Hub Generative AI
Entry-level consulting salaries have remained flat for the second year in a row, according to a new report from Management Consulted. The slowdown affects top firms like McKinsey and the Big Four, as well as smaller boutique consultancies. The report cites weaker demand, productivity gains from AI, and fewer employees leaving the industry as key factors.
Namaan Mian of Management Consulted says firms can now get more done with fewer people thanks to AI, which is putting a lid on salary growth. The findings are based on verified offer data and show that companies are hiring fewer high-cost MBA graduates. In previous years, entry-level pay typically rose by five to ten percent annually. Management Consulted expects salaries for new hires to remain flat even if demand eventually picks back up.
HSBC has signed a multiyear partnership with the French startup Mistral AI to bring generative AI across its global operations. According to the announcement, the bank wants to speed up internal workflows and improve customer service by running Mistral's models on its own infrastructure.
HSBC plans to use the technology for financial analysis, translations, and risk assessments. The bank also expects gains in marketing and credit evaluation. It already uses AI for fraud detection and is folding the new tools into its existing security policies.
US President Donald Trump signed an order on Monday to launch a shared AI platform for federal research data. Called the Genesis Mission, the effort aims to make large datasets from federal agencies usable for new AI models, according to White House adviser Michael Kratsios.
The Department of Energy will link its supercomputers, research datasets, and automated lab systems through the new platform. Kratsios said the goal is to have AI plan experiments, speed up simulations, and generate predictions on topics like protein structures and plasma behavior.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright pointed to the surge in private AI investment but argued that more of that momentum needs to shift toward scientific and technical research. He said the data held by federal labs is essential for that work. The order also highlights priority areas including biotechnology, space, energy, and semiconductor research.
Several large insurers, including AIG, Great American, and WR Berkley, have filed requests with U.S. regulators to exclude AI-related risks from their corporate insurance policies, according to the Financial Times. The companies warn that generative AI systems like chatbots and AI agents could expose them to billions of dollars in liability claims.
WR Berkley reportedly proposed an exclusion that would apply to any claim resulting from the use of AI in any form. AIG told Illinois insurance regulators that generative AI represents a broad and far-reaching technology and that related claims are likely to increase in the future.
Insurers point to recent lawsuits as evidence of the problem. Wolf River Electric sued Google for at least $110 million, alleging that the company’s AI-generated overview spread false statements. In another case, a court ordered Air Canada to honor a discount price its customer service chatbot had invented.
Kevin Kalinich, a managing director at Aon, said the insurance industry could handle a single $400 million loss but not 1,000 or 10,000 correlated claims caused by an error from one AI provider.