😺 New Codex, Copilot, Hermes, and Microsoft Build 2026 AI updates
The Neuron · Grant Harvey · 2026-06-03
The Neuron newsletter recaps Microsoft Build 2026's agent-first computing vision spanning Windows AI APIs, GitHub Copilot, and enterprise context layers, alongside OpenAI Codex crossing 5 million weekly users and the open-source Hermes Desktop agent launching from Nous Research.
Appears in
Extraction
Topics: microsoft-build-2026ai-agentsgithub-copilotopenai-codexopen-source-ai
Claims
- Microsoft Build 2026 positioned the company's full product stack—Windows, GitHub, Azure Foundry, and Microsoft 365—as an integrated agent-first computing platform rather than a collection of chat products.
- OpenAI Codex surpassed 5 million weekly users, with non-developers comprising 20% of usage and growing more than 3x faster than developers.
- Microsoft released Aion 1.0 Instruct and Aion 1.0 Plan, local Windows models enabling on-device reasoning and agent workflows without cloud dependency.
- Nous Research launched Hermes Desktop, a free open-source multi-platform desktop agent connecting to major messaging platforms with unified memory, positioning itself as an open alternative to proprietary coding agents.
- A new study cited by Ethan Mollick found AI coding tools dramatically increase code volume but shipping rates rise only modestly because review, integration, and judgment become the bottleneck.
Key quotes
Microsoft's bet is that the agent race will be won by the company that owns the work environment, not the company with the most impressive demo at any given time.
Demis Hassabis told Stanford we may be in 'the foothills of the singularity,' with AGI possibly around 2030, but his more useful point was that today's AI tools already have a capability overhang.
AI coding tools produce far more code, but shipping only rises modestly because review, integration, and judgment become the bottleneck.