The UK government has formed a Women in Tech taskforce to help more women enter, remain and lead across the technology sector. Technology secretary Liz Kendall will guide the group alongside industry figures determined to narrow long-standing representation gaps highlighted by recent BCS data.
Members include Anne-Marie Imafidon, Allison Kirkby and Francesca Carlesi, who will advise ministers on boosting diversity and supporting economic growth. Leaders stress that better representation enables more inclusive decision-making and encourages technology built with wider perspectives in mind.
The taskforce plans to address barriers affecting women’s progression, ranging from career access to investment opportunities. Organisations such as techUK and the Royal Academy of Engineering argue that gender imbalance limits innovation, particularly as the UK pursues ambitious AI goals.
UK officials expect working groups to develop proposals over the coming months, focusing on practical steps that broaden the talent pool. Advocates say the initiative arrives at a crucial moment as emerging technologies reshape employment and demand more inclusive leadership.
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Taichung Municipal Hospital for Geriatric Rehabilitation and Comprehensive Care has introduced 20 AI-enabled Aibo robots to support medical staff, help mitigate labour shortages and improve patient services.
The Aibo robots, developed by China Medical University Hospital and EverBot Technology, can guide inpatients, offer basic health education, conduct telemedicine interactions via built-in cameras and respond quickly to questions, learning from each interaction to improve accuracy.
Each robot features autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance, and is integrated with hospital systems, allowing one AI server to manage up to 30 units simultaneously while protecting patient data with firewall security.
The hospital also uses other AI systems, such as an ambulance-linked platform for early heart-attack detection, while additional Taiwanese medical facilities are expanding robotic support for deliveries, patient interaction and surgical assistance.
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New Orleans has become the first US city to use real time facial recognition through a privately operated system. The technology flags wanted individuals as they pass cameras, with alerts sent directly to police despite ongoing disputes between city officials.
A local non profit runs the network independently and sets its own guard rails for police cooperation. Advocates claim the arrangement limits bureaucracy, while critics argue it bypasses vital public oversight and privacy protections.
Debate over facial recognition has intensified nationwide as communities question accuracy, fairness and civil liberties. New Orleans now represents a major test case for how such tools may develop without clear government regulation.
Officials remain divided over long term consequences while campaigners warn of creeping surveillance risks. Residents are likely to face years of uncertainty as policies evolve and private systems grow more influential.
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The US tech company, Oracle, has expanded Oracle Database@Google Cloud to India, making the service available through Google Cloud’s Mumbai region.
Enterprises can access Oracle Exadata, Autonomous AI Database and AI Lakehouse services while keeping data in the region to meet sovereignty and regulatory requirements.
The multicloud offering allows organisations to combine Oracle enterprise data with Google Cloud analytics and AI tools, including BigQuery, Vertex AI and Gemini models.
Customers can modernise applications and migrate mission-critical workloads without sacrificing performance, security or low-latency access.
Oracle Database@Google Cloud is available through the Google Cloud Marketplace, enabling customers to procure services via trusted partners instead of navigating complex contracting models.
Oracle and Google Cloud partners can also integrate the service into broader multicloud solutions.
The launch reflects growing demand for flexible multicloud architectures in India, supporting AI-driven innovation, advanced analytics and accelerated IT modernisation across regulated and data-intensive industries.
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NVIDIA has announced the acquisition of SchedMD, the developer of Slurm, a widely used open-source workload manager for high-performance computing and AI environments.
The company stated that Slurm will continue to be developed and distributed as open-source, vendor-neutral software, with support maintained across a broad range of hardware and software platforms used by the HPC and AI communities.
Slurm plays a central role in managing complex workloads on large computing clusters, handling job scheduling, queuing, and resource allocation. It is used by more than half of the top 10 and top 100 systems on the TOP500 supercomputer list, reflecting its widespread adoption and significant impact.
NVIDIA stated that the software is also critical infrastructure for generative AI, helping developers manage large-scale model training and inference. The company has collaborated with SchedMD for over a decade and plans to increase investment in Slurm’s ongoing development.
SchedMD said the deal will enable Slurm to evolve in tandem with accelerated computing demands while remaining open source. NVIDIA said it will continue to provide support, training, and development to existing customers across various use cases, including research, industry, and public sectors.
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Libraries Connected, supported by a £310,400 grant from the UK Government’s Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund administered by the Department for Science, Industry and Technology (DSIT), is launching Innovating in Trusted Spaces: Libraries Advancing the Digital Inclusion Action Plan.
The programme will run from November 2025 to March 2026 across 121 library branches in Newcastle, Northumberland, Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire, targeting older people, low-income families and individuals with disabilities to ensure they are not left behind amid rapid digital and AI-driven change.
Public libraries are already a leading provider of free internet access and basic digital skills support, offering tens of thousands of public computers and learning opportunities each year. However, only around 27 percent of UK adults currently feel confident in recognising AI-generated content online, underscoring the need for improved digital and media literacy.
The project will create and test a new digital inclusion guide for library staff, focusing on the benefits and risks of AI tools, misinformation and emerging technologies, as well as building a national network of practice for sharing insights.
Partners in the programme include Good Things Foundation and WSA Community, which will help co-design materials and evaluate the initiative’s impact to inform future digital inclusion efforts across communities.
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The UK government has announced plans to bring cryptoassets firmly within the regulatory perimeter, aiming to support innovation while strengthening consumer protection and attracting long-term investment into the sector.
From 2027, cryptoasset firms will be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under rules similar to those governing traditional financial products, such as stocks and shares. The move is intended to provide legal clarity and increase confidence among consumers and businesses.
Ministers say that proportionate regulation will support innovation, ensure competitive markets, and strengthen the UK’s position as a global hub for digital assets. Enhanced oversight will boost transparency, aid sanctions enforcement, and help detect and tackle illicit activity.
The initiative forms part of a broader strategy to shape global crypto standards, including ongoing cooperation with the United States through the Transatlantic Taskforce, as the UK seeks to secure its role in the future of digital finance.
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Musicians are raising the alarm over AI-generated tracks appearing on their profiles without consent, presenting fraudulent work as their own. British folk artist Emily Portman discovered an AI-generated album, Orca, on Spotify and Apple Music, which copied her folk style and lyrics.
Fans initially congratulated her on a release she had not made since 2022.
Australian musician Paul Bender reported a similar experience, with four ‘bizarrely bad’ AI tracks appearing under his band, The Sweet Enoughs. Both artists said that weak distributor security allows scammers to easily upload content, calling it ‘the easiest scam in the world.’
A petition launched by Bender garnered tens of thousands of signatures, urging platforms to strengthen their protections.
AI-generated music has become increasingly sophisticated, making it nearly impossible for listeners to distinguish from genuine tracks. While revenues from such fraudulent streams are low individually, bots and repeated listening can significantly increase payouts.
Industry representatives note that the primary motive is to collect royalties from unsuspecting users.
Despite the threat of impersonation, Portman is continuing her creative work, emphasising human collaboration and authentic artistry. Spotify and Apple Music have pledged to collaborate with distributors to enhance the detection and prevention of AI-generated fraud.
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Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, emphasised that all payments within Russia must be conducted in rubles, echoing the central bank’s long-standing stance against the use of cryptocurrencies in internal settlements.
At the same time, legislative proposals point to a more nuanced legal approach. A bill submitted by United Russia lawmaker Igor Antropenko seeks to recognise cryptocurrencies as marital property, classifying digital assets acquired during marriage as jointly owned in divorce proceedings.
The proposal reflects the growing adoption of cryptocurrency in Russia, where digital assets are increasingly used for investment and savings. It also aligns family law with broader regulatory shifts that permit the use of crypto in foreign trade under an experimental framework.
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Podcasts generated by AI are rapidly reshaping the audio industry, with automated shows flooding platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Advances in voice cloning and speech synthesis have enabled the production to large volumes of content at minimal cost, allowing AI hosts to compete directly with human creators in an already crowded market.
Some established podcasters are experimenting cautiously, using cloned voices for translation, post-production edits or emergency replacements. Others have embraced full automation, launching synthetic personalities designed to deliver commentary, biographies and niche updates at speed.
Studios, such as Los Angeles-based Inception Point AI, have scaled the model to scale, producing hundreds of thousands of episodes by targeting micro-audiences and trending searches instead of premium advertising slots.
The rapid expansion is fuelling concern across the industry, where trust and human connection remain central to listener loyalty.
Researchers and networks warn that large-scale automation risks devaluing premium content, while creators and audiences question how far AI voices can replace authenticity without undermining the medium itself.
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