# AI News Digest - 2026-08-15

1. OpenAI launched "Ultrafast," an inference mode that delivered GPT-5.6 Sol at up to 750 output tokens per second using Cerebras hardware and established a three-tier inference offering alongside its Standard and Fast modes.

2. Alibaba's Qwen team released Qwen 3.8 model weights under the Apache 2.0 license, providing a dense 27-billion-parameter model with native support for up to 262,000-token context and targeting developers building local and agent-based applications.

3. Princeton University and the UK AI Security Institute published a study that evaluated AI agents using Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.6 Sol on autonomous research tasks; the original authors rated the generated papers "Reject," and the study reported that models managed research engineering but lacked research judgment, creative problem-solving, and the ability to abandon failed approaches.

4. Zhipu AI released GLM-5.3, reported roughly a 50 percent post-training improvement over its predecessor on coding benchmarks, cited its use in finding 2,436 vulnerabilities across 269 projects, and announced that the model weights would be open-sourced in two weeks.

# References

1. [https://the-decoder.com/gpt-5-6-sol-goes-14x-faster-as-openai-launches-ultrafast-mode-powered-by-cerebras/](https://the-decoder.com/gpt-5-6-sol-goes-14x-faster-as-openai-launches-ultrafast-mode-powered-by-cerebras/)

[GPT-5.6 Sol goes 14x faster as OpenAI launches Ultrafast mode powered by Cerebras](https://the-decoder.com/gpt-5-6-sol-goes-14x-faster-as-openai-launches-ultrafast-mode-powered-by-cerebras/)

1. [https://the-decoder.com/alibabas-qwen-team-releases-qwen-3-8-models-with-open-weights-under-the-apache-2-0-license/](https://the-decoder.com/alibabas-qwen-team-releases-qwen-3-8-models-with-open-weights-under-the-apache-2-0-license/)

[Alibaba's Qwen team releases Qwen 3.8 models with open weights under the Apache 2.0 license](https://the-decoder.com/alibabas-qwen-team-releases-qwen-3-8-models-with-open-weights-under-the-apache-2-0-license/)

1. [https://the-decoder.com/study-contradicts-anthropic-and-openai-claims-that-autonomous-ai-research-is-within-reach/](https://the-decoder.com/study-contradicts-anthropic-and-openai-claims-that-autonomous-ai-research-is-within-reach/)

[Study contradicts Anthropic and OpenAI claims that autonomous AI research is within reach](https://the-decoder.com/study-contradicts-anthropic-and-openai-claims-that-autonomous-ai-research-is-within-reach/)

1. [https://the-decoder.com/zhipu-ai-releases-glm-5-3-claims-its-the-strongest-open-weights-coding-model/](https://the-decoder.com/zhipu-ai-releases-glm-5-3-claims-its-the-strongest-open-weights-coding-model/)

[Zhipu AI releases GLM-5.3, claims it's the strongest open-weights coding model](https://the-decoder.com/zhipu-ai-releases-glm-5-3-claims-its-the-strongest-open-weights-coding-model/)

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