Microsoft 365 goes down for more than 9 hours worldwide, taking Outlook email, Teams and Copilot with it

The stories

35 on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

1. 01

   Microsoft 365 goes down for more than 9 hours worldwide, taking Outlook email, Teams and Copilot with it

   9 hours

   and more of Microsoft 365 downtime by Friday

   email was hit hardest [2]

   130,000

   reports of problems on Downdetector

   from users in 74 countries [2]

   450 million

   paid business seats for Microsoft 365

   Microsoft's count at the end of 2025 [8]

   What happened

   • Microsoft 365, Microsoft's office software, went down around the world for more than 9 hours on Thursday and Friday. [1]
   • Outlook email, Teams and the Copilot AI assistant were all hit. [2]
   • Microsoft's status page also listed SharePoint Online and Defender XDR, a security service, as possibly hit. [11]
   • Downdetector, a site that collects reports from users, logged nearly 130,000 reports from 74 countries. [2]
   • In Australia, councils, government agencies, courts and schools told the public they could not be reached by email. [1]
   • Some health facilities went back to paper prescriptions, because their logins need a code sent by Microsoft email. [3]
   • Microsoft flagged Teams problems at 10:40am US Eastern time on Thursday, and email problems just before 1pm. [5]
   • It posted at midday that the problem was fixed, but users still could not send mail after that. [6]
   • Microsoft said its servers were failing automated health checks and dropping out of service. [4]
   • The failed checks may come from one component that processes server health, Microsoft added. [7]
   • It said the load "isn't driven by an increase in traffic" but by servers being unavailable. [6]
   • It also checked whether the extra load was real demand or traffic being sent along different paths. [12]
   • It found that the process that sets up secure connections on each affected server was overwhelmed. [3]
   • When engineers brought servers back, they went down again once traffic returned to them. [2]
   • Microsoft rolled back a recent configuration change, the change that lined up with the start of the outage. [3]
   • It planned to test its next fix on a few servers first, then apply it more widely. [3]
   • The admin tools that firms use to check problems, such as Intune, went down too. [4]
   • Microsoft's own status page often would not load, and it posted updates on X. [6]
   • The outage also broke the links that let OpenAI's and Anthropic's AI tools work with Microsoft 365. [2]
   • Charles Lamanna, a Microsoft executive, said there was "no indication this is the result of malicious or cyber activity". [2]

   Who is involved

   • SharePoint Online file sharing
   • Defender XDR security
   • Microsoft the US software company whose Microsoft 365 runs email and chat for many firms; its servers failed
   • Charles Lamanna a Microsoft executive vice-president; he said there was no sign of a cyber-attack
   • Mark Gregory an engineering professor at RMIT University; he explained how the failure spread
   • Australian Medical Association Australia's doctors' group; it said patient care was not affected

   How it unfolded

   Microsoft's last big Microsoft 365 outage, in September, lasted days and was blamed on a sign-in setting. [10]

   1. Thu 10:40am ET Microsoft flags Teams problems [5]
   2. 1pm email fails
   3. September days-long outage
   4. This week 9 hours and more
   5. Thu 1pm ET Email starts failing across the Americas [5]
   6. Thu evening fixed servers fail again as traffic returns [2]
   7. Fri 2am UTC Teams works again; email is the main problem left [1]

   Why it matters

   At the end of 2025 Microsoft counted more than 450 million paid business seats for Microsoft 365. [8]

   By 2am UTC on Friday, Teams chats and meetings were working again, and email was the main problem left. [1]

   How it works

   Reliability engineers call this a cascading failure: one part breaks, its load moves onto the rest, and they break too.

   When some servers failed, all their users crowded onto the rest, which overloaded and went down, RMIT's Mark Gregory said. [2]

   Seen it before

   When one checkout at a supermarket closes, its queue joins the others, and every line backs up.

   The truth

   • What is really going on Microsoft 365 stayed down for more than 9 hours because failing servers pushed their users onto the rest, which then failed too. [2]
   • Why it works on people A figure like 130,000 reports sounds like a count of everyone hit, but Downdetector only counts people who chose to report. [9]
   • Microsoft has not said what the recent change was, only that it matched the start of the outage. [3]
   • Who gains Google — An RMIT engineer said many people keep a Gmail account to use when Microsoft's email goes down. [2]
   • Who pays Australian councils, agencies, courts and schools — Their staff could not send or receive email on a working Friday. [1]
   • Who pays Hospital staff in Australia — Some went back to paper prescriptions, because their logins needed a code sent by Microsoft email. [3]
   • Nobody knows yet

     What change started Microsoft's outage.

     Microsoft says a recent configuration change lined up with the start, but has not said what it was or whether it was the cause. [3]

   • Nobody knows yet

     How many people lost email.

     Downdetector logged nearly 130,000 reports, but its figures do not show the real number of people affected. [9]

   Good news

   • The Australian Medical Association, a doctors' group, said patient care was not affected. [3]
   • Teams chats and meetings were working again by Friday morning, after Microsoft's long outage.

   What comes next

   Microsoft gave no timeline for bringing every service back. [4]

1. 02

   Congress lines up chip curbs

   What happened

   • Leaders of both main US parties now back tighter limits on selling AI chips to China. [13]
   • US Senate leader John Thune put a 'high probability' on new limits passing. [13]
   • They would ride on the NDAA, the defence spending law the US Congress passes every year. [13]
   • House Foreign Affairs chair Brian Mast called it "very likely" that the curbs make it into the bill. [14]
   • The 3 bills in play are the Chip Security Act, the MATCH Act and the AI Overwatch Act. [15]

   Who is involved

   • Mike Johnson Republican House Speaker
   • Hakeem Jeffries Democratic House leader

   How it unfolded

   Last year a similar bill made the US Senate's version, then was dropped under pressure from Nvidia and Trump officials. [13]

   Why it matters

   Nvidia's former boss Jensen Huang was the industry's most effective lobbyist against such rules, a Eurasia Group analyst said. [15]

   His fall has made it harder for negotiators to strip chip rules out of this year's bill, the analyst said. [15]

   How it works

   Political scientists call this a policy window: a shock gives a stalled bill a short chance to pass.

   The bills had stalled under pushback from companies and the Trump administration, until the Nvidia scandal revived them. [15]

   Seen it before

   A rule your parents kept putting off gets made the day after something goes wrong at home.

   The truth

   • What is really going on In the US, Jensen Huang's fall removed the industry's most effective lobbyist against tighter chip rules, an analyst said. [15]
   • There is no deal yet to keep the curbs in the final bill, Thune and Senator Roger Wicker said. [13]
   • Who gains Anthropic — It publicly backs all 3 chip bills, which Nvidia's lobbying had helped stall last year. [13]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether the chip curbs make it into the final defence bill.

     Thune and Wicker say there is no deal yet with the House on the final version. [13]

   What comes next

   Some Democrats want to use the bill or a December funding deadline to force an end to the Iran war. [13]

1. 03

   Chinese AI firms rush to rent chips abroad

   What happened

   • Chinese AI companies are trying to rent Nvidia computing power in data centres outside China, Reuters reported. [17]
   • The US bans selling Nvidia's best AI chips to China, but renting them abroad is still possible. [17]
   • One big Chinese cloud company has discussed locking in overseas capacity, unnamed sources said. [17]
   • Others have asked data centre operators about reserving it. [17]

   Who is involved

   • Data centre operators asked to reserve chips

   Why it matters

   The firms fear the gap in US export rules may now be closed after the scandal, people told Reuters. [16]

   Data centre hubs outside China that rent these chips to Chinese firms now face fresh scrutiny. [15]

   How it works

   Economists call it pulling demand forward: buyers who expect a ban buy early, so demand jumps before it.

   Chinese firms expect a rule on remote access, so they are booking capacity while it is still allowed. [17]

   Seen it before

   When a shop says a sale ends tonight, the queue is longest just before closing.

   Why blocking chip sales to China moved the trade into rentals and middlemen

   Drug-policy researchers call it the balloon effect: squeeze a banned trade in one place, and it bulges out somewhere else.

   The twist

   A ban rarely ends a trade. It pushes the trade to the next route that is still open, so each new rule mostly shows where buyers will go next.

   The picture

   Buy the chipsbanned

   ↓→

   Rent them abroadopen for now

   ↓→

   Remote-access rulebeing written

   Step by step

   1. 1 A rule shuts one route, such as selling AI chips to China
   2. 2 Buyers still want the chips
   3. 3 They switch to the nearest open route: renting abroad, or buying through a third country
   4. 4 Rule-makers chase that route next, and the trade moves again

   The same force, elsewhere today

   Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

   • Chinese AI firms rush to rent chips abroad

     buying the chips is banned, so firms rent them in data centres outside China, and are booking more before that route closes too

   • Singapore says the US gave little help

     police asked whether servers bought in Singapore and sent to Malaysia went on to a third country, a route around the ban

   • Nvidia told a lawmaker its chips can be tracked

     the Chip Security Act would make each chip report where it is, aimed at the smuggling route the ban pushed buyers into

   Where you've seen this

   Drug crops

   spraying coca fields in one Andean country moved the growing to its neighbours

   Oil sanctions

   oil moves ship to ship at sea, on tankers with their trackers switched off

   School phone bans

   phones leave the classroom and turn up in the toilets

   The catch

   A squeeze still costs the buyer: each new route is slower and dearer, and that cost is often what the rule-makers wanted.

   And the whole of it

   Chip makers, data centre owners in Malaysia, Chinese AI labs and US lawmakers each see their own step of this chain. The people who will one day use the AI those chips train see none of it.

   The truth

   • Who gains Data centre owners outside China — Chinese firms are trying to book their Nvidia capacity before a US rule can close the route. [17]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether, and when, the US will close the route of renting chips abroad.

     Only The Information has reported that the US Commerce Department is finishing such a rule. [17]

   What comes next

   The Information reports the US Commerce Department is finishing a rule to close that route. [17]

1. 04

   Nvidia told a lawmaker its chips can be tracked

   What happened

   • Nvidia staff privately told US congressman Bill Foster the company could track where its AI chips are, he says. [18]
   • Foster backs the Chip Security Act, which would make chips prove their location to stop smuggling. [18]
   • In March 2026 the chip industry's trade group called such tracking "potentially infeasible". [18]
   • Nvidia's staff told him "yeah, of course we can do this", but put nothing in writing, Foster says. [18]

   Why it matters

   Foster says the scandal has built support for the bill among his colleagues. [18]

   How it works

   Engineers call this location attestation: a device proves where it is to someone who checks.

   Under the bill's ping method, each chip would send a signal of its location when it comes online. [18]

   Seen it before

   A phone's find-my-device feature reports where it is each time it connects.

   the Chip Security Act would make each chip report where it is, aimed at the smuggling route the ban pushed buyers into

   The idea, in story 03: Why blocking chip sales to China moved the trade into rentals and middlemen →

   The truth

   • Nvidia did not respond to requests to confirm Foster's account. [18]
   • Tracking would only show where a chip is; it could not switch a smuggled chip off. [18]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether Nvidia will build chip tracking without a law.

     Foster says Nvidia told him it could, but it put nothing in writing and did not answer MIT Technology Review. [18]

   What comes next

   Foster plans a stricter bill next year, making each chip check a licence before it connects. [18]

2. 05

   Singapore says the US gave little help

   What happened

   • Singapore's government says it asked US authorities for help in a chip servers case, and got little. [19]
   • Its police began looking at Megaspeed in February 2025, over possible false declarations on server purchases. [19]
   • Singapore first asked the US for help in July 2025, and repeated it from September 2025. [19]
   • In February 2026 police found too little evidence that Alice Huang, who ran Megaspeed, broke the law on the declarations. [19]
   • She was warned for downplaying her role in Megaspeed and barred from coming back. [19]

   Who is involved

   Megaspeed is a cloud computing firm that runs data centres across Southeast Asia. [20]

   How it unfolded

   1. July 2025 first request
   2. Sept 2025 repeated requests

   Why it matters

   Buyers in Singapore sometimes make up over 20% of Nvidia's quarterly sales, The Register notes. [19]

   The US Justice Department is also looking into Megaspeed and Supermicro, a server maker, officials told Semafor. [21]

   How it works

   Customs officers call this transshipment: goods pass through one country on the way to another, hiding where they end up.

   Police asked whether servers bought by Singapore firms and sent straight to Malaysia then went on elsewhere. [19]

   Seen it before

   A parcel sent to a friend's house and then passed on hides who really got it.

   police asked whether servers bought in Singapore and sent to Malaysia went on to a third country, a route around the ban

   The idea, in story 03: Why blocking chip sales to China moved the trade into rentals and middlemen →

   The truth

   • Singapore says it got only "limited cooperation" from Supermicro. [19]
   • Supermicro says "Megaspeed is not, and has never been, a Supermicro customer". [21]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How much Supermicro helped Singapore's inquiry.

     Singapore says it got only limited cooperation, while Supermicro says it engaged with every request. [19][21]

3. 06

   Democrats question the Nvidia export deal

   What happened

   • Two senior Democrats opened an inquiry into how the Trump administration handled Nvidia's chip sales to China. [22]
   • Their letter says this "appears to be an unconstitutional export tax system". [22]
   • It asks US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to keep all records of the deal. [22]

   Who is involved

   They are Richard Neal and Ron Wyden, the top Democrats on the tax and finance committees. [22]

   • Richard Neal House Ways and Means
   • Ron Wyden Senate Finance

   How it unfolded

   In August 2025 Nvidia and AMD agreed to give the US government 15% of their China chip sales. [22]

   Why it matters

   It is a second congressional inquiry into Nvidia's China sales since the spy reports, after a Republican-led one. [22]

   How it works

   US constitutional lawyers point to the Export Clause, which forbids taxes on goods leaving a state.

   The chips went from Taiwan to the US first, and a tariff was added there before export, the letter says. [22]

   Seen it before

   A town that made you pay to carry your own shopping out of town would be charging for leaving.

   The truth

   • As the minority party, Neal and Wyden can ask questions but cannot force answers. [22]
4. 07

   A senator asks to blacklist China's CXMT

   What happened

   • US Senator Tom Cotton wants CXMT, a Chinese memory chip maker, put on a US trade blacklist. [23]
   • That list, the Entity List, stops US companies doing business with it or selling it technology. [23]
   • Its share of DRAM sales rose from 4% to 10% in a year, Counterpoint says. [23]
   • It is starting to make HBM, the stacked memory AI chips need. [23] Only 20% to 30% of those chips come out working, Reuters reported. [23]

   Who is involved

   CXMT is the world's fourth-biggest maker of DRAM, the working memory in computers and phones. [23]

   Why it matters

   Apple was reported in August to be weighing CXMT memory for iPhones and Macs during a shortage. [23]

   Being on the list could change that. [23]

   How it works

   Economists call it a learning curve: the more of something a factory makes, the better it gets at making it.

   Even buying CXMT's chips helps it make more of them, a Brookings Institution fellow said. [23]

   Seen it before

   The more times you bake the same cake, the fewer you burn.

   The truth

   • CXMT and the US Commerce Department did not immediately reply to CNBC. [23]
   • Who pays CXMT — A blacklisting would cut it off from US firms and technology, and could cost it buyers such as Apple. [23]
5. 08

   Open AI models lose a champion at Nvidia

   What happened

   • Jensen Huang's exit raises questions over Nvidia's support for open AI models, which anyone can download and run. [24]
   • Huang pushed Nvidia's own open models, called Nemotron, and backed open-model start-ups. [24]
   • Nvidia is still due to buy Hugging Face, a leading site for sharing open models, for $12.9 billion. [25]

   How it unfolded

   In July he led a letter from 25 companies asking the US government not to over-restrict open models. [25]

   Why it matters

   US officials are debating how to respond to claims that Chinese AI labs copy American models. [24]

   How it works

   Business schools call this a complement: a product that makes another one more useful, so selling one sells the other.

   Supporting open models helps Nvidia sell chips to governments and firms that want to own their AI. [24]

   Seen it before

   A games console maker wants lots of free games around, because each one sells more consoles.

   The truth

   • One Nvidia insider told TechCrunch the change of boss should not affect Nemotron work. [24]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether Nvidia keeps backing open AI models under new leaders.

     One insider expects no change, and requests for comment on the Hugging Face deal were not returned. [24][25]

   What comes next

   The deal is scheduled to close in the first half of 2027. [25]

6. 09

   EU leaders hold their first AI summit

   What happened

   • EU leaders met in Dublin on Friday for their first summit set aside for artificial intelligence. [26]
   • They were to debate how Europe can build its own computing power, cloud, chips and AI models. [26]
   • The main question is whether Europe builds top AI models itself, or apps on top of others' models. [26]
   • A fight over who speaks for Europe in Ukraine peace talks was set to take over the day. [28]

   Who is involved

   Arthur Mensch, boss of French AI firm Mistral, and AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton were due to speak. [27]

   • Arthur Mensch Mistral's boss
   • Geoffrey Hinton AI pioneer

   Why it matters

   EU officials have struggled to get access to the newest models from OpenAI and Anthropic. [27]

   The truth

   • "We're not going to pretend that we are experts," an EU official said. [27]

   What comes next

   A press conference was provisionally set for 4:15pm on Friday. [26]

7. 10

   Google's Gemini 4 Hydrogen

   What happened

   • Google released Gemini 4 Hydrogen, a fast, lower-cost AI model for coding and agents, on Thursday. [29]
   • Unlike its bigger Gemini 4 models, it is open to free users of the Gemini app and Google Search. [29]
   • Google says it finishes tasks 2.5 times as fast as the older Gemini 3.8 Flash. [30]
   • Developers pay $1.50 for each million tokens, the word pieces a model reads. [30]
   • Artificial Analysis, an independent tester, scored it 51, against 50 for Google's Argon and 31 for the old Flash. [30]
   • Google calls it its "biggest model improvement to Search yet". [32]

   Why it matters

   It is now the default model in Search's AI Mode, Google's Robby Stein said. [31]

   How it works

   AI engineers call it routing: a cheap, fast model does the routine steps and a bigger one plans.

   Google's Orchestrator tool switches between Hydrogen and its top model, Carbon, to use less quota. [29]

   Seen it before

   A head chef plans the menu while the kitchen staff chop the vegetables.

   The truth

   • It costs 15 times as much per token as the cheapest small models from Anthropic, OpenAI and Meta, VentureBeat notes. [30]
   • VentureBeat calls it pricier than the Flash model it replaces, until Flash's price rises to match on 1 January. [30]
8. 11

   Google's AI that picks answers fast

   What happened

   • Google launched Gemini Decisions API, which answers yes-or-no and pick-one questions without writing text. [33]
   • An app can ask it up to 1,000 questions in one request. [33]
   • It costs $0.10 per million tokens read, with no charge for output. [33]

   How it unfolded

   It came weeks after OpenAI launched a similar service. [33]

   Why it matters

   Google uses it to send each Gemini Notebook question to a bigger or smaller model. [33] That cut waiting by up to 40%. [33]

   How it works

   Statisticians call this classification: sorting each input into one of a few set answers.

   It scores the options at once instead of writing, so replies take 150 to 250 milliseconds. [33]

   Seen it before

   A multiple-choice quiz is marked faster than an essay.

9. 12

   Google's smart glasses go on sale

   What happened

   • Google opened preorders for its first smart glasses in years, made with Samsung, Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. [34]
   • They have a camera, speakers and Google's Gemini assistant, but no screen in the lens. [34]
   • Warby Parker's start at $395 and Gentle Monster's at $449. [34]

   How it unfolded

   Google dropped its earlier smart glasses, Glass, nearly a decade ago. [34]

   1. Now preorders
   2. 10 Dec shipping starts

   Why it matters

   Meta's camera glasses have drawn complaints over secret filming, so Google is stressing privacy. [35]

   How it works

   Economists call it specialisation: each firm does the part of a job it is best at.

   Google makes the software, Samsung the electronics, and the eyewear firms the frames and lenses. [36]

   Seen it before

   In a school play, one group builds the sets, one acts and one sews the costumes.

   The truth

   • Nobody knows yet

     How Google's privacy promises for its glasses work in practice.

     The glasses do not ship until 10 December. [34]

   What comes next

   Shipping and shop sales start on 10 December. [34]

10. 13

    Meta's Muse can now phone businesses

    What happened

    • Meta's AI agent Muse can now phone US businesses for people who pay for it. [37]
    • It can make bookings and appointments and wait on hold, Engadget reports. [38]
    • Paid plans start at $20 a month, and heavy users pay $100. [37]

    Who is involved

    Muse has more than 10 million users, Meta says. [37]

    Why it matters

    Many businesses hang up once they realise an AI is calling, TechCrunch reports. [37]

    How it works

    Economists call these transaction costs: the time and effort a deal takes on top of its price.

    In one shared call, Muse waited on hold for 15 minutes so its user did not have to. [38]

    Seen it before

    Asking a friend to stand in the lunch queue for you saves your time, not your money.

    The truth

    • In that call, Muse said it was calling for its user but did not say it was an AI. [38]
    • Who gains Meta — Muse's phone calls are only for paying users, on plans from $20 a month. [37]
11. 14

    Anthropic's agents on firms' own servers

    What happened

    • Anthropic now lets companies run its Claude Managed Agents service on their own servers or cloud accounts. [39]
    • The agents' histories and login keys stay on the company's systems, and each tool use can be logged. [39]
    • But each question to Claude still goes out to a model provider such as Anthropic or Amazon. [39]
    • Customers must also secure and update those servers themselves. [39]

    Why it matters

    That matters in Europe, where the head of the European Central Bank has warned about relying on foreign AI. [39]

    How it works

    Cloud engineers call this the shared responsibility model: the provider and the customer each look after different parts.

    Here the company now keeps the data and runs the servers, while Anthropic still runs the model. [39]

    Seen it before

    In a rented flat, you look after the inside, while the landlord fixes the roof.

    The truth

    • Some features, such as scheduled runs, are missing from the self-run version. [39]
12. 15

    Anthropic sells Claude to factories and shops

    What happened

    • Anthropic launched Claude for Manufacturers, add-ons for engineers and technicians who run production lines. [40]
    • It includes 17 ready-made skills, such as quoting a job and working out why a machine broke. [40]
    • It will not run the machines itself. [40]
    • J.Crew, a US clothing brand, launched an AI stylist built on Claude the same day. [41]
    • Shoppers describe an occasion and get whole outfits picked from looks by J.Crew's own stylists. [41]

    Why it matters

    Anthropic is releasing tools for one industry at a time ahead of its share sale, expected next week. [40]

    How it works

    Business schools call this going vertical: shaping one product around each industry's own work.

    The factory kit links Claude to Autodesk Fusion design software and Infor, which helps firms buy supplies. [40]

    Seen it before

    A sports shop sells football boots, ballet shoes and hiking boots, each made for one use.

13. 16

    Amazon's cloud now runs on a laptop

    What happened

    • Amazon Web Services released AWS Emulator, a free program that imitates its cloud on a developer's own computer. [42]
    • Developers use it to test software without calling AWS, so those tests cost nothing. [42]
    • It covers services in AWS's public list of API models, where The Register counted over 1,300 entries. [42]
    • It is written in Rust, a programming language, to stay light on a laptop. [42]

    Why it matters

    AI coding agents can run it too, checking which parts of a project it can be trusted for. [42]

    How it works

    Software engineers call it a test double: a stand-in that behaves like the real system.

    AWS publishes fidelity scores saying how closely the stand-in matches each real service. [42]

    Seen it before

    A flight simulator lets pilots practise without burning real fuel.

    The truth

    • It does not check access rules the way AWS does, and how closely it matches varies by service. [42]
    • Who gains Developers who build for AWS — They can now test their software on their own computers without paying for calls to the cloud. [42]
14. 17

    An Alibaba AI model retrained to drop state views

    What happened

    • Nous Research, a US AI lab, has retrained an open AI model made by Alibaba, the Chinese tech company. [43]
    • A version of the original, Qwen3.8-27B, refused or dodged questions about Tiananmen Square in 1989 when The Register tested it. [43]
    • Nous says its version, called Arete, cut answers containing propaganda from 22% to 1%. [43]

    Why it matters

    Chinese open models are among the strongest available, and Qwen3.8 is a popular one. [43]

    How it works

    AI researchers call one method abliteration: finding the part of a model's numbers that triggers refusals, and deleting it. [44]

    An InfoWorld writer used it so Qwen would write a satire of China's government it had refused. [44]

    Seen it before

    Removing the skip button from a quiz makes you answer every question.

    The truth

    • The 22% and 1% figures come from Nous's own evaluation. [43]
15. 18

    AMD to invest in PsiQuantum

    What happened

    • AMD, a big US chip maker, plans to invest in PsiQuantum, which builds quantum computers that use light. [45]
    • PsiQuantum already uses AMD's reprogrammable chips, and the deal adds its graphics chips and server processors. [45]
    • Their first target is drug discovery. [45]

    Who is involved

    PsiQuantum anchors a new quantum and chip park in Chicago. [45]

    • AMD chip maker
    • PsiQuantum quantum computers

    Why it matters

    They tuned an AI tool, PRISM, to fix a quantum computer's errors in real time. [45]

    How it works

    Physicists call this error correction: extra checks catch and fix a quantum computer's mistakes as they happen.

    The fixing must happen in real time, so they tuned PRISM to run fast on AMD's programmable chips. [45]

    Seen it before

    A spell-checker fixes typos as you type, before they pile up.

    The truth

    • Neither company said how much AMD will invest. [45]
16. 19

    HubSpot's founder returns as boss

    What happened

    • HubSpot, a US business software company, has brought back co-founder Brian Halligan as chief executive. [46]
    • He replaces Yamini Rangan, who took over in 2021 and also leaves the board. [46]
    • Under Rangan, customers grew from 135,000 to more than 311,000. [46]
    • HubSpot's shares had lost half their value this year, Bloomberg reported. [46]

    How it unfolded

    1. 2021 Rangan takes over
    2. Now Halligan returns

    Why it matters

    Investors fear AI tools built from scratch could replace software like HubSpot's. [46]

    How it works

    Management researchers call it a boomerang boss: a former leader brought back when a company struggles.

    Halligan ran HubSpot for 16 years, and says it chased short-term targets over great products. [46]

    Seen it before

    A team calls back its old captain when a season goes badly.

    The truth

    • Halligan himself said the latest results "aren't great". [46]
17. 20

    DeepMind staff ask for a union vote

    What happened

    • Two unions asked a UK government body to confirm they have enough support for a union vote at Google DeepMind. [47]
    • If the push succeeds, about 1,000 staff in product roles would qualify for union membership. [47]
    • Google DeepMind would have to respect the result by law. [47]

    Who is involved

    Google DeepMind is Google's AI lab, and the body, the Central Arbitration Committee, settles union disputes. [47]

    How it unfolded

    The push began in February 2025, when Alphabet dropped a pledge not to use AI for weapons. [47]

    1. Feb 2025 weapons pledge dropped
    2. This week vote asked for

    Why it matters

    Organisers want Google to leave its contracts with the US and Israeli militaries. [47]

    How it works

    Labour lawyers call it statutory recognition: the law can force an unwilling employer to bargain with a union.

    Staff say voluntary talks went nowhere, so the unions turned to the committee. [47]

    Seen it before

    When two players cannot agree on a rule, they call the referee.

    The truth

    • Google DeepMind says it has "acted in good faith from the outset". [47]
18. 21

    NHS England deletes a Palantir claim

    What happened

    • NHS England deleted a web page saying 137 hospital trusts were benefiting from Palantir's data system. [48]
    • The Guardian found 29 of them were not using all or most of it. [48]
    • Ministers are weighing whether to extend Palantir's 330 million pound contract to 2029. [48]

    Who is involved

    The system, the federated data platform, manages patient data to speed up operations and discharges. [48]

    How it unfolded

    The statistics watchdog had already said a claim of 100,000 extra operations had no evidence behind it. [48]

    Why it matters

    A Labour MP who wants the contract scrapped warned that this threatened public trust. [48]

    The truth

    • NHS England's shorter new page says early users are "already seeing real results". [48]
19. 22

    Oakland workers win AI protections

    What happened

    • City workers in Oakland, California, won a tentative deal protecting them from being fired because of AI. [49]
    • Their union had voted 94.1% in favour of a strike on 22 October. [49]
    • The tentative three-year deal makes the city retrain or move staff whom AI displaces, rather than fire them. [49]
    • The strike planned for 5 November is on hold. [49]

    How it unfolded

    1. 22 Oct strike vote
    2. 5 Nov strike on hold

    Why it matters

    Public-sector unions across the US are seeking similar protections, the Guardian reports. [49]

    How it works

    Labour economists call this bargaining power: a believable threat to stop work wins terms that a request cannot.

    With 94.1% ready to strike, the city agreed terms before the walkout began. [49]

    Seen it before

    A class that all refuses to hand in homework gets the deadline moved.

    Good news

    • Oakland's city workers won a deal that makes the city retrain or move staff whom AI displaces, instead of firing them, and called off their strike.
20. 23

    Australia tells employers to plan for AI

    What happened

    • Australia's workplace minister Amanda Rishworth launched a guide for employers on bringing AI into work. [50]
    • It says entry-level jobs will be the first to be automated. [50]
    • Rishworth said employers must give workers "a clear plan" on how automation could affect their jobs. [50]
    • It warns of hazards such as intrusive surveillance of workers and unrealistic performance targets. [50]

    Who is involved

    • Qantas airline
    • Canva design app

    How it unfolded

    Qantas and Canva are among the firms cutting staff in AI-driven shake-ups. [50]

    Why it matters

    It says younger, older and First Nations workers, women and disabled people face "disproportionate impacts". [50]

    How it works

    Economists ask who keeps the gain when work gets faster: workers, customers or owners.

    Labor MP Ed Husic asked whether AI brings higher wages and lower prices, or just lower labour costs. [50]

    Seen it before

    If a faster dishwasher frees an hour, someone decides whether it is your free time or more chores.

    The truth

    • Who pays Entry-level workers in Australia — The government's own guide says their jobs will be the first to be automated. [50]
21. 24

    Gartner: AI will add more jobs than it cuts

    What happened

    • Gartner, a research firm, predicts AI will create 10.6 million jobs and cut 8.9 million by 2030. [51]
    • Its count leaves out China and India. [51]
    • For now losses lead: 2.2 million jobs lost to AI in 2026, against 1.6 million gained. [51]
    • It also counts 5 million deferred jobs, where AI is an excuse not to hire. [51]

    Why it matters

    Job deferrals were "the first effect felt from AI", Gartner's chief forecaster John Lovelock said. [51]

    How it works

    Labour economists count jobs made and jobs lost separately, because a net figure hides both.

    Gartner's net gain of 1.7 million sits on top of 8.9 million jobs lost along the way. [51]

    Seen it before

    A class can end the year with the same number of pupils even if many left and many joined.

    The truth

    • Lovelock says the turnaround comes only once AI projects start working well. [51]
    • Nobody knows yet

      Whether AI ends up adding jobs overall.

      Gartner's forecast of a net gain depends on AI projects starting to work well, which its forecaster says has not happened yet. [51]

22. 25

    Prize clears a writer of using AI

    What happened

    • The Caine prize for African writing has cleared Zimbabwean author Simbarashe Kundizeza of using AI. [52]
    • His story The Blue Fighter won the 10,000-pound prize on 6 October. [52]
    • The month-long review interviewed him and the judges, and studied data stored in his drafts. [52]

    How it unfolded

    5 days later, The Atlantic reported that an AI detector, Pangram, judged it almost wholly AI-made. [52]

    1. 6 Oct wins the prize
    2. 5 days later AI claim

    Why it matters

    Many said African writers were being unfairly singled out, the Guardian reports. [52]

    How it works

    Statisticians call it a false positive: a test says something is there when it is not.

    Pangram flagged the story as AI-made, but the drafts and interviews showed a person wrote it. [52]

    Seen it before

    A smoke alarm that goes off when you make toast.

    The truth

    • Who pays Simbarashe Kundizeza — He spent a month under suspicion after an AI detector judged his story almost wholly AI-made. [52]

    Good news

    • The Caine prize for African writing cleared Simbarashe Kundizeza after a month-long review, and plans to award him its 10,000-pound prize before the end of the year.
23. 26

    AI agents 'found' a Maya site already known

    What happened

    • Google researcher Pietro Miotti said his AI agents found a possibly unmapped Maya site in Mexico. [53]
    • He set 48 AI agents to search NASA lidar data, laser maps of the ground. [53]
    • The site had been described in an academic journal more than a year earlier. [53]
    • Mexico's heritage institute had no record of it, but archaeologists say that does not mean it was unknown. [53]

    Why it matters

    Archaeologists said the claim took credit from experts who have used digital tools for decades. [53]

    How it works

    Scientists call it a literature review: checking what is already published before claiming something new.

    Archaeologists do not publish sites' locations, so checking means comparing images in papers, Miotti said. [53]

    Seen it before

    Telling your class you found a shortcut that everyone already uses.

    The truth

    • Miotti called it a personal side project, and updated his blog to credit the earlier work. [53]
24. 27

    A third of chatbot users insult them

    What happened

    • 33% of US chatbot users swear at or insult them, a study of 8 million messages found. [54]
    • After an insult, chatbots fixed the problem 24% of the time, against 35% without one. [54]
    • Anthropic's new rules, in force from 12 November, ban "sustained and needless" cruelty toward Claude. [54]

    Who is involved

    Searchable, a company that tracks what shows up in AI search, ran the study. [54]

    Why it matters

    52% of the abuse came after the bot ignored instructions, made things up or misunderstood. [54]

    How it works

    Psychologists call it frustration-aggression: being blocked from a goal makes people lash out.

    Just over half of the insults came straight after the chatbot failed at what the user asked. [54]

    Seen it before

    Shouting at a vending machine that ate your coin.

    The truth

    • Anthropic did not immediately say how often Claude is abused. [54]
25. 28

    FreeBSD developers want rules on AI code

    What happened

    • FreeBSD, a free operating system, surveyed 140 of its developers about code written with AI help. [55]
    • 88% want the project to adopt a policy, and only 16% would reject AI-assisted code outright. [55]
    • 84% want AI use disclosed, and 78% want a human to review it. [55]

    How it unfolded

    NetBSD, a related system, banned AI-generated code in 2024. [55]

    Why it matters

    91% chose accountability, meaning a human stays responsible, as a core principle. [55]

    How it works

    Software engineers call this provenance: a record of where each piece of code came from. [55]

    Marking AI-assisted changes in the project's log, as 79% want, would keep that record. [55]

    Seen it before

    A recipe card that notes which steps came from grandma and which from a website.

26. 29

    British voters back data centres, a poll finds

    What happened

    • 48% of Britons back building data centres and 32% oppose them, a PF Global poll found. [56]
    • US voters polled almost the reverse: 32% support and 46% oppose. [56]
    • Two-thirds of Britons say they know only a little about data centres. [56]

    How it unfolded

    Democrats won US races this month partly by promising a crackdown on data centres. [56]

    Why it matters

    A joint top reason Britons give is not depending on other countries for AI and data storage. [56]

    How it works

    Pollsters call this framing: people judge a thing by what it stands for to them.

    In the US data centres stood for higher power bills; in Britain, for national resilience. [56]

    Seen it before

    The same new school rule feels fair or unfair depending on what it is said to be for.

    The truth

    • Some MPs near planned sites are starting to worry. [56]
27. 30

    A Windows update stops some pages printing

    What happened

    • Microsoft's November Windows security update can stop some documents from printing. [57]
    • The fault hits images with a height or width of zero, which users cannot see. [57]
    • Tools that make documents can add such hidden images for watermarks or layout. [57]
    • Versions from Windows 10 Enterprise 2016 to the newest Windows 11 are affected. [57]
    • The same update can also break some Windows activation commands, Microsoft warned. [57]

    Why it matters

    Users need not have added the images themselves. [57]

    How it works

    Software testers call this an edge case: an input so rare that tests miss it.

    An image of zero width is invisible, so users may not notice it until a print fails. [57]

    Seen it before

    An empty box in a parcel that jams the sorting machine.

28. 31

    Windows can now rebuild itself from the cloud

    What happened

    • Microsoft added Cloud rebuild, which restores Windows 11 even when it will not start. [58]
    • It downloads a clean copy of Windows and the device's drivers from Windows Update. [58]
    • It arrived in November's update, KB5132061. [58]
    • Unlike the older Reset this PC option, it installs the latest updates too. [58]

    Why it matters

    Personal files, settings and apps are not kept, so they have to be added back. [58]

    How it works

    Engineers call this a clean install: replacing the whole system instead of repairing the broken part.

    It does not depend on the broken copy of Windows, so a fault inside it cannot block the repair. [58]

    Seen it before

    Rewriting a messy page from scratch instead of rubbing out each mistake.

29. 32

    A mining card turned into an AI chip

    What happened

    • A developer called Kate turned a $2,500 Nvidia crypto-mining card into a rival for its $20,000 A100 AI chip. [59]
    • The mining card, the CMP 170HX, has 8GB of memory switched on; the A100 has 80GB. [59]
    • She used a method called voltage glitching to reach the chip's fuse controller. [59]

    Why it matters

    Used data-centre chips are cheap, and hobbyists are building their own AI computers from them. [59]

    How it works

    Security engineers call it fault injection: forcing a chip to misbehave so it skips a check.

    The chip's fuses are meant to switch parts off, but blowing them can also unlock more, Kate says. [59]

    Seen it before

    A stuck lock that opens if you pull the door while turning the key.

30. 33

    Whoop launches a social network

    What happened

    • Whoop, a maker of fitness bands without screens, launched Whoop Humans, a social network for its members. [61]
    • Members can share sleep, recovery and workout data, and post photos. [60]
    • Sharing is opt-in, and members choose who sees what, chief executive Will Ahmed says. [61]
    • It comes at no extra cost on every membership level. [61]

    Why it matters

    Whoop pitches it as free of bots: "Every account represents a real person with a verified heartbeat." [60]

    Whoop is also pushing into medical tracking, with heart-rhythm checks and blood tests already added. [61]

31. 34

    Roku stops making smart home gear

    What happened

    • Roku, known for its TV streaming sticks, will stop making and selling smart home gear. [62]
    • That means its cameras, smart plugs and lights. [62]
    • Roku says it will keep supporting the devices people already own. [62]
    • All but two of its smart home products are listed as out of stock. [62]

    How it unfolded

    Fox, the TV company, completed its purchase of Roku on 6 November. [62]

    Why it matters

    Roku says it is "sharpening our focus" on being the top streaming platform. [62]

    The truth

    • It is unclear how Roku TVs' camera features will be affected, ZDNet says. [62]
32. 35

    Fitbit health figures vanish after an update

    What happened

    • Fitbit users say health figures disappeared from the Google Health app after update 5.12. [63]
    • The missing figures include breathing rate, blood oxygen and resting heart rate. [63]
    • Some users first saw it about 6 days ago. [63]
    • Google says it is working on a fix. [63]
    • Users on Reddit found that logging out and back in can bring the data back. [63]

    Why it matters

    Users are angry that the fix is taking so long. [63]