Welcome, humans.

We’re live right now talking through Mercury-alpha, the mystery model many people now assume is GPT-5.6.

A surprise release feels less likely than it did this morning. But by noon PT (hopefully sooner!!), we should at least know whether OpenAI is shipping something today or whether the internet collectively stared at a codename until it started staring back.

Either way, the rumor is a useful excuse to talk about the bigger shift: Codex is becoming a real work surface, ChatGPT is starting to remember more of your files and work through its new Library, Hermes Desktop from Nous Research is chasing the open-source desktop-agent version of the same idea, and every major AI lab seems to be moving from “chatbot” toward “computer operator.”

🔴 What we’re testing live, on stream:

• What Mercury-alpha might be, and why people think it’s GPT-5.6.

• What would actually matter if a new OpenAI model drops.

• How Codex is turning into an agent workspace.

• Why ChatGPT’s new file memory matters for everyday work.

• Why Hermes Desktop feels like the open-source answer.

• What all of this means for normal people trying to use AI at work.

Watch live now here:

• YouTube Live

• LinkedIn Live

If OpenAI ships something during the stream, we’ll react live. If they stay quiet, we’ll unpack the rumor, the model cycle, and where coding, memory, and desktop agents are heading next.

Bring questions. Bring theories. Bring your least embarrassing model-name conspiracy board.

📬 Full writeup in tomorrow’s newsletter

Not free atm? We’ve got you. We’ll publish a full breakdown of everything we found in tomorrow’s daily newsletter, with the sharpest prompts, the biggest surprises, and a direct “how to try this yourself” guide.

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🎙️ In Case You Missed It…

Click the image below to go straight to YouTube and watch some of our latest episodes. We’ve had quite a few killer interviews lately that are super fascinating and well-worth the time spent. Pick your favorite topic and dive right in!

One more before you go:

We’ve been doing a run of beginner-friendly livestreams lately. Start here if you’re trying to make AI useful for you without getting buried in jargon:

• A Total Beginner’s Guide to AI Agents & Automation: what agents are, how automation works, and which tasks are worth handing off. Companion guide here.

• The AI Starter Kit: what beginners should try first, what to ignore, and how to troubleshoot bad answers.

• OpenAI Workspace Agents 101: how workplace agents differ from chatbots and fit into repeatable team workflows.

• Stop Copy-Pasting Prompts: our 5-level AI proficiency stack, from projects to prompts, skills, automations, and agents. Companion guide here.

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Stay curious,

The Neuron Team

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