Indian Railways has deployed an AI powered Rail Robocop at Visakhapatnam Railway Station in India to strengthen passenger security. The system is designed to patrol platforms and monitor crowds in Visakhapatnam.
The robot, named ASC Arjun, uses facial recognition to compare live images with a database of known criminals in India. Officials said the system recently identified a suspect during routine surveillance in Visakhapatnam.
Once a match was detected, the AI system sent an instant alert to the Railway Protection Force CCTV control room in Visakhapatnam. Officers were able to respond quickly using the automated notification.
Authorities in India say the Rail Robocop will support human staff rather than replace them. Similar AI deployments are expected at other major railway stations in India following trials in Visakhapatnam.
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Zoom is repositioning hybrid offices as intelligent work environments through Zoom Spaces, its AI-first workplace platform for collaboration and space management that gives IT teams centralised oversight while providing employees with consistent tools for meetings, scheduling, and in-office coordination.
New agentic AI features extend Zoom Spaces beyond room booking into proactive workplace assistance. Workspace Reservation now recommends optimal meeting spaces during overlaps, while upcoming voice commands for Zoom Rooms will enable hands-free meeting control and task capture.
Zoom says intelligent offices reduce friction caused by inconsistent technology, double bookings, and disconnected tools. By unifying scheduling and collaboration experiences, the platform aims to streamline movement between remote and in-person work.
The company is also expanding its ecosystem, allowing organisations to run Zoom Meetings on Cisco Rooms and integrate professional production tools through partners such as Vizrt. The strategy focuses on flexibility while maintaining consistent user experiences.
Additional upgrades include premium media capabilities for high-frame-rate video and improved mobile Workspace Reservation features. Zoom says these enhancements position Zoom Spaces as a next-generation hybrid workplace platform built around adaptive AI collaboration.
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Artificial intelligence is transforming car design by generating rapid concept images and exploring new ideas in seconds. Designers can test colours, materials, and forms faster than with traditional sketches.
AI excels at designing components, creating mood boards, and supporting research, yet it struggles with originality. Industry leaders emphasise that developing entirely new models still requires human imagination and creativity.
Many manufacturers have developed internal AI systems trained on their own designs to protect intellectual property. These tools help designers experiment with combinations they might not have considered, offering fresh perspectives while keeping confidential data secure.
While AI is unlikely to replace human designers, it has become an essential tool for staying competitive. By combining computational speed with creative vision, design teams can enhance efficiency, inspire innovation, and explore ideas beyond traditional limits.
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Electronic Arts has entered a multi year partnership with Stability AI to develop generative AI tools for game creation. The collaboration will support franchises such as The Sims, Battlefield and Madden NFL.
The company said the partnership centres on customised AI models that give developers more control over creative processes. Electronic Arts invested in Stability AI during its latest funding round in October.
Executives at Electronic Arts said concerns about job losses are understandable across the gaming industry. The company views AI as a way to enhance specific tasks and create new roles rather than replace staff.
Stability AI said similar technologies have historically increased demand for skilled workers. Electronic Arts added that active involvement in AI development helps the industry adapt rather than react to disruption.
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In a collaboration between Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Hartree Centre, a new AI-based staff scheduling system has been developed to address the complex task of roster planning in one of Europe’s busiest children’s hospitals.
Clinicians traditionally spend substantial time creating rotas manually, juggling annual leave, absences, working patterns and on-call rules.
The AI system automatically generates balanced on-call schedules by incorporating real-world constraints such as staff skills, availability and patterns, producing fairer and more predictable rotas.
The interface allows clinicians to review and adjust schedules while maintaining human oversight, freeing up time previously spent on spreadsheets and administrative tasks, and potentially improving staff wellbeing and operational efficiency.
Future phases aim to expand the tool toward full workforce management, with the potential for NHS-wide scaling.
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Generative AI is increasingly affecting creative industries, raising concerns related to authorship, labour, and human oversight. Companies are under growing pressure to clarify how AI is used in creative production.
Many firms present generative AI as a tool to improve efficiency rather than replace human creativity. This reflects a cautious approach that prioritises human control and risk management.
Take-Two Interactive has confirmed that it is running hundreds of AI pilots focused on cost and time efficiencies. However, the company stresses that AI is used for operational support, not creative generation.
According to CEO Strauss Zelnick, generative AI played no role in the development of Grand Theft Auto VI. Rockstar Games’ worlds are described as fully handcrafted by human developers.
These statements come amid investor uncertainty triggered by recent generative AI experiments in gaming. Alongside this, ongoing labour disputes at Rockstar Games highlight broader governance challenges beyond technology.
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Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a generative AI model to guide scientists through the complex process of materials synthesis, a significant bottleneck in materials discovery.
DiffSyn uses diffusion-based AI to suggest multiple synthesis routes for a material, factoring in temperature, reaction time, and precursor ratios. Unlike earlier tools tied to single recipes, DiffSyn reflects the laboratory reality in which multiple pathways can produce the same material.
The system achieved state-of-the-art accuracy on zeolites, a challenging material class used in catalysis and chemical processing. Using DiffSyn’s recommendations, the team synthesised a new zeolite with improved thermal stability, confirming the model’s practical value.
The researchers believe the approach could be extended beyond zeolites to other complex materials, eventually integrating with automated experiments to shorten the path from theoretical design to real-world application dramatically.
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A cautious mood spread across global markets as US stocks declined and Bitcoin slid to its lowest level since late 2024. Technology and software shares led losses, pushing major indices to their weakest performance in two weeks.
Bitcoin fell sharply before stabilising, remaining well below its October peak despite continued pro-crypto messaging from Washington. Gold and silver moved higher during the session, reinforcing their appeal as defensive assets amid rising uncertainty.
Investor sentiment weakened after Anthropic unveiled new legal-focused features for its Claude chatbot, reviving fears of disruption across software and data-driven business models. Analysts at Morgan Stanley pointed to rotation within the technology sector, with investors reducing exposure to software stocks.
Geopolitical tensions intensified after reports of US military action involving Iran, pushing oil prices higher and increasing market volatility. Combined AI uncertainty, geopolitical risk, and shifting safe-haven flows continue to weigh on equities and digital assets alike.
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The European Commission has missed a key deadline to issue guidance on how companies should classify high-risk AI systems under the EU AI Act, fuelling uncertainty around the landmark law’s implementation.
Guidance on Article 6, which defines high-risk AI systems and stricter compliance rules, was due by early February. Officials have indicated that feedback is still being integrated, with a revised draft expected later this month and final adoption potentially slipping to spring.
The delay follows warnings that regulators and businesses are unprepared for the act’s most complex rules, due to apply from August. Brussels has suggested delaying high-risk obligations under its Digital Omnibus package, citing unfinished standards and the need for legal clarity.
Industry groups want enforcement delayed until guidance and standards are finalised, while some lawmakers warn repeated slippage could undermine confidence in the AI Act. Critics warn further changes could deepen uncertainty if proposed revisions fail or disrupt existing timelines.
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The European Commission plans to decide by early 2026 whether OpenAI’s ChatGPT should be classified as a vast online platform under the Digital Services Act.
OpenAI’s tool reported 120.4 million average monthly users in the EU back in October, a figure far above the 45-million threshold that triggers more onerous obligations instead of lighter oversight.
Officials said the designation procedure depends on both quantitative and qualitative assessments of how a service operates, together with input from national authorities.
The Commission is examining whether a standalone AI chatbot can fall within the scope of rules usually applied to platforms such as social networks, online marketplaces and significant search engines.
ChatGPT’s user data largely stems from its integrated online search feature, which prompts users to allow the chatbot to search the web. The Commission noted that OpenAI could voluntarily meet the DSA’s risk-reduction obligations while the formal assessment continues.
The EU’s latest wave of designations included Meta’s WhatsApp, though the rules applied only to public channels, not private messaging.
A decision on ChatGPT that will clarify how far the bloc intends to extend its most stringent online governance framework to emerging AI systems.
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