google, microsoft and palantir Updates

The artificial intelligence landscape is buzzing with new developments, from cost-effective coding assistants to strategic military applications and evolving labor market dynamics. ByteDance's Doubao-Seed-Code has emerged as a significant player, proving to be a highly affordable alternative to models like Claude 3.5 Sonnet. Users reported Doubao-Seed-Code costing 7-10 times less for writing and analysis tasks, with one solo developer spending just $0.61 for 46 prompts and 61 responses while building an internal tool. This model excels at following formats, handling batch jobs, and is a strong coding partner, capable of debugging Python pipelines, generating unit tests, and refactoring JavaScript functions. Its 256K context window allows it to process entire codebases, improving cross-file reasoning for complex projects. While Doubao-Seed-Code offers practical, disciplined coding assistance and can even turn hand-drawn sketches into playable web games, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, a generalist, often provides more design-aware frontend solutions, broader architectural advice, and better interpretation of complex diagrams. Benchmarks from mid-November 2025 showed Claude excelling in frontend UX details and vision tasks, while Doubao-1.5-pro performed well with Tailwind classes. Meanwhile, major tech companies continue to advance their AI offerings. Google's Gemini 3 Pro model is now in public preview for GitHub Copilot Pro, Pro+ Business, and Enterprise subscriptions, rolling out gradually from November 18, 2025. Microsoft's Power Platform will be utilized in the new Agentic AI Academy launching in January in Rappahannock, providing hands-on training for students and adults. In the news sector, Fox News has partnered with Palantir, embedding Palantir engineers in its digital newsroom to develop AI tools for tasks like SEO, tagging, and content analysis, emphasizing that AI will enhance human journalism rather than generate editorial copy. The U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is actively seeking industry hardware, including high-performance GPUs and turnkey server systems, to bolster its AI and large language model capabilities for over 100 users in secure, isolated environments. This comes as healthcare providers like AltaMed are successfully implementing ambient AI scribe technology, which has significantly saved providers time by automating daily documentation. Economically, Kevin Hassett, a former economic advisor to President Trump, suggested that AI might be contributing to a 'quiet time' in the labor market by making workers more productive, leading companies to hire fewer new college graduates, though he anticipates long-term job growth. Investors are also closely watching the AI hardware market, projected to grow 32% annually through 2033, with high valuations for companies like Nvidia and Broadcom, and opportunities noted in Alphabet and Meta Platforms. The stock market itself may face volatility due to AI trading and data volumes, highlighting the pervasive influence of AI across industries and the economy.

Key Takeaways

• Doubao-Seed-Code offers a cost-effective AI alternative, costing 7-10 times less than Claude 3.5 Sonnet for writing and analysis tasks.
• Doubao-Seed-Code's 256K context window enables it to process entire codebases, improving cross-file reasoning for complex multi-file development.
• Claude 3.5 Sonnet excels in frontend UX details, vision tasks, and provides broader architectural advice compared to Doubao-Seed-Code's practical coding assistance.
• Google's Gemini 3 Pro model is now available in public preview for GitHub Copilot Pro, Pro+ Business, and Enterprise subscriptions, rolling out from November 18, 2025.
• U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is seeking high-performance GPUs and turnkey server systems to enhance its AI and large language model capabilities for over 100 users in secure environments.
• Fox News partnered with Palantir to develop AI tools for its digital newsroom, focusing on enhancing human journalistic workflows like SEO and content analysis, not generating editorial copy.
• AltaMed successfully implemented ambient AI scribe technology, significantly saving providers time by automating daily documentation.
• Kevin Hassett, a former Trump economic advisor, suggests AI may be causing a 'quiet time' in the labor market by increasing worker productivity, leading to fewer new hires, but anticipates long-term job growth.
• The AI market is projected to grow 32% annually through 2033, with investment opportunities in companies like Nvidia, Broadcom, ASML, Qualcomm, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms.
• Rappahannock County is launching an Agentic AI Academy in January, offering hands-on training using Microsoft's Power Platform for students and adults, with scholarships available.

Doubao Seed Code offers cheaper AI alternative to Claude

An AI user tested Doubao-Seed-Code as a cheaper alternative to Claude for writing and analysis tasks from November 6-14, 2025. Doubao-Seed-Code proved much more affordable than Claude 3.5 Sonnet, costing 7-10 times less for tasks like blog drafts and product descriptions. It excels at following formats and is fast enough for batch jobs. However, it is less effective for lyrical writing, long contexts, and sometimes guesses on niche facts.

Doubao Seed Code excels as a coding AI partner

Camille tested Doubao-Seed-Code from November 12-15, 2025, finding it a strong coding-optimized AI from ByteDance. The model proved effective for debugging Python pipelines, generating unit tests, refactoring JavaScript functions, and explaining code to teammates. It offers snappy response times and handles context well when given fresh, minimal information for each task. Doubao-Seed-Code is a practical coding partner, though users should be explicit about constraints.

Doubao Seed Code 256K context helps developers with large projects

A developer tested Doubao-Seed-Code 256K on November 15-16, 2025, to see its performance with large codebases. The 256K context window allowed the model to process entire projects, including architecture, modules, tests, and logs, improving cross-file reasoning. It successfully handled a complex task to add a "resend verification email" flow to a monorepo with Flask and React. The model showed good retrieval accuracy, consistency, and code correctness, making it a valuable tool for multi-file development.

Doubao Seed Code and Claude 2025 face off in coding AI battle

In mid-November 2025, a comparison was made between Doubao-Seed-Code and Claude 3.5 Sonnet for various coding tasks. Doubao-Seed-Code proved to be a disciplined, practical helper for frontend scaffolding and backend logic, respecting folder structures. Claude, a generalist, offered more design-aware frontend solutions and broader architectural advice for backend tasks, even suggesting rate-limiting strategies. While Doubao-Seed-Code's vision support was serviceable, Claude was better at interpreting messy diagrams and inferring nuanced UX states.

AI coding models Doubao Claude GPT tested on 12 tasks

From November 16-17, 2025, a benchmark tested Doubao-1.5-pro, SEED-LLaMA-14B-Chat, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, GPT-4.1, and GPT-4o mini on 12 real-world coding tasks. The tasks included frontend, backend, and vision challenges. Claude excelled in frontend UX details and vision tasks, while GPT-4.1 performed strongly in backend logic and SQL. Doubao-1.5-pro showed good performance with Tailwind classes and utility-first patterns, often needing minor fixes. SEED-14B provided workable code but required more manual adjustments.

Doubao Seed Code offers affordable AI help for solo developers

A solo developer tested Doubao-Seed-Code from November 12-15, 2025, to find a low-cost AI coding assistant. The model proved highly affordable, costing only $0.61 for 46 prompts and 61 responses while building an internal tool. It effectively handled tasks like JSON schema validation and TypeScript functions. The developer recommends setting up an API key via Volcengine, starting with small prompts, using guardrails like temperature settings, and providing a project map for better results. Doubao-Seed-Code offers significant value for budget-conscious solo developers.

Doubao Seed Code turns sketches into playable web games

On November 12, 2025, a user tested Doubao-Seed-Code's vision ability by turning a hand-drawn sketch of a "Breakout" style game into a playable web game. The AI successfully generated HTML, CSS, and JavaScript from a PNG image and text prompts. It accurately recognized the game's layout, spacing, and text labels, producing clean and readable code. While it sometimes misread icons or made default color choices, the model impressed with its ability to create a functional game from a simple drawing.

Trump aide Kevin Hassett says AI creates quiet labor market

On Monday, Kevin Hassett, a top economic advisor to former President Trump, stated that artificial intelligence might be causing a "quiet time" in the labor market. He explained that AI makes workers so productive that companies do not need to hire as many new college graduates. Hassett believes any market softness caused by AI will be temporary due to overall output and income growth. He also noted that grocery prices have not decreased during Trump's second term, despite claims otherwise, and blamed the previous administration's policies for high costs.

Trump advisor Hassett links AI to slower job market

Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" that AI might be causing a "quiet time" in the job market. He explained that AI makes workers so productive that companies are hiring fewer new college graduates. Hassett believes this slowdown is temporary and that AI will create more jobs in the long run due to economic growth. This comes as August job data showed fewer new jobs than expected and a rise in unemployment.

SOCOM seeks industry hardware to boost AI capabilities

U.S. Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, plans to evaluate industry hardware solutions to improve its AI and large language model capabilities. SOCOM needs high-performance GPUs and complete "turnkey" systems that include servers, storage, and cooling. These solutions must support over 100 users, be energy-efficient, and work in secure, isolated environments. SOCOM will host a technology evaluation event with SOFWERX, with a Q&A on December 3 and submissions due December 9.

SOCOM evaluates hardware for powerful AI and language models

U.S. Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, will assess industry hardware to support its growing use of AI and large language models. SOCOM seeks high-performance GPU solutions that offer high throughput and memory bandwidth for training and deploying AI models. They require turnkey, rack-mounted server systems for immediate deployment at a remote site, capable of supporting over 100 users. These solutions must also operate in secure, air-gapped environments with strong GPU-to-GPU communication. A Q&A for vendors is on December 3, with submissions due December 9.

Rowan Chamber hosts AI expert Dr Lane Freeman at breakfast

The Rowan Chamber's November Power in Partnership breakfast on Thursday, November 18, 2025, will focus on artificial intelligence. Dr. Lane Freeman, a national expert in AI and education from the North Carolina Community College System, will speak at Trinity Oaks. He will share strategies for organizations to use AI ethically and effectively. Rowan-Cabarrus Community College sponsors this event, which offers networking and learning opportunities. Reservations are required by Tuesday, November 18, at 5 p.m.

Stock market faces volatile week with AI trading and data

The stock market may experience a volatile week starting November 18, 2025, due to AI trading and a large amount of data. This article warns that its views are for reference only and not investment advice. It also reminds readers that trading financial instruments like CFDs carries significant risk and can lead to capital loss. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Rappahannock launches AI training academy for students and adults

The Rapp Center for Education and Rappahannock County High School are launching the Agentic AI Academy in January. This program will offer hands-on training in "agentic" AI using Microsoft's Power Platform for local juniors, seniors, and adults. The goal is to empower students to create and innovate with AI, providing future-proof skills and pathways to industry certifications. The first cohort costs $500, with future cohorts at $1,000, and need-based scholarships are available.

Is now the right time to invest in AI hardware stocks

On November 17, investors wonder if it is still a good time to buy into the AI hardware boom, given the high valuations of companies like Nvidia and Broadcom. While some AI stocks are expensive, the industry is expected to grow significantly, with the AI market projected to grow 32% annually through 2033. Opportunities exist in companies like ASML and Qualcomm, which have lower valuations. Alphabet and Meta Platforms also offer options for investors looking to capitalize on AI hardware.

AltaMed shares success story with AI scribe technology

On November 18, 2025, AltaMed, a large federally qualified health center, shared its success with AI scribe technology. Dr. Eric Lee, medical director of clinical informatics, explained how AltaMed carefully researched and piloted various AI scribe options. The organization found that ambient AI scribes significantly saved providers time by automating daily documentation. AltaMed emphasized the importance of thorough testing, strong data governance, and deep integration with electronic health records for successful AI implementation.

Fox News partners with Palantir for AI newsroom tools

On November 18, 2025, Fox News hired Palantir to develop AI tools for its newsroom, a strictly commercial deal that protects Fox News' intellectual property. Palantir engineers are embedded in the digital newsroom, creating tools to improve workflows for tasks like SEO and tagging. They have developed proprietary tools such as "topic radar" for story briefings, a "text editor" for copy evaluation, and "article insights" for performance analysis. Fox News emphasizes that AI will not generate editorial copy, but rather enhance human journalistic processes.

Google Gemini 3 Pro now in public preview for GitHub Copilot

Google's Gemini 3 Pro model is now available in public preview for GitHub Copilot Pro, Pro+ Business, and Enterprise subscriptions, with a gradual rollout starting November 18, 2025. Users can select Gemini 3 Pro in the Copilot Chat model picker across various platforms like VS Code, github.com, and GitHub Mobile. Enterprise and Business plan administrators must enable the policy, while Pro and Pro+ users can select it directly. There is also an option to use a personal API key.

Sources

• Claude Too Expensive? This 10 Cheaper Alternative Performs Well
• Can Doubao-Seed-Code Replace Foreign Coding Models? (Full Analysis)
• Doubao-Seed-Code 256K Context Can It Beat Claude in Large Projects?
• Doubao-Seed-Code vs Claude 2025 Which Coding AI Wins?
• Massive AI Coding Benchmark Doubao vs Claude vs GPT (12 Tasks)
• Best Low-Cost Coding AI for Solo Developers in 2025
• From Sketch to Game: Testing Doubao-Seed-Code’s Vision Ability
• AI could be causing 'quiet time' in labor market, top Trump economic aide Hassett says
• Kevin Hassett, a top Trump economic advisor, said that AI is bringing about a 'quiet time' in the labor market
• SOCOM to Assess Industry Hardware Solutions for Enhancing AI Workload Capabilities
• SOCOM to evaluate industry hardware solutions for powering AI workloads
• Artificial intelligence takes the spotlight at Rowan Chamber’s November Power in Partnership Breakfast
• AI Trading Jitters & Data Deluge: Stock Market Poised for Volatile Week?
• Rapp Center for Education and high school launch AI training academy
• Is This the Right Time to Buy Into the AI Hardware Boom?
• One FQHC's AI story – from product research to results
• Fox News hires Palantir to build AI newsroom tools
• Gemini 3 Pro is in public preview for GitHub Copilot