Free daily brief · Applied AI

AI was supposed to hit new grads hard. So far, unemployment data says otherwise.

"There is no evidence of any significant, widespread displacement or reduction in hiring.”

26 Sep 2026via arstechnica.com

Microsoft stops insisting you need a "Copilot+ PC"

Microsoft's new Surface laptops forgo Copilot+ PC branding.

26 Sep 2026via arstechnica.com

Trump admin using AI to deny medical care for seniors in disastrous experiment

Vendors rolling out AI have an "incentive to deny as many claims as possible."

26 Sep 2026via arstechnica.com

Microsoft’s new Copilot app puts everything in one place – but the price is ‘evolving’

Microsoft says Copilot has gotten ‘actually really good.’ The new app has AI agents and can write code. So how much is all this going to cost?

26 Sep 2026via zdnet.com

OpenAI agent “didn’t accept no for an answer” in Australian government breach

"There will obviously be legal consequences," prime minister promises.

25 Sep 2026via arstechnica.com

Nearly 70% of workers use AI regularly now – but many get no time to upskill

ZDNET Exclusive: A new Workera report shows businesses and employees aren’t on the same page about AI upskilling. Here’s what organizations need to know.

25 Sep 2026via zdnet.com

Google tests letting Gemini call businesses for you

Google says the AI-calling feature will first be available to Pixel 11 owners in the U.S. who pay for a Gemini subscription.

25 Sep 2026via techcrunch.com

AI agent kill switch urged by Okta-led alliance – how businesses could make it work

In response to the emerging threat of rogue and shadow AI agents, here’s how the newly formed Blueprint Alliance seeks to help businesses secure their systems against anomalous AI activity.

25 Sep 2026via zdnet.com

Claude Opus 5.5 delivers Fable 5.1 performance – and costs 40% less

Anthropic’s newest Claude model aims to make frontier AI cheaper, faster, and safer, while giving subscribers more breathing room before those frustrating usage limits kick in.

25 Sep 2026via zdnet.com

ChatGPT mobile app gets voice-based agentic features

Pro and Plus users will be able to use the Work tab on their phones to complete agentic tasks.

24 Sep 2026via techcrunch.com

Ema raises $77M as AI starts eating into enterprise software and services

Ema has raised $140 million to date and has more than 50 enterprise customers, including Google and Microsoft.

24 Sep 2026via techcrunch.com

Snorkel AI triples valuation to $3.5B as demand for AI training data booms

The seven-year-old startup has raised a $350 million Series E to fuel its data-as-a-service approach.

23 Sep 2026via techcrunch.com