CFOs embrace AI despite security concerns
96% of CFOs are prioritising AI integration according to a new Kyriba survey of 1,000 finance leaders, even though many have major concerns about doing so. AI often functions like a “black box,” creating uncertainty about how it arrives at outputs, plus concerns around data privacy, security and compliance. Despite these risks, 86% of CFOs are already using AI in some or most aspects of their job.
https://fortune.com/2025/06/05/cfo-dont-trust-ai-but-use-it-anyway
India’s AI ambitions face global competition reality
With over 5 million IT workers and 7,114 AI startups that have raised $23 billion, India seems ideally positioned for the global AI race. But the country has yet to produce an equivalent Large Language Model that can compete globally. IndiaAI Mission CEO Abhishek Singh told startups: “They will have to ultimately compete with the best in the world. Initial levels of support may come from the government, but that will not sustain them in the long run.”
https://www.dw.com/en/india-is-reaching-for-its-own-world-class-ai-engine/a-72799462
Vera Rubin Observatory to revolutionise alien technosignature hunt
This summer, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile will begin taking pictures of the entire southern sky every 3-4 nights for a decade, generating 20 terabytes of data nightly. The telescope could double the number of known small bodies in our Solar System in its first month alone. Estimates for interstellar object discoveries vary wildly – from one per year to one per week.
Google DeepMind CEO: AGI will make humans “less selfish”
Demis Hassabis, who leads Google’s AI efforts, believes artificial general intelligence is inevitable and will save humanity from its own destructive tendencies. Does AI need a breakthrough before AGI? Yes, but it’s in the works. Will it court catastrophic perils? Don’t worry, AGI itself will save the day. Will it destroy jobs? Probably, but there will always be work for at least a few of us. “That—if you can believe it—is optimism.”
English-speaking world more nervous about AI
Two-thirds of people in Great Britain say they’re nervous about AI technology being deployed in products and services, with less than half trusting the UK government to regulate AI responsibly. By contrast, half or fewer people in France, Germany and Italy expressed nervousness. “In the Anglosphere there is much more nervousness than excitement,” said Matt Carmichael at Ipsos Mori. “Some markets are much more positive than nervous, especially in south-east Asia.”
Washington Post plans AI-assisted opinion writing platform
The Post is launching “Ripple,” expanding opinion writing opportunities to other newspapers, Substack writers, and eventually non-professionals. A final phase will allow non-professionals to submit columns with help from AI writing coach “Ember.” Human editors would review submissions before publication. The program aims to appeal to readers wanting more breadth than current opinion sections and more quality than social platforms.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/business/media/washington-post-opinion-ripple.html
Groom’s AI-written wedding vows exposed during reception
A wedding guest wrote to advice columnist about a shocking moment: “During the reception, his best man gave a (slightly drunk) toast where he mentioned my husband using ChatGPT to write his vows. Everyone laughed, including me, until he emphasized that it wasn’t a joke and that my husband actually did use ChatGPT to write them at the last minute.”
https://slate.com/advice/2025/06/marriage-advice-best-man-speech-reveal.html
Brands must optimise for AI recommendation engines
Over the past year, 58% of consumers (vs. only 25% in 2023) reported turning to Gen AI tools for product recommendations. AI search referrals to US retail sites surged 1,300% during the 2024 holiday season. Consumers using LLMs are typically younger, wealthier, and more educated. Their customer journey no longer begins with search queries – it starts with dialogue. “Your digital strategy must now include optimising for AI recommendation engines, not just search algorithms.”
https://hbr.org/2025/06/forget-what-you-know-about-seo-heres-how-to-optimize-your-brand-for-llms
Anthropic launches AI blog written by Claude
Anthropic quietly launched “Claude Explains,” a blog populated by posts on technical topics generated mostly by Claude AI. The blog showcases Claude’s writing abilities on topics like “Simplify complex codebases with Claude.” According to a spokesperson, the blog is overseen by subject matter experts and editorial teams who “enhance” Claude’s drafts with insights and contextual knowledge.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/03/anthropics-ai-is-writing-its-own-blog-with-human-oversight/
Voice AI achieves 99% accuracy, fools humans
A partnership between Phonely, Maitai, and Groq has reduced AI phone response times by 70% while boosting accuracy from 81.5% to 99.2% – surpassing GPT-4o’s 94.7% benchmark. The breakthrough solves the “uncanny valley” of voice AI by eliminating delays that signal callers they’re talking to a machine. One of Phonely’s customers is replacing 350 human agents this month alone.
Claude 4 can work 7-hour shifts without burnout
Anthropic’s Claude 4 AI model drew notice for its breakthrough ability to work seven straight hours continuously. “What Anthropic has accomplished with Claude Opus 4 is an incredible, unmatched feat in AI. For a model to work on a task for seven straight hours is unheard of when current standards expect models to spend seconds to minutes working on a problem,” said Brian Jackson at Info-Tech Research Group.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/03/ai-jobs-work-anthropic-human-replacement.html
20 statistics that define AI in 2025
AI has become essential infrastructure driving enormous economic growth, but at significant environmental and social costs. Society is racing to manage an increasingly powerful technology that’s transforming faster than our ability to govern it responsibly. The data shows adoption, usage, and societal impact across job losses, energy consumption, and economic transformation.
AI relationships could become addictive like love
AI tools could hold promise for psychotherapy and social skills improvement, but recognizing how love is a template for addiction could help implement effective regulation. “For eons, artists have emphasized the addictive qualities of love.” There’s an evolutionary reason we might act compulsively in relationships – without persistence, no one could sustain relationships or parent needy infants.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/opinion/chatbots-ai-addiction-love.html
AI sparks cognitive revolution toward mediocrity
Like the Industrial Revolution that replaced artisanal craftsmanship with mechanized production, there’s a risk that AI automation of thought will lead to mediocrity. “The danger is not that AI will fail us, but that people will accept the mediocrity of its outputs as the norm. When everything is fast, frictionless and ‘good enough,’ there’s the risk of losing the depth, nuance and intellectual richness that define exceptional human work.”
Product discovery moves from search to AI
If AI doesn’t know your product, no one will find it. “AI doesn’t care about your brand equity unless it’s expressed in the right language, in the right context, through the right data.” Products need semantic tagging, enriched metadata, value-based content, and natural-language copy that mirrors real human queries. “Make your catalogue speak AI, or prepare to be ignored.”
https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2025/06/02/if-ai-doesn-t-know-your-product-no-one-will
Digg reboots to combat “dead internet theory”
The social site aims to bring back the spirit of the old web as AI-generated content threatens to overwhelm traditional platforms. “I’ve long subscribed to the ‘dead internet theory,'” said Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, referencing the idea that much online content is created by bots, not humans. “Probably in the last few years — since we’ve blown past the Turing test — [the dead internet theory] is a very real thing.”
McKinsey uses AI for PowerPoints and proposals
McKinsey consultants are increasingly utilising their proprietary AI platform, “Lilli,” to draft proposals and create PowerPoint slides. Through AI agents, employees can make slides from simple prompts and ensure reports have the right tone. Over 75% of the firm’s employees use the tool on a monthly basis. Lilli is named after Lillian Dombrowski, the first professional woman hired by McKinsey in 1945.
AI pioneer launches “honest AI” non-profit
Yoshua Bengio, described as one of the “godfathers” of AI, launched LawZero with $30m in funding to develop systems that spot rogue AI showing deceptive behaviour. Starting with a dozen researchers, Bengio is developing “Scientist AI,” which will act as a guardrail against AI agents attempting to avoid being turned off or exhibiting other self-preserving behaviours.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/03/honest-ai-yoshua-bengio
Creatives and academics reject AI tools
“Maybe the first reason I don’t want to use large language models is that I’m not interested in reading something that nobody wrote,” says Emily M. Bender, linguistics professor and co-author of “The AI Con.” When asked if she feels “left behind,” she responds: “No, not at all. My reaction to that is, ‘Where’s everybody going?'” She argues that synthetic media undermines human connection at both personal and community levels.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/03/creatives-academics-rejecting-ai-at-home-work
Scientists predict singularity within 6 months
Predictions across the field range from months to decades, but experts agree that change is coming. Unlike human intelligence, machine intelligence doesn’t appear to have limits. As computing power doubles every 18 months (Moore’s Law), LLMs should quickly reach calculations-per-second thresholds comparable to human intelligence. If computing hits engineering walls, quantum computing could fill the gap.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a64929206/singularity-six-months