Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has reopened five years after a devastating fire left the iconic landmark in ruins. Painstakingly restored to its original grandeur, the reconstruction relied on technologies, including lasers and 3D modelling, to recreate the historic structure.
The restoration effort was supported by data from art historian Andrew Tallon’s 2015 laser scans, which captured billions of precise points across the cathedral. These scans were combined with post-fire drone footage and modern technology to create a detailed 3D model that guided the process. Companies such as Autodesk and AGP donated their expertise to ensure accuracy.
The newly restored cathedral now includes updated features such as fire suppression systems, optimised lighting, and a modernised plaza, designed with the help of 3D visualisations. Experts believe these advancements set a precedent for using technology to preserve cultural heritage and assist in disaster recovery.
Looking ahead, the detailed 3D model will help maintain Notre Dame and safeguard its legacy for generations. This project serves as a testament to the power of innovation in protecting the world’s most treasured monuments.
The European Investment Bank’s global arm, EIB Global, has granted a €43 million loan to Azerbaijan’s state-owned enterprise, AzInTelecom LLC, to develop a digital infrastructure for public administration. The funding will be used to construct two new state-of-the-art data centres offering cloud services and using green technologies.
That marks EIB Global’s first loan to Azerbaijan’s public sector. The project aims to improve the security, speed, and accessibility of government services while fostering innovation and creating skilled jobs. Expected to be completed by 2027, it will modernise public administration, contribute to sustainable economic growth, and support social progress in the country.
The initiative aligns with the European Union’s Economic and Investment Plan for the Eastern Partnership and the Global Gateway strategy. These frameworks underscore the EU’s commitment to promoting digital transformation and sustainable development in the region.
By supporting this project, the EU aims to help Azerbaijan achieve greater innovation, transparency, and economic resilience, contributing to broader regional stability and progress goals.
The IEEE Lebanon Section and Rethinking Lebanon have formed a strategic partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on 20 December 2024, aimed at empowering Lebanese youth and fostering technological innovation to support Lebanon’s socioeconomic development. This collaboration combines the expertise of IEEE Lebanon in capacity development, research, and technological advancement with the mission of Rethinking Lebanon to reshape the country’s future.
The partnership has several key objectives, including engaging youth through mentorship programs, hackathons, and collaborative challenges; conducting joint research on integrating technology into Lebanon’s economy and governance; advocating for sustainable development policies; organising forums, conferences, and workshops on innovation topics such as Smart Cities and digital transformation; and fostering community development by connecting IEEE members with policymakers, industry leaders, and global experts.
The partnership aligns with both organisations’ shared vision to inspire innovation and growth among Lebanese youth while enhancing the country’s global competitiveness. This collaboration provides a platform to rethink Lebanon’s potential and strengthen its role on the international stage. By working together, the IEEE Lebanon Section and Rethinking Lebanon aim to create impactful programs and initiatives to contribute to Lebanon’s long-term growth and success in the global economy.
Datastreams and Vietnam Post (VNPOST) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 20 December 2024, forming a strategic partnership focused on comprehensive data collaboration. The partnership aims to establish a data exchange to drive innovation in data-driven business models and develop platforms for VNPOST’s postal and logistics services.
VNPOST will manage internal project development, research data fabric technology applications, and analyse data exchange requirements. At the same time, Datastreams will provide expertise in data fabric technology, assist with implementation, and offer a project roadmap.
The following collaboration is expected to accelerate VNPOST’s digital transformation, and by 2026, VNPOST plans to build a data platform and data exchange with Datastreams, contributing to AI and data fabric technologies. Through this partnership, both companies seek to secure innovations, expand Datastreams’ technological presence, and contribute to the economy of Vietnam.
Google’s proposed adjustments to its search result formats, aimed at complying with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), have gained backing from Airlines for Europe, a major lobbying group representing airlines such as Air France KLM and Lufthansa. The DMA prohibits tech giants like Google from favouring their services in search results, with non-compliance risking fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover.
The airline group endorsed Google’s horizontal layout, featuring same-sized boxes for airlines and comparison sites, with a distinct blue colour for differentiation. However, they raised concerns over pricing consistency and criticised Google’s plan to use indicative dates rather than specific ones for flight bookings, arguing that this change could harm the consumer experience.
In response to ongoing disagreements with rivals, Google has signalled it may revert to its older “10 blue links” search result format if consensus cannot be reached on its current proposals. This highlights the challenges tech companies face in balancing regulatory compliance with the demands of diverse stakeholders.
Talen Energy plans to appeal a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) decision blocking an amended interconnection agreement for an Amazon data centre. The Pennsylvania-based utility had sought to expand capacity at its Susquehanna nuclear plant from 300 megawatts to 480 megawatts.
The initial deal, which involved selling the connected data centre to Amazon, faced resistance from American Electric Power and Exelon. FERC sided with the opposing utilities, rejecting the proposed agreement in a ruling issued on 1 November.
Talen Energy responded by requesting a rehearing last month. While FERC confirmed it would address the matter in a future order, the 30-day deadline for rehearing decisions has now passed. This development allows Talen to take the case to a US Circuit Court of Appeals.
Shares of Talen Energy, which have seen significant gains this year, rose 0.6% in response to the company’s announcement.
Ceneo, a subsidiary of Polish e-commerce platform Allegro, has filed a lawsuit against Google and its parent company Alphabet, seeking 2.33 billion zlotys ($567.6 million) in damages. The lawsuit claims Google’s preference for its price comparison services in search results caused significant harm to Ceneo’s business.
Ceneo’s demands include 1.72 billion zlotys for losses incurred and an additional 615 million zlotys in interest from 2013 to November 2024. The company also plans to seek statutory interest from the filing date until damages are paid. The case is tied to the European Union’s $2.7 billion antitrust fine against Google for leveraging its dominance in search to disadvantage smaller rivals.
A Google spokesperson responded to the lawsuit, expressing disagreement and stating the company’s ‘Shopping remedy’ has been effective in supporting brands, retailers, and comparison sites across Europe. Meanwhile, broader efforts to curb Google’s dominance include a US Department of Justice recommendation for Google to divest its Chrome browser and abstain from re-entering the browser market for five years.
Venture funding in Europe may be headed for a flat year overall, but European AI startups are thriving, with AI companies receiving 25% of the region’s VC funding in 2024, totalling $13.7 billion. This marks a significant rise from 15% four years ago and has led to the creation of new unicorns like Poolside and Wayve. According to James Wise of Balderton Capital, breakthrough AI technology in Europe can now attract hundreds of millions, or even billions, of euros at the early stages, similar to the US.
The collective value of European AI companies has doubled in four years, reaching $508 billion, now making up nearly 15% of the region’s entire tech sector. While much of the funding still comes from outside Europe, especially the US, the local AI ecosystem is flourishing with a growing talent pool. In 2024, 349,000 people were employed by AI companies in Europe, a 168% increase since 2020, indicating a buoyant and increasingly productive sector.
Wise suggests that the rise of smaller, highly productive AI companies will be the future, with generative AI tools significantly boosting efficiency in various industries. This growing adoption of AI tools is likely to continue benefiting the European AI sector in the long run, even if the category becomes less distinct in the future.
Quantization, a technique widely used to improve AI efficiency, may have reached its limits, according to recent research. This method reduces the precision of data in AI models, making them faster and cheaper to operate. However, studies suggest that as models grow larger and are trained on vast datasets, quantization can degrade their performance.
Researchers from leading institutions found that highly trained models suffer more when quantised. For AI companies relying on massive models to enhance quality, this finding raises concerns about the long-term viability of cost-saving approaches. Quantization already impacts models like Meta’s Llama 3, which reportedly shows reduced performance compared to other AI systems.
Efforts to lower AI model costs continue as inference—using models to generate responses—remains the most significant expense for AI labs. Techniques like training in low precision and hardware supporting ultra-low bit precision are being explored. Yet, such strategies face diminishing returns and risks of quality loss if precision drops too far.
Experts believe a shift towards better data curation and filtering, alongside new architectures optimised for low-precision training, may offer solutions. These advancements could help balance efficiency and performance as AI evolves beyond traditional scaling methods.
Proton Intelligence, a Canadian startup, has raised $6.95 million in a seed round to develop a wearable device for continuous potassium monitoring. The device, which will be inserted just under the skin, will connect to a smartphone app, allowing patients to track potassium levels and receive alerts if they fall out of a safe range. The product, currently in clinical trials, is expected to launch in 2025.
The company’s solution aims to address the life-threatening challenges of potassium imbalances, which are particularly dangerous for those with chronic kidney disease or at risk of heart failure. Proton’s device also includes a clinician dashboard, enabling healthcare providers to monitor trends and adjust therapies.
Proton was co-founded by CEO Sahan Ranamukhaarachchi and CSO Victor Cadarso, who both have extensive backgrounds in wearable biosensors. Ranamukhaarachchi emphasised that the device could prevent hospitalisations and sudden cardiac deaths by offering continuous monitoring, a critical step in managing potassium levels.
The startup faces competition from other companies in the space, such as AliveCor, Alio, and Renalyse, but Proton claims its technology offers superior accuracy and usability. The seed funding round was led by SOSV, with additional support from We Venture Capital, Tenmile, LongeVC, and others.
