Researchers have identified a new plant species in western Thailand whose unusual appearance inspired the dramatic name Thismia daemona, or the “devil flower.” A nearly black flower with horn-like projections and flashes of reddish orange has been discovered beneath leaf litter in a mountain forest in western Thailand. The plant cannot photosynthesize, spends most of [...]
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has hit out at reports AI technology will lead to a "SaaSpocalypse", saying traditional software still has life in it yet.
Speaking at the opening keynote of Dreamforce 2026, Benioff said the talk of a SaaSpocalypse over the last six months was "crazy nonsense".
Instead, Benioff said the market trends would actually bring in a new age of software - one where AI would be playing a key role.
"Hasn't it been wild?" Benioff asked the Dreamforce crowd.
"But I think we realized that SaaSpocalypse - it's not about the end of software, but it may be about the end of software that makes humans do all the work."
Namely, this refers to AIforce, the company's new realization of the software interface, to reflect the needs of the AI age.
Benioff noted that over the past few decades, users have gone from Command Line interfaces to GUI, from web to mobile - and now, with AI assuming a much greater role in the world of work, there's a need for a new kind of interface.
AIforce looks to address this by enabling agents anywhere to reason and take action across all the data, workflows, and logic inside Salesforce, hopefully unlocking whole new ways of working for customers everywhere.
Benioff wasn't alone in his belief that this isn't the end of software - later in his keynote, he welcomed Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on stage.
This was primarily to discuss Salesforce's new Koa CRM, developed alongside Nvidia, but the talk took a bit of a manic turn, as the two billionaires instead decided to pace about the theatre and have a discussion about the wider technology industry.
"Don't give up on the technology," Huang said, "You've heard me say it - I was the first CEO to come out not in the software industry to say the end of software is nonsense."
"(Instead) This is going to be a layer on top of sotware, this new layer is gojng to be agentic, and it's going to make the software so much better."
Salesforce has built the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) a new AI agent to try and help streamline travel for passengers everywhere.
Ace, a new AI agent built with Salesforce's Public Sector Solutions platform, has been live for several months now, helping the TSA deal with traveller requests and inquiries.
So far, Salesforce says Ace has already handled approximately 100,000 routine traveler conversations per month and resolved 96% of routine inquiries, such as how to pack liquids or enter a checkpoint with a medical device — without the need for human escalation.
“Nearly three million people travel through US airports every day, and a simple question shouldn’t stand between them and a smooth trip,” said Kendall Collins, CEO of Missionforce and Government Cloud.
“TSA’s new Ace AI agent gives travelers fast, accurate answers before they reach the checkpoint—from what they can pack to how they can prepare—while helping TSA officers stay focused on their essential security mission.”
The launch of Ace forms part of a broader modernization initiative, led by the TSA’s Customer Experience Branch to improve traveler service using Salesforce.
The amount of questions from travellers can ramp up hugely during peak travel periods and disruptions, so the TSA needed a flexible way to scale support, deliver consistent guidance, and reduce pressure on its contact center teams.
Deploying a secure, autonomous AI agent like Ace, which can answer routine questions and direct more complex needs to staff, means the TSA can improve services, control costs, and support its missions at scale, even at the busiest times of the year.
“The TSA is leading with trusted AI to meet the mission,” said Paul Tatum, EVP of Global Public Sector Solutions at Salesforce. “They are delivering a secure, data-driven, and AI-first foundation that scales operations, lowers costs, and protects public trust, even during the most stressful travel times.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has admitted that the rapid pace of development in the AI industry is rightfully scaring some people, and that more controls might be necessary.
Speaking at Dreamforce 2026, Altman was quizzed by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff on a variety of topics, giving his opinion on not just the most recent incidents in the world of technology, but where the future of AI could go next.
Altman and Benioff's wide-ranging conversation began with the latter asking the former for his view on "what's been going on" concerning recent controversies in the AI industry.
This included the widely-reported Hugging Face hack, as well as increasing calls for greater AI regulation in recent weeks.
"People have been talking about the potential downsides or serious risks of AI for some time,” Altman said, noting that the increased capabilities of models have meant people are paying more attention than ever before.
Altman also highlighted the recent “Hugging Face accident”, which he later described as “obviously a terrifying incident”, as raising awareness among the wider world as to what AI is capable of.
“It doesn't take as much imagination as it used to, to imagine how this could go wrong,” he pointed out, adding that he would like to know that companies don’t intend to use their models for nefarious means - “there should be no qualifier on that,” he pointed out.
Altman also highlighted the “real fear” that “some companies working in AI could get too much power and be able to influence the economy”.
“I think the world is right to be afraid of this,” he pointed out.
However it wasn’t all doom and gloom, as Altman noted that OpenAI was navigating a “narrow path” with pragmatism, steadiness and consistency.
“People are now saying, this seems pretty important, so let's get it right...and we will get it right, by the way, I'm very confident in our ability to do this. The world should trust that we are going to do the right thing, because it is the right thing, and we know the magnitude of this.”
Altman was also confident that despite the continuing advances of AI, he had high hopes for the future of humanity, noting that while "people don't care that much what a machine does...we have a wonderful ability of being obsessed with other people.”
However this might still involve some tough work, as society and people would “need to uplift themselves very fast” to get all the advantages of technology - “but this seems very achievable to me,” Altman added.
Overall though, Altman noted that the degree that people care about other people is a major positive, and predicted that "we will stay in an extremely human-centric world, no matter what technology does.”
AI will help with this progress, though, with Altman saying that although the technology is capable of incidents such as the Hugging Face hack, it is also possible to use AI to defend against such attacks.
“We have to (use AI to defend) to get the prize of curing diseases, giving people this incredible creativity, this human entrepreneurship that I think is coming.”
“I think people, with this technology in their hands, can live a much better version of their lives.”
Benioff closed out the session by asking what he hoped the legacy of his company would be, with Altman noting that the company had set out on an "insane mission" to achieve AGI, and that it had only scratched the surface" of building great products".
“There is no doubt there will be more technological wonders by 2030, and they'll be big ones,” he added, highlighting the fact that you can talk to a computer and it knows what you want, understand your company and take action, “is one of the most profound changes to how we use technology that I've ever seen...this is one of the moments that feels like you're in a movie (and) I think this will transform the way we work and use computers”.
Some of the world's leading AI minds have shared their opinions on the future of the technology, revealing some intriguinly diverging viewpoints.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei were both guest appearances during the opening keynote of Dreamforce 2026, where they were both quizzed by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff on their opinions and views on the future of the technology.
The pair had some interestingly differing viewpoints, showing the trouble facing not just internal and external stakeholders, but also lawmakers and regulators.
First up was Amodei, whose Claude platform has become increasingly partnered with Salesforce in recent months, culminating in the recent launch of Claudeforce.
Asked by Benioff about the state of the AI market right now, Amodei likened it to the motor industry, where safety records can be conflated, but companies can learn from each other - and he also seems keen to open things up internationally to set standards.
“I think that’s the way to lead the industry forward, to set an example, to say that everyone can always be better,” he pointed out.
Benioff also asked Amodei about the biggest surprises has had while developing his technology over the last decade.
The Anthropic head replied the "pace of the progress" - not just in the development of AI technology, but the economic impact of it too - noting his company didn't appreciate how quickly certain companies would grow and become central to everyday life.
Finally, Benioff asked what actions Amodei would like the public to take when using AI.
Amodei replied that even if development of AI technology was frozen right now, we'd only be using maybe 5-10% of the possible value we could get.
Making use of all the information with platforms such as Claude could open up new areas of business - "there's so much diffusion left," Amodei says.
Huang was much more positive in his appearance, leading Benioff in a walkabout around the keynote theatre as the pair discussed AI.
"We're going through a new industrial revolution," Huang pointed out,
However he did urge caution in some areas, particularly around safety.
“Safety is paramount in a lot of ways. It’s job one,” Huang said. “However, safety is an engineering problem.”
Speed and safety are not mutually exclusive, Huang noted, pointing out that companies should pace themselves until they are sure they are releasing something that the market will appreciate.
“It’s a false choice,” Huang told Benioff. “You could definitely have both at the same time.”
When it comes to model protections, Huang said that companies should, “run as fast as you can...but if you feel at any given point in time the company’s out of control or the product’s not going to be safe, take a pause and make sure you get it right.”
Wrapping up, Benioff asked Huang about his vision for the next few years - and what he wants to see from Salesforce.
Huang says he wants to "Agentforce every company", outlining an aim of "really deploying AI".
"You don't want to be left behind, this is too important of a technology revolution," Huang noted, "if it doesn't work for you straight away, don't give up on it."
"The most important thing - don't get left behind...the sky's the limit for us."
Would you hand in your phone at the door in exchange for a free bottle of wine? One restaurateur has tried that – and there are now many other gambits that are encouraging us to connect
Name: Phone bans.
Age: Their provenance is considerable; their time is now.
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© Photograph: Tony Smith/Alamy
© Photograph: Tony Smith/Alamy
© Photograph: Tony Smith/Alamy
The use of coal to generate electricity on the US grid has been plunging for nearly two decades, and the first Trump administration was unable to affect the trend. So his second administration has attempted more aggressive interventions to prop up coal use. One of its most direct means of doing so is to order coal plants that were scheduled to close to remain open, even if there is no need for them.
The administration's justification for these orders is a statute that allows the Department of Energy (DOE) to declare an emergency in the case of wartime or a sudden shortfall in generation. A number of parties, including states where coal plants have been slated to close, have challenged this declaration. And on Friday, in the first of these cases to make its way through the courts, the declaration was judged to be contrary to the statute. While this only affects a single coal plant in Michigan, the reasoning of the decision will apply to every coal plant closure that has been blocked by the DOE.
The decision was issued by a unanimous three-judge panel from the DC Circuit's Court of Appeals. It focuses on the J.H. Campbell Generating Plant, which was scheduled to close last year but has been kept open by a total of five emergency declarations by the DOE, each limited to 90 days by the Federal Power Act. At issue was section 202(c) of that Act, which allows the DOE to declare emergencies when the US is at war or when “an emergency exists by reason of a sudden increase in the demand for electric energy, or a shortage of electric energy.”
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