Google backs publisher model as Apple considers price tag for news August 14, 2026 Google said it backs the established system for paying news publishers, even as Apple considers a radically different model that would tie payments to how often its AI assistant uses journalism. The search giant considers itself the only major tech platform with a structured approach to paying publishers at scale, City AM understands, with licensing [...]
NHS data counters claims that £330m Palantir deal has led to ‘no improvement’ August 11, 2026 Internal NHS data indicates that Palantir’s hospital discharge tool cut delays by as much as 28 per cent, City AM understands, challenging recent reports from critics of the tech giant that it had made “no noticeable improvement” to the healthcare system’s efficiency. According to an internal NHS England report seen by City AM, trusts using [...]
Claude to watermark AI ‘slop’ – including edited human writing August 11, 2026 Anthropic will begin adding invisible watermarks to text generated by Claude as part of new EU rules designed to make AI-generated content easier to identify. But the system will also mark some text originally written by humans if it has subsequently been edited or processed by Claude, potentially complicating efforts to determine whether material was [...]
Microsoft ‘back on track’, whilst Meta spending leaves investors ‘nervous’ July 30, 2026 Microsoft saw strong growth over the last quarter as demand for its AI products continued to climb, while Meta’s rising spending on AI overshadowed record sales and sent its shares lower. The two US tech giants reported quarterly results after the closing bell on Wednesday, offering investors a clear picture of whether billions of dollars [...]
AI firms targeting London’s rare book shops in ‘dystopian’ hunt for training data July 29, 2026 London’s rare book shops appear to have been targeted by AI companies searching for books to train their models, after court documents revealed Anthropic bought, scanned and destroyed millions of physical books as part of a controversial project to feed an insatiable demand for training data. One London-based seller of rare books told City AM [...]
Sage accelerates AI expansion as revenue grows July 29, 2026 Sage said it is accelerating the roll-out of AI across its product lines on Wednesday as it reported another quarter of double-digit revenue growth, fuelled by a boost in demand for its cloud accounting software. The FTSE 100 software company said revenue rose 11 per cent to £2.06bn in the nine months to 30 June, [...]
AI spending overshadows Alphabet and Tesla earnings July 23, 2026 Wall Street’s biggest tech companies delivered another round of strong earnings on Wednesday, but the primary focus for investors is the growing cost of the artificial intelligence race. Alphabet and Tesla beat revenue expectations, yet their shares fell in after-hours trading after both companies signalled another year of heavy spending on AI infrastructure. Google-owner Alphabet [...]
Milestone Alphabet century bond already under pressure July 23, 2026 Alphabet’s historic century bond has shed more than seven per cent of its value in just five months, amid a wider downturn in long-dated debt and increased scepticism on the earnings potential of the US’s so-called hyperscalers. The sterling-denominated 100-year bond, which the Google owner will not have to repay until 2126, has sold off [...]
Big Tech faces earnings test after AI spending spree July 18, 2026 Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon will report earnings over the next two weeks as investors look for evidence that years of record spending on AI are beginning to generate stronger revenue growth. The three companies have led the AI investment boom, committing billions of dollars to data centres, chips and software. Their latest results are expected [...]
Government accelerates social media crackdown with midnight curfews July 14, 2026 Teenagers will face a default midnight social media curfew and stripped-back social media feeds under the government’s latest crackdown on addictive online features – but they will be able to switch the restrictions off themselves. Tech secretary Liz Kendall has announced social media platforms will disable auto-play and infinite scroll-style recommendations and restrict overnight access [...]