Online education Archives | Page 9 of 58 | Digital Watch Observatory

EU competition scrutiny pushes Meta to reopen WhatsApp AI access

Meta has announced that third-party AI chatbots will again be allowed to operate through WhatsApp in Europe, reversing restrictions introduced earlier this year.

The decision follows pressure from the European Commission, which had warned it could impose interim competition measures.

Earlier in 2026, Meta limited access to rival chatbot services on the messaging platform, prompting regulators to examine whether the move unfairly restricted competition in the rapidly expanding AI market.

WhatsApp remains one of the most widely used messaging applications across European countries, making platform access critical for emerging AI services.

Under the new arrangement, companies will be able to distribute general-purpose AI chatbots via the WhatsApp Business API for 12 months.

The change is intended to give European regulators time to complete their investigation while allowing competing AI services to operate within the platform ecosystem.

Meta has also indicated that businesses offering chatbots through WhatsApp will be required to pay fees to access the system.

The European Commission is now assessing whether these adjustments sufficiently address competition concerns surrounding the integration of AI services inside major digital platforms.

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EU launches panel on child safety online and social media age rules

The European Commission has convened a new expert panel tasked with examining how children can be better protected across digital platforms, including social media, gaming environments and AI tools.

The initiative reflects growing concern across Europe regarding the psychological and safety risks associated with young users’ online behaviour.

Announced during the 2025 State of the Union Address by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the panel will evaluate evidence on both the opportunities and harms linked to children’s digital engagement.

Specialists from health, computer science, child rights and digital literacy will work alongside youth representatives to assess current research and policy responses.

Discussions during the first meeting centred on platform responsibility, including age-appropriate safety-by-design features, algorithmic amplification and addictive product design.

An initiative that also addresses digital literacy for children, parents and educators, while considering how regulatory measures can reduce risks without undermining the benefits of online participation.

The panel’s work complements the enforcement of the Digital Services Act and related European policies designed to strengthen protections for minors online.

Among the tools under development is an EU age-verification application currently tested in several member states, intended to support privacy-preserving checks compatible with the future EU digital identity framework.

The panel is expected to deliver policy recommendations to the Commission by summer 2026.

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OpenAI tracks how AI shapes student performance over time

AI is increasingly shaping education, offering tools like ChatGPT that provide personalised learning support for students anywhere. Early studies suggest features such as study mode can enhance exam performance, yet understanding AI’s long-term effect on learning remains a challenge.

Traditional research often focuses on test scores, overlooking how students interact with AI over time in real-world settings.

OpenAI, in partnership with Estonia’s University of Tartu and Stanford’s SCALE Initiative, created the Learning Outcomes Measurement Suite to track longitudinal learning outcomes. The framework assesses interactions, engagement, cognitive growth, and alignment with pedagogical principles.

Large-scale trials involve tens of thousands of students, combining AI-driven insights with traditional classroom measures such as exams and observations.

Research shows that guided AI interactions can strengthen understanding, persistence, and problem-solving. Microeconomics students using the study mode achieved around 15% higher exam scores than those relying on traditional online resources.

Beyond short-term results, the measurement suite evaluates deeper learning effects, including motivation, metacognition, and productive engagement, helping educators and developers optimise AI tools for meaningful outcomes.

The suite will be validated through ongoing studies and eventually made available to schools, universities, and education systems worldwide. OpenAI aims to share findings broadly to ensure AI contributes effectively to student learning and cognitive development.

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Gemini Canvas reaches millions as Google expands AI Search tools

Google has expanded access to the Canvas feature in Google Search’s AI Mode, making it available to all US users.

Canvas allows users to organise research, draft documents and develop small applications directly inside search.

Prompts can generate code, transform reports into webpages or quizzes, and produce audio summaries from uploaded material. The tool was previously introduced as part of experimental projects in Google Labs.

The feature builds on capabilities already available in Google Gemini and partly overlaps with NotebookLM, which supports research analysis and document processing.

Within Canvas, users can gather information from the web and the Google Knowledge Graph while refining projects through interaction with the Gemini model.

Competition is intensifying across AI development platforms. OpenAI and Anthropic offer similar tools, though their design approaches differ in how collaborative workspaces are triggered and used.

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New UNESCO and CENIA agreement targets AI literacy and ethical standards

The UNESCO Regional Office in Santiago and the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA) signed a cooperation agreement at the end of February 2026 to promote ethical AI in education across Chile and Latin America.

The framework supports joint initiatives aimed at strengthening digital skills, improving AI literacy and advancing people-centred development models for AI.

Projects under the partnership will focus on training programmes and educational resources designed for a wide range of audiences, including the general public, educators, technical specialists and policymakers.

Collaborative efforts will also encourage dialogue between institutions, governments and industry to support responsible innovation and reinforce regional ecosystems linked to emerging technologies.

An early outcome includes Latam-GPT, the first open large language model for Latin America and the Caribbean. The system will aid education ministries and the UNESCO Regional Observatory on AI, helping guide responsible adoption and monitor developments.

‘Artificial Intelligence represents a historic opportunity to transform our education and productive systems, but its development must be guided by clear ethical principles and a people-centred vision. This partnership with CENIA will enable us to support countries in building capacities and governance frameworks that ensure AI effectively contributes to the common good,’ stated Esther Kuisch Laroche, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office in Santiago.

‘At CENIA, we have been working consistently on applied research and capacity-building, advancing knowledge generation, technology transfer and scientific evidence.

This experience allows us to contribute from both a technical and training perspective to ensure that the development of Artificial Intelligence in the region is grounded in robust and ethical standards, thereby impacting education and productive development. We are convinced that technological progress must be accompanied by training, responsible frameworks and multi-sector collaboration.

For this reason, this agreement with UNESCO represents a strategic step towards strengthening capacity development and the ethical, people-centred adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Latin America and the Caribbean.’

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OpenAI upgrades ChatGPT conversations with GPT-5.3 Instant

The most widely used ChatGPT model has received an update from OpenAI, introducing GPT-5.3 Instant to make everyday conversations more coherent, useful, and natural.

An upgrade that focuses on improving tone, contextual understanding, and the flow of dialogue rather than only benchmark performance.

One of the main improvements concerns how the model handles refusals and safety responses. Earlier versions sometimes declined questions that could have been answered safely or delivered overly cautious explanations before responding.

GPT-5.3 Instant instead gives more direct answers while still maintaining safety constraints, reducing interruptions that previously slowed conversations.

The update also improves the way ChatGPT uses information from the web. Instead of simply summarising search results or presenting long lists of links, the model now integrates online information with its own reasoning.

Such an approach aims to produce more relevant answers that highlight key insights at the beginning of responses.

Reliability has also improved. Internal evaluations conducted by OpenAI show reductions in hallucination rates across multiple domains.

When using web sources, hallucinations dropped by roughly 26.8 percent in higher-risk fields such as medicine, law, and finance. Improvements were also recorded when the model relied only on its internal knowledge.

Beyond factual accuracy, the model is designed to feel more natural in conversation. OpenAI says the system now avoids overly preachy language, unnecessary disclaimers, and intrusive remarks that previously disrupted dialogue.

The goal is a more consistent conversational personality across updates, while maintaining the familiar user experience of ChatGPT.

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EU citizens propose public social media network under new initiative

The European Commission has registered a European Citizens’ Initiative proposing the creation of a public social media platform operating at the European level, rather than relying exclusively on private technology companies.

An initiative titled the European Public Social Network calls for legislation establishing a publicly funded digital platform designed to serve societal interests.

Organisers argue that a publicly owned network could function independently from commercial incentives and political pressure while guaranteeing equal rights for users across the EU. The proposed platform would operate as a public service overseen by society rather than private corporations.

Registration confirms that the proposal meets the legal requirements of the European Citizens’ Initiative framework. The Commission has not yet assessed the substance of the idea, and registration does not imply support for the proposal.

Supporters must now gather 1 million signatures from citizens across at least 7 EU member states within 12 months. If the threshold is reached, the Commission will be required to formally examine the initiative and decide whether legislative action is appropriate.

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Chrome moves to rapid releases as Google responds to AI disruption

Google is accelerating Chrome’s release cycle rather than maintaining its long-standing four-week cadence.

From September, users on desktop and mobile platforms will receive new stable versions every two weeks, doubling the frequency of feature milestones across speed, stability and usability. Weekly security updates introduced in 2023 remain unchanged.

The faster pace comes as AI-driven browsers seek a foothold in a market long dominated by Chrome.

Products, such as ChatGPT Atlas and Perplexity’s Comet, embed agentic assistants directly into the browsing experience, automating tasks from summarising pages to scheduling meetings.

Chrome has responded with deeper Gemini integration, including the rollout of autonomous features across its interface.

Google maintains that the accelerated schedule reflects the needs of the evolving web platform, arguing that developers require quicker access to updated tools.

Yet the timing aligns with growing competitive pressure from AI-native browsers, prompting speculation that Chrome’s dominance can no longer be taken for granted.

The shift will begin with Chrome version 153 in beta and stable channels on 8 September 2026. Enterprise administrators and Chromebook users will continue to rely on the eight-week Extended Stable branch, which remains unchanged for organisations that need slower, controlled deployments.

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Parliament deadlock leaves EU chat-scanning extension in doubt

The civil liberties committee failed to secure majority backing for its amended report on extending the EU’s temporary chat-scanning rules instead of giving a clear negotiating position.

Members of Parliament reviewed the amendments on Monday, but the final text did not garner sufficient support, leaving the proposal without endorsement as the adoption deadline approaches.

A proposal to extend the current derogation that allows tech companies to voluntarily scan their services for Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).

The existing regime expires in April 2026 and was intended only as a stopgap while a permanent Child Sexual Abuse Regulation was developed. Years of stalled negotiations have led to the temporary rules being extended twice since 2021.

Council has already approved its position without changes to the Commission proposal, creating a tight timeline for Parliament.

With trilogue talks finally underway, institutions would need to conclude discussions unusually quickly to prevent the legal basis from expiring. If no agreement is reached by April, companies would lose their ability to scan services under the EU law.

The committee confirmed that the file will now move to plenary in the week of 9–12 March, where political groups may table new amendments. An outcome that will determine whether the temporary regime remains in place while negotiations on the permanent system continue.

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Europe pressed to slow digital age-verification push amid privacy fears

Hundreds of academics urged governments to halt plans for mandatory age checks on social media, rather than accelerating deployment without assessing the risks.

The warning arrives as several European states consider restrictions on children’s access to online platforms and as companies promote verification tools such as live selfies or uploads of government-issued IDs.

Researchers argue that current systems expose people to privacy breaches, security vulnerabilities and malicious sites that ignore verification rules instead of offering meaningful protection.

They say scientific consensus has not yet formed on the benefits or harms of age-assurance technologies, making large-scale implementation premature and potentially discriminatory.

The letter stresses that any credible system would require cryptographic safeguards for every query, protecting data in transit rather than leaving identity checks to platforms without robust technical guarantees.

Academics believe such infrastructure would be complex to build globally and would create friction that many providers may refuse to adopt.

Concern escalated after early deployments in Italy and France, where verification is already mandatory.

Signatories, including Ronald Rivest and Bart Preneel, warn that governments risk introducing a socially unacceptable system that increases exposure to data misuse instead of ensuring children’s safety online.

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