The UK government is about to unleash an AI-powered CV writer on jobseekers in the hope that the technology taking jobs can also help people to find them. Prime minister Keir Starmer used London Tech Week to announce a three-month trial of an "AI Work Assistant" that officials say will put "a job centre in your pocket," offering around-the-clock help with CV writing, applications, job searches, and career advice. The service is already live online, though the government would like users to keep a few things in mind before handing the keyboard to a large language model: check whether the employer allows AI-assisted applications, make sure the generated content is accurate, and perhaps most challenging of all, rewrite it so it still sounds like you. The government, in effect, is encouraging job seekers to use AI while reminding them not to make it obvious. The service appears to be the latest step in Whitehall's growing enthusiasm for AI-powered public services. Earlier this year, the government confirmed it was working with Anthropic on a chatbot for job seekers, and more recently it launched "GOV.UK Chat," a generative AI assistant bolted into the GOV.UK app that it is boldly pitching as the "most comprehensive government-built chat tool in the world." Whitehall's latest experiment arrives as young workers face the toughest jobs market in years. Official figures show youth unemployment has climbed to 16.2 percent, the highest level in more than a decade, while business groups have repeatedly warned that rising employment costs are making firms more cautious about hiring. "No one doubts the huge potential of tech to change lives," Starmer is expected to say. "But we have to decide who that change is for. This government's choice is clear: the tech revolution must work for everyone, not just a privileged few. We're backing British businesses to lead the way, driving growth and investment that turns into more jobs and stronger communities." He added that ministers were using technology to "bring opportunity to every corner of the country" by helping people into work, boosting skills, and tackling inequality. Alongside the AI assistant, ministers announced AI and technology training for up to 400,000 pupils in disadvantaged schools and a new AI bootcamp program for young people at risk of falling out of education, employment, or training. The announcement comes as ministers are simultaneously grappling with growing concern about AI's impact on the labor market. A recent survey found that almost one in five Britons believe widespread AI-driven layoffs could trigger civil unrest, while more than half expect the technology to reduce the number of available jobs. Those concerns are unlikely to disappear any time soon. The same technology companies building AI systems to automate workplace tasks are increasingly pitching those tools as replacements for at least some human work, particularly the administrative and entry-level roles that traditionally provide a route into employment. Whether employers are eager to receive applications drafted by the same technology they are increasingly deploying to screen candidates remains to be seen. The labor market may yet become an arms race between applicants using AI and recruiters using AI to filter out applicants using AI. Somewhere in the middle, a human being is presumably still expected to get hired. ®
This study of author Andri Snær Magnason is somewhat indulgent, with endless musings where piercing climate crisis commentary should be
Is Iceland dying? Is the world dying? These would appear to be the very relevant questions behind this well-intentioned but ultimately exasperating and obtuse documentary from National Geographic, which is burdened with tasteful NatGeo stateliness and visually pleasing production values.
It is directed by film-maker Sara Dosa, whose earlier documentary Fire of Love was about doomed vulcanologists Maurice and Katia Krafft, who in 1991 perished in the eruption they were studying. Now Dosa has made a study of award-winning Icelandic climate author Andri Snær Magnason, whose book on climate change Of Time And Water was published in 2019 and who wrote a piercingly sad “obituary” of the Ok glacier, the first Icelandic glacier completely to disappear. It very clearly won’t be the last.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: the Pacific islands hoping to enter World Cup qualifying before ocean level increase wipes them from the map
“This is not just about football, it’s about building something from scratch,” Eriati Reebo, the Kiribati football president, explains. “A legacy, a story, that the world will always remember.”
Kiribati, a group of Pacific islands south of Hawaii with 138,000 inhabitants, is seeking entry into World Cup qualifying for the 2030 tournament. Becoming a recognised international football team would help bring attention to the only nation on earth that sits within all four hemispheres, and one that is rapidly disappearing from the map. It could be the first, but certainly not the last, country to be engulfed by sea water, leaving it uninhabitable. And before that happens, it wants to professionalise the football setup and become a full member of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). This would both create a route to competing with bigger nations and help keep the Kiribati spirit alive.
Continue reading...It’s decades since the former US first lady was an employee. The world of work she grew up in has long gone
Uh oh, Michelle Obama has been advising gen Z on navigating work. “One thing that’s important is to learn how to do something you don’t like to do and be good at it,” she told the audience at a podcast recording in London. “Every experience – the bad boss, the boring assistant job, the job you thought that you weren’t appreciated, the one that didn’t give you the assignment you wanted when you wanted it – all of that is learning to be resilient.”
The podcast is called IMO, and she is entitled to her opinion, and it’s true that awful bosses, crap jobs and professional setbacks are inevitable, unpleasant learning experiences. Plus, Obama has navigated exceptionally tricky circumstances and put up with endless unjustified flak – she has plenty to teach everyone about grace under pressure. But there’s an implicit criticism of gen Z workers in her words. You see that a lot (they’re undisciplined! They won’t use the phone! They want mental health days!) and it feels unfair and unhelpful.
Continue reading...The brilliantly modulated mix of horror and comedy has quickly become a buzzy water cooler hit for Apple TV
When Widow’s Bay appeared on Apple TV in April, all signs pointed it to being another one of those underwatched and undermarketed curios – like Sunny or Land of Women or Extrapolations – that routinely get dumped on to the platform before quickly dying of neglect.
Instead, something remarkable happened. Unless Apple has been secretly trialling a new strategy where they directly pay everyone I know to tell me how good its shows are, Widow’s Bay has become the biggest word of mouth hit that television has had in years. With every passing episode, the buzz gets a little bit louder. And this is for a very good reason: Widow’s Bay is absolutely wonderful.
Continue reading...A great big bear of a dog, Chewy the newfoundland is always there to rescue us if we fall in the water, or if my 96-year-old grandma needs a hand
I got Chewy, short for Chewbacca, when he was eight weeks old – he was this giant ball of a newfoundland puppy. I live in North Carolina and we drove five hours to Georgia to get him. It was love at first sight, but I never expected how much of a role he would play in my family.
Chewy was the craziest puppy, very clumsy and goofy. He grew so quickly – he went from 10lb (4.5kg) to 100lb (45kg) in the first 10 months. Now aged four, he’s calmed down quite a bit and looks like a big, fluffy, long-haired bear. He’s enormous – you just want to hug him.
Continue reading...Spanish great moving to England after 14 years at Barça
She has been impressed by vision of Michele Kang’s club
Alexia Putellas has agreed personal terms with London City Lionesses. Widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, Putellas would be one of the biggest signings in the history of the Women’s Super League, with her arrival also representing an extraordinary moment for London City, an independently run club with only one season in the top flight of women’s football in England.
Putellas left Barcelona last month upon the expiry of her contract with the club she represented for 14 years, during which she won 10 Liga F titles and four Champions League titles, as well as the World Cup with Spain in 2023 and twice being named a Ballon d’Or winner.
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H4ck0rs zijn slimme jongens en dat terwijl je voor het penetreren van de digitale infrastructuur van veel dingen in dit land helemaal niet zo'n slimme jongen hoeft te zijn. Nu heb je natuurlijk ook luie h4ck0rs die niet zelf op zoek willen naar braakliggende gevoelige data en persoonsgegevens, maar dan heb je gelukkig nog onderzoeksjournalisten van RTL Nieuws die je gewoon aanwijzen waar je kunt toeslaan. Vandaag in de aanbieding: bewindvoerders. Die opereren volgens RTL in een luilekkerland voor cybercriminelen, vol oude mailboxen en websites waarvan de domeinnaam is verlopen (bewindvoerders zijn zuunige types dus een tientje per jaar is ook veel gevraagd, red.) waardoor iedereen die dat ook maar een beetje wil toegang kan krijgen tot de gegevens van cliënten. Adressen, schulden, medische gegevens: de keuze is reuze. Die klanten zijn vaal volkomen labiel en al helemaal als het om de centen gaat, dus 1 mailtje met 'klik hier voor gratis geld' en tel uit je winst. Staat u nou zelf zelf onder bewind en wilt u van al het gezeik af zijn? Geen idee of dat ook kan, maar doe vooral uw best. Thanks RTL Nieuws en veel plezier cyberboeven!