Calls for energy policy shift ahead of Programme for Government

Stay Ahead, Stay ONMINE

Calls for energy policy shift ahead of Programme for Government

Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) has written to the first minister ahead of Holyrood’s Programme for Government to demand policy to support the north-east energy sector. On Tuesday, the legislative programme for the next parliamentary year will be introduced by the Scottish government. The Scottish government website lists that the 2025 to 2026 […]

Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) has written to the first minister ahead of Holyrood’s Programme for Government to demand policy to support the north-east energy sector.

On Tuesday, the legislative programme for the next parliamentary year will be introduced by the Scottish government.

The Scottish government website lists that the 2025 to 2026 programme will focus on “eradicating child poverty”, “growing the economy”, “tackling the climate emergency”, and “delivering high-quality and sustainable public services”.

AGCC has argued that Scotland needs “pragmatic energy policy” that encompasses the benefits of oil and gas.

Russell Borthwick, chief executive of AGCC, commented: “This region stands ready to help deliver economic growth for Scotland – but only if policy matches potential.

“We urge the first minister to back the north-east, to restore business confidence, and to work with us to turn shared ambitions into action.”

Oil and gas ‘in significant jeopardy’

In the letter to first minister John Swinney, the Aberdeen business group called for the Scottish Government to back new oil and gas projects such as Rosebank and Jackdaw.

This is in line with findings from a recent report published by the chamber’s North Sea Transition Taskforce.

AGCC warned Swinney that the Scottish oil and gas sector is “in significant jeopardy” due to the current tax regime and planning delays.

However, both of these matters would fall under the powers of the UK government.

The oil and gas sector has been vocal about the impacts of the windfall tax, which imposes a 78% rate on operators, and delays to Rosebank and Jackdaw came after a landmark court ruling that found Westminster’s approval of their environmental impact assessments (EIA) to be unlawful.

Climate campaigners celebrate outside the Court of Session in Edinburgh following a ruling overturning the approval of Equinor's Rosebank oil development in the North Sea. — Climate campaigners celebrate outside the Court of Session in Edinburgh following a ruling overturning the approval of Equinor’s Rosebank oil development in the North Sea. Image: Stop Rosebank

The Scottish government is, however, responsible for the approval of projects like offshore wind development.

The Holyrood premiership has been criticised over its slow rate of approval for such projects; however, acting net zero secretary Gillian Martin recently told Energy Voice that measures are being taken to correct this.

“We are already speeding up consenting, and the way that we’re doing that is we’ve invested in more than doubling the capacity of our consents unit,” Matin explained.

“We have been talking to stakeholders across offshore wind for the last couple of years about this very issue and although, in terms of the information that they give us when they do the application, it takes an awful lot of time and it takes an awful lot of time to assess that.”

The Scottish government is aiming to boost the number of staff in its energy consents unit to not only progress applications faster, but also to engage with developers before submission, Martin said.

First Minister John Swinney visiting Ardersier Port near Inverness.

This is something that the Chamber wants to see more of from John Swinney’s government as it called for speedier consenting times and port investment to ensure Scotland can “maximise the offshore wind opportunity” it has.

Borthwick has also called on the government to tackle issues presented by AGCC members, namely the impacts Non-Domestic Rates and rising employer costs.

He said: “Our members are overwhelmingly clear that the business environment has become significantly more difficult. The cost of doing business has risen sharply, and confidence has been shaken.

“This Programme for Government is an opportunity to reset – to back the sectors and policies that will grow our economy and deliver the transition to net zero in a sustainable way.”

Just Transition Fund ‘falling short’

Gillian Martin during a visit to Sarens PSG’s Aberdeen base.

Last week, Martin appeared in Aberdeen to announce the next tranche of the £500 million Just Transition Fund, which aims to support businesses in Moray and the north-east.

Businesses can apply for a share of the £8.3m pot as of Tuesday, marking the third instalment in the investment series.

However, AGCC claims that the Just Transition Fund is “falling short”, with less than 20% of the 10-year funding package committed and project activity in the North Sea slowing.

Martin explained that this year’s Just Transition Fund allocation will be focusing on where the Scottish government will get the most “bang for our buck”, which is skills development and job creation.

Alongside the points AGCC made about energy policy, the group also called for travel improvements and increased housebuilding.

Stay Ahead

Explore More Insights

Stay ahead with more perspectives on cutting-edge power, infrastructure, energy, bitcoin and AI solutions. Explore these articles to uncover strategies and insights shaping the future of industries.

India takes first big step in Quantum Computing supremacy race

The broader vision is to create high-end jobs, attract global investment, and enable enterprises to solve previously intractable problems — such as drug discovery and real-time logistics optimization — through quantum-powered solutions. The new tech park at Amaravati will host research labs, startup incubators, and training programs to build a

Pantheon of college football gets a Wi-Fi upgrade

Notre Dame has fully adopted mobile ticketing and introduced grab-and-go concession stands, with plans to expand them further. Alcohol sales were recently approved, prompting efforts to support new services like mobile carts. In premium areas, fans can stream various games during events. Notre Dame also tested mobile ordering for concessions

The U.S. leads the world in AI (job) anxiety

The Americans have the highest search volume with a population-adjusted value of 440,000 search queries on the topic of AI job loss, while their attitude towards AI is moderately positive at 54.5%. The intensity score of 3 for the U.S. shows that the concern of losing jobs to AI is

Tigera extends cloud-native networking with Calico 3.30

This logging capability is exposed through two new components: Goldmane: A gRPC-based API endpoint that aggregates flow logs from Calico’s Felix component, which runs on each node. Whisker: A web-based visualization tool built with React and TypeScript that connects to the Goldmane API. The combination of these components provides detailed

EU Set to Propose Banning Russian Gas Imports by End of 2027

The European Union is set to propose measures to ban Russian gas imports by the end of 2027, as the bloc pushes to sever ties with the country that was once its biggest energy supplier. The EU is moving ahead with a long-held intention to phase out Russian fossil fuels, after earlier this year delaying the release of its “road map” in order to assess the impact of US efforts to end the war in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter. Russian gas flows to Europe dropped sharply in the wake of Moscow’s full invasion in 2022, but it remains a substantial supplier, through a pipeline via Turkey and shipments of liquefied natural gas. The EU plans to propose in June a ban on all gas purchases under new deals with Russia and existing spot contracts, which account for about a third of imports, to take effect before the end of the year, according to the people. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, will next month also adopt measures to end the remaining imports of Russian pipeline and LNG gas tied up in long-term contracts, but they will require a longer transition until the end of 2027, the people said. The efforts to end reliance on Russian gas will open the way for US suppliers to send more LNG to Europe, something that President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for. Costs and security remain a key focus in the wake of the energy crisis, but the EU expects its plan will have a limited effect on prices as a wave of new LNG supply hits the global market in coming years, the people said. The stakes are huge: The EU purchased a total of €23 billion ($26 billion) in Russian energy in 2024, exceeding its military assistance to

Recruitment firm sees 20% uptick in revenues due to energy clients

Aberdeenshire’s Grace May has reported a more than 20% increase in revenues, with all of its growth coming from work in the energy sector. The Banchory-based recruitment firm saw revenues reach almost £500,000 in the most recent financial year. Following its success in the energy sector, Grace May is doubling down as it increases positions within the industry, namely in renewables. In pursuit of further growth, the business is also looking at new verticals such as legal, human resources, and engineering. The north-east of Scotland accounted for more than half of the firm’s revenue last year as it expanded into new areas across the UK. The firm is branching into Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester to expand its client base. The Aberdeenshire business has said that it has “plans for more expansion” in the future. ‘Operating challenges continue’ Grace May director and founder, Sasha Jaypalan, commented: “Despite operating against a difficult economic backdrop and in a competitive sector, we have been able to successfully grow from our roots in the energy sector and forge a path based on our founding principle of understanding our clients and candidates, and working precisely to get the best results time after time. “Operating challenges continue, and we have had to remain resilient throughout, but by partnering with clients to navigate present market conditions and leverage the benefits of a relationship-based approach we have positioned ourselves as success enablers who work alongside our clients towards common goals.” Jaypalan started his business in 2015 after losing his job as a commercial helicopter pilot due to a downturn in the market at the time. Recently, to mark a decade since opening the doors of Grace May, Jaypalan had a conversation with Energy Voice news editor Erikka Askeland for E-FWD. In this conversation, Jaypalan said: “In the industry, there

QatarEnergy Announces 25 Year Condensate Supply Deal With Shell

In a statement posted on its website recently, QatarEnergy announced a 25 year condensate supply agreement with Shell. The company noted in the statement that it entered into a long-term condensate supply agreement with the Singapore-based Shell International Eastern Trading Company (SIETCO), which it highlighted is a wholly owned subsidiary of London-listed Shell plc. QatarEnergy said in the statement that the agreement stipulates the supply of up to 285 million barrels of condensate to Shell during its 25 year term, starting from July 2025. The deal was signed by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs and the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, and Wael Sawan, the CEO of Shell, QatarEnergy’s statement highlighted. “We are delighted to sign QatarEnergy’s first 25 year condensate sales agreement, the largest and longest duration condensate agreement to date,” Al-Kaabi said at the signing ceremony, the statement revealed. “This agreement is important for being signed with our strategic partner, Shell, with whom we have recently signed a 20 year naphtha sales agreement. These long-term agreements provide stability and certainty, and helps deliver more value to our customer Shell,” Al-Kaabi added, the statement showed. QatarEnergy went on to state that “Sawan expressed Shell’s pleasure in entering into this long-term agreement and building on the longstanding strategic relationship with QatarEnergy”. The company noted in the statement that QatarEnergy and Shell “share various fruitful investments and partnerships in the energy industry in Qatar and globally, including QatarEnergy LNG projects, the Pearl GTL Plant, and several other joint investments”. In a statement posted on its site back in February, QatarEnergy announced that it had signed a 20 year helium sales and purchase agreement with China’s G-gas. “QatarEnergy and Guangzhou Guanggang Gases & Energy Co. Ltd (G-gas) signed a long-term sales and purchase agreement (SPA) for the

At-risk IRA tax credits drive industrial-scale infrastructure in red and blue states

Joby Bernstein is a graduate of Stanford Business School and the Doerr School of Sustainability. Claire Petersen is a PhD candidate in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and a fellow at the California Energy Commission. When we hear the term “renewable energy,” we picture golden California hills lined with solar panels or the vast Texas plains dotted with towering wind turbines. That’s why we were surprised when our research on the Inflation Reduction Act renewable energy tax credits took us to advanced manufacturing project sites that are revitalizing rural communities in the United States, like Sumter. Sumter, South Carolina, is deeply rooted in agriculture, manufacturing and military tradition. Like many communities, it was hit hard by the 2008 financial crisis, leaving economic uncertainty in its wake. But today, Sumter is experiencing a resurgence, fueled in part by state and federal incentives like the IRA’s tax credits, which are driving a new wave of advanced manufacturing. We saw this transformation firsthand on a crisp October morning, standing alongside community leaders and factory workers at the topping-out ceremony for e-Vac’s new permanent magnet manufacturing plant. Just months earlier, this site had been little more than dirt and blueprints. Now, steel beams stretched skyward, marking the rapid progress of a facility that will soon produce one of the most critical components in modern technology. This single project will create hundreds of permanent jobs and inject millions of dollars into the local economy. It isn’t just a win for Sumter — it’s a strategic investment in America’s future. Permanent magnets power everything from aerospace and defense systems to smartphones and electric vehicle batteries. Yet, 92% of the global supply is manufactured in China. Currently, the U.S. has no domestic production until this facility becomes operational. By building this facility at record speed, Sumter is proving

US solar, battery manufacturing to expand through 2027 despite uncertainty: Anza Renewables

Dive Brief: U.S. solar photovoltaic and battery component manufacturers are “actively adjusting their domestic content plans” in response to Treasury Department regulations finalized in the waning days of the Biden administration and successive rounds of tariffs imposed by Presidents Biden and Donald Trump, Anza Renewables said in a report released on April 29. Anza’s Q2 2025 Domestic Content Insights report sees some U.S. manufacturers accelerating onshore production as others pull back on previously announced plans “due to financial and logistical constraints.” Buyers are seeking U.S.-made products not impacted by the latest round of tariffs, pushing onshore prices higher and inventories lower, Anza said. Dive Insight: Clean energy manufacturers cut planned investment by nearly $8 billion in the first quarter of 2025, according to a monthly tracker from industry advocacy group E2. Among the cancelled or downsized projects were two high-profile battery cell factories: KorePower’s $1.2 billion plant in Arizona and Freyr Battery’s $2.6 billion hub in Georgia. KorePower announced a conditional loan guarantee of $850 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office in 2023, but the financing never came through, while Freyr indicated late last year that it would pivot to U.S. solar cell production, Manufacturing Dive reported earlier this year. The cancellations came during a busy period for U.S. clean energy tax and trade policy. In January, the IRS issued a notice boosting incentives for solar PV systems that incorporate U.S.-made wafers, followed by successive tariffs of 10% on all imports, 25% on imported steel and aluminum, and 145% on most Chinese imports during Trump’s first three months in office, Anza said. Battery supply chain companies, in particular, are less willing today than in the past to absorb higher costs for imported components, Anza Renewables Director of Strategic Sourcing Ravi Manghani told Utility Dive recently. The

EOG Sees Stronger Results Quarter on Quarter

EOG Resources Inc. (EOG) has reported a net income of $1.46 billion and a revenue of $5.67 billion for the first quarter of 2025. Q1 2025 net profit was below the $1.79 billion logged for the corresponding quarter in 2024 but above the $1.25 billion recorded for Q4 2024. Revenue fell from $6.12 billion for Q1 2024 but increased from $1.25 billion for Q4 2024. “Results were driven by solid execution across both foundational and emerging plays”, said chairman and chief executive officer Ezra Yacob. “The company’s financial position provides EOG the ability to return greater than 100 percent of annual free cash flow in the near term. Strong operating results generated $1.3 billion of free cash flow in the quarter. EOG returned $1.3 billion to shareholders through $538 million in regular dividends and $788 million of share repurchases”. Production was 1.09 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, stable by both sequential and prior-year comparisons. Crude oil and condensate production was at 502,100 barrels per day (bpd), above the 494,600 bpd reported for Q4 2024 and 487,400 bpd for Q1 2024. Natural gas production was steady quarter-on-quarter and higher year-on-year. The company said it now anticipates total capital expenditures for 2025 to be between $5.8 billion and $6.2 billion, reflecting a $200 million decrease from its previous forecast. It aims to sustain oil production at the levels seen in the first quarter of 2025 for the rest of the year, representing a 2 percent increase in full-year oil production and 5 percent growth in total production. To contact the author, email [email protected] WHAT DO YOU THINK? Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed. MORE FROM

Zyxel launches 100GbE switch for enterprise networks

Port specifications include: 48 SFP28 ports supporting dual-rate 10GbE/25GbE connectivity 8 QSFP28 ports supporting 100GbE connections Console port for direct management access Layer 3 routing capabilities include static routing with support for access control lists (ACLs) and VLAN segmentation. The switch implements IEEE 802.1Q VLAN tagging, port isolation, and port mirroring for traffic analysis. For link aggregation, the switch supports IEEE 802.3ad for increased throughput and redundancy between switches or servers. Target applications and use cases The CX4800-56F targets multiple deployment scenarios where high-capacity backbone connectivity and flexible port configurations are required. “This will be for service providers initially or large deployments where they need a high capacity backbone to deliver a primarily 10G access layer to the end point,” explains Nguyen. “Now with Wi-Fi 7, more 10G/25G capable POE switches are being powered up and need interconnectivity without the bottleneck. We see this for data centers, campus, MDU (Multi-Dwelling Unit) buildings or community deployments.” Management is handled through Zyxel’s NebulaFlex Pro technology, which supports both standalone configuration and cloud management via the Nebula Control Center (NCC). The switch includes a one-year professional pack license providing IGMP technology and network analytics features. The SFP28 ports maintain backward compatibility between 10G and 25G standards, enabling phased migration paths for organizations transitioning between these speeds.

Engineers rush to master new skills for AI-driven data centers

According to the Uptime Institute survey, 57% of data centers are increasing salary spending. Data center job roles that saw the highest increases were in operations management – 49% of data center operators said they saw highest increases in this category – followed by junior and mid-level operations staff at 45%, and senior management and strategy at 35%. Other job categories that saw salary growth were electrical, at 32% and mechanical, at 23%. Organizations are also paying premiums on top of salaries for particular skills and certifications. Foote Partners tracks pay premiums for more than 1,300 certified and non-certified skills for IT jobs in general. The company doesn’t segment the data based on whether the jobs themselves are data center jobs, but it does track 60 skills and certifications related to data center management, including skills such as storage area networking, LAN, and AIOps, and 24 data center-related certificates from Cisco, Juniper, VMware and other organizations. “Five of the eight data center-related skills recording market value gains in cash pay premiums in the last twelve months are all AI-related skills,” says David Foote, chief analyst at Foote Partners. “In fact, they are all among the highest-paying skills for all 723 non-certified skills we report.” These skills bring in 16% to 22% of base salary, he says. AIOps, for example, saw an 11% increase in market value over the past year, now bringing in a premium of 20% over base salary, according to Foote data. MLOps now brings in a 22% premium. “Again, these AI skills have many uses of which the data center is only one,” Foote adds. The percentage increase in the specific subset of these skills in data centers jobs may vary. The Uptime Institute survey suggests that the higher pay is motivating workers to stay in the

ExtraHop looks to eliminate ‘extra hops’ in NDR stack

This deep visibility allows ExtraHop to provide insights across the entire network stack, from basic connectivity to application-level transactions. “The benefit of going all the way through Layer 7 is I can actually see a database transaction going through on the wire,” Vasani said. “If you have application teams complaining about database query latency, we can map it to what session was that tied to and what flows was it tied to from a network perspective and is this really an app server issue, or is it a network issue, or is it an endpoint issue?” The new sensor integrates with ExtraHop’s RevealX platform, feeding telemetry into the company’s cloud-scale ML/AI engine that powers its detection and analysis capabilities. “The sensor collects the telemetry, feeds it into an ML/AI engine that sits in the cloud, and then we layer in workflow engines on top to enable the various use cases,” Vasani said. In modern distributed enterprise environments, network visibility must extend beyond traditional data centers. ExtraHop’s all-in-one sensor is designed to address this reality with deployment options that span physical appliances, virtual machines and cloud environments. ExtraHop has both virtual and physical hardware appliances for sensor deployment. ExtraHop sensors can plug into a network through multiple methods including, Network Tap, SPAN (Switched Port Analyzer) port, packet broker or a cloud provider’s vTAP capabilities.

AI’s energy appetite drives interest in nuclear power

In its new report, Deloitte said that its analysis of figures from the World Nuclear Association, the American Nuclear Society, the U.S. Department of Energy, and others showed that new nuclear power could potentially meet about 10% of the projected increase in data center demand over the next decade, assuming capacity is also significantly expanded by between 35GW and 62GW, and 30% of the expansion is earmarked for data centers. “Nuclear energy presents a potential solution for meeting some of the growing electricity demands of data centers, with its reliable and clean energy profile,” Deloitte’s report said, noting five key advantages of the technology: Reliable baseload power: Nuclear reactors operate 24/7, regardless of the weather, providing the reliable power so important to data centers. In addition, Deloitte said, “Their capacity factor, exceeding 92.5%, outperforms other sources like natural gas (56%) and renewables like wind (35%) and solar (25%).” High energy density: A small amount of fuel generates a lot of power, which minimizes the need for fuel storage and transportation. “This efficiency can translate to a smaller physical footprint and enhanced sustainability,” Deloitte said. Scalable power output: A full-sized reactor typically generates 800 megawatts (MW) or more of electricity, which accommodates the needs of large data centers. Low carbon emissions: Nuclear power plants produce virtually no greenhouse gas emissions during operation. Enhanced land use efficiency: Compared to other energy sources, nuclear power plants require relatively little land. Gartner’s Johnson echoed these advantages, and also predicted that nuclear energy, and small modular reactors (SMRs) in particular, will “provide a viable answer” to the question of what to do when electricity demand exceeds supply. They can, he said, “ensure independence from grid power fluctuations by providing dedicated on-site power for large data centers.” However, both Gartner and Deloitte also highlighted challenges in

Nvidia AI supercluster targets agents, reasoning models on Oracle Cloud

Oracle has previously built an OCI Supercluster with 65,536 Nvidia H200 GPUs using the older Hopper GPU technology and no CPU that offers up to 260 exaflops of peak FP8 performance. According to the blog post announcing the availability, the Blackwell GPUs are available via Oracle’s public, government, and sovereign clouds, as well as in customer-owned data centers through its OCI Dedicated Region and Alloy offerings. Oracle joins a growing list of cloud providers that have made the GB200 NVL72 system available, including Google, CoreWeave and Lambda. In addition, Microsoft offers the GB200 GPUs, though they are not deployed as an NVL72 machine.

Deep Data Center: Neoclouds as the ‘Picks and Shovels’ of the AI Gold Rush

In 1849, the discovery of gold in California ignited a frenzy, drawing prospectors from around the world in pursuit of quick fortune. While few struck it rich digging and sifting dirt, a different class of entrepreneurs quietly prospered: those who supplied the miners with the tools of the trade. From picks and shovels to tents and provisions, these providers became indispensable to the gold rush, profiting handsomely regardless of who found gold. Today, a new gold rush is underway, in pursuit of artificial intelligence. And just like the days of yore, the real fortunes may lie not in the gold itself, but in the infrastructure and equipment that enable its extraction. This is where neocloud players and chipmakers are positioned, representing themselves as the fundamental enablers of the AI revolution. Neoclouds: The Essential Tools and Implements of AI Innovation The AI boom has sparked a frenzy of innovation, investment, and competition. From generative AI applications like ChatGPT to autonomous systems and personalized recommendations, AI is rapidly transforming industries. Yet, behind every groundbreaking AI model lies an unsung hero: the infrastructure powering it. Enter neocloud providers—the specialized cloud platforms delivering the GPU horsepower that fuels AI’s meteoric rise. Let’s examine how neoclouds represent the “picks and shovels” of the AI gold rush, used for extracting the essential backbone of AI innovation. Neoclouds are emerging as indispensable players in the AI ecosystem, offering tailored solutions for compute-intensive workloads such as training large language models (LLMs) and performing high-speed inference. Unlike traditional hyperscalers (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), which cater to a broad range of use cases, neoclouds focus exclusively on optimizing infrastructure for AI and machine learning applications. This specialization allows them to deliver superior performance at a lower cost, making them the go-to choice for startups, enterprises, and research institutions alike.

Microsoft will invest $80B in AI data centers in fiscal 2025

And Microsoft isn’t the only one that is ramping up its investments into AI-enabled data centers. Rival cloud service providers are all investing in either upgrading or opening new data centers to capture a larger chunk of business from developers and users of large language models (LLMs). In a report published in October 2024, Bloomberg Intelligence estimated that demand for generative AI would push Microsoft, AWS, Google, Oracle, Meta, and Apple would between them devote $200 billion to capex in 2025, up from $110 billion in 2023. Microsoft is one of the biggest spenders, followed closely by Google and AWS, Bloomberg Intelligence said. Its estimate of Microsoft’s capital spending on AI, at $62.4 billion for calendar 2025, is lower than Smith’s claim that the company will invest $80 billion in the fiscal year to June 30, 2025. Both figures, though, are way higher than Microsoft’s 2020 capital expenditure of “just” $17.6 billion. The majority of the increased spending is tied to cloud services and the expansion of AI infrastructure needed to provide compute capacity for OpenAI workloads. Separately, last October Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said his company planned total capex spend of $75 billion in 2024 and even more in 2025, with much of it going to AWS, its cloud computing division.

John Deere unveils more autonomous farm machines to address skill labor shortage

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Self-driving tractors might be the path to self-driving cars. John Deere has revealed a new line of autonomous machines and tech across agriculture, construction and commercial landscaping. The Moline, Illinois-based John Deere has been in business for 187 years, yet it’s been a regular as a non-tech company showing off technology at the big tech trade show in Las Vegas and is back at CES 2025 with more autonomous tractors and other vehicles. This is not something we usually cover, but John Deere has a lot of data that is interesting in the big picture of tech. The message from the company is that there aren’t enough skilled farm laborers to do the work that its customers need. It’s been a challenge for most of the last two decades, said Jahmy Hindman, CTO at John Deere, in a briefing. Much of the tech will come this fall and after that. He noted that the average farmer in the U.S. is over 58 and works 12 to 18 hours a day to grow food for us. And he said the American Farm Bureau Federation estimates there are roughly 2.4 million farm jobs that need to be filled annually; and the agricultural work force continues to shrink. (This is my hint to the anti-immigration crowd). John Deere’s autonomous 9RX Tractor. Farmers can oversee it using an app. While each of these industries experiences their own set of challenges, a commonality across all is skilled labor availability. In construction, about 80% percent of contractors struggle to find skilled labor. And in commercial landscaping, 86% of landscaping business owners can’t find labor to fill open positions, he said. “They have to figure out how to do

2025 playbook for enterprise AI success, from agents to evals

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More 2025 is poised to be a pivotal year for enterprise AI. The past year has seen rapid innovation, and this year will see the same. This has made it more critical than ever to revisit your AI strategy to stay competitive and create value for your customers. From scaling AI agents to optimizing costs, here are the five critical areas enterprises should prioritize for their AI strategy this year. 1. Agents: the next generation of automation AI agents are no longer theoretical. In 2025, they’re indispensable tools for enterprises looking to streamline operations and enhance customer interactions. Unlike traditional software, agents powered by large language models (LLMs) can make nuanced decisions, navigate complex multi-step tasks, and integrate seamlessly with tools and APIs. At the start of 2024, agents were not ready for prime time, making frustrating mistakes like hallucinating URLs. They started getting better as frontier large language models themselves improved. “Let me put it this way,” said Sam Witteveen, cofounder of Red Dragon, a company that develops agents for companies, and that recently reviewed the 48 agents it built last year. “Interestingly, the ones that we built at the start of the year, a lot of those worked way better at the end of the year just because the models got better.” Witteveen shared this in the video podcast we filmed to discuss these five big trends in detail. Models are getting better and hallucinating less, and they’re also being trained to do agentic tasks. Another feature that the model providers are researching is a way to use the LLM as a judge, and as models get cheaper (something we’ll cover below), companies can use three or more models to

OpenAI’s red teaming innovations define new essentials for security leaders in the AI era

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More OpenAI has taken a more aggressive approach to red teaming than its AI competitors, demonstrating its security teams’ advanced capabilities in two areas: multi-step reinforcement and external red teaming. OpenAI recently released two papers that set a new competitive standard for improving the quality, reliability and safety of AI models in these two techniques and more. The first paper, “OpenAI’s Approach to External Red Teaming for AI Models and Systems,” reports that specialized teams outside the company have proven effective in uncovering vulnerabilities that might otherwise have made it into a released model because in-house testing techniques may have missed them. In the second paper, “Diverse and Effective Red Teaming with Auto-Generated Rewards and Multi-Step Reinforcement Learning,” OpenAI introduces an automated framework that relies on iterative reinforcement learning to generate a broad spectrum of novel, wide-ranging attacks. Going all-in on red teaming pays practical, competitive dividends It’s encouraging to see competitive intensity in red teaming growing among AI companies. When Anthropic released its AI red team guidelines in June of last year, it joined AI providers including Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, and even the U.S.’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which all had released red teaming frameworks. Investing heavily in red teaming yields tangible benefits for security leaders in any organization. OpenAI’s paper on external red teaming provides a detailed analysis of how the company strives to create specialized external teams that include cybersecurity and subject matter experts. The goal is to see if knowledgeable external teams can defeat models’ security perimeters and find gaps in their security, biases and controls that prompt-based testing couldn’t find. What makes OpenAI’s recent papers noteworthy is how well they define using human-in-the-middle

Stay Ahead, Stay ONMINE