Future of work

China targets deepfake livestreams of public figures

Chinese cyberspace authorities announced a crackdown on AI deepfakes impersonating public figures in livestream shopping. Regulators said platforms have removed thousands of posts and sanctioned numerous accounts for misleading users.

Officials urged platforms to conduct cleanups and hold marketers accountable for deceptive promotions. Reported actions include removing over 8,700 items and dealing with more than 11,000 impersonation accounts.

Measures build on wider campaigns against AI misuse, including rules targeting deep synthesis and labelling obligations. Earlier efforts focused on curbing rumours, impersonation and harmful content across short videos and e-commerce.

Chinese authorities pledged a continued high-pressure stance to safeguard consumers and protect celebrity likenesses online. Platforms risk penalties if complaint handling and takedowns fail to deter repeat infringements in livestream commerce.

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Ohanian predicts AI-driven jobs growth despite economic jitters

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian says AI remains a durable long-term trend despite growing investor concern that the sector has inflated a market bubble. He argues the technology is now too deeply embedded in workflows to be dismissed as hype.

Tech stocks fell sharply on Thursday as uncertainty over US interest rate cuts prompted investors to seek safer assets. The Nasdaq Composite slid more than two percent, and the AI-driven Magnificent Seven posted broad losses, with Nvidia among the hardest-hit names.

Ohanian says valuations are not his focus but insists the underlying innovations are meaningful, pointing to faster software development as an example of measurable progress. He maintains confidence in technology trends even amid short-term market swings.

He also believes AI will create more roles than it eliminates, despite estimates that widespread adoption could disrupt up to seven percent of the US workforce. He argues that major technological shifts consistently open new career paths.

Ohanian notes that jobs once unimaginable, such as full-time online content creation, are now mainstream aspirations. He expects AI-led change to follow a similar pattern, delivering overall gains while acknowledging that the transition may be uneven.

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LinkedIn introduces AI-powered people search for faster networking

LinkedIn has launched an AI-powered people search feature, allowing users to find relevant professionals using plain language instead of traditional keywords and filters. The new tool surfaces experts based on experience and skills rather than exact job titles or company names.

The feature uses advanced AI and LinkedIn’s professional data to match users with the right people at the right time. It transforms connections into actionable opportunities, helping members discover mentors, collaborators, or industry specialists more efficiently.

Previously, searches required highly specific information, making it difficult to identify the right professional. The new conversational approach simplifies the process, making LinkedIn a more intuitive and powerful platform for networking, career planning, and business growth.

AI-powered people search is currently available to Premium subscribers in the US, with plans for expansion in the coming months. LinkedIn plans to expand the feature globally, helping professionals connect, collaborate, and find opportunities more quickly.

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Purdue and Google collaborate to advance AI research and education

Purdue University and Google are expanding their partnership to integrate AI into education and research, preparing the next generation of leaders while advancing technological innovation.

The collaboration was highlighted at the AI Frontiers summit in Indianapolis on 13 November. The event brought together university, industry, and government leaders to explore AI’s impact across sectors such as health care, manufacturing, agriculture, and national security.

Leaders from both organisations emphasised the importance of placing AI tools in the hands of students, faculty, and staff. Purdue plans a working AI competency requirement for incoming students in fall 2026, ensuring all graduates gain practical experience with AI tools, pending Board approval.

The partnership also builds on projects such as analysing data to improve road safety.

Purdue’s Institute for Physical Artificial Intelligence (IPAI), the nation’s first institute dedicated to AI in the physical world, plays a central role in the collaboration. The initiative focuses on physical AI, quantum science, semiconductors, and computing to equip students for AI-driven industries.

Google and Purdue emphasised responsible innovation and workforce development as critical goals of the partnership.

Industry leaders, including Waymo, Google Public Sector, and US Senator Todd Young, discussed how AI technologies like autonomous drones and smart medical devices are transforming key sectors.

The partnership demonstrates the potential of public-private collaboration to accelerate AI research and prepare students for the future of work.

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CERN unveils AI strategy to advance research and operations

CERN has approved a comprehensive AI strategy to guide its use across research, operations, and administration. The strategy unites initiatives under a coherent framework to promote responsible and impactful AI for science and operational excellence.

It focuses on four main goals: accelerating scientific discovery, improving productivity and reliability, attracting and developing talent, and enabling AI at scale through strategic partnerships with industry and member states.

Common tools and shared experiences across sectors will strengthen CERN’s community and ensure effective deployment.

Implementation will involve prioritised plans and collaboration with EU programmes, industry, and member states to build capacity, secure funding, and expand infrastructure. Applications of AI will support high-energy physics experiments, future accelerators, detectors, and data-driven decision-making.

AI is now central to CERN’s mission, transforming research methodologies and operations. From intelligent automation to scalable computational insight, the technology is no longer optional but a strategic imperative for the organisation.

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Agentic AI drives a new identity security crisis

New research from Rubrik Zero Labs warns that agentic AI is reshaping the identity landscape faster than organisations can secure it.

The study reveals a surge in non-human identities created through automation and API driven workflows, with numbers now exceeding human users by a striking margin.

Most firms have already introduced AI agents into their identity systems or plan to do so, yet many struggle to govern the growing volume of machine credentials.

Experts argue that identity has become the primary attack surface as remote work, cloud adoption and AI expansion remove traditional boundaries. Threat actors increasingly rely on valid credentials instead of technical exploits, which makes weaknesses in identity governance far more damaging.

Rubrik’s researchers and external analysts agree that a single compromised key or forgotten agent account can provide broad access to sensitive environments.

Industry specialists highlight that agentic AI disrupts established IAM practices by blurring distinctions between human and machine activity.

Organisations often cannot determine whether a human or an automated agent performed a critical action, which undermines incident investigations and weakens zero-trust strategies. Poor logging, weak lifecycle controls and abandoned machine identities further expand the attack surface.

Rubrik argues that identity resilience is becoming essential, since IAM tools alone cannot restore trust after a breach. Many firms have already switched IAM providers, reflecting widespread dissatisfaction with current safeguards.

Analysts recommend tighter control of agent creation, stronger credential governance and a clearer understanding of how AI-driven identities reshape operational and security risks.

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Microsoft expands AI model Aurora to improve global weather forecasts

Extreme weather displaced over 800,000 people worldwide in 2024, highlighting the importance of accurate forecasts for saving lives, protecting infrastructure, and supporting economies. Farmers, coastal communities, and energy operators rely on timely forecasts to prepare and respond effectively.

Microsoft is reaffirming its commitment to Aurora, an AI model designed to help scientists better understand Earth systems. Trained on vast datasets, Aurora can predict weather, track hurricanes, monitor air quality, and model ocean waves and energy flows.

The platform will remain open-source, enabling researchers worldwide to innovate, collaborate, and apply it to new climate and weather challenges.

Through partnerships with Professor Rich Turner at the University of Cambridge and initiatives like SPARROW, Microsoft is expanding access to high-quality environmental data.

Community-deployable weather stations are improving data coverage and forecast reliability in underrepresented regions. Aurora’s open-source releases, including model weights and training pipelines, will let scientists and developers adapt and build upon the platform.

The AI model has applications beyond research, with energy companies, commodity traders, and national meteorological services exploring its use.

By supporting forecasting systems tailored to local environments, Aurora aims to improve resilience against extreme weather, optimise renewable energy, and drive innovation across multiple industries, from humanitarian aid to financial services.

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Digital ID arrives for Apple users

Apple has introduced Digital ID, a new feature that lets users create an identification card in Apple Wallet using information from a US passport.

The feature launches in beta at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints across more than two hundred and fifty airports for domestic travel, instead of relying solely on physical documentation.

It offers an alternative for users who lack a Real ID-compliant card while not replacing a physical passport for international journeys.

Users set up a Digital ID by scanning the passport’s photo page, reading the chip on the back of the document, and completing facial movements for verification.

Once added, the ID can be presented with an iPhone or Apple Watch by holding the device near an identity reader and confirming the request with Face ID or Touch ID. New verification options for in-person checks at selected businesses, apps and online platforms are planned.

The company highlights privacy protection by storing passport data only on the user’s device, instead of Apple’s servers. Digital ID information is encrypted and cannot be viewed by Apple, and biometric authentication ensures that only the owner can present the identity.

Only the required information is shared during each transaction, and the user must approve it before it is released.

The launch expands Apple Wallet’s existing support for driver’s licences and state IDs, which are already available in twelve states and Puerto Rico. Recent months have added Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia, and Japan adopted the feature with the My Number Card.

Apple expects Digital ID to broaden secure personal identification across more services over time.

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EU investigates Google over potential Digital Markets Act breach

The European Commission has opened an investigation into whether Google may be breaching the Digital Markets Act by unfairly demoting news publishers in search results.

An inquiry that centres on Google’s ‘site reputation abuse policy’, which appears to lower rankings for publishers that host content from commercial partners, even when those partnerships support legitimate ways of monetising online journalism.

The Commission is examining whether Alphabet’s approach restricts publishers from conducting business, innovating, and cooperating with third-party content providers. Officials highlighted concerns that such demotions may undermine revenue at a difficult moment for the media sector.

These proceedings do not imply a final decision; instead, they allow the EU to gather evidence and assess Google’s practices in detail.

If the Commission finds evidence of non-compliance, it will present preliminary findings and request corrective measures. The investigation is expected to conclude within 12 months.

Under the DMA, infringements can lead to fines of up to ten percent of a company’s worldwide turnover, rising to twenty percent for repeated violations, alongside possible structural remedies.

Senior Commissioners stressed that gatekeepers must offer fair and non-discriminatory access to their platforms. They argued that protecting publishers’ ability to reach audiences supports media pluralism, innovation, and democratic resilience.

Google Search, designated as a core platform service under the DMA, has been required to comply fully with the regulation since March 2024.

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New York Times lawsuit prompts OpenAI to strengthen privacy protections

OpenAI says a New York Times demand to hand over 20 million private ChatGPT conversations threatens user privacy and breaks with established security norms. The request forms part of the Times’ lawsuit over alleged misuse of its content.

The company argues the demand would expose highly personal chats from people with no link to the case. It previously resisted broader requests, including one seeking more than a billion conversations, and says the latest move raises similar concerns about proportionality.

OpenAI says it offered privacy-preserving alternatives, such as targeted searches and high-level usage data, but these were rejected. It adds that chats covered by the order are being de-identified and stored in a secure, legally restricted environment.

The dispute arises as OpenAI accelerates its security roadmap, which includes plans for client-side encryption and automated systems that detect serious safety risks without requiring broad human access. These measures aim to ensure private conversations remain inaccessible to external parties.

OpenAI maintains that strong privacy protections are essential as AI tools handle increasingly sensitive tasks. It says it will challenge any attempt to make private conversations public and will continue to update users as the legal process unfolds.

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