Skip to content
Menu
Love it or loathe it, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay – and it’s getting harder to ignore. From how we generate and consume content to how industries operate and innovate, AI is reshaping the world around us. It’s making waves across sectors from media to science, transforming not just the headlines, but the way we live and work.
Each month, our ‘AI Digest’ breaks down the biggest stories in AI, exploring their broader impact on brands, industries, and everyday life.
First up this month is the launch of a web browser from OpenAI. The new browser, Atlas, lets ChatGPT follow users across the web, the tech leader said in a statement, understanding what they are trying to do and working to complete tasks.
The response was initially muted, with OpenAI following a number of other tech companies with its launch. Google, for example, has integrated parts of its Gemini AI model into Chrome, while Perplexity AI has also rolled out AI-powered browsers.
Privacy concerns were also cited in some early reviews, with OpenAI itself candidly admitting the agent capabilities of ChatGPT still carry a risk. “Besides simply making mistakes when acting on your behalf, agents are susceptible to hidden malicious instructions, which may be hidden in places such as a webpage or email with the intention that the instructions override ChatGPT agent’s intended behavior. This could lead to stealing data from sites you’re logged into or taking actions you didn’t intend,” a release explained.
In the Washington Post—owned by tech titan Jeff Bezos, lest we forget—commentator Geoffrey A. Fowler pointed to the data collection required to power the new tool. “Behind the scenes, it is working to learn much more about you. If you grant permission during setup, the browser builds a trove of memories about sites you visit and surfaces them ‘when you need’ them. You could tell Atlas: ‘Open the Halloween decorations I was looking at last week in some tabs, and it could do it,” he explains.
Much to consider then. As Pat Moorhead, CEO and chief analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, told the BBC in an interview, quick adoption seems unlikely. He explained he was skeptical Atlas would pose a serious challenge to Chrome or Microsoft Edge “as more mainstream, beginners, and corporate users will just wait for their favorite browsers to offer this capability”.
Time will tell if these early predictions are correct, or if Atlas can grow to become a serious rival to established web browsers.
Misrepresentation of information
In not wholly unconnected news, research has found that AI routinely misrepresent news content no matter which language, territory or AI platform is tested.
The international study, coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and led by the BBC, had unprecedented scope and scale and was launched at the EBU News Assembly in Naples. Involving 22 public service media (PSMs) organizations in 18 countries working in 14 languages, it identified multiple systemic issues across four leading AI tools.
Professional journalists from participating PSMs evaluated more than 3,000 responses from ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini and Perplexity against key criteria, including accuracy, sourcing, distinguishing opinion from fact and providing context.
Key findings reveal 45 per cent of all AI answers had at least one significant issue, while 31 per cent of responses showed serious sourcing problems – missing, misleading, or incorrect attributions. At the same time, a fifth contained major accuracy issues, including hallucinated details and outdated information.
Peter Archer, BBC program director, Generative AI, said: “We’re excited about AI and how it can help us bring even more value to audiences. But people must be able to trust what they read, watch and see. Despite some improvements, it’s clear that there are still significant issues with these assistants.
“We want these tools to succeed and are open to working with AI companies to deliver for audiences and wider society.”
Quantum computing takes center stage
On another frontier of transformative technology, Google this month confirmed it had developed a computer algorithm that points the way to practical applications for quantum computing. Moreover, the development will be able to generate unique data for use with AI.
The new algorithm, Quantum Echoes, is 13,000 times faster than the most sophisticated classical computing algorithm on supercomputers, Google said. In the future, the algorithm may be able to help measure molecular structure in molecules which could aid in drug discovery and help material science through identifying new types of materials.
Last year, Google unveiled its quantum chip, Willow, which the company said is able to overcome a crucial problem with “qubits,” the building blocks of quantum computing. The development of the algorithm was roughly equivalent in significance to the chip, the company said.
The algorithm is also verifiable with other quantum computers or through experiments, which means it can lead to practical applications.
