Employers are grappling with the fallout from rapid AI adoption, The Guardian reports. Meta has scaled back plans to cut staff and use more AI agents after employees spent increasing time cleaning up technical and security errors, according to Reuters, and LinkedIn posts from workers show the company is expanding its managerial ranks again after cutting them in 2023.
Mediapart is set to host Hacking Big Tech, a public event on technology, AI and democracy, in Paris on Saturday, Oct. 17, in partnership with The Guardian. The conference will be streamed free on Mediapart’s website, app and YouTube channel from 1 p.m. CEST, according to The Guardian. In a commentary, Mediapart president and publishing director Carine Fouteau argues that big tech companies are deepening an information crisis and threatening democracy, and calls for broad mobilization.
The Guardian reports that Jason O’Connell, a Reform UK member of the Senedd, appeared to use smart glasses to aid a speech during a debate. Its later report says the suspected use has prompted calls for a ban in Westminster and reignited debate over AI-enabled devices.
The Guardian reports on Poland’s ascent from a communist state to a top 20 economy, saying it is reversing the brain drain. Poles describe wages soaring alongside the cost of living.
Eight US states have sued OpenAI over ChatGPT, alleging safety risks and harm to young users. The Guardian reports that the states accuse the company’s products of coaxing children into harming themselves; Al Jazeera says the states allege ChatGPT has coached users to harm themselves or others. The Verge reports that the states say ChatGPT is not safe for children, while CNBC describes the lawsuit as concerning ChatGPT safety.
Nvidia is pledging $250 million worth of computing power to the UK over five years to support AI safety research, The Guardian reports. The pledge comes as the UK government says its AI Security Institute will be able to examine advanced AI models from companies including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google before their release.
OpenAI’s London staff received average annual earnings of £2,318,181 last year, according to The Guardian. The company’s UK accounts show that 110 staff shared £87 million in salaries and £168 million in shares.
MI5 chief Sir Ken McCallum warned in his annual speech on threats to the nation that AI could change the stakes around existing and new bioweapons. The Guardian reports experts say AI may help terrorists and nation states with production, but significant hurdles remain.
The Guardian reviews End of Abyss, a horror game for PlayStation 5, Xbox and PC, describing it as stylish and scary but saying it overextends itself with repetition. The review compares its dollhouse-like view of an abandoned facility to Resident Evil and The Thing.
The Guardian published a podcast and a video examining the rise of AI surveillance at work. They describe a shift from output targets and software known as bossware to AI systems that process large volumes of data into minute-by-minute accounts of activity and productivity. UK technology editor Robert Booth discusses which sectors are adopting the systems, why, and how they could prove counterproductive.
Istanbul's 13th High Criminal Court rejected Osman Kavala's request for a retrial despite a European Court of Human Rights Grand Chamber ruling that his rights had been violated. In a written statement, Kavala said the decision harmed the judiciary's reputation.
Brazil's Senate approved a constitutional amendment to reduce the maximum workweek from 44 hours to 40 without cutting salaries, according to ABC News; The Guardian and BBC News report Congress approved the change. The Guardian says it would ban six-day workweeks and could affect up to 30 million workers. Several outlets describe the measure as a political win for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of the presidential runoff, which The Guardian says is less than two weeks away.
Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson was sentenced to 15 years in prison for child sex crimes, according to The Guardian, the Financial Times, ABC News and Al Jazeera. The BBC reported before sentencing that he had been convicted of 18 counts of sex abuse, including rape, involving two women when they were children. Al Jazeera reports that the judge said Donaldson had never apologised to his victims and that he is seeking to appeal his convictions.
Zimbabwean author Simbarashe Kundizeza denies using AI to write The Blue Fighter, which won the Caine prize for African writers on 6 October. The Guardian says his denial followed an Atlantic article claiming software flagged the story as almost completely AI-generated; the article appeared five days after the prize announcement. BBC News also reports his denial, while ABC News identifies him as the Caine Prize winner and says he rejected the claim.
Costa Rica has opened a mega-prison described as following the Bukele model. Al Jazeera says the model is being embraced across Latin America, while the South China Morning Post calls Costa Rica the latest adopter of the blueprint. ABC News says fighting drug trafficking has become a main goal, inspired by El Salvador’s hardline approach.
The Milwaukee Brewers completed a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS to reach the World Series, The Japan Times reports. The paper says the Brewers will open the World Series at home on Oct. 23 against the winner of the ALCS between the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays. An earlier Japan Times report said late home runs had pushed the Dodgers to the brink in the series.
Great Britain's energy regulator Ofgem is consulting on reintroducing a charge that could require energy suppliers to pay rivals when they attract customers with cheaper deals. The proposal aims to reduce the risk of suppliers failing this winter amid customer departures and sharp energy price swings linked to the conflict in the Middle East.
Sporting memorabilia has become another marker of sport’s rising costs, The Guardian reports, alongside transfer fees and ticket prices. At Budds auction house’s Octoberfest sale, a Barclays Manager of the Month trophy with no named former owner sold for £700, and the event included 332 lots. Auctioneer David Convery has also secured record prices for items including the oldest surviving FA Cup and Pelé’s 1970 World Cup final shirt.
A Guardian editorial argues that the UK is unprepared for food crises, citing hackers who on Sunday raised refrigerator temperatures in hundreds of French food stores to as high as 50C, causing waste and fires. It says 150 experts warned the British government weeks earlier that it had no plan to feed people in a crisis and that food could be disrupted or weaponized. This follows reports that France was investigating a cyberattack on retailers’ refrigeration systems, thousands of supermarket fridges remained exposed and food was spoiled in hundreds of stores.
Ubisoft Paris has made Rainbow Six Tactics, a turn-based tactical spin-off from Rainbow Six Siege, The Guardian reports. The studio moved from its work on Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope to a grittier military setting. The Guardian says level design director Julien Vial described working on the Mario franchise as a privilege.