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Sunday, 1 November · updated 4 min ago

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AI News

Hard terms in each story, explained in plain English.

Jobs

AI Layoffs Are Creating a New Group of Boomerang Employees

A post on Hacker News points to a new kind of worker: people whose jobs were cut because of AI and who later return to the same company. The headline calls them boomerang employees. The shared link is a Reddit thread, and the post has only a few early votes, so the details are limited.

Quick glossaryBoomerang employees, Layoffs, Hacker News
Boomerang employees
Workers who were let go from a job and later return to the same company to work again.
Layoffs
Job cuts where a company ends the employment of some staff to reduce costs or workforce size.
Hacker News
A link-sharing website run by Y Combinator where tech users post and vote on stories.
reddit.com
Burning Potato score: 74%
Tools

Gmail and Chrome Will Auto-Fill Online Forms Using AI

Google is adding a free feature to its Gmail email service and Chrome browser that uses artificial intelligence to fill out online forms automatically. This means online forms will be completed with AI help, without users typing every detail by hand.

Quick glossaryGoogle, Chrome, Gmail
Google
Google is the American tech company best known for its search engine, Gmail email service, and Chrome web browser.
Chrome
Google's web browser, the app people use to open websites and move between web pages on a computer or phone.
Gmail
Gmail is Google's free email service, where people send, receive and store messages in an online inbox.
Gazeta Express
Burning Potato score: 73%
Security

Researchers Show a Way to Take Over ChatGPT Accounts

Security researchers at Parameter Labs describe a weakness they found in ChatGPT's feature that shows interactive custom web pages inside a chat. The feature was earlier called Canvas and is now called HTML previews. The team's write-up explains how they used the flaw to take over ChatGPT accounts, which puts users' personal chats and data at risk.

Quick glossaryChatGPT, exploit, HTML previews
ChatGPT
A chatbot made by OpenAI, a US company best known for ChatGPT and its other AI tools.
exploit
A method that takes advantage of a mistake in software so someone can do things they should not be allowed to do.
HTML previews
A feature that shows small web pages or apps directly inside a chat window so users can interact with them.
Simon Willison's Weblog
Burning Potato score: 72%
Research

Google's StreamVibe Video AI Speaks Up Only When Help Is Needed

Google researchers built StreamVibe, an AI that watches videos of tasks like cooking or assembling furniture and speaks up only when someone needs help. A new test found that none of the tested AI models reliably chose the right moment to step in during longer videos, since mistakes pile up over time.

Quick glossaryGoogle, benchmark, video agent
Google
A US tech giant best known for its search engine, Android phones and its Gemini AI models.
benchmark
A standard test used to compare how well different AI systems perform on the same tasks.
video agent
An AI system that works on its own to finish a task, here by watching live video of what people are doing.
The Decoder
Burning Potato score: 72%
Jobs

Critical Software Lays Off 200 as It Rebuilds Around AI

Critical Software, based in Coimbra, Portugal, is rebuilding itself around artificial intelligence. About 200 people are being laid off as part of the change. The move shows how AI is reshaping work inside software firms, so staff and readers in the tech sector may want to follow how the company's new direction plays out.

Quick glossaryCritical Software
Critical Software
Critical Software is a software company based in Coimbra, Portugal, as described in the story's source link.
ai.pt
Burning Potato score: 71%
Safety

AI Chatbots Can Send Hikers Off Track in Remote Areas

Relying on AI chatbots to plan hikes can lead people to stop thinking for themselves about routes and risks. In remote backcountry areas, that over-reliance may have deadly results. The warning highlights how easy it is to hand over your judgement to a machine when you are far from help.

Quick glossaryWired, backcountry, chatbot
Wired
A US-based technology magazine and website known for in-depth reporting on tech, science and how digital tools shape everyday life.
backcountry
Remote wild land far from roads, towns and rescue help, where hikers must rely on their own skills.
chatbot
A computer program you talk to by typing, which gives answers that sound human and can sometimes be wrong.
Wired AI
Burning Potato score: 71%
Security

Scottish MSPs Launch AI and Cyber Group Amid Data Warning

A new group of Scottish MSPs has been launched to focus on AI and cyber issues. An expert has warned that Scotland does not yet have laws covering stolen data. The story comes from The Herald, and the full report may give more details on what the group will do.

Quick glossaryMSPs, cyber
MSPs
Members of the Scottish Parliament, the elected politicians who represent local areas in Scotland's national law-making body.
cyber
Relating to computers, the internet and protecting digital systems from attacks by hackers or criminals.
The Herald
Burning Potato score: 71%
Jobs

Microsoft Offers Voluntary Severance to 60,000 Staff

Microsoft is offering voluntary severance packages to about 60,000 employees, roughly a quarter of its workforce. This is the second such programme this year. Its headcount has stayed flat at around 223,000 since 2022, even as it plans to spend about $170 billion on AI infrastructure while protecting teams critical to AI work.

Quick glossaryMicrosoft, voluntary severance, AI infrastructure
Microsoft
An American software giant best known for Windows, the Office apps and its Azure cloud computing service.
voluntary severance
A payment package offered to employees who agree to leave their jobs, rather than being forced out.
AI infrastructure
The physical computers, chips and data centres needed to build and run artificial intelligence systems.
The Decoder
Burning Potato score: 71%
Jobs

Will AI Take Your Job? Why You Have More Control Than You Think

A new Vox article asks whether AI will take your job. Its main message is that workers have more agency than they might think in how AI changes their work. The piece has been shared on Hacker News, where it has drawn little discussion so far.

Quick glossaryVox, agency
Vox
A US news website best known for explainer articles on politics, technology, and culture.
agency
The ability to make your own choices and actively shape what happens to you in your work and life.
vox.com
Burning Potato score: 70%
Privacy

OpenAI Will Train on Some Cyber Session Data Even After Opt-Out

OpenAI says that from November 29 it will use data from Daybreak Blue cybersecurity sessions to train its models, even for users who have turned off training. After public backlash, a follow-up email promised a separate opt-out option. The move revives concerns from an earlier dispute with mathematicians.

Quick glossaryOpenAI, Daybreak Blue, opt-out, training
OpenAI
OpenAI is a San Francisco company behind ChatGPT, best known for its popular AI chatbot and language models.
Daybreak Blue
A name for cybersecurity sessions whose data OpenAI plans to use to teach its AI models in the future.
opt-out
A way for users to refuse something by choosing not to take part in it, such as data use.
training
Teaching an AI system by feeding it large amounts of examples so it learns patterns and gets better at tasks.
The Decoder
Burning Potato score: 70%
Jobs

NatWest to Cut 1,000 More Jobs After AI Drive

UK bank NatWest has announced 1,000 more job cuts. The cuts come after its drive to work more efficiently with AI. For bank staff, this means their roles are at risk, and it shows how AI is reshaping work in big banks.

Quick glossaryNatWest, efficiency drive
NatWest
NatWest is a large British bank, best known for its high street branches and online banking services.
efficiency drive
A push to get more work done from the same staff, time and money, usually by cutting waste.
independent.co.uk
Burning Potato score: 69%
Prices

OpenAI Ends Unlimited Use Plans, Moves ChatGPT to Token Quotas

OpenAI is merging the Chat and Work modes of ChatGPT into one interface. From December, Plus, Pro and Business plans will share a token-based usage limit for ChatGPT and Codex. Heavier, more advanced models will use up more of that limit, while simple instant chats will not count toward it.

Quick glossaryOpenAI, Token-based quota, Codex
OpenAI
The San Francisco-based AI company best known for ChatGPT, a popular chatbot used by millions worldwide.
Token-based quota
A usage limit measured in small pieces of text, so heavier tasks use up more of your allowance.
Codex
A coding assistant from OpenAI that helps people write, fix and edit computer programs using plain instructions.
The Decoder
Burning Potato score: 69%

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