Model Releases & Breakthroughs
OpenAI's GPT-5.2 launched mid-December, focusing on enhanced reasoning and professional use; includes variants like Instant, Thinking, and Pro.
Google's Gemini Deep Research agent upgraded on Gemini 3 Pro, with new Interactions API for third-party integration; timed competitively against OpenAI.
Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.5 (late Nov/early Dec) excels in coding/engineering, outperforming humans in internal tests.
DeepSeek (China) released high-parameter models rivaling top benchmarks in math/coding, using efficient Sparse Attention.
Emerging trends: Agentic AI advancements (e.g., Microsoft Ignite highlights), multilingual tools, and efficient/smaller models.
Industry & Investments
Massive infrastructure deals: Microsoft/Nvidia investing billions in Anthropic; multi-cloud access for Claude models.
Market volatility: Concerns over AI bubble from Oracle/Broadcom reports, but sustained capex (~$350-400B globally) in data centers/compute.
Partnerships: Disney invests in OpenAI for character use in Sora; progress in enterprise tools (e.g., Immuta, Progress Software).
Policy & Global Developments
US: Executive order centralizing AI regulation, limiting state laws; push for unified framework.
EU: Delay of high-risk AI Act enforcement to 2027.
UN warns AI could widen inequality between nations.
Rising adoption: 62% of researchers use AI (up from 45%); surging university AI enrollments.
Other Trends
Concerns: Hallucinations, ethics, data security in research/tools.
Innovations: Optical AI processors, brain-computer interfaces, privacy-focused FHE (e.g., Zama).
Broader impact: AI agents in business, healthcare diagnostics, and decentralized infrastructure (DePIN/Web3 AI).
AI momentum remains strong into 2026, shifting toward practical adoption, efficiency, and regulation amid fierce competition.