ai

Guernsey sees AI as a job transformer, not a net job killer

A BBC report highlights growing confidence among Guernsey’s business community that AI will change how work is done without reducing overall employment.

Paul Gorman, CEO of start-up Bank Aston, says AI will be embedded in workflows and may eliminate some roles while creating new ones, a view echoed by PwC, which sees adaptation rather than decline as the key challenge for the future workforce.

Educators and employers stress the need for skills development, with The Guernsey Institute working on AI-focused curricula and small creative firms using AI to compete with larger players.

While some in the creative sector describe AI as disruptive, there is broad agreement that its effects are transitional, prompting calls for policy coordination, including a proposal to establish a dedicated AI office to manage risks and opportunities.

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ChatGPT achieves perfect scores in Japan university exams

ChatGPT earned full marks in nine subjects during this year’s unified university entrance examinations in Japan. LifePrompt Inc reported that the AI achieved 97 percent accuracy across 15 subjects overall.

The subjects with perfect scores included mathematics, chemistry, informatics, and politics and economy. Performance was lower in Japanese language, where ChatGPT scored 90 percent, reflecting challenges with processing complex text.

Tests were conducted without access to the internet, with the AI relying solely on pre-stored data. Results show that ChatGPT has steadily improved since 2024, outperforming scores required for competitive programmes such as Human Sciences I at the University of Tokyo.

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Tech-dense farms emerge as a new model for future agriculture

A BBC report examines the rise of so-called ‘tech-dense’ farms, where digital tools such as AI-powered sensors, satellite imagery, and farm management software are increasingly central to agricultural operations.

While the total number of farms is declining, those that remain are investing heavily in technology to stay competitive, improve precision, and reduce input costs such as pesticides and water.

Farmers interviewed describe using smart spraying systems, data analytics, and predictive software to optimise planting, monitor crop health, and respond to weather or pest risks in real time.

Agronomists suggest that these innovations could stabilise food supplies and potentially lower consumer prices, though adoption varies by age, cost, and willingness to change, highlighting a broader transition toward treating farming as a data-driven business.

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Davos 2026 reveals competing visions for AI

AI has dominated debates at Davos 2026, matching traditional concerns such as geopolitics and global trade while prompting deeper reflection on how the technology is reshaping work, governance, and society.

Political leaders, executives, and researchers agreed that AI development has moved beyond experimentation towards widespread implementation.

Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella argued that AI should deliver tangible benefits for communities and economies, while warning that adoption will remain uneven due to disparities in infrastructure and investment.

Access to energy networks, telecommunications, and capital was identified as a decisive factor in determining which regions can fully deploy advanced systems.

Other voices at Davos 2026 struck a more cautious tone. AI researcher Yoshua Bengio warned against designing systems that appear too human-like, stressing that people may overestimate machine understanding.

Philosopher Yuval Noah Harari echoed those concerns, arguing that societies lack experience in managing human and AI coexistence and should prepare mechanisms to correct failures.

The debate also centred on labour and global competition.

Anthropic’s Dario Amodei highlighted geopolitical risks and predicted disruption to entry-level white-collar jobs. At the same time, Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis forecast new forms of employment alongside calls for shared international safety standards.

Together, the discussions underscored growing recognition that AI governance will shape economic and social outcomes for years ahead.

Diplo is live reporting on all sessions from the World Economic Forum 2026 in Davos.

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OpenAI models embedded into ServiceNow for enterprise automation

ServiceNow has announced a multi-year agreement positioning OpenAI as a preferred intelligence capability across its enterprise platform, extending access to frontier AI models for organisations running tens of billions of workflows each year.

The partnership reflects a broader shift towards operational AI embedded directly within business systems instead of experimental deployments.

By integrating OpenAI models such as GPT-5.2 into the ServiceNow AI Platform, enterprises can embed reasoning and automation into secure workflows spanning IT, finance, human resources, and customer operations.

AI tools are designed to analyse context, recommend actions, and execute tasks within existing governance frameworks instead of functioning as standalone assistants.

Executives from both companies emphasised that the collaboration aims to deliver measurable outcomes at scale.

ServiceNow highlighted its role in coordinating complex enterprise environments, while OpenAI stressed the importance of deploying agentic AI capable of handling work end to end within permissioned infrastructures.

Looking ahead, the partnership plans to expand towards multimodal and voice-based interactions, enabling employees to communicate with AI systems through speech, text, and visual inputs.

The initiative strengthens OpenAI’s enterprise footprint while reinforcing ServiceNow’s ambition to act as a central control layer for AI-driven business operations.

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Workers voice concern over AI-driven workplace change

Four in five workers believe AI will affect their daily tasks, as companies expand the use of AI chatbots and automation tools in the workplace, according to a new Randstad survey.

Demand for roles requiring ‘AI agent‘ skills has risen by 1,587%, reflecting a shift towards automation in low-complexity and transactional jobs, the recruitment firm said in its annual Workmonitor report.

Randstad surveyed 27,000 workers and 1,225 employers, analysing more than three million job postings across 35 global markets to assess how AI is reshaping labour demand.

Corporate cost-cutting pressures, weakened consumer confidence, and geopolitical uncertainty linked to US trade policies are accelerating workforce restructuring across multiple industries.

Gen Z workers expressed the highest level of concern about AI’s impact, while Baby Boomers reported greater confidence in their ability to adapt, as nearly half of employees said the technology may benefit companies more than workers.

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EU considers further action against Grok over AI nudification concerns

The European Commission has signalled readiness to escalate action against Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok, following concerns over the spread of non-consensual sexualised images on the social media platform X.

The EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen told Members of the European Parliament that existing digital rules allow regulators to respond to risks linked to AI-driven nudification tools.

Grok has been associated with the circulation of digitally altered images depicting real people, including women and children, without consent. Virkkunen described such practices as unacceptable and stressed that protecting minors online remains a central priority for the EU enforcement under the Digital Services Act.

While no formal investigation has yet been launched, the Commission is examining whether X may breach the DSA and has already ordered the platform to retain internal information related to Grok until the end of 2026.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also publicly condemned the creation of sexualised AI images without consent.

The controversy has intensified calls from EU lawmakers to strengthen regulation, with several urging an explicit ban on AI-powered nudification under the forthcoming AI Act.

A debate that reflects wider international pressure on governments to address the misuse of generative AI technologies and reinforce safeguards across digital platforms.

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New SAP–Fresenius initiative uses AI to transform clinical operations

Global enterprise software provider SAP has entered a strategic collaboration with German healthcare group Fresenius to apply AI and digital technologies to healthcare delivery and clinical operations.

The partnership aims to modernise processes, including patient flow, resource planning, and data-driven decision support, across Fresenius’s hospital networks and care facilities.

At the core of the initiative will be SAP’s AI-enabled enterprise platforms, including analytics, predictive modelling and workflow automation, combined with Fresenius’s clinical expertise to improve operational efficiency, care coordination and patient outcomes.

By leveraging real-time data and AI insights, the collaboration seeks to reduce administrative burden on clinicians while enabling proactive management of capacity and critical resources.

Both organisations emphasise the potential of AI to support clinicians rather than replace them, reinforcing the importance of human oversight, explainability and adherence to healthcare regulations and privacy standards.

The partnership also reflects a broader trend of digital transformation in health systems, where analytics and AI are becoming integral to service delivery and system resilience.

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Strategic pact deepens South Korea–Italy collaboration across AI and advanced tech

Seoul and Rome have announced plans to deepen cooperation in high-technology sectors, notably AI, semiconductor development and space technology, as part of a broader strategic partnership.

The agreement reflects shared interests in advancing cutting-edge technology and innovation, reinforcing economic and scientific collaboration between South Korea and Italy.

Both countries see these areas as central to future economic competitiveness and technological leadership on the global stage.

While details of specific programmes were not yet disclosed publicly, officials emphasised the mutual benefits of enhanced research partnerships, talent exchange and joint development initiatives that span emerging technologies and advanced industrial sectors.

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ASUS pauses smartphone expansion to focus on AI and robotics

Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer ASUS has announced that it will not launch new smartphones in 2026, signalling a central strategic pivot away from mobile devices and toward artificial intelligence-driven products and robotics.

Chairman Jonney Shih confirmed at a company event that ASUS will redirect research and development resources previously earmarked for phones into AI hardware such as robotics, AI glasses and commercial PCs.

The move comes amid a hyper-competitive global smartphone market and supply-chain pressures, such as rising memory costs, that make handset manufacturing less attractive than high-growth AI sectors.

ASUS will continue to support existing smartphone users with warranty and software updates, but does not plan to introduce new phone models in the foreseeable future.

Industry observers say this shift reflects broader trends in consumer electronics, where traditional phone makers are seeking growth by leveraging AI innovation and emerging device categories.

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