In the first half of March 2026, AI crossed from hype into hard reality. OpenAI unleashed GPT-5.4, its most capable model yet for professional workflows, boasting massive reasoning gains and agentic tools. Meanwhile, Anthropic's fierce standoff with the Pentagon escalated designated a 'supply-chain risk' over military use refusals, even as reports emerged of Claude aiding U.S. ops in Iran. Meta delayed its ambitious Avocado model amid performance shortfalls, and fintech slash