Are You Listening to AI?

Hello,

This is Simon with the latest edition of The Weekly. In these updates, I share key AI related stories from this week's news, list upcoming events, and share any longer form articles posted on the website.

Until now, AI assistants have been reactive. Think of Siri, Alexa, or ChatGPT, they sit and wait for you to ask a question. However, a couple of developments I notice, hinted that this is about to change.

First, OpenAI announced Pulse, a new feature that acts as a proactive curation tool. It researches and organises updates based on your interests, goals, and calendar, working silently in the background. Its ability to connect to your email and calendar transforms it from a simple tool into a genuinely helpful, active assistant.

Following a similar trend is Huxe, a new platform offering a curated audio experience. Co-Founded by one of Google's NotebookLM Product team, Raiza Martin, Huxe was inspired by a particular key insight: one of their most popular features was its 'Audio Overview', showing a clear demand for consuming information this way.

Traditionally, media as always been created for the masses, especially when we think of TV and press, social media changed that somewhat, but with huge questions over quality and trust. We’ve never had an entirely personalised media platform before.

A number of AI tools have started to change that, but the common problem is that they still require manual effort. We have to upload files, link to websites, and often, we don't even know what we should be looking for. An AI solution that automatically does this legwork in the background isn't just a time-saver; it's a fundamental shift in how we discover and digest information.

A couple of questions for you:

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In this section, I’m going to bring to you a real world example of AI use.

The viral call-recording app Neon went offline on Thursday after security researchers at TechCrunch discovered a critical flaw that exposed users' phone numbers, call recordings, and private transcripts to any logged-in user. The app, which had skyrocketed to become the second-ranked social networking app on Apple's App Store, was paying users to record phone conversations and selling that data to AI companies.

Why this matters: Whilst we may love the convenience that many AI tools provide, it’s essential that we still check their security credentials.

The widespread adoption of artificial intelligence tools among software developers has reached a striking 90% in 2025, according to Google Cloud's latest DORA research report released today. This represents a sharp 14% increase from the previous year, marking AI as an nearly ubiquitous presence in modern software development.

Why this matters: Whilst initially seen as a threat to their jobs, it’s clear that developers are now fully embracing AI as an essential tool.

Citigroup unveiled an enhanced version of its proprietary AI platform, Citi Stylus Workspaces, now powered by agentic AI technology that enables employees to tackle complex, multi-step tasks with unprecedented autonomy. The upgrade, represents a major advancement in the bank's digital transformation strategy.

Why this matters: It’s a strong signal that the finance sector sees AI as a solution to drive efficiency and within it’s processes.

Thanks for reading, and see you next Thursday.

Simon,

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