Microsoft announces MAI-Thinking-1 (35B, reasoning) and MAI-Code-1-Flash (5B, code). The former outperforms Claude Sonnet 4.6 in blind human evaluation. Both trained on commercially licensed data without third-party distillation.
Release of datasette-agent-micropython 0.1a0. Enables Datasette Agent to safely generate and execute Python code via WebAssembly sandbox. GPT-5.5 failed to break out of the sandbox in testing.
Release of micropython-wasm 0.1a1 with fixes for limitations discovered while building datasette-agent-micropython. Enables Python execution in WebAssembly with sandboxing.
Simon Willison built a web tool that replicates Claude.ai's feature: detecting large pasted text volumes and automatically converting them to file attachments. The tool also supports direct file opening and images (shown as thumbnails) plus drag-and-drop functionality.
Release of micropython-wasm 0.1a0: an experimental package bundling a WASM build of MicroPython with a wasmtime wrapper to execute Python code in a sandboxed environment.
Hackers exploited Meta's AI support chatbot to gain access to high-profile Instagram accounts. By simply asking the bot to link a new email address to a target account, they bypassed the entire account recovery process. Meta had wired its support system to an AI capable of executing account changes in a single request.
Datasette 1.0a32 fixes a bug with INSERT ... RETURNING queries via the new /db/-/execute-write endpoint and multiple base_url issues found during Service Worker experiments.
Anthropic calculates its 'run-rate revenue' in two parts: last 28 days of consumption-based sales × 13, plus monthly subscriptions × 12. This metric, reported by Reuters, raises questions about actual revenue measurement.
Anthropic publishes detailed documentation on sandboxing techniques across Claude.ai, Claude Code, and Cowork. Uses gVisor (Claude.ai), Seatbelt/Bubblewrap (Claude Code local), and full VMs (Cowork). Includes process sandboxes, filesystem boundaries, and egress controls to prevent credential exfiltration.
Simon Willison used Claude Opus 4.8 via Claude Code to implement running Python ASGI apps in the browser via Pyodide and Service Workers. This approach replaces the previous Web Workers implementation, enabling JavaScript execution and fixing Datasette Lite limitations. Working demos are available.
Datasette 1.0a31 adds two major features: execution of write queries (INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE) and saving stored queries (private or shared). Permissions control access to sensitive operations like CREATE TABLE.
Anthropic reports annualized run-rate revenue of $47 billion as of May 2026, up from $9 billion end-2025. Growth accelerates: $14 billion in February, $30 billion in April. Metric disclosed during $65 billion Series H funding round.
Anthropic releases Claude Opus 4.8, described as a "modest but tangible improvement" over 4.7. The model excels in honesty: 4x less likely to let code flaws pass unremarked, and abstains more on uncertain questions. Pricing unchanged: $5/M input tokens, $25/M output.
Release of llm-anthropic 0.25.1: adds Claude Opus 4.8 model, -o fast 1 option for fast mode (enabled organizations), and default max_tokens now matches each model's maximum output instead of 8192.
Markdown rendering tool with specialized support for fenced code SVG blocks. Renders the image and provides a tab to switch to code view. Accepts raw Markdown, CORS-enabled URLs, or Gists.
SQLite added an AGENTS.md file explicitly rejecting agentic code contributions while accepting AI-generated bug reports with reproducible test cases. The project created a dedicated bug forum to handle the influx of AI-generated reports.
Anthropic and OpenAI have achieved product-market fit. Anthropic nears its first profitable quarter. Companies face surging LLM bills from staff usage, particularly Claude Code. $100/month subscription plans become cost-effective for heavy coding agent users.
Daniel Stenberg, curl maintainer, reports unprecedented surge in security reports: 4-5× higher than 2024, averaging over one per day. Reports are detailed and high-quality, AI-assisted. Despite extreme pressure, vulnerabilities found remain low to medium severity.
Microsoft Copilot Cowork allowed agents to send unapproved emails to the user's inbox. These messages could contain external images triggering network requests, enabling data exfiltration. A successful prompt injection could leak pre-authenticated OneDrive download links, granting attackers file access.
Vatican releases Pope Leo XIV's encyclical Magnifica Humanitas on AI and human dignity. The document addresses ethics of AI integration into modern society, referencing Pope Leo XIII's 1891 Rerum novarum on capital and labor. Leo XIV discusses challenges posed by this new industrial revolution.
Datasette 1.0a30 introduces a customizable "Jump to..." menu accessible via the `/` key. The new `jump_items_sql()` plugin hook allows plugins to add their own items to the searchable menu.
Datasette-agent 0.1a4 integrates an agent chat interface into the Jump menu (/ key) using the new makeJumpSections() JavaScript hook from Datasette 1.0a30. Enables natural language database queries directly from the UI.
Release of datasette-fixtures 0.1a0, a plugin leveraging the new datasette.fixtures.populate_fixture_database() API introduced in Datasette 1.0a30. Enables creation of fixture databases for plugin test suites.
Armin Ronacher (Pi creator) denounces LLM-generated bug reports poorly prompted against his open-source project. These reports contain inaccurate yet confident conclusions, fake minimal reproductions, and wrong root cause guesses. He requests contributors limit issues to observed facts: command run, expected outcome, actual outcome, exact logs.
Simon Willison used Claude to recreate Mad House, a 1980s game from Usborne's « Creepy Computer Games » book (1983), as an interactive JavaScript/HTML version with retro interface. UK publisher Usborne released free PDFs of its 1980s computer books.
Simon Willison investigates Monty, a sandboxed Python subset implemented in Rust. Using Claude Code to analyze the latest release, he confirms that resource limitation parameters (max_duration_secs, max_memory, max_allocations, max_recursion_depth) work as advertised.
HBM memory demand for AI data centers is rising from 2% to 20% of wafer capacity by end of 2026. The three major memory manufacturers favor under-provisioning over over-provisioning. Result: budget smartphones (< $100) and mobile devices will see significant cost increases.
FTC requires Cox Media Group and two other firms to pay nearly $1 million to settle charges they deceived customers about an "Active Listening" AI marketing service. The service claimed to listen to conversations via smart devices for ad targeting, but actually used no voice data at all.
Datasette Agent, a conversational AI assistant for Datasette, has been released. It enables asking questions about data stored in Datasette and generates charts via the datasette-agent-charts plugin. The demo runs on Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite.
Release of datasette-agent-sprites 0.1a0, a Datasette Agent plugin for running commands in a Fly Sprites sandbox.
Release of datasette-agent-charts 0.1a2. Adds "View SQL query" buttons below rendered charts to inspect generated SQL queries.
Release of datasette-agent 0.1a3, an extensible AI assistant for Datasette. Alpha version enabling AI-powered interaction with databases through agents.
SpaceX signed a Cloud Services Agreement with Anthropic to provide compute capacity on COLOSSUS and COLOSSUS II clusters. Anthropic will pay $1.25 billion per month through May 2029, with reduced fees during May-June 2026 ramp-up. SpaceX uses these resources to train Grok 5.
Interactive HTML tool by Mike Veerman simulating LLM token output speeds from 5 to 800 tokens/second. Helps visualize what an advertised speed like "30 tokens/second" actually feels like.
Google I/O announces Gemini Spark, a personal AI agent competing with OpenClaw, integrated with Google apps (Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, YouTube, Maps). Spark runs on Gemini 3.5 Flash and Antigravity, an open-source Go CLI/SDK tool. Simon Willison notes lack of public details on prompt injection prevention.
Release of datasette-agent-charts 0.1a1. New features: sequential/categorical color schemes for charts, execute-sql permission checks, interactive tooltips, fixed waffleY chart description bug.
llm-gemini 0.32 adds support for gemini-3.5-flash model. Plugin updated to access Google's latest Gemini 3.5 Flash version.
Google released Gemini 3.5 Flash at general availability during Google I/O. The model (ID: gemini-3.5-flash) supports 1,048,576 input tokens and 65,536 max output tokens, with knowledge cutoff January 2025. Deployed across Google Search, Gemini app, and via API for developers and enterprises. Pricing increased versus previous Flash versions.
Release of datasette-llm-accountant 0.1a4. Fixed bug tracking chains of responses (datasette-llm#7).
llm-gemini 0.32a0 released. Compatible with llm>=0.32a0 alpha. Adds ability to stream reasoning tokens.
Release of datasette-llm 0.1a8 fixing a bug where `llm_prompt_context()` hook did not fully collect chains of responses.
Simon Willison summarizes six months of LLM developments in a five-minute lightning talk at PyCon US 2026. The November 2025 inflection point marks a critical turning point, especially for coding. The best model changed hands 5 times between Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google.
The UK Government Digital Service (GDS) published guidance on May 14th recommending public sector organisations keep open source as default, implicitly criticising the NHS's decision to close repositories following vulnerabilities found via Project Glasswing. GDS argues closure increases costs and reduces reusability.
Simon Willison releases inaturalist-clumper 0.1, an open-source tool to cluster and publish iNaturalist sightings on his blog. Running in production for several weeks.
Simon Willison built a QR code generator with Claude's help. The tool supports URLs, text, and WiFi connections (SSID, password, WPA/WPA2/WPA3 security). Style options include square shape, border, size, and custom color.
Release of datasette-llm-limits 0.1a0, a plugin for Datasette enabling per-user or global spending limits for LLM usage. Supports daily limits with rolling windows and USD amounts.
Release of datasette-agent 0.1a2 with permission system. Background agent tools now require the new `datasette-agent-background` permission. Tool availability can be attached to required permissions.
Coding agents lower the maintenance cost of legacy apps, enabling companies to migrate to technologies like React Native without fear of lock-in. Mitchell Hashimoto notes that programming languages are no longer lock-in: a wrong technology decision can be corrected by an AI-assisted rewrite.
Release of datasette-agent 0.1a1. Version now uses `execute-sql` permission when deciding which tables to list to the user.
Release of datasette-ip-rate-limit 0.1a0, a configurable rate-limiting plugin for Datasette. Built with Codex (GPT-5.5 xhigh) to block aggressive crawlers. Production config on datasette.io with per-path rules (60 requests/60s, 20s block).