Meta Platforms is piloting a shopping research capability within its Meta AI chatbot, signalling a deeper move into ecommerce as competition intensifies with ChatGPT and Gemini. The feature, currently rolling out to select users in the US via the Meta AI web interface, enables consumers to request product recommendations. In response, the chatbot displays a carousel of images featuring brand names, pricing and merchant links, alongside bullet-point summaries explaining the reasoning behind each suggestion.
A shake-up of the government's defence science powerhouse at Porton Down has severely damaged morale and harmed work on critical science that supports national security, a senior whistleblower has told the Guardian. The whistleblower said they were raising concerns in the public interest that the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), based largely at Porton Down in Wiltshire, had been left in a paralysing limbo because of the changes.
How many times have we heard executives tout AI as a thought partner, a collaborator, a productivity accelerator? Or as a catalyst for upskilling and repurposing people? And yet, we're already seeing evidence of this trend. In 2025 alone, UPS cut 48,000, Amazon eliminated 14,000 jobs, and Verizon announced plans to lay off 15,000 employees. The reason for all these cuts? While restructuring, the need for different skills, and business optimization are all frequently cited, increasingly AI is as well.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced on Monday, Oct. 13, it will be laying off 550 employees as part of its continued streamlining and restructuring plan, officials said. The layoffs are not related to the government shutdown, said JPL Director Dave Gallagher in a brief message on the website of the federal research and space agency located near Pasadena. Gallagher wrote on the website that the agency is undergoing a realignment of its workforce, including a reduction in staff.
First, its primary focus is investing in upskilling people, next it will "exiting people in a compressed timeline where reskilling is not a viable path for the skills it needs," and third it will identify areas to drive more operating efficiencies. Sweet said on the subsequent earnings call that Accenture expects savings of more than $1 billion from its business optimization program, which the company says will be invested into the business and its people.
That dream might be creeping out of reach for younger people trying to break into the industry, which looks to be on the cusp of a big shift as firms trim their ranks, double down on AI, and tighten performance standards across the career ladder, industry analysts told Business Insider. No one is exactly sure how it will play out, as much of the future will depend on where the economy goes and how quickly AI is adopted.
