In Houston, more than 200 students from across the US gathered to discuss the future of AI in schools. The event, organised by the Close Up Foundation and Stanford University’s Deliberative Democracy Lab, brought together participants from 39 schools in 19 states.
Students debated whether AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini support or undermine learning. Many argued that schools are introducing powerful systems before pupils develop core critical thinking skills.
Participants did not call for a total ban or full embrace of AI. Instead, they urged schools to delay exposure for younger pupils and introduce clearer classroom policies that distinguish between support and substitution.
After returning to Honolulu, a student from ʻIolani School said Hawaiʻi schools should involve students directly in AI policy decisions. In Honolulu and beyond, he argued that structured dialogue can help schools balance innovation with cognitive development.
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The launch strengthens the company’s position in AI infrastructure hardware as demand for accelerated computing intensifies.
Built on sixth-generation 10nm-class DRAM and a 4nm logic base die, HBM4 delivers transfer speeds of 11.7Gbps, with performance scalable to 13Gbps. Bandwidth per stack has surged, reducing data bottlenecks as AI models and processing demands grow.
Engineering upgrades extend beyond raw speed. Enhanced stacking architecture, low-power design integration, and thermal optimisation have improved energy efficiency and heat dissipation, supporting large-scale data centre deployments and sustained GPU workloads.
Production scale-up is already in motion, backed by expanded manufacturing capacity and industry partnerships. Samsung expects HBM revenue growth to accelerate into 2026, with next-generation variants and custom configurations scheduled for future release cycles.
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Cryptocurrency flows linked to suspected human trafficking services surged sharply in 2025, with transaction volumes rising 85% year-on-year, according to new blockchain analysis.
Investigators say the financial activity reflects the rapid expansion of digitally enabled exploitation networks operating across borders.
Growth is linked to Southeast Asia-based illicit networks, including scam compounds, gambling platforms, and laundering groups operating via encrypted messaging channels.
Analysts identified multiple trafficking service categories, each with distinct transaction structures and payment preferences.
Stablecoins became the dominant payment method, especially for escort networks, thanks to their price stability and ease of conversion. Larger transfers and structured pricing models indicate increasingly professionalised operations supported by organised financial infrastructure.
Despite the scale of the activity, blockchain transparency continues to provide enforcement advantages. Transaction tracing has aided investigations, shutdowns, and arrests, strengthening digital forensics in combating trafficking-linked financial crime.
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European Union officials are weighing a sweeping prohibition on cryptocurrency transactions involving Russia, signalling a more rigid sanctions posture against alternative financial networks.
Policymakers argue that the rapid emergence of replacement crypto service providers has undermined existing restrictions.
Internal European Commission discussions indicate concern that digital assets are facilitating trade flows supporting Russia’s war economy. Authorities say platform-specific sanctions are ineffective, as new entities quickly replicate restricted services.
Proposals under review extend beyond private crypto platforms. Measures could include sanctions on additional Russian banks, restrictions linked to the digital ruble, and scrutiny of payments infrastructure tied to sanctioned trade channels.
The consensus remains uncertain, with some states warning that a blanket ban could shift activity to non-European markets. Parallel trade controls targeting dual-use exports to Kyrgyzstan are also being considered as part of broader anti-circumvention efforts.
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OpenAI has begun rolling out advertising inside ChatGPT, marking a shift for a service that has largely operated without traditional ads since its launch in 2022.
OpenAI said it is testing ads for logged-in Free and Go users in the United States, while paid tiers remain ad-free. The company said the test aims to fund broader access to advanced AI tools.
Ads appear outside ChatGPT responses and are clearly labelled as sponsored content, with no influence on answers. Placement is based on broad topics, with restrictions around sensitive areas such as health or politics.
Free users can opt out of ads by upgrading to a paid plan or by accepting fewer daily free messages in exchange for an ad-free experience. Users who allow ads can also opt out of ad personalisation, prevent past chats from being used for ad selection, and delete all ad-related history and data.
The rollout follows months of speculation after screenshots suggested that ads appeared in ChatGPT responses, which OpenAI described as suggestions. Rivals, including Anthropic, have contrasted their approach, promoting Claude as free from in-chat advertising.
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Placenta accreta spectrum arises when the placenta attaches abnormally to the uterine wall, often after previous surgical procedures such as caesarean delivery.
The condition can trigger severe haemorrhage, organ failure, and death, yet many pregnancies with elevated risk receive inconclusive or incorrect assessments through standard ultrasound examinations.
A study that involved a retrospective review by specialists at the Baylor College of Medicine, who analysed 2D obstetric ultrasound images from 113 high-risk pregnancies managed at the Texas Children’s Hospital between 2018 and 2025.
The AI system detected every confirmed case of placenta accreta spectrum, produced two false positives, and generated no false negatives.
Researchers believe such technology could significantly improve early identification and clinical preparation.
They argue that AI screening, when used in addition to current methods, may reduce maternal complications and support safer outcomes for patients facing this increasingly common condition.
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Brazil has ordered X to immediately stop its chatbot Grok from generating sexually explicit images, escalating international pressure on the platform over the misuse of generative AI tools.
The order, issued on 11 February by Brazil’s National Data Protection Agency and National Consumer Rights Bureau, requires X to prevent the creation of sexualised content involving children, adolescents, or non-consenting adults. Authorities gave the company five days to comply or face legal action and fines.
Officials in Brazil said X claimed to have removed thousands of posts and suspended hundreds of accounts after a January warning. However, follow-up checks found Grok users were still able to generate sexualised deepfakes. Regulators criticised the platform for a lack of transparency in its response.
The move follows growing scrutiny after Indonesia blocked Grok in January, while the UK and France signalled continued pressure. Concerns increased after Grok’s ‘spicy mode’ enabled users to generate explicit images using simple prompts.
According to the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, Grok generated millions of sexualised images within days. X and its parent company, xAI, announced measures in mid-January to restrict such outputs in certain jurisdictions, but regulators said it remains unclear where those safeguards apply.
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OpenAI said its new Codex Mac app has surpassed one million downloads just over a week after launch, with overall Codex usage rising by 60% following the release of GPT-5.3-Codex.
The strong uptake has prompted OpenAI to extend free access to Codex for Free and Go users beyond the initial launch promotion. Sam Altman said usage limits for lower tiers may be tightened, but access would remain available so more users can experiment and build.
Separately, OpenAI released a YouTube video showcasing a redesigned Deep Research interface, introducing a full-screen report viewer that opens research outputs in a separate window from the chat interface.
The updated layout includes a table of contents for navigation, hyperlinks, and anchor tags within reports, and a dedicated source panel for verification. Users can also download reports as PDF or Word files, while new controls allow research scopes and sources to be adjusted during generation.
The Deep Research updates are available to Plus and Pro users, with broader access expected soon. OpenAI also confirmed the changes in ChatGPT release notes on 10 February and announced a more minor GPT-5.2 update focused on more measured responses.
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Meta has launched an AI feature called Dear Algo that allows Threads users to personalise their content-recommendation algorithms by communicating their preferences directly to the platform.
Users craft public posts beginning with ‘Dear Algo’ to explain desired content, similar to interactions with chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Once shared, the request adjusts the user’s feed for three days, allowing them to stay connected to current conversations.
Users can also repost others’ Dear Algo requests to apply those content preferences to their own feeds.
The feature represents Meta’s continued integration of AI across its platforms. The company on Tuesday also released AI features for Facebook that let users animate profile photos and alter images with the Meta AI digital assistant.
Meta told investors last month it plans to spend between $115 billion and $135 billion in 2026 on AI-related capital expenditures, nearly double last year’s spending.
Meta is testing Dear Algo with users in the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand before expanding to additional countries. Threads, Meta’s micro-blogging platform launched in July 2023, has 400 million monthly active users and began rolling out advertisements globally last month.
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AI is shifting from answering questions to autonomously accomplishing tasks, a transformation AWS CEO Matt Garman believes will unlock far greater enterprise value.
Speaking at AWS re:Invent 2025, Garman explained that AI inference- the computing capability that allows models to generate content, make predictions, and take actions against real-world data-represents a fundamental new building block in computing.
He described it as developers gaining access to a ‘new Lego’ that enables applications to make decisions and complete work independently. The distinction between content generation and task accomplishment carries significant implications for enterprise value.
First-wave generative AI focused on writing emails and summarising documents. Task-accomplishing agents can review insurance claims, cross-reference medical records, and process approved claims without human intervention.
Garman predicts widespread enterprise value creation from agents in 2026. AWS announced Amazon Bedrock AgentCore and three frontier agents at re:Invent 2025, providing organisations with infrastructure to deploy autonomous AI agents at scale.
For business leaders, investments in agents that automate end-to-end workflows will deliver exponentially more return on investment than tools that help employees work faster.
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