In this week's newsletter

What we’re talking about: The emergence of "vibe coding" - where non-technical users can build entire applications by simply describing what they want to an AI, and the potential responsibility gap this creates.

How it’s relevant: As platforms like Windsurf, Cursor, LoveableDev, and Replit make software development accessible to everyone, organizations must balance the speed and accessibility benefits against potential risks in quality, maintenance, and understanding.

Why it matters: This democratization of coding represents a fundamental shift in who creates technology and how it's built, raising critical questions about technical debt, system understanding, and responsible innovation that will shape the future of software development.

Big tech news of the week…

🖥️ The 2025 AI Index report was released by Stanford University’s Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence team. This is one of the main reports in this space. Find our summary of the 2024 version here!

🌍 News for general situational awareness: Trump's latest tariffs, the heaviest in modern U.S. history, went into effect this week. China has already retaliated. This trade war could spark a massive financial crisis and have deep and lasting consequences for the entire tech world, ultimately challenging the assumptions for AI development.

📱 The CEO of Shopify, an e-commerce solution, released a memo shared with employees: “Before asking for more headcount and resources, teams must demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done using AI.”

🧠 Recent research from MIT establishes that AI does not have values. “For me, my biggest takeaway from doing all this research is to now have an understanding of models as not really being systems that have some sort of stable, coherent set of beliefs and preferences,” one of the researchers said. “Instead, they are imitators deep down who do all sorts of confabulation and say all sorts of frivolous things.”

You are invited to this event

Lumiera and Envisioning are teaming up to invite you to an evening around the intersection of AI & Foresight. Expect cutting-edge insights and meaningful connections among innovation, policy, and technology professionals. As a newsletter reader, you have 20% off with this code: LULX20

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About Envisioning

Michell Zappa writes about our transition toward AGI and helps organizations think about the future. He is the founder of Envisioning, an emerging technology research institute, and works with leadership in public and private institutions worldwide.

Michell has developed a horizon scanning agent that leverages multiple language models in order to generate an overview of factors affecting your organization. The tool aims to assist foresight practitioners better map out the signals of change shaping their future.

He will present the tool with a hands-on demo and details about the implementation during our Responsible AI Horizons event in Lisbon on April 29.

About Lumiera

Emma and Allegra, co-founders of Lumiera, are recognized pioneers in AI responsibility and governance. Certified by Wharton’s AI for Business program, Lumiera has established itself as a trusted partner for leaders navigating the complexities of AI literacy and strategy development.

Their work in the responsible AI space began long before the current wave of attention, bringing depth and perspective that only comes from years of dedicated focus in this domain.