Is your city ready for AI? (Spoiler: It’s not); JLR to hit pause on UK plants, and more top news

The news professionals are talking about now, curated by LinkedIn’s editors. Join the conversation on today's stories in the comments.

No city is close to being ready for the challenges presented by artificial intelligence, according to new research. AI can replicate human behaviour and could mean 120 million workers need to be retrained in coming years. Oliver Wyman says that while Singapore, Stockholm, London and Shenzhen are no.1 individually across four broad AI-related criteria, there's not a city in the world that ranks in the top 20 in all four categories — with big improvements needed right across the globe. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Jaguar Land Rover is halting production at its UK plants for a week in November. The carmaker says the decision was made in anticipation of disruptions to imports due to Brexit, scheduled for 31 October. The shutdown will affect three car factories, which built almost a third of the UK's 1.5 million cars last year, and an engine plant. Toyota and BMW have also announced temporary suspensions. JLR has previously expressed concern over the impact a hard Brexit would have on key industries. ? Here’s what people are saying.

A US crackdown on vaping is affecting British tobacco companies, with almost ￡7 billion wiped off UK firms since President Trump announced plans to ban flavoured products, reports The Telegraph. Shares in Imperial Brands plummeted 10% on Thursday after it warned the move would affect its sales. Backlash against vaping firms is growing, with India last week joining Brazil and Singapore in banning the sale of e-cigarettes. The US Centers for Disease Control reports a lung illness linked to vaping has now killed a dozen Americans and sickened 805. ? Here’s what people are saying.

The British and Australian governments have approved a "space bridge" partnership that will work to enable travellers to fly from the UK to Australia in just four hours. A hybrid, hydrogen air-breathing rocket is being developed in Britain that could propel aircraft at “more than twice the speed of Concorde”. The aircraft will also aim to deliver passengers from London to New York in only an hour. Test flights are slated for the the mid-2020s, with commercial flights aiming for takeoff “in the 2030s.” Here’s what people are saying. 

A massive 80% of mums feel trapped in their current jobs because they don’t think they'd find another with the same flexibility. That's according to a survey by workingmums.co.uk, which also found more than half of all mothers believe their careers have not progressed since they had children. Some 29% of respondents said they'd had a formal flexible working request turned down, with more than a quarter of these saying they were turned down for a reason that's not allowed under current legislation. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Idea of the Day: Develop your own leadership style, Merryck & Co. Mentor Laurel Richie tells Managing Director Adam Bryant.

“The really hard work is the introspection ?— to look at what kind of a leader you are and want to be, and to determine the guiding principles that you want to adopt as your personal leadership style.”

What's your take on today’s stories? Share your thoughts in the comments.

— Capucine Yeomans and Emily Spaven