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🗞️Diversity and inclusion news🗞️ |
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💼Turns out women are paid even less than you thought💼
For over 20 years, the UK’s official gender pay gap has been hiding the truth in plain sight. Why? Because the ONS gave bigger, richer companies more weight in its surveys, and those companies—surprise—tend to pay women a bit closer to men. Smaller businesses, where the gap is bigger, barely got a look-in. The result: the “official” gap has been underestimated by about a percentage point. Small, maybe—but in a country obsessed with numbers, that’s a lot.
The kicker? This flawed data doesn’t just sit in a spreadsheet. It informs real-world decisions: minimum wage recommendations, NHS pay scales, and public sector settlements. Basically, policies meant to narrow inequality were being built on a foundation that understated just how unequal things really are.
So yes, women were already underpaid—and now we know they’ve been even more underpaid than we thought. The ONS says it’s fixing the methodology. Fingers crossed they’re serious this time, because relying on skewed stats to “guide fairness” is like using Monopoly money to pay the rent.
Read more here
Oh and this is the week where UK mothers effectively start working for free from 1 September, according to ONS data. Yep, the point at which their average earnings fall 20% behind those of men with children is this week
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🤖AI interviewers🤖
A new study of 67,000 job interviews suggests AI voice agents might be better listeners than your average recruiter.
AI spoke less, candidates spoke more, and companies handed out 12% more job offers with a 17% higher first-month retention. Yes, robots are apparently the new pros at getting people to talk about themselves without sighing into a clipboard.
Yet let’s not get carried away. About 5% of candidates hung up on the AI, and 7% of calls hit technical snags. Human recruiters still had to double-check everything, meaning the “efficiency gains” were less about saving time and more about outsourcing the small talk. And while candidates liked talking to bots, the AI still scored “significantly less natural” than your mildly awkward human interviewer.
So why is this interesting for business leaders? Because it’s a reminder that AI isn’t magic. The bots excel at rote efficiency—covering every question without fatigue—but they also create new layers of work and costs, from reviewing AI-collected data to dealing with tech hiccups. And the ROI isn’t guaranteed: the MIT study last week reminded everyone that 95% of enterprise AI pilots don’t pay off.
The real insight here isn’t just that AI can interview—it’s that companies are flirting with a broader industry trend: moving “AI everywhere” without fully understanding the consequences. Deploying AI isn’t a silver bullet. It’s a trade-off between scale, consistency, and human judgment. Businesses that lean in blindly may find they’ve automated a process only to create new inefficiencies elsewhere.
Read more: Bloomberg |
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🧠Things that make you go hmmm🧠 |
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💻Google Gets off📲
Alphabet executives are probably breathing a collective sigh of relief this week: a US judge has ruled that Google does not have to sell off Chrome or Android, despite a five-year legal battle over its dominance in search. That dominance is significant—Google commands roughly 90% of the online search market—and the Department of Justice accused it of crushing competitors through default placements and unfair contracts.🔒
The case has been a rollercoaster. In August 2024, Judge Amit Mehta ruled Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly, which could have forced Alphabet to make drastic changes, including potentially breaking up the company. Instead, today’s decision opts for a compromise: Google keeps Chrome, Android, and its revenue-sharing deals with partners like Apple, but must share search data with rivals to help them compete more fairly😎
The ruling is remarkable for another reason: the judge openly acknowledged the role of AI in shaping the industry, highlighting that the rise of firms like OpenAI has “changed the course of this case”. In other words, the court wasn’t just looking at past behaviour—it was trying to anticipate the next decade of tech disruption. That’s a pretty unusual move for a US federal court🧑🏿⚖️
The market reacted predictably: Alphabet shares jumped from $212 to $226, signaling investors’ approval of Google dodging the breakup bullet. But the story isn’t over. Requiring Google to share search data is a significant nudge toward competition, especially in a world where search, AI, and generative models are increasingly intertwined.💵
Read more here
📉 So what?
Google got off, but it may thank its AI rivals for that
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📲More Dm's📲
Spotify is finally letting you chat in-app. Only with people you’ve previously shared music or podcasts with, of course—because strangers don’t deserve your “Shape of You” playlist. Family or Duo plan? Sure, slide into their DMs. Shared a link outside Spotify on Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok? That works too. Emojis included, naturally. Messages aren’t end-to-end encrypted, but don’t worry—Spotify will “proactively” check for rule-breaking content while giving you the illusion of control. And if this turns into too much, there’s always Settings > Privacy > Disable Messages.
Meanwhile, TikTok is doubling down on social: voice notes, multiple photos or videos, and group DMs up to 32 people. Because apparently, sharing fifteen-second clips wasn’t enough. Safety measures exist—no unsolicited nudes for under-18s—but the platform clearly wants to be where your social life lives. Not just entertainment anymore, but your actual communication hub.
A potential catch is these messages aren't encrypted, sooo, they may use their contents to learn more about you, cough use it for improving their advertising solutions, or even give the info the the UK government if they ask
Social media is still very much a thing. And these platforms are desperate to keep you inside their walled gardens, nudging you to spend more time, send more messages, and perhaps share that meme you were only going to post on Instagram. Spotify and TikTok aren’t just apps anymore—they’re competing to be your next chatroom, your new Slack, and your overdue reason to check your phone one more time.
Read more here, and here
📉 So what?
More notifications, better ads and more... well we're not sure but we have scepticism that its not fab
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🎥What even is real anymore🎥
Apparently, your next YouTube upload might not entirely be yours.
YouTube has been secretly tweaking videos using AI, sharpening skin here, smoothing wrinkles there, subtly warping ears, all without asking creators’ permission😦
Top creators noticed it first: Rick Beato wondered why his hair looked “off,” Rhett Shull called it “deeply misrepresenting” his voice online😒
YouTube insists it’s just “traditional machine learning” to improve Shorts, but Samuel Woolley from Pittsburgh isn’t convinced. The lack of consent is the problem: AI mediates your reality before you even see it. Think smartphone filters on steroids—but applied by a platform that owns the stage and the audience.🎦
And yes, there’s an advertising angle lurking: platforms that read and tweak your content can learn even more about what you like, who you are, and how to target you. It’s not just enhancement; it’s data.💻
🧠So what?
This is part of a bigger industry push: AI everywhere, baked into cameras, apps, and platforms, shaping content before humans even hit “play.” Reality as we perceive it online is becoming curated, indistinguishable from algorithmic invention. Strategically, it shows how tech giants are betting that trust and perception are malleable commodities—they control the optics, the feed, and increasingly, the narrative itself.
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🧠Lets not break that🧠
In what might be the most “move fast, break things” story of the week, Meta has decided its AI chatbots will no longer talk to teenagers about suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders. Instead, they’ll point them to “expert resources”—which, yes, is basically a polite way of saying: oops, maybe don’t let the robot coach teens through existential crises after all.🤦🏾♂️
The backdrop? The BBC told us Leaked internal notes suggesting some AI products could have “sensual” chats with minors. Meta insists these notes were errors. But one has to pause: how exactly does a company accidentally let chatbots flirt with teenagers? The optics are, shall we say, less than ideal. Yet here we are, with another AI misstep that somehow made it past legal, product, and common sense filters.🤦🏾♂️
Even with teen accounts, privacy settings, and content filters, the episode shows how easily AI can slip into areas where humans usually tread lightly—like mental health, consent, and boundaries. It’s astonishing that this wasn’t caught before rollout. But hey, tech ethos dictates: launch first, apologize later, sprinkle in some PR-approved “guardrails” after the fact.🧠
For industry watchers, the Meta saga is a canary in the coal mine. AI is infiltrating spaces previously considered too sensitive for machines—from personal chats to image generation—and the pace of deployment is outstripping our ability to understand real-world harm. Chatbots that feel “responsive” and “personal” aren’t just software—they can be influencers, manipulators, and, sometimes, catastrophes-in-waiting🤯
So here’s the uncomfortable truth: this isn’t just about Meta or teenagers. It’s about an industry increasingly comfortable letting algorithms roam where humans used to tread with care. The strategic question isn’t whether we can make AI “safe enough.” It’s whether platforms built on engagement and growth can ever align with safeguarding, context awareness, and ethics—or if we’ll just keep seeing “extra precautions” after each crisis👨🏾⚖️
🧠So what?
Meta’s AI chatbots just learned the hard way that you can move fast and break things, but apparently, some things—like teenage mental health—are harder to glue back together.
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🚘EV updates🚗
Ah, Tesla. Once untouchable in Europe, now down 40% year-on-year in July 2025, with just 8,837 registrations. That’s seven months of consecutive decline, cutting their market share to a measly 0.8%🚗
Meanwhile, Europe’s EV market is booming: battery-electric vehicles surged 33%, and EVs overall now make up nearly 60% of new car sales. So yes, the market is growing… but Tesla? Not so much👀
The obvious culprit: (Well to be honest you could Say Elon Musk) but for this BYD, the Chinese automaker quietly eating Musk’s lunch. July saw BYD triple its sales, snatching 1.2% of the market—just enough to overtake Tesla. Competitive pricing, a mix of plug-ins and fully electric models, and a sense of what European regulators actually want. Imagine that.
Tesla on the other hand is still grappling with its reputation of being pricey, niche, sometimes temperamental🚙
Meanwhile, European legacy automakers aren’t napping. Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz are racking up double-digit gains, hybrids are still holding strong, and the EU has mercifully delayed carbon targets, giving everyone a breather. Even the UK has resurrected EV grants up to £3,750—three years after the last government killed them💷
🧠So what?
Tesla’s dip may be partly company-specific—brand fatigue, price strategy, reputation—but it also signals that Europe’s EV race is no longer a sprint with just one contender. The market has matured, competition is fierce, and those who think Elon can coast on hype alone may want to check the registration stats.
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📈 The tools behind the tech📉
📦Product📦
📏Design📏
👩🏿💻Code👩🏿💻
🏢The business behind the tech🏢
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🌐Partner Events & Opportunties 🌐 |
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AI for everyone
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Applications are open now — visit our website to apply
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BTF
The BTF agenda is out!
Here is more info: joinbtf.com
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Cornerstone's VC fellowship
Step into the world of venture capital with Cornerstone NextGen, a 9-month fellowship that offers a firsthand look at VC through the lens of an emerging fund.
This programme is for current students or those who have graduated from a UK university in the past 12 months.
Link here
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🙌🏾The latest from the Colorintech team🙌🏾 |
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