The UK government has partnered with AI startup Anthropic to explore the use of its chatbot, Claude, in public services. The collaboration aims to improve access to public information and streamline interactions for citizens.
The initiative aligns with Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ambition to establish the UK as a leader in AI and enhance public service efficiency through innovative technologies.
Technology minister Peter Kyle highlighted the importance of this partnership, emphasising its role in positioning the UK as a hub for advanced AI development.
Claude has already been employed by the European Parliament to simplify access to its archives, demonstrating its potential in reducing time for document retrieval and analysis.
This step underscores Britain’s commitment to leveraging cutting-edge AI for the benefit of individuals and businesses nationwide.
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Tencent, a leading Chinese tech giant, has won a significant copyright infringement case in a US district court. The ruling resulted in nearly $85 million in compensation after a Taiwan-based TV box firm, Unblock Tech, and its distributors were found guilty of violating copyrights on over 1,500 Tencent shows, including ‘Little Days’ and ‘Three Body Problem’.
The judgement was handed down by the US District Court for the Western District of Texas. Tencent units, including Tencent Penguin Film and Tencent Technology, brought the case against the defendants for copying, distributing, and importing the content without permission.
Neither Tencent nor Unblock Tech provided comments regarding the ruling.
Analyst Vivian Toh highlighted the challenges of addressing cross-border infringement, stating that Tencent’s success underscores its commitment to protecting intellectual property.
The win reflects the broader issue of video content piracy, which remains a persistent problem across global markets.
Tencent has also pursued similar cases in China, targeting TikTok and Douyin-owner ByteDance over unauthorised use of its content. The outcomes of those lawsuits have yet to be publicly disclosed.
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Italy has rejected claims that Israeli spyware company Paragon ended its collaboration with Rome following allegations that its technology had been misused to target journalists and activists instead of criminals. Cabinet undersecretary for intelligence matters Alfredo Mantovano stated that Paragon had never suspended its services or terminated its contract with the Italian government. Minister for parliamentary relations Luca Ciriani also defended Italy‘s intelligence services, insisting they had acted within the law and had not used the software against protected individuals, including journalists.
Concerns arose after Meta’s WhatsApp revealed that Paragon’s spyware had been used to target multiple individuals, including a journalist and a human rights activist critical of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Italy acknowledged that seven mobile phone users had been affected but denied any government involvement, calling for an investigation. Reports from The Guardian and Haaretz suggested Paragon had severed ties with Rome, doubting the government’s denial of wrongdoing.
Israel-based Paragon and its owner, Florida-based AE Industrial Partners, have not responded to requests for comment. Ciriani assured parliament that Italy’s intelligence services continue to operate fully against national security threats. He also called for the judiciary to investigate the alleged hacking of journalists and activists, stating that Italian intelligence agencies were ready to assist in uncovering the truth.
China’s spending on chipmaking equipment is expected to fall by 6% in 2025, marking its first decline since 2021, according to Canadian research firm TechInsights. The drop follows years of aggressive stockpiling as Chinese firms sought to bypass tightening US export controls. Last year, China accounted for 40% of global semiconductor equipment purchases, but its share is projected to shrink significantly.
Analysts attribute the decline to a combination of overcapacity and the impact of US sanctions, which aim to limit China’s ability to develop advanced chips with potential military applications. Despite these restrictions, companies like SMIC and Huawei have continued to push forward, achieving technological breakthroughs by relying on more expensive and labour-intensive manufacturing processes.
China has made strides in producing mature-node chips and expanding its domestic semiconductor industry, with firms like Naura Technology Group gaining global market share. However, the country remains dependent on foreign suppliers for critical tools such as lithography machines, highlighting ongoing challenges in its push for self-sufficiency.
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Dario Amodei, CEO of AI firm Anthropic, has warned that the race to develop AI is moving faster than efforts to fully understand it. Speaking at an event in Paris, he stressed the need for deeper research into AI models, describing it as a race between expanding capabilities and improving transparency. ‘We can’t slow down development, but our understanding must match our ability to build,’ he said.
Amodei rejected the notion that AI safety measures hinder progress, arguing instead that they help refine and improve models. He pointed to earlier discussions at the UK’s Bletchley Summit, where risk assessment strategies were introduced, and insisted they had not slowed technological growth. ‘Better testing and measurement actually lead to better models,’ he said.
The Anthropic CEO also discussed the evolving AI market, including competition from Chinese firm DeepSeek, whose claims of dramatically lower training costs he dismissed as ‘not based on facts.’ Looking ahead, he hinted at upcoming improvements in AI reasoning, with a focus on creating more seamless transitions between different types of models. He remains optimistic, predicting that AI will drive innovation across industries, from healthcare to finance and energy.
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Germany‘s Federal Cartel Office has expressed concerns over Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature, which could potentially violate antitrust rules for large tech companies. The regulator’s preliminary findings come after a detailed three-year investigation into the feature, which allows iPhone users to block advertisers from tracking their activities across multiple apps. The investigation is part of broader scrutiny over the influence of major tech companies on the digital advertising ecosystem.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Federal Cartel Office noted that Apple now has the opportunity to respond to the allegations. The authority’s concerns focus on whether ATT unfairly impacts the business models of other companies that rely on data-driven advertising, such as Meta Platforms, app developers, and startups. These businesses argue that the feature could severely limit their ability to target users with personalised ads, affecting their revenue generation strategies.
Apple has defended ATT as a crucial privacy tool that empowers users to have more control over their data. The company argues that the feature helps to protect user privacy by giving individuals the option to block third-party tracking. However, its critics, particularly in the advertising industry, contend that ATT has created an uneven playing field, disadvantaging businesses that depend on targeted advertising. The outcome of this investigation could have significant implications for Apple’s business practices in Europe.
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Thomson Reuters has won a legal battle against Ross Intelligence, after a judge ruled that the law firm’s use of Thomson Reuters’ legal content to train an AI model violated US copyright laws. The case stems from a 2020 lawsuit where Thomson Reuters accused the now-defunct legal research firm of using its Westlaw platform to build a competing AI system without permission.
Judge Stephanos Bibas confirmed that Ross Intelligence’s use of the content did not qualify as “fair use” under US copyright law, which permits limited use of copyrighted material for purposes such as teaching or research. Thomson Reuters expressed satisfaction with the ruling, stating that copying its content for AI training was not a fair use.
This case is part of a broader trend of legal challenges involving AI and copyright issues, with authors, artists, and music labels filing similar lawsuits against AI developers for using their works without compensation. These cases all involve the claim that tech companies have used vast amounts of human-created content to train AI models, raising concerns about intellectual property rights and the ethics of AI development.
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Elon Musk’s $97.4 billion bid to acquire OpenAI’s assets has sparked controversy, with OpenAI accusing him of contradicting his own legal claims.
Musk’s lawsuit, filed in August, argues that OpenAI’s assets should remain in a charitable trust and not be transferred for private gain. OpenAI has called his offer ‘an improper bid to undermine a competitor’.
The dispute comes as OpenAI seeks to transition into a for-profit organisation to secure funds for advanced AI development. Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI who left before ChatGPT’s rise in 2022, has launched his own AI startup, xAI, in 2023.
OpenAI’s letter to a federal court highlights the clash between Musk’s stated opposition to privatising its assets and his attempt to acquire them with private investors. The AI company argues that Musk’s bid undermines his legal position and the nonprofit’s mission.
Representatives for Musk have yet to comment. OpenAI continues to defend its transition plan, emphasising the need for substantial investment to remain competitive in the fast-evolving AI landscape.
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Reddit is set to overhaul its search functionality in 2025 by integrating AI-powered features to help users find better answers to complex and subjective questions. CEO Steve Huffman announced that the company will incorporate Reddit Answers, a tool that summarises discussions and highlights key responses, into its existing search system.
The company is also forming a dedicated team of engineers to refine and expand these AI-driven search capabilities. This move follows Reddit’s broader AI strategy, which has already introduced translation tools and AI-powered insights for advertisers. The platform has also experimented with AI-curated search result pages to improve content discovery across different communities.
Despite these advancements, Reddit’s latest earnings report disappointed investors, with daily active users reaching 101.7 million falling short of expectations. Huffman suggested that making search an integral part of user onboarding could help boost engagement and monetisation, positioning AI-powered search as a key driver of Reddit’s future growth.
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Apple has partnered with Chinese tech giant Alibaba to develop AI features for iPhones in China, aiming to bolster its presence in a highly competitive market. The collaboration follows months of uncertainty over Apple’s AI strategy in the country, where rivals like Huawei have already integrated AI tools into their devices. The move marks a shift from Apple’s earlier preference for Baidu, which reportedly fell short of the company’s expectations.
The partnership could help Apple regain lost ground after a decline in iPhone sales during the holiday season, a period typically strong for the company. The AI-powered features have been submitted for regulatory approval in China, a crucial step before their rollout. Apple’s stock saw a 1.5% rise following the news, while Alibaba’s US-listed shares gained 2.6%.
Apple’s decision to work with Alibaba was reportedly influenced by the e-commerce giant’s vast datasets on user shopping and payment habits, which could enhance AI model training and improve personalised services. As Apple anticipates strong sales growth in the current quarter, this partnership could play a key role in driving renewed demand for iPhones in China.
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