AI News Digest - 2026-04-17

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 20:15:54 GMT

1. OpenAI expanded Codex into an always-on coding agent that watched users' screens, controlled Macs, generated images, remembered preferences, and could continue working autonomously on tasks for extended periods.

2. Nvidia researchers unveiled Lyra 2.0, a system that generated large, coherent 3D environments from a single photograph and enabled those scenes to be explored in real time for robot simulation training.

3. MIT Technology Review reported that small language models (SLMs) offered a practical path for public sector agencies to operationalize AI locally under security, connectivity, and governance constraints, citing studies that found SLMs could match or exceed LLM performance for specific tasks.

4. Ensemble argued that enterprises should treat AI as an operating layer—embedding instrumentation, feedback loops, and governance between models and work—to convert operational data and expert decisions into durable learning and competitive advantage.

5. Uri Maoz argued in MIT Technology Review that keeping humans "in the loop" for AI used in warfare was an illusion because current systems were opaque and human overseers could not reliably infer AI intentions, and he called for interdisciplinary research into mechanistic interpretability and AI intentions.

# References

1. [https://the-decoder.com/openai-turns-codex-into-an-always-on-coding-agent-that-watches-your-screen/](https://the-decoder.com/openai-turns-codex-into-an-always-on-coding-agent-that-watches-your-screen/)

[OpenAI turns Codex into an always-on coding agent that watches your screen](https://the-decoder.com/openai-turns-codex-into-an-always-on-coding-agent-that-watches-your-screen/)

1. [https://the-decoder.com/nvidia-wants-to-scale-robot-simulation-training-with-lyra-2-0/](https://the-decoder.com/nvidia-wants-to-scale-robot-simulation-training-with-lyra-2-0/)

[Nvidia wants to scale robot simulation training with Lyra 2.0](https://the-decoder.com/nvidia-wants-to-scale-robot-simulation-training-with-lyra-2-0/)

1. [https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/16/1135216/making-ai-operational-in-constrained-public-sector-environments/](https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/16/1135216/making-ai-operational-in-constrained-public-sector-environments/)

[Making AI operational in constrained public sector environments](https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/16/1135216/making-ai-operational-in-constrained-public-sector-environments/)

1. [https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/16/1135554/treating-enterprise-ai-as-an-operating-layer/](https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/16/1135554/treating-enterprise-ai-as-an-operating-layer/)

[Treating enterprise AI as an operating layer](https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/16/1135554/treating-enterprise-ai-as-an-operating-layer/)

1. [https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/16/1136029/humans-in-the-loop-ai-war-illusion/](https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/16/1136029/humans-in-the-loop-ai-war-illusion/)

[Why having “humans in the loop” in an AI war is an illusion](https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/16/1136029/humans-in-the-loop-ai-war-illusion/)