Researchers at UCSF and the Allen Institute have created one of the most detailed mouse brain maps. Their AI model, CellTransformer, identified over 1,300 brain regions and subregions, including previously uncharted areas. The findings were published in Nature Communications.
CellTransformer utilises spatial transcriptomics to define brain regions based on shared cellular patterns, rather than relying on expert annotation. Drawing city borders from building types reveals finer brain structures. This data-driven method provides unprecedented precision.
The model replicated known regions, such as the hippocampus, and revealed previously unknown subdivisions in the midbrain reticular nucleus. Researchers compared the leap from mapping continents to mapping states and cities. The tool provides a foundation for more targeted neuroscience studies.
Validation against the Allen Institute’s Common Coordinate Framework strongly aligned with expert-defined anatomy. The results gave researchers confidence in the biological relevance of the new subregions. Further studies will investigate their functions.
The model’s potential goes beyond neuroscience. Its methods can map other tissues, including cancers, by analysing large spatial transcriptomics datasets. However, this could support new medical research, helping uncover disease mechanisms and accelerate treatment development.
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A new global survey by 11:11 Systems highlights growing concerns among IT leaders over cyber incident recovery. More than 800 senior IT professionals across North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific report a rising strain from evolving threats, staffing gaps, and limited clean-room infrastructure.
Over 80% of respondents experienced at least one major cyberattack in the past year, with more than half facing multiple incidents. Nearly half see recovery planning complexity as their top challenge, while over 80% say their organisations are overconfident in their recovery capabilities.
The survey also reveals that 74% believe integrating AI could increase cyberattack vulnerability. Despite this, 96% plan to invest in cyber incident recovery within the next 12 months, underlining its growing importance in budget strategies.
The financial stakes are high. Over 80% of respondents reported spending at least six figures during just one hour of downtime, with the top 5% incurring losses of over one million dollars per hour. Yet 30% of businesses do not test their recovery plans annually, despite these risks.
11:11 Systems’ CTO Justin Giardina said organisations must adopt a proactive, AI-driven approach to recovery. He emphasised the importance of advanced platforms, secure clean rooms, and tailored expertise to enhance cyber resilience and expedite recovery after incidents.
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SnapLogic has published new research highlighting how AI adoption reshapes daily work across industries while exposing trust, training, and leadership strategy gaps.
The study finds that 78% of employees already use AI in their roles, with half using autonomous AI agents. Workers interact with AI almost daily and save over three hours per week. However, 94% say they face barriers to practical use, with concerns over data privacy and security topping the list.
Based on a survey of 3,000 US, UK, and German employees, the research finds widespread but uneven AI support. Training is a significant gap, with only 63% receiving company-led education. Many rely on trial and error, and managers are more likely to be trained than non-managers.
Generational and hierarchical differences are also evident. Seventy percent of managers express strong confidence in AI, compared with 43% of non-managers. Half believe they will be managed by AI agents rather than people in the future, and many expect to be handled by AI themselves.
SnapLogic’s CTO, Jeremiah Stone, says the agile enterprise is about easing workloads and sparking creativity, not replacing people. The findings underscore the need for companies to align strategy, training, and trust to realise AI’s potential in the workplace fully.
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A new generation of interactive apps is arriving in ChatGPT, allowing users to engage with tools like Canva, Spotify, and Booking.com directly through conversation. The apps appear naturally during chats, enabling users to create, learn, and explore within the same interface.
Developers can now build their own ChatGPT apps using the newly launched Apps SDK, released in preview as an open standard based on the Model Context Protocol. The SDK includes documentation, examples, and testing tools, with app submissions and monetisation to follow later this year.
Over 800 million ChatGPT users can now access these apps on Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans, excluding EU regions for the moment. Early partners include Booking.com, Coursera, Canva, Figma, Expedia, Spotify, and Zillow, with more to follow later in the year.
Apps respond to natural language and integrate interactive features such as maps, playlists, and slides directly in chat. ChatGPT can even suggest relevant apps during conversations- for instance, showing Zillow listings when discussing home purchases or prompting Spotify for a party playlist.
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Blaszczyk observes that figures such as Peter Thiel contribute to a discourse that questions the very value of human existence, but equally worrying are the voices using humanist, democratic, and romantic rhetoric to preserve the status quo. These narratives can be weaponised by actors seeking to reassure the public while avoiding strong regulation.
The article analyses executive orders, AI action plans, and regulatory proposals that promise human flourishing or protect civil liberties, but often do so under deregulatory frameworks or with voluntary oversight.
For example, the EU AI Act is praised, yet criticised for gaps and loopholes; many ‘human-in-the-loop’ provisions risk making humans mere rubber stampers.
Blaszczyk suggests that nominal humanism is used as a rhetorical shield. Humans are placed formally at the centre of laws and frameworks, copyright, free speech, democratic values, but real influence, rights protection, and liability often remain minimal.
He warns that without enforcement, oversight and accountability, human-centred AI policies risk becoming slogans rather than safeguards.
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JLR has begun restarting its manufacturing operations after a cyber incident in early September disrupted production. The phased return started on 8 October at the Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre and the Battery Assembly Centre in the West Midlands.
Staff are also returning to stamping facilities in Castle Bromwich, Halewood, and Solihull, as well as the body shop, paint shop, and Logistics Operations Centre in Solihull. Vehicle production in Nitra, Slovakia, and the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport lines in Solihull are resuming this week, with further updates expected for other sites, including Halewood.
JLR has introduced a new financing scheme to support suppliers during the restart and ease cashflow pressures. The programme allows qualifying suppliers to receive the bulk of their payment shortly after orders are placed, with the remainder settled upon invoice.
The move accelerates payments by as much as 120 days compared with the company’s standard 60-day terms. JLR will cover the financing costs for suppliers participating during the restart phase.
The new scheme builds on earlier measures to assist suppliers following the cyberattack, such as setting up a dedicated help desk, creating a manual payment system for pending invoices, and recently restoring automated payment systems. Initially focused on suppliers critical to restarting production, the programme will expand to include some non-production suppliers as operations stabilise.
JLR also took steps to bolster liquidity in September to support the phased recovery and ensure its supply chain remains robust as full production resumes.
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Brazil is preparing to pass its first national cybersecurity law, aiming to centralise oversight and strengthen protection for citizens and companies. The Cybersecurity Legal Framework would establish a new National Cybersecurity Authority to coordinate defence efforts across government and industry.
The legislation comes after a series of high-profile cyberattacks disrupted hospitals and exposed millions of personal records, highlighting gaps in Brazil’s digital defences. The authority would create nationwide standards, replacing fragmented rules currently managed by individual ministries and agencies.
Under the bill, public procurement will require compliance with official security standards, and suppliers will share responsibility for incidents. Companies meeting the rules could be listed as trusted providers, potentially boosting competitiveness in both public and private sectors.
The framework also includes incentives: financing through the National Public Security Fund and priority for locally developed technologies. While the bill still awaits approval in Congress, its adoption would make Brazil one of Latin America’s first countries with a comprehensive cybersecurity law.
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Deloitte entered a new enterprise AI partnership with Anthropic shortly after refunding the Australian government for a report that included inaccurate AI-generated information.
The A$439,000 (US$290,618) contract was intended for an independent review but contained fabricated citations to non-existent academic sources. Deloitte has since repaid the final instalment, and the government of Australia has released a corrected version of the report.
Despite the controversy, Deloitte is expanding its use of AI by integrating Anthropic’s Claude chatbot across its global workforce of nearly half a million employees.
A collaboration will focus on developing AI-driven tools for compliance, automation and data analysis, especially in highly regulated industries such as finance and healthcare.
The companies also plan to design AI agent personas tailored to Deloitte’s various departments to enhance productivity and decision-making. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has announced that ChatGPT now reaches 800 million weekly active users, reflecting rapid growth across consumers, developers, enterprises and governments.
The figure marks another milestone for the company, which reported 700 million weekly users in August and 500 million at the end of March.
Altman shared the news during OpenAI’s Dev Day keynote, noting that four million developers are now building with OpenAI tools. He said ChatGPT processes more than six billion tokens per minute through its API, signalling how deeply integrated it has become across digital ecosystems.
The event also introduced new tools for building apps directly within ChatGPT and creating more advanced agentic systems. Altman states these will support a new generation of interactive and personalised applications.
OpenAI, still legally a nonprofit, was recently valued at $500 billion following a private stock sale worth $6.6 billion.
Its growing portfolio now includes the Sora video-generation tool, a new social platform, and a commerce partnership with Stripe, consolidating its status as the world’s most valuable private company.
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Mercedes-Benz is integrating ChatGPT into its MBUX infotainment system, enhancing voice control for US customers. The AI upgrade allows the Hey Mercedes assistant to understand natural language more effectively, providing detailed responses and conversational interactions.
An optional beta programme is available for over 900,000 vehicles, accessible via the Mercedes me app or through a voice command.
Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service powers ChatGPT with enterprise-grade security and reliability. Mercedes-Benz retains full control over IT processes, with voice command data anonymised and stored in the Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Cloud.
Data privacy remains a top priority, ensuring customers are aware of what information is collected and how it is used.
ChatGPT complements the existing capabilities of Hey Mercedes, extending the assistant’s range beyond predefined tasks. Drivers and passengers can now receive detailed information about destinations, recipes, sports, weather, or other queries while keeping their hands on the wheel.
The three-month beta programme will help Mercedes-Benz refine the assistant and guide future rollouts across markets and languages.
Mercedes-Benz emphasises responsible AI integration, aligning ChatGPT with its AI principles. The system is continuously monitored to mitigate potential risks, ensuring innovative features are delivered safely and effectively to customers.
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