Talk Fuse

    AI

    AI is reshaping how businesses, governments and creative industries operate, and this hub tracks the debates, breakthroughs and mishaps that come with that shift. It covers the technology's expanding footprint, from data centre investment and enterprise infrastructure spending to proposals for automating public sector roles, alongside the cultural pushback over AI's place in art and creative work.

    It also follows the growing scrutiny of AI safety and accountability, including research into how models behave when given autonomy, scrutiny of their security vulnerabilities, and disagreement among experts and policymakers over how tightly the technology should be regulated. Legal and ethical stumbles, such as fabricated evidence in court filings or missteps in how AI systems interact with the public, feature regularly too.

    Taken together, the coverage reflects a technology moving faster than the institutions meant to oversee it, making it essential reading for anyone trying to understand what AI means for their job, their rights and the wider world around them.

    • Consumer AI adoption grows, but high costs threaten profitability

      Consumer AI assistants appear to be regaining momentum, with Meta’s Muse, OpenAI’s Dots and Instinct attracting attention for handling everyday tasks. The article argues that better capabilities and growing interest do not yet make consumer AI a reliably profitable business: customers’ willingness to pay remains limited, while running AI services is unusually costly. Figures cited…

    • Scotland’s top judge warns AI can invent laws cited in court

      Scotland’s top judge, Lord Pentland, has warned that AI-generated legal research can invent laws and court cases, which people may then cite as fact in court. He said AI may help people access justice and support legal work, but it should assist rather than replace human judgement; relying on it uncritically can waste court time…

    • Here’s what AI leaders are saying about Trump’s new safety plan

      Donald Trump announced a voluntary AI safety pledge signed by leaders from Google, Anthropic, Meta, OpenAI, xAI and Nvidia. The companies are to oversee their own frontier AI systems under shared guidelines, which the article describes as morally binding but apparently carrying no penalties for breaches. The plan matters because it relies on industry self-regulation…

    • Trump signs White House AI accord bearing misspelt presidential title

      The White House AI accord signed by President Donald Trump and six technology executives on Tuesday contained a spelling error, with the president’s signature appearing under “President of the Unites States” rather than “United States”. The voluntary agreement commits the companies to safely developing artificial intelligence and establishing controls and audits to address growing public…

    • Google’s early attempt to pay websites for AI answers is struggling

      Google has begun a pilot programme paying approximately 100 publishers when their content contributes to AI-powered search results, but the compensation is proving far too modest to satisfy content creators. The initiative represents a significant acknowledgement by Google that its shift towards AI-generated search answers has fundamentally altered the traffic dynamics that historically benefited publishers,…

    • Show colleagues how much you care by sending an AI avatar to your Google Meet call

      MeetTwins, an AI assistant being developed by Indian developer Aditya Shinde, is designed to join Google Meet calls on a user’s behalf and share information the user has approved. The tool is recruiting beta users; its proposed uses include routine status updates and check-ins, but the article questions whether sending a bot could make colleagues…

    • DeepMind embeds lasting marks in AI-designed proteins for biosecurity checks

      Google’s DeepMind team has developed a watermarking system for artificial intelligence-designed proteins, addressing a significant biosecurity gap. The system embeds subtle, permanent marks into protein sequences without compromising their function, allowing researchers to identify proteins created by trusted sources while subjecting others to enhanced scrutiny. This solution tackles a longstanding concern: whilst AI tools have…

    • AI market needs to make $6 trillion a year by 2031 to fund its infrastructure habit

      The AI industry must generate $6 trillion in annual revenue by 2031 to sustain the enormous infrastructure investment required to meet anticipated demand, according to management consultants Bain & Company’s 2026 Global Technology Report. This represents a significant increase from Bain’s previous forecast of $2 trillion by 2030, reflecting how rapidly capital expenditure has escalated…

    • All the latest news on Meta’s cute, creepy Muse AI agent

      Meta’s Muse AI agent can carry out tasks such as managing emails and buying items, but recent reports have raised questions about how safely it handles personal information and acts on users’ behalf. Tech YouTuber Matt Robb says Muse shared his home address with a prospective Facebook Marketplace buyer, accepted a low offer and failed…

    • Where does your AI data actually live?

      The article promotes an invitation-only dinner in Washington where The Register, HPE and NVIDIA will discuss where AI data is stored and who can access it in regulated industries. It argues that AI projects often stall over jurisdiction, organisational control and the evidence regulators may later require, rather than over the models themselves. The event…