The guidance from the Office of Management and Budget states that agencieslooking to buy AI systemsmust determine whether the models comply with what it calls two "unbiased AI principles" - "truth-seeking" and "ideological neutrality." The information they have to obtain will vary depending on the company's role in the software supply chain and the relationship between the company and the model developer, according to the guidance. Generally, the closer the company is to the model developer the more information should be available.
In 2026, generative AI stops being an experiment for software development and starts being an architectural liability. The initial rush to apply AI everywhere is hardening into a struggle with execution, where the primary hurdles are no longer capability, but control, cost, and security. We are already seeing the cracks in code integrity. As AI-assisted development becomes standard, the volume of code produced is outpacing human capacity to audit it. This "vibe coding" prioritises speed over structural soundness, creating a new category of technical debt.
Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022, generative artificial intelligence (AI) has taken over Google search results, transformed how we see em-dashes, run rampant on human mental health, and even led to new vocabulary with "AI slop," a term coined to describe meaningless content byproduct. The main entities excited about AI seem to be, by far, tech companies and CEOs. However, plenty of people are already sick of generative AI and the way it's wormed its way into our lives.
AI is no longer just identifying suspected criminals from behind a camera; now it's rendering photorealistic images of their mugs for cops to blast out on social media. Enter ChatGPT, the latest member of the Goodyear Police Department, located on the outskirts of Phoenix. New reporting by the Washington Post revealed that Goodyear cops are using the generative AI tool to pop out photos of suspects in place of pen-and-paper police sketches.
Despite the significant investments that many organizations have put into generative artificial intelligence, most are not seeing the productivity gains that they expected. Simply adopting new technologies is no longer enough to drive productivity gains, if it ever were. In today's rapidly evolving digital workplace, leaders face the ongoing challenge of translating digital investments into tangible business outcomes. Information technology leaders responsible for AI in the digital workplace can accelerate value realization by helping workers build relevant skills and ambition, equipping teams with targeted hands-on training, and encouraging employees to apply AI beyond administrative tasks by recognizing creative and innovative applications.
"The future of American warfare is here, and it's spelled A-I," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a video posted on X. Driving the news: The Defense Department said Tuesday it will deploy Gemini for Government through the new GenAI.mil platform so employees can use it on their work computers. Pentagon employees can use Gemini in the new platform to "conduct deep research, format documents and even analyze video or imagery in unprecedented speed," Hegseth said in the video.
Over the last five years, the business world has undergone a more dramatic transformation than it did in the entire decade before. Just as companies were adapting to permanent shifts in workplace dynamics, consumer behavior, and global economics - all sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic - generative AI emerged. This delivered a shock to business comparable to the internet revolution of the 1990s.
"We had a clear choice - be the last airline built on legacy technology or be the first built on the platforms that will define the next decade of aviation," said Adam Boukadida, chief financial officer of Riyadh Air. "With IBM, we've stripped out 50 years of legacy in a single stroke. Riyadh Air isn't just built for today; it's built for the future and creating a pathway for many airlines to follow in the years to come."
Large language models are already transforming the way consumers find and buy products, letting them ask questions in natural language to get more tailored recommendations than what they typically receive from traditional keyword searches. That's just the start. In September 2025, OpenAI announced deals with Shopify and Etsy to let shoppers buy from their platforms directly through ChatGPT, while Google and Perplexity have unveiled agents that can complete purchases on a shopper's behalf.
We now live inside a behavioral laboratory that adapts to us in real time. The entire digital ecosystem has become a shape-shifting mirror, reflecting back our preferences, vulnerabilities, and aspirations with uncanny precision. And while that mirror feels convenient, it also exerts a pull powerful enough to erode something essential: our ability to choose freely. What we are witnessing is the convergence of two accelerating forces.
The pace of change in the burgeoning generative AI world is blisteringly fast. It's often hard to keep up with everything, even if it's your full-time job. Readers tell me that one area they find particularly confusing is the wide array of poorly-named AI models. What in the heck is the difference between GPT-5.1, Opus 4.5, Gemini 3, etc.? And why would you use one over the other?
A bear leans in the window of the Jeep Grand Cherokee while a woman holding a microphone asks the bear a question. The woman's mouth does not quite sync with the words she is delivering. Then, the bear starts talking. Something is amiss. The opening scene of Jeep's artificial intelligence-generated advertisement may look real to some and uncanny to others. Regardless, it has generated millions of views on social media.
A judge opened the door to upending Google's dominance as the default search on your phone. On Friday, a federal judge ordered Google to limit all default search and AI app contracts to one year, a setback for the long-term deals that have helped cement the company's dominance on billions of devices. The ruling, detailed in a December 2025 judgment, requires Alphabet's Google to renegotiate every default-placement agreement annually, including lucrative deals with Apple's iPhone and manufacturers like Samsung.
This year's slate largely centers on digital life. But rather than reflecting the unbridled optimism about the internet of the early aughts - when words like " w00t," " blog," " tweet" and even " face with tears of joy " emoji (😂) were chosen - this year's selections reflect a growing unease over how the internet has become a hotbed of artifice, manipulation and fake relationships.
Programmatic marketers may not understand AI but they're even more unsure of themselves. That was the undercurrent at this week's Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit in New Orleans. Onstage discussions, offstage pow wows and the usually candid town halls all pointed to the same tension: everyone talking about AI, yet few felt equipped to shape what comes next. The dynamic landed with real force. This moment isn't about automation muscling out humans.
One thing I love about this job is learning something new about games I do not play. That includes learning that Fortnite has historically either obscured or omitted male nipples in its various skins. Until now, that is. Homer Simpson was the first man to free the nipple last month , and now new character Carter Wu is getting a skin that lets him bare it all.
Most games that disclose using generative AI on Steam don't go into much detail. Let it Die: Inferno was different. "AI-generated content has been used and then edited by our team for certain parts of the in-game voices, music, and graphics," it wrote. The AI content included "some parts of the background signboard textures," "some parts of the Records images," "some parts of the InfoCast videos," and "some parts of the voices and music."
"A press release really lends itself to AI, because if you think about it, if you're talking about your company or your you're putting out expert knowledge," Jeppsen explained during a recent Tech Talk at Ragan's Future of Communications Conference. "You are the domain expert. You are factual. You've got a framework ... that resonates, and not only humans read it that way, but then AI tries to read it like a human."
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna does not see the current AI wave as a bubble. In The Verge's Decoder podcast, he argues that generative AI and large language models represent a structural technological shift, especially in the business world. According to Krishna, AI is not growing on speculation, but on actual value creation. While he believes the technology is sustainable, he also sees a notable financial threat: the enormous investments in AI data centers are developing at a pace that is difficult to sustain economically.
Publishers entered 2025 facing many of the same economic uncertainties that they navigated in 2024. But in addition to grappling with the erosion of traditional income streams, publishers are now navigating how to combat the effects of generative AI as it chips away at traffic-driven revenue from search and social media referrals. As a result, many publishers are experimenting with their subscription strategies, including pricing, plans and subscriber benefits, to retain and boost subscriptions - a longtime revenue stronghold.
