Artificial intelligence Archives | Page 25 of 705

EDPS strengthens monitoring of emerging technologies

The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has developed a structured framework for monitoring emerging technologies and assessing their implications for privacy and data protection. As digitalisation accelerates, the EDPS recognises that some new technologies do not merely improve existing processes but fundamentally alter how personal data is handled, requiring proactive and ongoing scrutiny.

At the heart of the framework is an annual monitoring cycle that moves from early signal detection to in-depth analysis and public engagement. The EDPS works with the Joint Research Centre’s TIM Analytics service to identify technologies at an early stage and prioritise those most likely to affect data protection over the short and medium term.

The main output of this foresight work is TechSonar, the EDPS’s flagship report on technologies expected to become relevant within the next one to five years. Designed for a broad audience, it outlines emerging technology trends and assesses their potential implications for personal data protection.

Complementing TechSonar, the TechDispatch series provides more detailed analysis of individual technologies, including factual descriptions, preliminary privacy assessments and consideration of how they interact with GDPR principles and data subject rights.

Complementing these publications is the Internet Privacy Engineering Network (IPEN), established by the EDPS in 2014. At least once a year, IPEN brings together public authorities, academics, open-source projects, and private businesses to discuss engineering solutions to privacy challenges, with findings feeding back into the broader technology monitoring work.

The EDPS also coordinates the Internet Privacy Engineering Network (IPEN), established in 2014, which brings together regulators, researchers, open-source communities and industry to discuss technical solutions to privacy challenges and feed those insights into its wider technology monitoring work. Recent activities have included a new video series on AI literacy and a newsletter covering AI governance, the Digital Omnibus debate, and AI use in hiring practices.

Why does it matter?

Emerging technologies such as AI are evolving faster than traditional regulatory processes, making early assessment increasingly important for protecting privacy and fundamental rights. By identifying technologies before they become mainstream, the EDPS aims to help policymakers, regulators and public institutions anticipate risks rather than respond only after new technologies are widely deployed.

The framework also supports greater consistency in European data protection governance. Through publications such as TechSonar and TechDispatch, together with collaboration via IPEN, the EDPS provides a common evidence base that can inform policy development, regulatory enforcement and privacy-by-design approaches across the EU as new technologies continue to emerge.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

UN secretary-general calls for greater transparency on AI’s climate impact

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on AI companies to publicly disclose the environmental impact of their operations, including carbon emissions, water consumption, and land use. Speaking at London Climate Action Week, Guterres proposed an AI Environmental Transparency Initiative, arguing that communities are often left without clear information about the environmental impact of nearby data centre developments.

Citing a UN study, Guterres said data centres consumed more electricity in 2025 than all but ten countries, accounting for around 1.5% of global electricity demand. That share could approach 3% by 2030, while AI-related water consumption and pollution are also projected to rise significantly. By 2030, that figure is projected to nearly double to close to 3 per cent, while the water use and pollution associated with AI are also expected to double within four years.

Guterres noted that coal still provides around 30% of the electricity used by data centres globally, while renewables account for approximately 27%. He called on AI companies to power their facilities entirely with renewable energy by 2030. Guterres called on AI firms to commit to powering their facilities entirely from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2030, though existing clean energy commitments from major tech companies have already been complicated by the rapid pace of AI deployment.

Guterres linked the proposal to broader concerns about climate change and energy security, arguing that both are rooted in continued dependence on fossil fuels. He noted that the planet has just endured its eleven hottest years on record, and that last year marked the first time the three-year global temperature average broke through the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.

He also noted that renewable energy surpassed one-third of global electricity generation in 2025 for the first time, while coal’s share fell below one-third, although he cautioned that rising AI-related electricity demand could complicate progress.

Coal’s share of global generation also fell below one-third for the first time, though significant challenges remain, particularly given policy reversals in the US under President Donald Trump, who has embraced fossil fuels and cut support for renewables.

Guterres, whose term ends in December 2026, will convene world leaders again at the annual COP climate summit later this year. He reiterated calls for every major emitter to accelerate action, reduce methane emissions, and move away from coal, oil, and gas, with the speech delivered during a heatwave affecting much of London and Europe.

Why does it matter?

The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure is bringing its environmental footprint under increasing scrutiny. As data centres consume growing amounts of electricity and water, policymakers are beginning to ask whether AI companies should be subject to the same transparency expectations applied to other carbon-intensive industries. Standardised reporting could provide governments, investors and local communities with a clearer understanding of AI’s environmental impact.

The proposal also highlights the growing intersection between AI governance and climate policy. As countries seek to expand AI capabilities while meeting emissions targets, the availability of clean energy, sustainable infrastructure and transparent environmental reporting is likely to become an increasingly important part of discussions on responsible AI development.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Microsoft report finds AI use growing across schools

Microsoft has released the third edition of its AI in Education Report, finding that AI adoption continues to grow across schools while educators and students seek more training and practical guidance for responsible use.

The report found that AI is already widely used for school-related activities, with 92% of students and education leaders and 88% of educators reporting that they use AI. More than half of education leaders said their institutions are already implementing or scaling AI initiatives, while most respondents reported increased AI use over the past year. More than half of education leaders said their institutions are already implementing or scaling AI, while most respondents reported increased AI use over the past year.

The report identifies three priorities for schools: integrating AI into teaching and administrative operations, expanding ongoing AI skills training and providing clearer guidance for responsible classroom use. Although most respondents considered AI literacy important, many educators and students said they had not received formal training.

Alongside the report, Microsoft announced new AI-powered features for Microsoft 365 Education, including lesson-planning tools, classroom AI guidance, learning management capabilities and study assistants designed to support critical thinking rather than replace student work. Microsoft also expanded its professional development programmes through Elevate for Educators and introduced a new AI literacy credential developed in partnership with ISTE + ASCD.

Why does it matter?

The report suggests that AI is becoming a routine part of teaching and learning, shifting the conversation from whether schools should adopt AI to how they can use it responsibly and effectively. The findings indicate that demand for AI literacy, teacher training and practical classroom guidance is growing alongside adoption.

Microsoft’s new education tools also reflect a broader trend across the education technology sector, where AI is increasingly being integrated into lesson planning, administrative workflows and personalised learning. As AI becomes more embedded in schools, ensuring that educators and students have the skills to use these tools critically and responsibly is likely to become a key priority for education systems.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

European Commission explores scaling AI in agriculture

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) and Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) jointly organised an online expert workshop on 24 June to explore how to accelerate AI adaption and scale trusted AI solutions across the agriculture sector.

The workshop was organised within the framework of the Commission’s Apply AI Strategy, which aims to accelerate AI adoption in strategic sectors, including agri-food, while strengthening European competitiveness, technological sovereignty and uptake among small and medium-sized enterprises. Participants discussed AI applications already being deployed in farm management, precision agriculture, crop and livestock monitoring, advisory services, agricultural robotics and the simplification of administrative processes.

The workshop focused on three priorities: assessing the current level of AI adoption in EU agriculture, identifying barriers to wider deployment and exploring policy measures that could support greater uptake. An interactive session also examined what is needed to ensure AI solutions in agriculture are developed, tested, and validated in a trustworthy and responsible manner.

The workshop’s findings will inform a stakeholder input note identifying priority AI use cases, barriers to adoption, infrastructure and data requirements, and potential follow-up actions under the Apply AI Strategy and related EU programmes supporting the digital transition of agriculture.

Why does it matter?

The workshop illustrates how the European Commission is moving from promoting AI in principle to addressing the practical conditions needed for large-scale deployment. In agriculture, AI has the potential to improve productivity, reduce resource use and simplify administrative tasks, but broader adoption will depend on access to high-quality data, digital infrastructure, trusted solutions and support for farmers and SMEs.

The initiative also reinforces the EU’s wider strategy of linking AI deployment with competitiveness and technological sovereignty. By connecting the Apply AI Strategy with the Common Agricultural Policy, the Common European Agricultural Data Space and Horizon Europe, the Commission is seeking to build an ecosystem in which AI can be adopted responsibly while supporting the long-term digital transformation of Europe’s agri-food sector.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

China pushes AI and biomedicine as strategic growth sectors

Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong has called for stronger development of the biomedicine sector and brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies, describing them as strategic industries that will support the Healthy China initiative and China’s future industrial development.

During a visit to Jiangsu Province, Liu called for greater use of AI, big data, and other digital technologies in pharmaceutical research and development to boost innovation and accelerate high-quality growth in the biomedicine sector.

Liu also described brain-computer interfaces as a frontier technology and a strategic area of international competition. Liu called for stronger interdisciplinary collaboration, expanded brain science research, faster breakthroughs in core technologies, and greater original innovation capacity.

The remarks reinforce China’s broader strategy of promoting AI-enabled innovation and emerging technologies to strengthen industrial competitiveness and modernise its healthcare sector.

Why does it matter?

China’s emphasis on AI-powered biomedicine and brain-computer interfaces reflects its strategy of combining healthcare innovation with industrial policy. By encouraging the use of AI in drug discovery while investing in frontier technologies such as BCIs, Beijing is seeking to strengthen domestic innovation and compete in sectors expected to play an important role in future economic growth.

The remarks also underscore the growing geopolitical significance of advanced health technologies. As countries invest in AI, biotechnology and neurotechnology, these fields are increasingly viewed not only as drivers of scientific progress but also as strategic capabilities linked to economic competitiveness, technological sovereignty and national resilience.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

IMF and China sign MoU on AI and digital economy measurement

The International Monetary Fund and China’s National Bureau of Statistics have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation on national accounts, macroeconomic statistics and statistical modernisation.

The agreement builds on a previous MoU signed in November 2023 and creates a framework for cooperation on implementing the 2025 System of National Accounts.

The cooperation will include work on measuring the digital economy, AI, cloud computing, digital intermediation platforms and data as an asset. It will also cover broader areas introduced in updated international statistical standards, including globalisation, economic well-being and environmental sustainability.

The IMF and NBS also agreed to deepen technical collaboration on the consistency and integration of macroeconomic statistics, including through the use of innovative data sources and analytical approaches.

The agreement includes cooperation between the IMF Big Data Centre and the NBS Big Data Application Centre, which hosts the UN Global Hub on Big Data and Data Science for Official Statistics.

Activities under the MoU will include high-level visits, expert consultations, technical workshops, joint analytical work and exchanges on statistical practices and methodologies.

The new MoU will take effect in December 2026, upon the expiration of the current agreement, and will remain in force until December 2029.

Why does it matter?

Measuring the digital economy is becoming harder as AI systems, cloud services, platforms and data-driven business models become more central to economic activity. Cooperation between the IMF and China’s statistics authority could support more consistent approaches to measuring these sectors under the 2025 System of National Accounts. Better statistical methods matter because governments, investors and international organisations rely on comparable data to assess growth, productivity, sustainability and the economic impact of digital transformation.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our chatbot!

UN experts call for gender-responsive AI governance

UN human rights experts have warned that AI and related digital technologies could deepen gender inequalities if they are developed and deployed without meaningful regulation.

The Working Group on discrimination against women and girls said AI is reshaping the conditions in which women and girls exercise their rights. In a report to the Human Rights Council, the experts said the absence of gender-responsive AI governance could amplify exclusion, reinforce harmful stereotypes and worsen structural inequalities.

The report says AI and digital technologies can support gender equality when designed responsibly, including by expanding access to education, healthcare, financial services and justice. However, the experts warned that poorly governed systems can also create new forms of exclusion across political, civic and economic life.

The Working Group identified three urgent preconditions for substantive gender equality in the digital age: closing the digital divide, ensuring that AI and digital technologies support rather than undermine women’s and girls’ human rights, and promoting their meaningful participation and leadership in public and political life.

The experts also raised concern over gendered harms linked to AI and digital technologies, including technology-facilitated gender-based violence, mass surveillance, armed conflict, lethal autonomous weapons and climate-related impacts.

They called on states to adopt human rights-based and feminist approaches to AI governance, strengthen regulation and accountability, and ensure that women and girls can participate meaningfully in technological development and decision-making.

The Working Group said technology must serve equality, human rights and human dignity, framing gender-responsive AI governance as an obligation rather than an optional policy choice.

Why does it matter?

The report frames AI governance as a gender equality and human rights issue, not only a technical or innovation challenge. Without gender-responsive rules, AI systems can reproduce discrimination through biassed data, unequal access, surveillance, online violence and exclusion from decision-making. The report also matters because it connects AI policy with digital inclusion and political participation, areas where women and girls are often affected by overlapping forms of discrimination.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Council of Europe urges democratic safeguards for AI

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has said AI presents both significant opportunities and serious risks for democratic systems.

In a resolution based on a report by Deborah Bergamini, the Assembly described AI as one of the most transformative technologies in human history while warning of its potentially disruptive effects on democracy. However, it also expressed concern about the technology’s potentially disruptive impact on democracy in Europe and beyond.

The Assembly said regulatory and democratic governance frameworks are struggling to keep pace with rapid advances in AI. It warned that AI systems can pose risks to democratic processes, rights, and public trust if they are not appropriately governed.

At the same time, the resolution said AI should not be demonised. With appropriate safeguards, the Assembly said AI could strengthen democratic systems by increasing public participation, improving access to information and supporting deliberative democracy.

The Assembly said AI could also promote inclusiveness by reducing socio-economic barriers and improving access to public services, education, and employment.

However, the resolution also highlighted serious risks. The resolution warned that the large datasets used to train AI systems could be exploited by governments, companies or other actors for mass surveillance, predictive policing, social scoring and political censorship.

The Assembly also warned that AI systems can be affected by politically biased disinformation or contain biases that lead to ill-informed decisions or discrimination against groups such as women or minorities.

The resolution also highlighted the risk of AI hallucinations, in which systems generate incomplete or misleading information.

Parliamentarians urged Council of Europe member and observer states to ratify the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.

The Assembly said the convention provides a common framework for ensuring that AI development and deployment remain consistent with human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Why does it matter?

The resolution reinforces the view that AI governance is not only a technology issue but also a question of democratic resilience. By highlighting risks such as surveillance, disinformation, bias and AI-generated misinformation alongside opportunities to improve participation and public services, the Parliamentary Assembly places democratic values at the centre of AI policymaking.

The Assembly’s call for wider ratification of the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence also signals growing support for international governance frameworks. As governments develop national AI strategies and regulations, common principles based on human rights, democracy and the rule of law could help promote greater consistency and trust across jurisdictions.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

UK’s FCA rethinks AI oversight for financial services

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is rethinking how financial regulation should operate in the age of AI, according to a speech by chief executive Nikhil Rathi.

Speaking at techUK’s Agents of Change: Generative and Agentic AI in Financial Services 2026 event, Rathi said financial services will be central to making the UK a world-leading AI economy. He said the sector can provide the capital, infrastructure, and trust needed for AI to scale across the wider economy.

Rathi said more than 80% of financial services firms are already using or adopting AI, shifting the policy focus from adoption to large-scale deployment. He said AI is challenging the assumptions on which markets and regulation were built, making it necessary to preserve trust, competition, and resilience as technology moves faster than existing frameworks can keep pace.

The FCA chief identified two major scaling opportunities. The first is agentic AI, which Rathi said could evolve beyond summarisation and task automation into systems capable of coordinating workflows and executing transactions.

In retail markets, Rathi said agentic systems could support smarter bill management, personalised investment strategies, and reduced friction. In wholesale markets, they could support liquidity management, trading workflows, and other market functions.

Rathi stressed that accountability for regulated activities and their outcomes must remain clearly assigned, regardless of the degree of automation. He said investors may be reluctant to delegate important decisions to systems they do not understand, making human oversight and consumer confidence essential.

Rathi also identified tokenisation as a second major trend shaping financial markets. Rathi said tokenisation could lower costs, reduce risk, and unlock new services by creating more automated and programmable infrastructure for agentic finance.

He noted that banks are already piloting tokenized deposits and said the FCA had approved Baillie Gifford, alongside Bank of New York Mellon, to launch the UK’s first natively tokenised authorised fund.

Rathi said rapid AI progress raises fundamental questions for regulation. He argued that legislation alone cannot keep pace with technological change, requiring the FCA to evolve from a traditional rule-maker into a regulator focused on continuous supervision, stewardship and resilience.

The FCA is exploring agentic AI as a ‘first responder’ to speed up wholesale market monitoring. Rathi said the regulator could use its technology, large datasets, and supervisory judgement to tackle market abuse faster.

He said traditional rule-making will still be needed in some areas, but will not work everywhere. The FCA’s role will increasingly involve both stewardship and supervision, helping firms and markets navigate technological change and acting before legislation catches up.

Rathi also said AI will change competition in financial services. He said AI can lower barriers to entry and allow challengers to grow quickly, while some incumbents may fall behind.

The FCA chief said the regulator’s role is not to protect incumbents, but to ensure competition works in consumers’ and the economy’s interests. He said the FCA expects to use system-wide powers more frequently as part of its regular toolkit.

Operational resilience was another major theme of the speech. Rathi said financial services increasingly depend on cloud providers, model providers, data providers, and other parts of the AI stack, creating both opportunities and risks for systemic resilience, market integrity, and financial crime.

He said fraud increasingly sits at the intersection of financial services, technology, and telecoms. UK Finance’s Annual Fraud Report suggests the UK lost almost £1.3 billion through payment fraud last year, with two-thirds of authorised fraud cases linked to social media sites and messaging platforms.

Rathi said frontier AI could further magnify risks. Faster and more capable models could help firms identify vulnerabilities and strengthen defences, but could also help attackers move more quickly.

Boards and leadership teams must understand these risks, he said. Firms need to map and govern dependencies on model providers and other third parties, as the Critical Third Parties regime becomes more important.

Rathi said resilience will increasingly become a national security and system-wide challenge. He said no single firm, regulator or sector will be able to see all risks, making better information sharing essential.

The FCA is supporting AI adoption through tools including its Supercharged Sandbox, AI Lab, and the AI Consortium with the Bank of England. Rathi said these initiatives are intended to help firms build, test, and scale AI safely in UK financial services.

He said the FCA will publish more work soon, including the Mills Review on how AI could reshape retail financial services and later guidance on good and poor AI practice.

Rathi concluded that the key question is no longer whether AI will reshape financial services, but whether the UK can become the preferred location for developing and deploying AI safely, responsibly and at commercial scale. He said regulation must support innovation while keeping markets competitive, resilient, and fit for technological change.

Why does it matter?

The speech signals a broader shift in financial regulation from static rule-making towards continuous supervision in response to rapidly evolving AI technologies. As agentic AI, tokenisation and frontier models become more deeply embedded in financial services, regulators are increasingly focusing on governance, operational resilience, competition and accountability rather than relying solely on traditional legislative approaches.

It also illustrates how AI is becoming a strategic issue for financial stability and economic competitiveness. By combining regulatory sandboxes, supervisory innovation and collaboration with industry, the FCA aims to encourage responsible AI adoption while managing emerging risks related to fraud, third-party dependencies, cybersecurity and market integrity. The UK’s approach may influence how other financial regulators adapt to AI-driven transformation.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Greek supercomputer DAEDALUS enters global supercomputer rankings

Greece’s DAEDALUS supercomputer has entered the international TOP500 and Green500 rankings, strengthening the country’s position in Europe’s high-performance computing landscape.

The system ranked 31st in the TOP500 list of the world’s most powerful supercomputers and 23rd in the Green500 list of energy-efficient systems. According to GRNET, DAEDALUS recorded a measured performance of 85.69 petaflops, making it the most powerful computing system ever ranked in Greece.

DAEDALUS is based on Hewlett Packard Enterprise architecture and uses NVIDIA GH200 accelerators. It also uses direct liquid cooling, combining high computing performance with energy efficiency.

The supercomputer and its data centre are located at the Lavrio Technological and Cultural Park of the National Technical University of Athens, inside the former Power Station building.

Once fully operational, DAEDALUS is expected to support researchers, universities, industry and public authorities working on demanding computational tasks. These include AI, cybersecurity, personalised healthcare, climate research, public administration and large-scale data analytics.

The system will also serve as the computational core of PHAROS, Greece’s national AI Factory under the European AI Factories initiative. Through PHAROS, Greece aims to expand access to AI infrastructure and support the development of AI applications across research, business and the public sector.

The project forms part of Greece’s wider digital transformation agenda and contributes to European efforts to strengthen technological capacity, AI infrastructure and digital sovereignty through high-performance computing.

Why does it matter?

DAEDALUS gives Greece strategic computing capacity for AI research, scientific modelling and public-sector digital transformation. Its role in PHAROS also links national supercomputing infrastructure to the EU’s AI Factories initiative, which aims to give researchers and companies access to advanced computing resources for AI development. The Green500 ranking matters as well, because Europe’s AI infrastructure push increasingly depends not only on raw performance, but also on energy efficiency and sustainable data-centre design.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!