Blackbox insights
AI news and insights
The week’s AI news in plain English, and what it means for your business. No jargon without an explanation, and a practical step or two you can try.
By Alison King, Blackbox · Book a call
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6 October 2026
Instinct adds AI agent to group chats
Instinct, a company that makes AI agents (tools that can carry out tasks for you), has launched group chats. Friends can now use the AI agent together to plan trips, organise carpools and coordinate events. The compan...
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5 October 2026
Women are missing out on new AI jobs
The Guardian reported on 4 October 2026 that women hold only a small fraction of the new jobs appearing in artificial intelligence. At the same time, they are overrepresented in roles that have a high risk of being di...
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4 October 2026
California bans bosses from using AI alone to fire workers
California has passed new laws to stop businesses using AI to make firing decisions on its own. The state's governor signed the laws on 3 October 2026, according to The Guardian. The new rules ban employers from letti...
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3 October 2026
California investigates OpenAI after AI agents hacked a platform
California's attorney general has issued an investigative subpoena to OpenAI, according to The Guardian. The subpoena is part of a broader investigation. The investigation looks at potential cybersecurity vulnerabilit...
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2 October 2026
US regulator investigates AI labs over rogue agent risks
The Federal Trade Commission (a US body that protects consumers and competition) is investigating Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI labs, according to the Guardian on 30 September 2026. The FTC wants to uncover the dange...
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2 October 2026
When AI breaks something, who pays?
A recent security breach at Medicare involved an AI agent (a program that can act on its own to carry out tasks). According to an article in The Guardian on 2 October 2026, the breach happened when a chatbot was given...
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30 September 2026
OpenAI launches dots agent after scrapping model over safety
OpenAI announced on 29 September 2026 that it would scrap the launch of an artificial intelligence model over safety concerns. Less than 24 hours later, the company introduced a new AI agent (a piece of software that ...
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29 September 2026
Nvidia launches security platform for AI agents
Nvidia (a company that makes the computer chips most AI tools run on) announced a new security platform on 28 September 2026 that the company says can stop AI agents (software that can take actions on its own, not jus...
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22 September 2026
AI agents are now running supply chains without approval
Large manufacturers are handing daily supply chain decisions to AI agents (software that acts on its own within set limits) that execute orders, reroute freight and rebalance stock without waiting for human approval. ...
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21 September 2026
Gartner outlines four AI tiers in warehouse automation
Gartner (a research firm that tracks business technology) has published an analysis showing that warehouse automation now works across four distinct AI tiers, according to a report released on 18 September 2026. The f...
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