Digital cooperation

Google teams with Accel to boost India’s AI ecosystem

Google has partnered with VC firm Accel to support early-stage AI start-ups in India, marking the first time its AI Futures Fund has collaborated directly on regional venture investment.

Through the newly created Atoms AI Cohort 2026, selected start-ups will receive up to US$2 million in funding, with Google and Accel each contributing up to US$1 million. Founders will also gain up to US$350,000 in compute credits, early access to models from Gemini and DeepMind, technical mentorship, and support for scaling globally.

The collaboration is designed to stimulate India’s AI ecosystem across a broad set of domains, including creativity, productivity, entertainment, coding, and enterprise automation. According to Accel, the focus will lie on building products tailored for local needs, with potential global reach.

This push reflects Google’s growing bet on India as a global hub for AI. For digital-policy watchers and global technology observers, this partnership raises essential questions.

Will increased investment accelerate India’s role as an AI-innovation centre? Could this shift influence tech geopolitics and data-governance norms in Asia? The move follows the company’s recently announced US$15 billion investment to build an AI data centre in Andhra Pradesh.

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Real-time guidance for visually impaired users

Researchers at Penn State have developed a smartphone application, NaviSense, that helps visually impaired users locate objects in real time using AI-powered audio and vibration cues.

The tool relies on vision-language and large-language models to identify objects without preloading 3D models.

Tests showed it reduced search time and increased detection accuracy, with users praising the directional feedback.

The development team continues to optimise the application’s battery use and AI efficiency in preparation for commercial release. Supported by the US National Science Foundation, NaviSense represents a significant step towards practical, user-centred accessibility technology.

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DXB introduces AI-powered system to speed up ground operations

Dubai Airports has entered into a partnership with aviation software company Assaia to deploy an AI-driven turnaround management system across all aircraft stands at DXB. The initiative is part of a broader push to modernise ground operations using real-time data and predictive analytics.

The new system gives the airport and its partners, including airlines like Emirates, flydubai and the ground-handling group dnata, better situational awareness.

By coordinating tasks such as baggage loading, refuelling, catering and passenger boarding, the AI tool aims to reduce delays and improve on-time performance across a network that handles hundreds of flights daily.

According to Dubai Airports, the system will bring greater precision and consistency to turnarounds. Majed Al Joker, Chief Operating Officer at Dubai Airports, said the initiative reflects the airport’s commitment to leveraging advanced technologies to ‘shape the next generation of airport operations’.

For aviation policymakers and infrastructure planners, this move at DXB underscores how AI is becoming central to capacity expansion, not only through the construction of new runways or terminals, but also by optimising the throughput of existing infrastructure.

As airports worldwide face capacity constraints, AI-driven ground operations may emerge as a key lever for efficiency, resilience and sustainability.

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Google warns Europe risks losing its AI advantage

European business leaders heard an urgent message in Brussels as Google underlined the scale of the continent’s AI opportunity and the risks of falling behind global competitors.

Debbie Weinstein, Google’s President for EMEA, argued that Europe holds immense potential for a new generation of innovative firms. Yet, too few companies can access the advanced technologies that already drive growth elsewhere.

Weinstein noted that only a small share of European businesses use AI, even though the region could unlock over a trillion euros in economic value within a decade.

She suggested that firms are hampered by limited access to cutting-edge models, rather than being supported with the most capable tools. She also warned that abrupt policy shifts and a crowded regulatory landscape make it harder for founders to experiment and expand.

Europe has the skills and talent to build strong AI-driven industries, but it needs more straightforward rules and a long-term approach to training.

Google pointed to its own investments in research centres, cybersecurity hubs and digital infrastructure across the continent, as well as programmes that have trained millions of Europeans in digital and entrepreneurial skills.

Weinstein insisted that a partnership between governments, industry and civil society is essential to prepare workers and businesses for the AI era.

She argued that providing better access to advanced AI, clearer legislation instead of regulatory overlap and sustained investment in skills would allow European firms to compete globally. With those foundations in place, she said Europe could secure its share of the emerging AI economy.

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Europe urged to accelerate AI adoption

European policymakers are being urged to accelerate the adoption of AI, as Christine Lagarde warns that Europe risks missing another major technological shift. Her message highlights that global AI investment is soaring, yet its economic impact remains limited, similar to that of earlier innovation waves.

Lagarde argues that AI could boost productivity faster than past technologies because the infrastructure already exists, and the systems can improve their own performance. Scientific progress powered by AI, such as the rapid prediction of protein structures, signals how R&D can scale far quicker than before.

Europe’s challenge, she notes, is not building frontier models but ensuring rapid deployment across industries. Strong uptake of generative AI by European firms is encouraging, but fragmented regulation, high energy costs and limited risk capital remain significant frictions.

Strategic resilience in chips, data centres and interoperable standards is also essential to avoid deeper dependence on non-European systems.

Greater cooperation in shared data spaces, such as Manufacturing-X and the European Health Data Space, could unlock competitive advantages. Lagarde emphasises that Europe must act swiftly, as delays would hinder adoption and erode industrial competitiveness.

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UN warns corporate power threatens human rights

UN human rights chief Volker Türk has highlighted growing challenges posed by powerful corporations and rapidly advancing technologies. At the 14th UN Forum, he warned that the misuse of generative AI could threaten human rights.

He called for robust rules, independent oversight, and safeguards to ensure innovation benefits society rather than exploiting it.

Vulnerable workers, including migrants, women, and those in informal sectors, remain at high risk of exploitation. Mr Türk criticised rollbacks of human rights obligations by some governments and condemned attacks on human rights defenders.

He also raised concerns over climate responsibility, noting that fossil fuel profits continue while the poorest communities face environmental harm and displacement.

Courts and lawmakers in countries such as Brazil, the UK, the US, Thailand, and Colombia are increasingly holding companies accountable for abuses linked to operations, supply chains, and environmental practices.

To support implementation, the UN has launched an OHCHR Helpdesk on Business and Human Rights, offering guidance to governments, companies, and civil society organisations.

Closing the forum, Mr Türk urged stronger global cooperation and broader backing for human rights systems. He proposed the creation of a Global Alliance for human rights, emphasising that human rights should guide decisions shaping the world’s future.

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White House launches Genesis Mission for AI-driven science

Washington prepares for a significant shift in research as the White House launches the Genesis Mission, a national push to accelerate innovation through advanced AI. The initiative utilises AI to enhance US US technological leadership in a competitive global landscape.

The programme puts the Department of Energy at the centre, tasked with building a unified AI platform linking supercomputers, federal datasets and national laboratories.

The goal is to develop AI models and agents that automate experiments, test hypotheses and accelerate breakthroughs in key scientific fields.

Federal agencies, universities and private firms will conduct coordinated research using shared data spaces, secure computing and standardised partnership frameworks. Priority areas cover biotechnology, semiconductors, quantum science, critical materials and next-generation energy.

Officials argue that the Genesis Mission represents one of the most ambitious attempts to modernise US research infrastructure. Annual reviews will track scientific progress, security, collaborations and AI-driven breakthroughs.

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How to tell if your favourite new artist is AI-generated

A recent BBC report examines how listeners can determine whether AI-generated music AI actually from an artist or a song they love. With AI-generated music rising sharply on streaming platforms, specialists say fans may increasingly struggle to distinguish human artists from synthetic ones.

One early indicator is the absence of a tangible presence in the real world. The Velvet Sundown, a band that went viral last summer, had no live performances, few social media traces and unusually polished images, leading many to suspect they were AI-made.

They later described themselves as a synthetic project guided by humans but built with AI tools, leaving some fans feeling misled.

Experts interviewed by the BBC note that AI music often feels formulaic. Melodies may lack emotional tension or storytelling. Vocals can seem breathless or overly smooth, with slurred consonants or strange harmonies appearing in the background.

Lyrics tend to follow strict grammatical rules, unlike the ambiguous or poetic phrasing found in memorable human writing. Productivity can also be a giveaway: releasing several near-identical albums at once is a pattern seen in AI-generated acts.

Musicians such as Imogen Heap are experimenting with AI in clearer ways. Heap has built an AI voice model, ai.Mogen, who appears as a credited collaborator on her recent work. She argues that transparency is essential and compares metadata for AI usage to ingredients on food labels.

Industry shifts are underway: Deezer now tags some AI-generated tracks, and Spotify plans a metadata system that lets artists declare how AI contributed to a song.

The debate ultimately turns on whether listeners deserve complete transparency. If a track resonates emotionally, the origins may not matter. Many artists who protest against AI training on their music believe that fans deserve to make informed choices as synthetic music becomes more prevalent.

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NVIDIA powers a new wave of specialised AI agents to transform business

Agentic AI has entered a new phase as companies rely on specialised systems instead of broad, one-size-fits-all models.

Open-source foundations, such as NVIDIA’s Neuron family, now allow organisations to combine internal knowledge with tailored architectures, leading to agents that understand the precise demands of each workflow.

Firms across cybersecurity, payments and semiconductor engineering are beginning to treat specialisation as the route to genuine operational value.

CrowdStrike is utilising Nemotron and NVIDIA NIM microservices to enhance its Agentic Security Platform, which supports teams by handling high-volume tasks such as alert triage and remediation.

Accuracy has risen from 80 to 98.5 percent, reducing manual effort tenfold and helping analysts manage complex threats with greater speed.

PayPal has taken a similar path by building commerce-focused agents that enable conversational shopping and payments, cutting latency nearly in half while maintaining the precision required across its global network of customers and merchants.

Synopsys is deploying agentic AI throughout chip design workflows by pairing open models with NVIDIA’s accelerated infrastructure. Early trials in formal verification show productivity improvements of 72 percent, offering engineers a faster route to identifying design errors.

The company is blending fine-tuned models with tools such as the NeMo Agent Toolkit and Blueprints to embed agentic support at every stage of development.

Across industries, strategic steps are becoming clear. Organisations begin by evaluating open models before curating and securing domain-specific data and then building agents capable of acting on proprietary information.

Continuous refinement through a data flywheel strengthens long-term performance.

NVIDIA aims to support the shift by promoting Nemotron, NeMo and its broader software ecosystem as the foundation for the next generation of specialised enterprise agents.

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ChatGPT for Teachers launched as OpenAI expands educator tools

OpenAI has launched ChatGPT for Teachers, offering US US educators a secure workspace to plan lessons and utilise AI safely. The service is free for verified K–12 staff until June 2027. OpenAI states that its goal is to support classroom tasks without introducing data risks.

Educators can tailor responses by specifying grades, curriculum needs, and preferred formats. Content shared in the workspace is not used to train models by default. The platform includes GPT-5.1 Auto, search, file uploads, and image tools.

The system integrates with widely used school software, including Google Drive, Microsoft 365, and Canva. Teachers can import documents, design presentations, and organise materials in one place. Shared prompt libraries offer examples from other educators.

Collaboration features enable co-planned lessons, shared templates, and school-specific GPTs. OpenAI says these tools aim to reduce administrative workloads. Schools can create collective workspaces to coordinate teaching resources more easily.

The service remains free through June 2027, with pricing updates to follow later. OpenAI plans to keep costs accessible for schools. Educators can begin using the platform by verifying their status through SheerID.

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