AI News Roundup – October 17, 2025
China’s secret weapon in chip battle with US: intense city rivalry
Intense rivalry between major cities is driving China’s push for a self-sufficient semiconductor industry in the face of tightening US export controls
south china morning post
Oct 17, 2025
Big Tech is paying millions to train teachers on AI, in a push to bring chatbots into classrooms
Big Tech companies are funding AI training for teachers to accelerate the adoption of chatbots in classrooms, raising concerns about job security and critical thinking
techxplore
Oct 17, 2025
Introducing Agent Skills
Anthropic has launched Claude Skills, a new feature that allows users to customize the AI for specialized tasks and workflows using custom instructions and code
anthropic
Oct 16, 2025
As Windows 10 Support Ends, Microsoft Is ‘Rewriting’ Windows 11 Around AI
Microsoft is rewriting Windows 11 to be centered around AI, pushing advanced Copilot features like voice activation and on-screen vision to all users
wired
Oct 16, 2025
Absolutely’ a market bubble: Wall Street sounds the alarm on AI-driven boom as investors go all in
Wall Street is sounding the alarm that the current AI-driven market surge is an overheated bubble, fueled by investor exuberance and huge infrastructure spending
yahoo!finance
Oct 15, 2025
Meet the AI chatbots replacing India’s call-center worker
Sophisticated AI chatbots are rapidly replacing workers in India’s massive call center sector, forcing a major shift in the country’s IT job market
reuters
Oct 15, 2025
Claude’s latest model is cheaper and faster than Sonnet 4 – and free
Anthropic has released Haiku 4.5, a new small language model that is free, twice as fast as its predecessor, and matches the coding capabilities of Sonnet 4
zdnet
Oct 15, 2025
How People Around the World View AI
A global Pew Research survey reveals that public sentiment toward AI leans more toward concern than excitement, though trust in regulation varies by country
pew research center
Oct 15, 2025
Video Overviews on NotebookLM get a major upgrade with Nano Banana
Google’s NotebookLM has upgraded its Video Overviews feature by integrating the Nano Banana image model to automatically create contextual illustrations
google
Oct 13, 2025
Technological Optimism and Appropriate Fear
An essay by Jack Clark argues for a balanced view of AI, urging the tech community to balance optimism with an appropriate fear of the unpredictable technology
importai
Oct 13, 2025
AI Talks 