Future of work

AMD powers US AI factory supercomputers for national research

The US Department of Energy and AMD are joining forces to expand America’s AI and scientific computing power through two new supercomputers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Named Lux and Discovery, the systems will drive the country’s sovereign AI strategy, combining public and private investment worth around $1 billion to strengthen research, innovation, and security infrastructure.

Lux, arriving in 2026, will become the nation’s first dedicated AI factory for science.

Built with AMD’s EPYC CPUs and Instinct GPUs alongside Oracle and HPE technologies, Lux will accelerate research across materials, medicine, and advanced manufacturing, supporting the US AI Action Plan and boosting the Department of Energy’s AI capacity.

Discovery, set for deployment in 2028, will deepen collaboration between the DOE, AMD, and HPE. Powered by AMD’s next-generation ‘Venice’ CPUs and MI430X GPUs, Discovery will train and deploy AI models on secure US-built systems, protecting national data and competitiveness.

It aims to deliver faster energy, biology, and national security breakthroughs while maintaining high efficiency and open standards.

AMD’s CEO, Dr Lisa Su, said the collaboration represents the best public-private partnerships, advancing the nation’s foundation for science and innovation.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright described the initiative as proof that America leads when government and industry work together toward shared AI and scientific goals.

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Virginia’s data centre boom divides residents and industry

Loudoun County in Virginia, known as Data Center Alley, now hosts nearly 200 data centres powering much of the world’s internet and AI infrastructure. Their growth has brought vast economic benefits but stirred concerns about noise, pollution, and rising energy bills for nearby residents.

The facilities occupy about 3% of the county’s land yet generate 40% of its tax revenue. Locals say the constant humming and industrial sprawl have driven away wildlife and inflated electricity costs, which have surged by over 250% in five years.

Despite opposition, new US and global data centre projects continue to receive state support. The industry contributes $5.5 billion annually to Virginia’s economy and sustains around 74,000 jobs. Additionally, President Trump’s administration recently pledged to accelerate permits.

Residents like Emily Kasabian argue the expansion is eroding community life, replacing trees with concrete and machinery to fuel AI. Activists are now lobbying for construction pauses, warning that unchecked development threatens to transform affluent suburbs beyond recognition.

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Qualcomm and HUMAIN power Saudi Arabia’s AI transformation

HUMAIN and Qualcomm Technologies have launched a collaboration to deploy advanced AI infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, aiming to position the Kingdom as a global hub for AI.

Announced ahead of the Future Investment Initiative conference, the project will deliver the world’s first fully optimised edge-to-cloud AI system, expanding Saudi Arabia’s regional and global inferencing services capabilities.

In 2026, HUMAIN plans to deploy 200 megawatts of Qualcomm’s AI200 and AI250 rack solutions to power large-scale AI inference services.

The partnership combines HUMAIN’s regional infrastructure and full AI stack with Qualcomm’s semiconductor expertise, creating a model for nations seeking to develop sovereign AI ecosystems.

However, the initiative will also integrate HUMAIN’s Saudi-developed ALLaM models with Qualcomm’s AI platforms, offering enterprise and government customers tailor-made solutions for industry-specific needs.

The collaboration supports Saudi Arabia’s strategy to drive economic growth through AI and semiconductor innovation, reinforcing its ambition to lead the next wave of global intelligent computing.

Qualcomm’s CEO Cristiano Amon said the partnership would help the Kingdom build a technology ecosystem to accelerate its AI ambitions.

HUMAIN CEO Tareq Amin added that combining local insight with Qualcomm’s product leadership will establish Saudi Arabia as a key player in global AI and semiconductor development.

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Anthropic boosts cloud capacity with Google’s AI hardware

Anthropic has struck a multibillion-dollar deal with Google to expand its use of cloud computing and specialised AI chips. The agreement includes the purchase of up to one million Tensor Processing Units, Google’s custom hardware built to train and run large AI models.

The partnership will provide Anthropic with more than a gigawatt of additional computing power by late 2026. Executives said the move will support soaring demand for its Claude model family, which already serves over 300,000 business clients.

Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI employees, has quickly become a major player in generative AI. Backed by Amazon and valued at $183 billion, the company recently launched Claude Sonnet 4.5, praised for its coding and reasoning abilities.

Google continues to invest heavily in AI hardware to compete with Nvidia’s GPUs and rival US tech giants. Analysts said Anthropic’s expansion signals intensifying demand for computing power as companies race to lead the global AI revolution.

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Tech giants push AI agents into web browsing

Tech companies are intensifying competition to reshape how people search online through AI-powered browsers. OpenAI’s new Atlas browser, built around ChatGPT, can generate answers and complete web-based tasks such as making shopping lists or reservations.

Atlas joins rivals like Microsoft’s Copilot-enabled Edge, Perplexity’s Comet, and newer platforms Dia and Neon. Developers are moving beyond traditional assistants, creating ‘agentic’ AI capable of acting autonomously while keeping user experience familiar.

Google remains dominant, with Chrome holding over 70 percent of the browser market and integrating limited AI features. Analysts say OpenAI could challenge that control by combining ChatGPT insights with browser behaviour to personalise search and advertising.

Experts note the battle extends beyond browsers as wearables and voice interfaces evolve. Controlling how users interact with AI today, they argue, could determine which company shapes digital habits in the coming decade.

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Meta cuts 600 AI roles even as it expands superintelligence lab

Meta Platforms confirmed today it will cut approximately 600 jobs from its AI division, affecting teams including the Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) unit and product and infrastructure units. The move comes even as the company continues hiring for its elite superintelligence unit, the TBD Lab, which remains unaffected by the cuts.

According to an internal memo from Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, the layoff aim is to make remaining teams more load-bearing and impactful. ‘By reducing the size of our team, fewer conversations will be required to make a decision, and each person will be more load-bearing and have more scope and impact,’ Wang wrote.

Meta says employees affected will be encouraged to apply for other roles within the company; many are expected to be reassigned. The company’s earlier hiring spree in AI included poaching top talent from competitors and investing heavily in infrastructure. Analysts say the current cuts reflect a strategic pivot rather than a retreat, from broad AI research to more focused, high-impact model development.

This shift comes as Meta competes with organisations like OpenAI and Google in the race to build advanced large-language models and scaled AI systems. By trimming staff in legacy research and infrastructure units while bolstering resources for its superintelligence arm, Meta appears to be doubling-down on frontier AI even as it seeks to streamline operations.

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Diella 2.0 set to deliver 83 new AI assistants to aid Albania’s MPs

Albania’s AI minister Diella will ‘give birth’ to 83 virtual assistants for ruling-party MPs, Prime Minister Edi Rama said, framing a quirky rollout of parliamentary copilots that record debates and propose responses.

Diella began in January as a public-service chatbot on e-Albania, then ‘Diella 2.0’ added voice and an avatar in traditional dress. Built with Microsoft by the National Agency for Information Society, it now oversees specific state tech contracts.

The legality is murky: the constitution of Albania requires ministers to be natural persons. A presidential decree left Rama’s responsibility to establish the role and set up likely court tests from opposition lawmakers.

Rama says the ‘children’ will brief MPs, summarise absences, and suggest counterarguments through 2026, experimenting with automating the day-to-day legislative grind without replacing elected officials.

Reactions range from table-thumping scepticism to cautious curiosity, as other governments debate AI personhood and limits; Diella could become a template, or a cautionary tale for ‘ministerial’ bots.

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EU investigates Meta and TikTok for DSA breaches

The European Commission has accused Meta and TikTok of breaching the Digital Services Act (DSA), highlighting failures in handling illegal content and providing researchers access to public data.

Meta’s Facebook and Instagram were found to make it too difficult for users to report illegal content or receive responses to complaints, the Commission said in its preliminary findings.

Investigations began after complaints to Ireland’s content regulator, where Meta’s EU base is located. The Commission’s inquiry, which has been ongoing since last year, aims to ensure that large platforms protect users and meet EU safety obligations.

Meta and TikTok can submit counterarguments before penalties of up to six percent of global annual turnover are imposed.

Both companies face separate concerns about denying researchers adequate access to platform data and preventing oversight of systemic online risks. TikTok is under further examination for minor protection and advertising transparency issues.

The Commission has launched 14 such DSA-related proceedings, none concluded.

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Google AI Studio introduces new vibe coding experience

Google has unveiled a redesigned AI-powered vibe coding experience in AI Studio, aimed at helping users turn ideas into working AI apps within minutes. The update eliminates managing API keys and connecting models, making app creation quicker and easier.

With the new workflow, users can describe the app they want, and AI Studio, powered by Google’s Gemini models, automatically links the right APIs and tools. Developers and non-coders can quickly build videos and images or write AI apps.

AI Studio also introduces a revamped App Gallery and Brainstorming Loading Screen to spark inspiration during app development. Users can explore project ideas, preview starter code, and remix apps, while real-time suggestions appear as their app builds.

Annotation Mode allows intuitive visual editing, letting users highlight elements and instruct Gemini to modify them.

Additional updates ensure uninterrupted development by allowing users to add API keys once free quotas are exhausted. These improvements empower creators and lower barriers, making turning AI-driven ideas into functional applications easier than ever.

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NVIDIA boosts open-source robotics with new ROS 2 and Physical AI contributions

At the ROSCon conference in Singapore, NVIDIA unveiled significant open-source contributions to accelerate the future of robotics.

The company announced updates to the ROS 2 framework, new partnerships within the Open Source Robotics Alliance, and the latest release of NVIDIA Isaac ROS 4.0 (all designed to strengthen collaboration in robotics development).

NVIDIA’s involvement in the new Physical AI Special Interest Group aims to enhance real-time robot control and AI processing efficiency.

Its integration of GPU-aware abstractions into ROS 2 allows the framework to handle both CPUs and GPUs seamlessly, ensuring faster and more consistent performance for robotic systems.

Additionally, the company open-sourced Greenwave Monitor, which helps developers quickly identify and fix performance bottlenecks. NVIDIA Isaac ROS 4.0, now available on the Jetson Thor platform, provides GPU-accelerated AI models and libraries to power robot mobility and manipulation.

Global robotics leaders, including AgileX, Canonical, Intrinsic, and Robotec.ai, are already deploying NVIDIA’s open-source tools to enhance simulation, digital twins, and real-world testing.

NVIDIA’s initiatives reinforce its role as a core contributor to the open-source robotics ecosystem and the development of physical AI.

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