Digital investment nearly doubles since 2019 yet AI’s growth contributions questioned Tech Investment in digital infrastructure has nearly doubled in the space of just five years official data has shown even as economists question whether recent gains in productivity are down to artificial intelligence. A revision of how digital infrastructure spending is calculated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has suggested that business investment in digital [...]
UK’s AI watchdog flags new OpenAI and Anthropic cyber alarms AI Britain’s AI safety watchdog was forced to declare a security incident after frontier AI models, including Anthropic’s Mythos, went rogue during a routine test, autonomously spinning up fake identities in a bid to hack real-world software developers. The AI Safety Institute (AISI) revealed on Tuesday that during a cybersecurity evaluation in late, AI models unexpectedly [...]
I’m an editor. This is the most worrying thing about AI slop Life&Style The slow creep of AI slop is unnerving to witness I’m an editor at this newspaper. Over the past week or so some of our best contributors have filed me AI slop – but not quite how you’d imagine it. These pieces aren’t necessarily completely written by AI, although sometimes they are. The new frontier [...]
Bank of England to relax capital rules despite warning of economic threats July 7, 2026 The Bank of England set out proposals to relax UK banks’ capital rules even as it sounded the alarm on the growing risk of multiple threats hitting the UK economy. In the latest meeting of the central bank’s Financial Policy Committee top officials said it would work with watchdogs on a package of “broad reforms” [...]
British consultants face slowdown as corporate spending slumps July 7, 2026 The British consulting industry is set to grow by a single digit this year as the sector faces a slowdown in spending from corporate clients. According to research from the Management Consultancies Association (MCA), the primary representative body for management consulting firms in the UK, the UK consulting sector’s predicted growth for 2026 stands at [...]
UK fintech Starling to axe 130 roles in AI-powered simplification drive July 3, 2026 Starling is gearing up to cut some 130 roles in a bid to streamline its operations following a fall in profit over the last year. The London-based fintech told staff this week it would restructure its banking and tech operations as it leveraged AI across operations ahead of an influx of new projects. It said [...]
Big Tech’s AI capex splurge can’t go on forever June 17, 2026 The eye-watering capital expenditure plans of Big Tech has been one of the year’s biggest stories. Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft have all splurged to secure a podium spot in the race to build out the infrastructure which will run the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. Total capex by these four firms is expected to reach $750bn [...]
HSBC targets $100m in savings with Google Cloud AI tie-up June 17, 2026 Europe’s biggest lender HSBC has sealed a a tech tie-up with Google where it aims to use AI to scout priority projects that could bank the firm $100m in “efficiency gains”. The FTSE 100 giant is planning to roll out Google Cloud across its operations in a deal that the bank says will allow 200 [...]
The EU has regulated itself out of the AI race but the UK is still in the game June 16, 2026 After months of debate and final negotiations that stretched long into the night, EU officials were jubilant when, as 2023 came to a close, the European Parliament reached an agreement on what would become the EU’s AI Act; a sprawling legal framework designed to regulate artificial intelligence across all member states. The EU’s top officials [...]
From mild to wild: What impact will AI have on banking jobs? June 10, 2026 Top banking bosses have issued their AI verdict after Standard Chartered stunned the sector with plans for sweeping job cuts last month. In this week’s column Samuel Norman looks at whether a reckoning could be on the horizon. The big-name banker must have known how the conversation would go when he arrived for lunch with [...]