Demetris Skourides, the Chief Scientist, spoke at the Learning Innovation Summit 2024, stressing the significance of ethical AI development. He emphasised the EU AI Act’s role in establishing trustworthy AI systems that focus on ethics, transparency, and accountability. Skourides advocated for AI’s application in education, pointing out its ability to personalise learning, automate tasks, and enhance teaching environments.
He praised rapid AI advancements in Cyprus, with more than 50 companies leveraging the technology across key industries like healthcare and finance. Skourides highlighted the country’s commitment to upholding the EU AI Act, ensuring that AI systems meet the highest standards of accountability and ethics. The Chief Scientist also noted how Cyprus could generate new job opportunities through this AI revolution.
The potential for AI to transform education was a central theme. Skourides discussed the benefits of adaptive learning platforms, which can tailor lessons to individual students’ strengths, enabling each learner to reach their full potential. He urged educators to embrace AI, foreseeing a shift from rote memorisation to fostering creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration in the classroom.
Finally, Skourides called for a balanced approach to AI development. By equipping future generations with digital skills and ensuring that ethics remain central, AI’s power can be harnessed to drive both economic growth and innovation. He reaffirmed his commitment to advancing AI in education and collaborating with industry leaders to create an empowering learning environment.
Mercor, an AI-driven recruitment platform, has secured $30 million in a Series A funding round, bringing its valuation to $250 million. The round attracted high-profile investors, including tech figures Jack Dorsey, Peter Thiel, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Benchmark’s Victor Lazarte and Bill Gurley led the round.
The platform uses AI to help companies recruit talent from leading firms such as Apple, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia. With over 300,000 candidates now in its pool, Mercor is streamlining the hiring process for employers.
The company’s recent success reflects a growing trend of significant investments in AI startups. Earlier this month, Safe Superintelligence, co-founded by former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, raised $1 billion to advance its AI development efforts.
Paris-based startup Inbolt has raised €15 million in a Series A round led by Exor Ventures, with additional support from Bpifrance and industry entrepreneurs. The company specialises in real-time robot guidance systems powered by AI. With existing investors like MIG Capital and BNP Paribas involved, Inbolt’s total funding now stands at €20 million.
Inbolt’s 3D vision technology is designed to enhance production line efficiency, enabling robotic arms to function more accurately and at speeds 100 times faster than competitors. The company’s systems are already deployed in over 20 factories across Europe and the United States, with plans to expand into Japan and the US. Inbolt’s innovations are particularly useful for industries such as automotive and electronics.
Manufacturers face increasing pressure to automate their processes due to labour shortages and the need for improved working conditions. Inbolt’s GuideNOW solution helps meet these challenges with AI-powered 3D cameras that enable real-time robot adjustments in complex environments. Stellantis, one of Inbolt’s early clients, reportedly saved over €3.1 million in a single year using their technology.
In addition to international expansion, Inbolt will use the funding to develop new products and grow its team. With a surge in demand, the company aims to continue improving the flexibility of robotic systems for various industries.
Russian retailers have started pre-sales of Apple’s iPhone 16, despite the company’s export ban after Moscow invaded Ukraine. Leading stores M.Video-Eldorado and mobile operator MTS are the first to offer the new devices, with M.Video planning deliveries next week. However, Russian consumers face significantly higher prices, paying hundreds of dollars more than U.S. customers.
Despite Apple halting product sales and services like Apple Pay in Russia in 2022, the iPhone 16 is still available through parallel imports from countries that have not enforced sanctions, such as Turkey, Kazakhstan, and China. The Kremlin has endorsed this grey market system to keep foreign goods accessible. However, prices are much higher in Russia, with the 128GB iPhone 16 starting at 112,999 roubles ($1,225) and the 1TB iPhone 16 Pro Max priced at 249,999 roubles ($2,710), significantly more than U.S. prices.
Despite sanctions, Western technology remains highly sought after in Russia. However, the Russian government has urged officials to stop using iPhones, claiming they are compromised by Western intelligence agencies, a claim Apple denied.
Samsung has rolled out its One UI 6.1.1 update for the Galaxy Tab S8 series in South Korea. The update, initially available for Galaxy smartphones, introduces new Galaxy AI features and various improvements to One UI. The software upgrade applies to the Galaxy Tab S8, S8+, and S8 Ultra, with firmware versions X700XXU8CXHB, X800XXU8CXHB, and X900XXU8CXHB, respectively.
The update is significant, with a download size of over 2.8GB. The Galaxy AI features included in the upgrade were previously seen on the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6. Besides the AI enhancements, users will also experience improved Samsung stock apps and refined One UI functionality.
Samsung tablet users in South Korea can now install the update by heading to their device settings and manually downloading the software. For Galaxy Tab S8 series owners outside South Korea, the update is expected to roll out soon across various regions.
Chinese multinational technology company, Alibaba, has intensified its push into the generative AI space by releasing new open-source AI models and text-to-video technology. The Chinese tech giant’s latest models, part of its Qwen 2.5 family, range from 0.5 to 72 billion parameters, covering fields like mathematics, coding, and supporting over 29 languages.
This marks Alibaba’s shift towards a hybrid approach, combining both open-source and proprietary AI developments, as it competes with rivals such as Baidu and OpenAI, which favor closed-source models. The newly introduced text-to-video model, part of the Tongyi Wanxiang family, positions Alibaba as a key player in the rapidly growing AI-driven content creation market.
The company’s new AI offerings aim to serve a wide range of industries, from automotive and gaming to scientific research, solidifying its role in shaping the future of AI across various sectors.
European antitrust regulators will not take action against Microsoft’s acquisition of staff from AI startup Inflection, including its co-founders, following the withdrawal of requests from seven European Union countries. These countries dropped their requests for the European Commission to investigate, due to a recent court ruling that limits the regulator’s ability to examine mergers below the EU’s revenue threshold.
The court ruling has been viewed by some as a correction against regulatory overreach. The European Commission, in response, stated it would not pursue the case further. Despite this, the Commission acknowledged the Microsoft-Inflection deal as a merger due to its restructuring of Inflection’s business focus towards AI development.
The agreement between Microsoft and Inflection represents a significant market shift. Under the EU’s merger rules, it is considered a concentration, reflecting the ongoing transformations in the AI industry.
Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, is set to appoint a legal representative in Brazil as it fights a Supreme Court order. The platform faced suspension in August over concerns about hate speech, and despite a temporary workaround, remains under scrutiny.
Brazil’s Supreme Court recently ordered the platform to stop bypassing the block, threatening fines if X continues to circumvent the ruling. Lawyers for the platform have clarified that they are working to comply, including naming a local representative as required.
In a months-long legal dispute between Musk and Brazilian Justice Alexandre de Moraes, X’s offices in Brazil closed in mid-August. The company, however, says it is making efforts to restore full operations soon.
The firm has begun complying with content removal orders issued by courts in Brazil, addressing previous concerns over the spread of misinformation. X insists it is focused on resolving the legal issues and working with the government.
MicroStrategy has announced an increase in its convertible note offering to $875 million, intending to use the funds to pay off existing debt and acquire more Bitcoin. It marks another bold move by the company, which is known for its aggressive Bitcoin acquisition strategy.
The raised funds will help MicroStrategy redeem $500 million of its current senior secured notes due in 2028, with the remaining amount allocated for purchasing additional Bitcoin and general corporate purposes. The company’s total reserves now hold approximately 244,800 BTC, bought at an average price of around $38,585 per Bitcoin.
These convertible notes, set to mature in 2028, will be offered to qualified institutional investors, with holders given the option to convert them into cash, shares of MicroStrategy’s Class A stock, or a combination of both.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reached a settlement with decentralised finance platform Rari Capital and its founders following accusations of misleading investors and operating as unregistered brokers. The settlement addresses serious concerns raised by the SEC over the platform’s compliance with financial regulations.
Rari Capital, which once managed over $1 billion in crypto assets at its peak, was co-founded by Jai Bhavnani, Jack Lipstone, and David Lucid. The SEC highlighted that the platform and its founders failed to properly disclose key information to investors, contributing to potential risks for those involved.
The following case underscores regulatory bodies’ increasing scrutiny of decentralised finance platforms, as they aim to ensure transparency and protect investors in the fast-evolving crypto space.
