OpenAI builds software with GPT-5 as Google expands Gemini shopping

Artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries and daily life at an accelerating pace. Matt Shumer, CEO of OthersideAI, warns that new AI techniques from 2025 have rapidly advanced capabilities, allowing AI to perform complex technical tasks like writing thousands of lines of code and designing applications. This rapid progress, largely driven by researchers at companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, is causing significant shifts in the job market. For instance, writer Jacqueline Bowman transitioned to a therapist, and academic editor Janet Feenstra became a baker, both due to AI's impact on their white-collar professions. Meanwhile, director Harmony Korine views AI as the most promising art form, creating "digital drugs" with his company EDGLRD, aiming for transcendent, experiential art rather than imitation.

In software development, OpenAI achieved a notable milestone on February 11, 2026, with Ryan Lopopolo's team building a software product in five months using zero human-written code. Codex, powered by GPT-5, generated all application logic and tests, completing 1,500 pull requests and creating about one million lines of code in one-tenth the traditional time. Concurrently, Google is expanding its AI presence in commerce, announcing new shopping features for Search and Gemini. These tools, launched on February 11, 2026, allow US shoppers to buy directly from partners like Etsy and Wayfair using Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), which was developed with Walmart and Target. Google's VP of ads and commerce, Vidhya Srinivasan, notes they are "reinventing what an ad is," though Senator Elizabeth Warren is scrutinizing these developments.

The AI hardware market shows robust growth, with Micron demonstrating strong performance. On February 11, 2026, analysis revealed Micron's revenue grew 45.4%, and its stock jumped 290.4% due to high-bandwidth memory (HBM) demand in AI data centers, achieving a 32.5% operating margin, though less than NVIDIA's 58.8%. However, the prospect of AI data centers in space faces high costs; Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Gorman points out insufficient rockets, and launch costs need an 18-fold reduction by the 2030s to be economical. Politically, AI money, particularly from Palantir, significantly influences midterm elections, with its co-founder Joe Lonsdale's committee, Leading The Future, pledging over $100 million to support AI-friendly candidates. Additionally, Accio 2026, backed by Alibaba, is revolutionizing B2B sourcing with an AI-powered commercial assistant.

Philosophical questions about AI's capabilities persist, as discussed on the "Brainwaves" podcast on February 11, 2026, where experts pondered if AI can truly think, even experimenting by asking Claude AI to write a funny joke. Meanwhile, Apple faces delays with its revamped Siri, originally announced in June 2024. Features planned for iOS 26.4 in March may now be pushed to May or September due to issues like incorrect query processing, slow responses, accuracy problems, and Siri sometimes defaulting to OpenAI's ChatGPT instead of Apple's own technology. In a unique application, AI has also successfully decoded the rules of a mysterious ancient Roman board game, using 3D imaging and machine learning to understand how pieces moved on a circular limestone piece found in the Netherlands.

Key Takeaways

  • AI is rapidly changing job markets, displacing white-collar workers and requiring career shifts, as seen with a writer becoming a therapist and an editor becoming a baker.
  • OpenAI's team built a software product with zero human-written code in five months using Codex and GPT-5, completing 1,500 pull requests and generating approximately one million lines of code.
  • Google launched new AI shopping features on February 11, 2026, for Search and Gemini, enabling direct purchases from partners like Etsy and Wayfair via its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP).
  • Micron shows strong growth in the AI hardware market, with revenue up 45.4% and stock up 290.4% due to high-bandwidth memory (HBM) demand, achieving a 32.5% operating margin.
  • AI data centers in space face high costs, requiring an 18-fold reduction in launch costs (from $3,600/kg to $200/kg) by the 2030s to be economical, according to experts including Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Gorman.
  • Palantir and its co-founder Joe Lonsdale's political committee, Leading The Future, pledged over $100 million to influence midterm elections by supporting AI-friendly candidates.
  • Apple's revamped Siri, announced in June 2024, faces delays, with features potentially pushed to iOS 26.5 or iOS 27 due to processing errors, accuracy issues, and occasional reliance on OpenAI's ChatGPT.
  • Director Harmony Korine is embracing AI as the future of art, creating "digital drugs" with his company EDGLRD, aiming for transcendent, experiential artistic forms.
  • Accio 2026, backed by Alibaba, is an AI-powered B2B search engine and commercial assistant designed to automate the entire supplier sourcing workflow.
  • Scientists used AI (Ludii) to decode the rules of a mysterious ancient Roman board game, analyzing wear marks on a limestone piece and generating possible rule sets.

Harmony Korine embraces AI as future of art

Director Harmony Korine, known for films like Gummo, believes AI is the most promising art form. At 53, he is creating a new type of cinema he calls "digital drugs" with his company EDGLRD. Korine finds traditional movies and books uninteresting, having not read a book in decades and only seeing Rihanna's Smurfs in 2025. He sees AI as a tool to create transcendent and experiential art, moving beyond simple stories and traditional media. He argues against using AI to imitate existing art forms, instead pushing for it to create its own unique logic and world.

AI is changing jobs faster than expected

Matt Shumer, CEO of OthersideAI, warns that AI is rapidly changing the world and most people are not ready. He compares the coming changes to the sudden impact of Covid-19. Shumer explains that new AI techniques in 2025 greatly sped up progress. Now, AI can perform his technical job tasks, writing thousands of lines of code, designing apps, and even testing and improving them on its own. He believes a small group of researchers at companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are shaping this future.

Experts explore if AI can truly think

The "Brainwaves" podcast on February 11, 2026, explored whether artificial intelligence can truly think like humans. Guests Melanie Mitchell from the Santa Fe Institute and Kyle Mahowald from the University of Texas at Austin discussed this complex topic. Listener Bill Lester suggested that an AI creating an original funny joke could prove it thinks, referencing the supercomputer Mike from the 1966 novel "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress." During the show, they even tried an experiment asking Claude AI to write a funny joke. This discussion helps us understand human thought better by comparing it to AI's capabilities.

AI forces white collar workers to change careers

AI is causing many white-collar professionals to leave their careers and switch to more traditional jobs. Jacqueline Bowman, a 30-year-old writer from California, saw her work disappear in 2024 due to AI. She took an editing job for half her usual pay, but AI-generated content was often 60% made up, forcing her to rewrite most of it. By January 2025, she could not afford health insurance and decided to retrain as a marriage and family therapist. Similarly, Janet Feenstra, an academic editor in Sweden, became a baker due to fears about AI impacting her job.

Google adds AI shopping to Search and Gemini

On February 11, 2026, Google announced new shopping features for its AI-powered search and Gemini chatbot. This move aims to help Google earn more directly from how consumers use AI. Vidhya Srinivasan, Google's VP of ads and commerce, stated they are "reinventing what an ad is" and integrating AI agents into the shopping experience. The Universal Commerce Protocol, launched this year, standardizes payments and digital identity to create seamless shopping. This could even allow an AI agent to shop on a user's behalf, though Senator Elizabeth Warren is scrutinizing these developments.

Google lets users shop Etsy Wayfair with AI

On February 11, 2026, Google launched new AI tools that let US shoppers buy items from Etsy and Wayfair directly within Google's AI Mode or Gemini. This is possible through Google's Universal Commerce Protocol UCP, which standardizes how businesses connect with AI agents. Etsy, Wayfair, Walmart, and Target helped develop UCP. Vidhya Srinivasan, Google's VP of ads and commerce, said the goal is to make shopping easier and more seamless. Google is also testing sponsored ads in AI Mode, following a 693% increase in referral traffic from generative AI during the last holiday season.

OpenAI team builds software with zero human code

On February 11, 2026, Ryan Lopopolo from OpenAI shared how his team built a software product with zero lines of human-written code in five months. Every part of the software, including application logic and tests, was created by Codex. This method took only one-tenth of the time compared to traditional coding. The project started in August 2025, with Codex CLI using GPT-5 to generate the initial setup. The repository now holds about one million lines of code, with a small team of engineers guiding Codex to complete 1,500 pull requests. This new approach redefines engineering, focusing on designing systems and giving clear instructions to AI agents.

Accio 2026 AI tool revolutionizes B2B sourcing

Accio 2026 is an AI-powered B2B search engine and commercial assistant designed to simplify supplier sourcing. Backed by Alibaba's vast technology, Accio aims to automate the entire workflow, not just the search process. It addresses common problems like difficult supplier verification, outdated information, and tedious manual tasks. Accio has evolved into an "Accio Agent" to help businesses find and manage suppliers more efficiently. This tool promises to free professionals from low-value "work on work" by centralizing and verifying information.

Novartis research chief discusses AI and drug strategy

On February 11, 2026, Fiona Marshall, Novartis' head of biomedical research, discussed the company's new strategy. Novartis, a Swiss pharma giant worth $330 billion, is now focusing on drugs with larger market potential, not just scientific success. This involves carefully reducing its drug pipeline. The company is also building a new $1.1 billion research hub in San Diego, following its acquisitions of local firms like Chinook Therapeutics and Calypso Biotech.

High costs challenge AI data centers in space

On February 11, 2026, experts discussed the high costs of putting AI data centers in space, despite Elon Musk's claims that it will be the cheapest option soon. SpaceX has requested permission for up to one million solar-powered satellites for orbital data centers. However, terrestrial data centers are currently much cheaper. To make space AI economical, launch costs need to drop significantly, from about $3,600 per kilogram with Falcon 9 to around $200 per kilogram, which is an 18-fold improvement expected by the 2030s. This relies heavily on SpaceX's Starship rocket, which is not yet operational. Matt Gorman, CEO of Amazon Web Services, also noted that there are not enough rockets to launch so many satellites, making it currently uneconomical.

AI decodes rules of ancient Roman board game

Scientists have used artificial intelligence to decode the rules of a mysterious ancient Roman board game. A circular limestone piece found in the Netherlands, dating from the Roman era, had baffled researchers. Using 3D imaging, they found wear marks on the stone, suggesting how pieces moved. Researchers from Maastricht University trained an AI program named Ludii with rules from 100 similar ancient games. Ludii generated possible rule sets and played the game against itself to find enjoyable versions. By comparing these rules with the stone's wear, they determined the most likely way the game was played, which involved hunting and trapping opponent's pieces.

AI money influences midterm elections

On February 11, 2026, reports show that money from AI companies like Palantir is significantly influencing midterm elections. A political ad targeting New York City congressional candidate Alex Bores highlights his past work with Palantir and its ties to ICE. This ad is funded by Leading The Future, a new political committee launched by tech giants, including Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. Leading The Future has pledged over $100 million to support AI-friendly candidates and has donated to congressional leaders and Donald Trump's political network. Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel and CEO Alex Karp are active donors, with Karp contributing to both Biden/Harris and MAGA Inc.

Micron shows strong growth in AI hardware market

On February 11, 2026, an analysis revealed Micron MU is a strong performer in the AI hardware market. The company shows robust revenue growth and impressive operating margins, driven by high-bandwidth memory HBM demand in AI data centers. Micron's operating margin is 32.5%, though less than NVIDIA's NVDA 58.8%. Its revenue grew by 45.4% due to AI memory demand, and its stock jumped 290.4% because of the "memory supercycle" and AI HBM demand. Despite strong growth, Micron's free cash flow generation lags some competitors.

Apple faces delays with new Siri features

On February 11, 2026, Apple's planned upgrade for its Siri virtual assistant hit several problems during testing. Features originally set for iOS 26.4 in March may now be delayed until iOS 26.5 in May or iOS 27 in September. The revamped Siri, first announced in June 2024, was supposed to use personal data and on-screen content to fulfill requests and control apps by early 2025. However, testers found issues like Siri not processing queries correctly, taking too long, having accuracy problems, and sometimes using OpenAI's ChatGPT instead of Apple's own technology. Apple executives had hoped to release the new Siri by spring 2026, but the complex new architecture is proving challenging.

Sources

NOTE:

This news brief was generated using AI technology (including, but not limited to, Google Gemini API, Llama, Grok, and Mistral) from aggregated news articles, with minimal to no human editing/review. It is provided for informational purposes only and may contain inaccuracies or biases. This is not financial, investment, or professional advice. If you have any questions or concerns, please verify all information with the linked original articles in the Sources section below.

Artificial Intelligence AI Art AI Creativity AI Job Displacement Future of Work AI Automation AI Ethics AI Consciousness AI in E-commerce Google AI Gemini Universal Commerce Protocol AI Agents Software Development No-Code AI OpenAI Codex B2B Sourcing Supply Chain AI AI in Pharmaceuticals AI Infrastructure Data Centers Space AI AI in Archaeology AI in Politics Political Funding AI Hardware High-Bandwidth Memory Siri Apple AI Virtual Assistants AI Development Challenges Palantir Micron NVIDIA Experiential Art Digital Drugs Ancient Games Orbital Data Centers Anthropic Claude AI Etsy Wayfair Accio Novartis SpaceX Amazon Web Services

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