Chapter 12 of 14 · Today's models

Eyes, ears and hands

The newest models can do more than read and write.

Some can see pictures, and look through a camera.

Some can listen, and talk out loud.

Some can use tools, like a calculator, a web browser, or a whole computer.

A model that makes a plan and uses tools to finish a job is called an agent.

Help Pip the agent finish a job!

Your turn

Tap the steps in the right order. Then press Go.

Toy calculation· pretend tools

Job: "Will it rain tomorrow? If it will, remind me to take my umbrella."

Tap the steps in the order Pip should do them.

  1. 1📝 Make a plan
  2. 2☁️ Ask the weather tool about tomorrow
  3. 3👀 Read what the tool said
  4. 4⏰ Use the reminder tool
  5. 5✅ Tell the person what was done
  6. The weather and reminder tools are pretend.

Same name, different thing!

Two companies used the name Astra, and two used Muse. Tap a card to flip it.

Eyes, ears and hands

  • Seeing
  • Hearing and talking
  • Using tools and computers
    • GPT-6 Astra (3 September 2026): OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra can use computers and web browsers. OpenAI said it was so strong at computer security that it limited who could use it first. source: TechCrunch
    • Claude Opus 5.5 (22 September 2026): Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5 came with a medium-sized Sonnet 5.5 and a small Haiku 5.5. Anthropic says it is careful before doing things that are hard to undo. source: Anthropic announcement
What you learned

Agents make a plan, use tools, and check their work.

Finish "Your turn" to earn the Agent helper sticker.
Grown-up corner: the precise version
  • seeing and hearing = multimodal
  • agent = AI agent (tool use)

An agent runs the model in a loop: the model writes a tool call, the program runs the tool, the result is added to the text, and the model continues until the job is done.

The weather and reminder tools here are pretend. The two pairs of same-named models are real; see the sources in the timeline.