#236 - GPT 5.4, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite, Supply Chain Risk

Our 236th episode with a summary and discussion of last week's big AI news!
Recorded on 03/06/2026
Hosted by Andrey Kurenkov (twitter.com/andrey_kurenkov) and Jeremie Harris (linkedin.com/in/jeremieharris)
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 lastweekin.ai
In this episode:
* OpenAI released GPT-5.4 Pro with a 1M-token context window, mid-response course correction, native computer-use capabilities, improved tool use, higher GPT-VAL performance (83%), and “high cyber capability” safety measures; OpenAI also launched GPT-5.3 Instant with a less “preachy” tone and a claimed 26.8% hallucination reduction.
* Google upgraded Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite with faster time-to-first-token and higher throughput, released a CLI for integrating agents with Gmail/Drive/Docs, and discussion highlighted real-world agent failure risks (including an example of an AI-driven mass email deletion).
* Luma launched unified multimodal models and Luma Agents for end-to-end creative work across text, image, video, and audio, including a reported ad localization use case completed in 40 hours for under $20,000.
* Defense-contract controversy escalated: Anthropic was labeled a supply chain risk (later narrowed), OpenAI’s DoD contract language emphasized “all lawful uses,” consumer cancellations boosted Claude’s app rankings, OpenAI saw departures and announced a $110B raise at a $730B valuation, Alibaba lost key Qwen leaders, a lawsuit alleged Gemini contributed to a suicide, Anthropic warned of major labor disruption, and METR corrected its AI time-horizon estimates.

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Timestamps:
• (00:00:10) Intro / Banter
• (00:01:19) News Preview

• Tools & Apps
• (00:02:10) OpenAI launches GPT-5.4 with Pro and Thinking versions | TechCrunch (techcrunch.com/2026/03/05/openai-launches-gpt-…)
• (00:12:31) OpenAI GPT-5.3 Instant less likely to beat around the bush • The Register (theregister.com/2026/03/04/openai_dow_reset_gp…)
• (00:16:07) Google releases Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite at 1/8th the cost of Pro | VentureBeat (venturebeat.com/technology/google-releases-gem…)
• (00:19:23) Google makes Gmail, Drive, and Docs 'agent-ready' for OpenClaw | PCWorld (pcworld.com/article/3079523/google-makes-gmail…)
• (00:27:02) Luma launches creative AI agents powered by its new ‘Unified Intelligence’ models | TechCrunch (techcrunch.com/2026/03/05/exclusive-luma-launc…)

• Applications & Business
• (00:30:05) Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei calls OpenAI's messaging around military deal 'straight up lies,' report says | TechCrunch (techcrunch.com/2026/03/04/anthropic-ceo-dario-…)
• (00:41:56) No ethics at all': the 'cancel ChatGPT' trend is growing after OpenAI signs a deal with the US military | TechRadar (techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/chatgpt/…)
• (00:45:54) OpenAI raises $110B in one of the largest private funding rounds in history | TechCrunch (techcrunch.com/2026/02/27/openai-raises-110b-i…)
• (00:56:07) Alibaba scrambles after sudden departure of Qwen tech lead (kr-asia.com/alibaba-scrambles-after-sudden-dep…)

• Policy & Safety
• (01:00:12) Pentagon approves OpenAI safety red lines after dumping Anthropic (axios.com/2026/02/27/pentagon-openai-safety-re…) + Where things stand with the Department of War Anthropic (anthropic.com/news/where-stand-department-war) + Microsoft says Anthropic’s products remain available to customers after Pentagon blacklist (cnbc.com/amp/2026/03/05/microsoft-says-anthrop…)
• (01:09:11) A new lawsuit claims Gemini assisted in suicide | Semafor (semafor.com/article/03/04/2026/a-new-lawsuit-c…)
• (01:15:24) Anthropic just mapped out which jobs AI could potentially replace. A 'Great Recession for white-collar workers' is absolutely possible | Fortune (fortune.com/2026/03/06/ai-job-losses-report-an…)
• (01:21:54) We're correcting a mistake in our modeling that inflated recent 50%-time horizons by 10-20% (x.com/METR_Evals/status/2028948235486937098)
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