🎥 OpenAI drops Sora 2

PLUS: How to set up and run Neural Agent on your computer step by step

Author

Alvaro Cintas
October 01, 2025

Good morning, AI enthusiast. OpenAI just launched Sora 2 and its own TikTok-style app, Sora, letting users generate and share AI-powered videos of themselves and friends.

In today’s newsletter:

  • OpenAI enters social video with Sora

  • Amazon launches new Echo devices powered by AI

  • Top AI Researchers Launch Periodic Labs to Accelerate Science

  • How to set up and run Neural Agent on your computer

AI NEWS

OpenAI released Sora 2, an audio and video generator, alongside the invite-only Sora app. Users can generate realistic short-form videos and drop themselves into scenes with a one-time video/audio upload.

→ Videos follow realistic physics, avoiding prior AI glitches like teleporting objects
→ “Cameos” let users share their likeness for collaborative video creation
→ Algorithmic feed recommends content based on activity, location, and ChatGPT history
→ Parental controls manage scrolling, personalization, and messaging

Why is important: OpenAI is moving beyond chat to social media, creating immersive AI-driven content experiences. While the app is free at launch, non-consensual use of AI-generated likenesses remains a key safety concern.

AI HARDWARE

At its 2025 hardware event, Amazon unveiled four new Echo devices designed around its advanced AI assistant, Alexa+, featuring improved processing, memory, and AI capabilities.

→ Devices & Pricing: Echo Dot Max ($99.99), Echo Studio ($219.99), Echo Show 8 ($179.99), Echo Show 11 ($219.99)
→ Custom Chips: AZ3 & AZ3 Pro for AI edge processing, enhanced conversation detection, and wake-word recognition
→ Ominisense Sensors: Cameras, audio, radar, accelerometer, and Wi-Fi CSI for ambient AI interactions
→ Enhanced Audio & Design: Spatial audio, Dolby Atmos, improved woofers/tweeters, smaller form factor
→ Smart Home & Entertainment: Alexa+ Home hub, Matter/Thread/Zigbee support, streaming, shopping, and Ring camera integrations
→ Health & Wellness: Partnerships with Oura, Withings, and Wyze for personalized nudges and reminders

Why is important: Amazon is embedding AI deeply into its hardware ecosystem, enhancing both everyday convenience and smart-home intelligence, while enabling developers and users to interact with AI in more natural, context-aware ways.

AI STARTUPS

Ex-OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Meta researchers have joined Periodic Labs, a Silicon Valley start-up aiming to use AI to speed up discoveries in physics, chemistry, and material science. Co-founded by Liam Fedus (ex-ChatGPT team) and Ekin Dogus Cubuk (ex-DeepMind), the company combines robots + AI to iterate scientific experiments at scale.

→ AI analyzes results from thousands of physical experiments, spotting patterns humans might miss
→ Robots run experiments guided by researchers, mixing powders, testing materials, and refining processes
→ AI learns from scientific literature, trial-and-error, and real-world lab data
→ $300M seed funding from a16z and others supports the lab in building a dedicated Menlo Park facility

Why is important: Periodic Labs is shifting AI from digital-only tasks to real-world scientific discovery, potentially accelerating breakthroughs in areas like superconductors and advanced materials, making AI a true partner in science.

HOW TO AI

How To Set Up And Run Neural Agent On Your Computer

Neural Agent is an AI agent that can literally take over your PC screen and handle tasks for you. Unlike cloud-based tools that only simulate actions, Neural Agent runs directly on your computer, meaning it can open apps, manage files, browse websites, and execute complex workflows in real time.

🧰 Who Is This For

  • Beginners curious about what AI agents are

  • Developers who want to learn how agents use tools like Slack or Docker

  • Builders exploring RAG, MCP, and reasoning models

  • Researchers diving into memory and multi-agent systems

STEP 1: Install Neural Agent

Go to getneuralagent.com. On the homepage, you’ll see blue download buttons for each operating system (Windows, Mac, Linux).

Click the button under your OS, and the setup file will start downloading instantly. It’s a lightweight file and should finish in under a minute.

Once the download is complete, open the installer. A security popup may appear, click Allow or Run to proceed. Follow the on-screen instructions, and installation should finish within seconds.

When the setup is done, you’ll find Neural Agent in your applications menu (or desktop shortcut, if enabled).

STEP 2: Launch the App

Open Neural Agent. The first screen you’ll see is a clean, minimal interface that looks very similar to ChatGPT.

At the center of the screen, there’s a large text field with the placeholder: “What do you want Neural Agent to do?”

This is your command box. Everything you type here will be executed directly on your PC.

STEP 3: Run Your First Task

Click inside the text field and type your first instruction. For example:

“Create a beautiful React landing page for a real estate company. Make it modern, save the project to my desktop, and run a demo when finished.”

Now press Enter.

Neural Agent will open the necessary applications, generate the code, save the files in the right folder, and launch the project demo automatically. Instead of simply giving you code snippets, it actually executes all these steps on your screen.

STEP 4: Explore More Commands

From here, you can begin experimenting with more complex tasks. You might ask it to research information online and summarize it in a document, reorganize folders on your PC, or even run entire workflows that involve multiple apps. The key difference with Neural Agent is that it does not just provide text responses, it interacts with your actual desktop environment and performs actions for you.

ESSENTIAL BITES

  • Meta acquires chip startup Rivos, makers of RISC-V AI processors, to cut reliance on Nvidia GPUs, with the first chip launching in 2026.

  • Elon Musk announces xAI is building Grokipedia, aiming to surpass Wikipedia and advance “understanding the universe.

  • Granola added a “Recipes” feature, letting users create repeatable prompts for meetings that can be reused, shared, and executed within the app.

  • PayPal’s Honey will integrate with ChatGPT and other AI chatbots to provide shopping recommendations, pricing, and deals directly within AI-assisted queries.

Hot AI Tools

That's it! See you tomorrow

- Dr. Alvaro Cintas