Google DeepMind Puts Watermarks Inside AI-Designed Proteins

Morning, {{first name | folks}}! AI is showing up in some unexpected places today. Google DeepMind is watermarking proteins designed by AI, Anthropic is letting developers reshape Claude Code, and Microsoft is pushing real-time speech closer to instant transcription. Albertsons is putting ChatGPT into grocery shopping, while Instagram is using AI to turn content performance into ideas for the next post. Let’s get into it.

Google DeepMind has introduced SynthID Bio, a new way to watermark AI-designed proteins. The watermark is built into the biological design itself, so it can still be detected after the protein has been made in a lab.

In tests on three protein targets, Google DeepMind says the watermarked versions performed like the original designs, including on binding and biological function. The company says the system could help researchers and DNA synthesis providers identify AI-generated designs and check where they came from. Google DeepMind is releasing the code, data and model weights to researchers as it works on applying the same approach to more complex biological designs.

Anthropic is opening Claude Code to developer-built mods, giving users a way to change how the coding tool works. Mods can adjust prompts and tool calls, add interface elements, or replace existing features with custom ones.

Developers can package these changes as plugins and share them with others or across a team. Anthropic is also using the same system for some of Claude Code’s own features, including /diff, so developers can start changing parts of the tool instead of waiting for new features to come from Anthropic. That makes Claude Code less of a fixed product and more something developers can tune to the way they actually work.

Microsoft has taken the top spot on Artificial Analysis’ streaming speech-to-text leaderboard with its new MAI-Transcribe-2-Streaming. The model ranked No. 1 for both final and partial transcription accuracy while returning its first transcript within just over 100 ms of receiving audio.

The model supports real-time transcription in 60 languages and automatically detects language as people speak. Microsoft is pricing it at $0.54 per hour of audio through the end of the year, putting the new model into the race on both speed and cost as developers build more real-time voice applications.

Albertsons is expanding its partnership with OpenAI, using ChatGPT to help customers plan meals, find products, build shopping lists, and reorder groceries. Albertsons is also using the technology internally across areas, including merchandising and operations.

The retailer says the experience will draw on its own product and customer data, so recommendations can reflect what it actually sells and what shoppers buy. The company is also testing ways to make grocery planning and purchasing easier through the service. For Albertsons, the change puts AI closer to the moment when shoppers decide what goes into the cart.

Instagram is bringing an AI assistant directly into Edits, giving creators a way to analyze their content and get ideas for what to make next. The assistant can look at views, retention, likes, shares, comments, and follows, then suggest hooks, captions, audio and new content ideas based on that performance.

Creators can also ask why a video performed well or what they could try differently. That puts analytics and content creation much closer together, with the assistant helping turn performance data into the next idea without leaving Edits. The feature is rolling out with free usage limits, while expanded access is available through Meta One.