Happy Hump Day, Tech Insiders!

Today’s news lineup is brought to you by the letter A: Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and Axed Jobs. Whether it’s AI conducting your job interview, Meta fully automating ad campaigns, or Microsoft cutting more roles, it’s a lot to process.

It’s a wild mix, so let’s break it down.

Here’s what you need to know today:

Your Next Job Interview Might Be With a Bot

Companies are increasingly using live AI tools—with creepy synthetic voices to boot—to screen job applicants and respond to them in real-time.

According to a report from eWeek, employers are turning to AI interview tools, such as HeyMilo and Ribbon, to boost efficiency. This means more job seekers are now facing bots instead of humans.

These tools enable HR teams to skip live interviews and provide candidates with the flexibility to schedule at any time, even outside regular hours. They also help manage rising application volumes, with one report noting a 31% increase in applications in early 2024.

But cracks are showing. One study found open-source AI tools were more likely to favor male candidates, while another flagged age bias—disproportionately rejecting applicants over 40.

Why it matters: AI is entering one of the most human aspects of work: the job interview. These tools promise efficiency, but it's unclear if they can truly assess people better than humans. And let’s face it: Most candidates aren’t eager to bare their souls to a bot.

Rejected… by a line of code.

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Insider Intel

Report: Meta to Offer Fully Automated Ad Creation via AI by 2026

Hey AI, make me a Nike commercial, please.

Meta plans to “fully automate” ad creation with AI by the end of 2026, according to an exclusive from The Wall Street Journal.

Currently, Meta’s AI tools only make minor adjustments, such as modifying headlines or backgrounds. However, the company’s next move is to create ads entirely by AI, from start to finish.

According to the WSJ, Meta also plans to offer personalized ads using AI, customizing each version based on factors such as location or weather. For example, a car commercial might show downtown traffic for urban residents or a mountain drive for those in the countryside.

As Meta leans into full automation, the line between human creativity and machine output continues to blur.

Flash Bytes

Security Alerts

Too Many Hackers, Too Many Names: Tech Giants Want a Master List

CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, Microsoft, and Google are teaming up to create a public glossary of state-sponsored hacking groups and threat actors.

The goal? End the nickname chaos. Currently, different cybersecurity teams often assign different names to the same hacker group, resulting in confusion, duplicated efforts, and slower response times. Big Tech is looking to change that.

"We do believe this will accelerate our collective response and collective defense against these threat actors," Vasu Jakkal, corporate vice president of Microsoft Security, told Reuters.

Maybe now we’ll stop giving every cybercriminal an adorable nickname.

Click Carefully: Chrome Zero-Day Under Active Exploitation

Three new security vulnerabilities in Chrome have prompted Google to release out-of-band fixes for its browser, with one of the flaws reportedly being actively exploited. 

Tracked as CVE-2025-5419, the flaw is assigned a CVSS score of 8.8. 

The exploit was flagged as an out-of-bounds, read-and-write vulnerability in the V8 JavaScript and WebAssembly engine. It allowed a remote hacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page, according to the National Vulnerability Database.

For Chrome users, update to these versions immediately

Industry Shakeups

Another Month, Another Layoff Notice from Microsoft

Here’s another chapter in tech’s never-ending reshuffle.

Just weeks after cutting 6,000 jobs, Microsoft is laying off 305 more.

According to The Register, the latest layoffs were disclosed to the public via a WARN notice in Washington. The filing indicates that the affected employees will be officially let go starting Aug. 1, 2025.

This marks Microsoft’s third round of layoffs in 2025, following the 3% cuts in May and "performance-based" layoffs back in January. The company has not yet announced whether additional cuts are planned.

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