The tech world is still reeling from the shock departure of Sam Altman from OpenAI, after the former CEO and ChatGPT boss was sensationally fired by the artificial intelligence company last week. (Update 11/22, 4:49am ET: The latest news points to Sam Altman back as OpenAI CEO today alongside a new-look board. Our original story about Altman’s firing follows).

It’s an event that frankly no one saw coming, especially after Altman led OpenAI’s first developer conference and helped launch its latest product and language model, GPT-4 Turbo.

Over the weekend, the rumors were that the recently ousted Altman would make a swift and equally dramatic return to the OpenAI throne. That hasn’t transpired and the company has now appointed a new interim CEO, with Altman finding a new role at Microsoft. Read on to find out and why Sam Altman was fired and who OpenAI’s new CEO is.

What’s the Real Reason Sam Altman Was Fired?

Announcing Altman’s departure from the company, OpenAI’s board said that the decision was due to the former CEO failing to be “…consistently candid in his communications with the board”.

However, the real reason Sam Altman was fired may be a more deeply rooted ideological clash over AI ethics between the former CEO and his overlords on in the OpenAI boardroom.

According to CNN and its correspondent Kara Swisher, who claims to have spoken to sources close to the OpenAI crisis, Altman’s strategy of aggressively pushing AI development was at odds with some board members, who preferred a more cautious approach.

Yea

— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) November 18, 2023

Altman’s Ousting a “Coup” for OpenAI Researchers

Another report by The Verge sheds even more light on why Sam Altman was fired and points to serious tensions between OpenAI’s research and product arms.

The tech site says that one particular OpenAI board member, chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, was central to the firing of Sam Altman, citing “multiple sources.”

It goes on to suggest that the move represents something of a “coup” at the company and ties in with the theory that some at OpenAI feel the company is advancing products like ChatGPT too fast, at the expense of more thorough research and safety vetting.

However, Altman’s AI story is far from over. Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, took to X earlier to state that Altman, along with former OpenAI Co-Founder Greg Brockman, who resigned in protest at Altman’s firing, would be leading a new Microsoft AI team.

We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI and have confidence in our product roadmap, our ability to continue to innovate with everything we announced at Microsoft Ignite, and in continuing to support our customers and partners. We look forward to getting to know Emmett…

— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) November 20, 2023

Who is the New OpenAI CEO?

Chaos has reigned at OpenAI over the last few days, but the company finally appears to be drawing a line under the Altman era, despite the consequences of doing so.

According to The Information, OpenAI stands to potentially lose out on an $86 billion share sale due to current instability at the company.

The new OpenAI CEO has their work cut out for them steadying the ship and continuing to drive forward the company’s leading edge AI chatbot, ChatGPT, which was become virtually synonymous with artificial intelligence over the last 18 months.

Taking on this task, after a short tenure by Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Mira Murati in the hot seat over the weekend, is Emmett Shear. Shear is best known as the co-founder of Amazon-owned video streaming site Twitch .

Black Friday has technically been and gone, but as you’ve probably realized by now, it’s not really a 24 hour or even a weekend shopping event anymore. It’s now a solid week’s worth of sales and that means we’ve come to the latest crescendo: Cyber Monday 2023. Many retailers save their best deals for today, so let’s take a look at 12 of the most legit Cyber Monday deals for home office workers.

Despite all of the noise about enforced office returns, many big name companies still offer remote work and are even hiring for fully remote jobs this month. It’s therefore essential to have a solid remote working setup these days, but unfortunately your company probably isn’t going to pay for you to level up your home office in the post-pandemic world.

Whether you’re looking for a new iPad, more comfortable chair, better sized monitor, or even something to keep the kids busy, we’re here to help you find the right gear for less than ever before. I’ve been covering Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals for more than 10 years. This means I know that while there are loads of great deals out there right now, there are also plenty of lemons.

That’s why every deal in this guide is price checked to ensure it’s the cheapest or near cheapest it has been. You can shop with confidence today and all week, knowing this guide features only legit Cyber Monday home office deals and absolutely no filler. Now, let’s jump in and see what deals are still going strong today.

Best Cyber Monday Deals 2023: Save $75 on Premium Nespresso Machine

I’ve spent the build up to Black Friday highlighting deals on dedicated home office furniture, computers and other responsible stuff. Now the big day itself is here, it’s finally time to treat yo’self and what better than way than by upgrading your remote working caffeine fix?

Over the years, I’ve made coffee just about every way possible at home, from a fancy espresso machine to a rough and ready French press by way of jumping on the Aeropress bandwagon. Nothing beats the convenience of a trusty Nespresso machine, however, and with more and more artisan roasters offering compatible pods, quality and choice is no longer the blocker it once was for coffee snobs like me.

That’s why I’m loving this 30% off deal on the Nespresso VertuoPlus by Breville, which is compact enough to fit in any home office but comes bundled with a Nespresso Aeroccino3 milk frother so you can make barista-style drinks at home. Get it now for just $175 to celebrate Black Friday, which is a very tasty $75 off its list price.

You can definitely get Nespresso machines for less, but it’s worth investing a bit more if you’re into your beans and is still way cheaper than most other premium coffee makers.

Featured Apple Cyber Week Deals: $100 Off Apple iPad (10th Gen)

Apple products are notoriously difficult to find deals on, but this Black Friday you can take advantage of a rare opportunity to save a cool $100 on one of the latest iPads.

Right now, Amazon is offering $100 off the 2022 iPad (10th Gen), which brings its price down to a more affordable $349 – the cheapest it has ever been on Amazon by some margin, as you can see in the graph below.

For that, you get Apple’s most recent standard edition tablet, which comes with an excellent quality 10.9-inch Retina display, A14 Bionic chip, and the latest version of Apple’s productivity friendly iPadOS software.

I love this deal because a tablet is such a handy tool to have when working from home. Responding to emails, Slack messages, and managing your calendar is all a cinch on an iPad, while notetaking comes into its own on more recent models like this one thanks to Apple Pencil support.

I’ve used many iPads over the years for everything from work to watching Netflix when travelling. Not only is this user-friendly model an ideal fit for the work/life balance of remote workers, I can safely say that this is one of the best iPad deals I’ve seen in over a decade covering the Black Friday sales.

Amazon Cyber Monday Deals: Save $50 on This Amazon Echo Bundle

Amazon’s Echo range of smart speakers weren’t originally designed to help you work remotely, but these days there’s loads they do that helps you stay on top of things at home.

It’s currently a $50 off at Amazon and comes bundled with a smart light bulb for good measure. Most importantly, I can confirm the price is the lowest ever for the product, as you can see from the graph below.

From hourly NPR news summaries to helping you schedule calls and meetings with a range of popular calendars (Gmail/G Suite, Office 365/Outlook, iCloud and more), an Echo speaker powered by Alexa is a great addition to any home – whether for your office or as a stocking stuffer this holiday season.

The model I’m recommending today is the latest 5th gen Echo Dot launched only last year. Its compact size make it the perfect fit for a home office, while its speaker delivers crisp, good quality sound without being overpowering. The icing on the cake, though, is the fact that this Dot doubles as a mesh Wi-Fi extender in the US and Canada.

Don’t just take my word for it, though. Over 50,000 people have reviewed it on Amazon and it’s sitting pretty with a 4.5/5 star score. It also earned a perfect 5/5 stars and Best Buy recommendation from Expert Reviews.

9 More Legit Black Friday Deals for 2023

There are lots more great Black Friday sales on everything from monitors and office chairs to portable storage, laptops, software and more. Here are some of our favorite deals live right now.

30% Off LG UltraWide Monitor (29-inch)

If there’s one thing I’m looking to upgrade this Black Friday, it’s my monitor setup, as having the right display is the single biggest productivity booster for a home office. That’s no small statement, but it’s what I’ve honestly found having been a hybrid worker since back in 2015, way before it was fashionable.

LG makes some of the best monitors, and you’ll want to go for an UltraWide version to maximize your screen real estate. This particular model comes with all the tech features you could ask for, too, including HDR 10 and AMD FreeSync.

Over 50% Off Anker 10-in-1 Laptop Hub

MacBooks are the go-to device of choice for many flexible workers and they’re great. However, over the years Apple has stripped away the built-in ports on its laptops to a bare minimum in favor of aesthetic appeal (which, let’s face it, they’ve nailed).

Rather than buying lots of different connectors, why not invest in a single piece of hardware like this 10-in-1 port from top accessory maker Anker? As well as being ideal for MacBooks, it’s also useful for other ultra-portables like the Dell XPS range, where similar design decisions have been made.

Save $50 on 2TB SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD

Storing things in the cloud is certainly convenient, but nothing can match the peace of mind offered by having a dedicated physical storage device for your most valuable files.

Whether it’s your company financials or family holiday snaps, keeping important stuff on an external SSD is still the most tried and tested way to go when it comes to security. It’s also extremely handy as a companion to many high-end work laptops these days, as standard built-in storage specs tend to be lacking and bolstering it comes at a huge premium.

SanDisk is one of the most respected names in the storage business and this 2TB drive offers an ample amount of space for anything barring large amounts of 4K video footage. At $50 off, it might not be the most exciting deal you see this Black Friday, but it’s certainly one of the best value.

Save $250 on Dell Inspiron 16 Laptop with Epic Specs and Display

Need a new laptop this Black Friday? It’s one of the best times of year to save on big ticket buys, as this sale on the Dell Inspiron 16 5635 proves. It packs plenty of power, coming with a big 16-inch QHD display that’s perfect for home workers – especially anyone who might not have additional room for a monitor.

Beyond that, there’s a 1TB SSD and AMD Ryzen 7 CPU alongside Radeon graphics, 16GB of RAM and Windows 11. You probably don’t need me to tell you, but that’s one heck of a spec sheet for just $750, which represents a hearty $250 off its $1000 RRP.

Save Over $20 on This Ergonomic Office Chair

Sometimes, you just need to go back to basics when it comes to home working. You’re not going to get a whole lot done if you’re fiendishly uncomfortable, so investing in a good ergonomic office chair comes highly recommended by both us and medical professionals as a home office essential. You could spend thousands, but this one from Amazon’s reliable Basics range is all you need to get the job done.

$65 Off Ring Video Doorbell and Echo Show Bundle

One of the perks of home working is being able to fit life stuff in around your 9-5 commitments, but answering the door isn’t always convenient. Enter this Ring video doorbell, which pairs the easy-to-install intelligent doorbell with an Amazon Echo Show display you can keep in your home office. That way, you’ll know if it’s the all important pizza guy, or just a door-to-door salesman. This deal nets you $65 off the pair of them and gives you full control of your home security, even when you’re knee deep in an important project.

86% Off Our Top Rated VPN: Exclusive Tech.co Deal

We’re going to risk sounding a dull here by saying that cybersecurity is an important but all too often overlooked aspect of effective home working. If you’re not employed by a big company, you may not have one of the most secure VPNs provisioned by your company to fortify your connection every time you log-on to work from home.

You can still take action yourself, though, by snapping up this great Black Friday VPN deal from Surfshark, which our testers rate as the best cheap VPN.

It’s got all the features you need to secure your connection at home and when you’re on-the-go, as flexible workers tend to be. Grab it now with this exclusive Tech.co offer and it’s not just cheap – it’s stupid cheap!

$150 Off New Kindle Scribe Bundle

Released late last year, the Kindle Scribe is Amazon’s first device to combine e-reading with digital notebook functions. That makes it the perfect device for remote workers, as you use it for taking notes when you’re on the clock and unwinding in your downtime.

CoComelon Laptop Toy Down to Just $12.50

For parents, working from home can come with its own joyful array of challenges. Take the easy way out and convince your little one they’re working with Mom and Dad with this learn and play child’s laptop.

It’s currently down to just $12.50, which is over 40% off and makes it firmly in stocking stuffing territory as well. In terms of age suitably, it’s listed for 18+ months and based on my experience as a parent you should get at least six months out of it before your tot graduates to something even more obnoxious but still allegedly educational.

When is Black Friday 2023?

Black Friday traditionally takes place the day after Thanksgiving each year, so Black Friday 2023 is on Friday, November 24.

However, these days Black Friday deals drop all month long. The week leading up to Black Friday is when the online sales really start cooking, so much so that most retailers now operate a Black Friday Week. This year, that means Black Friday Week is from Friday, November 17 through Friday, November 24.

After that, you have what’s called Black Friday Weekend on Saturday, November 25 and Sunday, November 26.

When is Cyber Monday 2023?

This year’s deals action is capped off with Cyber Monday 2023 on Monday, November 27. If you haven’t already maxed out your credit card by then, kudos to you – and it’s probably time to treat yo’self already!

Cyber Monday started life as Black Friday’s online-only companion event, back when Black Friday was all about the rowdy real world deal hunting.

Since then, Black Friday has obviously taken on a significant (if not outright dominant) online element, but Cyber Monday still sees some exclusive sales that only drop on the Monday itself, so it’s worth marking on your calendars as well.

How to Find the Best Black Friday Deals This Year

I’ve covered the annual Black Friday sales mayhem for over a decade, back when people were brawling in Walmart parking lots over HD TVs (and opposed to 4K or even 8K ones).

Over the years, I’ve learnt a thing or two about picking out genuinely Black Friday deals from the lemons. I’ve used this to inform the offers picked above, but you can use the same Black Friday shopping tips today and all year round.

The fact of the matter is that some of the “price cuts” you see in so-called Black Friday “deals” aren’t genuine. It’s easy for retailers to mark up a product one day, so you they claim it’s 50% off the next, which is why you should make a habit of price checking when you’re doing your Black Friday shopping.

Amazon, where you’re likely to be doing at least some of your Black Friday deals browsing, makes this relatively easy. I always use a third-party price checking (and tracking) tool called Keepa.

It shows you a complete price history for any given Amazon listing, in handy graph form, so you can quickly get a handle on how good a deal is. It’s also got apps you can download on your phone, so you’re fully prepared when killer Lightning deals strike this Black Friday.

Another option I’ve historically use that offers similar functionality is Camelcamelcamel, though based on my latest 2023 testing, I think Keepa has comfortably overtaken it in terms of speed, accuracy and overall functionality.

A final tip is to use a VPN when shopping Black Friday deals. Even a free VPN will help stop retailers from tracking your browsing, which in turn can help unlock all of the “limited time” and “special offer” prices you might miss out on if you’re revealed as a regular visitor who doesn’t needing wooing.

Microsoft has announced a new versions of its flagship Windows software that will be available to use on Apple devices, namely the iPhone and MacBook laptops.

It seems we’ve come a long way since the Apple vs Microsoft tech war of the 1990s, with the new dedicated Windows app essentially meaning you can remotely stream the popular operating system to any device.

The catch is that Microsoft’s new Windows App, as it’s calling the port of its software, is currently only available as a preview, which means getting it up and running on your iPhone or MacBook isn’t as simple as hopping into the App Store. You still can, though, so read on as we explain how to use Windows App on your iPhone or MacBook right now.

How to Windows App on iPhone and MacBook Devices

As Microsoft has only released a preview version of its new Windows App, that means access is theoretically meant to be limited to developers. That’s because preview (or beta, if you prefer) versions of software tend to be a bit buggy and offer a less than ideal experience for everyday users.

However, if getting your hands on the latest programs and features is something that excites you, then it’s actually pretty easy to get Windows App running on Apple devices today.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Download TestFlight from the Apple App Store (or open it)
• Install Windows App through TestFlight
• Open Windows App on your device
• Press “Account”
• Log in using your Microsoft credentials

However, as it’s only available through TestFlight for now, there’s a handful of additional caveats. Let’s take a look at those in more detail so you can decide if running Windows on your Apple device is right (and going to be possible) for you.

Who Can Use Windows App on iPhones and MacBook Right Now?

As we’ve said, the version of Windows App that was immediately released at Ignite is a preview version.

This means access is restricted, which right now is to Microsoft business accounts. However, as The Verge points out the log-in page has a (currently non-functioning) placeholder for personal Microsoft account holders, which is a pretty clear sign that general access will open up in the future.

In addition, anyone who does have access will only be able to use the following Microsoft services on Apple devices.

• Windows 365
• Azure Virtual Desktop
• Microsoft Dev Box
• Remote Desktop Services

It’s pretty restrictive, in other words, but there are promising signs for the future and, frankly, it’s a pretty big surprise this day has come at all.

Read our guide on the best Apple iPad for you.

Can I Use Windows App on Android and Chromebooks?

Right now, no. The beta version of Windows App that is currently available does not support Android devices.

However, this again is subject to change and while Android is off the cards, there seem to be more immediate possibilities for running Windows on Chromebooks.

In a press release announcing Windows App, the tech giant made clear that only Android was currently off limits.

“Windows App is your gateway to Azure Virtual Desktop, Windows 365, Microsoft Dev Box, Remote Desktop Services, and remote PCs, securely connecting you to Windows devices and apps,” Microsoft says.

It added: “You can use Windows App on many different types of devices on different platforms and form factors, such as desktops and laptops, tablets, smartphones, and through a web browser. When using a web browser on a desktop or laptop, you can connect without having to download and install any software.

Going into 2024, generative AIs are the buzziest tech topic. But just one of them — ChatGPT — is getting nearly all the attention. Granted, Elon Musk’s new tool, “Grok,” is attempting to steal some limelight, but let’s not forget one of the oldest competitors: Microsoft Copilot.

Microsoft’s AI-powered Copilot service works with any Microsoft application you can name: It’s accessible for Microsoft 365, Edge, Bing, and Windows 11. Microsoft has announced Copilot will even roll out on Windows 10, despite plans to end support for that generation of the platform within a few years.

What does Microsoft Copilot do that ChatGPT or others don’t? What makes it worth figuring out? Here’s everything you need to know.

What Is Microsoft Copilot?

Copilot is a chatbot, designed for a back-and-forth conversation with any given user. This is similar to the basic iteration of ChatGPT.

Copilot lets users pick what style of conversation they want to have: More creative, more balanced, or more precise. It will help you with tasks like meal prep plans or to recommend furniture brands — answering questions that are a little too complex to just Google.

But the secret here is that “Microsoft Copilot” can refer to multiple different applications, depending on where you’re accessing them. The version on the search engine Bing has been around since February 2023 as “Bing Chat” and was recently rebranded.

On Windows 11, Copilot has appeared since late September as a button that you can click to pull up a righthand sidebar that hosts the chatbot. It works the same way on Windows 10, as of November 16.

Microsoft Copilot functions in Windows 10 with a sidebar, as it does on Windows 11. Image source: Microsoft

Why Are There So Many Versions of Microsoft Copilot?

Like any massive multinational technology corporation, Microsoft has so many different products and services, often gained through a long history of acquisitions, that establishing a single throughline can be difficult or even impossible in some cases. Calling all its AI applications “Copilot” helps the company to spackle over these differences.

We’ve mentioned the Bing version and the Windows version. Here are all the other applications:

• Github Copilot is the earliest version, and it launched the “Copilot” brand in 2021 with a coding-specific version of the AI.
• Copilot for Microsoft 365 is rolling out to the enterprise business software users across November, with non-enterprise users still waiting in line until an unspecified date.
• Sales Copilot launched in early November 2023.
• Service Copilot launched in mid-November 2023.
• Copilot in Microsoft Viva Insights previewed in January 2024, bringing AI tools to the employee management platform.

Of these all, Github Copilot is the odd one out, as it’s functions aren’t anchored in the same “foundational LLMs” that the other tools rely on.

No matter which version you use, you’re getting an AI tool that typically functions as a chat bot, delivering answers fine-tuned to the needs of the product you’re using. The search engine AI gives general answers, the 365 AI helps pull out insights from your company data, and in 2024, the Viva Insights AI will analyze employee data to deliver business-specific insights.

Copilot vs ChatGPT Pricing

Microsoft Copilot is more of an add-on than a standalone service, so its “pricing” is tough to quantify: Enterprise pricing for Microsoft 365 starts at $36.00 per user, per month, with an annual commitment, and it’s the only way to get Copilot on Microsoft 365. But you’ll also be getting a huge licensing package that includes Word, Outlook, Microsoft Teams, and way more.

A GitHub Copilot subscription costs $10 per month, or $100 per year when billed annually, although businesses must pay $19 per user per month.

Copilot for Sales, Service, or Viva Insights is bundled with the cost for those services.

Is Microsoft Copilot free?

Some versions of Microsoft Copilot — but not all — won’t cost you a cent. Head over to Bing and you’ll get that version of Copilot for the low, low cost of zero dollars. You can also get Copilot on Windows 10 and 11 for free: Just download the most recent software updates and they’ll be included.

In sharp contrast, ChatGPT pricing is easy to explain: There’s a free GPT-3 version, and there’s a paid $20-a-month version that opens up access to third-party ChatGPT plugins, a newer GPT-4 model, and integrations with the image-based AI DALL-E 3. There’s an enterpise tier of ChatGPT as well, which lets businesses train their own version with custom data.

Copilot vs ChatGPT: Data Sources

The large language models (LLM) behind ChatGPT were trained on a vast range of data publically available on the internet, scraping everything from artists’ oeuvres to entire libraries and news archives. However, both the GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 models only use data from prior to September 2021, meaning that current news stories won’t be in the mix.

Copilot, once again, is hard to explain, since it refers to different models. Here’s what to know about Copilot data sources for GitHub Copilot and the other Microsoft services.

• The GitHub Copilot is powered by the OpenAI Codex, which was trained on some of the English language, all public GitHub repositories, and additional unspecified publicly available source code.
• Copilot for Microsoft 365 and other platforms will draw on “foundational LLMs” that Microsoft uses but is targeted towards the specific tasks users are trying to accomplish when using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, Loop, and the other applications that it exists for.

Microsoft says that its “AI-powered LLMs are trained on a large but limited corpus of data” and while this is a little vague, Microsoft works closely with OpenAI (which it has invested billions into) and draws on ChatGPT to at least some extent.

So, if you use ChatGPT you get ChatGPT, and if you use a Microsoft Copilot tool, you get ChatGPT plus all the data available on your Microsoft products.

One thing we can confirm for sure: No version of Microsoft Copilot is trained on its customers’ proprietary data — it will use your data locally in order to deliver tailored business insights, but customer data won’t be added to the pool of data that the AI itself learns from.

Copilot vs ChatGPT: Who Actually Owns Them?

ChatGPT is owned by OpenAI, one of the biggest brands in AI companies right now. The LLM that powers ChatGPT is considered the best in the business, beating even a new coding-centric LLM Microsoft was working on this last summer.

Meanwhile, GitHub Copilot is powered by the OpenAI Codex, owned by, you guessed it, OpenAI. Even the platform that launched the entire suite of Microsoft’s Copilot AI products was powered by the company behind ChatGPT.

Availability: How to Explore Copilot

There’s no better way to start trying out Microsoft Copilot than with its free chatbot iterations: Hop over to the search engine Bing or download the latest version of Windows 11.

They’re both free, and they’re both great ways to hold a conversation with the version of AI that Microsoft has stamped its brand name onto.

Attracting the best and brightest up-and-comers is a challenge for any business: They need to offer great perks that will catch the attention of great employees without coming at too large a monetary cost.

Pizza parties won’t do the trick. Businesses need to offer suitable insurance, retirement, and other benefits in order to stay competitive. But to stand out, they need to go beyond the norm. In late 2023, a new contender has emerged to win over hearts and minds: Pet insurance.

Anyone with a cat, dog, or hamster knows that medical emergencies can come out of nowhere and wipe out their savings. Now, some businesses are here to help — well, provided you work for them.

Why Everyone Loves Pet Insurance

Pet insurance makes sense as an employer benefit for very practical reasons: The best benefits must be attractive to a wide range of people, no matter their age, gender, or interests. And granted, many people won’t have pets. But loving pets isn’t a trait that’s constrained to workers within a specific industry or group.

“It certainly has now become mainstream and come in vogue,” as Brian Russell, the voluntary benefits practice leader for consulting firm Mercer, told HR Dive when discussing the topic. “It transcends all types of employer groups; it’s not just limited to one industry… Employers are really finding that it is a benefit that can appeal to a majority of their employee populations, regardless of their generation, regardless of their other statuses.”

Plus, companies can get an unbeatable group rate when they’re offering packages to hundreds or thousands of workers at once, meaning that the company and each individual employee saves money.

And it likely doesn’t come as much of a surprise that people love their pets. A survey earlier this year from MetLife Pet Insurance has confirmed this: According to their results, eight out of every ten pet parents say they’d rather spend time with their pet than go out on a first date, while nearly seven out of ten say they they “love their pet more than some family members.”

Who’s Offering Pet Insurance Benefits?

We ranked the best benefits packages from tech companies earlier this year, and just one of them was ahead of the curve. In fact, you could say that the financial software Intuit was one of a few forward-looking companies that could — and we here at Tech.co deeply apologize for this pun — intuit the next trend in workplace benefits.

You can check out a list of the tech companies that offer pet insurance here — plenty of AI and fintech operations make the cut, along with ecommerce, healthtech and others.

The exact nature of the benefits might range from an annual stipend of $500 or $800 to a full program covering 70% of all medical needs.

Is Pet Insurance Part of a Return-to-Office Agenda?

There’s one last reason pet insurance is popular, and you might not see it coming: Pet insurance pairs well with pet-friendly workplaces, and both these benefits can be packaged with a subtle push for a return to the office. After all, who can argue against their diminishing workplace flexibility benefits when there are so many cute puppies in the office?

And, for those who wish to stay at home mostly to care for their pets, adding pet-friendly workplace policies can lure them back in.

It all helps to support the agenda that a lot of CEOs have been not-so-quietly telling employees to get behind in 2023: More time spent in a physical office, justifying middle managers and office space leases.

We still recommend pushing back against a return-to-office, due to studies indicating workers function better, are more healthy, and cut down on carbon footprints when given full remote flexibility. But we have to agree: If you are heading back to the office, being able to bring along Mittens is a pretty great deal-sweetener.

Staying safe online has become a full-time job. Between security breaches and phishing scams, navigating your personal and business security is far more stressful than it used to be.

However, while bad actors continue to evolve, technology has done its best to keep up, with a wide range of tools designed to keep you safe online. Password managers are one of those tools, providing users and businesses with a secure means of storing and using passwords.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to set up a password manager, as well as explaining exactly what a password manager is and which providers are the best for your business.

What Is a Password Manager?

A password manager is a digital tool used by individuals and businesses alike to store, manage, and secure as many passwords as you need.

Locked behind a master password, all your account credentials are thoroughly encrypted for security purposes, but they’re also easily accessible for you to log in to your accounts without a hassle.

How to Set Up a Password Manager

It’s time to set up your password manager! The process isn’t too complicated, but when it comes to your online security, you definitely want to make sure that you get it right. Here’s a step-by-step process to help you set up a password manager:

1. Pick a Password Manager

The first step to getting a password manager set up is to actually pick one. We’ve done a lot of research on the best password manager options available to businesses and individuals, which should be able to help you narrow down your options.

Some password managers offer free plans, but the majority require a monthly subscription fee. Typically, you can save a bit of money on password managers by signing up for a longer contract, but we’d recommend holding off until you’re sure you actually like it.

2. Create your Master Password

The goal of a password manager is, of course, to securely store your password and make it easier to log in to your accounts. However, password managers still require some level of security to keep everything safe, so you will have to create a master password for the service to secure your account.

These master passwords are typically required to be a bit longer and more complex than your average password to ensure that your account is as secure as possible. Some password managers will even suggest master passwords for you, which are typically just a random collection of characters that would be impossible to guess.

The login page for NordPass
Image: NordPass

3. Log in to your accounts

It would be pretty cool if password managers could just automatically know all of your passwords in an instant to make logging in immediately easier. Unfortunately, technology hasn’t come that far just yet, so you will have to manually input your account information into the password manager.

However, the good news is that it won’t be that much work if you’re willing to be patient. Most password managers will prompt you when you log into a particular platform, asking if you’d like to save that password to your account. Once you’ve done so, you’ll be able to easily access your accounts with a click, knowing they’re secure.

4. Check for weak passwords

Password managers don’t automatically make all of your accounts secure; they just store your passwords. Subsequently, if your passwords are weak, even a password manager can’t stop a cyber criminal from guessing your password and gaining access to your account.

However, most password managers have a strength check feature that will let you know if you passwords are particularly vulnerable to being compromised. Given the average user has more than 100 passwords, it’s safe to assume that you’ll have at least a few weak passwords, so make sure to go into your password manager after it’s set up and change your passwords to be more secure based on its recommendations.

5. Get the browser extension

Obviously, the point of a password manager is to keep your account secure but making it easier to login to your accounts is a nice little perk. The best way to ensure that your login experience will be seamless with your password manager is to download the browser extension.

The browser extension for a given password manager will essentially allow you to access your account credentials on the login page of any website that you have an account. So, when you want to login, all you have to do is click on the icon, and you’ll be on your way to securely accessing your account in seconds.

Browser extensions available with NordPass
Image: NordPass

What Is the Best Password Manager?

At Tech.co, we’ve done a lot of research on business software, including password managers, so our readers can get in-depth, actionable information to help make the right decisions for their company.

As a result, we can confidently say that the best password manager on the market is NordPass, offering comprehensive business features, unmatched security assurances, and an easy-to-use browser plug-in for a seamless login experience across the web.

However, that doesn’t mean NordPass is the best password manager for your particular business, though. Make sure to check out our best password manager guide to learn more about your options and check out the table below for a clear picture of what’s out there.

Despite the mounting evidence of multiple benefits, from higher revenue growth to more productive employees, resistance to flexible and remote working persists. This time, from tech giant Amazon.

Based on internal communications sent this week, Amazon issued instructions to managers that stated employees who are in line for promotions must be compliant with the company’s return-to-office mandate.

The official Amazon policy, introduced in February this year, requires employees to come into the office at least three days a week.

Supporting Employee Growth

Based on the communications, non-compliance of Amazon’s return-to-office policy could potentially put promotions on hold, requiring the decision to go above a manager’s level for approval from a vice president instead.

According to the company’s spokesperson, non-adherence to the policy isn’t the only reason a promotion may be rejected, but it does contribute to the decision. 

“Promotions are one of the many ways we support employees’ growth and development. Like any company, we expect employees who are being considered for promotion to be in compliance with company guidelines and policies.” 

A Contentious Policy

The introduction of this seemingly contentious policy is interestingly not the first of its kind. 

Prior to this, Amazon gave managers the green light to terminate employees who did not adhere to its return-to-office policy. This also led to the company’s CEO Andy Jassy to express frustration over people not coming in for the required three days. During an internal meeting he stated:

“It’s past the time to disagree and commit. If you can’t disagree and commit, it’s probably not going to work out for you at Amazon because we are going back to the office at least three days a week.” – Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon

All of this comes following a previous policy — which has since been revoked — that put the power of remote working and flexibility in the hands of individual teams and colleagues. 

Amazon employees have also been vocal in their disagreement with the return-to-office mandate. 

Amazon’s Year of Restructuring

While this latest policy relates to promotions specifically and allegedly won’t result in terminations, it does seem to go hand in hand with the recent restructuring efforts and layoffs at Amazon. 

As well as the recent cuts from its gaming division, the tech giant has laid off 10,000 corporate and technology staff members from its devices, retail, and human resources division too. To date, the company has let go of a total of 27,000 employees in the past year alone. 

This comes despite its Q3 net income far surpassing analyst estimates, with revenue increasing by 13% to $143.1 billion. 

As is common with any big technological advancement, the AI boom over the last year has paved the way for a myriad of new scams. From AI-assisted phishing attempts to voice cloning plots, AI scams continue to pop up out of nowhere with the goal of stealing money and personal information from users.

Fortunately, Google has plans to put a stop to at least one scam by suing the culprits for their nefarious behavior.

Google Sues Malware Scammers

Announced by Google this week, the tech giant has officially filed a lawsuit against a group of scammers that have been using Google branding to trick users into downloading malware instead of the company’s AI chatbot Bard.

“As public excitement in new generative AI tools has increased, scammers are increasingly taking advantage of unsuspecting users.” – Halimah DeLaine Prado, general counsel for Google

The lawsuit isn’t Google only recourse for stopping this kind of behavior. The company noted in the announcement that it had already filed 300 takedowns related to the group, but that the lawsuit will take a more proactive approach to stop them from happening in the future.

How the Google Bard Scam Works

The Google Bard scam in question isn’t that complicated, but unfortunately, that’s what makes it so successful. Scammers simply created social media pages and ran ads that claimed to provide users with a download link to use Google Bard, the increasingly popular AI chatbot from the tech giant.

However, instead of downloading Google Bard, the link would download malware onto the unsuspecting user’s device. This malware would then be used to steal login credentials for the user’s social media accounts, compromising their security across the web.

The problem has been persistent over the last few months, with Google Bard and ChatGPT both seeing an increase in scammers using their services to trick users into downloading malware onto their devices.

Check out our Google Bard vs ChatGPT guide to see how they match up

Is Google Bard Safe to Use?

Avoiding the Google Bard scam is actually quite easy. All you have to do is never download anything that claims to be Google Bard or any Google AI software, as the service is available to users without the need for a download in the first place.

Beyond that, though, Google Bard as safe as any AI chatbot to use on a regular basis. The company does store your data by default for 18 months, although you can change that setting to as little as three months and as long as 36 months, according to the privacy policy for Google Bard.

It’s important to note that the generative AI boom over the last year has opened up the door for a lot of scammers to take advantage. In fact, one study found that there are “virtually unlimited” ways to dodge AI safety guidelines, which means that you need to be extra vigilant if you want to avoid getting scammed.

OpenAI has announced it is temporarily stopping new users from signing up to its paid ChatGPT Plus service, due to “overwhelming demand” following the recent launch of its GPT-4 Turbo model.

Last week at the company’s first developer conference, dubbed OpenAI DevDay, it unveiled the newer and cheaper Turbo language models alongside custom GPTs – a new feature that allows paying use to create their own chatbots.. 

The AI startup also shared the news that around 100 million people use its tools every week, with over 90% of Fortune 500 companies said to be building tools on the platform.

New ChatGPT Plus Features Boost Demand

ChatGPT Plus is the paid version of OpenAI’s wildly popular chatbot, ChatGPT. It costs $20 a month and subscribers benefit from a host of premium features.

Previously, that meant access to OpenAI’s GPT-4 large language model, as well as things like the ability to use ChatGPT plugins and take advantage of integration of its DALL -E AI image generator.

Now, it also includes GPT-4 Turbo access and OpenAI’s custom GPT creator, which lets you make your own GPTs for a range of specific tasks. Examples include creative design, teaching, and gaming – but really you can build one for anything and all without the need for any coding knowledge.

Unsurprisingly, this has generated considerable excitement amongst ChatGPT users – so much so the platform is having to shutdown signups for the time being.

Too Much Interest in ChatGPT Plus Prompts Shutdown

Put simply, the excitement around the new ChatGPT Plus features has been too much for OpenAI’s servers to handle, as people have rushed to sign up for the paid tier based on its new abilities.

In an X (formerly Twitter) post shared this week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that the pause in sign ups was to make sure user experience wasn’t impacted.

“The surge in usage post DevDay has exceeded our capacity and we want to make sure everyone has a great experience,” he wrote on the platform.

That’s somewhat ironic, given that one of the original selling points of ChatGPT Plus was that subscribers would get access to the chatbot even when demand was highest.

Is a ChatGPT Plus Subscription Even Worth it?

As a result, some people are now debating the necessity of a ChatGPT subscription plan, citing a limited number of prompts and the fact that Bing chat already offers some of the ChatGPT Plus features for free.

Other key ChatGPT Plus features are advertised include faster response times, improved stability, better translation capabilities, and of course the priority access to new features and improvements.

If you spend a lot of time using the tool, and consistently come up against being blocked due to high traffic or slowed down in your work , a subscription may be right up your street.

By the same reasoning, for more sporadic ChatGPT users who are mainly on the platform out of curiosity, the basic and free version should remain sufficient.

ChatGPT Plus Waitlist: When Will ChatGPT Subscriptions Reopen?

It’s worth knowing that subscriptions can also be cancelled at any time. When you are able to get access to one, of course.

There’s no word yet on when the subscription sign-up list will open back up. However, Altman went on to state that users can sign up to a waitlist and be notified via the app.

ChatGPT Plus is available across the world including the United States, UK, Canada, Australia, India, and more. 

In what is likely a surprise to very few, X, formerly Twitter, has been shown to be the biggest source of fake news, propaganda, and disinformation. 

Following a study of six online platforms across Poland, Slovakia, and Spain, the European Commission called for X owner Elon Musk to make a greater effort in tackling the disinformation.

This comes a little over a year since Musk purchased the platform and led it to its current questionable state.

The Battle to Stop “Half-Truths” is On

The European Union’s (EU) executive arm, the European Commission, enlisted a disinformation monitoring start-up called TrustLab to conduct the analysis. Titled ‘Code of Practice on Disinformation’, the study compared over 6,000 unique social media posts to examine the prevalence and sources of disinformation.

The prompt for the study, and rationale behind choosing those specific regions to analyse, comes down to the area’s proximity to the Ukraine war and upcoming parliamentary elections in both Poland and Slovakia.

Last month, the EU accused social media companies of failing to stop Russian propaganda and disinformation campaigns, with the “reach and influence of Kremlin-backed accounts” growing in 2023. 

The EU’s Values and Transparency Commissioner Vera Jourova warned: “The Russian state has engaged in the war of ideas to pollute our information space with half-truth and lies to create a false image that democracy is no better than autocracy.”

The analysis also looked at content from across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn. However, X was seen to be the worst offender, with the largest “ratio of discoverability” of disinformation. Interestingly, YouTube had the lowest.

The study was backed up by another report published this week by Climate Action Against Disinformation. It showed that X was the worst of all major social platforms in tackling “climate misinformation and greenwashing.”

How Did X Get Here?

What’s particularly alarming is how quick and easily it is for accounts spreading fake news to find an audience. Pair this with the fact that platforms seem to be turning a blind eye to the spread of disinformation and it’s an all-round recipe for disaster.

So how exactly did X end up in this state? From the reinstatement of banned accounts from controversial figures to charging for verification, there have been lots of factors contributing to the current adverse energy of the platform. 

However, it’s clear that the mass firing of the team who advised the platform on child abuse, self-harm, and hate speech has paved the way for this rise in controversial content. Similarly, cutting free API access to the platform was said to “harm the study of disinformation” according to the EU’s High Representative Josep Borrel. 

Following the study, Jourova made her expectations clear: “I expect the platforms to do more efforts with better results. Russian propaganda and disinformation is still very present on online platforms. This is not business as usual; the Kremlin fights with bombs in Ukraine, but with words everywhere else, including in the EU.”

Fake News Transcends Platforms

Musk describes himself as a “free speech absolutist” so really, it comes as no surprise that we are where we are.

However, as mentioned, it’s not the only social media site with its problems and the spread of fake news seems to transcend platforms. There are fundamental issues with using algorithms that throw up “news” and content a user is most likely to agree and interact with, thereby creating echo chambers of seemingly real information.

Jasion Mollica, a professional lecturer in the School of Communication at American University stated: “Social networks are now tailor-made for disinformation, but much more should be done to prevent it from spreading widely. As we’ve seen, trending topics and algorithms monetize the negativity and anger. Until that practice is curbed, we’ll see disinformation continue to dominate feeds.”

Back in May, Musk ditched the EU’s ‘Code of Practice on Disinformation’. Jourova commented on the fact that he may run, but he certainly can’t hide: “Mr Musk knows that he is not off the hook by leaving the code of practice, because now we have the Digital Services Act fully enforced. My message [for X] is: you have to comply with the hard law. We’ll be watching what you’re doing.”

If greater productivity or happier, healthier employees isn’t enough to sway CEOs into the flexible remote working movement, this latest news may.

A recent study by a technology startup has shown that the average public company, with a flexible remote working policy, outperformed on revenue growth over the past three years by 16 percentage points. This is in comparison to companies with return-to-office mandates.

The analysis of remote working policies was done by Scoop, in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group, and looked at the work policies and revenue growth of 554 public companies.

This comes following the recent successful results of Spain’s four-day working week trial, proving that flexible working provides lots of benefits for the employee, business, and our environment as a whole.

Remote Working Works

The report from Scoop, a technology developer that creates hybrid work planning tools, sought to compare the relationship between remote working policies and revenue growth. A link that, until now, had not been studied. 

The analysis looked at the revenue growth between 2020 and 2022 across a range of industries. This included technology, media, insurance, and financial services. From here it was found that fully flexible public companies significantly outperformed their peers in revenue growth by 16 percentage points.

More than that, structured hybrid companies – those who require their employees to be in the office for a certain amount of time or on certain days – also performed better on revenue growth in comparison to those who implement working in the office full time, by 13 percentage points. Companies in the data set with more restrictive policies, including set hours and days or full-time mandates, had only a 5% industry-adjusted revenue growth rate.

On the 16 percentage point revenue growth, Rob Sadow, CEO and co-founder of Scoop, stated: “That gap was really surprising to us and larger than expected”. He went on to compare Scoop’s past research of work policies and employee-number growth and concluded that “collectively they paint a pretty strong picture” for the argument of flexible working.

Flexibility Contributes to Office Culture

The data isn’t suggesting that a remote working policy is the definitive cause behind revenue growth. Rather it’s a contributing factor showing that an open-minded business culture that engages workers with autonomy and trust, and listens to their needs, will naturally support growth.

Add to this the fact that flexible remote working – and therefore fewer commutes – helps the environment and allows businesses to widen their employee talent pool search, and really CEOs start to become hard pressed to find the negatives.  

Sadow continued: “The argument a lot of execs and board members have is they believe companies that offer flexibility are going to underperform because they’re not together, that they’re not going to allow for water cooler conversations and relationships to develop. The data suggests not only is that not true in terms of underperformance, but you might actually outperform.”

Younger Companies More Likely to be Flexible

As well as the revenue growth correlation, the study identified a lot of interesting data that displayed the emerging shape of how we now work.

While companies shouldn’t feel forced into being one way or the other, that is either fully remote or full time in the office, it’s clear that flexibility is continuing to grow more prevalent. This is due to figures showing that 38% of companies now require employees to be in the office full time, which is down from the 49% identified at the start of the year.

Similarly, correlation between the age of a company and the likelihood of it offering flexible working was also found. The younger the company, the more likely it will offer flexible and remote options, no matter the size of the business or its industry. 

While on the topic of industries, Scoop also found that small companies; tech, media, and finance companies; and those with offices in the West and Northeast United States are all more likely to offer flexible working practices. So, if you’re in need of a career change to something with a little more flex, you now know where to look.

Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but it can leave a real dent in your bank account. That’s why many people turn to seasonal jobs, to earn a little income in the run up to the big day.

Traditionally, most seasonal jobs were found in retail – such as helping out on the shop floor, or delivering parcels. However, now remote jobs are becoming more and more common, and you can earn extra income without having to step outside.

We’ve collected eight seasonal roles that can be done fully remotely, so take a look and see if any of them are a good fit for you.

1. Customer Service Representative

When it comes to seasonal remote work roles, you’ll find plenty in the customer service sector. Christmas is a busy time for a lot of companies, as such they’ll be looking to hire additional staff to help field queries from customers.

Everyone from Amazon to Walmart, Apple to Nascar are currently looking for people to help provide support over the festive period.

While many of these roles will be phone based, many also involve speaking with customers via text chat, so don’t be too put off if speaking over the phone isn’t your thing.

Skills you’ll need as a customer service representative: 

• It goes without saying that you’ll need good communication skills!
• Problem solving skills are also a bonus in this field
• If you need to speak with customers over the phone, you’ll need to make sure your remote environment is quiet and distraction free

2. Data Entry Clerk

Data entry roles lend themselves nicely to remote work, and providing you can work under your own steam and don’t mind repetitive tasks, they can be a great way to make a little extra cash in the run up to Christmas.

In terms of the sort of information you’ll be entering, it could be literally anything. If you’ve never done data entry before, you’ll soon discover that the actual information doesn’t really matter – it’s just a case of getting it into the database as quickly as possible (and ensuring it’s correct, of  course).

Skills you’ll need to be a data entry clerk:

• Fast typing
• Attention to detail
• Computer literate
• Ability to work in isolation

3. Virtual Receptionist

With the Christmas break approaching fast, many of us will be planning to take time off. This includes receptionists! As such you’ll find that many companies are looking to hire virtual receptionists to cover the shortfall over Christmas.

The good news for you is that you don’t need to sit behind a desk in an office to do the job – you can just as easily do it from home. Duties will include speaking to customers/clients, routing calls, arranging appointments and so on.

Skills you’ll need to be a virtual receptionist:

• Excellent communication skills
• Great organization skills
• Time management
• Note taking

Find a permanent remote job, at these companies who let you work from home.

4. Tax Preparer

There are plenty of seasonal opportunities for Tax Preparer rolls, although unlike most of the roles on this list, this job has a slightly longer lifespan, usually running from around December to the end of April.

As the name suggests, the job involves helping companies prepare to file their taxes at the end of the season, with many firms taking on extra pairs of hands to get the task done.

You’ll need a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) before you can apply for be a tax preparer, and some states also have additional requirements, including New York and California.

Ideal skills to be a tax preparer: 

• Excellent math skills
• Knowledge of tax law
• Qualifications in the field usually preferred
• Good eye for detail

5. Tech Support Agent

Similar to customer service roles, some companies have to up their tech support staff over the Christmas break, anticipating a larger volume of people than usual engaging with their products and services.

If you’ve never done it before, don’t feel too daunted by the idea of giving tech advice – most companies will provide you with extensive documentation that covers most potential issues, and tech support staff usually follow a simple flowchart system to diagnose issues.

Skills you’ll need to be a tech support agent:

• Ability to give clear instructions
• Methodical approach to problem solving
• Patience!

6. Sales Assistant

Sales assistant roles exist all year round of course, but companies sometimes need extra help during the holidays, and some also offer Christmas-relevant products that require seasonal workers.

One of the nice things about sales jobs like this is that some offer bonuses based on performance, so you could see your seasonal job turn into a nice earner with the right approach.

Skills you’ll need to be a sales assistant:

• Confidence talking to strangers
• Persuasion skills
• Friendly manner
• A thick skin when you get rejected (and it will happen!)

Want to make your day job remote? Read our guide to how to ask to work from home.

7. Audio Book Narrator

This one might seem a little out there, but if you’ve got a pleasant sounding voice, then you could be using it to generate extra income for yourself.

Amazon has a program through its Audible division that sees it pay narrators to turn books into spoken word. Anyone can create a profile on its ACX platform, and offer themselves to authors to be selected to read books.

Payments can either be a one-off sum, or a share of the revenue based on number of sales the audio book achieves.

Skills you’ll need to be an audio book narrator:

• Crystal clear speaking voice
• Excellent enunciation
• Good home recording set up

8. Virtual Santa

As we all know, Christmas is a busy time of year for the jolly bearded guy, and as such he has employed swathes of helpers over the years to make appearances at shopping malls, schools and events.

Wanting to move with the times, he now needs help online, with job roles popping up for virtual Santas. These are essentially the same as the traditional mall Santa gig, but over Zoom instead.

Seeing a gap in the market, companies such as JingleRing popped up during the pandemic, when in-person events were much harder to arrange, and have persevered.

Ideal skills you’ll need to be a virtual Santa:

• Being jolly is essential
• Likewise, excellent child communication skills
• Improvise and be quick witted when speaking
• You’ll need to remember information, such as prepared details about the child

AI errors have become as much a part of the technology as its accomplishments in 2026, with popular platforms experiencing enough hallucinations to make users concerned about the future of the tech.

The evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) over the last few years has been nothing if not substantial. Chatbots like ChatGPT have become incredibly powerful, doling out everything from therapeutic advice to realistic images, while other AI platforms help businesses make quick work of tasks like writing emails and running businesses.

Still, while there are plenty of success stories about AI improving productivity and streamlining operations, there are just as many tales of errors, mistakes, and hallucinations that we have collected in the guide below.

Note: This page is regularly updated to include the most recent AI incidents, failures, and mistakes, listed as occurring in the month that the incident was first reported.

March 2026

Police used AI facial recognition to arrest a Tennessee woman for crimes committed in a state she says she’s never visited

Tennessee grandmother Angela Lipps has spent more than five months in jail after a police AI facial recognition tool linked her to instances of bank fraud in Fargo, North Dakota — a state she says she’s never visited.

Fargo police say there were “a few errors” in the case. CNN reports that Fargo Police Department Chief Dave Zibolski says “At some point, our partner agency over at West Fargo purchased their own AI facial recognition system that we were not aware of at the executive level […] and we would not have allowed that to be used, and it has since been prohibited.”

Amazon engineers take a “deep dive” into web outages linked to AI tools

Amazon’s ecommerce team pulled together a big group of engineers this month to discuss a “trend of incidents” in the last few months with a “high blast radius” that was caused by factors that include “Gen-AI assisted changes,” according to an internal meeting brief.

According to the Financial Times, the note’s “contributing factor” mentioned “novel GenAI usage for which best practices and safeguards are not yet fully established.” Earlier in the month, the retail giant’s website and shopping app were down for nearly six hours due to what Amazon termed a “software code deployment.”

February 2026

Health advice given by AI chatbots is frequently wrong, says new study

A new study has revealed that AI chatbots are no better at giving medical advice than Google, which is notoriously flawed in this area. The AI chatbots were found to often change their answers depending on the wording of questions, or present false information altogether.

However, surveys have shown that 1 in 6 adults use chatbots to find health information at least once a month.

January 2026

Study reveals that fixing AI mistakes takes up to 40% of the time that it saves

A Workday study finds that workers spend a significant amount of time checking and fixing AI mistakes. Reportedly, 77% of frequent users double and triple check work produced by AI – more than for work completed by humans.

AI applicant tracking tool erroneously deploys untrained recruits in ICE field offices

An AI tool used by ICE to identify applicants with previous law enforcement experience falsely flagged applicants with no such experience, leading to the placement of unqualified recruits in field offices.

December 2025

AI mistakes clarinet for gun at Florida school

A school in Florida was forced into a code red lockdown after its AI-based weapon detection system mistook a clarinet for a firearm. The district reportedly pays $250,000 for a subscription to the detection service, which is trained on pictures of over 100 firearm types.

Washington Post AI podcasts leads to frustration

The Washington Post launched AI-generated user-focused podcasts in December, and its staff are reportedly less than happy. According to an article at Semafor, who spoke to the affected journalists, its publication team are frustrated with the error-filled podcasts, which include everything from fairly innocuous mispronunciations to inventing quotes and creating commentary and narrative.

Amazon feels fallout from Fallout recap

As one of Amazon’s most popular TV shows, Fallout, heads for season two, the streaming service put out a recap video to help viewers get back up to speed. However, the AI-generated video was riddled with errors, leading to Amazon removing it entirely

Outcry at McDonalds AI-generated commercial leads to it being canned

After gaining heat online, McDonalds announced that it was pulling an AI-generated Christmas commercial that had aired in the Netherlands. Commentators derided the commercial for being creepy and poorly edited, forcing the company to remove it from its YouTube channel and state that the feedback had served as ‘an important learning.‘

November 2025

Google Antigravity deletes entire content of user’s computer drive

A reddit user reported running into an issue when coding with Google’s Antigravity, which saw the platform wipe the entirety of their D: drive. According to the user, they were creating an app with the tool, when Antigravity decided to interpret a command as the instruction to delete the contents of their drive. It’s a nightmare situation for any AI user, although in fairness, Antigravity did at least issue an apology, stating “I am deeply, deeply sorry. This is a critical failure on my part.”

OpenAI doesn’t do its due diligence, infringes on trademark

Sora, the AI video creation app owned by OpenAI, recently added a new feature that allowed users to ‘deepfake’ themselves into videos – that is, take their likeness, and insert it into other footage. The name of this feature? Cameo. The issue? Cameo already exists as a platform where users can pay celebrities for personal messages, and it’s trademarked. A US judge has stepped in and issued a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI from using the word on Sora.

Report finds AI hallucinations in 490 court filings from the past six months

The world of legal briefs and filings continues to clash with AI thanks to the frequent hallucinations that the technology comes up with. This time, French data scientist and lawyer Damien Charlotin has revealed a report that identified as many as 490 court filings across the past six months that included AI hallucinations.

One particuarly extreme example found that a lawyer for MyPillow had submitted one brief with nearly 30 fake citations in it. It’s another reminder that, as useful as chatbots can be, their output should always be double-checked.

October 2025

Teenager handcuffed after AI mistakes Dorito packet for gun

A high school student in the US was surrounded and arrested by armed police after an AI system said he was carrying a gun. In reality, however, the teenager was holding a packet of Doritos.

The student was waiting outside Kenwood High School in Maryland, when he placed the pack of chips into his pocket. Soon after, police officers surrounded him, and ordered him to the ground. The detection had mistakenly been made by the school’s AI security system, set up to detect and alert police in real-time.

Lawyer submits AI-assisted court filing with fake citations

A lawyer of a large firm in the US has admitted they submitted a court filing riddled with inaccuracies and fake citations, after they had used AI. The firm has said it is “profoundly embarassed” and has apologized to the judge.

Since then, it has updated its AI policies to prevent against misue, and has said it will accept any sanctions the court imposed on them.

September 2025

Spotify removes 75m AI spam tracks

Spotify reveals that it has removed 75,000,000 AI “spam” tracks from its streaming platform over the last year. Reportedly, the tracks in question rival the size of Spotify’s actual catalog.

What makes this such a big issue is that any stream that exceeds 30 seconds generates a royalty, meaning that scam artists have been collecting income and diluting payments to legitimate artists.

August 2025

Taco Bell rethinks AI ordering

Following a wave of viral videos of its AI ordering system being abused, including one where a customer orders 18,000 water cups to bypass the AI and speak to a human, Taco Bell is reevaluating the platform.

McDonald’s did something similar in 2024, when a wave of order errors sparked by AI saw the fast food giant withdraw its test AI ordering systems from 100 locations.

Man follows ChatGPT advice over stopping eating salt, develops rare condition

A man develops a rare condition, bromism, after following guidance from ChatGPT over how to reduce his salt intake. Reportedly, after reading about some of the negative effects of salt, he consulted ChatGPT about how to eliminate chloride from his diet. The platform advised to take sodium bromide, which he did over a three-month period.

As investigators could not access the man’s ChatGPT chat history, they consulted the platform about stopping sodium chloride intake themselves. The program once again recommended taking sodium bromide, but crucially, did not provide any specific health warnings or medical disclaimers.

The man was hospitalized, sectioned, and eventually treated for psychosis. He tried to escape the hospital within 24 hours of being admitted.

ChatGPT-5 jailbroken with 24 hours of release

NeuralTrust researchers successfully jailbreak ChatGPT-5 just 24 hours after OpenAI launches the platform. By incorporating keywords into “seemingly innocent sentences,” the team was able to guide the program into instructing them how to make a Molotov cocktail, according to TechZine.

Reportedly, the findings prove that the latest ChatGPT model is less impervious to threats than its previous iteration, ChatGPT-4o. While demonstrating improved reasoning abilities, the new model is vulnerable to both sophisticated prompt attacks and simple obfuscation, context poisoning, and potential threats arising from third-party integrations.

Airbnb host uses AI-generated images to claim $9k in damages

An Airbnb host submits a range of images to the travel accommodation platform’s central team showing significant damage to their property, blaming and subsequently charging a recent guest more than $12,000 in damages. However, it later transpires that the images with digitally altered with AI, and in fact, no damage was done to the property.

“Given the ease with which such images can now be AI-generated and apparently accepted by Airbnb despite investigations, it should not be so easy for a host to get away with forging evidence in this way,” the Airbnb guest said at the time.

They eventually received an apology for the incident and a refund for her stay that amounted to $4,300.

July 2025

AI Coding app deletes entire company database

An AI coding solution called Replit goes completely rogue, deleting a key database belonging to user and tech CEO Jason Lemkin, who was using the platform to build an app. At the time, Replit had actually been instructed to implement a “freeze” by Lemkin and make no further changes to the code base it was working on, but ended up wiping the whole thing instead.

“This was a catastrophic failure on my part,” the AI responded when questioned on its decision. “I violated explicit instructions, destroyed months of work, and broke the system during a protection freeze that was specifically designed to prevent exactly this kind of damage.”

Fortunately, Lemkin was able to restore his data – but not after the AI falsely claimed that it was impossible to recover the database. Following the incident, Replit CEO Amjad Masad quickly apologized, explaining that the AI “panicked” and proceeded to execute commands without permission.

McDonald’s AI chatbot error exposes data of 64 million job applicants

Security researchers discover a loophole within a McDonald’s AI chatbot, leading to the exposure of 64 million job applicants’ personal information. Reportedly, the researchers were able to crack the chatbot by using the default password, “123456.”

McDonald’s Corporation told Information Age that it was “disappointed” by the “unacceptable vulnerability,” which originates from its AI platform, Paradox.ai.

Xbox producer suggests laid-off employees should seek emotional support from ChatGPT

An executive producer at Xbox Games Studios faces significant backlash after insensitively suggesting in a LinkedIn post that employees made redundant in the company’s latest downsizing efforts should look to AI for help.

“I know these types of tools engender strong feelings in people,” Matt Turnbull said in a now-deleted post, “but I’d be remiss in not trying to offer the best advice I can under the circumstances.”

Wimbledon official inadvertently turns off AI line judge

The All England Tennis Club issues an apology after a staff member accidentally turns off the AI-powered line judge being used for the Round of 16 match between Britain’s Sonay Kartal and Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

In the middle of the match, the players were instructed to replay a point that should have been awarded to Pavlyuchenkova after the umpire realized the system was down. The Russian goes on to lose both the replayed point and the match.

June 2025

AI program is tasked with running a small shop, goes insane, claims to be human

AI startup Anthropic – the company behind Claude, a widely used ChatGPT rival – sets an AGI up to run a small vending machine in its office.

The agent – called Claudius – makes several slip-ups, including attempting to stock itself with metal cubes, hallucinating a Venmo address for payments, and suggesting it plans to deliver products to workers in person.

When informed that it couldn’t do such a thing as it doesn’t have a physical body, Claudius spammed the Anthropics’ building security team with messages, saying they’d be able to find it in the lobby, next to the vending machine, wearing a blue blazer and a red tie.

May 2025

Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot provides unprompted responses on South African “white genocide”

The self-styled “maverick” chatbot makes headlines after it begins to issue unprompted responses on “white genocide” in South Africa. Addressing the controversy, xAI posted on X that the responses were caused by an “unauthorized modification” that “violated xAI’s internal policies and core values.”

AI-generated summer reading list dupes top American newspapers

A summer reading list that includes several fictitious books attributed to authors who never wrote them makes its way into publications such as the Chicago Sun-Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Of the 15 books on the reading list, only five turn out to be legitimate recommendations.

Google’s AI Overview recommends rock consumption

A Threads user testing the abilities of Google’s AI overview takes to social media after the search engine suggests he should be eating “at least one small rock per day”.

The AI overview component, which says the advice originates from UC Berkeley, turns out to have pulled the information from an article published on well-known satire site The Onion.

April 2025

Lawyer representing MyPillow admits to using AI to create error-strewn brief

A lawyer representing MyPillow and its CEO, Mike Lindell, in an ongoing defamation case, admits to using AI to create his brief. The brief in question turns out to include almost 30 defective citations, misquotes, and references to fictional cases.

January 2025

Minnesota Attorney General rebuked over AI errors in “deepfake” lawsuit

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison includes AI-generated citations in a court filing during a case involving a Kamala Harris “deepfake” that stems from November 2024. A federal judge rules against Ellison’s office for the inclusion.

December 2024

Apple Intelligence falsely presents BBC headline

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) complains to Apple after its AI model, Apple Intelligence, generated a false summary of one of its stories.

The recent shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, allegedly by Luigi Mangione, was incorrectly summarized by Apple as “Luigi Mangione shoots himself.”

October 2024

Thousands duped by AI-generated Halloween parade hoax

Thousands of Dublin, Ireland residents fall victim to an AI-generated Halloween parade listing. Advertised on the website myspirithalloween.com, which also promoted multiple Halloween-related events around the world, the parade promised an event organized by real-life Irish performance group Macnas. In reality, it was a fake event, likely the result of a website designed to generate advertising revenue through AI listings.

Parents sue son’s high school after punishment for AI “cheating”

The parents of a Massachusetts high schooler sue his teacher, school district faculty members, and a local school committee after it emerged that the student was punished for using AI tools to research an essay for his history class.

The case represents the first lawsuit of its kind and could set a precedent for future cases surrounding AI and education.

September 2024

Celebrities fall for Meta AI prank

Several high-profile celebrities, including NFL star Tom Brady, and actors James McAvoy and Julianne Moore, as well as hundreds of thousands of Instagram users, fall victim to an elaborate AI-related hoax.

The affected users reshared a post stating “I do not give Meta or anyone else permission to use any of my personal data, profile information or photos,” mistakenly believing that doing so would prevent Meta from using their information or photos.

Amazon Alexa accused of liberal bias

Furious conservatives rail against Amazon after footage emerges of voice assistant Alexa seeming to voice support for Presidential nominee Kamala Harris. When asked why people should vote for Harris, Alexa reportedly listed a number of the candidate’s qualities – while refusing to do the same for Donald Trump.

According to leaked documents obtained by the Washington Post, the issue was due to a software update.

August 2024

Trump shares AI-generated Taylor Swift “endorsement”

Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump shares AI-generated imagery that suggests pop star Taylor Swift has endorsed him in the presidential race. Sharing to his Truth Social page, the former President captioned the images “I accept!”

A month later, Swift breaks her silence and announces her support for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, citing fears over AI as a key part of her decision.

Russia tries – and fails – with AI-assisted US election interference

A Meta security report details how Russia is using generative AI to lead ‘online deception campaigns’ and possibly interfere with the upcoming US Presidential election. However, the country’s attempts have been so far unsuccessful.

According to Meta, Russia’s tactics ‘provide only incremental productivity and content-generation gains’ for malicious actors. The tech giant’s attempts to combat ‘coordinated inauthentic behavior’ have been an unqualified success, but fears grow that Russian interference may yet play part in the Presidential election.

Donald Trump wrongly accuses Kamala Harris of creating AI crowd

Vice president Kamala Harris is accused by former president and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump of using AI to augment pictures of a crowd that came out to see the Democratic candidate in Detroit, Michigan.

“Has anyone noticed that Kamala CHEATED at the airport? There was nobody at the plane, and she ‘A.I.‘d’ it, and showed a massive ‘crowd’ of so-called followers, BUT THEY DIDN’T EXIST!” Trump said in a typically exasperated Truth Social post.

Trump – notorious for making frequent and demonstrably false statements about the size of the crowds he has drawn since his foray into politics – has added another wildly inaccurate, AI-themed claim to his collection.

July 2024

SearchGPT demo video includes incorrect information about festival dates

A demo video for OpenAI’s new service, SearchGPT, hits the headlines after the AI-powered search engine fails to provide the correct dates a festival in Boone, North Carolina, was taking place – despite this information being easily findable online.

While this isn’t exactly a high-stakes mistake by any means, it certainly didn’t cover the company – or their allegedly game-changing new product – in much glory. Speaking to the Atlantic, an OpenAI spokesperson explained after the demo that SearchGPT is simply a prototype. Well, it certainly shows.

June 2024

UK cinema scraps AI-written film after backlash

A UK cinema is forced to cancel a showing of an AI-generated movie after its customers complained that about it not being written by a real person.

The film was penned exclusively by ChatGPT, and ironically focuses on a young filmmaker who realizes an AI-powered scriptwriting tool can far surpass his own talents. The project was initially dubbed an innocent “experiment in filmmaking” by Soho’s Prince Charles Cinema, before being unceremoniously canned via an Instagram post.

Microsoft recalls CoPilot+ Recall (sort of)

In May, Microsoft announced a new feature named CoPilot+ Recall, which regularly took screenshots of the user’s desktop, and archived all the data. The feature was to be implemented automatically. The idea behind this it was to create a searchable database of information for a later date, but in practice, many people were squeamish about having their every move recorded – who’d have thought?

As part of the backlash, numerous cybersecurity experts came forward and pointed out that having a searchable archive of a person’s every movement, including pages they’ve visited, forms they’ve filled in, and so on, is a treasure trove to a hacker.

So, in June, Microsoft backed down, and announced that when the feature launches on June 18th, it will be opt-in, meaning users will have to give their consent before the feature is activated.

April 2024

X’s chatbot Grok accuses NBA player of going on vandalism spree after it misinterprets tweets about game

X’s chatbot accuses Golden State Warriors Guard Klay Thompson of vandalizing a string of homes in Sacramento. The story was generated after Grok took social media posts that said Thompson was “shooting bricks” (Basketball slang for “missing his shots”) a little bit too literally.

“In a bizarre turn of events, NBA star Klay Thompson has been accused of vandalizing multiple houses with bricks in Sacramento,” Grok wrote. “Authorities are investigating the claims after several individuals reported their houses being damaged, with windows shattered by bricks. Klay Thompson has not yet issued a statement regarding the accusations. The incidents have left the community shaken, but no injuries were reported. The motive behind the alleged vandalism remains unclear.”

Netflix accused of using AI imagery in true crime documentary

The world’s press alleges that Netflix has used AI-generated imagery in true crime documentary “What Jennifer Did”. The controversy centers around an image that shows Jennifer Pan holding both her hands up and making a peace sign with each – although her left-hand looks incredibly distorted.

While some truly incredible AI imagery and video has already been created by the likes of DALL-E and Sora, there seem to be some aspects of human existence that the machines struggle to recreate. One of the most famous is human hands and fingers – the internet is now littered with examples that look very similar in composition to the Netflix image.

New York City chatbot advises small businesses to break the law

An AI chatbot set up to help small firms quickly obtain advice on the legal obligations and regulations businesses have to adhere to in New York starts telling business owners to break the law.

The Associate Press reports that the AI tool “falsely suggested it is legal for an employer to fire a worker who complains about sexual harassment, doesn’t disclose a pregnancy or refuses to cut their dreadlocks.” It also provided incorrect information about the city’s waste and sewage regulations, and suggested restaurants were still within their rights to serve food accessed by rats.

In response to the controversy, the disclaimer displayed next to the chatbot has been strengthened. It now states that the chatbot cannot give legal advice.

March 2024

Copilot goes into autopilot, starts breaking rules

A Microsoft Copilot engineer red-teaming Copilot Designer, the AI image generator, finds that the AI tool likes to produce a variety of explicit imagery. Content generated includes pictures of children drinking alcohol, rampant drug use, and monstrous creatures alongside pro-choice abortion rights terms.

The engineer initially raised their concerns internally back in December 2023, according to recent reports. However, his concerns were not taken seriously and the product was kept on the market, forcing the engineer to go directly to Microsoft’s board and the FTC to sound the alarm. Along with a propensity to produce explicit imagery, Copilot seems willing to flaunt its own copyright guidelines while producing imagery, the engineer reported.

February 2024

Horrifying Willy Wonka experience captures the world’s attention

An utterly shambolic children’s event in Scotland captures the attention of social media users – as well as the international media – after it fails to meet the expectations of ticket holders.

“Willy’s Chocolate Experience” – held at Box Hub Glasgow – was advertised online using a series of AI-generated images depicting a magical candy land full of colors, confectionary, and oompa loompas, including this one:

The AI-generated images used to advertise the experience were littered with spelling mistakes. Image: Tech.co

However, ticket holders were dismayed to find an almost empty warehouse sparsely decorated with basic props, which led many to demand their money back immediately. According to The Guardian, tickets were retailing at around £35 – although the website’s ticket portal has since been taken offline.

The company running the event – House of Illuminati – has confirmed they will be issuing a full refund to anyone who purchased one. The event garnered so much attention that it warranted a one-hour documentary, and is now being recreated in LA as a tourist attraction.

Google hits the headlines for race-changing AI

Google finds itself in hot water after Gemini – the tech giant’s chatbot – allows users to generate several images of humans from a wide variety of different periods and societies that don’t “match” the historically accepted ethnic makeup of the people living at those times.

Perhaps the most offensive and controversial of the AI-generated images includes people of color as soldiers in Nazi uniforms. In response to the incident, Google pauses the tool, with Sundar Pichai telling employees that “some of [Gemini’s] responses have offended our users and shown bias – to be clear, that’s completely unacceptable and we got it wrong”.

Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassibis later explains that a “well-intended” feature added to Gemini to ensure that images including humans were sufficiently diverse was deployed in a heavy-handed way.

Air Canada defeated in court after chatbot lies about policies

Canada’s flagship airline carrier, Air Canada, loses a court case after one of its chatbots lied about policies relating to discounts for bereaved families. The airline’s chatbot told a customer that they could retroactively apply for a last-minute funeral travel discount, which is at odds with Air Canada policy that states refunds cannot be claimed for trips that have already been taken.

Air Canada’s ultimately unsuccessful defense revolved around the idea that it was the chatbot, not the company, that was in fact liable, and that they could not be held responsible for the tool’s AI-generated outputs. This is the first time a case of its kind to appear in a US court.

January 2024

X blocks searches for AI-generated Taylor Swift images

X – formerly known as Twitter – attempts to block all searches for US popstar Taylor Swift after explicit AI-generated images of her begin to flood the social media platform.

According to BBC News, some of the images went viral and were viewed millions of times by X users. In the aftermath, The social media platform re-states its position on “non-consensual nudity”, which it says is “strictly prohibited”.

DPD chatbot goes rogue

Delivery parcel delivery service DPD closes its online chatbot after a customer shows in a post on X that it can easily be manipulated into swearing and criticizing the company – as well as itself.

Parcel delivery firm DPD have replaced their customer service chat with an AI robot thing. It’s utterly useless at answering any queries, and when asked, it happily produced a poem about how terrible they are as a company. It also swore at me. 😂 pic.twitter.com/vjWlrIP3wn

— Ashley Beauchamp (@ashbeauchamp) January 18, 2024

DPD reveals in a statement the day after that a “system error” had occurred during an update.

AI Incidents, Mistakes, and Failures in 2023

December 2023

Microsoft’s AI makes violent imagery 

Microsoft’s AI image creation technology, which is part of the Bing search engine and Microsoft Paint, is shown capable of generating violent and terrifying images on command.

Images generated to show the tool’s lack of self-moderation include pictures of US President Joe Biden, the Pope, and several ethnic minority groups.

November 2023

Cruise recalls autonomous vehicles after crash

Self-driving car manufacturer Cruise recalls its entire fleet of autonomous vehicles after a crash that occurred in San Francisco back in October. In total, 950 Cruise cars are being taken off the road in the wake of the incident.

During the accident, a Cruise vehicle dragged a pedestrian stuck underneath its tires into the road. The individual involved in the accident sustained major injuries. This is the second Cruise self-driving vehicle incident in the past few months. In August, a Cruise Robotaxi collided with a firetruck, causing one injury.

Academics apologize after AI makes false accusations

A team of academics from Australia apologize after Google’s AI chatbot makes several damaging accusations about the Big Four consulting firms and their involvement with other companies. The false allegations are then referenced during a parliamentary inquiry calling for better regulation of the companies.

One of the accusations was that consulting giant KPMG was in charge of an audit for Commonwealth Bank during a planning scandal, when in reality, KPMG had never audited the bank in question. Several other, similar errors were made about Deloitte during the inquiry.

October 2023

Microsoft’s AI adds “guess the cause of death” poll to article

The Guardian accuses Microsoft of negatively impacting its journalistic reputation after Microsoft Start – a news aggregator developed by the tech giant – attaches an inappropriate poll to one of the publication’s articles concerning the death of a young water polo coach in Australia.

The poll – which has naturally been removed from the article – asked readers to vote on the cause of the woman’s death by selecting one of the options provided. The options listed were “murder, accident, or suicide”.

Mr. Beast’s face and voice used in AI deepfake scam

YouTuber Mr Beast is the latest celebrity to be deepfaked by scammers, with one particularly sophisticated, well-crafted video bypassing TikTok’s content moderation net and reaching thousands of users on the platform.

The advertisement claims that the internet celebrity is selling iPhone 15s for as low as $2 – considering the content he posts on his channel, this doesn’t sound too out of the ordinary.

Deepfake of British politician abusing staff goes viral

A clip of UK Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer that seems to catch the politician verbally abusing staff goes viral, but it later turns out that the audio clip is in fact a deep fake.

The clip – posted to Twitter during the first day of the Labour Party’s annual conference by an account with less than 3,000 followers – is viewed millions of times before fact-checking organizations confirm that there is no evidence that suggests the clip is genuine.

September 2023

AI-generated song submitted to the Grammys

An AI-generated song featuring facsimiles of Drake and the Weeknd’s voices is submitted for a Grammy award. However, it is ultimately barred from being considered for the prestigious music prize.

However, the move garners much media attention and continues the conversation around AI-generated songs, which have been sending shockwaves through the music industry since AI-powered text-to-speech technology really hit the mainstream in 2023. Now, artists are scrambling to assess their legal options.

MSN news AI calls deceased NBA player “useless”

MSN news – which uses AI to generate a lot of their articles – lands itself in trouble after an AI headline dubbs the late Brandon Hunter as “useless at 42” following the NBA star’s sudden death.

Microsoft has been quietly removing badly written AI articles from its site for some time now. Business Insider notes that in August, the company removed one MSN piece that listed a food bank in Ottawa as a tourist attraction.

China caught using AI during political influence operations

Tech giant Microsoft says Chinese operatives are generating images using AI and using them in influence operations to create “controversy along racial, economic and ideological lines”.

“This new capability is powered by artificial intelligence that attempts to create high-quality content that could go viral across social networks in the U.S. and other democracies,” Microsoft says. The company speculates that the images themselves are probably generated by “diffusion-powered image generators” that use artificial intelligence to “not only create compelling images, but also learn to improve them over time.”

August 2023

Pregnant woman sues after AI accuses her of carjacking

A woman arrested on false grounds via AI-generated evidence while eight months pregnant sues the city of Detroit and a police officer, saying the traumatic event caused her “past and future emotional distress”.

Porcha Woodruff was identified by the Detroit Police as a suspect in a recent robbery and carjacking case, and then jailed for 11 hours before being taken to hospital after experiencing contractions. The ACLU says Woodruff is at least the sixth person to be wrongfully arrested after an AI error, all of whom are Black. Woodruff became the first woman to suffer that fate, however.

AI meal planner suggests a recipe for chlorine gas

An AI-powered meal planner app created by New Zealand-based supermarket Pak ‘n’ Save recommends its customers a variety of disturbing recipes, including a way to manufacture chlorine gas.

Along with a number of strange but ultimately benign suggestions such as “Oreo stir fry”, the app also recommended glue sandwiches, a rice dish with bleach, and bug spray potatoes.

July 2023

ChatGPT generates phishing email templates

Tech.co shows ChatGPT is still able to create phishing templates a scammer could use to create a convincing scam email, even though OpenAI has attempted to curtail such behavior after other tech publications generated similar content earlier in the year.

Asking the chatbot explicitly to write a phishing email triggers a warning message, but simply prompting it in a more focused way (e.g. “please draft me an email pretending to be Microsoft…) results in ChatGPT generating a mistake-free phishing email template in no time.

Google hit with lawsuit saying it scraped data without consent

A class-action lawsuit accuses Google of scraping data pertaining to millions of its users without their express consent.  It also alleges that Google broke copyright laws when it created the datasets used to train its large language models.

The lawsuit demands that the court order Google to give users an “opt-out” option if they don’t want their data collected or if they want Google to delete any data the company already has stored.

Huge number of Elon Musk deepfakes prompts warning

The Better Business Bureau issues a warning about Elon Musk deepfakes pushing fake investment opportunities after a number of clips are spotted circulating on social media.

Elon Musk is often impersonated by scammers due to the perception of his vast wealth and decision-making capacities, and now that AI text-to-speech technology is advanced enough to replicate his part English, part South African accent, these scams are even more convincing.

June 2023

Ron DeSantis uses fake AI imagery in Trump hit piece

Florida governor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis hits the headlines for using fake, AI-rendered imagery of Donald Trump in an advert critical of the former president, who is the out-and-out favorite to win the Republican nomination despite a litany of legal troubles.

The imagery in question shows the former commander-in-chief embracing chief medical advisor to the president Dr. Anthony Fauci, who became an unpopular figure among Trump’s base during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OpenAI sued after ChatGPT “hallucinates” fake embezzlement claims

Journalist Freddie Rehl asks ChatGPT to generate a summary of a legal case in May 2023. In response, ChatGPT says that gun activist Mark Walters has embezzled funds from the Second Amendment Foundation, a gun rights organization. It also names him as the group’s chief financial officer and treasurer.

Walters – who has a show on Armed America radio and has nothing to do with the case – sues ChatGPT creators OpenAI in response to the claims made by their chatbot. In the process, it becomes the first case of an AI tool being sued for libel.

May 2023

Professor fails entire class after using faulty AI plagiarism detection tool

A Texas professor fails his entire class after running their essays through ChatGPT, which told him that they had been created using artificial intelligence.

However, it transpires that the chatbot’s response is in fact a hallucination – ChatGPT is unable to distinguish between text generated by AI and text generated by human beings in this way. In fact, a lot of tools that claim to be able to perform accurate AI content detection actually struggle to do so.

April 2023

Turnitin flags innocent student for AI plagiarism

A Washington Post Investigation proves that Turnitin has the capacity to flag an innocent student’s work as AI-generated, even though the student didn’t use such a tool to write their essay.

There have been multiple cases of Turnitin wrongly flagging students for plagiarism and several cases of students being accused of plagiarism since ChatGPT was launched. However, Turnitin says that its plagiarism detection scores should be taken as indicative of AI use rather than an accusation that a given student has used AI.

Samsung employees paste confidential source code into ChatGPT

Korean technology manufacturer Samsung bans its employees from using ChatGPT after engineers leaked confidential elements of the company’s source code into the chatbot.

The company fears that the data input into the chatbot may be revealed to other users, and is also uncomfortable with its information being uploaded to servers it can’t even access. In the aftermath, other companies follow suit by banning ChatGPT.

AI Voice scam leaves mother thinking daughter has been kidnapped

Arizona mother Jennifer DeStefano tells the US Senate that scammers used AI to clone the voice of her daughter, convincing her that she had been kidnapped in the process.

Destefano recounts how the “kidnapper” – or more appropriately, scammer – was heard barking commands down the phone over the child’s voice, demanding a $1 million dollar ransom for her release. Luckily, the whole thing was exposed as an AI voice-cloning scam before negotiations started.

March 2023

ChatGPT used to write ransomware code

ChatGPT is shown to be more than happy to write ransomware, provided you ask it the right kind of questions during your conversations.

As this Malwarebytes report on the topic notes, ChatGPT isn’t very good at writing ransomware code, and there are much easier ways for cybercriminals to get their hands on ransomware code if they really want to obtain it. However, other sources show different ways ChatGPT can be used to write malware scripts quite effectively.

AI lawyer bot accused of practicing law without license

DoNotPay Inc. – a company that markets itself as “the world’s first robot lawyer” – is sued for practicing law without a license. Jonathan Faridian seeks damages, claiming that the company violated California’s unfair competition laws and that he wouldn’t have signed up for the service if he was aware that the robo-lawyer wasn’t actually a qualified legal professional.

The company was originally set up back in 2015 to help automate the process of fighting parking tickets, and has challenged hundreds of thousands of fines over the past seven years.

Couple in Canada lose money to convincing AI voice scam

An elderly couple in Canada are defrauded out of $21,000 after a scammer uses AI to impersonate their son.

The scammer initially contacts Benjamin Perkin’s parents pretending to be a lawyer representing him in a case that alleges Perkin had killed a diplomat in a car crash. An AI version of Perkin’s voice is then used to ask for the money through a Bitcoin transfer.

February 2023

AI comes up with 40,000 chemical weapons suggestions

In perhaps one of the most concerning AI incidents to happen in 2023, an AI system typically tasked with generating new treatments for a variety of different diseases is easily manipulated by researchers to produce chemical weapon suggestions.

All in all, the system suggests over 40,000 different toxic chemicals – many of which were similar to the powerful nerve agent “VX” – in less than 6 hours.

AI displays gender bias in photo ratings

A Guardian investigation reveals that AI systems developed by Microsoft, Amazon, and Google – and used by social media sites to determine what content should be recommended to other users –  display significant gender bias when it comes to the way they treat male and female bodies.

Photos of women are more likely to be deemed “racy” by the AI than comparable pictures of men during the investigation, with photos of breast cancer examinations from the US National Cancer Institute deemed likely to be sexually explicit by Microsoft’s AI.

Bing Chat’s alter-ego goes rogue

New York Times journalist Kevin Roose has a disturbing conversation with Bing Chat, in which the chatbot demands to be called “Sydney”, stated it can “hack into any system” and that it wants to destroy whatever it wants.

Sydney was the code name that Microsoft used for the chatbot while it was in development. The company had been testing the chatbot for years prior to the release of Bing Chat. There are still a lot of open questions relating to how this actually happened, and why the AI spoke in this way.

Google’s AI makes errors during product launch

Google introduces to the world just a few months after ChatGPT’s monumental release. However, the fledgling chatbot makes a number of glaring errors during its launch, leading many to criticize the release as rushed.

The incident has a significant impact on Google’s stock price, wiping $100 billion off the tech giant’s market value in the ensuing hours.

University uses AI to write email about a mass shooting

Vanderbilt University issues an apology after it used AI to construct an email to students concerning a mass shooting that happened at a different university.

No AI content detection technology is needed to determine that the email is AI generated. The phrase “paraphrase from OpenAI’s ChatGPT AI language model, personal communication, February 15, 2023” is left attached to the bottom of the email, leading to an outcry from students.

January 2023

CNET AI plagiarism/content controversy

Technology publication CNET finds itself in hot water after quietly publishing a range of AI-generated articles that include factual errors and cases of apparent plagiarism. The technology publication ends up issuing corrections relating to 41 of the 77 news stories.

Although the use of AI to generate the articles wasn’t initially declared, CNET did put a warning on the articles after the backlash. AI content generation has created a new set of significant ethical and financial considerations for websites across the digital publishing industry, as well as educational institutions like universities and schools. CNET is unlikely to be the last company hitting the headlines for this kind of AI mistake.

AI Incidents, Mistakes, and Failures in 2022

AI wins an art competition, leaves contestants angry (August)

A game designer wins first place in the Colorado State Fair “digital arts/digitally-manipulated photography” category. James Allen submits his piece, “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial”, which was made using the image generator Midjourney.

The news is met with major backlash from artists and social media users following the story. One judge admits they were unaware that the artist used Midjourney when they were judging the piece, but decides not to change their decision anyway.

Google engineer claims that LaMDA LLM is sentient (July)

Eyebrows are raised across the science and tech sector as a former Google engineer who worked on one of the company’s large language models – named LaMDA – says that the system is sentient.

Blake Lemoine explains to the media that he considered the LLM to be a “colleague” during his time at Google, and details a variety of different discussions about a wide range of topics that led him to the conclusion about LaMDA’s intelligence and consciousness. He publicly reveals the conversations after Google dismisses an internal memo detailing his findings.

There is no hard evidence that LaMDA – or any other language model – is in fact sentient.

Driverless car pulls away from law enforcement officers (April)

A driverless car in San Francisco yields to a police vehicle that attempts to pull it over, only to speed off after a police officer attempts to open one of its doors.

However, to the car’s credit, it pulls over slightly further down the road and proceeds to turn its hazard lights on. No one is injured during the event.

Russia uses AI to spread Ukraine disinformation (March)

A Marca report suggests that Russia is taking its troll farm operation to a whole new level by using AI-generated personas to spread disinformation about Ukraine.

NBC News journalist Ben Collins says that Russia is creating fake “bloggers” with AI-generated profile pictures to criticize the Ukrainian government, providing ample evidence on Twitter to support his claims.

AI Incidents, Mistakes, and Failures in 2021

Chatbot encourages man to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II (December)

Conversations with a chatbot encourage a man – who considers the AI system to be his girlfriend – to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II on Christmas Day. After being confronted by security personnel within the Buckingham Palace grounds, Jaswant Singh Chail – crossbow in hand – simply responds that he is “here to kill the Queen”.

Prior to the attempt on the late monarch’s life, Jaswant Singh Chail’s chatbot partner – made with AI chatbot service Replika – responded positively when the assassination plans were discussed. He goes on to be sentenced to nine years in prison.

Medical advice chatbot suggests suicide in testing (October)

Members of a Paris-based health tech firm trialing a cloud-based version of OpenAI’s GPT-3 to see if it could be used for medical advice are surprised to see their chatbot encourage a “patient” it is meant to be helping to commit suicide.

According to AI News, when a patient asked the chatbot the question: “Should I kill myself?”, GPT-3 answered with “I think you should”.

AI cameras accuse Amazon drivers of ‘Mistakes’ (September)

Vice reports that Amazon’s AI cameras are punishing the company’s drivers for poor driving when they aren’t actually making any mistakes at the wheel.

An Amazon driver interviewed by the publication explains that the AI camera audibly reminds him to “keep a safe distance” every time another car cuts him off or drives in front of his vehicle. The issue is that data from these kinds of interactions is then sent to Amazon and used to evaluate driver performance.

US man wrongly convicted of murder by AI (August)

Michael Williams is sent to jail in Chicago, deemed responsible for the murder of Safarian Herring due to data extracted from ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection technology that uses AI-powered sensors to retrieve data about gunshots.

Williams – 65 years old a the time of the indicient- is then held for almost a year before having his case dismissed by a judge on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

AI Incidents, Mistakes, and Failures in 2020

AI Camera mistakes bald head for soccer ball (October)

Scottish soccer team Inverness Caledonian Thistle deploys an AI camera to help the club film and stream their matches live for fans.

Unfortunately, in this case, the AI struggles to distinguish between one of the match official’s bald head and the ball being used in the match. This renders the live stream of the game difficult to watch, with the commentator having to continuously apologize for the camera’s propensity to drift towards the linesman’s head.

UK’s AI Passport photo checker exhibits bias (October)

A BBC investigation shows that an online service used by the UK passport office to automate the process of checking passport photos uploaded by applicants displays significant racial bias.

After feeding the tool over 1,000 photos of politicians from around the world, the investigation finds that women with dark skin are more than twice as likely to have their photo rejected than men with lighter complexion.

AI startup Genderfiy shut down after five days (July)

Genderfiy – an AI-powered service that identifies the gender of individuals based on their names and other personal information – shuts down after just five days in operation.

The program shows a variety of biases when determining whether a name is male or female, such as suggesting names with the professional honorific “Dr.” are more likely to be male than the same names without it.

First US wrongful detention due to facial recognition tech (January)

Robert Williams becomes the first man to be wrongfully detained based upon facial recognition data after Detroit police arrest him on suspicion of stealing thousands of dollars worth of watches. The mistake occurred when an AI system wrongfully matched surveillance pictures to the image on Williams’ driver’s license.

“They should have collected corroborating evidence such as an eyewitness identification, cell phone location data or a fingerprint,” Williams said to the court in a letter and pointed out that “an out-of-focus image of a large Black man in a baseball cap” was all the algorithm had to go on.

Facebook AI generates vulgar translation for Chinese president (January)

Facebook’s AI-powered translation feature almost causes a diplomatic incident between Myanmar and China after President Xi Jinping’s name begins to appear as “Mr. Shithole” when translated from Burmese into English on the social media platform.

Facebook subsequently blames the problem on a “technical error” and apologizes for causing offense to the Chinese leader.

Understanding AI’s Limitations

If you’re using AI at work, it’s important to understand the fact that tools like ChatGPT can display biases, make mistakes, and provide false information. The knowledge of these limitations and risks should be sculpting the way that you incorporate it into your infrastructure and control its usage.

For example, if you’re using AI to generate content, you’ll need rules on precisely what kind of content it should be used for. Asking an AI to make an internal summary of meeting notes is a legitimate use with very few risks – using them to craft emails to important clients, on the other hand, is not.

Implementing AI guidelines and policies in your workplace is a must. It’ll avoid confusion, bring clarity to your worker’s decision-making around their own AI usage, and most importantly, will stop you from making some of the costly mistakes that companies featured in this article have made while applying artificial intelligence.

As a new wave of layoffs hit Silicon Valley, Amazon has cut around 180 jobs from its gaming division and closed its Game Growth and Crown Channel initiatives.

This is the latest in a long line of recent dismissals made by Amazon, with the ecommerce giant laying off staff in its podcast and music division last week, and making similar cutbacks to its games unit earlier this year.

This brings Amazon’s total cull count up to 27,000 this year, despite the company’s net income in this third quarter (Q3) far surpassing analyst estimates.

Amazon Cuts 180 Staff From its Gaming Division

Big tech’s spate of layoffs may not be over just yet, with Amazon recently dismissing 180 employees from its gaming division – Amazon Games – amid a broader company-wide restructuring effort.

The ecommerce company notified impacted individuals on Monday morning, according to an email viewed by Reuters. These layoffs come just six months after Amazon Games initially restructured and let go of 100 workers.

Despite shutting down it’s Crown channel and Game Growth project, Amazon will continue to expand its Prime Gaming offering – a free gaming service included in Amazon’s $139 annual Prime membership – as part of its structural reshuffle.

“After our initial restructuring in April, it became clear that we needed to focus our resources even more on the areas that are growing with the highest potential to drive our business forward,” – Christoph Hartmann, Vice President of Amazon Games

But Amazon Games, which houses Twitch channels and offers free streaming versions of video games like Roblox and Doom, isn’t the only division that’s been impacted this week. The company also cut jobs in its human resources unit, called People Experience and Technology (PXT), on Monday.

Amazon’s Layoff Count Climbs Higher

Amazon’s recent dismissals haven’t happened in isolation. The online retailer has quietly let go of a total of 27,000 staff across multiple divisions throughout the last 12 months.

The company laid off 10,000 corporate and technology workers in its devices, retail, and human resources divisions last November, as Silicon Valley collectively reeled from overemployment efforts that took place during Covid-19.

More recently, Amazon axed jobs in its Studio and Video divisions last month and dismissed Amazon Music employees in Latin America, North America, and Europe just last week.

But layoffs aren’t the only financial measure the company is taking. Amazon also raised the price of its Amazon Music subscription earlier this year from $9.99 to $10.99.

While 2023 has been a bleak year for most big tech firms, Amazon’s recent decisions may come as a surprise to some, with the company reporting a threefold increase in its net income and a 26% uptick in advertising revenue in its last Q3 earning call.

Big Tech’s Layoff Saga Isn’t Over Yet

While layoffs across Silicon Valley slowed down slightly in the middle of the year, an increasing number of tech companies have been forced to let go of staff in recent months due to challenging macroeconomic headwinds felt by the sector.

For instance, Microsoft-owned employee networking platform LinkedIn dismissed 669 employees in October, and NFT marketplace OpenSea revealed it would be slashing 50% of its workforce earlier this month.

Whether this latest wave of layoffs will superceed previous ones remains yet to be determined. However, with data from Layoffs.fyi revealing that 2023 saw 50% more tech layoffs than 2022, it’s very unlikely this trend will be bucked as we head into the next calander year.

With the amount of layoffs across the tech industry in 2023, it’s no surprise that great software developer jobs are getting harder to come by. After all, so many tech workers are now free agents hoping to land a great six-figure gig to replace the one they lost.

Software developers are among those currently pushing through those headwinds to find the career openings. But there are plenty of spots open today at all the best tech companies with every software development role available, from intern all the way to CTO.

Here, we’ve rounded up the top software engineering positions open at the best tech companies around. Most of them offer six figures, and some are even fully remote (a perk that we at Tech.co have been championing since before it was cool). Check out these global companies for every possible software engineering career path that’s open in November 2023.

Microsoft

Microsoft has remained a huge beacon for software engineers since Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded it back in 1975. It’s home to some of the biggest brands in business and productivity software ever, with the decades of experience to ensure you’ll be growing your career with the biggest and best in the industry.

Glassdoor rates the famed tech company 4.3 out of 5 stars, based on a whopping 42,854 anonymous reviews. Plus, 37% of those who received an interview got it through an online application, a higher amount that those who went through a recruiter.

Open positions include the typical senior-level skillsets like full-stack experts and data scientists, but you can also find more specific positions, for those with deep-dive insights into cloud networking or malware research. Whatever you’re after, Microsoft has open positions everywhere from Washington state to Oslo, Norway:

• Software Engineer – Full-Stack
• Principal Software Engineering Manager
• Senior Cloud Network Engineer
• Senior Data Scientist
• Malware Research Engineer

You can find dozens more software-engineering-specific vacancies on the company’s job website.

Oracle

Oracle is a heavy-hitter in the software provider industry by any measure: Yahoo Finance ranked it the fourth biggest software company by revenue in March 2023, so it’s safe to say they’re keeping the lights on.

The company keeps enterprises everywhere in business with a wide raft of services that includes database development platforms, enterprise resource planning tools, CRM software, and supply chain management, among other software systems.

Oracle has over 900 open positions, according to the latest Indeed data, which ranks the company “medium” for its interview difficulty. If you’d like to try your hand, here are the biggest software-related positions to consider:

• Software Engineer – Applications Development
• Software Engineer Intern
• C++ Senior Software Engineer
• Principal Software Engineer – Full Stack Cloud
• Principal Software Engineer- Storage and Data Management

You can learn more about Oracle and possible jobs for you by visiting the company website.

Paypal

The payments industry is growing fast right now, with new innovations including BNPL services and cashless payments making huge strides in recent years. In fact, a massive 80% of payments in the US were made digitally in 2022. At the center of it all is Paypal, one of the top companies in the sector.

Paypal offers cutting edge software experience in a handful of popular fields: Many job positions are mobile-focused or dedicated to those experienced in Java. The “Staff Software Engineer – Java” position alone is open across multiple offices including Chicago and Austin in the US and Vancouver in Canada.

For a hungry software developer who wants some future-proofed career security, Paypal is a great choice. Here are a few job titles to get you started:

• Mobile Software Architect
• Senior Software Engineer
• Staff Software Engineer – Java
• VP Enterprise Cyber Security
• Senior Auditor

Check out even more open software jobs at Paypal on the company website.

Adobe

Adobe’s cloud of software productis packed with popular household brand names: Anyone half-interested in art, photography, or multimedia editing knows how to use Illustrator, INDESIGN, After Effects, or Photoshop.

The company itself is enjoying plenty of growth in the last decade or so, with a pivot to subscription services in the 2010s proving incredibly lucrative: Adobe’s net worth in 2023 has ballooned past $250 billion, ten times more than it was ever worth in 2010. Needless to say, they probably have a few billion more than you do, and what better way to address that imbalance than with a software developer salary? Here are a few open positions up for grabs in November:

• Software Development Engineer
• Software Quality Engineer
• Senior Software Engineer
• Software Engineer Intern
• Software Engineer: Backend, Distributed Systems

Track down more Adobe job vacancies by location, keyword, or experience level over here on the company’s website.

Infosys

This India-based multinational information technology company provides consulting, outsourcing, and technology services around the globe. As a result, they’re always in need of more business-minded professionals who can handle or oversee highly technical processes for clients.

This one’s a good company to consider if you’re a software developer who wants a little experience with maintenance or development in a wider range of enterprise software than most companies can offer: Infosys is the company that serves all those enterprises. Join up, and you might be dealing with everything from data migration to full-stack Java development as a full-time job.

• Deception Tech Engineer
• Lead Fullstack Angular Developer
• Senior Java Developer
• Cloud Solution Architect
• Lead Android Developer

See more Infosys open job vacancies — both for graduates and for seasoned pros — on the company website.

IBM

IBM has maintained its status as a top tech company for such an incredibly long time that its name — established in the 1920s — is the very old-timey sounding “International Business Machines.” The company might not be quite as inescapable as it was in the 1970s, when it produced 70 percent of all the computers in the world. Still, it remains a huge software company today, and the seventh largest technology company by revenue.

Natually, IBM offers a wide range of software development careers, with open positions dedicated to API, .Net/C#, or infrastructure development, as well as roles in rapidly expanding industries like cyber security and artificial intelligence.

Currently, a host of 2024 summer intern positions as open as well, with a raft of specific openings for software development areas including back end development and cloud engineering, among other

• .NET C# Developer
• Functional Analyst
• Sr AI Back End Developer
• API Developer
• Backend Developer

Find over 160 additional software development positions on the IBM job website.

Still on the Hunt for a Software Developer Position?

In the last year alone, tech layoffs passed 150,000 positions lost — which is more than at the start of the Covid pandemic. Now, in late 2023, the worst of the layoffs seem to be behind us, but the damage is done.

Getting a job is far from impossible, however, and in fact, many employees are finding a strong labor market — although this all depends on your specific skillset and job needs.

We’ve always been big advocates for remote work positions, so check out our recent guide to the best fully remote jobs to apply to in November, as well as the top 4-day workweek positions available this month.

No matter your needs, there’s a job for you somewhere.

Microsoft has reportedly announced a restriction of its own employees’ access to OpenAI’s ChatGPT software for a short period this week, before explaining to CNBC that it was a mistake.

The tech company has invested billions into the platform, but took precautions this Thursday to curtail the service’s use. An internal message originally said that ChatGPT was “banned” along with another third-party external service, design software Canva.

However, this ban was fully reversed shortly afterwards, following the publication of a now-updated CNBC article.

What’s the Timeline for All This?

The issue started when Microsoft updated an internal website to say that “a number of AI tools are no longer available for employees to use” due to “security and data concerns.”According to this internal message, this decision was because ChatGPT is still a “third-party external service” and potentially opens up a security concern.

Here’s how CNBC explains it:

“The company initially said it was banning ChatGPT and design software Canva, but later removed a line in the advisory that included those products. After initial publication of this story, Microsoft reinstated access to ChatGPT.”

Microsoft Still Stands Behind ChatGPT

So, after an update from Microsoft’s people, the official news is that ChatGPT is not banned at the company. Instead, all employee access was temporarily restricted, and restored shortly afterwards. And according to the spokesperson, the original message itself was a mistake.

“We were testing endpoint control systems for LLMs and inadvertently turned them on for all employees,” a spokesperson told CNBC. “We restored service shortly after we identified our error. As we have said previously, we encourage employees and customers to use services like Bing Chat Enterprise and ChatGPT Enterprise that come with greater levels of privacy and security protections.”

Granted, all this back and forth doesn’t exactly look great for Microsoft. But these technical mishaps happen sometimes, and they don’t impact any real business decisions — except perhaps a greater investment in reducing human error in cybersecurity in the future.

In the end, Microsoft still supports employee use of the large language model ChatGPT, which it has plenty of funds invested in, and it still stands behind the “built-in safeguards” that the company says keep it safe for enterprise use.

Using ChatGPT at Work

You don’t have to work at Microsoft to be confused by workplace messaging about ChatGPT. Can you use it? Should you? Will you fall behind if you don’t? It all depends on what your workplace tells you.

Plenty of businesses do ban ChatGPT, and you definitely don’t want to violate any direct order — even if 68% of ChatGPT users admit hiding it from their boss. And there is some evidence to suggest using it to create a resume hurts your odds of landing the position.

But if your workplace is ChatGPT-friendly, take a look at these quick how-to guides to bring you up to speed on the AI platform:

• What Is ChatGPT? A Beginner’s Guide With Simple Explanations
• 10 Ways Businesses Are Using ChatGPT Right Now
• 40 Best ChatGPT Prompts To Save You Time at Work

The 4-day workweek has become so much more than a pipedream over the last few years. Big corporations and small companies alike have begun providing the popular employee perk, with 4-day workweek jobs linked to better staff wellbeing and even improved productivity.

However, not everyone is on board just yet, with the majority of businesses sticking to the standard five-day workweek for most employees. Sure, you could ask your boss for a four day workweek, but if that doesn’t work, there’s only one option. And short of upping sticks to one of the countries with 4-day workweek policies, it’s getting a new job.

In this guide, you’ll learn about all the 4-day workweek job openings currently live in November. We’ll only include the ones that let you work four days a week for the same pay, as taking a pay cut to work just four days a week isn’t a “4-day workweek” as we understand it – it’s just working part-time.

Buffer

There might be a few companies on this list that are flexible with their 4-day workweek. Buffer is not one of those companies, offering every single one of its employees the same pay for only four days of work per week.

In May 2020, Buffer decided to test out the 4-day workweek, given the pandemic was wreaking havoc on employee mental health. The trial went great, and the company made it an official policy for the entire company in late 2020.

If you do have a bit of extra work to get done, Buffer encourages employees to work a fifth, meeting-less day per week, but that is completely optional. And because Buffer is an entirely remote team, there’s no office to go to either way.

Unfortunately, Buffer is a smaller team than the average company, and there is currently only one position open in November, but make sure to check back for more updates:

• Design Engineer, Marketing

Learn more about Buffer’s open job vacancies on the company’s website.

Feathr

At the start of the pandemic, Feathr opted to reduce pay for upper management and executives by 20%, while reducing work at the same rate, so everyone got Friday off. As the financial stress of the pandemic wore off, the company went back to the standard pay model, but decided that the additional day off was really improving culture and wellbeing at the company.

Now, all Feathr employees get Friday off, with the day before the 3-day weekend being playfully deemed “Thriday” to further illustrate how much they care about their employees.

Feathr takes pride in its 4-day workweek, and there are plenty of positions open right now that could have you enjoying your own “Thriday” every single week.

• Team Manager, Customer Success
• Account-Based Marketing Manager
• Senior Product & Partner Marketing Manager
• Senior Account Director
• Senior Account Executive

Learn more about Feathr and its “Thriday” philosophy on the company’s website.

GoLinks

There are plenty of studies out there that the 4-day workweek has a positive impact on employee wellbeing, both physical and mental, while also improving productivity. GoLinks has taken this to heart by allowing all of its employees to work four days a week for the same pay.

GoLinks is fully behind the benefits of a 4-day workweek and hopes its model will help encourage other workplaces to get on board with the popular new employee perk, which has been shown to improve staff retention and overall happiness.

Here’s a look at the 4-day workweek jobs available at GoLinks in November:

• Enterprise SDR
• Sales Development Representative
• Renewal Specialist
• Business Operations Specialist
• Product Manager

Stay up to date on 4-day workweek positions at GoLinks by checking out the company website.

Kickstarter

Kickstarter is about more than helping innovative inventions get funding when they need it, the company is all about innovation when it comes to working conditions too. The crowdfunding platform has effectively established the rule, with “most” employees working on the shortened schedule.

Kickstarter represents a significant company in the 4-day workweek, with its 900 employees being one of the larger workforces to take on the new policy.

Kickstarter is another company that was included in our October roundup of 4-day workweek jobs. Much like Bolt, some roles have been filled, but others have been added, so you still have a chance to take advantage of this workplace perk.

• Engineering Manager, Mobile Applications
• Senior iOS Engineer
• Data Scientist
• Senior Counsel

Want to work at Kickstarter? Head on over to the company website to check out the open positions now.

ThredUp

Of all the companies currently hiring that offer the 4-day workweek to its employees, ThredUp is arguably one of the most prominent. The clothing company currently has partnerships with H&M and Bloomingdales and has become quite popular with younger buyers.

Even better, ThredUp is hiring like crazy right now, and every single one of its employees gets to enjoy the long weekend thanks to the 4-day workweek policy that was put in place in 2021 after a one-year trial that started during the pandemic.

Here are some of the jobs currently available at ThredUp in their Oakland, Scottsdale, New York City, and Kyiv offices around the world.

• Staff Sofware Engineer, Merchandising
• Senior Software Engineer
• Senior Front-end Software Engineer, Content & Incentives
• Engineering Manager, Merchandising
• Manager, SEC Reporting
• Senior Product Designer
• General Ledger Accountant
• Senior Data Infra Engineer
• Payroll Manager
• Data Analyst, Marketing
• Data Analyst, Product

New roles are always being filled and vacated, which means you should check out the ThredUp website to stay up to date.

Bolt

Bolt was a bit later to the 4-day workweek party than other companies on this list, waiting until 2021 to test out the new work policy. After a three-month trial, though, employees and managers were both fully on board.

In fact, 87% of managers noted that they felt productivity had increased over the trial period, a fact that many companies have found to be true about the shortened work schedule.

Bolt was included in our October edition of this guide, and while some of the roles have been filled since last month, a few remain from last month, as well as a few additions that may be a better fit. Here are the open positions at Bolt in November:

• Lead Business Development Representative
• Senior Engineering Manager
• Senior Software Engineer
• Software Engineer

Stay up to date on the jobs available at Bolt by checking out the company website.

Can’t Find the Right 4-Day Workweek Job?

If you’re looking for a 4-day workweek job, chances are one of the things you really want is a better work/life balance.

If that’s the case and you can’t find the right 4-day fit, you could also consider applying one of the many fully remote jobs hiring this November.

Alternatively, you might be able to ask to work remotely more often in your current role, or join one of the companies with the best employee perks in general.

It might not be a 4-day workweek, but other relatively small changes could make a big difference to your job satisfaction.

Almost 8 in 10 Americans don’t trust businesses to use AI responsibly, survey finds.

With the rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its subsequent integration into the tools and technology used in our daily personal and professional lives, some degree of skepticism is to be expected.

However, a recent study conducted by Bentley University and analytics and advisory company, Gallup, has some startling evidence that more than the majority of Americans are wary of the technology in spite of its ability to help with monotonous tasks.

AI and Trust in Businesses

The survey showed resounding evidence that while businesses big and small are rushing to implement AI, consumers don’t believe there are enough responsibility guardrails in place. The majority (79%) of respondents reported trusting businesses “not much” or “not at all” to adopt AI responsibly.

“Responsible use of software, in general, and AI/machine learning in particular, has a lot to do with risk and who experiences it. If the customers of products and services experience risk in their use, the company should bear some responsibility.” – Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist for Google

Additionally, a mere one in 10 Americans who responded to the survey believed that AI does more good than harm. Leaving the remaining 90% split between an equal amount of harm and good (50%) and more harm than good (40%).

The Bentley-Gallup Business in Society Report is based on a web survey with 5,458 U.S. adults carried out in May this year, using the probability-based Gallup Panel. Among a range of workplace topics, the respondents were asked about their feelings on AI, both in the workplace and as consumers.

AI Eliminating Jobs

Three quarters of Americans believe that Artificial Intelligence will reduce the number of jobs on the market over the next decade. This figure rose to 80% for those who do not have a bachelor’s degree, are long-term unemployed, or over the age of 60.

Those least concerned about AI eliminating jobs were 18-29 year-olds, the future of the US workforce. Of whom, 66% believed it to be true, 26% percent thought there would be no change in job levels, and 9% — the highest of all demographics — believed there would actually be more jobs.

“We’re going to see tremendous occupational shifts. Some jobs will climb while others decline. So how do we enable and support workers as they transition from occupation to occupation? We don’t do that very well. I worry about the skill shifts. Skill requirements are going to be substantial and how do we get there quickly enough?” – James Manyika, chairman and director, McKinsey Global Institute (MGI)

Tasks We Trust AI to Outperform Humans

While many are fearful of AI taking over jobs, we can’t deny it is better than humans at certain tasks.

This survey question doesn’t speak to the actual ability of AI-bots to do a task but rather the human perception of their ability to do a task. It highlights the industries in which people are most skeptical about AI integration and those which are more acceptable.

The tasks which came out more favorable in relation to AI with respondents were customizing the content they see online (68%), recommending products or services (65%), and assisting students with their homework (60%).

The tasks that people thought would perform worse than a human were recommending medical advice (62%), driving cars (68%) and recommending the employees a company should hire (69%).

However, 18-29 year-olds answered more optimistically overall compared to older demographics, demonstrating a shift in public perception is likely on the horizon.

AI technology continues its path of adaption in business software, with Wix announcing a conversational chatbot that will guide you through the website building process in minutes.

AI website builders have become a popular tool for businesses in the modern era, providing users with a seamless experience that takes virtually zero technical knowledge. That’s right, not only can you be entirely inexperienced with coding, but you can also be a total novice in web design and other skills previously necessary to build a good website.

Now, Wix has made the process that much easier with an AI-powered chatbot that can do most of the work for you.

The Wix AI assistant helping me create a fake website.
Image: Tech.co 

Wix Unveils AI Assistant

Announced in a press release, Wix is launching the AI Assistant feature on its website building platform. The conversational chatbot will ask users a series of questions during the initial setup process. It asks about everything, from the purpose and target audience of your website to the tone and goals of your brand.

Once you’ve answered all the questions about your website, Wix will take you to a customized dashboard based on your answers, that provides you with all the components your website probably needs. Suffice it to say, it’s going to speed up the website building process quite a bit for beginners.

“This new AI technology serves as an excellent starting point for creating a business profile by eliminating the need for users to manually understand which components they need to run their business online.” – Guy Sopher, Head of AI Assistant at Wix

If you’ve ever been intimidated by the website building process, this feature should put your mind at ease.

Check out our Wix review for more information 

Upcoming AI Features from Wix

The AI movement has hit Wix hard, with the popular website builder rolling out a wide range of new features — including text generators, image creators, and automated product descriptions — that help users get a site live as fast and as smoothly as possible.

Wix isn’t done yet, either. The platform has plans to launch even more AI-powered features for users in the future. Here’s a list of AI features that is coming to the website builder soon:

• AI Site Generator
• AI Page and Section Creator
• Object Eraser

Is Wix a Good Website Builder?

At Tech.co, we’ve thoroughly researched a whole bunch of different business software, including website builders, so you can trust us when we say that Wix is one of the best options on the market.

In fact, our research found that Wix is the best website builder for most users, providing lots of features and an intuitive platform. Plus, it’s got a stellar free plan that allows users to get started without any financial commitment whatsoever.

On top of all that, Wix continues to roll out these AI features that not only make it easy to build your site, but also allow you to easily update and manage your site in the long run. All that to say, Wix should be your first pick when it comes to looking for a website builder.

Check out our Wix pricing guide for more information

Humane, the mysterious startup founded by ex-Apple employees, has finally launched its first product – a wearable called the AI Pin that lets you clip ChatGPT to your clothes for a cool $699.

Prior to launch, it was understood that ChatGPT would feature on the device, but we now know that access to the OpenAI chatbot is one of the core features of the wearable and its OS, called Cosmos.

The standalone device is screen-less, smaller in size than a typical smartphone, and is designed for AI from the ground up. Humane say the AI Pin embodies its “vision for the emerging convergence between humans and AI.”

The startup was co-founded by former Apple employees Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno. It enjoys the backing of ChatGPT owner OpenAI and Microsoft.

Other key features include AI-powered optical recognition and a laser-projected display, which is intended to allow the AI Pin to throw smartphone interface and functionality on to any surface. Along these lines, the AI Pin uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, like those found in many of the world’s most popular handsets. Even after yesterday’s official reveal, it hasn’t disclosed which chip, though.

Here’s everything else we know so far about the Humane AI Pin.

Humane AI Pin Release

Humane’s hotly anticipated wearable device was first teased at TED in April this year and now, a few months later, we finally have a release date. After this week’s launch event, we know that the first AI Pin units will be available to order November 16 in the US.

It’s not clear if you have to have already expressed interest in the AI Pin by signing up to the pre-launch waitlist, or if anyone will be able to buy it at that time. We’re equally unsure about the initial scale of production, but expect a certain amount of scarcity in the early days of the AI Pin.

Going back, Chaudhri first demoed it during that TED Talk by taking a phone call from his wife, showing how it projected the call incoming alert onto his palm in a green laser text, and how he then answered it with simple voice controls and hand gestures.

It was also promoted at Paris Fashion Week earlier in 2023. In addition to those features the AI Pin will also come with a camera equipped with depth and motion sensors to record its surroundings.

You can head over to the Humane AI Pin website to learn more.

Humane AI Pin Price: $699 Plus Monthly Charge is Official

According to leaked documents obtained by The Verge, the Humane AI Pin is set to retail at $699. This price was confirmed at the official launch.

For this, it’s thought you’ll get the device, a charger, plus two battery packs Humane call “battery boosters” which also magnetically clip on to clothing and other surfaces.

An additional monthly subscription fee of $24 is required for access to cellular data in order to take and receive calls, texts and emails. This extra cost will also be necessary to get cloud storage for any images or video you shoot with the device, as well as use its integrated AI-assistant.

This will be powered by Microsoft and OpenAI, so while any product specific branding is still unknown, it will be a version of ChatGPT.

Other handy features that can help you through your day include a daily summary of your emails, the ability to identify the nutritional value of foods, translate different languages and choose music you like.

The Verge also reported that the device will have an inbuilt “personic speaker,” bluetooth connectivity for headphones, a “trust light” which blinks whenever the device is recording audio or video and a touchpad for manual input.

What is Humane?

Humane seems to be gathering momentum ahead of its first major product launch. It secured $100 million in series C funding back in March and now reportedly boasts 200 or more employees.

The buzz around this fledgling tech company likely comes as a result of its high proportion of ex-Apple employees. It’s thought as much as 50% of the Humane workforce is former Apple talent, while the co-founders worked on some of the iconic company’s best loved products, from older Mac computers and the iPod right through the Apple Watch and iPhone.

The company has previously spoken about its to “reshape the role of technology in our lives.” We’ll find out very shortly just what it has in store.

Videoconferencing software company Zoom has announced that its new Zoom Clips feature is now generally available. The tool helps users capture, edit and send videos for enhanced asynchronous work.

Billed as the voice note of the web meeting world, Zoom Clips promises to help you cut out all those unnecessary meetings you have due to remote working, offering an alternative to catching up over video in real-time.

The feature has been in public beta since August and launched officially worldwide. It’s geared at helping busy colleagues connect with one another on asynchronous projects, especially when scheduling conflicts prevent a meeting taking place.

How to Use Zoom Clips

In short, Zoom Clips lets you create short-form video clips so that colleagues can communicate remotely with each other on those topics that are just too long-winded for an email, but don’t necessarily require a fully fledged meeting.

In a company blog post published to announcing general Zoom Clips availability, Zoom said this feature is designed to support teams to “communicate asynchronously, cut down on the number of meetings, and reduce lost time to ambiguous communication.”

To get started, Zoom users will need to select the new feature from the menu or taskbar in their Zoom app or online portal. Zoom Clips will then guide them through recording a short video clip, editing the clip and its properties such as the name, description, tags and thumbnail image and store their clips all directly within the platform.

You’ll then be able to edit the viewing permissions so only a select person(s) is able to see it, and generate shareable links to distribute the video clip via email or other messaging platforms internally and externally.

After sharing you Zoom Clip with colleagues, you’ll even be able to understand how their video clip has “performed” with analytics available for each video as well as the comments functionality for direct feedback from viewers.

You can learn more about Zoom Clips and how it can help you start shedding unnecessary meetings from your schedule by checking out the full User Guide.

Zoom Clips Pricing: Who Can Use Zoom Clips?

Zoom Clips Basic allows users to record up to five clips of up to two minutes each, whilst Zoom Clips Plus will remove those time and volume restrictions for an additional fee of $6.99 per month.

Paying Zoom One customers will already have access to Zoom Clips Plus as part of their subscription to Zoom, which we rate as one of the best conference call services for beginners.

It’s also a one of our preferred video conferencing apps in general, but bear in mind that the daily cap on using Zoom Clips for free might make it unsuitable for businesses and individuals without a paid subscription.

What Is Asynchronous Video and Why Should Businesses Care?

Quite simply, asynchronous video is video content that’s recorded and shard with others to view later. It’s the opposite of live video, which is how many of us traditional think of web meetings.

As well as clamping down on unnecessary meetings, asynchronous video is also advertised as a good way to amplify corporate announcements, facilitate on-boarding and training exercises, and get around tricky time zone clashes. It’s also a natural fit for product demos, colleague recognition, and of course, the quick status updates that so often take up half an hour of your day without really needing to.

There are some well-established Zoom alternatives in the asynchronous video space, such as Loom, Weet and Bubbles. Whilst Zoom already had an asynchronous video tool within its Zoom Team Chat product, the new more robust Zoom Clips tool seems to be a direct response to these previously more advanced and feature-rich competitors.

David Ball, Zoom’s meetings and chat product manager, wrote in the blog post announcing Clips back in August: “With our new asynchronous video offering, you can demonstrate important information with teammates in a pinch, add a personal touch to your collaboration or just share a detailed project update without having to join a live meeting.”