Interdisciplinary approaches Archives | Digital Watch Observatory

Codex Security expands OpenAI’s push into cybersecurity tools

OpenAI has launched Codex Security, an AI-powered application security agent that detects hard-to-find software vulnerabilities and proposes fixes through advanced reasoning. By providing detailed context about a system’s architecture, the tool identifies security risks that are often missed by conventional automation.

The system uses advanced models to analyse repositories, construct project-specific threat models, and prioritise vulnerabilities based on their potential real-world impact. By combining automated validation with system-level context, Codex Security aims to reduce the number of false positives that security teams must review while highlighting high-confidence findings.

Initially developed under the name Aardvark, the tool has been tested in private deployments over the past year. During early use, OpenAI said it uncovered several critical vulnerabilities, including a cross-tenant authentication flaw and a server-side request forgery issue, allowing internal teams to quickly patch affected systems.

The company says improvements during the beta phase significantly reduced noise in vulnerability reports. In some repositories, unnecessary alerts fell by 84 percent, while over-reported severity dropped by more than 90 percent, and false positives declined by more than half.

Codex Security is now rolling out in research preview for ChatGPT Pro, Enterprise, Business, and Edu customers. OpenAI also plans to expand access to open-source maintainers through a dedicated programme that offers security scanning and support to help identify and remediate vulnerabilities across widely used projects.

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People show growing comfort with AI for counselling and teaching

A global survey of nearly 31,000 adults across 35 countries has revealed rising public trust in AI for roles traditionally handled by humans. In the UK, 41% of adults said they would be comfortable using ChatGPT for mental health support, while 61% expressed the same globally.

Experts note the appeal of AI’s non-judgmental tone and 24/7 availability, although cautioning that it cannot replace professional care.

The study also found that a quarter of UK adults would trust AI to teach their children, and 45% of people globally would rely on AI as their doctor.

Researchers warned that overreliance on AI in education could harm memory and cognitive development, potentially affecting the hippocampus, which is critical for learning and spatial awareness.

Trust in AI was strongest in social contexts. Over three-quarters of respondents globally, and more than half in the UK, said they would use AI chat tools as companions or friends.

The research team suggested that adaptive tone and private conversations give users a sense of security and personalised support.

Researchers emphasised the need for greater awareness of AI’s limitations. While generative AI is becoming integrated into daily life, caution is urged, particularly for education and health roles, until the long-term cognitive and social impacts are better understood.

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EU faces challenges in curbing digital abuse against women

Researchers and policymakers are raising concerns about how new technologies may put women at risk online, despite existing EU rules designed to ensure safer digital spaces.

AI-powered tools and smart devices have been linked to incidents of harassment and the creation of non-consensual sexualised imagery, highlighting gaps in enforcement and compliance.

The European Commission’s Gender Equality 2026–2030 Strategy noted that women are disproportionately targeted by online gender-based violence, including harassment, doxing, and AI-generated deepfakes.

Investigations into tools such as Elon Musk’s Grok AI and Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses have drawn attention to how digital platforms and wearable technologies can be misused, even where legal frameworks like the Digital Services Act (DSA) are in place.

Experts emphasise that while the EU’s rules offer a foundation to regulate online content, significant challenges remain. Advocates and lawmakers say enforcement gaps let harmful AI functions like nudification persist.

Commissioners have stressed ongoing cooperation with tech companies and upcoming guidelines to prioritise flagged content from independent organisations to address gender-based cyber violence.

Authorities are also monitoring new technologies closely. In the case of wearable devices, regulators are considering how users and bystanders are informed about recording features.

Ongoing discussions aim to strengthen compliance under existing legislation and ensure that digital spaces become safer and more accountable for all users.

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New AI method improves transparency in computer vision models

Researchers at MIT have developed a new technique designed to improve how computer vision models explain their predictions while maintaining strong accuracy. Transparency is crucial as AI enters fields like healthcare and autonomous driving, where decisions must be clear.

The method uses concept bottleneck models, which enable AI to base its predictions on human-understandable concepts. Traditional approaches rely on expert-defined concepts that can be incomplete or ill-suited, sometimes lowering model performance.

Researchers instead created a system that extracts concepts the AI learned during training. A sparse autoencoder selects key features, and a multimodal language model turns them into plain-language descriptions and labels.

The resulting module forces the AI to make predictions using only those extracted concepts.

Tests on bird classification and medical image datasets showed that the new method improved accuracy and provided clearer explanations. Findings suggest that using a model’s internal concepts can boost transparency and accountability in AI systems.

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EU considers stronger child protection in Digital Fairness Act

Capitals across the EU are being asked to discuss how stronger child protection measures should be incorporated into the upcoming Digital Fairness Act (DFA).

The initiative comes as policymakers attempt to address growing concerns about how online platforms expose minors to harmful content, manipulative design practices, and unsafe digital environments.

According to a document circulated during Cyprus’s Council presidency of the European Union, member states are expected to debate which concrete safeguards should be introduced as part of the broader consumer protection framework.

Officials are exploring whether new rules should require platforms to adopt stricter safeguards when designing digital services used by children.

The discussions are part of the European Union’s broader effort to strengthen digital governance and consumer protection across online platforms. Policymakers are increasingly focusing on how platform design, recommendation algorithms, and monetisation models may affect younger users.

The proposals could complement existing EU regulations targeting large digital platforms, while expanding protections specifically focused on minors.

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Australia introduces strict online child safety rules covering AI chatbots

New Age-Restricted Material Codes have begun to be enforced in Australia, requiring online platforms to introduce stronger protections to prevent children from accessing harmful digital content.

The rules apply across a wide range of services, including social media, app stores, gaming platforms, search engines, pornography websites, and AI chatbots.

Under the framework, companies must implement age-assurance systems before allowing access to content involving pornography, high-impact violence, self-harm material, or other age-restricted topics.

These measures also extend to AI companions and chatbots, which must prevent sexually explicit or self-harm-related conversations with minors.

The rules form part of Australia’s broader online safety framework overseen by the eSafety Commissioner, which will monitor compliance and enforce the codes.

Companies that fail to comply may face penalties of up to $49.5 million per breach.

The policy aims to shift responsibility toward technology companies by requiring them to build protections directly into their platforms.

Officials in Australia argue the measures mirror long-standing offline safeguards designed to prevent children from accessing adult environments or harmful material.

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ChatGPT ‘adult mode’ launch delayed as OpenAI focuses on core improvements

OpenAI has postponed the launch of ChatGPT’s ‘adult mode’, a feature designed to let verified adult users access erotica and other mature content.

Teams are focusing on improving intelligence, personality and proactive behaviour instead of releasing the feature immediately.

A feature that was first announced by Sam Altman in October, with an initial December rollout, aiming to allow adults more freedom while maintaining safety for younger users.

The project faced an earlier delay as internal teams prioritised the core ChatGPT experience.

OpenAI stated it still supports the principle of treating adults like adults but warned that achieving the right experience will require more time. No new release date has been provided.

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The EU faces growing AI copyright disputes

Courts across Europe are examining how copyright law applies to AI systems trained on large datasets. Judges in Europe are reviewing whether existing rules allow AI developers to use copyrighted books, music and journalism without permission.

One closely watched dispute in Luxembourg involves a publisher challenging Google over summaries produced by its Gemini chatbot. The case before the EU court in Luxembourg could test how press publishers’ rights apply to AI-generated outputs.

Legal experts warn the ruling in Luxembourg may not resolve wider questions about AI training data. Many disputes in Europe focus on the EU copyright directive and its text and data mining exception.

Additional lawsuits across Europe involving music rights group GEMA and OpenAI are expected to continue for years. Policymakers in Europe are also considering updates to copyright rules as AI technology expands.

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EU and Canada begin negotiations on a digital trade agreement

The European Commission and Canada have launched negotiations on a new Digital Trade Agreement to strengthen the rules governing cross-border digital commerce.

The initiative was announced in Toronto by the EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu.

An agreement that will expand the digital dimension of the existing Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, which has already increased trade in goods and services between the two partners.

Officials say the new negotiations aim to create clearer rules for businesses and consumers engaging in cross-border digital transactions.

Proposals under discussion include promoting paperless trade systems, recognising electronic signatures and digital contracts, and prohibiting customs duties on electronic transmissions.

The agreement between the EU and Canada will also seek to prevent protectionist practices such as unjustified data localisation requirements or forced transfers of software source code.

European officials argue that the negotiations reflect a broader effort to develop international standards for digital trade governance while preserving governments’ ability to regulate emerging challenges in the digital economy.

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Job losses study by Anthropic reveals 0 evidence of AI driven unemployment

A new Anthropic report finds AI has not yet caused significant job losses, introducing ‘observed exposure’ to measure actual workplace AI use.

Researchers combined language model capabilities with workplace data to identify occupations at risk of disruption. Although AI can perform many tasks, its actual adoption remains much lower across most industries, which is a main finding of the study.

Even in highly digital professions, only a fraction of potential automation results from AI use. For instance, computer and mathematics occupations rank among the most AI-exposed groups. Despite AI’s capability to assist with many tasks, it currently covers only about 33% of them in these fields.

Across the broader economy, many roles experience little or no impact from AI, which represents a key finding. About 30% of workers are in jobs such as cooking, bartending, mechanics, and lifeguarding, where physical tasks dominate, and measured AI exposure is almost zero.

The report also finds no clear evidence that AI adoption has increased unemployment or caused a spike in job losses since generative AI tools began spreading widely in 2022. Rather than triggering sudden job losses, researchers suggest labour-market effects emerge gradually, through slower hiring, shifting skill requirements, and changes in job composition.

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