Wednesday newspaper round-up: Post Office, Aston Martin, Stellantis UK
The UK needs a system for recording misuse and malfunctions in artificial intelligence or ministers risk being unaware of alarming incidents involving the technology, according to a report. The next government should create a system for logging incidents involving AI in public services and should consider building a central hub for collating AI-related episodes across the UK, said the Centre for Long-Term Resilience (CLTR), a thinktank. – Guardian
A former IT engineer has admitted he changed crucial expert court testimony at the request of the Post Office during wrongful prosecutions of branch operators. Gareth Jenkins, a former senior engineer at the contractor Fujitsu, on Tuesday told the public inquiry into one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history that lawyers had asked him to change witness statements. – Guardian
Aston Martin has unveiled the design of a new limited-edition supercar for petrolheads as the British brand resists a push to scrap combustion engines. Marek Reichman, Aston Martin’s executive vice president and chief creative, said the Valiant would “honour the internal combustion [engine]”. Just 38 of the new vehicles which cost around £2m apiece will be manufactured and they have all already been allocated. – Telegraph
Europe’s richest man Bernard Arnault has bought personal shares in a rival to his luxury empire LVMH, in a move expected to fuel speculation over a possible takeover. Mr Arnault, the chairman and chief executive of LVMH, is understood to have taken a small stake in Richemont, which owns Cartier. The position, which was not available on public registers on Tuesday afternoon, was described by sources as a personal investment by the LVMH boss. – Telegraph
The boss of Stellantis UK has said the automotive powerhouse could stop production at its Luton and Ellesmere Port van factories unless a future government provides cash and tax incentives to stimulate demand for electric vehicles. Maria Grazia Davino, head of Stellantis UK, also said the UK must reduce zero emission volume targets for manufacturers. – The Times
The British subsidiary of Atos, the French tech giant that is a big UK government contractor, has warned in its accounts that there is a “material uncertainty” about its ability to continue as a going concern. In the accounts for Atos UK’s holding company for the year ending December 2022, Grant Thornton, the company’s auditor, said that the UK subsidiary was reliant on cash from its French parent company that may not arrive, given the French business’s growing problems. – The Times