Development Archives | Page 197 of 539 | Digital Watch Observatory

Google Cloud and NVIDIA join forces to accelerate enterprise AI and industrial digitalisation

NVIDIA and Google Cloud are expanding their collaboration to bring advanced AI computing to a wider range of enterprise workloads.

The new Google Cloud G4 virtual machines, powered by NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell GPUs, are now generally available, combining high-performance computing with scalability for AI, design, and industrial applications.

An announcement that also makes NVIDIA Omniverse and Isaac Sim available on the Google Cloud Marketplace, offering enterprises new tools for digital twin development, robotics simulation, and AI-driven industrial operations.

These integrations enable customers to build realistic virtual environments, train intelligent systems, and streamline design processes.

Powered by the Blackwell architecture, the RTX PRO 6000 GPUs support next-generation AI inference and advanced graphics capabilities. Enterprises can use them to accelerate complex workloads ranging from generative and agentic AI to high-fidelity simulations.

The partnership strengthens Google Cloud’s AI infrastructure and cements NVIDIA’s role as the leading provider of end-to-end computing for enterprise transformation.

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PAHO issues new guide on designing AI prompts for public health

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has released a guide with practical advice on creating effective AI prompts for public health. The guide AI prompt design for public health helps professionals use AI responsibly to generate accurate and culturally appropriate content.

PAHO says generative AI aids in public health alerts, reports, and educational materials, but its effectiveness depends on clear instructions. The guide highlights that well-crafted prompts enable AI systems to generate meaningful content efficiently, reducing review time while maintaining quality.

The organisation advises health institutions to treat prompts as ‘living protocols’ that can be tested and refined to suit different audiences and languages. It also recommends developing prompt libraries to improve consistency across public health operations.

Human oversight remains crucial, especially when AI-generated content could influence public behaviour or policy decisions.

The initiative forms part of PAHO’s broader Digital Literacy Programme, which seeks to strengthen the digital skills of health professionals throughout the Americas. Better prompt design aims to boost communication, accelerate decision-making, and advance digital transformation in healthcare.

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Samsung unveils AI-powered redesign of its corporate Newsroom

The South Korean firm, Samsung Electronics, has redesigned its official Newsroom, transforming it into a multimedia platform built around visuals, video and AI-driven features.

A revamped site that aligns with the growing dominance of visual communication, aiming to make corporate storytelling more intuitive, engaging and accessible.

The updated homepage features an expanded horizontal carousel showcasing videos, graphics and feature stories with hover-based summaries for quick insight. Users can browse by theme, play videos directly and enjoy a seamless experience across all Samsung devices.

A redesign by Samsung that also introduces an integrated media hub with improved press tools, content filters and high-resolution downloads. Journalists can now save full articles, videos and images in one click, simplifying access to media materials.

AI integration adds smart summaries and upgraded search capabilities, including tag- and image-based discovery. These tools enhance relevance and retrieval speed, while flexible sorting and keyword highlighting refine user experience.

As Samsung celebrates a decade since launching its Newsroom, such a transformation marks a step toward a more dynamic, interactive communication model designed for both consumers and media professionals in the AI era.

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China’s Unitree reveals next-generation humanoid ahead of major IPO

Unitree Robotics has unveiled its most lifelike humanoid robot to date, marking a bold step forward in the country’s rapidly advancing robotics industry.

The new H2 humanoid model, showcased in a short social media video, demonstrated remarkable agility and expressiveness, performing intricate dance moves with striking humanlike grace.

The 180cm-tall, 70kg robot features a silver face with defined eyes, lips and nose, alongside the tagline ‘Destiny Awakening – born to serve everyone safely and friendly’.

A model that represents the company’s growing ambition as it prepares for a mainland listing valued at around US$7 billion.

Unitree’s progress underscores the growing strength of China in humanoid robotics, a field increasingly dominated by domestic innovation and manufacturing capabilities.

As global competition intensifies, the company aims to position itself at the forefront of human-robot interaction and industrial automation.

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EU expands AI reach through new antenna network

The European Commission has launched new ‘AI Antennas’ across 13 European countries to strengthen AI infrastructure. Seven EU states, including Belgium, Ireland, and Malta, will gain access to high-performance computing through the EuroHPC network.

Six non-EU partners, such as the UK and Switzerland, have also joined the initiative. Their inclusion reflects the EU’s growing cooperation on digital innovation with neighbouring countries despite Brexit and other trade tensions.

Each AI Antenna will serve as a local gateway to the bloc’s supercomputing hubs, providing technical support, training, and algorithmic resources. Countries without an AI Factory of their own can now connect remotely to major systems like Jupiter.

The Commission says the network aims to spread AI skills and research capabilities across Europe, narrowing regional gaps in digital development. However, smaller nations hosting only antennas are unlikely to house the bloc’s future ‘AI Gigafactories’, which will be up to four times more powerful.

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Swiss scientists grow mini-brains to power future computers

In a Swiss laboratory, researchers are using clusters of human brain cells to power experimental computers. The start-up FinalSpark is leading this emerging field of biocomputing, also known as wetware, which uses living neurons instead of silicon chips.

Co-founder Fred Jordan said biological neurons are vastly more energy-efficient than artificial ones and could one day replace traditional processors. He believes brain-based computing may eventually help reduce the massive power demands created by AI systems.

Each ‘bioprocessor’ is made from human skin cells reprogrammed into neurons and grouped into small organoids. Electrodes connect to these clumps, allowing the Swiss scientists to send signals and measure their responses in a digital form similar to binary code.

Scientists emphasise that the technology is still in its infancy and not capable of consciousness. Each organoid contains about ten thousand neurons, compared to a human brain’s hundred billion. FinalSpark collaborates with ethicists to ensure the research remains responsible and transparent.

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Startup raises $9m to orchestrate Gulf digital infrastructure

Bilal Abu-Ghazaleh has launched 1001 AI, a London–Dubai startup building an AI-native operating system for critical MENA industries. The two-month-old firm raised $9m seed from CIV, General Catalyst and Lux Capital, with angels including Chris Ré, Amjad Masad and Amira Sajwani.

Target sectors include airports, ports, construction, and oil and gas, where 1001 AI sees billions in avoidable inefficiencies. Its engine ingests live operational data, models workflows and issues real-time directives, rerouting vehicles, reassigning crews and adjusting plans autonomously.

Abu-Ghazaleh brings scale-up experience from Hive AI and Scale AI, where he led GenAI operations and contributor networks. 1001 borrows a consulting-style rollout: embed with clients, co-develop the model, then standardise reusable patterns across similar operational flows.

Investors argue the Gulf is an ideal test bed given sovereign-backed AI ambitions and under-digitised, mission-critical infrastructure. Deena Shakir of Lux says the region is ripe for AI that optimises physical operations at scale, from flight turnarounds to cargo moves.

First deployments are slated for construction by year-end, with aviation and logistics to follow. The funding supports early pilots and hiring across engineering, operations and go-to-market, as 1001 aims to become the Gulf’s orchestration layer before expanding globally.

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AWS outage shows the cost of cloud concentration

A single fault can bring down the modern web. During the outage on Monday, 20 October 2025, millions woke to broken apps, games, banking, and tools after database errors at Amazon Web Services rippled outward. When a shared backbone stumbles, the blast radius engulfs everything from chat to commerce.

The outage underscored cloud concentration risk. Roblox, Fortnite, Pokémon Go, Snapchat, and workplace staples like Slack and Monday.com stumbled together because many depend on the same region and data layer. Failover, throttling, and retries help, but simultaneous strain can swamp safeguards.

On Friday, 19 July 2024, a faulty CrowdStrike update crashed Windows machines worldwide, triggering blue screens that grounded flights, delayed surgeries, and froze point-of-sale systems. The fix was simple; recovery wasn’t. Friday patches gained a new cautionary tale.

Earlier shocks foreshadowed today’s scale. In 1997, a Network Solutions glitch briefly hobbled .com and .net. In 2018, malware in Alaska’s Matanuska-Susitna knocked services offline, sending a community of 100,000 back to paper. Each incident showed how mundane errors cascade into civic life.

Resilience now means multi-region designs, cross-cloud failovers, tested runbooks, rate-limit backstops, and graceful read-only modes. Add regulatory stress tests, clear incident comms, and sector drills with hospitals, airlines, and banks. The internet will keep breaking; our job is to make it bend.

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SMEs underinsured as Canada’s cyber landscape shifts

Canada’s cyber insurance market is stabilising, with stronger underwriting, steadier loss trends, and more product choice, the Insurance Bureau of Canada says. But the threat landscape is accelerating as attackers weaponise AI, leaving many small and medium-sized enterprises exposed and underinsured.

Rapid market growth brought painful losses during the ransomware surge: from 2019 to 2023, combined loss ratios averaged about 155%, forcing tighter pricing and coverage. Insurers have recalibrated, yet rising AI-enabled phishing and deepfake impersonations are lifting complexity and potential severity.

Policy is catching up unevenly. Bill C-8 in Canada would revive critical-infrastructure cybersecurity standards, stronger oversight, and baseline rules for risk management and incident reporting. Public–private programmes signal progress but need sustained execution.

SMEs remain the pressure point. Low uptake means minor breaches can cost tens or hundreds of thousands, while severe incidents can be fatal. Underinsurance shifts shock to the wider economy, challenging insurers to balance affordability with long-term viability.

The Bureau urges practical resilience: clearer governance, employee training, incident playbooks, and fit-for-purpose cover. Education campaigns and free guidance aim to demystify coverage, boost readiness, and help SMEs recover faster when attacks hit, supporting a more durable digital economy.

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Tailored pricing is here and personal data is the price signal

AI is quietly changing how prices are set online. Beyond demand-based shifts, companies increasingly tailor offers to individuals, using browsing history, purchase habits, device, and location to predict willingness to pay. Two shoppers may see different prices for the same product at the same moment.

Dynamic pricing raises or lowers prices for everyone as conditions change, such as school-holiday airfares or hotel rates during major events. Personalised pricing goes further by shaping offers for specific users, rewarding cart-abandoners with discounts while charging rarer shoppers a premium.

Platforms mine clicks, time on page, past purchases, and abandoned baskets to build profiles. Experiments show targeted discounts can lift sales while capping promo spend, proving engineered prices scale. The result: you may not see a ‘standard’ price, but one designed for you.

The risks are mounting. Income proxies such as postcode or device can entrench inequality, while hidden algorithms erode trust when buyers later find cheaper prices. Accountability is murky if tailored prices mislead, discriminate, or breach consumer protections without clear disclosure.

Regulators are moving. A competition watchdog in Australia has flagged transparency gaps, unfair trading risks, and the need for algorithmic disclosure. Businesses now face a twin test: deploy AI pricing with consent, explainability, and opt-outs, and prove it delivers value without crossing ethical lines.

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