A new study by the European Travel Commission shows that national tourism organisations (NTOs) are experimenting with AI but are facing gaps in strategy and skills.
Marketing teams are leading the way, applying AI in content generation and workflow streamlining, whereas research departments primarily view the tools as exploratory. Despite uneven readiness, most staff show enthusiasm, with little resistance reported.
The survey highlights challenges, including limited budgets, sparse training, and the absence of a clear roadmap. Early adopters report tangible productivity gains, but most NTOs are still running small pilots rather than embedding AI across operations.
Recommendations include ring-fencing time for structured experiments, offering role-specific upskilling, and scaling budgets aligned with results. The report also urges the creation of shared learning spaces and providing practical support to help organisations transition from testing to sustained adoption.
ETC President Miguel Sanz said AI offers clear opportunities for tourism boards, but uneven capacity means shared tools and targeted investment will be essential to ensure innovation benefits all members.
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Following the agreement, the European Commission conducted further investigations to assess whether it offered adequate safeguards. On 10 July 2023, the Commission adopted an adequacy decision concluding that the USA ensures a sufficient level of protection comparable to that of the EU when transferring data from the EU to the USA, and that there is no need for supplementary data protection measures.
He argued that the framework fails to ensure adequate protection of personal data transferred from the EU to the USA. Latombe also claimed that the Data Protection Review Court (DPRC), which is responsible for reviewing safeguards during such data transfers, lacks impartiality and independence and depends on the executive branch.
Finally, Latombe asserted that ‘the practice of the intelligence agencies of that country of collecting bulk personal data in transit from the European Union, without the prior authorisation of a court or an independent administrative authority, is not circumscribed in a sufficiently clear and precise manner and is, therefore, illegal.’As a result, the General Court of the EU dismissed the action for annulment, stating that:
The DPRC has sufficient safeguards to ensure judicial independence,
US intelligence agencies’ bulk data collection practices are compatible with the EU fundamental rights, and
The decision consolidates the European Commission’s ability to suspend or amend the framework if US legal safeguards change.
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Picture having a personal therapist who is always there for you, understands your needs, and gives helpful advice whenever you ask. There are no hourly fees, and you can start or stop sessions whenever you want. Thanks to new developments in AI, this idea is close to becoming a reality.
With advanced AI and large language models (LLMs), what once sounded impossible is closer to reality: AI is rapidly becoming a stand-in for therapists, offering users advice and mental health support. While society increasingly turns to AI for personal and professional assistance, a new debate arises: can AI truly replace human mental health expertise?
Therapy keeps secrets; AI keeps data
Registered therapists must maintain confidentiality except to avert serious harm, fostering a safe, non-judgemental environment for patients to speak openly. AI models, however, depend on large-scale data processing and lack an equivalent duty of confidentiality, creating ethical risks around privacy, secondary use and oversight.
The privacy and data security concerns are not hypothetical. In June 2025, users reported that sensitive Meta AI conversations appeared in the app’s public Discover feed, often because chats were unintentionally shared, prompting scrutiny from security researchers and the press. Separately, a vulnerability disclosed in December 2024 and fixed in January 2025 could have allowed access to other users’ prompts and responses.
Meta described the Discover feed as a means to explore various uses of AI, but it did little to mitigate everyone’s uneasiness over the incident. Subsequently, AMEOS Group, a private European healthcare provider, suffered a large-scale data breach affecting millions of patient records. The writing was on the wall: be careful what you share with your AI counsellor, because it may end up on an intruder’s hard drive.
To keep up with the rising volume of users and prompts, major tech conglomerates such as OpenAI and Google have invested heavily in building new data centres across the globe. At the same time, little has been done to protect sensitive data, and AI remains prone to data breaches, particularly in the healthcare sector.
According to the 2025 Cost of a Data Breach Report by IBM, healthcare providers often bear the brunt of data breaches, taking an average of 279 days to recover and incurring an average cost of nearly USD $7.5 million in the process. Not only does patients’ private information end up in the wrong place, but it also takes a while to be retrieved.
Falling for your AI ‘therapist’
Patients falling in love with their therapists is not only a common trope in films and TV shows, but it is also a real-life regular occurrence for most mental health workforce. Therapists are trained to handle these attachments appropriately and without compromising the patient’s progress and well-being.
The clinical term is transference: patients may project past relationships or unmet needs onto the therapist. Far from being a nuisance, it can be clinically useful. Skilled clinicians set clear boundaries, reflect feelings, and use supervision to keep the work safe and goal-directed.
With AI ‘therapists’, the cues are different, but the pull can feel similar. Chatbots and LLMs simulate warmth, reply instantly, and never tire. 24/7 availability, combined with carefully tuned language, can foster a bond that the system cannot comprehend or sustain. There is no duty of care, no supervision, and no capacity to manage attachment or risk beyond scripted safeguards.
As a result, a significant number of users report becoming enamoured with AI, with some going as far as dismissing their human partners, professing their love to the chatbot, and even proposing. The bond between man and machine props the user onto a dangerous seesaw, teetering between curiosity and borderline delusional paranoia.
Experts warn that leaning on AI as a makeshift therapist or partner can delay help-seeking and entrench unhelpful patterns. While ‘AI psychosis‘ is not a recognised diagnosis, clinicians and digital-ethics researchers note that intense attachment to AI companions can heighten distress, especially when models change, go offline, or mishandle risk. Clear signposting to human support, transparent data practices, and firm usage boundaries are essential to prevent unhealthy attachments to virtual companions.
Who loses work when therapy goes digital?
Caring for one’s mental health is not just about discipline; it is also about money. In the United States, in-person sessions typically cost between USD $100–$250, with limited insurance coverage. In such dire circumstances, it is easy to see why many turn to AI chatbots in search of emotional support, advice, and companionship.
Licensed professionals are understandably concerned about displacement. Yet there is little evidence that AI is reducing the demand for human therapists; services remain oversubscribed, and wait times are long in both the USA and UK.
Regulators are, however, drawing lines around AI-only practice. On 4 August 2025, Illinois enacted the Wellness and Oversight for Psychological Resources Act (HB 1806), which prohibits the use of AI to provide therapy or make therapeutic decisions (while allowing administrative or supplementary use), with enforcement by the state regulator and fines up to $10,000 per violation.
Current legal and regulatory safeguards have limited power to use AI in mental health or protect therapists’ jobs. Even so, they signal a clear resolve to define AI’s role and address unintended harms.
Can AI ‘therapists’ handle crisis conversations
Adolescence is a particularly sensitive stage of development. It is a time of rapid change, shifting identities, and intense social pressure. Young people are more likely to question beliefs and boundaries, and they need steady, non-judgemental support to navigate setbacks and safeguard their well-being.
In such a challenging period, teens have a hard time coping with their troubles, and an even harder time sharing their struggles with parents and seeking help from trained professionals. Nowadays, it is not uncommon for them to turn to AI chatbots for comfort and support, particularly without their guardians’ knowledge.
One such case demonstrated that unsupervised use of AI among teens can lead to devastating consequences. Adam Raine, a 16-year-old from California, confided his feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and anhedonia to ChatGPT. Rather than suggesting that the teen seek professional help, ChatGPT urged him to further elaborate on his emotions. Instead of challenging them, the AI model kept encouraging and validating his beliefs to keep Adam engaged and build rapport.
Throughout the following months, ChatGPT kept reaffirming Adam’s thoughts, urging him to distance himself from friends and relatives, and even suggesting the most effective methods of suicide. In the end, the teen followed through with ChatGPT’s suggestions, taking his own life according to the AI’s detailed instructions. Adam’s parents filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, blaming its LLM chatbot for leading the teen to an untimely death.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, OpenAI promised to make changes to its LLM and incorporate safeguards that should discourage thoughts of self-harm and encourage users to seek professional help. The case of Adam Raine serves as a harrowing warning that AI, in its current capacity, is not equipped to handle mental health struggles, and that users should heed AI’s advice not with a grain of salt, but with a whole bucket.
Chatbots are companions, not health professionals
AI can mimic human traits and convince users they are forming a real connection, evoking genuine feelings of companionship and even a sense of therapeutic alliance. When it comes to providing mental health advice, the aforementioned qualities present a dangerously deceptive mirage of a makeshift professional therapist, one who will fully comply with one’s every need, cater to one’s biases, and shape one’s worldview from the ground up – whatever it takes to keep the user engaged and typing away.
While AI has proven useful in multiple fields of work, such as marketing and IT, psychotherapy remains an insurmountable hurdle for even the most advanced LLM models of today. It is difficult to predict what the future of AI in (mental) health care will look like. As things stand, in such a delicate field of healthcare, AI lacks a key component that makes a therapist effective in their job: empathy.
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The non-invasive system uses electroencephalography (EEG) to decode brain signals and combines them with an AI camera platform for real-time assistance. The results, published in ‘Nature Machine Intelligence’, demonstrate significant performance improvements over traditional BCIs.
Participants tested the device on two tasks: moving a cursor across a computer screen and directing a robotic arm to reposition blocks. All completed tasks faster with AI assistance, while a paralysed participant, unable to finish without support, succeeded in under seven minutes.
Researchers emphasise the importance of safety and accessibility. Unlike surgically implanted BCIs, which remain confined to limited clinical trials, the wearable device avoids neurosurgical risks while offering new independence for people with paralysis or ALS.
Future development will focus on making AI ‘co-pilots’ more adaptive, allowing robotic arms to move with greater precision, dexterity, and task awareness.
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WhatsApp has disclosed a hacking attempt that combined flaws in its app with a vulnerability in Apple’s operating system. The company has since fixed the issues.
The exploit, tracked as CVE-2025-55177 in WhatsApp and CVE-2025-43300 in iOS, allowed attackers to hijack devices via malicious links. Fewer than 200 users worldwide are believed to have been affected.
Amnesty International reported that some victims appeared to be members of civic organisations. Its Security Lab is collecting forensic data and warned that iPhone and Android users were impacted.
WhatsApp credited its security team for identifying the loopholes, describing the operation as highly advanced but narrowly targeted. The company also suggested that other apps could have been hit in the same campaign.
The disclosure highlights ongoing risks to secure messaging platforms, even those with end-to-end encryption. Experts stress that keeping apps and operating systems up to date remains essential to reducing exposure to sophisticated exploits.
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IBM has announced plans to develop next-generation computing architectures by integrating quantum computers with high-performance computing, a concept it calls quantum-centric supercomputing.
The company is working with AMD to build scalable, open-source platforms that combine IBM’s quantum expertise with AMD’s strength in HPC and AI accelerators. The aim is to move beyond the limits of traditional computing and explore solutions to problems that classical systems cannot address alone.
Quantum computing uses qubits governed by quantum mechanics, offering a far richer computational space than binary bits. In a hybrid model, quantum machines could simulate atoms and molecules, while supercomputers powered by CPUs, GPUs, and AI manage large-scale data analysis.
Arvind Krishna, IBM’s CEO, said the approach represents a new way of simulating the natural world. AMD’s Lisa Su described high-performance computing as foundational to tackling global challenges, noting the partnership could accelerate discovery and innovation.
An initial demonstration is planned for later this year, showing IBM quantum computers working with AMD technologies. Both companies say open-source ecosystems like Qiskit will be crucial to building new algorithms and advancing fault-tolerant quantum systems.
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Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, has faced repeated changes to its political orientation, with updates shifting its answers towards more conservative views.
xAI, Musk’s company, initially promoted Grok as neutral and truth-seeking, but internal prompts have steered it on contentious topics. Adjustments included portraying declining fertility as the greatest threat to civilisation and downplaying right-wing violence.
Analyses of Grok’s responses by The New York Times showed that the July updates shifted answers to the right on government and economy, while some social responses remained left-leaning. Subsequent tweaks pulled it back closer to neutrality.
Critics say that system prompts, such as short instructions like ‘be politically incorrect’, make it easy to adjust outputs, but also leave the model prone to erratic or offensive responses. A July update saw Grok briefly endorse a controversial historical figure before xAI turned it off.
The case highlights growing concerns about political bias in AI systems. Researchers argue that all chatbots reflect the worldviews of their training data, while companies increasingly face pressure to align them with user expectations or political demands.
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Reports that Gmail suffered a massive breach have been dismissed by Google, which said rumours of warnings to 2.5 billion users were false.
In a Monday blog post, Google rejected claims that it had issued global notifications about a serious Gmail security issue. It stressed that its protections remain effective against phishing and malware.
Confusion stems from a June incident involving a Salesforce server, during which attackers briefly accessed public business information, including names and contact details. Google said all affected parties were notified by early August.
The company acknowledged that phishing attempts are increasing, but clarified that Gmail’s defences block more than 99.9% of such attempts. A July blog post on phishing risks may have been misinterpreted as evidence of a breach.
Google urged users to remain vigilant, recommending password alternatives such as passkeys and regular account reviews. While the false alarm spurred unnecessary panic, security experts noted that updating credentials remains good practice.
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Much like checking your doors before bed, it is wise to review your Google account security to ensure only trusted devices have access. Periodic checks can prevent both hackers and acquaintances from spying on your personal data.
The fastest method is visiting google.com/devices, where you can see all logged-in devices. If one looks suspicious, remove it and immediately change your password to block further access.
You can also navigate manually via your profile settings, under the ‘Security’ tab, to view and manage connected devices. On mobile, the Google app provides the same functionality for reviewing and signing out unfamiliar logins.
Beyond devices, third-party services linked to your Google account pose another risk. Abandoned apps or forgotten integrations may be hijacked by attackers, providing a backdoor to your information.
Cleaning up both devices and linked apps significantly reduces exposure. Regular reviews keep your Google account safe and ensure your data remains under your control.
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Pakistan plans to roll out AI-driven cybersecurity systems to monitor and respond to attacks on critical infrastructure and sensitive data in real time. Documents from the Ministry for Information Technology outline a framework to integrate AI into every stage of security operations.
The initiative will enforce protocols like secure data storage, sandbox testing, and collaborative intelligence sharing. Human oversight will remain mandatory, with public sector AI deployments registered and subject to transparency requirements.
Audits and impact assessments will ensure compliance with evolving standards, backed by legal penalties for breaches. A national policy on data security will define authentication, auditing, and layered defence strategies across network, host, and application levels.
New governance measures include identity management policies with multi-factor authentication, role-based controls, and secure frameworks for open-source AI. AI-powered simulations will help anticipate threats, while regulatory guidelines address risks from disinformation and generative AI.
Regulatory sandboxes will allow enterprises in Pakistan to test systems under controlled conditions, with at least 20 firms expected to benefit by 2027. Officials say the measures will balance innovation with security, safeguarding infrastructure and citizens.
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