OpenAI, Anthropic Push for AI Training Exemptions in Australia

Key Takeaways

• <ul><li>The OECD raised 2026 global growth forecast to 2.9%, crediting AI infrastructure investment</li><li>Ben Emons says AI-driven market certainty could support equity markets globally</li><li>Cadence's new RTL Generation Agent reduces chip area by 24% and power by 18%</li><li>OpenAI and Anthropic ask Australia to allow limited AI training on local creative content</li><li>OpenAI launches MentalHealthBench, tested by 80+ experts from 22 countries</li><li>73% of Americans believe AI companies are not doing enough to prevent harm</li><li>Over 80,000 relay servers help China users bypass Claude and other U.S. AI region bans</li><li>G20 inflation projected to fall from 4.1% in 2026 to 3.6% in 2027</li><li>Energy disruptions could reduce 2027 global growth by 0.7 percentage points</li><li>National Powersports deploys AI Sales Agent across pre-owned powersports dealerships</li></ul>

AI Investment Boosts Global Economy in 2026 Despite Energy Shock

The OECD says AI investment in data centers and semiconductors helped the global economy grow 2.9% in 2026. However, energy price shocks from the Middle East conflict may slow growth to 3.0% in 2027. The OECD warns that energy volatility, extreme weather, and weak AI returns could reduce global growth by 0.7 percentage points.

OECD Says AI Boom May Offset Middle East Energy Shock

The OECD reports that strong AI spending on infrastructure helped the global economy perform better than expected this year. Global growth is forecast at 2.9% in 2026, slightly up from June predictions. The Middle East conflict caused commodity price shocks that will likely slow 2027 growth to 3.0%. AI investment in the US and technology exports from Japan and Korea provided economic resilience.

OECD Reports AI Activity Cushions West Asia Energy Shock Impact

The OECD states that AI-related investment and production helped the global economy stay resilient despite energy shocks from the West Asia conflict. Global GDP growth is expected at 2.9% in 2026 and 3.0% in 2027. G20 inflation is projected to fall from 4.1% in 2026 to 3.6% in 2027. Oil inventories and government support also helped cushion the economic impact.

OECD Raises 2026 Growth Forecast to 2.9% on AI Spending

The OECD lifted its 2026 global growth forecast to 2.9% from 2.8%, crediting AI infrastructure investment. US growth was upgraded to 2.2%, while Canada was cut to 0.9% due to new US tariffs. G20 inflation is now expected at 4.1% in 2026 and 3.6% in 2027. The OECD warns that energy disruptions and rising bond yields could hurt 2027 growth by 0.7 percentage points.

Cadence's New RTL Agent Could Transform AI Chip Design

Cadence Design Systems announced a new RTL Generation Agent that reduces chip area by 24% and power by 18% while maintaining 100% functional accuracy. The agent extends the ChipStack platform, which already handles specification understanding and verification. Cadence reported 18% year-over-year growth in core EDA revenue. The new capabilities will be available to select customers in the fourth quarter.

Cadence launches RTL Generation Agent for AI chip design

Cadence Design Systems introduced a new RTL Generation Agent that uses AI to help design chips. In tests, it reduced chip area by 24% and power use by 18% while producing fully accurate results. The tool expands the ChipStack platform, which already handles tasks like verification and debugging. Cadence plans to offer the new agent to select customers in the fourth quarter.

DocMIDE improves AI extraction from complex documents

DocMIDE is a new framework that helps compact vision-language models extract hidden information from documents. It uses a plan-retrieve-derive structure to find visual evidence before answering. On a benchmark of over 4,000 pairs, accuracy rose from 70.8% to 95.9% using Qwen3.5-4B. The method relies on rewarding intermediate reasoning steps rather than just supervised examples.

OpenAI and Anthropic urge Australia to ease AI training ban

OpenAI and Anthropic asked Australia to allow limited use of local creative content for training AI models. Both companies argued that a narrow exemption could protect artists while attracting investment. Anthropic suggested conditional approval, and OpenAI called for a balanced copyright framework. The companies also noted data center projects planned in Sydney and Queensland. A parliamentary committee is expected to report in November.

Ben Emons says AI is driving a global investment story

Ben Emons, founder and chief investment officer at FedWatch Advisors, discussed how AI is reshaping markets worldwide. He said market certainty and stronger investment could support equity markets. His remarks covered AI trends, Federal Reserve policy, oil prices and global growth. The discussion took place on CNBC.

Poll asks whether AI development should be slowed

A Hampshire Review poll asks readers whether the development of artificial intelligence should be slowed. The poll allows readers to share their views on the pace of AI progress. It is editable and was published online. No results are reported in the article.

National Powersports partners with Ekho to deploy AI sales agent

National Powersports Distributors has partnered with Ekho to use an AI Sales Agent across its pre-owned powersports dealerships. The AI tool uses machine learning and natural language processing to analyze customer data. It provides real-time insights and personalized recommendations to help sales teams close more deals. The company hopes the technology will improve customer engagement and sales efficiency.

OpenAI launches MentalHealthBench to test AI in mental health chats

OpenAI introduced MentalHealthBench, an open benchmark for testing how AI handles mental health conversations. More than 80 licensed mental health experts from 22 countries helped create it. The benchmark covers scenarios from everyday stress to emergencies and includes adults, teens, caregivers, and clinicians. It measures whether AI responses are safe, respectful of user agency, and provide helpful guidance.

80,000 relay servers help China users bypass U.S. AI region bans

More than 80,000 relay servers are helping users in China bypass geographic restrictions on U.S. AI models, according to Team Cymru. The servers pool AI accounts and hide user identities, making it harder to enforce region bans. Tools like sub2api and the Claude Relay Service are used to run the network. Researchers say the setup also enables model distillation, where users query strong AI models to train cheaper competing versions.

Most Americans worry AI companies are not doing enough to prevent harm

A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 73% of Americans believe AI companies are not doing enough to prevent serious harm from AI. The four-day poll showed 39% of respondents view AI as having a negative impact on society. Most respondents said federal officials should set safety standards. Fifty-five percent of those polled also said it would be a good idea to slow down AI development.

Sources

• AI Investment Growth Supports Global Economy In 2026
• OECD expects AI boom to help offset Middle East energy shock for now
• AI boom may offset West Asia energy shock, says OECD
• OECD Lifts 2026 Global Growth Forecast to 2.9% on AI Investment Surge
• Cadence's New RTL Generation Agent Could Reshape AI-Driven Chip Design
• Cadence's New RTL Generation Agent Could Reshape AI-Driven Chip Design
• DocMIDE: Learning Multi-Hop Implicit Derivation in Visually Rich Documents
• AI firms eye relaxed ban on training models
• Ben Emons: It's a global story because AI is everywhere
• Do you think the development of artificial intelligence should be slowed?
• National Powersports Distributors partners with Ekho on AI sales agent
• Introducing MentalHealthBench
• 80,000 relay servers help users in China slip past U.S. AI region bans
• Three out of four Americans say AI firms not doing enough to prevent disaster, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds