Daily 'AI for Work' Pulse: 21st of December
Ease into your Sunday with a quick catch-up: No new AI tools today, but 86 AI news articles worth a skim. We flagged the standout moves so you can head into the week informed.
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Latest General AI News
Smart Money Pours Into AI Next Year as Pilots Become Production and ROI Becomes Clear
Money is pouring into AI as pilots turn into real deployments with measurable payback. Track unit costs, ROI, and moats as spend shifts to production across infra and enterprise.
Read more →
Lumentum (LITE) Jumps to $368 on AI Optics; Street Hikes Targets as Valuation Debate Heats Up
Lumentum jumped near $368 on AI-optics buzz as volume swelled and shorts added fuel. Street targets climbed but opinions split, with tight supply and Feb. 5 guidance in focus.
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6 Scary AI Predictions for 2026: Layoffs, China's Propaganda Push, and Agents and Robots on the Rise
2026 won't be quiet: layoffs, data-center snarls, rogue agents, deepfake scams, boring-but-valuable robots, and stricter regs. Here's what to do to stay valuable and employed.
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Latest AI News for Creatives
UK Artists Demand Licensing for AI Training as Survey Backs Stronger Protections
U.K. creatives urge tougher rules on AI data mining after 11,500+ consultation responses. 88% back licensing before training, with almost no support for broad exceptions.
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Hong Kong AI Art Festival: Robots paint, pianos play-do artists still lead the way?
At Hong Kong's first AI Art Festival, robots sketch, compose, and spark debate on whether art needs a human hand. The consensus: AI handles volume; intent and taste stay human.
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Adobe and Runway in Multi-Year Deal to Bring Gen-4.5 Video AI to Firefly
Adobe and Runway are teaming up to bring Gen-4.5 video to Firefly, with ties to Premiere Pro and AE. It's live now, with unlimited gens for Firefly Pro through Dec 22.
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D&D legend Robert Kuntz backs Larian amid AI backlash - asks fans to cut the devs some slack
Robert Kuntz backs Larian as anger flares over AI, urging grace for creators. Larian tests AI early but vows human-made finals, with an AMA coming to clarify.
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Latest AI News for Customer Support
Gap's Chatbot Backfires: An AI Bet With Chaotic Consequences
Gap's AI bot went off-script, letting baited prompts lead to tone-deaf replies. The fix is clear: strict limits, live monitoring, and quick handoffs to humans.
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Salesforce and Vonage Bring AI Voice and Human Expertise Together in the Contact Center
Salesforce and Vonage unite virtual and human agents in one voice workspace for faster answers and cleaner handoffs. Expect smarter routing, quiet fraud checks, faster resolution.
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AI Remakes Office Work: McKinsey to Cut 10% of Support Roles as Corporate Layoffs Mount
AI is cutting support and admin roles as McKinsey, Accenture, and Salesforce trim headcount. HR and Support must redeploy staff, shift work to complex cases, and track metrics.
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Can You Trust AI With Customer Conversations? What Consumers and Leaders Really Think
AI is in support, but trust needs clarity, accuracy, and an easy out to a human. Start small, label bots, and route smartly as budgets tilt to voice and chat.
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AI-Driven Customer Engagement Market to Quadruple by 2034 at 15.4% CAGR
AI-driven customer engagement is set to quadruple by 2034. Unify channels, pilot one automated use case, and plug messaging into your CRM for faster responses and measurable lift.
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Latest AI News for Education
AI in classrooms: Minister urges balance as schools await 2025/26 guidance
Minister Paul Givan says AI brings gains but overuse may blunt students' critical thinking. Guidance for schools is planned for 2025/26, stressing balance.
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Two Hours, No Teachers: Alpha School Eyes Palo Alto and the East Bay as Demand Soars
Alpha, an AI-led private school, is adding Bay Area campuses, swapping grades and teachers for self-paced learning with mentors. Two-hour mornings, project afternoons; $75k.
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AI Commanders, Not Users: Dr S Arunachalam on Reimagining Management Education for an AI-Powered Future
Business schools need leaders who direct AI, not passive users. BSM's plan blends hands-on GenAI, ethics, and industry projects to build confident, accountable decision-makers.
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Dharmendra Pradhan Pushes AI for Inclusive, Student-Centric Learning at Third Consultative Meet
Pradhan's panel set the course: use AI to make learning inclusive and student-centric. Expect DIKSHA 2.0, Guru-Mitra, and VSK to bring teacher support and data-led decisions.
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Forbes China Honors Xu Yihan; Squirrel AI's TIME Best Inventions Model Brings Personalized Learning to Millions
Xu Yihan was named an Influential Education Figure at the 2025 Forbes China Summit, highlighting AI tools teachers can use. Squirrel AI now serves 60k schools and 43M students.
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Latest AI News for Executives and Strategy
Waterloo's Executive AI Program Prepares Health Care Leaders for System-Wide Change
Waterloo's WatSPEED launched a two-day AI program for healthcare leaders on adoption, governance, risk, readiness. Built with regional leaders, it moves pilots into practice.
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AI-native telco roundup: STC-Humain to build 1GW AI datacentres, Airtel names new CEO, O2 Telefónica expands with Capgemini, Madrid gets a 5G slice
Telcos push AI into production: STC-Humain plan huge AI DCs, Airtel maps a 2026 handover, and O2 Telefónica teams with Capgemini. Madrid runs a 5G slice for public safety.
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GCC AI Adoption Soars, But Scaling Stalls, McKinsey Finds
GCC firms are all-in on AI: 84% have pilots, but only 31% scale beyond them. The fix is boring and hard-KPIs, workflow redesign, better data, and real guardrails.
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Your AI Agenda Depends on Theirs
AI delivers when leaders move as one-CEO vision, CFO rigor, tech backbone, and BUs in the loop. Tie strategy, spend, and risk to shared outcomes, then move from pilots to products.
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Latest AI News for Finance
AI Just Passed the CFA - What It Means for Finance Jobs
AI models can now pass all three CFA levels, even tough constructed responses. They'll speed research and drafting, but ethics and final calls still need human judgment.
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Use AI to Plan Your 2026 Money Goals - Without Oversharing
Planning 2026 money goals? Use AI as your analyst: write SMART prompts, break targets into weekly steps, verify rules with IRS/CFPB, and keep sensitive data out.
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Smart Money Pours Into AI Next Year as Pilots Become Production and ROI Becomes Clear
Money is pouring into AI as pilots turn into real deployments with measurable payback. Track unit costs, ROI, and moats as spend shifts to production across infra and enterprise.
Read more →
From Data to Decisions: AI FinTech's Step-by-Step Playbook for Modern Finance
AI + FinTech turns slow, rule-bound workflows into real-time, smarter decisions with lower cost and fewer errors. From lending to fraud and compliance, models learn and adapt.
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UAE unveils $1bn AI fund at G20 to boost Africa's digital infrastructure, education, and agriculture
UAE unveils $1bn 'AI for Development' fund for Africa, backing education, agriculture, public services, and infrastructure. Finance teams: plan co-finance, KPIs, export content.
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Lumentum (LITE) Jumps to $368 on AI Optics; Street Hikes Targets as Valuation Debate Heats Up
Lumentum jumped near $368 on AI-optics buzz as volume swelled and shorts added fuel. Street targets climbed but opinions split, with tight supply and Feb. 5 guidance in focus.
Read more →
Latest AI News for Government
AI Pilots Expand in India's Courts, Formal Policy Still on Hold
India's courts are piloting AI under eCourts Phase-III, with policy still pending. Trials like LegRAA, ASR-SHRUTI and PANINI run in controlled setups, backed by ₹53.57 crore.
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GOV.UK readies AI chatbot for 2026 rollout-guardrails on after a rocky pilot
GOV.UK will add an AI chatbot to the app in early 2026, then the site to answer plain questions from guidance. Teams should fix content, track refusals, and prep for transactions.
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Takaichi Moves to Host Global AI Summit in Japan, Pledges ¥1 Trillion and Gennai for 100,000 Officials
Japan will host a global AI summit as PM Takaichi urges agencies to move on safety and rollout. With 1T yen and Gennai arriving by May, teams should pilot and set guardrails.
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CMC TS unveils AI solutions for Vietnam's Digital Government at Project 06 review conference
At Vietnam's Project 06 review, CMC TS showed AI tools for public services as the PM and senior leaders visited their booth. C-Agent, C-Vision, and a commune platform stood out.
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Coveo's AI Deal With Ottawa: Bargain or Just a Bounce?
Coveo's MoU with Ottawa signals AI search edging into federal services, pilots, compliance and outcomes in focus. Shares rose 19.5% in 30 days; upside case remains, risks do too.
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Detroit's AI Emily now answers residents' calls for city services
Detroit is piloting "Emily," an AI that answers calls in districts 3 and 4, captures key details, and routes issues fast. Early tests point to quicker intake and smoother handoffs.
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IIT-Madras, Google, and Digital Futures Lab launch programme to help officials build and buy responsible AI
IIT-Madras, Google and Digital Futures Lab launch a program to help officials build and buy responsible AI. It covers procurement, risk, and scaling pilots with guardrails.
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Latest AI News for Healthcare
AI in Healthcare Faces a Compliance Crunch: Privacy, Liability, and Proof of Performance
AI is already in care workflows, and scrutiny is catching up. Here's how to prove safety and fairness, lock down data and contracts, and roll out with clinical oversight.
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Proof, Not Pilots: 2026 Demands Integrated, Accountable AI in Healthcare
2026 is the year healthcare AI has to show results. Expect safer, integrated tools that cut workload, boost access and quality, and earn trust with clear ROI and oversight.
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Context, Not Code: Turning AI Promise into Patient Care
AI's math isn't the holdup-workflows, trust, and incentives are. Build interoperability, prove real impact in pilots, and plan the last mile so clinicians actually use it.
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Building Safe, Reliable AI Care Agents at Scale: Guardrails, Evals, RAG, and Feedback Loops
AI care agents can ease costs without dropping quality, but regulated care needs safety and repeatability. Build guardrails, run evals, use RAG, and keep clinicians in charge.
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HHS seeks input to drive safe, interoperable AI across U.S. healthcare
HHS seeks public input to scale clinical AI nationwide to improve outcomes and cut costs. Responses due Jan 19, 2026-don't miss the chance to weigh in.
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Hybrid AI helps APAC healthcare scale securely-if integration keeps up
APAC healthcare is leaning into hybrid AI: keep patient data on-prem, use cloud for scale and speed. The real blocker is integration; clean data, tight links, and guardrails win.
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Healthcare's Predictive Turn: Digital Twins, Cloud AI and Multimodal Oncology at Work
Health systems are using AI, from digital twins to cloud forecasting, to ease bottlenecks and boost access. Multimodal models sharpen cancer care and help teams scale what works.
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Latest AI News for Hospitality and Events
Latest AI News for Human Resources
AI Remakes Office Work: McKinsey to Cut 10% of Support Roles as Corporate Layoffs Mount
AI is cutting support and admin roles as McKinsey, Accenture, and Salesforce trim headcount. HR and Support must redeploy staff, shift work to complex cases, and track metrics.
Read more →
Two-Thirds of Employees See AI as a Plus, but Human Touch Still Matters
66% say AI will help their jobs, yet trust, teamwork, and retention lag. HR must lead with clear rules, hands-on training, and managers who coach, not police.
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Mexico EOR Specialist AI Chatbot Delivers Instant, Legally Grounded Answers on Mexican Labor Law-No Hallucinations
HR teams get instant, Mexico-only answers backed by Mexican labor law-no guesswork or hallucinations. Covers wages, benefits, overtime, and terminations, keeping payroll clean.
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ADP's 2026 HR Trends: Agentic AI, HR and IT Teamwork, and Clearer Pay for Singapore's Workforce
AI is moving from pilots to HR core-Singapore leads, and HR must upgrade tech, upskill teams, set guardrails. Focus on governance, Agentic AI, pay clarity, cross-border basics.
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AI Could Mirror the Industrial Revolution's Shock to Jobs, BoE Governor Warns
AI is remaking roles and entry-level paths, with UK youth hit hardest. HR should audit tasks, reskill fast, rethink hiring, and build new on-ramps with guardrails, right now.
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Latest AI News for Insurance
When AI Actually Listens: Voice Agents Seniors Can Trust for Medicare Decisions
Medicare callers need patience, clear voices, and guardrails-then efficiency. Build listeners, pace numbers, confirm details, and escalate fast to earn trust.
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Skyward Specialty and Sixfold fast-track AI underwriting across U.S. P&C lines
Skyward Specialty is scaling Sixfold AI underwriting across U.S. P&C, now live in six units and 10+ lines. Quicker broker replies and consistent, auditable calls-humans decide.
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2026 Insurtech + AI Demo Day Calendar Announced: See Working Tools, No Sales Pitches
Insurance AI Demo Days 2026 calendar is out, featuring product walk-throughs in back-to-back demos. Compare tools in hours and register for free at riskyfuture.com/demo-days.
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Latest AI News for IT and Development
AI Code Looks Right, Breaks More: 1.7x More Issues Spur Call for Guardrails
AI-assisted code ships fast but triggers more review problems-about 1.7x, with spikier PRs. Add context, enforce strict CI and tests, security checks, and require second reviews.
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1Password and Cursor bring just-in-time secrets to AI development without hardcoded keys
1Password + Cursor bring just-in-time secrets to AI dev via hooks, approved at runtime and never saved to disk. Teams keep keys out of source and enforce policy without slowing dev.
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6 Scary AI Predictions for 2026: Layoffs, China's Propaganda Push, and Agents and Robots on the Rise
2026 won't be quiet: layoffs, data-center snarls, rogue agents, deepfake scams, boring-but-valuable robots, and stricter regs. Here's what to do to stay valuable and employed.
Read more →
Latest AI News for Legal
AI Won't Kill All the Lawyers-but It Will Change What They Do
AI is taking the grunt work and stressing old billing models. Firms that set guardrails and retrain will sell judgment, not minutes; those that don't will lose on price.
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Manupatra AI Search Sets a New Standard for Intent-Driven, Source-Backed Legal Research in India
Manupatra AI Search reads legal intent in plain language and returns cited results rooted in Indian law. Get faster answers with precedent, provenance, and context you can trust.
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Protégé General AI brings LexisNexis content, client documents, and web insights together in one secure legal workflow
Protégé General AI unites LexisNexis content, your docs, and web insights in one secure Lexis+ AI flow with Shepard's-backed cites. Pick Legal or General mode and best-fit models.
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Lejit.ai launches mobile app to make legal help simple for everyone
Kerala's Lejit.ai has rolled out a mobile app that gives everyday people clear, step-by-step legal help. It also streamlines work for lawyers and is gearing up for global reach.
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New York to Require Disclosures for AI-Generated Performers in Ads, Fines Up to $5,000
NY now requires clear labels when ads use AI "synthetic performers," with fines and limited exemptions. Legal teams: set standards, update contracts, and be ready by June 9, 2026.
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Hamburg police launch legal action against AI-made fake female officer accounts pushing paid content
Hamburg police are moving against AI-generated profiles posing as female officers selling paywalled adult content. They urge reports and quick takedowns by platforms.
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Latest AI News for Management
AI Is Coming for Your Financial Advisor-and Might Do the Job Better
AI is taking the portfolio wheel-lower fees, fewer panic moves, steadier rules. Leaders should codify discipline, automate the basics, and build a hybrid before the market decides.
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Latest AI News for Marketing
Budgets and Culture, Not AI, Will Set the Pace for 2026 MENA Media and Marketing
AI talks big for 2026, but budgets, culture, and where the work gets made will call the shots. Think Dubai HQ, Saudi Arabic-first growth, uneven tech and gaming ripe for brands.
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From SEO to GEO: Make sure AI finds you
Search is moving from links to AI answers-if you're not cited, you're invisible. Learn what engines reward and how to build GEO-ready pages, measure impact, and earn mentions.
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From sandbox to supply chain: AI retools marketing for speed, brand accuracy, and scale
AI is baked into marketing, from briefs to media. Brand-tuned models cut cycle time, but reviews, rights, and governance are the new bottlenecks.
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Latest AI News for Operations
Automate, Audit, Adapt: Centralized AI Decisioning for Faster, Compliant Lending
AI decisioning makes lending faster and easier. Centralized rules cut cycle time, reduce rework, improve audit clarity, and ship updates in days-no rip-and-replace.
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Riot Platforms Slides 12.5% as It Bets Big on AI Data Centers
Riot Platforms is shifting from Bitcoin mining to AI data centers, starting builds in Corsicana, TX. Ops teams should track MW access, cooling, long leads, preleasing, and funding.
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Robots on the Work Order: IFS and Boston Dynamics Sync Spot with Field Service
IFS and Boston Dynamics are pairing AI service tools with Spot robots to take on on-site inspections. Expect fewer dispatches, quicker fixes, safer work, and cleaner data.
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From Fiber Sensing to Quantum-Safe Security: AI Boosts Efficiency Across Oil and Gas Networks
AI and network automation turn small gains into impact across exploration, production, and transport. Think fiber sensing, predictive capacity, digital twins, layered security.
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StackGen Named 2025 Gartner Cool Vendor for AI in IT Operations - Intent-Driven, Autonomous Infrastructure at the Velocity of Code
StackGen was named a 2025 Gartner Cool Vendor for AI in IT Operations. Its AIP turns intent into compliant deployments and scales from human review to autopilot.
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Latest AI News for PR and Communications
Tata Communications takes majority stake in Commotion to push AI deeper into customer journeys
Tata Communications bought 51% of Commotion for AI-led customer interactions, moving from reactive to predictive support. Expect faster resolution and agent assist.
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Own the Engine, Free the People: PR's Next Operating Model
Put people up front and let AI handle the grind. Rework roles, workflows, and data so teams think more, burn out less, and clients get faster, cleaner results with accountability.
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Larian's AI backlash, TikTok's U.S. spinoff, and a Rams apology
PR quick hits: Larian clarifies AI use, TikTok plans U.S. spinout by 2026, Nacua apologizes, UnitedHealth posts audit goals. Clear guardrails, calm voices, and trackers win trust.
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Pathos Communications floats in London, targeting SMEs with AI-driven PR
Pathos Communications lists in London, betting on AI-first PR for SMEs. Expect faster turnarounds, clearer metrics, and hybrid models where human strategy still leads.
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Latest AI News for Product Development
PTC and Lamborghini bring an AI product lifecycle from CAD to service, debuting at CES 2026
Lamborghini is unifying CAD, PLM, ALM, and service on PTC's stack-Creo, Windchill, Codebeamer-with AI. Net result: traceability, faster changes, and service feedback that counts.
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Neural Concept raises $100M Series C led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives to scale AI engineering platform and launch generative CAD in 2026
Neural Concept raised $100M Series C led by Goldman Sachs to embed AI in CAD/CAE, cutting design cycles from months to days. Partners include Nvidia and Siemens.
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Nutriband Explores Quantum-AI Collaboration with Qvanta for Secure Pharma R&D and Abuse-Deterrent Patch Development
Nutriband signed a nonbinding LOI with Qvanta to explore secure AI, quantum-ready modeling, and cybersecurity for pharma R&D. No deal yet; diligence and GxP fit come first.
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Latest AI News for Real Estate and Construction
Beycome lands $2.5M seed to grow its flat-fee AI real estate platform nationwide
Beycome raised $2.5M to scale its AI, flat-fee platform for home sales. Sellers pick $99-$999 upfront; 18,500 homes closed and roughly $215M saved.
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AI Moves In: China's Developers Race to Rewire Real Estate
China's developers are moving AI from pilots to daily ops across land bids, design, builds, and sales. The focus: lower costs, faster cycles, smarter service-and scaling what works.
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Latest AI News for Sales
Bosch's plug-in AI unit adds voice, in-cabin vision, and Microsoft 365 to existing car cockpits
Bosch's AI add-on upgrades cockpits with voice, cabin awareness, and Microsoft 365-no redesign needed. Adds 150-200 TOPS via NVIDIA Orin, plus safety assists during calls.
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Latest AI News for Science and Research
Stop Feeding the Machine: Let Academia Set the Rules for AI in Research
Scholars, not platforms, should set AI rules for open science. Demand reciprocity and curb scraping so openness boosts quality and equity without feeding closed models.
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Revvity's Signals Xynthetica brings AI and lab reality together to speed discovery
Revvity's Signals Xynthetica links AI-led design with lab data, tying generation, prediction, and optimization into a feedback loop. Pre-registration open; early access in H1 2026.
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A11yShape lets blind and low-vision programmers build and verify 3D models independently
A11yShape lets blind and low-vision coders build 3D models with code, synced views, and GPT-4o help. Early studies show less guesswork and clearer, more trustworthy output.
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AI makes scientists more prolific, and quality harder to spot
AI is boosting paper counts while the signal gets harder to spot. A Cornell study finds output surging and editors flooded with polished drafts of uncertain value.
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AI listens in as UVic researchers decode fish conversations
UVic researchers use AI to decode fish calls, identifying species, behavior, and habitat shifts from hydrophone streams. Faster labeling yields cleaner data for ecology.
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Latest AI News for Writers
Adobe hit with class action over claims it trained AI on pirated books
Adobe faces a class-action alleging it trained SlimLM on pirated books, including the plaintiff's. Adobe disputes it, but the case could set rules on consent, credit, and pay.
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AI Still Can't Pass for Human on the Page
A new study finds AI writes clean but samey, clustering into one style. Human prose sprawls with voice and rhythm-use the tools, but double down on choices only you'd make.
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Jimmy Wales: AI can't write an encyclopedia, and Grokipedia shows why
Jimmy Wales says AI-made encyclopedias can't be trusted without sources, edits, and standards. Grokipedia's growth aside, hallucinations and bias mean writers must verify facts.
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Write Breeze Bundles AI Writing, SEO, and Image Generation Into One Content Hub
Write Breeze bundles 40+ AI tools to plan, draft, edit, and ship content faster, with SEO, trend checks, images, and social support. Fewer tabs, cleaner copy, smoother handoffs.
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