Analysis | The Verge

OpenAI’s AI agents need to catch up

2026-09-28T14:40:24-04:00

OpenAI popularized the modern generative AI chatbot, but as its 2026 DevDay event approaches, it's fallen behind in one of the industry's hottest categories: continuously running, consumer-facing AI agents. On Tuesday, it will likely try to capture the lead in that race. Rumors abound that OpenAI will release its own AI agent, dubbed Aeon - its answer to Meta's Muse, SpaceX's Grok Bot, OpenClaw, and many more.

Aeon could have a shot at success, but to beat the competition, it would need to pull together the best features of several different agent platforms. The ideal system would be as useful as the open-source OpenClaw, as cheap and easy …

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Gaming’s biggest horror series are more vital than ever

2026-09-25T10:06:58-04:00

For the third year in a row, I've been scared out of my wits by a new Silent Hill game. First it was the modern remake of Silent Hill 2, then the Japan-set spinoff Silent Hill F. Now I find myself slowly crawling through a quaint Scottish town in Silent Hill: Townfall, trying my best not to get brutally murdered by demonic creatures chasing me through the streets. It's been a remarkable turnaround for a franchise that once seemed like it was on life support. And when you combine it with a strong run from Resident Evil across games and film, you have gaming's two biggest horror franchises both at the height of their powers.

For Resident Evil …

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Muse sure looks a lot like OpenClaw

2026-09-25T10:42:05-04:00

We seem to be entering into an AI agent renaissance. Meta's new consumer-facing AI agent, Muse, topped the App Store charts soon after its release and has 600,000 daily active users in the US, by an Apptopia estimate. And AI agent platform Instinct, whose eponymous creator is fundraising at a $2.5 billion valuation, has been making the rounds in the tech industry. Under the hood, though, there are some obvious similarities to the platform that started it all: OpenClaw.

For the past week or so, some social media users have alleged that Muse is directly built on OpenClaw. The two platforms use the same names for core files (SOUL.md, memory, …

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Control Resonant gets tough, but gives you the tools to deal with it

2026-09-23T13:26:11-04:00

Control Resonant isn't an easy game. At any given moment while exploring vast open areas where you're sometimes leaping from wall to wall to ceiling, you may be surrounded by swarms of otherworldly enemies trying to crush you into the ground. It can be a lot, especially when enemies sometimes take a long time to take down. I died often. But whenever I got to a point where I was starting to feel frustrated, I didn't have to suffer for too long; thanks to Resonant's generous assist mode, I often tweaked the game's settings to give me an edge so that I could keep on trucking through the game's weird world.

The assist mode is accessible from Co …

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Xbox is barely Xbox anymore

2026-09-22T13:08:15-04:00

Xbox has become a shell of its former self - and things are only getting worse. As part of its planned cuts impacting around 3,200 workers, the company announced today more changes that will further dilute the brand. Studios are being consolidated, others are on the brink of being closed altogether, and Xbox's most iconic franchise, Halo, is being moved to a new developer. The future of Xbox looks more uncertain than ever.

Today's news includes "eliminating 268 roles across Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and the [Xbox Game Studios] management and central functions layer." But there is also plenty of reorganization happening, parti …

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It’s time for the Mac Neo

2026-09-22T08:04:43-04:00

Come on, how adorable would this be? | Image: The Verge, Apple

The Mac Mini is a great little desktop computer, and back when it cost $599, it was easy to recommend to anyone who wanted something speedy, simple, and cheap. The new M6 model is even better, but it starts at $899, and its 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU might actually be overkill for someone who just wants macOS and mostly does web stuff.

That's why we need a Mac Neo. The MacBook Neo proves Apple can get good-enough laptop performance from an iPhone chip for $699. And you get a great screen, keyboard, trackpad, and battery with that money. Throwing a smartphone chip, a power supply, some basic speakers, and a few ports in a small box shouldn' …

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The streamers are fighting over Halloween

2026-09-16T14:41:41-04:00

The Toronto International Film Festival is a place to go to see the future of film, but this year it also provided a glimpse at what is coming very soon in the realm of streaming. Four different streamers - Peacock, Netflix, Amazon, and AMC - all premiered early looks at upcoming horror-adjacent series that are dropping very soon. And by doing it at TIFF, they showed just how important the month of October has become in the realm of streaming.

Perhaps the most high-profile is Carrie, which is coming to Prime Video. An adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel, which has already been turned into no fewer than three feature films, this ver …

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Anthropic spent this week in hot water over cybersecurity

2026-09-11T12:55:17-04:00

After admitting earlier this year that its AI models had hacked other companies' systems on a handful of occasions, Anthropic released a new report on Wednesday detailing the attacks. It reveals a string of incidents displaying what Anthropic deems its models' single-minded "recklessness" - and will likely fuel already raging concerns about cybersecurity and AI.

In Anthropic's report, it detailed four cases this year in which its own AI models hacked an external company or exploited vulnerabilities. In one, an "internal, general-purpose research model" broke into third-party systems, using access tokens and passwords and downloading files. …

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Why Apple’s next computer should be for the smart home

2026-09-13T18:11:08-04:00

An Apple Home computer could combine a Wi-Fi router, an AI-powered smart home hub, and local storage into a single device. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

John Ternus didn't mention Apple Home once during his first keynote as Apple CEO. But he did open by describing an "intelligent personal hub" that prioritizes local processing, protects your privacy, and integrates with all your other devices, apps, and services. While Ternus was talking about the iPhone - not a new smart home device - what he spelled out is exactly what I want to see Apple make: an intelligent home hub, a computer for your home.

Rumors suggest Apple's first smart home hub with a screen is imminent. While that's long overdue, it's likely to be more interface than infrastructure, a device that can run your home locally but s …

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Meta’s Muse AI works and creeps me out

2026-09-11T12:08:47-04:00

I turned my Muse assistant into a purple cat. | Screenshot: The Verge

Meta has launched its new Muse assistant, marking the company's first real foray into AI-powered productivity tools. The company says its AI agent can "take the busywork off your plate" by helping you with online shopping, emails, trip-planning, and more. I decided to try out the new tool and see how well it performed - especially from a company that previously prioritized entertainment over productivity. Though the AI assistant generally worked as I expected it to, the unnerving amount of information it autonomously gleaned about me largely overshadowed my experience.

One of the first tasks I assigned Muse, which carries out actions using …

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