Thought #12 - AI is moving fast. Humans still need time to learn.

Hi lovely humans,

Sorry this one’s a day late - I took a holiday this week. AI did not.

It’s been another week of big moves, small shifts, and quietly weird experiments. Some of it’s exciting (Stripe's fraud detection just got a serious upgrade), some of it’s worrying (Estonia’s trying to replace teachers), and some of it’s useful applications in payments, Government and animal

AI New Releases

A quick round-up of what’s new and being launched into the world.

• Stripe built its own fraud detection model
  And it’s working. They say accuracy jumped from 59% to 97%.

• Mistral launched ‘Le Chat Enterprise’
  A new chatbot designed for companies, with added data security and enterprise features. Seems like a strong attempt to rival OpenAI and Anthropic.

• OpenAI Deep Research now connects to GitHub and SharePoint
  Good for teams using those tools already, though Deep Research still feels a bit hidden in the product.

• Google adds an AI Mode to Search
  It’s experimental and replaces the ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ button. Hopefully it’s better than the AI summary in Google Search results.

• Perplexity have partnered with Wiley
  To give more power to students using the platform.

AI News

A mix of experiments, policy moves, and shifting workplace expectations.

• It’s been a weird week in terms of AI copyright moves in the UK:

  • Artists challenge AI copyright plans
    This was before the House of Lords vote. Paul McCartney, Dua Lipa and others have signed an open letter asking the UK government to reconsider its approach.

  • The House of Lords voted in favour of the AI copyright transparent

  • UK government blocks amendment on AI copyright transparency
    Ministers have decided not to go ahead with a plan that would have required AI companies to declare when they use copyrighted materials. This follows public pressure from artists, but the government says the proposed approach isn’t workable.
    
    

    This one feels like one step forward, one back for copyright protections - especially for creatives who want to understand how their work is being used.

• Estonia is trialling AI to teach maths
  The idea is to personalise lessons and fill gaps, especially where there aren’t enough teachers.

• Microsoft is cutting 3 percent of its workforce
  Another company pointing to AI as a reason for job changes.

• Fiverr’s CEO told workers to ‘scream, then go study’
  That’s the actual line. The message is that change is coming, and skills need to shift.

• Klarna says humans are useful again
  After championing AI replacements, it’s hiring people back.

• Research finds people trust you less if you admit to using AI at work
  And even less if you use it and try to hide it.

• Audible is using AI to create audiobooks
  From translation to narration. End to end.

• The UK government built a chatbot called Humphrey
  It’s been used to review consultation responses, including in Scotland.

• Perplexity and PayPal team up
  The aim is to support what they call agentic commerce.

• Baidu wants to patent AI that deciphers animal sounds
  Filed in China. Not commercial yet.

• Canada appoints first AI minister
  Canada has appointed its first-ever Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, Evan Solomon. This move underscores the country's commitment to shaping AI policy and fostering digital innovation.

Not exactly news but we thought these were useful and worth reading:

Interesting bits that sit in the background of all this.

• A thoughtful take on creativity
  This post explores what makes human creativity feel distinct, especially as AI-generated content becomes more common.
  

• YC (Y Combinator a really sought after accelerator for startups) released their call for startup summer 2025 - and it’s basically an AI accelerator this time rouns.

LinkedIn AI Poll

We asked last week how much people were paying for AI tools (because I was trying to justify the £100 a month for Claude Pro). A fairly even split in this week’s poll, with slightly more people paying for just one AI tool.

Vote in this week’s poll - please!

This week we’re asking if you use AI for anything personal (rather than just for work).

What We’ve Been Up To

Personally, I’ve been enjoying the city of Athens, and eating way too much food.

Organising a women in AI and data event 

Women only make up 22% of the AI workforce! This is one of the reasons I started SW*AID - South West and Wales Women in AI and Data, and we’ve got an event next week.

If you’re near Bristol UK, come along Wed 21st May 2025 12noon-12pm Ashfords, Bristol to join in some beginner friendly workshops on prompting and linking ChatGPT to Zapier for more power.

Sign Up

Final Thoughts

As always we hope this was helpful!

Feel free to share this with anyone who might find it useful.

Next week, we’ll be back with our resources and blogs (as always any ideas send them through).

Laura
Always learning