ai

Canva makes AI use mandatory in coding interviews

Australian design giant Canva has revamped its technical interview process to reflect modern software development, requiring job candidates to demonstrate their ability to use AI coding assistants.

The shift aims to assess better how candidates would perform on the job, where tools like Copilot and Claude are already part of engineers’ daily workflows.

Previously, interviews focused on coding fundamentals without assistance. Now, candidates must solve engineering problems using AI tools in ways that reflect real-world scenarios, demanding effective prompting and judgement rather than simply getting correct outputs.

The change follows internal experiments where Canva found that AI could easily handle traditional interview questions. Company leaders argue that the old approach no longer measured actual job readiness, given that many engineers rely on AI to navigate codebases and accelerate prototyping.

By integrating AI into hiring, Canva joins many firms that are adapting to a tech workforce increasingly shaped by intelligent automation. The company says the goal is not to test if candidates know how to use AI but how well they use it to build solutions.

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Meta hires top AI talent from Google and Sesame

Meta is assembling a new elite AI research team aimed at developing artificial general intelligence (AGI), luring top talent from rivals including Google and AI voice startup Sesame.

Among the high-profile recruits is Jack Rae, a principal researcher from Google DeepMind, and Johan Schalkwyk, a machine learning lead from Sesame.

Meta is also close to finalising a multibillion-dollar investment in Scale AI, a data-labelling startup led by CEO Alexandr Wang, who is also expected to join the new initiative.

The new group, referred to internally as the ‘superintelligence’ team, is central to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to close the gap with competitors like Google and OpenAI.

Following disappointment over Meta’s recent AI model, Llama 4, Zuckerberg hopes the newly acquired expertise will help improve future models and expand AI capabilities in areas like voice and personalisation.

Zuckerberg has taken a hands-on approach, personally recruiting engineers and researchers, sometimes meeting with them at his homes in California. Meta is reportedly offering compensation packages worth tens of millions of dollars, including equity, to attract leading AI talent.

The company aims to hire around 50 people for the team and is also seeking a chief scientist to help lead the effort.

The broader strategy involves investing heavily in data, chips, and human expertise — three pillars of advanced AI development. By partnering with Scale AI and recruiting high-profile researchers, Meta is trying to strengthen its position in the AI race.

Meanwhile, rivals like Google are reinforcing their defences, with Koray Kavukcuoglu named as chief AI architect in a new senior leadership role to ensure DeepMind’s technologies are more tightly integrated into Google’s products.

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AI cheating crisis leaves teachers in despair

Teachers across the US are growing alarmed by widespread student use of AI for assignments, calling it a crisis that undermines education itself. Some professors report that students now rely on AI for everything from note-taking to essay writing, leaving educators questioning the future of learning.

The fear of false accusations is rising among honest students, with some recording their screens to prove their work is genuine. Detection tools often misfire, further complicating efforts to distinguish real effort from AI assistance.

While some argue for banning tech and returning to traditional classroom methods, others suggest rethinking US education entirely. Rather than fighting AI, some believe it offers a chance to re-engage students by giving them meaningful work they want to do.

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Cisco to reinvent network security for the AI era

Cisco has introduced a major evolution in security policy management, aiming to help enterprises scale securely without increasing complexity. At the centre of this transformation is Cisco’s Security Cloud Control, a unified policy framework designed to simplify and centralise the enforcement of security policies across a wide range of environments and technologies.

With the introduction of the Mesh Policy Engine, organisations can now define a single, intent-based policy that applies seamlessly across Cisco and third-party firewalls. Cisco is also upgrading its network security infrastructure to support AI-ready environments.

The new Hybrid Mesh Firewall includes the high-performance 6100 Series for data centres and the cost-efficient 200 Series for branch deployments, offering advanced threat inspection and integrated SD-WAN. Enforcement is extended across SD-WAN, smart switches, and ACI fabric, ensuring consistent protection.

Additionally, Cisco has deepened its integration with Splunk to enhance threat detection, investigation, and response (TDIR). Firewall log data feeds into Splunk for advanced analytics, while new SOAR integrations automate key responses like host isolation and policy enforcement.

Combined with telemetry from Cisco’s broader ecosystem, these tools provide faster, more informed threat management. Together, these advancements position Cisco as a leader in AI-era cybersecurity, offering a unified and intelligent platform that reduces complexity, improves detection and response, and secures emerging technologies like agentic AI. By embedding policy-driven security into the core of enterprise networks, Cisco is enabling organisations to innovate with AI safely and securely.

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Turing Institute urges stronger AI research security

The Alan Turing Institute has warned that urgent action is needed to protect the UK’s AI research from espionage, intellectual property theft and risky international collaborations.

Its Centre for Emerging Technology and Security (CETaS) has published a report calling for a culture shift across academia to better recognise and mitigate these risks.

The report highlights inconsistencies in how security risks are understood within universities and a lack of incentives for researchers to follow government guidelines. Sensitive data, the dual-use potential of AI, and the risk of reverse engineering make the field particularly vulnerable to foreign interference.

Lead author Megan Hughes stressed the need for a coordinated response, urging government and academia to find the right balance between academic freedom and security.

The report outlines 13 recommendations, including expanding support for academic due diligence and issuing clearer guidance on high-risk international partnerships.

Further proposals call for compulsory research security training, better threat communication from national agencies, and standardised risk assessments before publishing AI research.

The aim is to build a more resilient research ecosystem as global interest in UK-led AI innovation continues to grow.

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Meta launches AI to teach machines physical reasoning

Meta Platforms has unveiled V-JEPA 2, an open-source AI model designed to help machines understand and interact with the physical world more like humans do.

The technology allows AI agents, including delivery robots and autonomous vehicles, to observe object movement and predict how those objects may behave in response to actions.

The company explained that just as people intuitively understand that a ball tossed into the air will fall due to gravity, AI systems using V-JEPA 2 gain a similar ability to reason about cause and effect in the real world.

Trained using video data, the model recognises patterns in how humans and objects move and interact, helping machines learn to reach, grasp, and reposition items more naturally.

Meta described the tool as a step forward in building AI that can think ahead, plan actions and respond intelligently to dynamic environments. In lab tests, robots powered by V-JEPA 2 performed simple tasks that relied on spatial awareness and object handling.

The company, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is ramping up its AI initiatives to compete with rivals like Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI. By improving machine reasoning through world models such as V-JEPA 2, Meta aims to accelerate its progress toward more advanced AI.

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Apple brings AI tools to apps and Siri

Apple is rolling out Apple Intelligence, its generative AI platform, across popular apps including Messages, Mail, and Notes. Introduced in late 2024 and expanded in 2025, the platform blends text and image generation, redesigned Siri features, and integrations with ChatGPT.

The AI-enhanced Siri can now edit photos, summarise content, and interact across apps with contextual awareness. Writing tools offer grammar suggestions, tone adjustments, and content generation, while image tools allow for Genmoji creation and prompt-based visuals via the Image Playground app.

Unlike competitors, Apple uses on-device processing for many tasks, prioritising privacy. More complex queries are sent to its Private Cloud Compute system running on Apple Silicon, with a visible fallback if offline. Additional features like Visual Intelligence and Live Translation are expected later in 2025.

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India unveils AI incident reporting guidelines for critical infrastructure

India is developing AI incident reporting guidelines for companies, developers, and public institutions to report AI-related issues affecting critical infrastructure sectors such as telecommunications, power, and energy. The government aims to create a centralised database to record and classify incidents like system failures, unexpected results, or harmful impacts caused by AI.

That initiative will help policymakers and stakeholders better understand and manage the risks AI poses to vital services, ensuring transparency and accountability. The proposed guidelines will require detailed reporting of incidents, including the AI application involved, cause, location, affected sector, and severity of harm.

The Telecommunications Engineering Centre (TEC) is spearheading the effort, focusing initially on telecom and digital infrastructure, with plans to extend the standard across other sectors and pitch it globally through the International Telecommunication Union. The framework aligns with international initiatives such as the OECD’s AI Incident Monitor and builds on government recommendations to improve oversight while fostering innovation.

Why does it matter?

The draft emphasises learning from incidents rather than penalising reporters, encouraging self-regulation to avoid excessive compliance burdens. The following approach complements broader AI safety goals of India, including the recent launch of the IndiaAI Safety Institute, which works on risk management, ethical frameworks, and detection tools.

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AI tools are not enough without basic cybersecurity

At London Tech Week, Darktrace and UK officials warned that many firms are over-relying on AI tools while failing to implement basic cybersecurity practices.

Despite the hype around AI, essential measures like user access control and system segmentation remain missing in many organisations.

Cybercriminals are already exploiting AI to automate phishing and accelerate intrusions in the UK, while outdated infrastructure and short-term thinking leave companies vulnerable.

Boards often struggle to assess AI tools properly, buying into trends rather than addressing real threats.

Experts stressed that AI is not a silver bullet and must be used alongside human expertise and solid security foundations.

Domain-specific AI models, built with transparency and interpretability, are needed to avoid the dangers of overconfidence and misapplication in high-risk areas.

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AI must protect dignity, say US bishops

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has urged Congress to centre AI policy on human dignity and the common good.

Their message outlines moral principles rather than technical guidance, warning against misuse of technology that may erode truth, justice, or the protection of the vulnerable.

The bishops caution against letting AI replace human moral judgement, especially in sensitive areas like family life, work, and warfare. They express concern about AI deepening inequality and harming those already marginalised without strict oversight.

Their call includes demands for greater transparency, regulation of autonomous weapons, and stronger protections for children and workers in the US.

Rooted in Catholic social teaching, the letter frames AI not as a neutral innovation but as a force that must serve people, not displace them.

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