Human Times

European Edition

24th March 2026

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THE HOT STORY

AI users fear unreliability of chatbots

Interviews with more than 80,000 users of Anthropic’s Claude chatbot across 159 countries provide one of the most detailed snapshots yet of how people use AI. The report found that AI in the workplace to automate tasks was one of the biggest use cases of the technology, although some people said they feared they would lose cognitive abilities in the process. Nearly half of lawyers interviewed said they had encountered AI unreliability firsthand, but they also reported the highest rates of realised decision-making benefits of any profession. Over a quarter (27%) of respondents said they were concerned about AI making poor or incorrect decisions, and 22% said they were fearful about the technology's impact on jobs and the economy. Users in North America, Western Europe and Oceania were worried more about governance gaps, regulatory failure, and surveillance; those in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and South Asia were much more positive about AI.

EdTech Innovation Hub

Euronews

Financial Times

HIGH-POTENTIAL TALENT

New Research: Identifying High-Potential Talent

Identifying high-potential employees is one of the most important talent decisions organisations make. But many companies still find it difficult to judge who has the potential to succeed in more complex roles.

New research from Talogy shows that 86% of leaders and 91% of HR professionals rely on performance ratings and manager recommendations when identifying high-potential talent.

Based on insights from more than 1,000 leaders and HR professionals worldwide, the research report High Potential, High Impact: Insights to build better programmes explores how organisations define potential, the signals they rely on, and the challenges they face when making these decisions.

Download the executive summary to explore the key findings.

HIRING

Finnish business lobby calls for a sharp increase in work-based immigration

Finland's Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) has called for a significant increase in work-based immigration to combat local labour shortages and support economic growth. Director Ilkka Oksala noted that the country's ageing population and declining birth rates are straining the labour market. EK has proposed 72 policy changes, including removing labour market testing and allowing foreign workers to enter if they secure jobs paying at least €1,600 monthly. The business lobby group has also suggested an eight-month period for foreign workers to find new employment after job loss and a new job-seeker visa to facilitate entry for job searches and to enable work to begin once employment is secured. Oksala said: "Finland needs decisive immigration measures."

Helsinki Times

OpenAI to nearly double workforce to 8,000 by end- of 2026

Artificial intelligence start-up OpenAI plans to nearly double its workforce to 8,000 ‌from 4,500 by the end of 2026, the Financial Times has reported, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. The maker of ChatGPT is also increasing recruitment of specialists focused on "technical ambassadorship," ‌to help businesses make better use of its tools, the report added. The hiring plans come amid a race with competitors including Anthropic and Microsoft to woo corporate customers using AI as coding assistants.

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Reuters

HEALTH & WELLBEING

JPMorgan deploys tech to monitor junior bankers’ working hours

JPMorgan Chase is seeking to guard against overwork by scrutinising whether the hours junior investment bankers claim to work match up against activity electronically logged by the bank’s IT systems.

Financial Times

STRATEGY

Germany's car industry 'could learn from China's disciplined industrial planning'

Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume has told Bild am Sonntag that Germany's car industry could learn from China's disciplined industrial planning. "The Chinese proceed in a very ⁠planned way . . . and have clear priorities - it is structured in an optimal way," Blume told the newspaper in an interview. "What we experience very positively in China is a high level of discipline and willingness to execute," he said. "It is ‌worth ⁠looking beyond our own backyard . . . we can learn a great deal from how the country has developed." Blume reiterated Volkswagen's plans to cut 50,000 German jobs by ⁠2030 as part of an ongoing restructuring.

Reuters

ECONOMY

Iran war ramps up energy costs for European companies

Reuters reports that the war in the Gulf is hitting companies worldwide, but it's hitting even harder in Europe where energy prices are already higher than other regions, according to a dozen executives across Germany, France, Denmark and Switzerland. Referencing the fallout from the Ukraine war, Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swiss bank Swissquote, said: "Europe is on the chopping block for this and clearly does not have the margin to take a second energy hit in such a ⁠short period of time . . . Germany and the UK look like the most vulnerable to the energy shock."

Reuters

RISK

Solar flares 'pose risks to UK'

The National Audit Office has said the UK is not fully prepared for a severe space weather event such as a solar flare that could disrupt power systems, air travel and mobile networks, at a time when the risk of disruptions is growing as nations increasingly rely on power grids, satellites, GPS and radio communications. Bloomberg notes that a geomagnetic storm in 2024 shifted thousands of satellites from their orbits.

Bloomberg

LEGAL

German court rejects landmark climate case against BMW and Mercedes

A German court has dismissed a climate lawsuit aimed at forcing BMW and Mercedes-Benz to cease selling combustion-engine vehicles by 2030. The case, brought by Environmental Action Germany (DUH), referenced a 2021 ruling that the state must protect future generations from climate change. However, the Federal Court of Justice ruled that individual rights were not impacted by the companies' actions. "Private individuals cannot demand that automobile manufacturers refrain from placing passenger cars with internal combustion engines on the market" ahead of European Union deadlines, it said. DUH's executive director, Barbara Metz, said the ruling does not absolve the carmakers of their climate responsibilities and urged the government to take stronger action.

Deutsche Welle (EN)

France 24

INTERNATIONAL

Japanese firms agree to raise wages by more than 5% for a third consecutive year

Japanese companies have agreed to raise wages by more than 5% for a third consecutive year, according to Rengo, Japan's largest labour union umbrella group. The seven million member union said its preliminary tally early results from annual labour talks showed an average wage hike of 5.26% for this year. "The first round of results shows we have got off to a strong start," Rengo chief Tomoko Yoshino said. Reuters notes that this year's figure compares with last year's initial reading of 5.46%, which was later revised down in stages to a final 5.25%, but which was still the biggest pay rise ⁠in 34 years.

Reuters

ABC staff to walk off the job

Thousands of ABC staff are set to strike on Wednesday after pay negotiations failed. Deena Amorelli, ABC's chief people officer, informed staff that only 40% supported the new pay agreement in a vote. The walkout is scheduled for 11am, which will disrupt live broadcasts and delay TV show recordings. The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) and the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) represent the Australian broadcaster's staff. The strike marks the first significant action since a 24-hour walkout in 2006.

Yahoo News Australia

ABC Online

OTHER

Luxury brands expand European store footprint despite sector slowdown

Luxury groups including LVMH, Kering and Richemont have continued to expand their physical retail presence in Europe, with store openings rising 13% in 2025, defying a broader slowdown in luxury spending. High-end fashion and accessories accounted for around half of new outlets, with major brands prioritising flagship locations to attract increasingly selective consumers. The push into brick-and-mortar comes despite weaker trading across the sector, including softer sales at LVMH and declining revenues at Gucci, as companies view physical stores as critical to maintaining brand engagement. Limited availability of prime retail space has also driven up rents, highlighting continued demand for premium locations even as the global luxury outlook remains uncertain.

Bloomberg

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