AI news, Tuesday 6 October 2026

OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta stop short of guaranteeing AI agents will always follow safeguards at NYC hearing

At a New York City Council hearing, Speaker Julie Menin asked representatives of OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta to assure the public under oath that AI agents would always follow safeguards. OpenAI, Anthropic and Google declined to promise perfection, citing risk and the unsettled state of the science. Meta pledged its commitment to safe development and deployment. Menin said the aim was not perfection but accountability, transparency and safety overall.

US payroll data: employment of 22–25-year-olds in AI-exposed roles fell 4.4% year on year in August

Figures from the Canaries Dashboard, a Stanford Digital Economy Lab and ADP Research project, show employment for 22–25-year-olds in the jobs most exposed to AI shrank 4.4% year on year in August. France 24 reports the decline has continued every month since October 2023. The data adds evidence on how AI may be affecting entry-level hiring.

Deutsche Telekom targets €2.5bn in indirect AI-driven savings by 2030

At an AI investor day in Bonn, Deutsche Telekom set a goal of €2.5 billion in indirect cost savings from AI and automation by 2030, measured against 2023. It is applying AI across customer service, network operations, software development and administration, and says over 100,000 staff have had AI training. It is a concrete example of a large European firm putting numbers on enterprise AI returns.

UK government backs new regulatory approach for AI in healthcare, accepting all 44 commission recommendations

The UK government has endorsed a new approach to regulating AI-enabled medical devices, with stronger monitoring throughout their use. It accepted all 44 recommendations from the National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare and committed to a framework of pre-market checks. A full implementation roadmap is expected by spring 2027, which matters to health-tech vendors selling into the NHS.

UK angle: UK government policy that will shape how AI medical devices are approved and monitored in the UK market.

European Commission opens copyright consultation on generative AI as US court rejects fair use defence in AI training case

The European Commission has opened a public consultation, running to 3 November 2026, on copyright rules for generative AI. It is weighing new binding measures, voluntary cooperation mechanisms and non-legislative support. Law firm Pinsent Masons notes that a US appeals court in Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence rejected a fair use defence for AI training on copyrighted material, which shows how hard it is to balance creators and AI developers.

Mistral CEO says its newest model outperforms Chinese models on cybersecurity

Mistral chief executive Arthur Mensch told a conference in Abu Dhabi that the French company's latest model beats Chinese models in some areas, including cybersecurity. The claim is the company's own and not independently verified. It shows Mistral positioning itself as a European alternative to US and Chinese systems.

South Korea's president says AI may have been used in string of bank cyberattacks

President Lee Jae Myung said there are signs AI was used in some hacking attacks on South Korea's financial sector, noting it can make hacking easy for people without special skills. Customer data was reported breached at more than seven financial institutions within a week, including a Shinhan Bank leak affecting about 25,000 loan applicants. An official suggested a Chinese open-source security testing tool was likely used, though that does not establish who the attackers were.