Artificial intelligence

UK urged to prepare for agentic AI in government

Agentic AI, a new generation of AI that goes beyond automation to deliver full task orchestration, could change how government operates. Sharon Moore, CTO Public Sector UK at IBM, argues the UK Government must adopt this technology to drive operational efficiency and better public services.

Departments using AI agents have already recorded significant savings, such as 3,300 hours saved in HR tasks by East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust and 800 hours monthly by a New Jersey agency. IBM itself has cut development costs by billions, showcasing the potential for large-scale productivity gains.

Agentic systems integrate multiple AI models and tools, solving complex problems with minimal human intervention. Unlike traditional chatbots, these systems handle end-to-end tasks and adapt across use cases, from citizen services to legacy software modernisation.

To implement these systems safely, the UK must address risks like data leaks, hallucinations, and compliance failures. Moore emphasises that future governance must shift from overseeing individual models to managing entire AI systems, built on transparency, security, and performance oversight.

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Springer machine learning book faces fake citation scandal

A Springer Nature book on machine learning has come under scrutiny after researchers discovered that many of its citations were fabricated or erroneous.

A review of 18 citations in Mastering Machine Learning: From Basics to Advanced revealed that two-thirds either referenced nonexistent papers or misattributed authorship and publication sources.

Several academics whose names were included in the book confirmed they did not write the cited material, while others noted inaccuracies in where their actual work was supposedly published. One researcher was alerted by Google Scholar to multiple fake citations under his name.

Govindakumar Madhavan, the author, has not confirmed whether AI tools were used in producing the content, though his book discusses ethical concerns around AI-generated text.

Springer Nature has acknowledged the issue and is investigating whether the book breached its AI use policies, which require authors to declare AI involvement beyond basic editing.

The incident has reignited concerns about publishers’ quality control, with critics pointing to the increasing misuse of large language models in academic texts. As AI tools become more advanced, ensuring the integrity of published research remains a growing challenge for both authors and editors.

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Student builds AI app to help farmers tackle crop issues

A student is developing an AI-powered app designed to help farmers detect and address crop problems. Soj Gamayon, a communications technology management student at Ateneo de Manila University, was inspired by his family’s farming struggles and his experiences abroad to build AgriConnect PH.

The app uses smart sensors to monitor conditions such as water levels, moisture, and pests, then sends the data to the cloud where it is analysed by AI. Farmers receive real-time alerts with a colour-coded system indicating the severity of risks, helping them respond before crops are damaged.

Gamayon aims to move farmers from reactive responses to proactive management. With updates available at least twice a day and instant alerts for urgent threats, the system offers timely intervention to reduce losses.

Currently supporting cereal crops like rice and corn, the app is set to expand to vegetables and livestock. While the technology is still in development, Gamayon believes AI can revolutionise agriculture and provide Filipino farmers with better tools for resilience.

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Gemini AI suite expands to help teachers plan and students learn

Google has unveiled a major expansion of its Gemini AI tools tailored for classroom use, launching over 30 features to support teachers and students. These updates include personalised AI-powered lesson planning, content generation, and interactive study guides.

Teachers can now create custom AI tutors, known as ‘Gems’, to assist students with specific academic needs using their own teaching materials. Google’s AI reading assistant is also gaining real-time support features through the Read Along tool in Classroom, enhancing literacy development for younger users.

Students and teachers will benefit from wider access to Google Vids, the company’s video creation app, enabling them to create instructional content and complete multimedia assignments.

Additional features aim to monitor student progress, manage AI permissions, improve data security, and streamline classroom content delivery using new Class tools.

By placing AI directly into the hands of educators, Google aims to offer more engaging and responsive learning, while keeping its tools aligned with classroom goals and policies. The rollout continues Google’s bid to take the lead in the evolving AI-driven edtech space.

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MAI-DxO: Microsoft’s New AI diagnoses complex medical cases with 85% accuracy

Microsoft has introduced a new AI-powered diagnostic tool capable of tackling complex medical cases that often baffle expert clinicians. Called MAI-DxO (Microsoft AI Diagnostic Orchestrator), the system has been developed by Microsoft’s AI health unit, founded by DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman.

When tested on complex real-world cases published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the AI tool correctly diagnosed 85.5%. For comparison, experienced doctors managed to solve only 20% of the same cases without external help.

The tool uses five virtual AI agents, each simulating a medical expert with unique roles, such as choosing tests or proposing hypotheses. The approach, dubbed the ‘chain of debate’, allows for step-by-step reasoning in arriving at diagnoses.

Microsoft trained MAI-DxO using 304 case studies and large language models from leading AI companies, including OpenAI, Google, Meta, and xAI. The AI panel mimics a real-world diagnostic team with significantly faster and more accurate outcomes.

Despite the promising results, Microsoft acknowledges that more validation and regulatory clarity are needed before such tools can be used in clinical practice. The company is currently working with health organisations to test the system further.

The aim is not to replace doctors but to ease their workload by offering a reliable assistant for the most challenging cases. Microsoft says MAI-DxO could represent a significant step toward what it calls ‘medical superintelligence’.

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Meta launches AI superintelligence lab to compete with rivals

Meta has launched a new division called Meta Superintelligence Labs to accelerate its AI ambitions and close the gap with rivals such as OpenAI and Google.

The lab will be led by Alexandr Wang, former CEO of Scale AI, following Meta’s $14.3 billion investment in the data-labeling company. Former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and SSI co-founder Daniel Gross will also hold key roles in the initiative.

Mark Zuckerberg announced the new effort in an internal memo, stating that Meta is now focused on developing superintelligent AI systems capable of matching or even outperforming humans. He described this as the beginning of a new era and reaffirmed Meta’s commitment to leading the field.

The lab’s mission is to push AI to a point where it can solve complex tasks more effectively than current models.

To meet these goals, Meta has been aggressively recruiting AI researchers from top competitors. Reports suggest that OpenAI employees have been offered signing bonuses as high as $100 million to join Meta.

New hires include talent from Anthropic and Google, although Meta has reportedly avoided deeper recruitment from Anthropic due to concerns over culture fit.

Meta’s move comes in response to the lukewarm reception of its Llama 4 model and mounting pressure from more advanced AI products released by competitors.

The company hopes that by combining high-level leadership, fresh talent and massive investment, its new lab can deliver breakthrough results and reposition Meta as a serious contender in the race for AGI.

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Youth unrest set to drive Bitcoin’s rise

Market analyst Jordi Visser predicts that rising dissatisfaction among young people aged 25 and under with the current financial system will drive Bitcoin adoption. He believes this trend will push its price higher over time.

On Anthony Pompliano’s podcast, Visser highlighted growing frustration due to economic uncertainty and AI-driven job losses. These factors are leading to calls for increased social spending and a move away from capitalism.

Visser said younger generations no longer believe the system will improve and expect governments to print more money amid social unrest. He argued that this trend will help Bitcoin steadily replace traditional fiat assets.

The analyst also warned that advanced AI and robotics could disrupt capitalism by concentrating wealth and reducing the need for human labour, forcing societal change. Emerging technologies like humanoid robots and self-driving cars, expected within five years, may speed up this transformation.

Visser noted that autonomous vehicles arriving in cities like Manhattan could face protests similar to those against ride-sharing, signalling broader technological disruption.

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Text-to-image and beyond: Alibaba launches Qwen VLo AI model

Alibaba Group has launched a new AI model called Qwen VLo, designed to generate and edit images based on text prompts and visual inputs. The model is an upgrade of the earlier Qwen2.5-VL and forms part of Alibaba’s expanding suite of AI services.

Qwen VLo introduces the ‘progressive generation’ feature, which allows users to watch as the image develops in real-time. Users can request creations with simple prompts such as ‘generate a picture of a dog’, or upload existing photos for editing.

According to a company blog post on GitHub, Qwen VLo is a unified multimodal understanding and generation model. It not only interprets visual and textual data, but also produces high-quality, context-aware image outputs.

Previous models had difficulty with semantic consistency, often misidentifying objects or altering key features like the shape or colour of a car. The new Qwen VLo corrects these issues, offering improved object recognition and detail retention.

Users can issue complex editing commands, such as ‘add a sun to the sky’ or ‘make this photo look like it’s from the 19th century’. The model supports traditional vision tasks like depth estimation, edge detection, and segmentation.

Multiple image tasks can be performed simultaneously, making Qwen VLo suitable for more advanced use cases. Thanks to the model’s multilingual capabilities, instructions can be given in several languages, including English and Chinese.

Alibaba, best known for its e-commerce services, has been steadily advancing its AI research and development. In February, CEO Eddie Wu said the company’s primary focus is now on artificial general intelligence—AI systems that match or exceed human-level cognition.

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Grok gets a boost: xAI secures $10 billion for AI expansion

xAI, founded by Elon Musk, has secured $10 billion in fresh funding to strengthen its position in the competitive AI landscape. The investment consists of $5 billion in secured loans arranged by Morgan Stanley and a further $5 billion in strategic equity investment.

Morgan Stanley announced the deal on Monday, noting that global investors oversubscribed the debt offering. The firm described the transaction as a strong show of confidence in xAI’s long-term mission to accelerate scientific discovery and deepen humanity’s understanding of the universe.

The newly raised capital will support xAI’s development of a large-scale data centre and continued improvements to its flagship Grok platform. Grok is a conversational AI assistant integrated into Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), and is designed to rival systems from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.

Morgan Stanley highlighted that the funding structure—blending debt and equity—lowers xAI’s cost of capital and provides access to a broader pool of long-term funding. The firm also said the financing gives xAI greater flexibility as it scales its infrastructure and operations.

xAI has grown rapidly since its launch, raising $6 billion in a Series B round last year, which valued the company at approximately $24 billion. The additional $10 billion signals growing ambition as it prepares to compete with the most prominent players in AI development.

The Grok platform differentiates itself through its real-time access to social media content and a more informal tone, positioning it as a potentially unique alternative in the generative AI space. With expanded funding, xAI is expected to further invest in data training, hardware, and software refinement.

The funding boost comes as rivals also raise capital to stay ahead in the AI race. In March, OpenAI announced a record-setting $40 billion round led by SoftBank, with Microsoft, Altimeter, and Thrive also participating. The round valued OpenAI at $300 billion post-money.

OpenAI said the funds would allow it to enhance research, expand computing power, and improve products like ChatGPT, now used by over 500 million people weekly. Other firms, including Google and Meta, are also increasing investments in pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AGI).

As the battle to dominate AI intensifies, xAI’s latest funding round may mark a turning point, with the firm now better equipped to compete for market share, talent, and technological breakthroughs in an increasingly crowded field.

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AI rock band’s Spotify rise fuels calls for transparency

A mysterious indie rock band called The Velvet Sundown has shot to popularity on Spotify, and may be powered by AI. Their debut track, Dust on the Wind, has racked up over 380,000 plays since 20 June and helped attract more than 470,000 monthly listeners.

The song bears a resemblance to the 1977 Kansas hit Dust in the Wind, prompting suspicion from Reddit users. The band’s profile picture and Instagram photos appear AI-generated, while the band members listed — such as ‘Milo Rains’ and ‘Rio Del Mar’ — have no online trace.

Despite the clues, Spotify does not label the group as AI-generated. Their songs are appearing in curated playlists like Discover Weekly. Only Deezer, a French streaming service, has identified The Velvet Sundown as likely created by generative AI models like Suno or Udio.

Deezer began tagging AI music in June and now detects over 20,000 entirely artificial tracks each day. Another AI band, The Devil Inside, has also gained traction. Their song Bones in the River has over 1.6 million plays on Spotify, but lacks credited creators.

On Deezer, the same track is labelled as AI-generated and linked to Hungarian musician László Tamási — a rare human credit for bot-made music. While Deezer takes a transparent approach, Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music have not announced detection systems or labelling plans.

Deezer CEO Alexis Lanternier said AI is ‘not inherently good or bad,’ but called for transparency to protect artist rights and user trust. Legal battles are already underway. US record labels have sued Suno and Udio for mass copyright infringement, though the companies argue it falls under fair use.

As AI-generated music continues to rise, platforms face increasing pressure to inform users and draw more precise lines between human and machine-made art.

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