Minecraft Education is introducing an AI-powered twist on the classic first night challenge with a new Hour of AI world. Players explore a puzzle-driven environment that turns early survival stress into a guided coding and learning experience.
The activity drops players into a familiar biome and tasks them with building shelter before sunset. Instead of panicking at distant rustles or looming shadows, learners work with an AI agent designed to support planning and problem-solving.
Using MakeCode programming, players teach their agent to recognise patterns, classify resources, and coordinate helper bots. The agent mimics real AI behaviour by learning from examples and occasionally making mistakes that require human correction to improve its decisions.
As the agent becomes more capable, it shifts from a simple tool to a partner that automates key tasks and reduces first-night pressure. The aim is to let players develop creative strategies rather than resort to frantic survival instincts.
Designed for ages seven and up, the experience is free to access through Minecraft Education. It introduces core AI literacy concepts, blending gameplay with lessons on how AI systems learn, adapt, and occasionally fail, all wrapped in a familiar, family-friendly setting.
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Alibaba is preparing a major overhaul of its mobile AI apps, renaming Tongyi as Qwen and adding early agentic features. The update aims to make Qwen resemble leading chatbots while linking AI tools to Taobao and other services. Alibaba also plans a global version once the new design stabilises.
Over one hundred developers are working on the project as part of wider AI investments. Alibaba hopes Qwen can anchor its consumer AI strategy and regain momentum in a crowded market. It still trails Doubao and Yuanbao in user popularity and needs a clearer consumer path.
Monetisation remains difficult in China because consumers rarely pay for digital services. Alibaba thinks shopping features will boost adoption by linking AI directly to e-commerce use. Qwen will stay free for now, allowing the company to scale its user base before adding paid options.
Alibaba wants to streamline its overlapping apps by directing users to one unified Qwen interface. Consolidation is meant to strengthen brand visibility and remove confusion around different versions. A single app could help Alibaba stand out as Chinese firms race to deploy agentic AI.
Chinese and US companies continue to expand spending on frontier AI models, cloud infrastructure, and agent tools. Alibaba reported strong cloud growth and rising demand for AI products in its latest quarter. The Qwen relaunch is its largest attempt to turn technical progress into a viable consumer business.
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Early detection of Alzheimer’s is often limited in primary care due to short consultations, focus on other health issues, and stigma. Researchers have now demonstrated that a fully digital, zero-cost approach can overcome these barriers without requiring additional clinician time.
A pragmatic clinical trial involving over 5,000 patients tested a dual method combining the Quick Dementia Rating System (QDRS), a ten-question patient-reported survey, with an AI-powered passive digital marker.
The approach, embedded in electronic health records, increased new dementia diagnoses by 31 percent compared with usual care and prompted 41 percent more follow-up assessments, such as cognitive tests and neuroimaging.
The passive digital marker from Regenstrief uses machine learning to analyse health records for memory issues and vascular concerns. Open-source and free, it flags at-risk patients and sends results to clinicians’ EHRs with no extra time or staff needed.
Researchers highlight that embedding these tools directly into routine care can improve equity, thereby reaching populations that the healthcare system has traditionally underserved.
Experts say that using patient-reported outcomes with AI is a scalable and efficient way to detect dementia early, without adding burden to primary care teams.
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The US AI safety and research company, Anthropic, has announced a $50 billion investment to expand AI computing infrastructure inside the country, partnering with Fluidstack to build data centres in Texas and New York, with additional sites planned.
These facilities are designed to optimise efficiency for Anthropic’s workloads, supporting frontier research and development in AI.
The project is expected to generate approximately 800 permanent jobs and 2,400 construction positions as sites come online throughout 2026.
An investment that aligns with the Trump administration’s AI Action Plan, aiming to maintain the US leadership in AI while strengthening domestic technology infrastructure and competitiveness.
Dario Amodei, CEO and co-founder of Anthropic, highlighted the importance of such an infrastructure in developing AI systems capable of accelerating scientific discovery and solving complex problems.
The company serves over 300,000 business customers, with a sevenfold growth in large accounts over the past year, demonstrating strong market demand for its Claude AI platform.
Fluidstack was selected as Anthropic’s partner for its agility in rapidly deploying high-capacity infrastructure. The collaboration aims to provide cost-effective and capital-efficient solutions to meet the growing demand, ensuring that research and development can continue to be at the forefront of AI innovation.
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Meta has announced the construction of its 30th data centre in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. The $1 billion investment will support the company’s expanding AI infrastructure while benefiting the local community and the environment.
A facility, designed to support Meta’s most demanding AI workloads, that will run entirely on clean energy and create more than 100 permanent jobs alongside 1,000 construction roles.
The company will invest nearly $200 million in energy infrastructure and donate $15 million to Alliant Energy’s Hometown Care Energy Fund to assist families with home energy costs.
Meta will also launch community grants to fund schools and local organisations, strengthening technology education and digital skills while helping small businesses use AI tools more effectively.
Environmental responsibility remains central to the project. The data centre will use dry cooling, eliminating water demands during operation, and restore 100% of consumed water to local watersheds.
In partnership with Ducks Unlimited, Meta will revitalise 570 acres of wetlands and prairie, transforming degraded habitats into thriving ecosystems. The facility is expected to achieve LEED Gold Certification, reflecting Meta’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and community-focused innovation.
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Companies are transforming routine customer interactions into effortless experiences using AI-powered agents. Instead of endless phone transfers, users now get instant answers or bookings through Agentforce-powered systems.
The focus is not on selling more products, but on improving satisfaction with existing services.
Travel platform Engine is already seeing results. Its Agentforce assistant, Eva, can process partial booking cancellations in seconds by combining customer data with internal booking tools.
By narrowing Eva’s focus to a handful of topics, Engine improved both response speed and customer satisfaction by six points. The result is less frustration, reduced hold times, and smoother travel management.
Retailer Williams Sonoma, Inc. is also personalising customer interactions through its virtual assistant, Olive. Beyond processing returns, Olive provides menu suggestions, wine pairings, and meal preparation schedules to help customers host effortlessly.
The aim, according to Chief Technology and Digital Officer Sameer Hassan, is to deliver experiences that teach and inspire rather than promote sales.
Luxury fitness brand Equinox follows a similar path. Its AI assistant now helps members find and book classes directly, reducing clicks and improving usability. As EVP and CTO, Eswar Veluri said simplifying patterns is key to enhancing member experience through innovative tools.
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In a recent analysis, Goldman Sachs warned that while AI is rapidly permeating the consumer market, enterprise integration is falling much further behind.
The report highlights consumer-facing tools, such as chatbots and generative creative applications, driving the usage surge, but finds that business uptake is still ‘well below where we expected’ a year or two ago.
Goldman’s analysts point out a striking disjunction: consumer adoption is high, yet corporations are slower to embed AI deeply into workflows. One analyst remarked that although nearly 88 % of companies report using AI in some capacity, only about a third have scaled it enterprise-wide and just 39 % see measurable financial impact.
Meanwhile, infrastructure spending on AI is exploding, with projections of 3-4 trillion US dollars by the end of the decade, raising concerns among investors about return on investment and whether the current frenzy resembles past tech bubbles.
For policy-makers, digital-economy strategists and technology governance watchers, this gap has important implications. Hype and hardware build-out may be outpacing deliverables in enterprise contexts.
The divide also underlines the need for more precise metrics around productivity, workforce adaptation and organisational readiness in our discussions around AI policy and digital diplomacy.
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Scientists have successfully tracked a tsunami in real time using ripples in Earth’s atmosphere for the first time.
The breakthrough came after a powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula in July 2025, sending waves racing across the Pacific and triggering NASA’s newly upgraded Guardian monitoring system.
Guardian uses AI to detect disruptions in satellite navigation signals caused by atmospheric ripples above the ocean.
These signals revealed the formation and movement of tsunami waves, allowing alerts to be issued up to 40 minutes before they reached Hawaii, potentially giving communities vital time to respond.
Researchers say the innovation could transform global disaster monitoring by enabling earlier warnings for tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and even nuclear tests.
Although the system is still in development, scientists in Europe are working on similar models that could expand coverage and provide life-saving alerts to remote coastal regions.
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Google announced a partnership with Cassava Technologies to widen access to Gemini across Africa. The deal includes data-free Gemini usage for eligible users coordinated through Cassava’s network partners. The initiative aims to address affordability and adoption barriers for mobile users.
A six-month trial of the Google AI Plus plan is part of the package. Benefits include access to more capable Gemini models and added cloud storage. Coverage by regional tech outlets reported the exact core details.
Education features were highlighted, including NotebookLM for study aids and Gemini in Docs for writing support. Google said the offer aims to help students, teachers, and creators work without worrying about data usage. Reports highlight a focus on youth and skills development.
Cassava’s role aligns with broader investments in AI infrastructure and services across the continent; recent announcements reference model exchanges and planned AI facilities that support regional development. Observers see momentum behind accessible AI tools.
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A six-month pilot across Northern Ireland put Gemini and Workspace into classrooms. One hundred teachers participated under the Education Authority’s C2k programme. Reported benefits centred on time savings and practical support for everyday teaching.
Participants said they saved around ten hours per week on routine tasks where freed time was redirected to pupil engagement and professional development. More than six hundred use cases from the one hundred participants were documented during the trial period.
Teachers cited varied applications, from drafting parent letters to generating risk assessments quickly. NotebookLM helped transform curriculum materials into podcasts and interactive mind maps. Inclusive lessons were tailored, including Irish language activities and support for neurodivergent learners.
C2k plans wider training so more Northen Ireland educators can adopt the tools responsibly. Leadership framed AI as collaborative, not a replacement for teachers. Further partnerships are expected to align products with established pedagogical principles.
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