Is AI really to blame for Britain’s rising unemployment? February 17, 2026 Unemployment has risen to 5.2 per cent, the highest level since 2021, as the UK’s labour market continues to cool. But how much of that stagnation can reasonably be attributed to AI? The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show the jobless rate climbed in the three months to December, while the number of [...]
UK under-16s social media ban could land before year end February 16, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer is considering banning under-16s from social media within months, as ministers crack down on children’s online activity following a deepfake scandal on Elon Musk’s Grok. The prime minister has insisted that “no platform gets a free pass” on child safety, with a formal consultation on tougher social media protections launching in March. [...]
KPMG partner fined for using AI to cheat on internal training February 16, 2026 A partner at the Big Four firm KPMG has been fined $10,000 (£7,200) for using AI to cheat in an internal training course meant to test knowledge of the technology. KPMG Australia has forced an unnamed audit partner to redo a test after they uploaded training materials to an AI platform to help answer AI-related [...]
Starmer closes chatbot loophole in Online Safety Act February 16, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer is set to target AI chatbots with the UK’s Online Safety Act, warning tech titans that “no platform gets a free pass” following a deepfake scandal involving Elon Musk’s Grok. In a speech on Monday, the Prime Minister is expected to confirm plans to amend the Crime and Policing Bill, so that [...]
The first tech wobble of 2026 revives AI bubble fears February 13, 2026 Following a swell of AI bubble scepticism at the back end of 2025, this year’s first market wobble has arrived early, landing squarely on global tech stocks. When Anthropic released a new AI tool designed to help in-house legal teams triage agreements and draft routine responses, the reaction trickled down through law firms straight into [...]
Nscale bags $1.4bn loan as AI infrastructure shifts to private credit February 13, 2026 London-based AI cloud provider Nscale has secured a $1.4bn (£1.03bn) delayed draw term loan backed by GPUs, in one of the largest private credit deals yet tied directly to AI hardware deployments in Europe. The facility was led by funds managed by Pimco, Blue Owl and LuminArx Capital Management, with support from additional asset managers [...]
One in three founders plan job cuts due to AI February 13, 2026 A third of Britain’s scale-up founders are expected to cut jobs in the next year as AI adoption accelerates, new data suggests. A new report by Helm found 33 per cent of founders expect AI to lead job cuts in their business within the next twelve months. Nearly two-thirds, or 64 per cent, said they [...]
Most people have no idea how good AI is – and they’ll be the first to go February 12, 2026 A viral post from an AI investor warns most people have no idea how good AI is, or how quickly it will come for their jobs. Will it come for mine? Maybe. A couple of weeks ago I looked at the essay written by Anthropic’s co-founder in which he expressed his fears that humanity won’t [...]
Fashion bosses back AI as their staff fear for their jobs February 12, 2026 Scroll through LinkedIn and you will see fashion bosses talking up AI as the next industry growth lever. But turn to their teams, and the picture becomes less rosy. A Vogue Business survey of over 300 fashion professionals found 43 per cent feel ‘positive’ or ‘very positive’ about AI’s future impact on their careers. Thirty [...]
Relx reassures as AI fears hit data stocks February 12, 2026 Relx has sought to steady nerves with Thursday’s trading update, following a week of sharp AI-driven sell-off across legal and data stocks. The digital tool giant reported full-year results this morning showing revenue of £9.59bn for 2025, up from £9.43bn in 2024, representing seven per cent underlying growth. Reported operating profit rose to £3.03bn from [...]