Lifeboat Foundation

Today, AI agents have evolved to become more modular and sophisticated. Agents like ChatGPT can engage in conversations and assist in a wide range of workflows, including customer service and financial decision-making.

Technologies such as retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) allow AI systems to combine different data sources dynamically, making them more adaptive and helpful in real-world applications. As AI’s influence expands into industries such as finance, healthcare and cybersecurity, it is becoming clear that AI agents are critical components of modern business operations.

Despite the remarkable progress in AI, deploying these systems presents several challenges. One of the primary concerns is the risk of bias embedded in the datasets used to train AI agents. AI systems learn from historical data, which can contain patterns of discrimination that, if unchecked, lead to biased decisions, such as favoring particular groups over others in hiring or lending scenarios.

Artificial intelligence, AI, is rapidly transforming work also in the financial sector. Conducted at the University of Eastern Finland, a recent study explored how integrating AI into the work of sales teams affects the interpersonal communication competence required of sales managers. The study found that handing routine tasks over to AI improved efficiency and freed up sales managers’ time for more complex tasks. However, as the integration of AI progressed, sales managers faced new kind of communication challenges, including those related to overcoming fears and resistance to change.

“Members of sales teams needed encouragement in the use AI, and their self-direction also needed support. Sales managers’ contribution was also vital in adapting to constant digital changes and in maintaining trust within the team,” says Associate Professor Jonna Koponen of the University of Eastern Finland.

The longitudinal study is based on 35 expert interviews conducted over a five-year period in 2019–2024, as well as on secondary data gathered from one of Scandinavia’s largest financial groups. The findings show that besides traditional managerial interpersonal communication competence, consideration of ethical perspectives and adaptability were significant when integrating AI into the work of sales teams.

Updated Antidot banking trojan targets Android users via fake job offers, stealing credentials and taking remote control.

However, while Google’s achievements have been noted for advancing the field, experts say that quantum computing still has no real-world uses — yet.

“We need a ChatGPT moment for quantum,” Francesco Ricciuti, associate at venture capital firm Runa Capital, told CNBC on Tuesday, referencing OpenAI’s chatbot that has been credited with driving the boom in artificial intelligence. “This is probably not that.”

Proponents of quantum computing claim it will be able to solve problems that current computers can’t.

Nearly half a dozen institutions of higher education separately announced plans this week to make tuition free for undergraduates who meet certain income requirements, reflecting a growing nationwide effort to make college more affordable.

The schools span states from Massachusetts to New Mexico, and include some of the country’s leading universities. They all announced their initiatives within days of each other. And while the specific financial requirements for current students applicants vary between schools, all are slated to take effect in fall 2025.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, for example, says undergraduates with family income below $200,000 can attend tuition free starting next year, up from its current threshold of $140,000. It said in its announcement that 80% of American households meet the updated threshold.

Cybersecurity firm McAfee says it’s identified a “significant global increase” in a smartphone hack that triggers extortion, harassment and drains bank accounts.

McAfee says hackers are increasingly deploying a group of malicious financial apps containing “SpyLoan” malware, posing a serious threat with more than eight million active installations around the world.

The apps are on Google Play and use the names, logos, brand colors and interfaces of well-known financial institutions.

Ryan Serhant’s eponymous brokerage has been in rapid growth mode this year following the success of the Netflix show “Owning Manhattan,” and now investors want in on the action.

SERHANT. announced Monday that it secured $45 million in a seed funding round led by real estate venture capital firm Camber Creek and participation from Left Lane Capital.

The investment — which is going to SERHANT. Technologies, the umbrella company that includes the brokerage — will be used to develop the company’s AI platform known as S.MPLE. The company believes S.MPLE will optimize workflows and help scale other parts of its business, including the brokerage.

From birth to death, tech is stretching the boundaries of biology. In this episode of Posthuman, we explore the discoveries that could transform reproduction, healthcare and how we die.

Technology that once seemed like science fiction is rapidly becoming reality, transforming the very essence of our existence. In this four-part series, Emily Chang unravels the future of being human in an age of unprecedented innovation.

Continue reading “How Tech Is Breaking the Rules of Biology | Posthuman with Emily Chang” »

“The effects of cyber-enabled crime can be devastating – people losing their life savings, businesses crippled, and trust in digital and financial systems undermined,” INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said in a statement.

“The borderless nature of cybercrime means international police cooperation is essential, and the success of this operation supported by INTERPOL shows what results can be achieved when countries work together. It’s only through united efforts that we can make the real and digital worlds safer.”

As part of HAECHI-V, INTERPOL said Korean and Beijing authorities jointly dismantled a widespread voice phishing syndicate responsible for financial losses totaling $1.1 billion and affecting over 1,900 victims.