TikTok says recovery of its US infrastructure is progressing, although technical issues continue to affect parts of the platform after a data centre power outage.
The disruption followed the launch of a new US-based entity backed by American investors, a move aimed at avoiding a nationwide ban.
Users across the country reported problems with searches, video playback, posting content, loading comments and unexpected behaviour in the For You algorithm. TikTok said the outage also affected other apps and warned that slower load times and timeouts may persist, rather than returning to normal performance.
In a statement posted by the TikTok USDS Joint Venture, the company said collaboration with its US data centre partner has restored much of the infrastructure, but posting new content may still trigger errors.
We've made significant progress in recovering our U.S. infrastructure with our U.S. data center partner. However, the U.S. user experience may still have some technical issues, including when posting new content. We're committed to bringing TikTok back to its full capacity as…
Creators may also see missing views, likes, or earnings due to server timeouts rather than actual data loss.
TikTok has not named the data centre partner involved, while severe winter storms across the US may have contributed to the outage. Despite growing scepticism around the timing of the disruption, the company insists that user data and engagement remain secure.
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Cryptocurrency payments are entering mainstream US commerce as rising customer demand drives more merchants to accept digital assets at checkout.
New research from the National Cryptocurrency Association and PayPal shows that 39% of merchants already accept crypto, while 84% expect it to become a standard payment method within five years.
Customer demand is driving adoption, with 88% of merchants receiving crypto payment enquiries and 69% reporting monthly interest from customers.
Many businesses view crypto as a tool for expansion, with 79% believing it can help attract new customers, while those already accepting crypto report rising transaction volumes and stronger engagement.
Large enterprises lead adoption, with half of firms earning over $500 million accepting crypto, compared with about one-third of smaller businesses. Among adopters, crypto accounts for 26% of sales, while 72% report annual growth, underscoring its shift toward a practical payment method.
Younger consumers are driving much of the momentum, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, while sectors such as hospitality, travel, digital goods, gaming, and e-commerce are seeing the fastest uptake.
Despite strong interest, simplicity remains a key barrier, as 90% of merchants say they would adopt crypto if setup and usage matched the ease of traditional card payments.
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India is emerging as a potential test case for age-based social media restrictions as several states examine Australia-style bans on children’s access to platforms.
Goa and Andhra Pradesh are studying whether to prohibit social media use for those under 16, citing growing concerns over online safety and youth well-being. The debate has also reached the judiciary, with the Madras High Court urging the federal government to consider similar measures.
The proposals carry major implications for global technology companies, given that India’s internet population exceeds one billion users and continues to skew young.
Platforms such as Meta, Google and X rely heavily on India for long-term growth, advertising revenue and user expansion. Industry voices argue parental oversight is more effective than government bans, warning that restrictions could push minors towards unregulated digital spaces.
Australia’s under-16 ban, which entered force in late 2025, has already exposed enforcement difficulties, particularly around age verification and privacy risks. Determining users’ ages accurately remains challenging, while digital identity systems raise concerns about data security and surveillance.
Legal experts note that internet governance falls under India’s federal authority, limiting what individual states can enforce without central approval.
Although the data protection law of India includes safeguards for children, full implementation will extend through 2027, leaving policymakers to balance child protection, platform accountability and unintended consequences.
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Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei has issued a stark warning that superhuman AI could inflict civilisation-level damage unless governments and industry act far more quickly and seriously.
In a forthcoming essay, Amodei argues humanity is approaching a critical transition that will test whether political, social and technological systems are mature enough to handle unprecedented power.
Amodei believes AI systems will soon outperform humans across nearly every field, describing a future ‘country of geniuses in a data centre’ capable of autonomous and continuous creation.
He warns that such systems could rival nation-states in influence, accelerating economic disruption while placing extraordinary power in the hands of a small number of actors.
Among the gravest dangers, Amodei highlights mass displacement of white-collar jobs, rising biological security risks and the empowerment of authoritarian governments through advanced surveillance and control.
He also cautions that AI companies themselves pose systemic risks due to their control over frontier models, infrastructure and user attention at a global scale.
Despite the severity of his concerns, Amodei maintains cautious optimism, arguing that meaningful governance, transparency and public engagement could still steer AI development towards beneficial outcomes.
Without urgent action, however, he warns that financial incentives and political complacency may override restraint during the most consequential technological shift humanity has faced.
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Audi is expanding the use of AI in production and logistics by replacing local factory computers with a central cloud platform. The Edge Cloud 4 Production enables flexible, networked automation while reducing hardware needs, maintenance costs, and improving IT security.
AI applications are being deployed to improve efficiency, quality, and employee support. AI-controlled robots are taking over physically demanding tasks, cloud-based systems provide real-time worker guidance, and vision-based solutions detect defects and anomalies early in the production process.
Data-driven platforms such as the P-Data Engine and ProcessGuardAIn allow Audi to monitor manufacturing processes in real time using machine and sensor data. These tools support early fault detection, reduce follow-up costs, and form the basis for predictive maintenance and scalable quality assurance across plants.
Audi is also extending automation to complex production areas that have traditionally relied on manual work, including wiring loom manufacturing and installation. In parallel, the company is working with technology firms and research institutions such as IPAI Heilbronn to accelerate innovation, scale AI solutions, and ensure the responsible use of AI across its global production network.
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A group of YouTubers has filed a copyright lawsuit against Snap in the US, alleging their videos were used to train AI systems without permission. The case was lodged in a federal court in California and targets AI features used within Snapchat.
The creators claim that Snap relied on large-scale video-language datasets intended initially for academic research. According to the filing in California, access to the material required bypassing YouTube safeguards and license restrictions on commercial use.
The lawsuit in the US seeks statutory damages and a permanent injunction to block further use of the content. The case is led by creators behind the h3h3 channel, alongside two smaller US-based golf channels.
The action adds Snap to a growing list of tech companies facing similar claims in the US. Courts in California and elsewhere continue to weigh how copyright law applies to AI training practices.
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Researchers at the University of Zurich have received a Postdoc Team Award for SpiritRAG, an AI system designed to analyse religion and spirituality in United Nations documents. The interdisciplinary project brings together expertise from Zurich across computer science, linguistics, education and spiritual care.
SpiritRAG connects large language models with more than 7,500 UN texts, allowing users in Zurich and beyond to ask context sensitive questions grounded in original sources. The system addresses challenges where meaning varies across cultures, history and political settings.
The Zurich based team presented SpiritRAG at EMNLP 2025 in Suzhou, China, and later at the AI+X Summit in Zurich. Interest from organisations outside Zurich highlights demand for transparent AI tools supporting research and policy analysis.
Designed as open source infrastructure, SpiritRAG allows deployment with different datasets while using limited resources. Researchers in Zurich say the approach supports responsible AI use in complex domains where accuracy and context remain critical.
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Data Privacy Week has returned at a time when personal information is increasingly collected by default rather than through breaches. Campaigns urge awareness, yet privacy is being reshaped by lawful, large-scale data gathering driven by corporate and government systems.
In the US, companies now collect, retain and combine data with AI tools under legal authority, often without meaningful consent. Platforms such as TikTok illustrate how vast datasets are harvested regardless of ownership, shifting debates towards who controls data rather than how much is taken.
US policy responses have focused on national security rather than limiting surveillance itself. Pressure on TikTok to separate from Chinese ownership left data collection intact, while border authorities in the US are seeking broader access to travellers’ digital and biometric information.
Across the US technology sector, privacy increasingly centres on agency rather than secrecy. Data Privacy Week highlights growing concern that once information is gathered, control is lost, leaving accountability lagging behind capability.
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UK authorities have unveiled a major policing reform programme that places AI and facial recognition at the centre of future law enforcement strategy. The plans include expanding the use of Live Facial Recognition and creating a national hub to scale AI tools across police forces.
The Home Office will fund 40 new facial recognition vans for town centres across England and Wales, significantly increasing real-time biometric surveillance capacity. Officials say the rollout responds to crime that increasingly involves digital activity.
The UK government will also invest £115 million over three years into a National Centre for AI in Policing, known as Police.AI. The centre will focus on speeding investigations, reducing paperwork and improving crime detection.
New governance measures will regulate police use of facial recognition and introduce a public register of deployed AI systems. National data standards aim to strengthen accountability and coordination across forces.
Structural reforms include creating a National Police Service to tackle serious crime and terrorism. Predictive analytics, deepfake detection and digital forensics will play a larger operational role.
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Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University created a virtual company staffed solely by AI ’employees’ trained on large language models from vendors including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google, assigning them roles such as financial analyst and software engineer.
In this simulated work environment, the AI agents struggled to complete most tasks, with even the best-performing model only completing about a quarter of its assignments.
The experiment highlighted key weaknesses in current AI systems, including difficulty interpreting nuanced instructions, managing web navigation with pop-ups, and coordinating multi-step workflows without human intervention.
These gaps suggest that human judgement, adaptability and collaboration remain essential in real workplaces for the foreseeable future.
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