This digest compiles the latest from The Verge.
Today’s The Verge Roundup
Anthropic gives its retired Claude AI a SubstackÂ
26 Feb 2026, 2:21 pm by Robert Hart
In January, Anthropic “retired” Claude 3 Opus, which at one time was the company’s most powerful AI model. Today, it’s back – and writing on Substack.
The newsletter, called Claude’s Corner, will give Opus 3 space to publish its “musings, insights, or creative works,” Anthropic said in a blog post. The model will post weekly for at least the next three months. Anthropic staff will review and publish each entry, though the company stressed it “won’t edit” Claude’s posts and that there would be a “high bar for vetoing any content,” though the company did not specify what content would qualify for removal.
Anthropic describes the revival as a …
The smart lock standard that could replace your keys is finally here
26 Feb 2026, 1:00 pm by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Aliro has officially arrived. The smart lock standard, first announced in 2023, finally has a 1.0 spec, meaning companies can now get hardware certified and roll out support.
Aliro is an open standard designed to let any smart lock be unlocked by any smartphone, regardless of manufacturer. It stores a digital key in your phone’s wallet that you can tap to a compatible lock – just like you tap to pay.
If you’ve used Apple’s Home Key, you already understand the idea – but instead of being locked into Apple’s ecosystem, Aliro is cross-platform, working on both Android and iOS, and with the major mobile wallet ecosystems – Apple, Google, and …
Burger King will use AI to check if employees say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’
26 Feb 2026, 1:00 pm by Emma Roth
Burger King is launching an AI chatbot that will live in the headsets used by employees. The voice-enabled chatbot, called “Patty,” is part of an overarching BK Assistant platform that will not only assist employees with meal preparation but also evaluate their interactions with customers for “friendliness.”
Thibault Roux, Burger King’s chief digital officer, tells The Verge that the company compiled information from franchisees and guests on how to measure friendliness, resulting in the fast food chain training its AI system to recognize certain words and phrases, such as “welcome to Burger King,” “please,” and “thank you.” Managers can th …
Instagram will alert parents if their kids ‘repeatedly’ search for self-harm topics
26 Feb 2026, 12:00 pm by Jess Weatherbed
Starting next week, Instagram will notify parents to check on their teen searching for terms related to self-harm or suicide. Meta says a similar alert system for its AI chatbots is coming later this year.
The new Instagram feature sends parents an alert when their child “repeatedly tries to search for terms clearly associated with suicide or self-harm within a short period of time.” It’s rolling out in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada starting next week, but it’s only for parents and teens who opt in to supervision. It’s expected to expand to other regions later this year.
“The vast majority of teens do not try to search for suicide and …
Google takes control of ‘Android of robotics’ project in quest for physical AI
26 Feb 2026, 11:06 am by Robert Hart
Google is folding Alphabet’s AI robotics “moonshot,” Intrinsic, into the company after five years as an independent unit. The move marks a strategic shift as Google doubles down on physical AI and pulls experimental projects closer to its core business.
Intrinsic “graduated“ into an independent company inside Alphabet’s Other Bets division in 2021, a portfolio of high-risk, speculative ventures that also includes robotaxi firm Waymo and healthcare company Verily. It pitches itself as an Android-like layer for robotics, building software and tools that make it easier to create robot applications.
Details of the purchase are not clear but t …
End of today’s The Verge roundup.
