NEWS YOU CAN’T MISS

4,000 Layoffs in Poland - Here’s Why

Since the 2000s, Krakow had been one of Europe’s favorite places for global companies to set up shop. It had a perfect mix: well-educated young workers, low costs, and a safe, growing EU economy.

Big firms like Shell and Heineken brought in customer support, finance, and IT work - jobs that needed people in numbers. Salaries rose fast, new buildings went up everywhere, and Poland’s economy crossed $1 trillion.

But now, as analysed by Agnieszka Barteczko and Konrad Krasuski in this interesting Bloomberg article, the city is hitting a wall. AI is taking over exactly the kinds of routine tasks Krakow became famous for:

• By October, companies in Krakow had announced more than 4,000 layoffs. That’s a 70% jump from last year.

• Big names like Shell and Heineken are all shifting simpler work to cheaper locations like India.

• Cafes and shops that relied on office workers are getting quieter. Apartment prices (after soaring for a decade) are starting to fall.

On a positive note, the city has a long history of shifting with the times. It went from a medieval trading center to a university town, to a tech hub.

Now, officials are pitching Krakow as a place for AI labs, robotics research, and cybersecurity. They’re offering incentives, upgrading office parks, and working with companies to create roles that require human judgment.

Universities are helping out as well: Jagiellonian University has opened a new AI research center where students and companies work together on projects.

The hope for the future is that Krakow can shift from being Europe’s back-office to becoming one of its new innovation hubs.

Down for Old-School Music with AI?

At a recent concert in India, singer Sonu Nigam surprised the audience with something unusual: he performed a live duet with a renowned singer who passed away decades ago.

He did it by using AI to recreate the voice of Mohammed Rafi - a legendary Bollywood playback singer known for classic songs from the 1950s to 1980s.

The moment blew up online: fans said it felt emotional, almost like stepping back in time. People who grew up listening to Rafi said hearing his voice again gave them goosebumps - but others felt recreating his voice was disrespectful to his memory. What do you think?

AI Around the World

In Sweden, authorities have shut down an AI system used to flag people for potential welfare fraud after investigations revealed it was unfairly targeting women, immigrants, and low-income families. The tool also missed many real cases involving wealthier men, raising concerns about bias.

In Nigeria, 17-year-old Okechukwu Nwaozor is building and training his own AI model with just $1850 in funding - using rented cloud GPUs and self-collected datasets to create a homegrown alternative to big-tech systems. His startup OkeyMeta already has nearly 1,000 users and 8,000 developers on its API platform.