Artificial intelligence Archives | Page 25 of 657

Australia expands collaboration efforts in key science and technology areas

The Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources has announced $6.2 million in funding for nine international projects under round two of the Global Science and Technology Diplomacy Fund (GSTDF).

The programme supports collaboration, innovation and commercialisation in priority technology areas. The selected projects focus on AI, advanced manufacturing, quantum technologies and hydrogen, with several initiatives applying AI to areas such as robotics, satellite networks and ocean forecasting.

According to the department, Australian researchers will work with international partners across Asia-Pacific, with projects spanning fields from healthcare to environmental monitoring and space technologies.

The funding reflects a broader effort to deepen international cooperation and advance strategic technologies, with collaborations involving countries including Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, and South Korea, supporting innovation linked to Australia.

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ILO warns lifelong learning is critical for the future AI economy

The International Labour Organization has warned t hat governments must place lifelong learning at the centre of economic and social policy as AI, digitalisation and demographic shifts continue transforming labour markets worldwide. The organisation said stronger and more inclusive learning systems are necessary to prevent widening inequality between workers, industries and countries.

According to the ILO’s new report, titled ‘Lifelong learning and skills for the future’, only 16% of people aged between 15 and 64 participated in structured training during the previous year. Access remains significantly higher among full-time employees in formal companies, where employer-supported training reaches 51%.

The ILO report warns that workers in informal jobs and smaller enterprises continue relying mainly on learning through experience instead of structured education programmes. Furthermore, the study found that employers increasingly seek combinations of digital, socio-emotional, communication and problem-solving skills rather than narrow technical expertise alone.

While demand for AI-related capabilities is expected to increase, the report noted that most workers currently use ready-made AI tools that require broader digital literacy, critical thinking and collaborative abilities instead of specialist engineering knowledge.

The ILO also highlighted the growing importance of green and care economy skills. It estimates that 32% of workers globally already perform environmentally relevant tasks, while demand for long-term care workers could almost double by 2050.

The organisation called for greater public investment, stronger institutional coordination and inclusive lifelong learning strategies capable of supporting workers throughout rapidly changing technological and economic transitions.

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Cybersecurity and AI safety in focus at European Parliament discussion

Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection are set to discuss the safety of AI systems that could pose serious security risks.

According to the event description, the discussion will examine how existing EU legislation applies in practice, particularly the AI Act and the Cybersecurity Act. It will focus on how advanced AI systems are developed and managed when they may present security risks, and on how companies are implementing the EU rules and the challenges they face.

Experts from ENISA, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, and the European Commission are expected to take part. They will explain how the relevant legal and regulatory frameworks operate in practice across the EU, including the rules governing AI systems.

The discussion also comes as the European Commission has proposed changes to the Cybersecurity Act. In the European Parliament, the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy is leading work on the file, while IMCO is contributing an opinion focused on internal market and consumer protection aspects.

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White paper sets priorities for Europe’s digital sovereignty and tech competitiveness

A new whitepaper by GITEX AI Europe, in partnership with research firm LUE, outlines key priorities for strengthening Europe’s digital sovereignty and long-term technological competitiveness.

The study suggests scaling AI computing power, expanding cloud infrastructure, adopting open-source standards and increasing startup investment as central pillars. These measures aim to align innovation capacity with broader economic and industrial growth.

It highlights rising demand for AI infrastructure, with data centre expansion and energy integration seen as essential. The report also stresses the need for sovereign cloud systems to ensure greater control over data, alongside the role of open-source technologies in enabling flexibility and transparency.

The whitepaper concludes that stronger investment and coordinated policy are required to support deep-tech growth and prevent talent loss, with initiatives and partnerships shaping Europe’s digital future across the continent.

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Meta explores agentic AI assistants

Meta is developing an advanced ‘agentic’ AI assistant designed to perform complex, multi-step tasks for consumers. The initiative reflects the company’s broader push to expand its AI capabilities beyond basic chat functions.

The planned assistant is intended to act more autonomously, helping users complete actions such as organising activities or managing digital tasks. Powered by a new internal model called Muse Spark, the assistant is still under development, and its rollout timeline depends on internal testing.

Meta’s strategy focuses on embedding these tools across its platforms, aiming to deepen user engagement and create more personalised digital experiences.

This marks a shift towards AI systems that can anticipate needs rather than simply respond to prompts. The move also signals intensifying competition among major technology companies in consumer AI.

The report highlights that Meta is positioning AI as central to its future growth, with a focus on making assistants more proactive and capable within everyday digital environments in the US.

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CAISI expands frontier AI testing with Google DeepMind, Microsoft and xAI

The Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), part of the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has announced new agreements with Google DeepMind, Microsoft, and xAI to expand government evaluations of frontier AI models and support research on AI security.

According to the announcement, the agreements will support pre-deployment evaluations and targeted research intended to improve understanding of frontier AI capabilities and their national security implications.

CAISI says the updated arrangements build on earlier partnerships that were renegotiated to reflect directives from the Secretary of Commerce and the US AI Action Plan.

CAISI also says it has been designated to serve as the main point of contact within the US government for collaboration with industry on testing, joint research, and best-practice development for commercial AI systems. To date, it says it has completed more than 40 evaluations, including assessments of advanced unreleased models.

CAISI Director Chris Fall said independent and rigorous measurement is essential to understanding frontier AI and its national security implications. The announcement adds that the agreements are intended to support information-sharing, voluntary product improvements, and a clearer government understanding of AI capabilities and international AI competition.

The agency notes that developers often provide models with reduced or removed safeguards to support national security-related testing. It also says evaluators from across government may participate through the CAISI-convened TRAINS Taskforce, and that the agreements are designed to support testing in classified environments and to adapt to continued advances in AI.

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UAE launches national AI security lab for certification and cyber resilience

The UAE Cyber Security Council, Cisco and Open Innovation AI have launched the UAE’s National AI Test and Validation Lab, creating a national platform designed to assess the security, safety and trustworthiness of AI systems.

Hosted in Abu Dhabi, the facility will evaluate AI models, autonomous agents and applications before deployment across government and private sector environments. The initiative forms part of the UAE’s wider strategy to strengthen sovereign AI capabilities and reinforce cybersecurity protections as AI adoption accelerates across critical infrastructure and public services.

According to UAE Cyber Security Council Head Dr Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, the laboratory aims to ensure AI systems deployed across the country remain aligned with national cybersecurity policies and trusted governance standards.

The facility will conduct assessments covering model robustness, prompt injection threats, jailbreak vulnerabilities, privacy risks, data leakage, supply chain integrity and autonomous agent behaviour.

Systems meeting the required standards will receive a national certification mark intended to provide assurance for regulators, businesses and citizens. Evaluations will also measure compliance against international frameworks, including ISO 42001, MITRE ATLAS, NIST AI RMF and OWASP standards for large language models and AI agents.

The lab combines Cisco AI-ready infrastructure powered by NVIDIA GPUs with Open Innovation AI orchestration and automated security testing platforms.

UAE authorities expect the centre to scale to analysing tens of thousands of AI agents annually, supporting sectors including finance, healthcare, telecommunications, energy and critical national infrastructure as the country expands its adoption of agentic AI technologies.

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Bank of America forum highlights AI, quantum and Asia Pacific innovation

Bank of America convened its fifth Breakthrough Technology Dialogue in Singapore, bringing together leaders from business, academia, and science to discuss emerging technologies shaping the future. The event focused on areas including AI, quantum computing, energy, MedTech, and space.

The forum also highlighted the growing importance of the Asia Pacific in driving technological development and deployment. According to Bank of America, the region’s strong research base, advanced manufacturing capacity, and expanding digital infrastructure are helping position it at the centre of global innovation.

Designed as a high-level platform for discussion, the dialogue explored how emerging technologies are reshaping industries and economies. Participants also examined longer-term investment approaches and the need to connect innovation with practical use cases that can scale across markets.

The initiative reflects Bank of America’s wider approach to technology investment, combining large-scale spending with a stated focus on client and employee needs and on solutions that can be delivered at scale. The event is increasingly being presented as a global forum for shaping views on the next generation of technological change.

Why does it matter?

The significance of the dialogue lies less in any single announcement than in the way it brings together investors, executives, academics, and technologists around the sectors likely to shape future industrial and economic power. The emphasis on Asia Pacific also reflects a broader recognition that leadership in AI, quantum, and other frontier technologies will depend not only on research breakthroughs, but also on where they are manufactured, financed, and deployed at scale.

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Canada moves to strengthen photonic semiconductor and AI capabilities

The Government of Canada has announced plans to spin off the National Research Council of Canada’s Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre into a commercially operated entity to expand domestic semiconductor manufacturing and strengthen the country’s AI infrastructure.

The initiative forms part of Ottawa’s broader strategy to reinforce technological sovereignty and reduce dependence on foreign supply chains in critical technologies. Located in Ottawa, the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre is currently North America’s only end-to-end pure-play compound semiconductor facility and has supported photonics development for more than two decades through wafer design, fabrication, and testing services.

Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions Mélanie Joly said the spin-off is intended to attract private-sector investment, support Canadian innovation, and expand the country’s role in advanced manufacturing sectors, including defence, aerospace, automotive technologies, and AI.

The government also links the initiative to growing global demand for AI computing infrastructure, where photonic semiconductors are increasingly seen as important for improving energy efficiency, heat management, and data-transfer performance in large-scale data centres. Ottawa says the future commercial entity will remain anchored in Canada while helping domestic firms scale photonic and quantum technologies.

The expected result is a stronger Canadian supply chain for advanced semiconductor manufacturing and better support for fast-growing small and medium-sized enterprises working on AI and quantum systems. In that sense, the move is less about volume chip production and more about securing a specialised domestic capability in a strategically important part of the semiconductor stack. This final sentence is an inference based on the government’s framing of CPFC’s role and Canada’s wider AI and photonics strategy.

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Philippines holds youth consultation on AI and digital resilience

The Philippines’ Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), together with youth-led group Tayo ang Taya, has convened a youth consultation on digitalisation, AI, and digital resilience as part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ public consultations on the responsible use of new technologies.

Held at the University of the Philippines Diliman, the ‘Ctrl+Youth: Shaping ASEAN’s Digital Future’ event brought together youth leaders, civil society organisations, student groups, community-based organisations, and youth advocates. According to the DSWD, the consultation is intended to gather youth input to help shape regional policies and frameworks on digitalisation, AI, and digital resilience.

In a video message, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said young people must be equipped not only with technical skills, but also with values that support responsibility, inclusivity, and innovation as AI and other emerging technologies expand. He added that youth perspectives would help inform the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and support efforts to prepare young people for participation in the global digital economy.

Undersecretary Adonis Sulit of the DSWD’s Policy and Planning Group said the consultation was organised with youth organisations and the National Youth Commission to ensure that young people could directly contribute comments and proposals to a draft charter on digital resilience under ASEAN’s sociocultural pillar.

Participants took part in focus group discussions to craft manifestos on responsible technology use and digital safety. The programme also included a presentation on legislation related to digitalisation and the proper use of technology, alongside messages of support from the National Youth Commission, the Department of Education, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, and the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance.

The consultation forms part of the Philippines’ effort to integrate youth perspectives into ASEAN’s digital agenda, with the DSWD presenting the initiative as part of its commitment to inclusive governance.

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