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Reuters NEXT conference hears concerns over AI job losses

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Reuters NEXT conference hears concerns over AI job losses


People sit in the audience during the Reuters NEXT conference in New York City, US, December 4, 2025. — Reuters

NEW YORK: The transformative effects of artificial intelligence dominated discussions at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York, with panellists concentrating on how it may upend work – and job growth – sidestepping concerns about an AI bubble.

Artificial intelligence represents the biggest technological upheaval to the world economy since the rise of the internet a quarter-century ago. It has brought trillions of dollars of investment and dizzying stock-market gains, but also a shortage of memory chips, regulatory scrutiny, and rising anxiety about job displacement.

The numbers are eye-popping. In the first half of 2025, AI-related capital expenditures contributed more to GDP growth than the consumer, according to JP Morgan Asset Management. Investment advisory Bespoke Investment Group recently estimated about one-third of the rise in global market cap since the introduction of AI assistant ChatGPT comes from 28 AI-related companies.

Corporate executives at Reuters NEXT largely focused on how AI would transform work, though some talked about the threat to jobs. “All (of our customers) are focused on slowing headcount growth,” said May Habib, CEO and co-founder of AI startup Writer. “This has happened just in the last few weeks. You close a customer, you get on the phone with the CEO to kick off the project, and it’s like, ‘Great, how soon can I whack 30% of my team?’”

Fears of job upheaval

The fears about job displacement brought on by the AI boom are backed by a US Federal Reserve report noting data and surveys that say artificial intelligence is already replacing entry-level positions and causing companies to trim hiring plans. An August Reuters/Ipsos poll showed 71% were concerned AI will be “putting too many people out of work permanently.”

Striking a more optimistic tone that became one theme of the Reuters NEXT conference, economist Joseph Lavorgna, counsellor to the US Treasury secretary, said the focus should be on how the technology could enhance labour rather than replace it. “AI is an incredible tool that I think is complementary to the existing workforce,” he said. “We need policies that are going to encourage businesses to invest, and AI is a complement to it.”

Nevertheless, employment data is hard to ignore. Recent college graduates have seen a sharp rise in unemployment, with a current jobless rate of 9.5% for those between 20 and 24 with a bachelor’s degree, according to the US Labour Department, compared with the nation’s 4.4% rate.

Joe Depa, EY chief innovation officer, likened the changes to previous tech upheavals like the development of the internet, but “the difference this time is that the disruption is faster.” Depa said “adaptability is the new job security,” with his biggest worry around the middle management class.

Tracey Franklin, Moderna’s chief people and digital technology officer, said what has changed is how companies are starting to evaluate employment needs in tandem with technological needs, rather than separately.

“We’re pooling teams together and really looking at, what is their IT portfolio, what is their human capital strategy, how do we pull that together to meet their business objectives. So we’re having these integrated conversations we didn’t have before,” she said.

Scepticism and worry

The Reuters/Ipsos poll also showed 61% worried about increased electricity consumption from data centres, which is only set to grow. Jeff Schultz, senior vice president of portfolio strategy at Cisco Systems, noted the infrastructure to run AI and the chips needed already consume a lot of power, and that network traffic needed for agentic AI is much higher and steadier than sporadic demand from AI chatbots.

But backlash is growing to the energy-hogging data centre clusters that have contributed to rising utility prices. It is evident in places like Virginia and Pennsylvania, even among supporters of President Donald Trump, who has championed AI development and is considering ways to restrict state-level regulations.

There was notable trepidation among speakers at Reuters NEXT from the media and creative industries, due to concern that AI-generated content could replace the creative work of writers or actors.

“When it comes to talent, there is a lot of controversy whether it’s acting, whether it’s music, et cetera, and that’s where I think we really need to be very aggressive in protecting creative talent and making sure that they are not replaced,” said longtime media executive Shari Redstone.

Sarah Jessica Parker, the longtime star of TV series “Sex and the City,” said she thinks people still value the tactile human experience – citing the unpredictability and spontaneity of performance.

“We’re still – the majority of us – relying on the human exchange,” Parker told Reuters editor-in-chief Alessandra Galloni. “Even on film, even though I know there’s so much now that you can fix and make prettier or tighter or better, there’s still this human element when we talk about the movies we love … I’m not sure that AI will be able to replicate that live nerve.”





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Nelson Peltz offers his stance amid Brooklyn Beckham’s bombshell claims

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Nelson Peltz offers his stance amid Brooklyn Beckham’s bombshell claims


Nelson’s son-in-law Brooklyn released a bombshell statement last week 

Nicola Peltz’s billionaire father, Nelson, has weighed in on the Beckham feud. 

Nelson’s son-in-law Brooklyn, 26, released a bombshell statement last week in which he criticised his parents, Sir David 51, and Lady Victoria Beckham 50, and accused them of mistreating his wife, 30.

Now, the business magnate, 83, who was previously reported to give his daughter $1 million a-month allowance spoke about the family drama during a Q and A at WSJD’s Invest Live in West Beach event on Tuesday. 

Nelson said: ‘My daughter and the Beckhams are a whole other story and that’s not for coverage here today. But I’ll tell you my daughter is great, my son-in-law Brooklyn is great and I look forward to them having a long, happy marriage together.’

Nelson was also asked if he gave the couple advice in how to navigate a difficult situation. 

He replied: ‘I do. Sometimes they give me advice.’ 

For context, Nicola’s father is a businessman with an estimated net worth of $1.6billion, compared with the Beckhams’ reported $680million. 

Meanwhile, Brooklyn’s family have maintained silence since the aspiring chef penned his frustrations about his parents, sharing his reasons for cutting ties with them.

Brooklyn’s parents Sir David and Victoria and his siblings Romeo, 23, Cruz, 20, and Harper, 14, instead put on their own show of unity at Haute Couture Fashion Week last week. 





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Sheriff says ransom note being investigated in disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, Savannah Guthrie’s mother

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Sheriff says ransom note being investigated in disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, Savannah Guthrie’s mother


A ransom note was sent to a local Arizona news station following the disappearance of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, the Pima County sheriff told CBS News.

The note, which the station received Monday and agreed not to report on, contained specific details about the home and what Nancy Guthrie was wearing that night, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said, although he would not confirm the accuracy of that information or the legitimacy of the note. 

“It’s like any piece of evidence,” Nanos told CBS News. “You give it to us, you give us a lead, we’re going to look at every aspect of that lead.”

Nanos did not specify which station the note was sent to, but CBS affiliate KOLD-TV reported Tuesday it had received an email that “appears to be one of the alleged ransom notes,” which it forwarded to the sheriff’s office.

Investigators have analyzed the note and are taking it seriously, Nanos said.

He said the FBI reviewed the note and made the decision to share it with Savannah Guthrie. Authorities had hoped to keep the information from becoming public, but the note was obtained by TMZ, which reported on it before contacting the sheriff’s office, Nanos said.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department had earlier said on social media it was aware of “reports circulating about possible ransom note(s),” adding, “Anything that comes in, goes directly to our detectives who are coordinating with the FBI.”

Surveillance video from a home security system has yielded nothing so far, Nanos told CBS News. He said investigators believe the system may have been set to automatically delete footage after a short period of time, and they are now attempting to recover it through forensic means.

Nanos previously told CBS News that investigators believe the 84-year-old was abducted from her home in the middle of the night over the weekend, and he described it as “a crime scene.” Authorities have been searching for her since Sunday. 

Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her home Saturday night, but no one knew she was missing until she didn’t show up for church the next morning, Nanos said.

The sheriff has repeatedly said Guthrie, who lives alone, could not have wandered away from her home because she has no cognitive issues and very limited mobility. 

He also expressed concern that she needs access medication that she must take daily, telling CBS News, “The clock is literally ticking.”

“You’ve placed her in great jeopardy without giving her meds that are critical to her,” Nanos said. “Again, like I’ve said, could be fatal if she doesn’t get those meds.”

The sheriff has said it’s unclear how many people may have been involved in the apparent abduction. 

“It could be one, it could’ve been more, I don’t know,” he said.

A little bit of blood was found inside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home, a law enforcement source familiar with the case told CBS News, and what appeared to be a small amount of dried blood was seen next to a doormat outside the front door of the home on Tuesday.



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Christian Bale reflects on Frankenstein’s transformation in ‘The Bride!’

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Christian Bale reflects on Frankenstein’s transformation in ‘The Bride!’


Christian Bale has opened up about the intense physical and emotional demands behind his transformation into Frankenstein’s monster for The Bride!, revealing that the process pushed him to some unusual coping methods just to get through the day.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor said he spent six hours a day in the makeup chair while working on the film, a reimagining of the 1935 classic Bride of Frankenstein directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Bale stars opposite Jessie Buckley, who plays the Bride and spent around an hour and a half in makeup for her own transformation.

Reflecting on the gruelling routine, Bale admitted the long hours of enforced stillness took a toll. 

“I would scream like crazy, every day. Just to [release the] despair, all of that restraint that you have to display when you’re sitting still for that long,” he said, explaining how he stopped himself “from going insane” during the process.

Those screams, however, were carefully timed. 

Bale said he avoided doing it on the way to work, worried it might distract him behind the wheel, and ruled out screaming alone because it could easily be misunderstood. 

Instead, what began as a private release gradually became a shared ritual on set.

“Oh man, I’m telling you, the whole crew got involved by the end because people would hear us screaming,” Bale said. 

“We would open the doors, and gradually, a bit like the Bride’s revolution, a few people were going, ‘Can we do it too?’ And then by the end, there were like 30 people who would hear us and run to the makeup trailer to be a part of it and scream as well.”

The role adds another extreme chapter to Bale’s long history of physical transformations. 

Over the years, he has become known for radically altering his body for characters, from bulking up on a strict protein-heavy diet for American Psycho to shedding 60 pounds over four months to reach 120 pounds for The Mechanist

For that film, his daily intake reportedly consisted of “water, an apple, and one cup of coffee per day.”

Not long after, Bale went in the opposite direction, gaining around 100 pounds of muscle in just six months to play Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, cementing his reputation for total physical commitment.

The Bride! is set to open in cinemas on 6 March, distributed by Warner Bros.





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