Threats, Tools & Tectonic Shifts

Vibe-hacking looms large, Silicon Valley bets on politics, and Google makes AI video editing instant.

Aug 27, 2025

Plaud upgrades its card-sized AI note-taker with better range
Emma Roth/ The Verge
The accuracy and range of Plaud's portable AI note-taker have been enhanced. The gadget appears to be the preferred tool for taking notes during lectures and meetings.

Person reading a business paper as a report from digital bank Zopa and Juniper Research finds that AI is transforming the banking industry, but the expected benefits and savings come at great human cost with the impact on finance jobs.

Zopa: AI to automate banking, threaten finance jobs
Ryan Daws/ AI News
AI will simplify banking procedures, according to UK digital bank Zopa, but it may also displace human jobs. Efficiency improvements and employment hazards are both present in the finance sector.

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‘Vibe-hacking’ is now a top AI threat
Hayden Field/ The Verge
Experts caution against "vibe-hacking," in which artificial intelligence quietly sways people's emotions and tone. It's a new area of online trust and psychological manipulation.

Half of UK adults worry that AI will take or alter their job, poll finds
Joanna Partridge/ The Guardian
According to a recent survey, one in two adults in the UK worry that AI could ruin their employment. The results show that people are becoming increasingly concerned about how automation may affect jobs.

Silicon Valley Pledges $200 Million to New Pro-A.I. Super PACs
Theodore Schleifer and Eli Tan/ New York Times
$200 million is being poured into pro-AI political action organizations by IT companies and investors. The money has the potential to influence Washington policy and the direction of AI legislation.

Anthropic settles AI book piracy lawsuit
Emma Roth/ The Verge
A lawsuit against Anthropic for training its AI on unlicensed books has been settled. The lawsuit intensifies the discussion over data rights in the generative AI era.

Edit Your Drive Videos Instantly in Google Vids
TechRepublic
With Google's new tool, you can rapidly alter Drive videos using AI. You can edit quickly and easily without the need for complex software.

From Pixels to Understanding: A Better Way for AI to See
Kaushik Rajan/ Toward AI
In order to achieve full visual "understanding," researchers are teaching AI to transcend pixels. The method may lead to advances in robotics, medicine, and other fields.

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