Microsoft services are currently down globally, supposedly due to a technical problem with the company’s server infrastructure.

Businesses, schools, police forces, and government agencies, are being hit significantly, with some estimating signifcant losses as a result.

While Microsoft has said it’s seeing some stabilization, there is no timeline as to when its services will be fully accessible again to users.

Microsoft is Suffering a Major Outage, But What Caused It?

On Thursday afternoon, North American Microsoft users started reporting disruptions to applications such as Outlook and Teams. Within an hour, reports erupted, and since then, 74 countries have been impacted by what is now a major outage of Microsoft services.

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According to several outlets, the outage was caused by a technical problem with Microsoft’s server infrastructure. Although, experts have noted that the incident is taking a lot longer to resolve than would be expected, considering Microsoft’s stature and engineering expertise.

The company has said the issue wasn’t caused by any kind of cybersecurity breach. Users across the world, however, are saying scammers are taking advantage of the outage and pretending to be from Microsoft.

What is Impacted by the Microsoft Outage?

Around 430 million people use Microsoft 365 services around the world, so the impact of this outage is major. Services such as Teams, Outlook, and Microsoft’s AI software Copilot are all suffering, leading to major disruption.

Businesses, schools, government agencies and healthcare services worldwide, such as the UK’s National Health Service, have reported issues. Complaints are coming in from all sides of the world, from workers at their desks to government ministers.

The Japanese economy, trade, and industry minister has said the outage has had a “major impact.” Similarly, Australia’s spy agency and federal policy have reported disruptions tied with billions of dollars of predicted damage.

The widespread impact points to the dangers of institutions and businesses worldwide relying on a single provider, especially for many of their major operational needs.

When Will Microsoft Services Be Back Online?

In a recent update, Microsoft said it was seeing “early stabilization and capacity improvements,” however there is currently no timeline as to when services will be up and back to normal.

“Our primary mitigation path continues to focus on service stability and controlled recovery. Engineering teams are cycling affected infrastrucre through traffic drain, restart, remediation, and staged return-to-service while monitoring closely,” the company said.

In the meantime, the company has extended its email timeout window to 48 hours, to help protect delayed messages that have been sent out, but not received yet.

This isn’t the first outage Microsoft has experienced this year. In August, users had issues logging in and connecting to its services, and it took a few days for systems to fully recover. While the cause of this outage was supposedly the rollout of a code update, we could see a similar timeline for this outage.

The post Microsoft Services Are Down: Here’s What We Know appeared first on Tech.co.

This article is part of an interview with Dr. Matthew Call, associate professor of management at Texas University’s Mays Business School. This interview was conducted for Tech.co’s AI newsletter, The AI Strat. For more interviews, with AI experts on the latest trending topics, subscribe to the newsletter.

There are many reasons why a worker may not want to use AI. The potential for AI to cause mass layoffs is well-documented by the technology’s leaders. Plus, environmental concerns remain poignant, as are concerns about declining cognitive abilities.

There are workers who are seeing significant gains when using AI, and jumps in productivity could lead to more motivation and enjoyment at work.

However, others may feel differently. As AI takes over more and more tasks, it may end up replacing many of the more challenging and stimulating elements of a role, meaning motivation and ambition takes a hit.

How Do Workers Feel About AI?

The general message from businesses to workers has been to experiment with AI, and figure out how it can work for your processes. Mostly, AI’s strengths since then have been in the tedious, repetitve tasks that take workers away from valuable work. That being said, AI is still changing roles, beyond automation.

Dr. Matthew Call, associate professor of management at Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School, researches how human capital and talent can be managed in the AI era, and what this means for the future of the workforce.

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Mostly, Dr. Call told Tech.co, worker sentiment is mixed. It varies across roles, and definitely across different generations of the workforce.

Workforce Concerns Can Overshadow AI’s Capabilities

Dr. Call works directly with individuals coming out of graduate degrees, and are entering the job market for the first time. The entry-level job market is arguably where AI’s impact is already being felt.

Certainly, studies indicate employment among 22-25 year olds in highly AI-exposed roles is 19% lower than peers in less AI-exposed roles. Likewise, the current unemployment rate for recent graduates is higher than the general unemploment rate in the US.

There is a strong sense that what is being seen for entry-level job seekers will one day spill over into the wider job market. AI leaders have certainly made predictions that swing this way, and even if these were later revised, the narrative around job losses has contributed significantly to worker attitudes.

Dr. Call explained how some workers will have this in mind when it comes to AI. Workers will be saying to themselves: “I’m working with this AI tool…and it’s asking me all sorts of questions and taking very detailed notes, and remembering everything I do, and is able to replicate what I do within six months.”

Dr. Call says that to them, this is a “rational, self-protective reason” why workers will not want to engage with AI. If you’re training an AI to do certain elements of your job, it’s natural you’ll fear being replaced. And then, you wouldn’t want to use it.

Workers Are Seeing the Benefits

There is another worker profile I spoke about with Dr. Call: “They see the value show up, where they can be ten times more productive, and they’re power users, and they’ve institued AI across their processes and systems.”

These are the workers that have adopted AI broadly, and are seeing the benefits. These are sometimes “AI champions,” individuals within organizations that power and accelerate AI across their company. But, they can also be standard workers.

Typically, Dr. Call says existing domain expertise means you tend to be much more effective with AI. Plus, “you have good judgment around your content and area of application,” he told me. These workers are on the opposite side of those who have less experience and aren’t as good as, for example, catching AI’s mistakes.

Naturally, if workers start to see increased productivity while they’re using AI in their role, this could have a positive impact on motivation.

The Potential Link Between AI and Motivation

Dr. Call spoke to me about a “motivation curve” he sees with workers using AI: “Once they figure out what AI can do, it energizes them to ask questions and solve problems that they may not have figured out before. It gives them this sense of efficacy.”

“You get on that motivation curve,” he continued, “but eventually a lot of these folks find it hard to sustain, because they say yes to twelve different things and they’re constantly working with AI to do all of these jobs. And that can actually get demotivating afterwards.”

Mentally, working with AI can take its toll in other ways. A study from Tech.co identified a “rework tax” for workers using the technology, where a lot of time is spent reviewing, editing, and correcting AI-generated errors and hallucinations.

And, because AI isn’t yet perfect at doing everything a human worker can, the opportunity for error is rife. Constantly asking AI to complete tasks for you, and then repeatedly correcting it, could contribute to frustration and a lack of motivation in your role.

But, there’s also evidence that AI is removing some of the more interesting aspects of roles. A study from AAPL found that despite seeing performance benefits, users that collaborated on a task with generative AI, and then moved to completing a task independently, reported a decline in intrinsic motivation and an increase in boredom.

The researchers comment: “Collaboration with gen AI can remove the most cognitively demanding parts of a task, often the aspects that make work stimulating and personally fulfilling… When gen AI generates much of this content, the process becomes less engaging, and humans may feel disconnected from the task.”

Ultimately, it’s too early to know exactly how AI will impact motivation, as this is usually a long-term, gradual shift that can’t be measured in the short time AI has been around. However, worker sentiment around AI will be critical for its longevity in the workplace.

The post Is AI Motivating for Workers? appeared first on Tech.co.

New research finds cyber criminals are leveraging AI tools to carry out attacks. Often, agents are acting autonomously to carry out objectives and criminals are only “checking in.”

Chinese models are being deployed frequently for the purpose of cyber attacks and present a lower barrier to entry for criminals, as they are often cheaper to run.

However, agents aren’t yet fool-proof. Many still make mistakes, and experts agree that following best security practice is still enough to keep companies safe at this stage.

AI Is Handling Attack Campaigns for Cyber Criminals

Recent research from Check Point finds criminals are offloading cyber attacks to autonomous AI tools. Specifically, humans are setting the objectives, and agents are acting to fulfill them. Humans are checking in with their agents but not carrying out attacks themselves.

Check Point investigated the AI tool, ARTEX, which is being used for this purpose. Criminal setups of the tool revealed the goals given to it by attackers, the AI models chosen for the task, and each step taken by the agent.

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In one campaign, ARTEX’s AI agents produced over 400,000 messages across 292 targets. Notably, this scale was achieved without the attacker sending any instructions beyond the original setup.

“After the initial goal, operators mostly check progress while agents scan, exploit, and even reason through supply chain attacks on their own,” Pedro Drimel Nato, malware analysis team leader at Check Point research, explained. The data is evidence of how criminals today are using agentic tools.

Cheaper Chinese Models Dominate Hacking

Closed, Western AI models control the market in terms of capabilities. However, recent reports suggest open-source, Chinese models are catching up.

In fact, Check Point found Chinese models dominate when it comes to cyber attacks. Most notably, open-source model DeepSeek leads the criminal charge. In one case, when an attacker hit the guardrails on a Western model, it switched to a more permissive Chinese model.

Open-source models tend to have weaker guardrails than closed models, which makes them a tempting candidate for attackers looking to bypass security. However, significantly, open-source models are cheaper to run, as they work locally on devices.

Research from Vals claims it costs between $17 to $46 in tokens for OpenAI’s GPT-6-Sol to carry out an attack, meanwhile DeepSeek required only between $2 to $3 for the same task.

While this certainly means the cost barrier to attacks is lowering, at the same time, the capabilities of Chinese models are also increasing.

Vals, in its research, found OpenAI’s most advanced cyber model, Daybreak, was able to complete 81% of the tasks it was given in an average of two tests. DeepSeek, comparatively, was able to complete 73%.

On some tasks, the two models scored equally. Significantly, Daybreak is only available to trusted partners, whereas DeepSeek is accessible to anyone in the public.

Therefore, Chinese models are a much more accessible and capable option for today’s criminals, by presenting a much easier path to attack.

Agents Are Also Failing

In one crypto campaign observed by Check Point, an agent found leaked cloud storage passwords, worked out how to tamper with iPhone apps sent to users by a crypto service, made changes to the apps, and checked all was working. It did all of this without direct human orders.

Yes, the agent acted autonomously after being given an objective. However, that campaign made $0. It turns out, the agents processed 167.5 million tokens and identified multiple vulnerabilities, but across 292 objectives, 230 findings, and over 400,000 agent messages, no money was made.

It’s a solid example of the fact that AI isn’t perfect. While autonomous hackings are no longer theoretical, systems aren’t yet able to flawlessly execute attacks each time.

While this might offer some breathing space, businesses still need to be prepared. Cyber experts believe AI, so far, has only increased the scale and speed of attacks. In short, attacks mostly look the same with AI, they’re just faster and bigger.

For this reason, following best cybersecurity practice is still the best advice, for now. There’s no saying where we’ll be even a few months from now.

The post Cyber Criminals Are Letting AI Do the Hacking appeared first on Tech.co.

It’s coming up to the end of the year, but that doesn’t mean small business owners are taking their foot off the gas. Small business grants are a great way to give your business confidence moving into the new year.

With a grant, your business gains funds that don’t need to be paid back, and can be used directly for your goals. Some grants also offer expert advice, community, and support networks.

Below, I’ve rounded up the small business grants with deadlines in November. I’ve also explained what each grant is looking for in candidates, to give you the best chance when applying.

Shophand $5K Small Business Boost Grant

• For: For-profit US businesses
• Amount: $2,500 in unrestricted cash, $2,500 in technical support
• Deadline to apply: November 30

This grant is available to most small businesses operating in the US. Applicants must have fewer than 50 employees and an annual revenue of under $5 million.

As well as $2,500 in cash, winners also receive $2,500 in Shophand technical support and services. This includes: AI and automation, creative and media support, marketing and tech support, and more, “depending on your biggest challenge.”

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The website urges the “scrappy small business owner who’s overwhelmed or wearing too many hats” to apply for this grant. Emphasizing a desire to explore a new area of your business, particularly in the technology area, could help you stand out here.

Apply here

Hustler’s MicroGrants

• For: Passionate business owners and entrepreneurs
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline to apply: Accepted on a rolling basis

This grant emphasizes small business owners with passion, bold ideas, and a clear plan for how the grant will accelerate their business.

The website says: “If you’re building, growing, or stablizing a small business and need a strategic boost, this opportunity is for you,” and says finalists are selected based on vision, impact, and how the money will move them forward.

I’d advise keeping this criteria in mind when you apply. As a heads up, there is also an application fee of $15 for this one.

Apply here

Tory Burch Foundation Fellows

• For: Businesses at least 51% owned and controlled by women
• Amount: $2,000 education grant, plus additional support
• Deadline to apply: November 17

This grant is part of the Tory Burch Foundation Fellowship, and will give small businesses a chance at building a support network and receiving expert industry advice, on top of the $2,000 in cash.

“You’ll work with experts who’ve coached some of the world’s most successful founders, gain access to advisors and decision-makers, and tap into guidance and resources that evolve with you,” the website states.

Small businesses must be at least 51% owned or controlled by women in order to apply. Likewise, you’ll need to be generating at least $75,000 a year, and have formed and be operating in the US.

Apply here

Restaurant Strong Grant

• For: Independent restaurants
• Amount: $5,000
• Deadline to apply: November 11

Originally launched during the pandemic to support independent restaurants, this grant now acts as an ongoing funding source for small business restaurants across the US.

The grant is $5,000 to be used to support revenue growth and operational needs. Examples the website uses includes upgrading technology and equipment, marketing and public relations services, and staff training programs.

As well as being a single-location restaurant, applicants must be located in designated markets including New York, New Jersey, and California. A full list is available on the grant’s website.

Likewise, the website advises applying restaurants to “outline clear and specific plans for how the grant will be used and define measurable goals for expected growth.”

Apply here

How a Small Business Grant Can Set You Apart

Any financial support as a small business goes a long way. Some grants offer unrestricted cash to use in any area of your business. Others are more structured, and grants can be used in new areas of investment, such as AI training or marketing assistance.

Beyond the financial gain, grants often give owners access to other support opportunities. Some, for example, offer community and support networks, as well as advice from founders and business experts. This kind of knowledge is incredibly valuable for today’s small business.

Furthermore, being selected for a grant could make you more attractive to future investment. Grants are often competitive, and securing one seals your reputation as a business to watch out for.

Most of the time, you lose nothing in applying. While some grants do require a fee, most applications can be completed online for free.

The post Small Business Grants to Apply For in November 2026 appeared first on Tech.co.

We may still be learning about the ways AI will change work, but there’s no doubt it’s here to stay. Given the current business climate, there’s no better way to upskill yourself than by learning about AI.

Below, I’ve rounded up the best free AI courses this November, so you can level up your understanding with the latest tools and guidance with industry experts.

Each course will teach you something different about the technology and, hopefully, give you the confidence to navigate today’s landscape.

Designing and Building AI Assistant Workflows with IBM

Summary:

• Ideal for those wanting to get hands-on with building and using AI assistants
• 5 modules, taking 3 weeks to complete (at 10 hours a week)
• Intermediate level
• Shareable certificate available upon completion

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AI is only as good as the instructions you give it. In this course, you’ll learn to build and use your own AI assistant, specifically for a designed business scenario.

If you’ve been waiting to see how an AI assistant can accelerate your professional role, this course is a solid investment. Using IBM watstonx Orchestrate, you’ll learn to describe the architecture of an AI assistant, including skills, tools, instructions, and routing logic.

Likewise, you’ll learn to connect assistants to enterprise data sources and write integration requirements for your IT teams. You’ll also design intake, triage, routing, and human-in-the-loop workflows.

When you enroll onto this course, you’ll also be enrolled onto the IBM Business Process Automation with AI Assistants Specialization.

View this course at Coursera

AI Fluency for Creative Work with Anthropic

Summary:

• Ideal for creative professionals wanting to develop AI fluency
• 8 lessons, taking 5 hours to complete
• Beginner level
• Completion badge available

Balancing creativity with AI takes a lot of consideration. Anthropic understands this and has created this course for creatives to allow them to experiment with AI “while protecting what makes their work theirs.”

Specifically, this course helps creative individuals build practical skills to collaborate with AI through Anthropic’s 4D framework: Delegation, description, discernment, and diligence.

You’ll begin with no AI, and then start to use analytical tools like the Creative Value Lens and the Production Lens. Ultimately, the course asks users to carefully consider what they use AI for, and leaves room to question whether you need to use AI at all.

View this course at Anthropic

Human-AI Systems Integration with Coursera

Summary:

• Ideal for those looking to blend human collaboration with AI input
• 6 modules, 1 week to complete (at 10 hours a week)
• Advanced level, recommended professional experience and comfort with AI tools
• Shareable certificate available upon completion

While AI is advancing rapidly, humans remain an essential element of any system. Learning how to effectively balance AI input with human expertise is an essential lesson for any business leader today.

Luckily, this course will get you there. You’ll drive into how AI capability changes cascade across connected teams, identify and rank AI value-creation opportunities, and design human-AI handoff protocols and role-allocation frameworks.

Likewise, by the end, you’ll be able to quantify and communicate genuine productivity and value gains. With businesses focusing on AI ROI, this skill will be an incredibly useful one.

As well as being enrolled into this course, you’ll also be enrolled into the Human-Centered AI Transformation: Strategy & Ethics Professional Certificate. It’s also advised you have some professional experience and comfort with AI tools before starting.

View this course at Coursera

AI in Society: Ethics, Leadership, and the Road Ahead with HP

Summary:

• Ideal for individuals that want to understand the ethical conversation around AI
• 6 modules, taking 2-4 weeks to complete
• Intermediate recommended, but beginners welcome
• Certificate available for paying learners

The ethical conversation around AI is becoming more and more important. As security threats ramp up, leaders should be educated on how they can fairly and safely implement AI.

This course covers all bases: AI’s major security threats, its role in augmenting the workforce, the AI regulatory landscape (including the EU AI Act), the alignment problem and the ongoing debate around Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

You’ll also understand how bias enters AI systems and how to build fairer ones, learn about breakthrough AI applications, and how to apply responsible AI principles in your own work and life.

Like other edX courses, you can take this course for free, but you’ll need to audit it. Certificates are only available for paying learners.

View this course on edX

Why You Should Invest in Free AI Courses

AI is moving at an incredible pace, despite calls from leaders to slow it down. It can be disorienting trying to keep track of what the technology is doing next, and take that from someone who reports on it every day.

Free AI courses are an easy, flexible way to learn more about AI from the comfort of your home. Many of them address and provide insight into the issues facing business leaders today, such as AI’s security threat, and how to balance human collaboration with AI input.

By keeping track of these courses, you can invest in AI with confidence, and carry this assurance with you to your organization.

The post Best Free AI Training Courses for November 2026 appeared first on Tech.co.

These workflows are from Tech.co’s weekly newsletter, The AI Strat. To receive free weekly workflows tried and tested by industry experts, subscribe to the newsletter. 

AI can be a real game-changer for small businesses. Studies have shown that it can improve productivity and remove a lot of the repetitive, slow-paced work that weighs down workers. Overall, this can have a positive influence on overall ROI.

However, you’ve got to start from somewhere. While signing up for the tools is a good start, it takes a while to understand where AI fits in your organization. These workflows will hopefully give you a head start, all with a simple graphic and examples of how it has improved operations.

This month’s workflows are:

• Run AI video production
• Turn bank statement PDFs into data
• Manage media and PR opportunities
• Write social media captions

Run AI Video Production Workflow

Recommended by Arthur Hof, founder and CEO at Bunny Honey Club

If you’ve got limited creative spend as a small business, this process allows you to quickly turn around videos with AI. While the whole process can be automated, I always recommend a human-in-the-loop for final review.

According to Hof, this workflow saves 30 hours of human labor per month. What used to be 20-36 hours of manual work, became only around 5 hours.

Turn Bank Statement PDFs into Data Workflow

Recommended by Pankaj Jasoria, founder of Bank Statement Converter AI

One of the best attributes of AI is being able to turn vast, complicated datasets into ready-to-analyze information. This workflow helps businesses convert bank statements into clear, structured data that can then be plugged into a financial workflow.

Jasoria recommends using AI as an extraction and organization layer rather than trying to replace financial judgement. Given the security risks with AI, I’d also check out your settings before plugging any sensitive data into a tool.

Manage PR and Media Opportunities Workflow

Recommended by Dr. Morissa Schwartz, founder of GenZ Publishing and Dr. Rissy’s Writing & Marketing

This workflow enables small teams to handle multiple media and PR opportunities without losing sight of deadlines. In this workflow, AI handles the first draft, and a human reviews the final messaging.

In one recent run, the workflow caught one request that had already been pitched and produced three distinct, confirmed submissions.

Write Social Media Captions Workflow

Recommended by Alex SB, founder at Fuxux

Having an online presence is a nonnegotiable for businesses today. This workflow lets AI draft social media captions for posts across different channels, including X and Instagram.

For teams that want to plan posts ahead of time, this is a great addition to any social media workflow.

Remove the Guesswork with Tried and Tested AI Workflows

AI is here, but leaders are still struggling to find out how useful it can be. This can lead to surging AI costs, failed pilots, and ultimately, a lack of ROI.

Relying on the experts that have already successfully implemented AI and have the numbers to prove it is a solid start for any business looking to see results.

Every week, I take an AI workflow that has led to genuine business impact from experts across industries and create a ready-to-implement graphic so anyone can get started. If you’d like this in your inbox every Wednesday and more, subscribe to the AI Strat newsletter.

The post Best AI Workflows of the Month appeared first on Tech.co.

Not that long ago, prominent AI leaders including Sam Altman and Dario Amodei predicted their AI systems would replace workers, leading to massive shifts across organizations and industries. But while AI has made an impact, their early theories are yet to hold weight.

Arguably, graduate and entry-level workers are suffering the most from AI. However, many companies are struggling to generate ROI from AI investments, and systems aren’t yet able to operate entirely without humans, which could be why jobs haven’t suffered substantially.

Hiring leaders confirm that human skills, including leadership, creativity, and relationship building remain vital to any organization in the AI era. Nevertheless, some suggest there is still a possibility we’ll see mass AI-related job losses in the future.

Mass AI-Related Job Cuts are Yet to Occur

In May of 2025, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei sounded alarms when he said AI could wipe out half of entry-level white collar roles, and push the unemployment rate to 10-20% within 1-5 years.

In early 2026, CEO of Microsoft AI Mustafa Suleyman said most tasks done “sitting down at a computer” would be fully automated within 12-18 months. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who catapulted AI into the mainstream with the release of ChatGPT in 2022, has been warning about mass job losses since as early as 2015.

Most leaders have now backtracked on their original claims. Altman came out and said he was “pretty wrong” about the economic impact of AI, Suleyman re-routed and said he expected AI to help white collar workers, rather than replace them, as did Amodei.

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Either way, we’re yet to see AI completely take over the workplace. Undoubtedly, it has played a role in augmenting and shifting roles and industries, but current data suggests we’re not at the point of an apocalypse once foretold.

According to data from consulting firm Challenger, Grey & Christmas, 112,713 AI-related job cuts were announced in July 2026. This number rose to 116,275 in August. However, August also saw the lowest monthly layoff number linked to AI since December 2025.

Overall, total layoffs to August are down 41% year on year. Hiring plans, in comparison, are up 37%. In some lights, the argument that AI will create more jobs seems to have gained strength.

AI is Unable to Function Without Humans, For Now

Despite some confirmations of AI-related business value, uncertainty is still being felt by leaders. Yes, companies are adopting AI, but several studies indicate clear ROI is yet to follow.

According to PwC’s Global CEO Survey, 56% of CEOs have seen no significant financial benefit from AI, and only 1 in 8 report both cost and revenue gains. For workers, 94% of marketers say AI hasn’t made any significant impact.

Of those that have displaced workers in favor of AI, success hasn’t been a guarantee. The most notable example being Klarna, which replaced around 700 customer service workers with AI, only to invite them back after complaints from customers.

The human element, it seems, remains a vital component. “AI isn’t replacing people yet at scale because it needs people to be effective,” Sabra Sciolaro, chief people officer at Firstup, told Tech.co. “We are at a place where it needs people to give it direction and context, and the quality of the input is so critical.”

That’s not to say AI could never perform more effectively than humans. Actually, it could get better very soon, given the speed at which we’re developing. However, at the moment, the technology still leads to a lot of mistakes, and humans are needed to prevent them.

Sciolaro explains how what she looks for in a job candidate has changed, because of AI. “Curiosity and a willingness to try and fail and iterate, is something that becomes more important with every passing week and month, as things are moving more and more quickly.”

Lisa Highfield, principal director of research and advisory for technology and AI at McLean & Company, agrees that a “human-centric” mindset is still very much needed in times of implementation. Highfield works directly with organizations as they introduce AI.

“We talk about things beyond employee empowerment,” she told Tech.co. “Being able to think about new ways of working and having a culture of innovation and even the resiliency that we need as we go through this.”

We Could Still See Big Job Cuts Related to AI

Admittedly, data related to AI job cuts is always going to be difficult to track. The above Challenger report, for example, measures announced cuts and reasons given by employers. Actual displacement isn’t measured, and corporate messaging, particularly as more people fear job losses due to AI, makes the true picture harder to reveal.

Nevertheless, there are areas we could point to that suggest the AI takeover of jobs is already happening, particularly in the graduate and entry-level markets.

A study from The Stanford Digital Economy Lab found that, among 22-25 year-olds in highly AI-exposed occupations, employment is about 19% below the trend compared to peers in less exposed roles.

Similarly, recent graduates were found to be experiencing an unemployment rate of about 5.6-5.7%, higher than the general unemployment rate of 4.1-4.2%. Only four years ago, these two percentages were almost identical.

Beyond the graduate and entry-level markets, plenty of major companies have referenced AI in layoff messages, including Block, Salesforce and Accenture. Just recently, Microsoft offered a quarter of its workforce a voluntary redundancy buyout while looking to spend billions on AI.

And, CEOs still expect to be making cuts. There’s an argument to say that what we’re seeing with the graduate market is only the beginning, and AI’s impact will eventually spread to the rest of the population.

When I asked Sciolaro if we’re heading in this direction, she said she didn’t think so. “I don’t see it as, we’re heading in the direction and we’re clearly on a path where all work is automated. I just don’t think it’s practical.”

Highfield, on the other hand, believes layoffs are still a possibility. “I think the potential for AI replacing roles exists. I think there’s a lot of variability across roles, and we know that roles are a combination of many different tasks and the potential for AI to automate those tasks varies widely. So yes definitely, the potential is there.”

The post Why Aren’t We Seeing Mass AI Layoffs? appeared first on Tech.co.

As the US prepares to go to the polls next week, a new survey on voters finds over half are opposed to companies building superintelligent AI systems.

A significant amount of voters are fear losing control of powerful AI, which is understandable given the well-documented risks the technology poses.

Similarly, the data identifies a trust gap between AI companies and US citizens. Workers still fear job losses, and businesses appear to be operating within a “trust deficit,” according to an expert.

58% of US Voters are Opposed to Superintelligent AI

A new survey from public affairs and strategtic communications firm Bryson Gillette found 58% of US voters oppose companies building superintelligent AI. Likewise, 61% believe humans would keep little or no control over it if it were built.

Superintelligent AI, for the purpose of the survey of 1,000 registered US voters, was defined as AI that is smarter than humans at nearly everything, including scientific research, strategy, and persuasion. As voters prepare to face midterms next week, superintelligent AI could prove to be a contentious topic.

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President Trump’s administration has largely backed away from regulating AI in any federal capacity. Though Trump held a summit at the end of September with some of the most influential AI leaders, including representatives from Nvidia, Anthropic, and OpenAI, no federal laws around AI have been passed.

Given voters’ sentiments around AI, as shown in this survey, conducted at the end of September, AI fears could steer the midterms in a certain direction.

Lindsey Mears, lead researcher at Bryson Gillette, spoke to Tech.co about what role AI could play next week: “AI has moved from a tech story to a campaign issue. Data centers, electricity costs, and who controls these systems are all being argued on the trail.

“Whoever holds Congress in 2027 will set the terms for AI policy, so candidates and companies need to know what voters think before that happens,” she told us.

Voters Fear for Safety Amidst Powerful AI Systems

Even before AI systems started “going rogue,” cyber experts have been sounding alarms. Now, we’re beyond imagining what AI-powered attacks will look like, and have numerous examples of the devastation that these attacks could cause.

It’s no wonder, 83% of voters worry about losing control of powerful AI. Going down a darker route, 73% worry about AI threatening human existence altogether.

“People see the technology advancing faster than the accountability around it,” Mears explained to us, and plenty of cyber experts have expressed concern about a disregard for security-related infrastructure and proper hygiene.

Following the OpenAI/Hugging Face attack earlier this year, AI leaders even began calling for a slow down of development, in part so security risks could be properly evaluated. The cry was met with some agreement, but it was also disregarded by other leaders, including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, and the President himself.

This stance could greatly impact voters as their minds settle on the midterms. “Our data tells us that voters expect to lose control of a technology they did not ask for, built by companies they do not trust,” Mears told us.

She also doesn’t believe skepticism will die down after voting ends next week. “Expect more political scrutiny after the midterms,” she said. “Skepticism crosses party lines, the next Congress will face pressure to act on AI no matter which party gains ground.”

AI Skepticism Is Rife and Companies Must Earn Trust

While big tech has never inspired heaps of trust, AI companies have earned very, very little as of late. Mears explained how this was represented in the survey:

“We also found a trust gap that matters,” she said. “Two-thirds of voters say tech and AI companies have real influence in Washington, but only 38% trust them.”

This lack of trust can be accredited to security risks, but it could also be the result of an early job loss narrative that swept early AI messaging. While leaders have since abandoned this course, the impact on voters has been significant, according to Bryson Gillette.

Indeed, 58% of voters are concerned about job loss from AI generally, and 44% of voters are concerned about their own job. “Concern about jobs is real, and it’s personal,” Mears told us.

Because of this, Mears explains that businesses automatically “start from a trust deficit” when it comes to AI. This means the AI rhetoric, as well as AI integration, needs to be carefully planned.

“Be specific with employees about which AI tools are in use and where a person still makes the final call, pair every rollout with training and reskilling, keep productivity claims modest, and give workers a real say in how these tools are used,” she advised.

The post US Voters Are Opposed to Superintelligent AI appeared first on Tech.co.

GoDaddy’s Airo AI Builder is an affordable option for businesses, with plans ranging from $9.99 to $99.99 per month (billed annually). GoDaddy also offers shared, WordPress, and VPS hosting plans, plus domain registration.

Based on our latest round of research, GoDaddy is one of the best website builders for value.

How Much Does GoDaddy Cost?

GoDaddy’s website builder plans start from $9.99 per month (billed annually), with web hosting plans beginning at $5.99 per month (for a three-year contract).

I’ve listed the introductory prices for the cheapest GoDaddy plans in the table below:

GoDaddy’s Airo AI Builder Plans

GoDaddy’s website builder, known as Airo AI Builder, has four plans: Free, Starter, Professional, and Ultimate.

Pricing for the AI website builder starts at $9.99-$99.99 per month (billed annually) — you can save 50% by choosing an annual subscription versus a rolling monthly contract.

How much does it cost to top up AI credits?

GoDaddy offers AI Credit packs, meaning you can top up your monthly allowance. These credits are valid for one year before they expire.

• 250 AI credits — $24.99
• 500 AI credits — $44.99
• 750 AI credits — $59.99
• 1,000 AI credits — $74.99

You can also purchase larger packs to suit your needs and budget. To test GoDaddy’s limits, I went up to 100,000 AI credits, which would cost $7,499 in total, but I could keep increasing the AI credit figure even higher!

GoDaddy’s AI Credit packs can be purchased at checkout when you initially subscribe to GoDaddy’s Airo AI Builder, or you can buy them from your account dashboard when managing your plan.

GoDaddy Hosting: Types and Plans

GoDaddy offers various web hosting plans, including shared, WordPress, and VPS hosting. Pricing varies across the hosting types, but you can get started from just $5.99 per month.

Hosting is included with Airo automatically, but these standalone plans are available if your site is built elsewhere.

Web hosting plans: from $5.99

GoDaddy has eight web hosting plans in total, ranging from $5.99 to $54.99 per month (for a three-year contract). All web hosting plans include a free custom domain, email, and SSL certificate, though you’ll be charged after your first year.

The web hosting plans are split into two categories: Standard Performance (for simple websites and apps) and High Performance (for high-traffic, resource-heavy sites and apps).

The Standard Performance web hosting plans are listed below:

The four High Performance hosting plans are listed below:

WordPress hosting plans: from $5.99

For WordPress websites, GoDaddy offers three managed hosting plans: Hosting for WordPress Basic, Hosting for WordPress Deluxe, and Hosting for WordPress Ultimate.

For the cheapest deal, choose at least a three-year contract, with prices ranging from $5.99 to $12.99 per month.

VPS hosting plans: from $8.99

GoDaddy’s eight VPS hosting plans start from $8.99 per month (for a three-year contract). Overall cost will vary depending on your chosen operating system, control panel requirements, and website security needs.

Like web hosting, the VPS plans are split: the more budget-friendly Standard Performance plans versus the more powerful High Performance plans.

The Standard Performance VPS plans are listed below:

GoDaddy’s High Performance VPS plans start from $64.99 per month:

Does GoDaddy Have Any Additional Costs?

In addition to your website builder or web hosting subscription, GoDaddy will charge you for a few extras, such as AI credits or custom domain names.

The key features to budget for are:

• AI credits — if you run out of monthly credits, GoDaddy’s AI Credit packs start at $24.99
• Domain name — GoDaddy includes a free custom domain for your first year (a .com domain will then cost $22.99 per year to renew)
• Email — you get a free trial of Microsoft 365 Email Essentials for one year with select hosting plans, or you can pay $11.88 for one year on Airo plans (this will renew at $107.88 per year)
• SSL certificate — this is free for one year with GoDaddy, but will automatically renew at $119.99 per year
• Control panel — for VPS hosting plans, cPanel/WHM costs $19.99 per month, Plesk Web Pro Edition costs $19.99 per month, and Plesk Web Host Edition costs $29.99 per month
• Website security — VPS plans can also pay for website security, with standard protection costing $5.99 per month
• Transaction fees — GoDaddy Payments, which is integrated into all online stores built with GoDaddy, charges 2.7% + $0.30 per transaction

How Does GoDaddy Compare With Other Website Builders?

GoDaddy offers some of the cheapest website builder plans on the market, particularly in comparison to more expensive platforms, like Shopify (which starts from $29 per month).

See how GoDaddy’s pricing compares to our top-rated builders:

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		Overall score All Tech.co research categories, condensed into one score	Cheapest price	Free plan	Free trial
GoDaddy	Wix	Squarespace	Shopify	Hostinger
4.2	4.8	4.5	4.2	4.1
$9.99/month	$17/month	$19/month	$29/month	$2.99/month
check	check	close	close	close
7-day free trial	14-day free trial	14-day free trial	3-day free trial	7-day free trial

GoDaddy Pricing: Is GoDaddy Worth It?

As a website builder, web host, and domain registrar, GoDaddy is great value for money. GoDaddy’s plans are an affordable option in a competitive market, allowing users and merchants to get set up online for just $9.99 per month (billed annually).

You can even build and test websites or apps using Airo’s free plan, giving you the freedom to experiment with new ideas without stretching the budget. When you’re ready, simply upgrade to launch your site to the public and access additional features, such as ecommerce.

FAQs: GoDaddy Pricing

The post GoDaddy Pricing 2026: Website Builder & Hosting Costs appeared first on Tech.co.

This article is part of an interview with Shams Chauthani, chief technology officer at Tempo Software. This interview was conducted for Tech.co’s AI newsletter, The AI Strat. For more interviews, with AI experts on the latest trending topics, subscribe to the newsletter.

Shams Chauthani, CTO at Tempo Software, recently told Tech.co that the biggest mistake he sees businesses making with AI is assuming everyone needs to be a builder.

Instead, he believes having a dedicated group of AI builders, or AI champions, that understand the technology, will save businesses time and resources.

Furthermore, AI skills aren’t the only valuable currency as we move into this new era of work. Human skills such as leadership and emotional intelligence remain key as we move further into automation.

Train the Tools, Not the People

Since the technology first started to make waves, workers have been invited to embrace AI. Using it came with affirmation-like wisdom: you’ll be more productive, you’ll save time, you can build anything you like.

With this, there was encouragement to experiment, to reimagine daily workflows entirely. In some companies, AI use became a performance indicator, and out of this metric, tokenmaxxing entered. And then, thankfully, quickly left.

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“Tokenmaxxing doesn’t get you anywhere,” Shams Chauthani, chief technology officer at Tempo Software, told Tech.co in an exclusive interview.

However, one of the bigger mistakes Chauthani says he made when introducing AI, and one he still sees businesses making today, is assuming everybody needs to be a builder in the AI era.

“[It was] a waste of time, effort, and resources,” he told me. Instead, businesses should “train the tools, not the people.”

What this means practically, is knowing who your builders are from the go, and letting them create the benefit for everybody else.

Having AI Champions Isn’t a Bad Thing

When thought about in practice, having a dedicated group of AI builders that have built and know your company’s tools, makes complete sense for businesses battling limited time and resources.

On the one hand, while letting all workers build something out of AI encourages creativity, it also means taking the time to train each employee on how to build with AI. Time which many companies may find difficult to find.

Likewise, AI use is becoming expensive. Businesses need to understand immediately where their money is going, otherwise they risk overspending.

To be clear, we’re talking about AI builders here, not AI users. Training employees on how AI works and how it should be used is a non-negotiable, particularly as AI continues to pose serious security and privacy risks if deployed recklessly.

Leaders should provide the foundations for any employee using company AI and should ensure training is consistently monitored and updated as needed. Similarly, workers should be allowed to become experts if they want to.

However, Shauthani advised having dedicated team of experts, who can build the tools needed to push the company forward, and then share their findings with everyone else. It means impact can be immediately recognized and fostered.

Valuable Skills in the AI Era Go Beyond Using AI

In our interview, Chauthani acknowledged that the nature of work is changing.

“It’s changing from human-centric work to more of a collaboration between AI and humans.”

It’s likely we’ll see a collaborative structure between AI and humans in the future, and in some industries, the change is already happening.

However, in this new age of work, AI skills are not the only necessities. Not everybody needs to be a builder.

For example, decision-making and critical thinking abilities remain essential, as human judgement trumps AI output. Similarly, emotional intelligence, active listening, and communication remain paramount for building relationships between clients, consumers, and brands.

Good leaders provide opportunities for employees to upskill. The ability to build and deploy AI systems is undoubtedly a valuable one today, but human-focused skills remain vital as more and more work is offloaded.

The post Everyone Doesn’t Need to Be Building AI appeared first on Tech.co.