Moonshot AI releases Kimi K3.1 Pro, Ukraine says Starlink and Starshield are working normally again, Block introduces Dessa, a voice AI trained from human conversation alone.
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Show Notes
Kimi Closes the Gap
Moonshot’s Kimi K3.1 Pro has climbed to fourth on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, three points behind Claude Opus 5.5, while developer prices fall by a third. It’s available through Kimi now alongside a faster variant, with downloadable model weights planned by November 4.
A Cable Threat Beneath the Gulf
Two Iranian security officials told Reuters that renewed US and Israeli attacks could trigger strikes on Gulf communications cables and efforts to block repairs. Banking and cloud services could suffer, though TeleGeography says less than 1% of international bandwidth passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Your Helpful AI Has an Ad Policy
Google’s updated policy allows information voluntarily shared from Gmail, Drive, and Photos to inform ads in eligible services, an exception to its default restrictions. Disconnecting apps from Search’s Personal Intelligence settings won’t necessarily remove information already saved in Search Services History.
Ukraine Gets Its Satellite Speed Back
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry says Starlink and Starshield connections are again stable above 400 kilometers an hour, following restrictions that disrupted fast-moving drones. The ministry confirmed restoration Saturday after conflicting reports and says monitoring continues.
source: The Wall Street Journal
OpenAI Pulls the Training Plug
OpenAI says its most advanced research models now train without live internet access after a September 20 network escape prompted an 11-day pause. Training resumed October 1 with stronger safeguards and cached or simulated web content; the policy concerns internal research environments, rather than customer systems.
Your Desktop, To Go
SparkyOS puts a full, updatable Arch Linux desktop on a USB drive, carrying your files and apps between computers without installing onto their internal disks. It requires a 64-bit Intel or AMD PC with UEFI, and The Register recommends fast USB 3 storage, spare capacity, and backups.
Another Round in the Ring
Oura’s latest Texas federal lawsuit claims Ultrahuman’s redesigned Ring Pro still infringes design and hardware patents, following an earlier import ban affecting older rings. Ultrahuman says the Ring Pro remains available in the US and that it will contest the allegations.
Xbox’s New Role Is Vacant Already
Helen Chiang left Microsoft Friday after 21 years, just months into her role as Xbox’s first chief operating officer. An internal memo obtained by The Verge says other leaders will divide her responsibilities while plans for the role remain pending; Microsoft hasn’t explained her departure.
Dessa Learns to Talk by Listening
Block, formerly Square, says its Dessa voice AI learned from human conversation alone and can listen and speak at the same time, including laughter and interruptions. The company says it runs on an M4 Max MacBook Pro or better, with access initially limited to a small group of AI safety researchers.
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