Medical professionals, ethicists and theologians gathered in the Vatican this week to discuss the ethical use of AI in healthcare. The conference, organised by the Pontifical Academy for Life and the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, highlighted the growing role of AI in diagnostics and treatment.
Speakers warned against reducing patient care to data alone, stressing that human interaction and personalised treatment remain central to medicine. Experts highlighted the need for transparency, non-discrimination and ethical oversight when implementing AI, noting that technology should enhance rather than replace human judgement.
The event also explored global experiences from regions including India, Latin America and Europe, with participants emphasising the role of citizens in shaping AI’s direction in medicine. Organisers called for ongoing dialogue between healthcare professionals, faith communities and technology leaders to ensure AI benefits patients while safeguarding human dignity.
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Hyundai Motor Group has unveiled a record 85.8 billion dollar investment plan that will reshape South Korea’s industrial landscape over the next five years.
The company intends to channel a large share of the funds into fields such as AI, robotics, electrification, software-defined vehicles, and hydrogen technologies.
Hyundai presents the roadmap as evidence of an agile response to a global environment in which export strength and technological leadership matter more than ever.
A major part of the strategy centres on turning innovation into export gains. The group expects the investment to raise overseas shipments of South Korea-made vehicles by more than thirteen percent by 2030.
A plan that emerges shortly after Seoul concluded a new trade agreement with Washington that lowers tariffs on South Korean vehicles to fifteen percent instead of the previous twenty-five percent. The rate remains much higher than the earlier 2.5 percent applied before the renegotiation.
Hyundai’s announcement mirrors a wider industrial push across the country. Samsung Group recently committed 310 billion dollars for a similar period, largely focused on AI development.
Both companies aim to reinforce the nation’s position in advanced technologies and secure long-term competitiveness at a time when global supply chains and industrial alliances are rapidly shifting.
Hyundai, together with Kia, sold more than 7.2 million vehicles globally last year.
The company views its new investment programme as a foundation for future export growth and a signal that South Korea plans to anchor its economic future in next-generation technologies instead of relying on past models of industrial expansion.
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India has activated the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 after extended delays. Final regulations notified in November operationalise a long-awaited national privacy framework. The Act, passed in August 2023, now gains a fully operational compliance structure.
Implementation of the rules is staggered so organisations can adjust governance, systems and contracts. Some provisions, including the creation of a Data Protection Board, take effect immediately. Obligations on consent notices, breach reporting and children’s data begin after 12 or 18 months.
India introduces regulated consent managers acting as a single interface between users and data fiduciaries. Managers must register with the Board and follow strict operational standards. Parents will use digital locker-based verification when authorising the processing of children’s information online.
Global technology, finance and health providers now face major upgrades to internal privacy programmes. Lawyers expect major work mapping data flows, refining consent journeys and tightening security practices.
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IBM has introduced two new quantum processors, named ‘Nighthawk’ and ‘Loon’, aimed at major leaps in quantum computing. The Nighthawk chip features 120 qubits and 218 tunable couplers, enabling circuits with approximately 30% greater complexity than previous models.
The Loon processor is designed as a testbed for fault-tolerant quantum computing, implementing key hardware components, including six-way qubit connectivity and long-range couplers. These advances mark a strategic shift by IBM to scale quantum systems beyond experimental prototypes.
IBM has also upgraded its fabrication process by shifting to 300 mm wafers at its Albany NanoTech facility, which has doubled development speed and boosted physical chip complexity tenfold.
Looking ahead, IBM projects the initial delivery of Nighthawk by the end of 2025 and aims to achieve verified quantum advantage by the end of 2026, with fully fault-tolerant quantum systems targeted by 2029.
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Google will pour 40 billion dollars into Texas by 2027, expanding digital infrastructure. Funding focuses on new cloud and AI facilities alongside existing campuses in Midlothian and Dallas.
Three new US data centres are planned, one in Armstrong County and two in Haskell County. One Haskell site will sit beside a solar plant and battery storage facility. Investment is accompanied by agreements for more than 6,200 megawatts of additional power generation.
Google will create a 30 million dollar Energy Impact Fund supporting Texan energy efficiency and affordability projects. The company backs training for existing electricians and over 1,700 apprentices through electrical training programmes.
Spending strengthens Texas as a major hub for data centres and AI development. Google says expanded infrastructure and workforce will help maintain US leadership in advanced computing technologies. Company highlights its 15 year presence in Texas and pledges ongoing community support.
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A rights-centred AI blueprint highlights the growing use of AI in analysing citizen submissions during public participation, promising efficiency but raising questions about fairness, transparency and human rights. Experts caution that poorly designed AI could silence minority voices, deepen inequalities and weaken trust in democratic decision-making.
The European Centre for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL) provides detailed guidance for governments, civil society organisations and technology developers on how to implement AI responsibly. Recommendations include conducting human rights impact assessments, involving marginalised communities from the design stage, testing AI accuracy across demographics, and ensuring meaningful human oversight at every stage.
Transparency and accountability are key pillars of the framework, providing guidance on publishing assessments, documenting AI decision-making processes, and mitigating bias. Experts stress that efficiency gains should never come at the expense of inclusiveness, and that AI tools must be monitored and updated continually to reflect community feedback and rights considerations.
The blueprint also emphasises collaboration and sustainability, urging multistakeholder governance, civil society co-design, and ongoing training for public servants and developers. By prioritising rights, transparency and community engagement, AI in public participation can enhance citizen voices rather than undermining them, but only if implemented deliberately and inclusively.
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OpenAI chief Sam Altman has praised Future House’s new AI Scientist, Kosmos, calling it an exciting step toward automated discovery. The platform upgrades the earlier Robin system and is now operated by Edison Scientific, which plans a commercial tier alongside free access for academics.
Kosmos addresses a key limitation in traditional models: the inability to track long reasoning chains while processing scientific literature at scale. It uses structured world models to stay focused on a single research goal across tens of millions of tokens and hundreds of agent runs.
This is exciting; I expect we are going to see a lot more things like this and it will be one of the most important impacts of AI. Congrats to the Future House team.https://t.co/Cxeh8UlWdk
A single Kosmos run can analyse around 1,500 papers and more than 40,000 lines of code, with early users estimating that this replaces roughly six months of human work. Internal tests found that almost 80 per cent of its conclusions were correct.
Future House reported seven discoveries made during testing, including three that matched known results and four new hypotheses spanning genetics, ageing, and disease. Edison says several are now being validated in wet lab studies, reinforcing the system’s scientific utility.
Kosmos emphasises traceability, linking every conclusion to specific code or source passages to avoid black-box outputs. It is priced at $200 per run, with early pricing guarantees and free credits for academics, though multiple runs may still be required for complex questions.
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The European Commission has presented a plan to strengthen cooperation among the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the European Anti-Fraud Office, and member states as part of a broader effort to combat VAT fraud.
The proposal establishes a legal framework for the sharing of information. It grants the EU bodies immediate access to VAT data, which is expected to enhance the detection of cross-border tax evasion schemes.
Real-time reporting of cross-border trade, delivered through the VAT in the Digital Age package, provides national authorities with the information needed to identify suspicious activity, rather than relying on delayed or incomplete records.
Carousel fraud alone costs EU taxpayers billions each year and remains a significant element of the broader VAT compliance gap, which stood at over €89 billion in 2022.
The Commission argues that faster access to VAT information will help investigators uncover fraudulent networks, halt their activities and pursue prosecutions more effectively.
EPPO, OLAF and the Eurofisc network would gain direct communication channels, enabling closer coordination and rapid intelligence sharing throughout the Union.
A proposal that will now move to the Council for agreement and to the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee for consultation.
Once adopted and published, the changes will take effect and initiate the implementation phase across the EU.
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eBay is deepening its investment in AI as part of a multi-year effort to revive the platform after years of stagnant growth.
The company, which saw renewed momentum during the pandemic, has launched five new AI features this year, including AI-generated shipping estimates, an AI shopping agent and a partnership with OpenAI.
Chief executive Jamie Iannone argues that eBay’s long history gives it an advantage in the AI era, citing decades of product listings, buyer behaviour data and more than two billion active listings. That data underpins tools such as the ‘magical listing’ feature, which automatically produces item descriptions from photos, and an AI assistant that answers buyer questions based on a listing’s details.
These tools are also aimed at unlocking supply: eBay says the average US household holds thousands of dollars’ worth of unused goods.
Analysts note that helping casual sellers overcome the friction of listing and photographing items could lift the company’s gross merchandise volume, which grew 10 percent in the most recent quarter.
AI is also reshaping the buyer experience. Around 70 percent of eBay transactions come from enthusiasts who already know how to navigate the platform. The new ‘eBay.ai’ tool is designed to help less experienced users by recommending products based on natural-language descriptions.
Despite this push, the platform still faces intense competition from Amazon, Google, Shein and emerging AI-shopping agents. Iannone has hinted that eBay may integrate with external systems such as OpenAI’s instant-checkout tools to broaden discovery beyond the platform.
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Some experts now say neurotechnology could be as revolutionary as AI, as devices advance rapidly from sci-fi tropes into practical reality. Researchers can already translate thoughts into words through brain implants, and spinal implants are helping people with paralysis regain movement.
King’s College London neuroscientist Anne Vanhoestenberghe told AFP, ‘People do not realise how much we’re already living in science fiction.’
Her lab works on implants for both brain and spinal systems, not just restoring function, but reimagining communication.
At the same time, the technology carries profound ethical risks. There is growing unease about privacy, data ownership and the potential misuse of neural data.
Some even warn that our ‘innermost thoughts are under threat.’ Institutions like UNESCO are already moving to establish global neurotech governance frameworks.
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