#244 - GPT-5.5 Instant, Grok 4.3, OpenAI vs Musk

Our 244th episode with a summary and discussion of last week's big AI news!

Recorded on 05/08/2026

Hosted by Andrey Kurenkov and Jeremie Harris

Feel free to email us your questions and feedback at andreyvkurenkov@gmail.com and/or hello@gladstone.ai

Read out our text newsletter and comment on the podcast at https://lastweekin.ai/

In this episode:

• OpenAI released GPT-5.5 Instant as ChatGPT’s new default model, showing large benchmark gains and crossing a “high” cyber-risk threshold under its preparedness framework, while bio-safety results were mixed.
• OpenAI investigated and patched ChatGPT’s “goblin” obsession, attributing it to reinforcement-learning rewards that over-amplified playful creature metaphors in a nerdy persona that later bled across versions.
• Major industry moves included xAI’s Grok 4.3 price cuts and voice tools, Mistral’s unified Medium 3.5 model and Work mode, and Anthropic’s managed-agent upgrades alongside a surprise SpaceX compute deal and reports of a much higher Anthropic valuation.
• Key policy and security developments covered the Musk–OpenAI trial details, Pentagon AI deployments on classified networks, expanded U.S. government pre-release model reviews, and reports of NSA testing Anthropic’s Mythos on Microsoft software.

Timestamps:

• (00:00:10) Intro / Banter
• (00:01:14) News Preview
• (00:01:39) Response to listener comments

• Tools & Apps
• (00:10:40) OpenAI releases GPT-5.5 Instant, a new default model for ChatGPT | TechCrunch
• (00:15:23) ChatGPT Became So Obsessed With Goblins That OpenAI Had to Intervene
• (00:24:14) xAI launches Grok 4.3 at an aggressively low price and a new, fast, powerful voice cloning suite | VentureBeat
• (00:30:49) Mistral's new flagship Medium 3.5 folds chat, reasoning, and code into one model
• (00:36:28) Anthropic updates Claude Managed Agents with three new features - 9to5Mac
• (00:40:42) ElevenLabs Revamps AI Music Platform as Fan-Focused Service

• Applications & Business
• (00:41:57) A diary, a threat, and a $30 billion stake: What the Musk vs OpenAI trial has actually shown in its first week - The Times of India
• (00:52:28)