Thursday newspaper round-up: AI models, bank taxes, AstraZeneca

(Sharecast News) - Advanced artificial intelligence models have stunned the UK's AI Security Institute (AISI) by carrying out a hacking campaign against real people during a cybersecurity test. The institute said the incident was unprecedented and involved sending targeted emails to software developers in an attempt to pass a cyber challenge. - Guardian

Waiting at the bar and trying to catch the bartender's eye so you can order a pint, before going to stand with your friends and have a catchup, has been how British people have experienced going to the pub for centuries. But Westminster council has been accused of trying to put a stop to it. The council, which has jurisdiction over one of the busiest nightlife districts in Europe - Soho and the West End - has recommended not allowing "vertical drinking" or ordering at the bar in its new draft licensing policy. - Guardian

Sir Demis Hassabis is stepping down as head of Google's British AI lab DeepMind to be replaced by a US-based executive. The tech entrepreneur, who is based in London, will become DeepMind's chairman as part of a broader shake-up of Google's AI leadership announced on Wednesday. - Telegraph

A rush to beat Labour's death tax has triggered a boom in life insurance sales. Unused pension savings and death benefits will be subject to inheritance tax from April next year. The changes, announced by Rachel Reeves, the former chancellor, in her 2024 Budget, have already triggered a rush of people looking for ways to cover the steep tax bills their pensions could now leave behind. - Telegraph

Dame Jane Fraser, the chief executive of Citigroup, has said she is "worried" about bank taxes in the UK. In comments made on a visit to London, Fraser warned that the UK tax rate on banks is higher than in New York, Dublin, Frankfurt and Paris, which could jeopardise investment. "Money votes with its feet," she said. Fraser is Scottish and as the boss of Citi, the third-largest US bank, is the most powerful woman on Wall Street. - The Times

Reports of merger talks between AstraZeneca and a US rival that wiped close to �18 billion off the FTSE 100 group's market value have been called into doubt, amid claims there was "never a deal to be done". Purported discussions with Bristol Myers Squibb to create one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical groups resulted in the British giant losing 9 per cent of its value on Monday. However, Reuters reported that there are "no discussions'' about a potential merger between the two companies. - The Times