The AI Pulse
Issue #79 — 8th June 2026
Editor: Professor Alan Brown
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Highlights in this edition include:
AI for Good
'World-first' vaccine designed by artificial intelligence (BBC News) - Cambridge scientists successfully tested the world's first AI-designed vaccine, marking a breakthrough that could dramatically speed up how we develop protection against future pandemics and diseases.
AI is in nearly every classroom (Fastcompany) - Teachers are quietly integrating AI tools into daily lessons across schools nationwide, fundamentally changing how students learn and complete assignments.
Bias and Ethics
The crucial human component in computing and AI (MIT) - MIT is hosting a research symposium where experts explore how to build technology that considers human values and social consequences, crucial as AI becomes more powerful and widespread.
No, Artificial Intelligence Is Not Conscious (The Atlantic) - The Atlantic pushes back against growing claims that AI systems have achieved consciousness, calling such assertions both logically flawed and potentially harmful to how we understand intelligence.
Why Aren’t We Measuring How AI Affects Humans? (IEEE) - A leading expert argues that AI development is missing a crucial piece: we’re obsessing over how well models perform but ignoring how they actually affect people and society.
AI’s brave new world of technical debt (Infoworld) - AI agents are creating a hidden problem: the more tasks we delegate to them, the more we depend on systems we don’t fully understand or control.
Cyber Security
Flood of AI ‘garbage’ is pushing open-source developers to the limit (New Scientist) - Open-source software volunteers are burning out as they struggle to review the flood of low-quality, AI-generated code submissions flooding their projects.
Project Glasswing: Securing critical software for the AI era (Anthropic) - Anthropic launched Project Glasswing to help organizations protect their most essential software systems as AI transforms both cyberattacks and defense strategies.
White House Releases Executive Order on Advanced AI Innovation and Security (Inside Privacy) - The White House issued new rules for advanced AI development that balance innovation with safety requirements, signaling how the government plans to oversee the technology that’s reshaping business and society.
Data & Decision Making
The real cost of agentic AI (Infoworld) - The economics of AI agents isn’t about which model you choose—it’s about how much you let them think, iterate, and use tools, which can quickly drive up costs for businesses deploying autonomous systems.
Lessons from the AI procurement frontline: Beyond the contract and buying blind (techUK) - techUK’s new report reveals how organizations are moving beyond basic AI purchasing to treat procurement as a strategic governance function that shapes how artificial intelligence gets integrated into their operations.
Innovation & Collaboration
Trump to meet AI leaders to discuss US investment in their companies (BBC Technology) - Trump is scheduling meetings with major AI company executives next week to explore boosting US investment in AI, signaling the administration’s push to keep America competitive in the global AI race.
How People Are Really Using AI in 2026 (Harvard Business) - Harvard’s latest study reveals people are using AI for increasingly diverse tasks, but many are becoming overly dependent on it for thinking and emotional support, while businesses still struggle to find transformative applications beyond marginal improvements.
What to know about Canada’s new AI strategy (BBC News) - Canada is rolling out a decade-long AI strategy with massive data centers, free AI education programs, and billions in government funding to keep pace with global competition.
Productivity & Efficiency
Billions spent and hypothetical returns: the AI boom explained with six charts (The Guardian) - Tech giants are pouring billions into AI infrastructure while consumer adoption surges, but mounting concerns about actual returns on these massive investments are starting to rattle investors.
AI Is Rewriting the Economics of Outsourcing (Harvard Business) - Companies are rethinking outsourcing as AI automates many routine tasks that were previously sent offshore, forcing leaders to redesign operations around what humans do best while keeping strategic work in-house.
AI’s Impact on SaaS Will Be Uneven. Here’s What Leaders Need to Know. (Harvard Business) - Business leaders are rushing to rebuild software in-house with AI tools, but Harvard researchers warn this “SaaSpocalypse” thinking misses the mark—while AI easily replaces basic workflow apps, specialized software that combines industry data with predictive insights remains irreplaceable.
AI is rewriting the logic of management (Fastcompany) - AI is forcing companies to rethink how they make decisions and structure teams, as intelligent systems take over routine tasks and push managers toward more strategic, human-centered leadership roles.
How small businesses can leverage AI (MIT Technology Review) - MIT Technology Review profiles a tutor who’s using AI to handle his paperwork and admin tasks, showing small business owners a practical path to automate their busywork without breaking the bank.
Why AI Isn’t Transforming Finance Yet (MIT Sloan Review) - CFOs are discovering that AI’s potential in finance remains largely untapped, but those who focus on spotting early signals and running targeted experiments are starting to see real competitive advantages.
Small Businesses are the Next Frontier for AI (A16z) - Small businesses haven’t embraced AI agents yet because the technology is still too complex and expensive, but venture capitalists see this as the next big opportunity to democratize automation.
Companies Are Using AI for Efficiency. They Should Use It to Grow. (Harvard Business) - Companies are focusing on AI's cost-cutting potential while missing its bigger opportunity to drive actual business growth and transform entire industries.
Regulation and Compliance
The OECD AI Policy Toolkit: Better AI policies for better lives (oecd.ai) - The OECD just launched a practical toolkit that helps governments move beyond AI principles and implement policies that work, drawing from real examples worldwide.
Scaling AI With Adaptive Governance (MIT Sloan Review) - MIT is urging companies to rethink how they oversee AI systems throughout their entire lifespan, arguing that traditional governance approaches won’t handle the risks as AI scales across organizations.
Trump signs an executive order seeking early access to new AI releases (The Guardian AI) - Trump’s new executive order requires tech companies to give the government early access to AI models before they hit the market, potentially reshaping how Silicon Valley rolls out its newest innovations.
Major AI Models Consistently Break EU Regulations, Study Shows (TechRepublic) - A new study reveals that leading AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google regularly violate EU data protection and AI regulations, creating significant compliance headaches for businesses using these tools.
Everything, Everywhere is Compliance (a16z.news) - While AI gets all the hype for flashy applications, the real money lies in helping companies navigate the mind-numbing maze of regulatory compliance—a $100+ billion market that desperately needs automation.
Sustainability
AI Could Use as Much Water as 1.3 Billion People by 2030 (TIME) - A U.N. report reveals that AI data centers could consume as much water as 1.3 billion people by 2030, highlighting how the tech industry vastly underestimates artificial intelligence’s environmental footprint.
AI can help solve environmental problems, or make them worse (King’s College London) - King’s College London researchers created a tool showing companies how AI can either help or harm the environment, depending on whether firms use it thoughtfully or carelessly.
AI’s environmental costs threaten water, land and climate (UN News) - The UN warns that AI’s rapid growth isn’t just pumping out greenhouse gases—it’s also consuming water and land resources at rates that could strain Earth’s natural systems.
User Experience
What will AI-first UX look like? (Infoworld) - As AI agents become true work partners, the familiar world of forms, dashboards, and spreadsheets is heading toward extinction, forcing companies to reimagine how people actually interact with technology.
Workforce & Skills
AI is eliminating entry-level jobs. Education needs to fill the gap (Fastcompany) - AI is wiping out traditional entry-level positions, forcing schools and universities to completely rethink how they prepare students for a job market that no longer offers the same stepping stones to career success.
AI saves workers a day a week, but they don’t know what to do with it (CIO) - BCG’s latest survey reveals that AI is freeing up a full day each week for regular users, but companies aren’t telling workers how to use that extra time productively.
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