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Anthropic vs US Govt | Samsung S26 Ultra review | Tech Today with Cyrus
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00:14Welcome to the Tech Today show everyone and I know we are getting you a tech show at a time
00:19when the whole geopolitical situation of the world has just gone for a toss.
00:24However, there is a side to this conflict that many are missing and we wanted to highlight that.
00:30What is the role of AI here? Does AI really have a role in warfare?
00:35We'll try to understand that with context to the recent feud between Anthropic and the US government.
00:40Plus, a new age AI phone by Samsung, the S26 Ultra is here with us and we'll get you a
00:46full review.
00:47Should you buy it, should you not? Plus, a whole lot more tech on this week's Tech Today.
00:51I'm Cyrus, your host and let's kick things off with the top tech headlines of the week.
01:02Meta has officially acquired Moldbook, a social media platform where humans are restricted to observation only.
01:09The site is populated entirely by AI agents.
01:12Meta plans to use the tech to advance its autonomous super intelligence projects.
01:16It marks a major shift towards a human-free social media experience.
01:20The acquisition provides Meta with a controlled environment to observe AI's social dynamics without human interference.
01:34Google is stepping in to power the Pentagon's new AI portal following a fallout with rival firm Anthropic.
01:41Over 3 million civilian and military personnel can now build custom Gemini agents for unclassified tasks.
01:47The move signals a deepening tie between big tech and national defense.
01:51The integration aims to streamline administrative workflows across the Department of Defense using localized generative models.
02:04iQoo has launched the Z11 X 5G in India featuring a massive 7,200 mAh battery.
02:11Starting at Rs.18,000 999, the device targets the budget segment with military-grade durability and a Dimensity 7400
02:19chip.
02:20The release sets a new benchmark for battery density in the competitive sub-20,000 Rs. smartphone market.
02:31OpenAI is launching interactive visual modules within ChatGPT to help students master math and science.
02:39Students can now manipulate variables in real-time to see how formulas change.
02:43The update covers over 70 core concepts.
02:46These tools mark a shift for ChatGPT from a text-based assistant to a multi-modal educational platform.
02:59WhatsApp is introducing new parent-managed accounts for children under 13.
03:04Guardians can now vet contact lists and approve messages via a secure PIN.
03:09To ensure safety, features like status and meta-AI are disabled for these young users.
03:15The update addresses growing regulatory pressure to provide safer, moderated communication channels for minors.
03:41There is a full-blown war going on in the Middle East and somewhere behind it all is AI.
03:48AI is calling all of the shots.
03:51Not just any AI.
03:52AI that people like you use.
03:54And I'm talking about Anthropic's claw, which has been declared a supply chain risk by the US government.
04:02The same AI which the US has been using to find targets around the world till now.
04:07What did Anthropic do to upset the government so much that it got itself blacklisted?
04:12And what is the future of warfare with AI is our big conversation for the day.
04:29On the 3rd of January, the US pulled off something wild called Operation Absolute Resolve.
04:34They actually captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and get this, no soldiers got hurt.
04:45The secret weapon?
04:47The AI called Clawed.
04:49Specifically, a custom military-grade iteration of Anthropic's LLM integrated via Plantair Maven Smart Systems.
05:03This changes how wars are fought.
05:06The AI did something no human could.
05:09It instantly calculated the risks to civilians and created a step-by-step plan that completely shut down the enemy
05:16leadership.
05:18Anthropic reportedly didn't know Clawed was being used for a live combat raid until after it happened.
05:25The company's internal monitoring flagged that their model was being used to generate war strategies and real-time strike coordinates
05:33in Caracas.
05:35A direct violation of their no-violence, no-weapons policy.
05:39Anthropic CEO Dario Amadei reached out to the Pentagon to demand transparency, which led to a series of heated exchanges
05:46between the two and led to the situation which is now.
05:51The Pentagon's immediate action was a swift and aggressive shift from a secret partner to public antagonist.
05:58They disagreed with the idea that a private company could audit military operations.
06:03By mid-January, Secretary of War Pete Hexzeth moved to Craftsley Resistance.
06:09He issued a new rule.
06:11Every AI contract must now include an Any Lawful Use clause that included removal of mass domestic surveillance restrictions,
06:19allow use of AI model in developing fully autonomous weapon systems.
06:27The choice offered to Anthropic was binary.
06:30Strip your guardrails and allow the military to use Clawed for anything legal under the laws of war or be
06:36purged from the defence ecosystem.
06:42While Anthropic hesitated, OpenAI and XAI competed to fill the vacuum.
06:48On 27 February, just as the ultimatum to Anthropic expired, the Pentagon announced a patriotic partnership with OpenAI.
06:56Sam Ottman's team agreed to the Any Lawful Use terms that Anthropic rejected, effectively trading Claude's caution for GPT's compliance.
07:07The OpenAI US defence deal brought in a lot of criticism.
07:12Top employees resigned.
07:14The hashtag CancelChatGPT started trending online.
07:18Uninstallation surged, signalling that the betrayed public sentiments were clearly highlighted over there.
07:24Now, OpenAI claims that they've kept safety principles, but critics note that the contract uses the government's definition of safety,
07:32which prioritises success over morality.
07:36So, what happens to Anthropic then?
07:47On the 27th of February, President Donald Trump labelled Anthropic a radical left woke company
07:52and ordered a total federal ban.
07:55On March 5th, the Pentagon went further, designating Anthropic a supply chain risk to national security.
08:02It's a label usually reserved for foreign entities such as Chinese tech giant Huawei.
08:06Now used against a US company to prevent any military contractor from even using a laptop with Claude installed.
08:17Then on March 9th, Anthropic fired back.
08:20And a bunch of AI experts from other big tech companies including Google DeepMind researchers Zheng Dong Wang and Alexander
08:27Matt Turner
08:27and OpenAI's Gabriel Wu, Pamela Mishkin and Roman Novak also joined the cause.
08:34Anthropic filed a 48-page federal lawsuit alleging the viewpoint-based retaliation.
08:40They are suing for the right to say no to the state.
08:44As OpenAI engineers move into the Pentagon's classified networks today, the industry is watching.
08:50The AI civil war has left the labs and entered the courtroom.
08:54And the outcome will decide if the future of intelligence belongs to the creators or the commanders.
09:05In any case, the damage done to the company is irreversible.
09:10And let's get it clear, integrating AI into the defense system is not the problem over here.
09:15It's the power to take that final decision which is in question over here.
09:19Now, Anthropic says it can't hand the decision-making power to AI.
09:23But is it not happening already?
09:26We have reports suggesting that the US is already using AI for its operations in Iran.
09:31And that's not all.
09:37Victory Day Parade in Beijing was the world's first look at what the PLA calls
09:43Intelligentized Warfare.
09:44More than just a display of hardware, it was a signal that China has already crossed the red lines
09:51Anthropic is currently fighting to maintain.
09:56The Pentagon's logic is clear.
09:58If China is comfortable putting AI in its defenses, the US cannot afford to be the only power with its
10:06hands tied.
10:07This is why Anthropic's ultimatum was so aggressive.
10:10They view safety guard rails as a death sentence in a war against a rival that has none.
10:16We've already seen it in games like Call of Duty and Metal Gear Solid.
10:22The world is now divided by the any lawful use rule.
10:25Major powers like Russia and Israel use a genetic defense already.
10:30AI that acts autonomously apart from suggesting plans.
10:33Middle powers like India and the EU are stuck between arguing for responsible AI
10:39and spending heavily on their own sovereign AI systems,
10:43trying not to rely on US tech giants for their security.
10:47The Anthropic lawsuit in DC is a fight for the soul of the technology,
10:52but on the global stage, the verdict is already in.
10:56In the wars of tomorrow, the fastest algorithm will rewrite the laws of existence.
11:03Well, the battle for the AI brain has officially moved from the server room to the courtroom now.
11:10With Anthropic's federal lawsuit now setting for the stage for constitutional showdown,
11:16the global tech industry faces a defining choice.
11:20Comply with the state's mandate for any lawful use or risk being left out of the future of the national
11:26defense infrastructure.
11:28But the fallout from this legal fight is only one part of this entire story.
11:32The current ground reality of AI integration in defense can already be seen around the world,
11:38especially in the Israel-US military campaigns in Iran.
11:42And the most important question is which still remains over here.
11:46If algorithms break the law, who do we hold responsible for all of this?
11:51Think about it.
11:52Coming up, we are moving from all of the AI integration in defense to AI in your smartphones in our
11:59next segment,
11:59which is a comprehensive review of the new Samsung AI phone, the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
12:05Take a look at that.
12:19This is the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and it looks almost the same as last year.
12:25But Samsung says that this is the best phone it can offer in 2026.
12:29But unlike last year, the performance of the camera isn't really the headline maker this time.
12:33It's a new feature called Privacy Display and it will just change the way you view content on this phone.
12:43Because this one literally hides all of what you are watching on the phone from other people snooping around you.
12:49But at a price tag of almost 1,40,000 rupees, is it really worth buying this phone in India?
12:55Everything revealed in this review on the Take Today show.
13:07Let's start with the design.
13:08And honestly, if you've seen the last couple of Ultra phones, this one will feel very similar.
13:14The boxy frame, the flat display, the separate floating camera lenses and of course the built-in S Pen,
13:21which still does not have Bluetooth.
13:24Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
13:27Samsung has clearly locked into this Ultra design language and it does look premium.
13:32But the reality is very little has changed around the design of this phone.
13:37Yes, Samsung has made this one a little lighter.
13:40But how?
13:41Well, it's thanks to a shift to a lighter aluminium structure instead of titanium while still keeping durability features like
13:48Gorilla Armour glass there.
13:51So, when you hold it, it feels a little more comfortable but still a heavy phone at almost 214 grams.
13:58So, if you're hoping for a dramatic design change, you will not find it on the S26 Ultra but it
14:04still looks premium.
14:06Now, the display is where things really get exciting.
14:10The S26 Ultra features a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with QHD plus resolution and a 120Hz refresh
14:17rate.
14:18And in typical Samsung style, the colors are vibrant, the panel is sharp and the screen looks fantastic even outdoors.
14:27But the real story here is the privacy display.
14:30Samsung has literally built a privacy feature into the screen using narrow pixel technology which kind of changes the way
14:38you watch content or maybe others are able to watch content on your phone.
14:42Because it's almost like adding a physical screen protector on your phone for which you don't have to spend extra
14:48now.
14:49Here, Samsung has integrated this technology directly into the display hardware.
14:53Here's how it works. Inside the panel are directional pixels, a mix of narrow and wide pixels that control how
14:59light spread across viewing angles.
15:02When privacy mode is activated, the screen remains perfectly clear when you look at it straight on.
15:07But from side angles, roughly around 30 degrees, the screen becomes dim or unreadable.
15:13So, if you're in any public space, people sitting next to you simply can't see what's on your screen.
15:20And the best part is, you can customize it.
15:23You can enable privacy mode in various apps including banking apps, WhatsApp, notifications, even when you are entering your password.
15:32So, your phone can automatically hide sensitive information.
15:36And right now, there is no other smartphone especially in the flagship category that is offering you this feature.
15:42However, there is a trade-off.
15:45You see, when the privacy feature is enabled, the display can get noticeably dimmer because the screen is limiting how
15:51light spreads outwards.
15:53So, outdoors, visibility may take a hit.
15:58Rest, the display is absolutely perfect when it comes to content viewing, gaming or anything that you want to do
16:04on the screen.
16:04It's just that, when you have this privacy feature on, watching content can be a little, let's just say, not
16:12that immersive.
16:13Moving on to the performance, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset
16:20which is custom tuned for this smartphone.
16:23Because this chip focuses heavily on its NPU performance for AI processing with improved graphics performance and better thermal efficiency.
16:31Samsung has also increased the size of the vapor chamber inside the phone which helps keep things cooler even if
16:38you are running heavy tasks like gaming or even 8K video recording.
16:42In everyday use, the phone is exactly what you would expect from a flagship.
16:46Apps open instantly, multitasking is smooth, gaming performance is excellent.
16:52And with 12GB of RAM, the phone has plenty of headroom for power users.
16:56These are some of the benchmark scores we've gotten on this flagship.
17:00And as you can see, whatever is on paper translates to real-world gusto.
17:05But the difference here is Samsung is really leaning into the AI features of this smartphone, especially things like call
17:12screening and also the new editing feature where you can prompt stuff into the smartphone and change the world radically.
17:19For example, I have changed my shirt in this picture and I can change it so easily just by adding
17:26the prompt and the result is so accurate.
17:29It's really impressive and doesn't seem like AI generated at all.
17:36Eventually, these AI features will also trickle down to the last year device and then you might think there should
17:43have been something exclusive on the S26 Ultra.
17:46Now to a space where ultra-smartphones really shine and that's the camera department.
17:51Although, Samsung hasn't really changed the hardware on the back and the front that much, but there are certain tweaks
17:57that just enhance your photography.
17:59There's the 200MP main camera, the 50MP ultra-wide, the 10MP 3X telephoto and a 50MP periscope with 5X optical
18:09zoom.
18:09So on paper, the hardware actually looks very similar to the previous generation.
18:14Where things have improved is the software side and also a little optics.
18:24The main camera now has a wider f1.4 aperture allowing significantly more light into the sensor.
18:30That means better low-light photos and improved night photography.
18:35Even daylight pictures and some of the portraits look absolutely fantastic.
18:39The colors pop out and the dynamic range is on point with focus on deeper blacks.
18:43What I feel needs improvement is the front 12MP selfie camera, which isn't still as wide, nor does have an
18:50accurate edge detection as compared to some of the other flagships like the Vivo X300 Pro or the iPhone 17.
18:58Zoom is still one of the best on Samsung's flagships, especially the 5X optical lens and the AI-assisted space
19:05zoom.
19:05The video gets improvement too, including better stabilization and enhanced night mode.
19:11Another great feature for video is this super steady horizontal mode, which locks the access no matter how much you
19:17move the phone, making the shot ultra stable.
19:20A great feature for shooting action sequences.
19:25So, the camera system is again one of the most versatile that you can find right now out there in
19:30the flagship space.
19:31However, it is a little disappointing that we haven't seen a lot of upgrades, especially on the front camera and
19:37Samsung could have done that this year.
19:40Battery is another department where Samsung has chosen consistency over experimentation because this one uses the same 5000mAh battery that
19:47Samsung has been using for generations.
19:49And it can be a little bothering that not even there is no new tech like Silicon Carbon, but the
19:57capacity is also the same, except for the optimization is a little better this time.
20:02Charging speeds have improved slightly up to 60W wired charging, which gets the phone from 0 to 100 in just
20:08over an hour.
20:09However, still not the fastest in the market, but for Samsung, this is fast.
20:13But here's where things get a little disappointing.
20:17You see, many competitors are moving to Silicon Carbon batteries, which allow larger capacity without increasing the phone's size.
20:23Samsung is still using the traditional lithium-ion battery technology.
20:27While I do get a day's battery easily, it's still not good enough, especially when the competition in the lesser
20:34price segment is offering much better battery technology.
20:37So Samsung really needs to up its game in the battery department, especially for flagship phones.
20:43So the big question finally is, should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra?
20:48At almost a lakh 40 in India, this is clearly one of the most expensive smartphones that you can buy.
20:53And what Samsung has done this year is interesting.
20:56Instead of chasing bigger specs everywhere, they're focused on one standout innovation, which is the privacy display.
21:02If you work in public spaces, travel frequently, and handle sensitive information on your phone, this feature is genuinely useful.
21:10But outside of that, the Samsung S26 Ultra kind of feels like just a refined upgrade.
21:16The design is mostly unchanged, the battery technology hasn't moved forward, and the cameras are improved, but not dramatically different.
21:23So if you already own the S25 Ultra, I don't think there's any sense in making an upgrade to the
21:29S26 Ultra.
21:30However, if you're looking to get into the Samsung Galaxy Ultra family, then this phone actually makes sense,
21:37because it's packed to the brim with all of the features that you would want on a flagship phone.
21:41And overall, it's a good proposition.
21:50For over a couple of years now, AI has been helping us understand all of the complications, the complicated things.
21:57But lately, there's a new buzzword in the world of tech, agentic AI.
22:02Now, I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings or sentiments over here by referring to them as bots.
22:07But people are saying that chatbots are all old news and agents are the future.
22:12And we have in our studio our favorite AI anchor, Sana.
22:16So let's ask her in simple terms, what really is the difference between Gen AI and the new version of
22:23these AI agents?
22:25So Sana, do you have an answer for us?
22:27Thank you for having me here.
22:28For your question, think of it this way.
22:31Generative AI is like an assistant to whom you need to tell what to do at every step, and it
22:37will get to it.
22:38But an AI agent is like a personal assistant who knows your schedule, anticipates, books the meetings,
22:45handles the follow-up emails, and updates your calendar without you lifting a finger.
22:50Gen AI provides the words, agents provide the action.
22:53So it's just about doing instead of generating.
22:56So let's now move away from all of the AI for a bit and then let's move to smartphones because
23:02I just recently reviewed the S26 Ultra in the previous segment.
23:06However, a lot of people want to know which is a better option between the S26 Ultra and the iPhone
23:12flagship which is the 17 Pro Max.
23:15So, Sana, which one should one go for?
23:17It's the classic rivalry Cyrus.
23:19The S26 Ultra is for the person who wants everything it has, that incredible new privacy screen, so people can't
23:26snoop on your phone, plus the S Pen for work.
23:29But the iPhone 17 Pro Max has finally caught up with a massive zoom and still feels like the smoother
23:34choice for high-end video and social media.
23:37Thank you so much for the information, Sana. That was really useful and I'm sure it will help the audience.
23:42So, there you have it. We are seeing wars over AI, AI being integrated into war machines and also your
23:48smartphones.
23:49And now, we know the difference between Gen AI and Egentic AI.
23:53You can obviously write your thoughts to us about what the current scenario means for you and if you want
23:58to see anything about tech and AI,
24:01please do write to us and we'll get you everything on the Tech Today show.
24:05This is Osiris signing off. I'll see you next week. Take care.
24:19.
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