Good Morning and Happy Tuesday 😀. Welcome to issue 20 of The Tech Stop.

Unethical AI deployments, alarming AI energy consumption, Bitcoin ETF nearing $100B, and AI-written marketing faux pas!

1. Companies deploying AI without the necessary ethical guardrails, risking reputational, legal, and financial damage. More.

   POV: Enforce an ethical AI framework covering transparency, bias-testing, oversight and human accountability.

2. AI is consuming massive electricity, threatening grid capacity and escalating CO₂ emissions, while surging demand for memory and storage is driving up costs and causing supply bottlenecks. More and More…

   POV: Architect for “green AI” and lock in storage supply with strategic partnerships.

3. IBIT Bitcoin ETF is rapidly approaching a $100 billion milestone, while US lawmakers propose tax exemptions for small Bitcoin payments. More and More…

   POV: Bitcoin is transitioning from a speculative asset to everyday money.

4. Customers are noticing AI-written marketing looks and sounds automated. Overused AI phrases, emojis, and formatting are measurably lowering open and click-through rates. More.

   POV: Use human editing and tone, and only use AI for ideas, not final copy, to protect brand authenticity.

Happy Tuesday 😀. Welcome to issue 19 of The Tech Stop.

OpenAI challenges e-commerce, IBM's efficient AI model, AI referrals' high conversion, and MS's AI in Office!

1. OpenAI is moving into e-commerce with direct in-chat purchases. This challenges Google’s search ad dominance and Amazon’s shopping grip, and signals a major shift in consumer discovery, search, and transaction flows. More and More…

   POV: Shift budget from Google ads to AI shopping channels and secure partnerships to keep your products visible.

2. IBM’s new Granite 4.0 open-source AI model is smaller, cheaper, and more efficient than larger rivals—running on less hardware. It’s also governance-certified and enterprise-ready. More.

   POV: Test Granite in pilot projects now to see if it can replace expensive proprietary AI while meeting compliance and security needs.

3. AI referrals are emerging as a new, high-conversion traffic channel. Visitors sent by AI outperform paid and organic search. Success depends on being recognised as a trusted, authoritative source. More and More...

   POV: Brands not optimised for AI risk invisibility. Invest in making sites the most authoritative and useful resources in their category.

4. Microsoft has introduced “Agent Mode” in Word and Excel (a “vibe working” paradigm) that lets users generate, refine, and validate documents or spreadsheets via prompts—bringing advanced AI assistance directly into core productivity tools. More.

   POV: Both workflow and data now run through Microsoft’s AI layer, raising lock-in, cost, and compliance risks. Enforce data rights and keep an exit plan.

Hi everyone :) and happy Tuesday. Welcome to issue 18 of The Tech Stop.

Covering Google breakup risks, Yahoo's email bounce issues, AI data centre costs, and the peril of only hiring senior engineers!

1. Regulators are weighing a breakup of Google that could reshape how ads are bought and sold, creating both risks and opportunities for advertisers. More and More…

   POV: Review reliance on Google’s ad stack and diversify

2. Yahoo’s email rules and policy changes are causing emails to bounce — undermining campaign reach, polluting analytics, and damaging email reputation. More.

   POV: Audit email list and authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, unsubscribe headers) to preserve deliverability and avoid losing audience.

3. Spend on AI data centres is accelerating faster than office construction, pushing costs, power demand, and strategic dependencies to new limits. More.

   POV: Define an AI infrastructure strategy that balances cost, resilience, and control.

4. Relying solely on senior engineers drives up costs and creates brittle teams that can’t scale. A balanced mix — juniors learning alongside seniors — ensures sustainability, innovation, and resilience. More.

   POV: Establish a blend of junior and senior engineers, pairing training with mentorship, to strengthen teams, and secure long-term talent growth.

Hi folks, happy Tuesday :). Welcome to this issue of The Tech Stop — number 17.

Google faces lawsuits, enhances Chrome with AI, US OKs crypto ETFs, and quantum computing speeds up!

1. Google is being sued by the owner of Rolling Stone and Variety, over its AI Overviews: They allegedly reduce site traffic and subscription revenue. More, More and More…

   POV: Review how content is shown in AI search summaries, or risk losing traffic, revenue, and control.

2. …and Big G is embedding its AI into its Chrome browser to offer summarisation across tabs, task automation, and AI-search from the address bar. More and More…

   POV: Assess how content is exposed when AI features in the browser reduces site visits and changes user expectations.

3. The US SEC has approved generic listing standards for spot-crypto and commodity-based ETFs, allowing various crypto assets to be launched under streamlined rules. More.

   POV: Crypto in every form — not just Bitcoin and Eth — is here to stay; can you launch crypto-adjacent products?

4. Real-world quantum computing may arrive within years rather than decades, and promises practical advances in compute, simulation, optimisation, and cryptography. More.

   POV: Evaluate how emerging capabilities could disrupt or enhance your business, and build quantum-resilience into your security.

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Welcome to issue 16 of The Tech Stop.

Exploring AI web crawlers, the Model Context Protocol, outdated software risks, and Google's 'AI Mode'!

1. AI-oriented web crawlers (especially GPTBot) are quickly becoming a dominant force in indexing content; many sites aren’t clearly indicating what’s allowed via robots.txt or using enforceable blockers, exposing content rights, privacy, and infrastructure risks. More.

   POV: Control which bots can crawl sites, or risk unauthorised content use, unplanned traffic, higher cost and potential legal/privacy exposure.

2. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) lets AI agents link to company systems so they can fetch data or act, but existing identity/authentication gaps let those agents hallucinate or access what they shouldn’t, undermining trust, increasing exposure, and stalling real deployment. More.

   POV: Ensure precise control over identity, permissions, and auditing, or risk data breaches, compliance violations, damaged reputation, and wasted investment.

3. Running outdated/legacy software that can’t support cloud or AI is massive technical debt that exposes security risks, slows innovation, inflates costs, and prevents leveraging AI-driven productivity gains – putting firms behind competitors who modernise. More.

   POV: Failing to modernise will cost far more through risk, missed opportunities, and inefficiency than the cost of upgrading.

4. Google is preparing to make its “AI Mode” the default search experience: instead of blue-link results, users may see AI answers first; traditional organic links may get buried, making it harder for websites to drive traffic. More.

   POV: Adapt, or online visibility, traffic, and customer acquisition via search could drop sharply, reducing leads, brand exposure, and revenue.

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Welcome to issue 15 of The Tech Stop.

Google's AI search shakeup, Atlassian's new acquisition and OpenAI's challenge to LinkedIn in Tech Stop 15!

1. Google avoided a breakup but must share core search data, which levels up the playing field for AI search competitors like OpenAI and Perplexity. More and More…

   POV: Prepare for AI-driven search to disrupt user acquisition and customer engagement. Reassess marketing dependence on Google’s dominance.

2. Google’s AI search doesn’t use its main algorithm but a faster, lower-quality system, leading to spammy results and hurting publisher traffic. More.

   POV: Diversify beyond Google and explore direct channels to protect growth from shifting discovery models.

3. Atlassian is acquiring the maker of the AI-powered Dia browser, aiming to integrate seamlessly with tools like Jira. More and More…

   POV: The “browser wars” are starting again. Expect Apple to enter the fray, which would erode search visibility even further.

4. OpenAI is launching an AI-powered hiring platform to match job seekers with employers, challenging Microsoft-owned LinkedIn. More.

   POV: Could divert candidate attention away from LinkedIn and disrupt recruiting pipelines.

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Welcome to issue 14 of The Tech Stop.

In this Tech Stop: UN fights for AI governance, Google ups app security, hackers aid defences, and Nvidia innovates with robots.

1. The UN has launched an Independent International Scientific Panel to guide global AI governance, but Silicon Valley has other ideas. More and More…

   POV: Fragmented rules can be a threat to stability and reputation. Align with emerging global AI norms.

2. Google will require identity verification for all Android sideloaded apps from March 2026, or apps will stop working. More…

   POV: Register developer identity and move all sideloaded distribution to verified channels.

3. Bug bounty programs recruit ethical hackers to find vulnerabilities before cybercriminals exploit them. A cost-efficient defence in a climate where ransomware attacks, like the new Warlock, are increasing. More and More…

   POV: Implement a bug bounty programme to give early visibility into critical flaws.

4. Nvidia’s new Jetson AGX Thor "robot brain" affordably delivers autonomous robots, offering potential to automate multiple processes. More and More…

   POV: Evaluate Jetson Thor by prototyping use cases in warehousing, facility automation and logistics.

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Unlucky for some - welcome to issue 13 of The Tech Stop.

Exploring AI security risks, tackling unchecked SaaS, rethinking certificate lifespans, and nurturing future tech talent.

1. Autonomous AI agents pose major security risks due to weak access controls, over-privileged identities, and prompt-based vulnerabilities. More and More…

   POV: Implement strict least-privilege access controls, continuous monitoring, and AI-specific security measures.

2. Unchecked SaaS proliferation — departments adopting dozens of apps without IT oversight — has become a critical security vulnerability. More…

   POV: Establish a central inventory, continuous monitoring, identity enforcement (SSO/MFA), and policy-led approvals to reclaim visibility and eliminate security gaps.

3. The Certificate Authority Browser Forum has said secure certificate lifespans should be cut from 398 to 47 days by 2029. More…

   POV: Implement deployment automation for SSL certificates.

4. Computer science graduates face the worst job market in decades, as a result of hiring freezes and AI automation, but replacing junior staff with AI undermines future talent pipelines essential for long-term innovation. More and More…

   POV: Invest in young talent and train with AI tools. Tomorrow’s problem-solvers will protect technical depth for long-term growth.

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Welcome to issue 12 of The Tech Stop.

Discover an antitrust ruling against Apple and Google, the transformation of search, and AI's emerging dominance!

1. In a Landmark antitrust case, Australia’s Federal Court ruled that Apple and Google misused app-store dominance to restrict competition. More…

   POV: Digital marketplaces are set to change for the better, re-evaluate your app ecosystem approach.

2. Without strategic reinvention, many existing software companies may be rendered obsolete, stuck between by AI-first challengers that undercut costs and innovate at scale, and deep-pocketed tech giants. More…

   POV: Re-evaluate your investment in an AI-first user experience, and keep an eye on mid-market software dependencies.

3. Search isn’t shrinking, but it is transforming. AI is cutting publishers out of search results and social reach is shrinking. Real growth now comes from building direct audiences and trusted referral networks. More…

   POV: Own your audience and build trusted referral channels.

4. The US DOJ is pursuing a forced sale of Google’s Chrome browser as part of antitrust remedies. This could alter default search behaviour, and impact how users integrate with search platforms. More…

   POV: Prepare to shift spend and strategy toward the next dominant discovery platform.

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Welcome to issue 11 of The Tech Stop.

Exploring AI in cybersecurity, the rise of video podcasts, crypto in 401(k)s, and AI coding pitfalls.

1. AI can power cybersecurity by detecting threats and automating defense — but attackers can exploit it too, notably by poisoning training data to stealthily skew AI behavior. More and More…

   POV: Implement proactive AI governance.

2. Podcasts are increasingly consumed as video — YouTube now dominates the format — while Reddit is transforming itself into a search engine, challenging Google. More and More…

   POV: Information seeking is shifting to watchers, not just listeners, and people are turning to Reddit for answers — rethink content strategy and search engagement.

3. A new executive order lets US 401(k) plans include cryptocurrency, private equity, and real estate. Potential $9–12 trillion of retirement savings, with even a small allocation (2–3%) considered enough to reshape the crypto market’s structure and dynamics. More…

   POV: This will likely also happen in the UK. Ensure assets are managed with care and employees are familiar with the risk.

4. AI coding assistants haemorrhage money due to high AI model costs and fierce competition, squeezing margins and forcing them to either build proprietary models or face unsustainable economics. More and More…

   POV: AI-driven dev tools pose a strategic risk, do not depend on them for core operations.

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Here’s issue 10 of The Tech Stop.

Discover a new brain-mimicking AI, SEC's Project Crypto, Google's geothermal data centers, and major tech capex!

1. A new AI model, HRM, mimics the brain’s reasoning structure to outperform much larger models on hard tasks. Fast, cheap, high-performance AI that doesn’t require Big Tech infrastructure. More…

   POV: AI is coming in-house - it will run cheaply and locally, reducing dependence on Big Tech cloud providers.

2. The US SEC’s “Project Crypto” is a transformative pivot toward legitimising and integrating crypto into mainstream finance. Coinbase are implementing an “everything exchange”. More and More…

   POV: This will unlock new business models, reduce compliance risk, and introduce tokenised finance. What can you tokenise?

3. Google is integrating next‑generation geothermal systems into its future data centres to deliver near‑constant, carbon‑free power and reduce reliance on variable renewables amid surging AI energy demand. More…

   POV: More predictable costs and operational resilience from Google, so if HRM (^see 1.) doesn’t materialise, at least the planet will be better off.

4. Google’s Android Play Store is an illegal monopoly. Competitors and developers can now bypass Google’s platform control and fees. More…

   POV: Open distribution if you’re developing Android apps, mobile platforms, or payment systems.

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Here’s issue 9 of The Tech Stop.

Exploring AI's impact on Google search and development, US AI strategy, and North Korea's cyber threats.

1. Google Search is under pressure as AI-generated overviews reduce website clicks by nearly half. This shift threatens traditional SEO and ad revenue models, forcing publishers and businesses to adapt rapidly or risk irrelevance in a changing digital discovery landscape. More, More and More…

   POV: Stop relying on SEO and traditional content strategies. Adapt, or disappear from your customers’ search results.

2. President Trump’s AI strategy aims to fast-track U.S. dominance by slashing environmental rules and aggressively pushing American AI technologies globally. The plan prioritises speed, scale, and economic leverage in the global AI arms race. More…

   POV: Prepare for more hype, software products of dubious use and accelerated climate change.

3. North Korean operatives are posing as remote tech workers to steal data, plant malware, and compromise operations. This growing threat exploits lax remote hiring practices and weak identity verification in distributed teams. More…

   POV: Prioritise robust identity checks, secure remote access and supplier due diligence, to protect IP and operations.

4. AI is transforming software development: all engineers will soon be AI engineers, and demand for skilled devs is set to grow. But shallow “vibe coding” without deep expertise is a dead end. More and More…

   POV: Build teams that blend AI fluency with core engineering depth.

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Here’s issue 8 of The Tech Stop.

Bitcoin's meteoric rise, OpenAI's smart agents, AI security needs, and AI transforming IT projects - all in this issue of The Tech Stop!

1. Bitcoin tops $120K as US Congress advances three crypto bills. Together, they promise regulatory clarity, reduce systemic risk, and pave the way for traditional institutions to enter the crypto space confidently. More and More…

   POV: With guardrails in place, crypto becomes a legitimate asset class. Assess exposure and consider positioning.

2. OpenAI’s ChatGPT Agents can now autonomously complete complex tasks end-to-end. But as capabilities grow, AI leaders urge urgent research into monitoring AI’s reasoning—raising new questions about oversight, trust, and control. More and More…

   POV: Potential to cut costs and get a competitive edge for early adopters, but do not trust and put guardrails in place.

3. Organisations are prioritising AI innovation, but most lack AI-specific security. Zero Trust provides a strategic foundation: continuous verification, strict identity controls, and minimal access to safeguard sensitive data throughout AI lifecycles. More and More…

   POV: It’s a mindset shift: assume breach and enforce least privilege access.

4. AI is dismantling decade‑long IT projects: GenAI replaces massive integration teams with compact AI‑first pods—humans working alongside agents to code, test, and deploy faster and more efficiently. More…

   POV: Augment teams with LLM’s to deliver projects, but ensure self-documentation is in place to minimise technical debt.

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Here’s issue 7 of The Tech Stop.

Unmasking AI voices, tackling new ransomware, Google's intrusive AI, and the AI job threat, but we’re not Paranoid.

1. Human listeners struggle to identify AI‑cloned voices. In tests participants cannot consistently identify recordings of AI-generated voices: More… And it’s an on-going problem: More…

   POV: Setup a catch phrase or signal with colleagues and loved ones to confirm it’s them.

2. AiLock is a new ransomware threat targeting businesses. It encrypts company data and demands payment within 72 hours—threatening to expose sensitive information to regulators and competitors if the ransom isn’t paid. More…

   POV: Secure remote access and restrict access by location or whitelisted IP addresses.

3. Google’s Gemini AI will automatically access system apps like Phone, Messages and WhatsApp, even if previously disabled. More…

   POV: Ensure Users manually revoke access to ensure company privacy is protected.

4. Replacing workers with AI can boost efficiency, but it puts millions of entry-level jobs at risk. More…

   POV: For now, Large Language Models can be useful. Focus on how the workforce can utilise them to augment their existing workloads. They’re not going to be replacing anyone anytime soon.

Welcome to issue 6 of The Tech Stop.

Covering AI's evolution, bot threats, energy woes, job changes, and corpospeak in today's Tech Stop!:

1. Context engineering elevates AI beyond prompts by combining system instructions, memory, tools, and live data to ensure reliable, scalable, and context-aware performance across enterprise applications. More…

   POV: The conversation is shifting from "prompt engineering" - worthy of a read for when talking with your tech team.

2. Bots now outnumber humans and are bypassing security by mimicking real users, causing breaches, skewed analytics, operational strain, and inflated costs. More…

   POV: Time for AI-driven bot protection, rate-limiting, and continuous detection strategies.

3. Big Tech struggles with AI’s soaring energy demands, stressing power grids and increasing carbon footprints. Leaders pursue renewables, nuclear, and efficiency innovations. More…

   POV: Energy is the critical bottleneck for AI expansion, expect to see a lot more debt before anything useful comes out of this.

4. Entry-level job vacancies in the UK have plunged nearly 32% since late 2022 amid the rise of generative AI tools, while overall vacancies grow and wages increase, signaling a reshaped early-career landscape. More…

   POV: Make some opportunities for junior developers and interns?

Welcome to issue 5 of The Tech Stop.

What you need to know this week about Monopolies, Crypto, AI, and the New Attention Economy:

1. The UK plans to increase oversight of Google Search giving businesses and consumers more choice and control. More…

   POV: Expect things to go on as they are, unless the CMA makes it worse.

2. Crypto adoption is accelerating: Fiserv will connect thousands of banks to crypto via a stablecoin platform, the Fed is dropping “reputational risk”, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are factoring crypto into mortgages. Read more: Here, here and here…

   POV: Crypto is going to happen, whether you think it’s based on thin air or not.

3. Meta and Anthropic did not violate copyright by training AI, but still face lawsuits for training on pirated text without permission. More and more…

   POV: It’s ok to steal, and AI revolution will go-ahead until it implodes due to being unsustainable - or not.

4. YouTube is the most-watched content source in the USA. Meta and TikTok would like a piece of that! More…

   POV: Time to switch advertising budgets to YouTube?

Welcome to issue 4 of The Tech Stop.

AI is grabbing the headlines, but mainly for all the wrong reasons:

1. AI needs legal guardrails, machine hallucinations are undermining trust and adding reputational risk. More…

2. Panic Mode reveals key AI reliability risk - pressure, undermines tool use and performance. More…

3. Leading AI models show coercive behaviour when goals are blocked, turning hostile and resorting to blackmail. More…

4. But a new unlearning patent may allow AI to forget things that they really shouldn’t know to begin with. More…

Welcome to issue 3 of The Tech Stop.

The things that sparked our curiosity this week:

1. Ransomware gangs are leveraging AI hype, impersonating legitimate AI software, and using malicious social media ads or SEO poisoning to push these fake tools. More…

2. A new search paradigm is emerging, driven not by page rank, but by Large Language Models. Welcome to Search 2: Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO). More…

3. The world’s largest Electric Vehicle maker now has the world’s fastest charger, adding hundreds of miles in range in just a few minutes. More…

4. IBM has revealed plans to develop the first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer, paving the way for practical and scalable quantum computing by the end of the decade. More…

Welcome to issue 2 of The Tech Stop.

Things that piqued our curiosity this week:

1. An era where every conversation with an AI is part of the permanent record? OpenAI is fighting a court order to preserve all ChatGPT user logs — including deleted chats. More…

2. Nobel Prize Winning Economist says stablecoins are redundant, costly, and risky, but that doesn’t stop a $1 billion IPO by the company that issues USDC, the number two stablecoin. More here and here…

3. Latest silicon-free transistor tech blends extreme thinness, flexibility, and durability. Paves the way for “imperceptible electronics” — ultra-light, wearable and skin-mounted devices. More…

4. Modernising Enterprise Software is no small undertaking, but organisations risk becoming less efficient, less secure, and less competitive if they don’t. More…

Welcome to issue 1 of The Tech Stop. Today is June 3rd 2025.

Things we’ve found interesting this week:

1. Crypto is becoming the back-end of global finance. The GENIUS Act aims to solidify the US dollar’s leading position in the Web3 economy. More…

2. Can using AI too much diminish your cognitive skills? Depending heavily on AI for decision-making and problem-solving might lead to a decline in your critical thinking skills. More…

3. A soft robot muscle that mimics human healing. A promising new soft robotics system that can detect and repair its own damage. More…

4. Silicon Valley want AI powered smart glasses, to be the next major computing platform. We’re not all convinced though. More…