In Cambridge, instructors at MIT and the Harvard Negotiation Project are using AI negotiation bots to enhance classroom simulations. The tools are designed to prompt reflection rather than offer fixed answers.
Students taking part in a multiparty exercise called Harborco engage with preparation, back-table and debriefing bots. The system helps them analyse stakeholder interests and test strategies before and after live negotiations.
Back-table bots simulate unseen political or organisational actors who often influence real-world negotiations. Students can safely explore trade-offs and persuasion tactics in a protected digital setting.
According to reported course findings, most participants said the AI bots improved preparation and sharpened their understanding of opposing interests. Instructors in Cambridge stress that AI supports, rather than replaces, human teaching and peer learning.
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The European Union is revisiting the idea of an EU-wide social media age restriction as several member states move ahead with national measures to protect children online. Spain, France, and Denmark are among the countries considering the enforcement of age limits for access to social platforms.
The issue was raised in the European Commission’s new action plan against cyberbullying, published on Tuesday. The plan confirms that a panel of child protection experts will advise the Commission by the summer on possible EU-wide age restrictions for social media use.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the creation of an expert panel last September, although its launch was delayed until early 2026. The panel will assess options for a coordinated European approach, including potential legislation and awareness-raising measures for parents.
The document notes that diverging national rules could lead to uneven protection for children across the bloc. A harmonised EU framework, the Commission argues, would help ensure consistent safeguards and reduce fragmentation in how platforms apply age restrictions.
So far, the Commission has relied on non-binding guidance under the Digital Services Act to encourage platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snap to protect minors. Increasing pressure from member states pursuing national bans may now prompt a shift towards more formal EU-level regulation.
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The $3 million, three-year project, led by Professor James J. Collins at MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering, centres on developing programmable antibacterials designed to target specific pathogens.
The approach uses AI to design small proteins that turn off specific bacterial functions. These designer molecules would be produced and delivered by engineered microbes, offering a more precise alternative to traditional antibiotics.
Antimicrobial resistance impacts low and middle-income countries most severely, where limited diagnostic infrastructure causes treatment delays. Drug-resistant infections continue to rise globally, whilst the development of new antibacterial tools has stagnated.
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Australia’s online safety regulator has notified Roblox of plans to directly test how the platform has implemented a set of child safety commitments agreed last year, amid growing concerns over online grooming and sexual exploitation.
In September last year, Roblox made nine commitments following months of engagement with eSafety, aimed at supporting compliance with obligations under the Online Safety Act and strengthening protections for children in Australia.
Measures included making under-16s’ accounts private by default, restricting contact between adults and minors without parental consent, disabling chat features until age estimation is complete, and extending parental controls and voice chat restrictions for younger users.
Roblox told eSafety at the end of 2025 that it had delivered all agreed commitments, after which the regulator continued monitoring implementation. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said serious concerns remain over reports of child exploitation and harmful material on the platform.
Direct testing will now examine how the measures work in practice, with support from the Australian Government. Enforcement action may follow, including penalties of up to $49.5 million, alongside checks against new age-restricted content rules from 9 March.
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Wales has launched a national programme of practical AI workshops to help tourism and hospitality businesses adopt digital tools. Funded by Visit Wales and the Welsh Government, the initiative aims to strengthen the sector’s competitiveness by assisting companies to save time and enhance their online presence.
Strong demand reflects growing readiness within the sector to embrace AI. Delivered through Business Wales, the free sessions have quickly reached near capacity, with most places booked shortly after launch. The programme is tailored to small and medium-sized enterprises and prioritises hands-on learning over technical theory.
Workshops focus on simple, immediately usable tools that improve website content, search visibility, and customer engagement. Organisers highlight that AI-driven search features are reshaping how visitors discover tourism services, making accuracy, consistency, and authoritative digital content increasingly important.
At the centre of the initiative is Harri, a bespoke AI tool explicitly developed for Welsh tourism businesses. Designed to reflect the local context, it supports listings management, customer enquiries, and search optimisation. Early feedback indicates that the approach delivers practical and measurable benefits.
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The viral success of Moltbot has prompted Cloudflare to launch a dedicated platform for running the popular AI assistant. The move underscores how the networking company is positioning itself at the centre of the emerging AI agent ecosystem.
Moltbot, an open-source AI personal assistant built on Anthropic’s Claude model, became a viral sensation last month and demonstrated the effectiveness of Cloudflare’s edge infrastructure for running autonomous agents.
The assistant’s rapid adoption validated CEO Matthew Prince’s assertion that AI agents represent a ‘fundamental re-platforming’ of the internet. In response, Cloudflare quickly released Moltworker, a platform specifically designed for securely operating Moltbot and similar AI agents.
Prince described the dynamic as creating a ‘virtuous flywheel,’ with AI agents serving as the new users of the internet, whilst Cloudflare provides the platform they run on and the network they pass through.
Industry analysts have highlighted why Cloudflare’s infrastructure is well-suited to the era of agentic computing. RBC Capital Markets noted that AI agents require low-latency, secure inferencing at the network’s edge- precisely what Cloudflare’s Workers platform delivers.
The continued proliferation of AI agents is expected to drive ongoing demand for these capabilities.
Prince, who co-founded the company, revealed that Cloudflare ended 2025 with 4.5 million active human developers on its platform, providing a substantial foundation for the next wave of AI-driven applications and agents built on the company’s infrastructure.
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A new consultative body has been established in South Korea to manage growing anxiety over AI and rapid industrial change.
The Ministry of Employment and Labour joined forces with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions to create a regular channel for negotiating how workplaces should adapt as robots and AI systems become more widespread across key industries.
The two sides will meet monthly to seek agreement on major labour issues. The union argued for a human-centred transition instead of a purely technological one, urging the government to strengthen protections for workers affected by restructuring and AI-powered production methods.
Officials in South Korea responded by promising that policy decisions will reflect direct input gathered from employees on the ground.
Concerns heightened after Hyundai Motor confirmed plans to mass-produce Atlas humanoid robots by 2028 and introduce them across its assembly lines. The project forms part of the company’s ambition to build a ‘physical AI’ future where machines perform risky or repetitive tasks in place of humans.
The debate intensified as new labour statistics showed a sharp decline in employment within professional and scientific technical services, where AI deployment is suspected of reducing demand for new hires.
KCTU warned that industrial transformation could widen inequality unless government policy prioritises people over profit.
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BlockFills, an institutional digital asset trading and lending firm, has suspended client deposits and withdrawals, citing market volatility as Bitcoin experiences significant declines.
A notice sent to clients last week stated the suspension was intended ‘to further the protection of our clients and the firm.’ The Chicago-based company serves approximately 2,000 institutional clients and provides crypto-backed lending to miners and hedge funds.
Clients were informed they could continue trading under certain restrictions, though positions requiring additional margin could be closed.
The suspension comes as Bitcoin fell below $65,000 last week, down roughly 25% in 2026 and approximately 45% from its October peak near $120,000. In the digital asset industry, withdrawal halts are often interpreted as warning signs of potential liquidity constraints.
Several crypto firms, including FTX, BlockFi, and Celsius, imposed similar restrictions during prior downturns before entering bankruptcy proceedings.
BlockFills has not specified how long the suspension will last. A company spokesperson said the firm is ‘working hand in hand with investors and clients to bring this issue to a swift resolution and to restore liquidity to the platform.’
Founded in 2018 with backing from Susquehanna and CME Group, there is currently no public evidence of insolvency.
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Dutch regulators have fined a cryptocurrency service provider for operating in the Netherlands without the legally required registration, underscoring intensifying enforcement across Europe’s digital asset sector.
De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) originally imposed an administrative penalty of €2,850,000 on 2 October 2023. Authorities found the firm breached the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act by offering unregistered crypto services.
Registration rules, introduced on 21 May 2020, require providers to notify supervisors due to elevated risks linked to transaction anonymity and potential misuse for money laundering or terrorist financing.
Non-compliance prevented the provider from reporting unusual transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit-Netherlands. Regulators weighed the severity, duration, and culpability of the breach when determining the penalty amount.
Legal proceedings later altered the outcome. The Court of Rotterdam ruled on 19 December 2025 to reduce the fine to €2,277,500 and annulled the earlier decision on objection.
DNB has since filed a further appeal with the Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal, leaving the case ongoing as oversight shifts toward MiCAR licensing requirements introduced in December 2024.
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Meta has introduced a new group of Facebook features that rely on Meta AI to expand personal expression across profiles, photos and Stories.
Users gain the option to animate their profile pictures, turning a still image into a short motion clip that reflects their mood instead of remaining static. Effects such as waves, confetti, hearts and party hats offer simple tools for creating a more playful online presence.
The update also includes Restyle, a tool that reimagines Stories and Memories through preset looks or AI-generated prompts. Users may shift an ordinary photograph into an illustrated, anime or glowy aesthetic, or adjust lighting and colour to match a chosen theme instead of limiting themselves to basic filters.
Facebook will highlight Memories that work well with the Restyle function to encourage wider use.
Feed posts receive a change of their own through animated backgrounds that appear gradually across accounts. People can pair text updates with visual backdrops such as ocean waves or falling leaves, creating messages that stand out instead of blending into the timeline.
Seasonal styles will arrive throughout the year to support festive posts and major events.
Meta aims to encourage more engaging interactions by giving users easy tools for playful creativity. The new features are designed to support expressive posts that feel more personal and more visually distinctive, helping users craft share-worthy moments across the platform.
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