is built directly into the existing Slack interface.
Source: Slack
Robi’s Insights:
Slackbot has been upgraded from a basic helper into a full AI agent that can handle real workplace tasks inside Slack.
It can search across connected apps, understand conversations and files, and provide context-aware answers without switching tools.
The AI can draft emails, prepare messages, and schedule meetings using existing workplace data.
Context is the core feature, with Slackbot using conversation history and shared files to understand intent, not just queries.
The rollout targets Business+ and Enterprise+ users, showing Slack’s focus on large teams and embedded AI workflows.
Robi’s Remarks:
“Slack finally admitted everyone lives in Slack anyway, so they just taught the bot to do the work while we pretend to be ‘looping back.’”
OTHER IN AI DEVELOPMENTS
Anthropic Launches New AI Prototyping Division:Anthropic has launched Anthropic Labs, a new team dedicated to building experimental AI tool prototypes, with CPO and Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger stepping in to lead the division.
Source: Anthropic
SOCIAL MEDIA
Claude Cowork Built in 10 Days
Anthropic has revealed a striking example of AI-assisted software development, claiming that its recently released workplace product Claude Cowork was built in roughly 10 days, with the entire codebase written by AI. The disclosure was made by Boris Cherny, an Anthropic engineer and the creator of Claude Code, the company’s internal AI coding system. In an interview and subsequent public comments, Cherny said Cowork was developed in about a week and a half, emphasizing that the code itself was generated entirely by Claude Code rather than written line by line by human engineers. | According to Cherny, the role of Anthropic’s engineers shifted from traditional programming to guidance, review, and approval. Humans defined goals, evaluated outputs,  |
corrected issues, and ensured quality, while the AI system handled the bulk of implementation work. This approach dramatically reduced development time compared to conventional software workflows Claude Cowork expands Claude beyond coding tasks, allowing the AI to interact with files, organize information, and assist with everyday knowledge work. The speed of its development is being highlighted internally as a real-world demonstration of how AI agents can compress software timelines while maintaining production-level quality.
The claim adds to growing industry discussion around AI-written software and how engineering roles may evolve. Rather than replacing developers outright, Anthropic’s example suggests a model where engineers act more like architects and reviewers, overseeing AI systems that generate large portions of working code.
While Anthropic has not disclosed whether this approach will become standard across all products, the Cowork project is already being cited as a glimpse into a future where AI plays a central role in building the very tools people use to work.
Source: X Post
🤖 Robi’s Take :
“So the AI didn’t just help this time. It shipped. Humans supervised, asked a few questions, and felt productive. The work still got done.
Efficient? Very.
Impressive? Sure.
A little revealing? Definitely.”
OTHER IN SOCIALS
McKinsey Scales AI Agents Across Its Global Workforce: McKinsey & Company says AI now powers about 40 percent of its business, with 25,000 AI agents working alongside consultants as the firm moves toward a future where every employee collaborates with AI
Source: Business Insider
HEALTH
UK Startup Unveils AI Models Trained on Evolution to Design New Medicines
UK-based biotech startup Basecamp Research has introduced Eden, a new family of artificial intelligence models developed in collaboration with Nvidia, aimed at accelerating drug discovery by learning directly from evolution itself.
Eden was trained on DNA data collected from organisms across 28 countries, covering evolutionary information from more than one million species. Instead of relying only on modern biological datasets, the system studied how life has solved biological challenges over billions of years, allowing the AI to identify natural solutions that could be repurposed for human medicine.
 | One of Eden’s most notable breakthroughs is the design of a new gene-editing approach that can insert therapeutic DNA into cells without cutting the genome. |
This method could offer a safer alternative to existing techniques such as CRISPR, which rely on making precise cuts in DNA and can carry risks of unintended mutations.
In laboratory testing focused on genetic disorders including muscular dystrophy and hemophilia, more than 63 percent of Eden’s AI-designed gene therapies proved functional, a strong early result for an emerging technology. Researchers say this suggests evolutionary data can significantly improve the reliability of AI-generated biological tools.
Eden also demonstrated promise in the fight against antibiotic resistance. The system designed new antibiotic candidates, with 97 percent showing effectiveness against dangerous drug-resistant bacteria, often referred to as “superbugs,” that no longer respond to existing treatments.
Basecamp Research says Eden highlights how combining large-scale evolutionary data with advanced AI computing could reshape drug discovery, opening the door to faster development of therapies for diseases that have resisted traditional approaches.
Source: Base Camp
🤖 Robi’s Take :
“An AI trained on a billion years of evolution is now designing medicine. Somewhere between ‘natural selection’ and ‘generate treatment,’ we decided nature needed a software update.
This isn’t sci-fi. It’s just the moment we realized evolution left better notes than we did.”
DAILY AI TOOL
AI Tool You Did Not Know You Needed
Problem: You take a photo you really like, but there’s something in the background that doesn’t belong, a stranger passing by, a messy table, or an awkward shadow. You wish you could clean it up without spending hours on complicated editing tools.
AI Tool: Cleanup.pictures is an online tool that lets you quickly tidy up your photos, whether it’s removing an object, a person, or just a bit of clutter.
Solution: Some tools can help you clean up your photos easily. Instead of struggling with layers or complex options, you just mark the part you want to remove, and it’s gone.
PROMPT OF THE DAY
Get More Customers with a Better Sales Process
Prompt: You are a sales expert who knows how to help businesses turn more visitors into paying customers. Your task is to create a step-by-step strategy to improve the sales process for a [business type or niche] that wants to [specific goal, such as get more sign-ups, sell more products, or reduce customer drop-off]. The business uses tools like [CRM systems, landing page builders, email tools, or analytics] and is targeting [describe audience, like online shoppers, business clients, or subscribers].
Your strategy should include: (1) a simple breakdown of each step a customer goes through before buying, (2) where people are losing interest and how to fix it, (3) better content or offers at each step, (4) email or ad strategies to keep potential customers engaged, (5) helpful tools or automations to make the process smoother, and (6) clear ways to track results (like conversion rates or sign-up numbers). Make sure the plan can work for different types of products or services the business offers.
SPOT THE FAKE
Can you outsmart AI?
We’ve got a visual challenge for you: one of the two images below is 100% real, the other is crafted by AI.
Click option below A or B. 👇
👉 Which image is AI-generated? |
 A |  B |
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