Artificial intelligence Archives | Page 182 of 572

Bulgaria eyes AI gigafactory partnership with IBM

Bulgaria is considering building an AI gigafactory in partnership with IBM and the European Commission, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announced after meeting with IBM executives in Sofia. The project aims to attract large-scale high-tech investment and strengthen Europe’s AI infrastructure.

The proposed facility would feature over 100,000 advanced GPU chips and require up to 500 megawatts of power. The initial phase alone is expected to need around 70 megawatts, highlighting the scale of the planned operation.

Funding could come through a public-private partnership, with the European Commission covering up to 17 percent of capital costs and EU member states contributing additional support for this Bulgarian project.

IBM is considered a strategic technology partner, bringing expertise in cloud computing, cybersecurity, and AI systems. The first gigafactories across Europe are expected to begin operations between 2027 and 2028, aligning with the EU’s plan to mobilise €200 billion for AI development.

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AI maps over 1,300 mouse brain subregions with unprecedented precision

Researchers at UCSF and the Allen Institute have created one of the most detailed mouse brain maps. Their AI model, CellTransformer, identified over 1,300 brain regions and subregions, including previously uncharted areas. The findings were published in Nature Communications.

CellTransformer utilises spatial transcriptomics to define brain regions based on shared cellular patterns, rather than relying on expert annotation. Drawing city borders from building types reveals finer brain structures. This data-driven method provides unprecedented precision.

The model replicated known regions, such as the hippocampus, and revealed previously unknown subdivisions in the midbrain reticular nucleus. Researchers compared the leap from mapping continents to mapping states and cities. The tool provides a foundation for more targeted neuroscience studies.

Validation against the Allen Institute’s Common Coordinate Framework strongly aligned with expert-defined anatomy. The results gave researchers confidence in the biological relevance of the new subregions. Further studies will investigate their functions.

The model’s potential goes beyond neuroscience. Its methods can map other tissues, including cancers, by analysing large spatial transcriptomics datasets. However, this could support new medical research, helping uncover disease mechanisms and accelerate treatment development.

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New report finds IT leaders unprepared for evolving cyber threats

A new global survey by 11:11 Systems highlights growing concerns among IT leaders over cyber incident recovery. More than 800 senior IT professionals across North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific report a rising strain from evolving threats, staffing gaps, and limited clean-room infrastructure.

Over 80% of respondents experienced at least one major cyberattack in the past year, with more than half facing multiple incidents. Nearly half see recovery planning complexity as their top challenge, while over 80% say their organisations are overconfident in their recovery capabilities.

The survey also reveals that 74% believe integrating AI could increase cyberattack vulnerability. Despite this, 96% plan to invest in cyber incident recovery within the next 12 months, underlining its growing importance in budget strategies.

The financial stakes are high. Over 80% of respondents reported spending at least six figures during just one hour of downtime, with the top 5% incurring losses of over one million dollars per hour. Yet 30% of businesses do not test their recovery plans annually, despite these risks.

11:11 Systems’ CTO Justin Giardina said organisations must adopt a proactive, AI-driven approach to recovery. He emphasised the importance of advanced platforms, secure clean rooms, and tailored expertise to enhance cyber resilience and expedite recovery after incidents.

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Scammers use AI to fake British boutiques

Fraudsters are using AI-generated images and back stories to pose as British family businesses, luring shoppers into buying cheap goods from Asia. Websites claiming to be long-standing local boutiques have been linked to warehouses in China and Hong Kong.

Among them is C’est La Vie, which presented itself as a Birmingham jeweller run by a couple called Eileen and Patrick. The supposed owners appeared in highly convincing AI-generated photos, while customers later discovered their purchases were shipped from China.

Victims described feeling cheated after receiving poor-quality jewellery and clothes that bore no resemblance to the advertised items. More than 500 complaints on Trustpilot accuse such companies of exploiting fabricated stories to appear authentic.

Consumer experts at Which? warn that AI tools now enable scammers to create fake brands at an unprecedented scale. The ASA has called on social media platforms to act, as many victims were targeted through Facebook ads.

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Employees embrace AI but face major training and trust gaps

SnapLogic has published new research highlighting how AI adoption reshapes daily work across industries while exposing trust, training, and leadership strategy gaps.

The study finds that 78% of employees already use AI in their roles, with half using autonomous AI agents. Workers interact with AI almost daily and save over three hours per week. However, 94% say they face barriers to practical use, with concerns over data privacy and security topping the list.

Based on a survey of 3,000 US, UK, and German employees, the research finds widespread but uneven AI support. Training is a significant gap, with only 63% receiving company-led education. Many rely on trial and error, and managers are more likely to be trained than non-managers.

Generational and hierarchical differences are also evident. Seventy percent of managers express strong confidence in AI, compared with 43% of non-managers. Half believe they will be managed by AI agents rather than people in the future, and many expect to be handled by AI themselves.

SnapLogic’s CTO, Jeremiah Stone, says the agile enterprise is about easing workloads and sparking creativity, not replacing people. The findings underscore the need for companies to align strategy, training, and trust to realise AI’s potential in the workplace fully.

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AI tools reshape how Gen Z approaches buying cars

Gen Z drivers are increasingly turning to AI tools to help them decide which car to buy. A new Motor Ombudsman survey of 1,100 UK drivers finds that over one in four Gen Z drivers would rely on AI guidance when purchasing a vehicle, compared with 12% of Gen X drivers and just 6% of Baby Boomers.

Younger drivers view AI as a neutral and judgment-free resource. Nearly two-thirds say it helps them make better decisions, while over half appreciate the ability to ask unlimited questions. Many see AI as a fast and convenient way to access information during car-buying.

Three-quarters of Gen Z respondents believe AI could help them estimate price ranges, while 60% think it would improve their haggling skills. Around four in ten say it would help them assess affordability and running costs, a sentiment less common among Millennials and Gen Xers.

Confidence levels also vary across generations. About 86% of Gen Z and 87% of Millennials say they would feel more assured if they used AI before making a purchase, compared with 39% of Gen Xers and 40% of Boomers, many of whom remain indifferent to its influence.

Almost half of drivers say they would take AI-generated information at face value. Gen Z is the most trusting, while older generations remain cautious. The Motor Ombudsman urges buyers to treat AI as a complement to trusted research and retailer checks.

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ChatGPT introduces new generation of interactive apps

A new generation of interactive apps is arriving in ChatGPT, allowing users to engage with tools like Canva, Spotify, and Booking.com directly through conversation. The apps appear naturally during chats, enabling users to create, learn, and explore within the same interface.

Developers can now build their own ChatGPT apps using the newly launched Apps SDK, released in preview as an open standard based on the Model Context Protocol. The SDK includes documentation, examples, and testing tools, with app submissions and monetisation to follow later this year.

Over 800 million ChatGPT users can now access these apps on Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans, excluding EU regions for the moment. Early partners include Booking.com, Coursera, Canva, Figma, Expedia, Spotify, and Zillow, with more to follow later in the year.

Apps respond to natural language and integrate interactive features such as maps, playlists, and slides directly in chat. ChatGPT can even suggest relevant apps during conversations- for instance, showing Zillow listings when discussing home purchases or prompting Spotify for a party playlist.

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Beware the language of human flourishing in AI regulation

TechPolicy.Press recently published ‘Confronting Empty Humanism in AI Policy’, a thought piece by Matt Blaszczyk exploring how human-centred and humanistic language in AI policy is widespread, but often not backed by meaningful legal or regulatory substance.

Blaszczyk observes that figures such as Peter Thiel contribute to a discourse that questions the very value of human existence, but equally worrying are the voices using humanist, democratic, and romantic rhetoric to preserve the status quo. These narratives can be weaponised by actors seeking to reassure the public while avoiding strong regulation.

The article analyses executive orders, AI action plans, and regulatory proposals that promise human flourishing or protect civil liberties, but often do so under deregulatory frameworks or with voluntary oversight.

For example, the EU AI Act is praised, yet criticised for gaps and loopholes; many ‘human-in-the-loop’ provisions risk making humans mere rubber stampers.

Blaszczyk suggests that nominal humanism is used as a rhetorical shield. Humans are placed formally at the centre of laws and frameworks, copyright, free speech, democratic values, but real influence, rights protection, and liability often remain minimal.

He warns that without enforcement, oversight and accountability, human-centred AI policies risk becoming slogans rather than safeguards.

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Google unveils CodeMender, an AI agent that repairs code vulnerabilities

Google researchers have unveiled CodeMender, an AI-powered agent designed to automatically detect and fix software vulnerabilities.

The tool aims to improve code security by generating and applying patches that address critical flaws, allowing developers to focus on building reliable software instead of manually locating and repairing weaknesses.

Built on the Gemini Deep Think models, CodeMender operates autonomously, identifying vulnerabilities, reasoning about the underlying code, and validating patches to ensure they are correct and do not introduce regressions.

Over the past six months, it has contributed 72 security fixes to open source projects, including those with millions of lines of code.

The system combines advanced program analysis with multi-agent collaboration to strengthen its decision-making. It employs techniques such as static and dynamic analysis, fuzzing and differential testing to trace the root causes of vulnerabilities.

Each proposed fix undergoes rigorous validation before being reviewed by human developers to guarantee quality and compliance with coding standards.

According to Google, CodeMender’s dual approach (reactively patching new flaws and proactively rewriting code to eliminate entire vulnerability classes) represents a major step forward in AI-driven cybersecurity.

The company says the tool’s success demonstrates how AI can transform the maintenance and protection of modern software systems.

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Policy hackathon shapes OpenAI proposals ahead of EU AI strategy

OpenAI has published 20 policy proposals to speed up AI adoption across the EU. Released shortly before the European Commission’s Apply AI Strategy, the report outlines practical steps for member states, businesses, and the public sector to bridge the gap between ambition and deployment.

The proposals originate from Hacktivate AI, a Brussels hackathon with 65 participants from EU institutions, governments, industry, and academia. They focus on workforce retraining, SME support, regulatory harmonisation, and public sector collaboration, highlighting OpenAI’s growing policy role in Europe.

Key ideas include Individual AI Learning Accounts to support workers, an AI Champions Network to mobilise SMEs, and a European GovAI Hub to share resources with public institutions. OpenAI’s Martin Signoux said the goal was to bridge the divide between strategy and action.

Europe already represents a major market for OpenAI tools, with widespread use among developers and enterprises, including Sanofi, Parloa, and Pigment. Yet adoption remains uneven, with IT and finance leading, manufacturing catching up, and other sectors lagging behind, exposing a widening digital divide.

The European Commission is expected to unveil its Apply AI Strategy within days. OpenAI’s proposals act as a direct contribution to the policy debate, complementing previous initiatives such as its EU Economic Blueprint and partnerships with governments in Germany and Greece.

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