Northamptonshire Police will roll out live facial recognition cameras in three town centres. Deployments are scheduled in Northampton on 28 November and 5 December, in Kettering on 29 November, and in Wellingborough on 6 December.
The initiative uses a van loaned from Bedfordshire Police and the watch-lists include high-risk sex offenders or persons wanted for arrest. Facial and biometric data for non-alerts are deleted immediately; alerts are held only up to 24 hours.
Police emphasise the AI based technology is ‘very much in its infancy’ but expect future acquisition of dedicated kit. A coordinator post is being created to manage the LFR programme in-house.
British campaigners express concern the biometric tool may erode privacy or resemble mass surveillance. Police assert that appropriate signage and open policy documents will be in place to maintain public confidence.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Children will no longer be able to chat with adult strangers on Roblox after new global age checks are introduced. The platform will begin mandatory facial estimation in selected countries in December before expanding worldwide in January.
Roblox players will be placed into strict age groups and prevented from messaging older users unless they are verified as trusted contacts. Under-13s will remain barred from private messages unless parents actively approve access within account controls.
The company faces rising scrutiny following lawsuits in several US states, where officials argue Roblox failed to protect young users from harmful contact. Safety groups welcome the tighter rules but warn that monitoring must match the platform’s rapid growth.
Roblox says the technology is accurate and helps deliver safer digital spaces for younger players. Campaigners continue to call for broader protections as millions of children interact across games, chats and AI-enhanced features each day.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
The Digital Omnibus has been released by the European Commission, prompting strong criticism from privacy advocates. Campaigners argue the reforms would weaken long-standing data protection standards and introduce sweeping changes without proper consultation.
Noyb founder Max Schrems claims the plan favours large technology firms by creating loopholes around personal data and lowering user safeguards. Critics say the proposals emerge despite limited political support from EU governments, civil society groups and several parliamentary factions.
The Omnibus is welcomed by industry which have called for simplification and changes to be made for quite a number of years. These changes should make carrying out business activities simpler for entities which do process vast amounts of data.
The Commission is also accused of rushing (errors can be found in the draft, including references to the GDPR) the process under political pressure, abandoning impact assessments and shifting priorities away from widely supported protections. View our analysis on the matter for a deep dive on the matter.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Over 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV, a chronic infection that remains a leading cause of death. Developing an effective vaccine has proven difficult due to the virus’s rapid mutations and the vast volume of clinical data produced during trials.
Scripps Research has received $1.1 million from CHAVD to purchase high-performance computing and AI technology. The investment lets researchers analyse millions of vaccine candidates faster, speeding antibody identification and refining experimental vaccines.
StepwiseDesign enables the AI system to evaluate vaccine-induced antibodies and identify the most promising candidates for development. The system has found rare antibodies that neutralise HIV in uninfected individuals, showing its ability to detect extremely rare precursors.
Researchers hope the computational framework will not only fast-track HIV vaccine development but also be applied to other complex pathogens, including influenza and malaria. The project highlights collaboration and innovation, with potential to improve global health outcomes for millions at risk.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Concerns are growing as European countries expand the use of AI in healthcare without establishing sufficient protections for patients or healthcare workers.
A new World Health Organisation report found significant disparities in how nations develop, regulate and fund AI tools.
Some countries are rapidly deploying chatbots, imaging systems and data-analysis tools, while others have barely started integrating AI into their health services. Only four nations across Europe and Central Asia currently have a national strategy dedicated to AI in health care.
WHO officials warn that weak safeguards could lead to biassed algorithms, medical errors and increased inequality in access to care.
The report urges governments to strengthen legal frameworks, train health workers in AI literacy and ensure these technologies are rigorously tested before reaching patients.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Google CEO Sundar Pichai advises people not to unquestioningly trust AI tools, warning that current models remain prone to errors. He told the BBC that users should rely on a broader information ecosystem rather than treat AI as a single source of truth.
Pichai said generative systems can produce inaccuracies and stressed that people must learn what the tools are good at. The remarks follow criticism of Google’s own AI Overviews feature, which attracted attention for erratic and misleading responses during its rollout.
Experts say the risk grows when users depend on chatbots for health, science, or news. BBC research found major AI assistants misrepresented news stories in nearly half of the tests this year, underscoring concerns about factual reliability and the limits of current models.
Google is launching Gemini 3.0, which it claims offers stronger multimodal understanding and reasoning. The company says its new AI Mode in search marks a shift in how users interact with online information, as it seeks to defend market share against ChatGPT and other rivals.
Pichai says Google is increasing its investment in AI security and releasing tools to detect AI-generated images. He maintains that no single company should control such powerful technology and argues that the industry remains far from a scenario in which one firm dominates AI development.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
SAP has announced new partnerships with Bleu, Capgemini, and Mistral AI to advance Europe’s digital sovereignty. The collaboration combines SAP’s expertise in enterprise software with France’s AI ecosystem to develop secure, scalable, and sovereign cloud solutions for governments and regulated sectors.
Bleu and Delos Cloud have established a Franco-German alliance focused on crisis resilience, creating joint capabilities for early detection, analysis, and remediation of cyber incidents. Their cooperation supports rapid response in extreme scenarios and reinforces control over critical infrastructure.
SAP and Capgemini are expanding their partnership to advance sovereign agentic AI and strengthen cybersecurity across Europe. Their new Sovereign Technology Partnership will deliver data management, cloud services, and automation tools for public and regulated sectors.
SAP and Mistral AI are also deepening their collaboration to create Europe’s first full sovereign AI stack. SAP will offer Mistral’s frontier models through its sovereign AI foundation on SAP BTP, while both companies co-develop industry-specific AI applications designed for engineering and R&D workloads.
These partnerships form part of SAP’s broader sovereign cloud strategy, backed by more than €20bn in investment. SAP states that its aim is to provide a secure, compliant, and locally controlled infrastructure that enables innovation while safeguarding European data, assets, and long-term technological independence.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
A new WHO Europe report warns that AI is advancing faster than health policies can keep up, risking wider inequalities without stronger safeguards. AI already helps doctors with diagnostics, reduces paperwork and improves patient communication, yet significant structural safeguards remain incomplete.
The assessment, covering 50 participating countries across the region, shows that governments acknowledge AI’s transformative potential in personalised medicine, disease surveillance and clinical efficiency. Only a small number, however, have established national strategies.
Estonia, Finland and Spain stand out for early adoption- whether through integrated digital records, AI training programmes or pilots in primary care- but most nations face mounting regulatory gaps.
Legal uncertainty remains the most common obstacle, with 86 percent of countries citing unclear rules as the primary barrier to adoption, followed by financial constraints. Fewer than 10 percent have liability standards defining responsibility when AI-driven decisions cause harm.
WHO urged governments to align AI policy with public health goals, strengthen legal and ethical frameworks, improve cross-border data governance and invest in an AI-literate workforce to ensure patients stay at the centre of the transformation.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai recently warned people against having total confidence in artificial intelligence tools. Speaking to the BBC, the head of Google’s parent company stressed that current state-of-the-art AI technology remains ‘prone to errors’ and must be used judiciously alongside other resources.
The executive also addressed wider concerns about a potential ‘AI bubble’ following increased tech valuations and spending across the sector. Pichai stated he believes no corporation, including Google, would be completely safe if such an investment surge were to collapse. He compared the current environment to the early internet boom, suggesting the profound impact of AI will nonetheless remain.
Simultaneously, the largest bank in the US, JPMorgan Chase, is sounding an alarm over market instability. Jamie Dimon, the bank’s chair and chief executive, expressed significant worry over a severe US stock market correction, predicting it could materialise within the next six months to two years. Concerns over the geopolitical climate, expansive fiscal spending, and worldwide remilitarisation are adding to this atmosphere of economic uncertainty.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
A growing debate over AI dominated COP30 in Brazil, as delegates weighed its capacity to support climate solutions against its rapidly rising environmental costs.
Technology leaders argued that AI can strengthen energy management, refine climate research and enhance conservation programmes.
Participants highlighted an expanding number of AI-driven tools showcased at the summit, reflecting both enthusiasm and caution about their long-term influence.
Several countries noted that AI systems could help smaller delegations review complex negotiation documents and take part more effectively.
Environmental advocates warned that ballooning electricity use and water demand from data centres risk undermining climate targets.
Campaigners pressed for tighter rules, including mandatory public-interest testing for new facilities and reliance on on-site renewable energy.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
