The AI Pulse

Issue #59 — 15th December2025

Editor: Professor Alan Brown

It’s the last AI Pulse of 2025 and this week’ is brought to you with the support of the Public Sector AI Impact Awards. It’s the 9th year of these important Impact Awards and this year they celebrate AI for Good across Public Services, Society and Business. Click the banner below to check out the 12 categories you can enter or nominate to.

Highlights in this edition include:

Companies Are Finally Paying for AI, and Paying Big - Business Insider reports 90% of CIOs creating dedicated AI budgets as spending shifts from experimentation to production deployment.

AI to Accelerate National Renewal as Google DeepMind Backs UK Tech – The UK Government announces DeepMind’s first automated research lab is opening next year, giving British scientists priority access to cutting-edge AI tools.

The AI That Scored 95% — Until Consultants Learned It Was AI - VentureBeat reveals an SAP experiment where senior consultants rejected accurate AI work when told its source, accepting identical results when attributed to human interns.

While Google and OpenAI Battle, Anthropic Is Quietly Winning the Enterprise Race - ZDNet analyzes how Anthropic captures enterprise market share, focusing on safety and reliability over model dominance.

More Than 200 Environmental Groups Demand Halt to New US Datacenters - The Guardian covers a coalition opposing data center expansion amid energy consumption concerns as AI infrastructure demands soar.

AI for Good

Alan Turing Institute Develops AI Model for Stronger Satellite Maritime Surveillance - UK Authority details breakthrough technology enhancing maritime safety and security through advanced satellite monitoring.

Bridging the Silence: How LEO Satellites and Edge AI Will Democratize Connectivity - Toward Data Science explores how satellite technology and AI combine to bring internet access to underserved communities globally.

Police Forces ‘Need Central Support’ in Adopting AI - UK Authority examines challenges facing law enforcement agencies implementing AI tools for public safety.

Bias and Ethics

Trump Signs AI Executive Order Pushing to Ban State Laws - The Verge analyzes federal preemption of state AI regulations, raising concerns about AI safety oversight.

Scores of UK Parliamentarians Join Call to Regulate Most Powerful AI Systems - The Guardian reports cross-party support for comprehensive AI governance frameworks.

Building Trust and Literacy in AI Is Key for Digital Safety - World Economic Forum advocates for public education initiatives to ensure responsible AI adoption.

Gartner Urges Businesses to ‘Block All AI Browsers’ - What’s Behind the Dire Warning - ZDNet investigates security vulnerabilities in AI-powered browsing tools threatening enterprise data.

Cyber Security

AI Defense Boom in UK and Germany as New Wave of Companies Emerge - CNBC tracks European defence technology startups leveraging AI for national security applications.

The Hidden Infrastructure of AI: Why Data Pipelines Matter More Than Models - UK Authority emphasizes foundational systems underpinning successful AI deployments.

Data & Decision Making

Decision Intelligence: The New Currency of IT Leadership - CIO Magazine explores how leaders harness AI for strategic decision-making capabilities.

Digital Progress and Trends Report 2025: AI Foundations - World Bank presents a comprehensive analysis of global AI readiness and infrastructure requirements.

The Global AI Index - Observer ranks nations on AI development, adoption, and governance metrics.

Government Appoints Aimee Smith as Chief Data Officer - UK Authority announces leadership appointment to drive public sector data transformation.

Innovation & Collaboration

Google DeepMind has Announced a Partnership with the UK Government - Google DeepMind outlines a collaboration framework for AI development in the public interest.

Efforts to Share Best Practices on AI Measurement and Evaluations - UK Government advances international cooperation on AI assessment standards.

A New UK AI Says It Can Beat ChatGPT - TechRadar tests a British challenger claiming superior performance to established models.

The Future of AI - Nature presents a scientific perspective on AI’s trajectory and potential breakthroughs.

Productivity & Efficiency

Building Applications with AI Agents - O’Reilly provides technical guidance for developing autonomous AI systems.

How People Use AI Agents - Perplexity analyzes real-world deployment patterns and user behaviour with AI assistants.

Why AI Agents Are So Good at Coding - InfoWorld examines technical advantages making AI particularly effective for software development.

AI Churn Has IT Rebuilding Tech Stacks Every 90 Days - CIO Magazine reveals rapid technology turnover as organizations chase AI capabilities.

Regulation and Compliance

The Political Economy and Geopolitics of AI Regulation - SAGE Journals presents a new academic analysis of global regulatory approaches and their implications.

European Commission Strikes Google AI Empire - TechRepublic covers antitrust actions targeting AI market concentration.

'Architects of AI’ Named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year - BBC News reports recognition of AI pioneers amid growing calls for responsible development.

Sustainability

More Than 200 Environmental Groups Demand Halt to New US Datacentres - The Guardian reports on a coalition opposing infrastructure expansion, citing climate impact.

The AI energy challenge: How to scale responsibly and win - The World Economic Forum explains why AI’s growth could strain grids and drive up costs unless efficiency and clean energy can keep pace.

User Experience

UK Educators Push Back Against AI Use in the Classroom - TechRepublic investigates teacher resistance to automated education tools.

Scaling AI Adoption in Higher Education - Times Higher Education shares strategies for university-wide AI implementation.

AI Transforms IT Education for the Digital Age - The Data Scientist explores curriculum evolution responding to AI workforce demands.

What If? AI in 2026 and Beyond - O’Reilly presents scenarios for near-future AI capabilities and societal impacts.

The State of AI: A Vision of the World in 2030 - MIT Technology Review projects medium-term transformations across industries and society.

Workforce & Skills

Driving Transformational Behaviour Change at Scale - McKinsey reveals only 30% of transformation efforts succeed, emphasizing change management over technology.

The AI Leader’s New Balance: What Changes in the Age of Algorithms - ZDNet examines evolving leadership requirements balancing automation with human judgment.

Why AI Agents Failed to Take Over in 2025 - ZDNet analyzes Deloitte’s assessment of premature automation expectations versus reality.

OpenAI Is in Trouble - The Atlantic investigates competitive pressures facing the ChatGPT creator.

Match Your AI Strategy to Your Organization’s Reality - Harvard Business Review prescribes alignment between AI ambitions and organizational capabilities.

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