Artificial intelligence Archives | Page 16 of 654

US EDA launches AI workforce training programme

The US Economic Development Administration has announced approximately $25 million in funding for a new AI Upskill Accelerator Pilot Program to support AI workforce training.

The programme will fund industry-driven partnerships that design and implement AI training models for workers and businesses in sectors considered important to regional economies. EDA says the initiative is intended to support workforce development approaches that can scale, adapt and become self-sustaining as AI technologies continue to evolve.

The funding opportunity links the programme to the Trump administration’s 2025 Artificial Intelligence Action Plan, which includes goals to accelerate AI development, support adoption across industries and strengthen US leadership in the technology. EDA says the programme is part of efforts to empower American workers to use AI tools and support industries tied to regional growth.

Deputy Assistant Secretary and Chief Operating Officer Ben Page said AI is becoming ‘a core driver of productivity and growth across industries’ and that workers need AI skills so regions can attract investment, adopt advanced technologies and sustain long-term economic growth.

The pilot will support workforce development in an emerging technology area while helping businesses and workers build the skills needed to use AI in the workplace. Applications for the programme are open until 10 July 2026.

Why does it matter?

The programme shows how AI policy is increasingly being linked to regional economic development and workforce readiness, not only research or infrastructure. By funding industry-driven training models, the EDA is trying to prepare workers and local economies for AI adoption while helping businesses close skills gaps that could affect productivity, investment and competitiveness.

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Supply chains move toward adaptive AI-driven networks

Supply chains are increasingly being redesigned to respond more dynamically to disruption, risk and changing market conditions, as companies explore AI-native systems that can support planning, decision-making and real-time adaptation.

Writing for the World Economic Forum, Avathon CEO Pervinder Johar argues that traditional supply-chain software is struggling to cope with a more volatile operating environment because many systems still rely on rigid rules, static configurations and manual workflows.

The article says the emerging model places greater emphasis on knowledge rather than raw data, combining context and reasoning across suppliers, logistics routes, energy markets and policy environments. AI-native systems are presented as a way to support continuous learning, improve disruption forecasting and help organisations assess alternative responses before problems escalate.

Physical AI is also described as part of the shift, embedding intelligence more directly into operational infrastructure. According to the article, this could allow logistics systems, equipment and connected assets to sense, compute and coordinate responses more quickly across supply-chain networks.

As automation expands, human roles are expected to move towards strategic oversight. Supply-chain professionals may spend less time managing dashboards and exceptions, and more time setting priorities, weighing trade-offs and guiding AI agents through intent expressed in natural language.

The broader argument is that supply-chain management is moving from reactive workflows towards more adaptive coordination, where systems can anticipate disruption, assess options and support decisions across organisations and partners.

Why does it matter?

Supply chains are facing persistent disruption from geopolitical tensions, climate risks, logistics bottlenecks and changing market conditions. If AI-enabled systems can improve forecasting, coordination and response, they could help companies build more resilient operations. However, the shift also raises governance questions around accountability, human oversight, data quality and reliance on automated decision-making across critical trade and logistics networks.

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Canada’s IRCC sets AI strategy for immigration services

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has released its first AI Strategy, outlining how the department plans to use AI across immigration, citizenship, refugee, passport and settlement services while maintaining human oversight, privacy protection and accountability.

The strategy aligns with Canada’s AI Strategy for the Federal Public Service 2025-2027 and frames AI as a tool to improve service delivery, reduce administrative burdens, strengthen programme integrity and respond to fraud and cybersecurity threats. IRCC says its approach is based on responsible adoption, governance, workforce readiness, transparency and public engagement.

The department says it has used advanced analytics and machine learning since 2018 to support application triage, workload distribution and risk detection. It says machine learning can help identify straightforward, low-risk files for expedited officer review, while outcomes remain subject to officer verification.

IRCC states that it does not use autonomous AI agents or intelligent automation systems that can refuse client applications. It says systems that learn and adapt independently are generally unsuitable for administrative decision-making because their logic can be difficult to explain or reproduce.

The strategy identifies several areas of interest, including client service, fraud detection, document anomaly detection, settlement support, data analysis, accessibility and internal knowledge management. IRCC is also experimenting with AI tools for tasks such as document fraud detection, anomaly detection and support for administrative processes.

Privacy is presented as a central guardrail. IRCC says AI systems must use only the minimum personal information necessary for specific, justified purposes, and must include privacy assessments, mitigation measures, testing, auditing and Canadian-controlled environments for sensitive information. The department also says it will avoid black-box AI models for application decisions and keep AI systems explainable, supervised, secure and regularly tested.

The strategy sets five implementation priorities: establishing an AI Centre of Expertise, strengthening governance, building an AI-ready workforce, accelerating experimentation and developing an engagement strategy with employees, clients, vulnerable groups and partner organisations. IRCC describes the strategy as a living document that will evolve with domestic and international AI policy developments.

Why does it matter?

Immigration decisions can have life-changing consequences, making AI use in this field especially sensitive. IRCC’s strategy shows how governments are trying to use AI to improve efficiency and detect risks while drawing limits around autonomous decision-making, black-box models and the handling of personal information. The real test will be whether safeguards around human oversight, explainability, privacy and bias are strong enough as AI becomes more embedded in public administration.

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Singapore cooperation with Japan targets AI in patent examination

The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and the Japan Patent Office have announced a new cooperation initiative on the use of AI in patent substantive examination, as patent offices adapt to rapid technological change.

The initiative was announced after a bilateral meeting in Singapore between IPOS Chief Executive Tan Kong Hwee and JPO Commissioner Yasuyuki Kasai. It builds on a Memorandum of Cooperation signed in Tokyo last November.

Under the initiative, IPOS and JPO will launch a bilateral patent examiner exchange programme and hold regular technical exchanges on the use of AI in patent examination. The two offices said the cooperation is intended to strengthen capabilities, share best practices and develop robust processes for high-quality and trusted patent examination.

Tan said AI is reshaping innovation and work processes, making it necessary for IP offices to evolve while maintaining examination quality and trust. Kasai said the cooperation would bring together the experience and expertise of both offices and support innovation in both countries.

The cooperation will also cover patent search and examination quality management, benchmarking of examination practices, IT infrastructure development, operational management and IP policy exchanges. Both offices will also coordinate initiatives to support enterprises, including SMEs, and strengthen trade and IP flows between Singapore and Japan.

IPOS and JPO said the partnership reflects their shared commitment to addressing emerging challenges in the intellectual property landscape and keeping innovation ecosystems trusted, efficient and future-ready.

Why does it matter?

Patent offices are increasingly facing pressure to handle more complex applications while maintaining examination quality, consistency and trust. Cooperation between Singapore and Japan on AI-assisted examination shows how intellectual property authorities are beginning to adapt their own administrative systems to AI, not only to regulate AI-related inventions.

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UK’s NCSC urges caution on using AI to detect software vulnerabilities

The UK National Cyber Security Centre has warned organisations not to rush into us i ng AI models to find software vulnerabilities without first considering security, legal, operational, and resourcing risks.

In guidance signed by Ruth C, Head of Vulnerability Management Group at the NCSC, the agency says organisations may feel pressure to use new AI models for vulnerability discovery, but should first ask what they are trying to achieve and whether AI is the best way to improve security.

The NCSC stresses that finding vulnerabilities does not automatically improve an organisation’s security and could make it worse if teams lack a process to manage, prioritise, and fix the issues that AI tools identify. It says basic cyber hygiene, including patching known vulnerabilities and controlling unauthorised access, is still more important for most organisations than focusing on zero-days.

The guidance also urges organisations to prioritise exploitable vulnerabilities rather than simply counting how many issues have been found. It notes that more than 40,000 vulnerabilities were assigned CVEs in 2025, while CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue tracked about 400 newly exploited vulnerabilities and around 40 that were zero-days when first exploited.

The NCSC highlights several risks associated with using AI for vulnerability discovery, including information leakage, infrastructure security, sandboxing, production-environment access, permissions granted to large language models, data retention policies, and legal compliance. It also advises organisations using hosted models to consider the physical location and legal jurisdictions that apply to them.

The guidance recommends starting with the external attack surface and verifying results through both AI and human review. It says keeping pace with frontier AI cyber developments will almost certainly be critical to cyber resilience over the next decade, but adds that organisations should invest in people as well as tools, stating that AI models accelerate the skills of cybersecurity staff rather than replacing them.

The NCSC also says organisations should understand how everything they develop or use is patched, with good asset management and dependency management described as crucial foundations for cyber resilience.

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Cybersecurity sector revenue reaches £14.7 billion in UK

The UK cybersecurity sector generated £14.7 billion in annual revenue and £9.1 billion in gross value added, according to the government’s Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 2026.

The report, commissioned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and produced by Ipsos and Perspective Economics, identifies 2,603 firms active in the UK cybersecurity market. That marks a 20% increase from the previous report, which identified 2,165 firms.

Employment in the sector reached about 69,600 full-time equivalent roles, an increase of around 2,300 jobs, or 3%, over the past year. The report says this is the lowest recorded employment growth rate since the series began in 2018, suggesting a softening in workforce growth.

Revenue rose by around 11% from last year’s estimate of £13.2 billion, while gross value added increased by 17%. The report also estimates GVA per employee at £131,200, up from £116,200, suggesting higher productivity within the cybersecurity ecosystem.

The analysis also points to growth in AI security and software security. It estimates that 111 firms active and registered in the UK now clearly offer cybersecurity for AI systems as an explicit product or service, up 68% from the previous baseline. Of those, 32 are specialist providers focused mainly or exclusively on AI security, while 79 offer AI security as part of a broader portfolio.

Software security is also expanding across the market. The report estimates that 1,141 firms provide software security services, an increase of 181 firms, or 19%, from the previous baseline. Nearly half of all UK cybersecurity providers appear to be involved in software security provision, with application security, cloud and container security, secure development, supply chain security, and DevSecOps highlighted as key areas.

Investment remains more subdued. Dedicated cybersecurity firms raised £184 million across 47 deals in 2025, down 11% from £206 million across 59 deals in 2024. The report says investors highlighted AI security and post-quantum cryptography as key themes, while also noting procurement barriers and limited UK growth-stage capital as ongoing concerns.

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EU weighs social media age rules to protect children

The European Commission has signalled that it may propose EU-level rules on delaying children’s access to social media, as concerns grow over addictive platform design, harmful content and AI-enabled risks for minors.

In a keynote address at the European Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Children in Copenhagen, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU must consider whether young people should be given more time before using social media. She said the question was not whether young people should have access to social media, but ‘whether social media should have access to young people’.

Von der Leyen said almost all the EU member states had called for an assessment of whether a minimum age is needed, while Denmark and nine other member states want to introduce one. She added that the Commission’s expert panel on child safety online is advising on the issue, and that a legal proposal could follow this summer, depending on its findings.

Von der Leyen linked the debate to wider concerns about platform business models. She argued that children’s attention was being treated as a commodity through addictive design, advertising, algorithmic recommendation systems and content that can harm mental health. She also pointed to risks linked to AI-generated sexualised images and child sexual abuse material.

The Commission President cited enforcement under the Digital Services Act, including actions involving TikTok, Meta and X, as well as investigations into platforms over whether children are being drawn into harmful content. She said the EU had created strong tools through the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, and that platforms breaking the rules would be held accountable.

Von der Leyen said that any age restriction model would depend on reliable age verification. She said the EU had developed an open-source age verification app that would soon be available, including a rollout in Denmark by summer, and that the Union was working with member states to integrate it into digital wallets.

The speech also framed child online safety as a matter of platform responsibility, not just parental control. Von der Leyen said social media companies should be responsible for product safety in the same way other industries are, adding that ‘safety by design’ protections should be strengthened and expanded. She also pointed to the forthcoming Digital Fairness Act, which is expected to address addictive and harmful design practices.

Why does it matter?

The speech suggests that the EU child online safety policy may be moving from platform accountability after harm occurs towards more structural controls over access, design and age verification. A possible social media delay would mark a major shift in how the EU approaches children’s participation online, raising questions about privacy-preserving age checks, children’s rights, parental responsibility, platform duties and the balance between protection and digital inclusion.

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New IRIS report links AI narratives to civic action

A report by International Resource for Impact and Storytelling examines how organisations worldwide are adapting to AI and algorithm-driven platforms. It focuses on how technology and storytelling are being used to support democracy and counter harmful narratives.

The study draws on insights from 10 organisations, identifying key approaches such as co-opting technology, countering surveillance and disinformation, and innovating in storytelling. These strategies aim to reshape narratives and challenge authoritarian pressures.

Examples include campaigns addressing digital surveillance, projects using journalism to amplify marginalised voices, and creative approaches to civic engagement. The report also highlights the role of artists and storytellers in influencing how AI is understood.

The findings highlight the growing importance of narrative and culture in the digital landscape, as organisations experiment with new forms of communication and resistance. The research reflects global efforts to align AI with democratic values.

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Child safety concerns dominate Europe’s digital agenda

A growing majority of Europeans believe stronger online protections for children and young people should remain a top policy priority, according to new findings from the Special Eurobarometer on the Digital Decade.

The European Commission said 92% of Europeans consider further action to protect children and young people online a top priority, reflecting sustained concern over the impact of digital platforms on younger users.

Mental health risks linked to social media ranked among the biggest concerns, with 93% of respondents calling for stronger protections. Cyberbullying, online harassment, and better age-restriction mechanisms for inappropriate content were also highlighted by 92% of respondents.

Concerns over AI and online manipulation also remain high. The survey found that 39% of respondents cited privacy or data protection as a barrier to using AI, followed by accuracy or incorrect information at 36% and ethical issues or misuse of generative AI tools at 32%.

Around 87% of Europeans agreed that online manipulation, including disinformation, foreign interference, AI-generated content and deepfakes, poses a threat to democratic processes. Another 80% said AI development should be carefully regulated to ensure safety, even if oversight places constraints on developers.

The findings also show continuing concern over online platforms. Europeans reported being personally affected by fake news and disinformation, misuse of personal data and insufficient protections for minors, with concerns over fake news and child protection showing the sharpest increases since 2024.

Why does it matter?

The findings show that public concern over digital technologies in Europe is increasingly centred on safety, rights and accountability, particularly for children and young people. They also suggest that trust in platforms and AI systems will depend not only on innovation and access, but also on visible safeguards against manipulation, harmful content, privacy risks, and weak protections for minors.

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Council of the EU pushes for human-centred AI in education systems

The Council of the European Union has approved conclusions calling for an ethical, safe and human-centred approach to AI in education, stressing that teachers should remain at the heart of the learning process as AI tools become more widely used across schools and universities.

The Council said the conclusions focus on strengthening digital skills and AI literacy, guaranteeing inclusion and fairness, empowering teachers, and supporting the well-being of both teachers and learners. It also noted that the relationship between AI and teaching is being addressed for the first time in the EU education policy.

The EU ministers highlighted both the opportunities and risks associated with AI-driven education systems. The Council said AI could improve accessibility, support disadvantaged learners, enable more individualised teaching and assessment methods, and reduce administrative workloads for educators.

At the same time, the conclusions raise concerns about misinformation, algorithmic bias, over-reliance on technology, reduced teacher autonomy, data protection risks and the widening of digital inequalities across Europe. The Council also warned that AI could affect learners’ concentration and skill acquisition, while raising broader societal and environmental concerns.

The conclusions call on national governments to strengthen teachers’ AI and digital skills through training, while encouraging the development and use of education-specific AI tools that provide clear pedagogical value and align with data protection, accountability and risk-awareness requirements.

The Council also said teachers should have opportunities to contribute to the design and evaluation of AI tools used in education, reflecting a digital humanism approach focused on human agency and democratic values.

Member states are urged to ensure AI deployment does not undermine teachers’ autonomy or sustainable working conditions, and that digital tools remain accessible and suitable for all learners. The European Commission was encouraged to support international cooperation, research, ethical guidance, peer-to-peer exchanges and capacity-building as AI adoption accelerates across European education systems.

Why does it matter?

AI is moving into classrooms not only as a learning tool, but as part of how teaching, assessment, administration and student support are organised. The Council’s conclusions underline that education policy will need to address more than technical adoption, including teacher autonomy, digital inequality, learner well-being, data protection and the risk of over-reliance on automated systems.

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