Australia has scrapped plans for a large defense satellite project, opting instead for a network of smaller micro-satellites due to emerging anti-satellite threats. Defense Minister Richard Marles explained that advancements in technology now enable adversaries to target and destroy satellites, making Australia’s initial plan for a few large satellites outdated. Originally developed in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, the high-cost Geostationary Earth Orbit system was designed to enhance communications over the Indo-Pacific region.
Marles pointed to distributed micro-satellite networks, like Starlink’s use in the Ukraine conflict, as a more resilient and cost-effective alternative. A “mesh-type” network of satellites could provide more reliable defense communications with increased survivability against attacks. This shift reflects a strategic pivot to distributed technology that reduces vulnerability while enhancing adaptability.
The shift underscores Australia’s commitment to bolstering defense communications against emerging threats. The government is exploring a system of micro-satellites that not only strengthens operational resilience but also demonstrates Australia’s alignment with global shifts toward decentralised space technology.
OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, is exploring a move to transition from a non-profit to a for-profit company, according to Bloomberg News. Early discussions with the California attorney general’s office aim to alter OpenAI’s corporate structure, signalling a significant shift in the governance of the AI research pioneer. Originally founded in 2015 as a non-profit, OpenAI’s new direction could open the door to increased investment opportunities.
The potential change in status would mark a strategic shift for the company, which developed the popular AI tool ChatGPT. OpenAI’s connection with Microsoft, which invested heavily in the company, has been a key factor in its growth. In September, reports emerged that OpenAI was already contemplating restructuring as a for-profit benefit corporation, with a new structure aimed at enhancing business opportunities while keeping its non-profit arm involved.
The non-profit branch of OpenAI would continue to exist and hold a minority stake, allowing the organisation to maintain some of its founding mission. This balance could appeal to investors while retaining a foothold in its original purpose of ethical AI development. OpenAI’s funding has also surged recently, including a $6.6 billion funding round, potentially valuing the firm at $157 billion.
With substantial backing and increased investor interest, OpenAI’s shift could cement its position as one of the world’s most valuable private companies. The move reflects broader trends in AI, where companies are aligning profit goals with technological innovation to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving market.
Abu Dhabi firms Realize and Neovision Wealth Management have announced the launch of the Realize T-BILLS Fund, a new investment vehicle focused on U.S. Treasury ETFs. The fund will purchase units from popular ETFs, such as BlackRock’s iShares and State Street’s SPDR, and tokenise them, converting them into blockchain-based digital tokens that can be traded and transferred. Dominik Schiener, co-founder of Realize, noted that the fund aims to grow to $200 million in assets.
The T-BILLS Fund will issue a digital token, $RBILL, representing fund units, and operate on both the IOTA and Ethereum blockchain networks. Realize will handle the tokenisation process, while Neovision Wealth Management will oversee fund operations. This fund is also the first of its kind to be based out of the Abu Dhabi Global Market, a move that highlights the growing trend of combining traditional assets with blockchain technology.
Tokenised US Treasuries have become a growing niche in the digital asset market, valued at $2.4B, and attracting both blockchain-native firms and established finance giants. With US Treasury bills seen as a secure and liquid asset class, these new tokens offer investors an easier way to trade and hold government-backed securities in a blockchain format, making them accessible to a wider audience in the digital economy.
Election officials across the US are intensifying efforts to counter deepfake robocalls as the 2024 election nears, worried about AI-driven disinformation campaigns. Unlike visible manipulated images or videos, fake audio calls targeting voters are harder to detect, leaving officials bracing for the impact on public trust. A recent incident in New Hampshire, where a robocall falsely claimed to be from President Biden urging people to skip voting, highlighted how disruptive these AI-generated calls can be.
Election leaders have developed low-tech methods to counter this high-tech threat, such as unique code words to verify identities in sensitive phone interactions. In states like Colorado, officials have been trained to respond quickly to suspicious calls, including hanging up and verifying information directly with their offices. Colorado’s Secretary of State Jena Griswold and other leaders are urging election directors to rely on trusted contacts to avoid being misled by convincing deepfake messages.
To counter misinformation, some states are also enlisting local leaders and community figures to help debunk false claims. Officials in states like Minnesota and Illinois have collaborated with media outlets and launched public awareness campaigns, warning voters about potential disinformation in the lead-up to the election. These campaigns, broadcasted widely on television and radio, aim to preempt misinformation by providing accurate, timely information.
While no confirmed cases show that robocalls have swayed voters, election officials regard the potential impact as severe. Local efforts to counteract these messages, such as public statements and community outreach, serve as a reminder of the new and evolving risks AI technology brings to election security.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has adapted Meta’s open-source AI model, Llama, to create a military-focused tool named ChatBIT. Developed by researchers from PLA-linked institutions, including the Academy of Military Science, ChatBIT leverages an earlier version of Llama, fine-tuned for military decision-making and intelligence processing tasks. The tool reportedly performs better than some alternative AI models, though it falls short of OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4.
Meta, which supports open innovation, has restrictions against military uses of its models. However, the open-source nature of Llama limits Meta’s ability to prevent unauthorised adaptations, such as ChatBIT. In response, Meta affirmed its commitment to ethical AI use and noted the need for US innovation to stay competitive as China intensifies its AI research investments.
China’s approach reflects a broader trend, as its institutions reportedly employ Western AI technologies for areas like airborne warfare and domestic security. With increasing US scrutiny over the national security implications of open-source AI, the Biden administration has moved to regulate AI’s development, balancing its potential benefits with growing risks of misuse.
Toyota and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) plan to invest 500 billion yen ($3.27 billion) by 2030 to create an AI-driven platform to reduce traffic accidents. Announced in a joint statement, the Japanese automaker and telecom giant aims to launch the platform by 2028, using extensive data to support driver-assistance technology. This project, initiated amid rising pressure on Japanese automakers to compete in the autonomous driving space, is expected to enhance safety features such as improved visibility in urban areas and smoother expressway merging.
The companies intend the platform to benefit not only their own operations but also government and industry partners, setting a long-term goal to minimise traffic accidents. Toyota and NTT, who first collaborated on 5G-connected car technology in 2017, see this project as part of a broader vision for zero-accident mobility, aiming for widespread adoption by 2030.
Toyota’s existing investments in autonomous technology include Woven by Toyota, a unit established in 2021 focused on AI mobility. Woven by Toyota is also developing the Arene automotive software platform and Woven City, a testing hub in Shizuoka. As part of these advancements, NTT and Toyota also plan to test self-driving technology as early as 2025.
LinkedIn has introduced its first AI agent, Hiring Assistant, designed to automate many of the time-intensive tasks recruiters face, such as drafting job descriptions, identifying candidate matches, and handling initial outreach. Initially available to a select group of large enterprises, including AMD, Siemens, and Zurich Insurance, Hiring Assistant is expected to expand to more users in the coming months. By automating repetitive tasks, LinkedIn aims to free up recruiters to focus on higher-impact aspects of their jobs.
Built using LinkedIn’s data from over 1 billion users and backed by Microsoft’s OpenAI partnership, Hiring Assistant can refine job requirements based on existing listings, generate candidate pools, and filter applicants by skills rather than traditional markers like location or education. This AI assistant is part of LinkedIn’s broader push to integrate AI into its platform, following similar tools for resume and profile optimisation, career coaching, and job search support.
In its current iteration, Hiring Assistant is already making strides in streamlining recruiting, with plans for future updates to handle interview scheduling, candidate follow-ups, and more. LinkedIn, which has seen AI-driven growth in its premium subscription base, views Hiring Assistant as a key product in its business offerings for recruitment professionals, aiming to enhance LinkedIn’s impact in the hiring sector.
Nvidia-backed biotech firm Iambic Therapeutics has introduced Enchant, an AI model that aims to reduce the time and cost of drug development. Enchant, trained on extensive pre-clinical data, is designed to predict a drug’s early performance with impressive accuracy. In Iambic’s studies, Enchant achieved a 0.74 accuracy score in predicting drug absorption in the human body, compared to previous models which peaked at 0.58. This predictive power could help pharmaceutical companies identify promising drugs sooner, significantly cutting down on failed late-stage trials.
According to Iambic’s co-founder Fred Manby, Enchant could potentially slash development costs by half, as researchers could more accurately assess a drug’s success at the earliest stages. Nobel laureate and Iambic board member Frances Arnold also highlighted Enchant’s unique capabilities, noting that unlike models like Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold, which focus on molecular structure, Enchant evaluates pharmacokinetic and toxicity properties crucial to drug success.
With Enchant, Iambic is poised to set a new standard in the pharmaceutical industry by addressing some of the biggest hurdles in drug development, including high costs and late-stage failures. The AI technology’s rollout could mark a major shift, making drug discovery both faster and more efficient for a variety of treatments.
A new fashion platform, Aesthetic, is launching with a mission to become the ‘Shazam for clothes.’ Using AI-powered technology, the company offers a service called Alma that helps users identify clothing they spot on social media. By sending a post link to Aesthetic via TikTok or Instagram, users are directed to the brand’s website, where they can shop for the outfit or save it to a Lookbook collection.
CEO LJ Northington was inspired to create Aesthetic after noticing a lack of tech innovation in e-commerce. His initial ideas for personal shopping didn’t quite work until he realised that analysing social media feeds could reveal personal style preferences. Northington believes his platform allows users to engage with fashion inspiration without leaving their favourite apps.
Aesthetic is also exploring ways for creators and brands to monetise their styles through personalised pages. Northington mentioned discussions with record labels about allowing artists to promote their trends, such as Beyoncé’s silver-inspired looks for her ‘Renaissance’ tour or Charli XCX’s neon-green fashion from Brat Summer.
The app has attracted funding from Zeal Capital and Slow Capital, with further support from Google Cloud’s AI startup programme. Northington aims to achieve profitability through efficient use of AI. His background includes business development for Westbrook and a psychology degree from Harvard, which has shaped his approach to understanding consumer behaviour.
Smartwatches are revolutionising preventative health by providing continuous, detailed insights into users’ physiological data. At CHUV University Hospital, Chief Anaesthesiologist Patrick Schoettker is exploring ways to leverage smartwatches like the Masimo W1 to monitor patients ahead of surgery. This device collects real-time health data, including heart rate, oxygen levels, and hydration, to create a “digital twin” that could help identify and mitigate risks before operations. Schoettker and his team hope to reduce surgery-related complications by using these insights to anticipate issues.
The potential of smartwatches extends beyond surgery. Leading cardiologists, like Gosia Wamil at Mayo Clinic Healthcare, are already using smartwatch data to detect irregular heart rhythms and other cardiac conditions early, facilitating timely intervention. AI algorithms can now analyse data from wearable devices to predict more serious heart issues, such as low ejection fraction—an early warning sign of heart failure. This technology has also proven useful in tracking health risks among patients with chronic conditions like diabetes, to prevent complications such as heart attacks and strokes.
Beyond cardiology, wearable technology holds promise for neurological and chronic conditions. Research has shown that smartwatches can detect early signs of Parkinson’s disease years before symptoms are noticed by patients. Studies are also underway to assess how smartwatch data might predict seizures in epilepsy patients, helping them better manage risks. As smartwatches grow more sophisticated, their ability to track various health metrics could reshape preventative care. While concerns about false positives remain, experts believe the benefits, such as early detection and reduced healthcare costs, are likely to outweigh these challenges.
