One year of agentic AI: Six lessons from the people doing the work
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It’s not about the agent; it’s about the workflow
Achieving business value with agentic AI requires changing workflows. ...
Agents aren’t always the answer
AI agents can do a lot, but they shouldn’t necessarily be used for everything. Too often, leaders don’t look closely enough at the work that needs to be done or ask whether an agent would be the best choice to perform that work. ...
The important thing to remember is not to get trapped in a binary “agent/no agent” mindset. Some agents can do specific tasks well, others can help people do their work better, and in many cases, different technologies altogether might be more appropriate. ...
Stop ‘AI slop’: Invest in evaluations and build trust with users
... Any efficiency gains achieved through automation can easily be offset by a loss in trust or a decline in quality. ...
Make it easy to track and verify every step
... So when there’s a mistake—and there will always be mistakes as companies scale agents—it’s hard to figure out precisely what went wrong.
Agent performance should be verified at each step of the workflow. Building monitoring and evaluation into the workflow can enable teams to catch mistakes early, refine the logic, and continually improve performance, even after the agents are deployed. ...
The best use case is the reuse case
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Deciding how much to invest in building reusable agents (versus an agent that executes one specific task) is analogous to the classic IT architecture problem where companies need to build fast but not lock in choices that constrain future capabilities. How to strike that balance often requires a lot of judgment and analysis. ...
Humans remain essential, but their roles and numbers will change
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People will need to oversee model accuracy, ensure compliance, use judgment, and handle edge cases, for example. And as we discussed earlier, agents will not always be the best answer, so people working with other tools such as machine learning models will be needed. ...
Another big lesson from our experience is that companies should be deliberate in redesigning work so that people and agents can collaborate well together. Without that focus, even the most advanced agentic programs risk silent failures, compounding errors, and user rejection. ...
See the full story here: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/one-year-of-agentic-ai-six-lessons-from-the-people-doing-the-work
Consistency Is Key: Lessons on Generative AI via ‘The Bends’
In less than three years, generative AI has evolved from an experimental toy to a regular presence in studio pitches, previs workflows, and even the festival circuit. Yet one challenge has stymied the full adoption of generative AI in long-form storytelling: establishing and maintaining control over outputs. This challenge also fuels many of the anxieties surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in media production. How can artists maintain their creative voice when a machine is doing all the artistic work, and often doing so with inconsistent results? The Entertainment Technology Center at USC set out to tackle these and related challenges with a new film project, “The Bends.” ...
See the full article here: https://www.etcentric.org/consistency-is-key-lessons-on-generative-ai-via-the-bends/
Train Your Teams or Drown in Workslop
| A new study published in Harvard Business Review by Stanford University and BetterUp Labs introduces a term that should worry every executive: "workslop." That’s AI-generated work that “masquerades as good work, but lacks the substance to meaningfully advance a given task.” The study, based on a survey of 1,150 U.S. desk workers, finds that many employees are spending time decoding, correcting, or reworking their colleagues’ AI outputs rather than doing original, high-value work. ... These reports and studies back up what we already know: AI adoption is widespread, but productivity boosts are elusive. Companies are deploying AI tools without giving teams the know-how, governance, or quality standards required to avoid downstream cleanup. ... See the full story here: https://shellypalmer.com/2025/09/train-your-teams-or-drown-in-workslop/ |
Chinese censor uses AI to alter gender of gay character in Dave Franco and Alison Brie’s Together; viewers slam move
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In what is being seen as a new frontier in censorship, the Chinese version of Hollywood stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie's thriller Together has altered the gender of a gay character, turning a same-sex relationship into a heterosexual one. ...
Four people who saw the film in China — where it began pre-release screening on September 12 — told Bloomberg News that the version they watched showed a heterosexual couple in the minute-long scene. They said nothing seemed unusual at the time, and they only learned about the edits later through social media. ...
See the full story here: https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/hollywood/chinese-censor-uses-ai-to-alter-gender-of-gay-character-in-dave-franco-and-alison-bries-together-viewers-slam-move-101758610163360.html
‘Europa’: ETC Teams Up with AWS on Cloud-First Production
Sci-fi short “Europa,” written and directed by Jacqueline Elyse Rosenthal, is the Entertainment Technology Center’s latest project to test the expanding possibilities of virtual production and remote collaboration. To call “Europa” a cloud-first production is to rethink filmmaking from the ground up. This wasn’t just a distributed team working online — it was an ecosystem where every workflow, from previs to final VFX, operated entirely in the cloud. It wasn’t a workaround; it was the foundation. And powering that foundation — every tool, every task, every decision — was AWS. ...
Each of these applications was independent in capability but interconnected through AWS. The cloud didn’t just host files but made them usable, searchable, and actionable across the globe. Collaboration became code. Infrastructure became intelligence. And the architecture itself became a creative enabler. ...
As we move to a cloud-based workflow, the archive becomes the source of truth — not a final resting place but a live, queryable system of record. ...
See the full story here: https://www.etcentric.org/europa-a-cloud-first-production-from-etcusc-and-aws/
AI is causing anxiety about the future of the workforce. But are there AI-proof jobs?
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I came upon a list that takes a thousand or so jobs and ranks them on something called AI exposure. That's essentially a measure of how much AI can help you do your job. As you'd expect, at the top of the list, more exposed are knowledge workers - writers, physicists, concierges. At the bottom, blue-collar and physical jobs - dancers, welders, short-order cooks. But here's the thing - exposure is not the same as this job will be automated. ...
He said if you can use AI to get a lot more productive and the world wants even more of what you're producing, then maybe your field will see an explosion of growth. ...
She wrote a paper with the economist Roberto Rigobon, and they kind of turned Daniel Rock's research inside out. Instead of looking at what tasks AI can help do, they asked, what are humans good for? ...
She and her co-author came up with something called the EPOCH score. It's an acronym. Covers empathy, presence, opinion, aka ethical judgment, creativity and a silent H, hope, the ability to plan and execute a vision. ...
If you have a very human task to do and a linked task that's very automatable, then you might be in a sweet spot where AI doesn't automate your job but rather augments it. ...
Of course, this is all just a theory. AI might get a lot more human-like, or we might just not care that it's only simulating something like empathy. ...
See the full story here: https://www.npr.org/2025/09/19/nx-s1-5544378/ai-is-causing-anxiety-about-the-future-of-the-workforce-but-are-there-ai-proof-jobs
OpenAI won’t say whose content trained its video tool. We found some clues.
... To explore what content OpenAI may have used, The Washington Post used Sora to create hundreds of videos that show it can closely mimic movies, TV shows and other content. The accuracy of the tool’s re-creations suggests Sora had been trained on a version of the originals, experts said. The Post has a content partnership with OpenAI. ...
As Ghibli-ified images flooded social media, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted on X that ChatGPT was signing up a million users in just an hour. The company said at the time that it continued to prevent generation of images mimicking individual living artists but permitted copying “broader studio styles.”
If millions of ChatGPT users had fun playing around with Ghibli’s carefully crafted aesthetic, “should [the studio] really be making zero percent?” said actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who has done voice-over work for Studio Ghibli. He recently argued on his Substack that workers, not corporate rightsholders, should be paid when their art is used to train AI. Studio Ghibli declined to comment.
Altman has said on multiple occasions that artists should be compensated if an AI system creates something in their style. “People have got to get paid,” he told podcast host Lex Fridman in 2024. Wood, the OpenAI spokesperson, declined to comment on whether the company has made progress on such a program.
See the full story here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2025/openai-training-data-sora/
“Physical Bodies Required for True Intelligence”: AI Researchers Explore Whether Soft Robotics and Embodied Cognition Unlock Artificial General Intelligence
| IN A NUTSHELL |
| 🤖 Researchers explore whether AI needs a physical body to achieve true intelligence. 🧠 The concept of embodied cognition suggests that sensing, acting, and thinking are interconnected. 🐙 Soft robotics, inspired by creatures like the octopus, offer a new path for developing adaptive AI. 🔄 Autonomous physical intelligence (API) allows materials to self-regulate and make decisions independently. This has led to the concept of embodied cognition, where sensing, acting, and thinking are interconnected processes. As Rolf Pfeifer, Director of the University of Zurich’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, pointed out, “Brains have always developed in the context of a body that interacts with the world to survive.” This perspective challenges the traditional view of cognition and suggests that a physical body might be crucial for developing adaptable and intelligent systems. See the full story here: https://www.rudebaguette.com/en/2025/09/physical-bodies-required-for-true-intelligence-ai-researchers-explore-whether-soft-robotics-and-embodied-cognition-unlock-artificial-general-intelligence/ |
AI scientist says ‘learning how to learn’ will be next generation’s most needed skill
Google's DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis says the most valuable human skill for the future will be “learning how to learn” as artificial intelligence transforms education, careers and daily life
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Hassabis emphasized the need for “meta-skills,” such as understanding how to learn and optimizing one’s approach to new subjects, alongside traditional disciplines like math, science and humanities.
“One thing we’ll know for sure is you’re going to have to continually learn ... throughout your career,” he said. ...
see the full story here https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/googles-top-ai-scientist-learning-learn-generations-needed-125526617
Albania Appoints World’s First AI “Minister”
Albania has made history by introducing an AI-generated cabinet member named Diella, tasked with overseeing all government procurement. Prime Minister Edi Rama says this move is designed to eliminate corruption and bring complete transparency to public tenders. ...
The Decode:
1. AI Minister for Public Tenders - Prime Minister Rama announced that Diella will manage every public tender decision to make the process “100% corruption-free.” By removing human involvement from procurement decisions, the government aims to reduce bribery and ensure transparent use of public funds.
2. Background and Capabilities - Launched in January as a digital assistant, Diella has already issued 36,600 digital documents and delivered nearly 1,000 services via Albania’s e-Albania platform. Designed as a virtual figure in traditional Albanian attire, she is now being elevated from a helpful assistant to a decision-making cabinet member.
3. EU Ambitions and Anti-Corruption Drive - This appointment supports Albania’s bid to join the European Union by 2030, with anti-corruption as a key requirement. Rama believes an incorruptible AI overseer strengthens the country’s case for EU membership while showcasing a bold integration of AI into governance.
Albania’s decision highlights both the promise and risk of embedding AI into critical government operations. If successful, it could set a precedent for corruption-free procurement globally, but the lack of clarity around human oversight raises concerns about accountability, security, and potential manipulation of the system.
See the full original story here: https://www.politico.eu/article/albania-apppoints-worlds-first-virtual-minister-edi-rama-diella/
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