Sustainable development Archives | Page 14 of 302

Workplace adoption of AI varies widely in the EU

Generative AI is becoming increasingly common in Europe, with around a third of people using the tools in 2025. Fewer than half of these users apply AI professionally, leaving workplace adoption at just 15%.

Usage varies greatly across the continent. Norway recorded the highest rate at 35.4%, followed closely by Switzerland at 34.4%. Northern and Western European nations generally lead, while Eastern and Southeastern countries report much lower rates, with Hungary at only 1.3%.

Among the EU’s largest economies, France and Spain have the highest workplace AI use, at 18.4% and 17.9%, respectively, while Germany is slightly above average at 15.8%, and Italy lags at 8%. Experts note that adoption depends on skills, trust, governance, and the structure of national economies.

The gap between personal and professional AI use highlights growth potential. As AI agents continue spreading across workplaces, adoption rates are expected to rise, particularly in industries suited to generative AI, such as ICT, research, media, and knowledge-based sectors.

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Meta’s metaverse collapses as Horizon Worlds shuts down on Quest

Meta will shut down Horizon Worlds on its Quest headsets, ending its flagship virtual reality (VR) platform and marking a clear retreat from its metaverse ambitions. The app will be removed from the Quest store on 31 March and discontinued in VR by 15 June, continuing only as a mobile service.

Horizon Worlds, launched in 2021, was central to Meta’s rebranding from Facebook and its vision of a fully immersive virtual environment. Despite billions in investment and high-profile partnerships, the platform failed to attract a large user base and struggled with design limitations and weak engagement.

Reality Labs, the division behind the metaverse push, has accumulated nearly $80 billion in losses since 2020, including more than $6 billion in a single quarter. Recent layoffs affecting around 10 percent of the VR workforce, along with the shutdown of related projects, underscore a broader pullback.

Competition and shifting priorities have accelerated the decline. Rival platforms such as VRChat maintained stronger communities, while Meta increasingly redirected resources toward AI and hardware, including its Ray-Ban smart glasses.

Although Meta says it remains committed to VR, the closure of Horizon Worlds signals a strategic reset. The company is repositioning its future around AI-driven products, marking a decisive shift away from its earlier metaverse vision.

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Google responds to UK digital market rules and CMA proposals

Debate over proposed UK digital market rules is intensifying, with Google outlining its position and emphasising the need to balance competition with user experience and platform integrity. The company said it supports the objectives of the Competition and Markets Authority but warned that some proposals could introduce risks for users.

G o ogle argued that maintaining fair and relevant search results remains a priority, stating that its ranking systems are designed to prioritise quality rather than favour its own services. It cautioned that certain third-party proposals could expose its systems to manipulation, potentially weakening protections against spam and reducing the pace of product improvements.

The company also addressed user choice on Android devices, noting that existing options already allow users to select preferred services. It suggested that adding frequent mandatory choice screens could disrupt user experience, proposing instead a permanent settings-based option to change defaults without repeated prompts.

Regarding publisher relations, Google highlighted efforts to increase control over how content is used, particularly with generative AI features such as AI Overviews. It said new tools are being developed to allow publishers to opt out of specific AI functionalities while maintaining visibility in search results.

Google said it would continue engaging with UK regulators to shape rules that support users, publishers, and businesses, while ensuring that innovation and service quality are not compromised.

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Growing investment and energy plans reshape Armenia’s AI future

Armenia’s recent technology announcements are helping to form a clearer national AI strategy with stronger coordination. A memorandum with the US on semiconductors and AI now appears to be moving beyond symbolic commitment into action.

Momentum has accelerated with plans to expand a large-scale AI factory backed by significant investment. The project is estimated at around $4 billion and includes tens of thousands of advanced GPUs to support large-scale development.

The initiative is already entering construction, marking a shift from concept to execution in a short timeframe. Officials have described a broader vision of building a network of AI factories across the country.

Energy planning is becoming central, with discussions around deploying a small modular nuclear reactor to meet demand. Stable and scalable power is considered essential for sustaining long-term AI infrastructure growth.

Efforts are also targeting the wider ecosystem through a Virtual AI Institute and planned GPU access for startups. These steps aim to strengthen research capacity and ensure local participation in the country’s AI expansion.

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Dublin launches major data centre microgrid

A new 110MW data centre microgrid has been launched in Dublin to support rising AI-driven energy demand. The system is designed to provide reliable power during early development stages before full grid connection.

The project combines energy generation, battery storage and heat recovery to improve efficiency and resilience. Developers say the system can help address power constraints affecting large-scale cloud and AI facilities.

Industry leaders in Dublin say the microgrid offers a model for integrating renewable energy with traditional infrastructure. The approach could be replicated in other European markets facing similar grid limitations.

Experts say the system also enables future innovations such as hydrogen integration and district heating. The project reflects a broader shift towards treating energy as a strategic asset in the expansion of AI infrastructure.

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AI platform boosts efficiency in Tokyo administration

Tokyo authorities are accelerating the adoption of generative AI across public administration, aiming to improve efficiency and address labour shortages. Municipal governments across the capital are increasingly integrating AI into daily operations.

A new AI platform with GovTech Tokyo enables public employees to build customised applications without advanced technical skills. Built on open-source software, the system lowers costs and removes barriers linked to development and infrastructure.

Practical applications include document drafting tools, regulatory search systems, and internal chatbots. Early deployments, such as in Sumida Ward, show reduced operational costs and faster workflows compared to outsourcing solutions.

GovTech Tokyo, established in 2023 to lead digital transformation, continues to expand support frameworks and expertise. Plans are underway to enable the sharing of AI applications across municipalities, strengthening collaboration and standardising innovation across the capital.

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White-collar jobs hold steady as automation concerns grow

Mass layoffs across major tech firms, including Amazon’s 16,000 job cuts, have intensified concerns that AI will replace white-collar workers. Headlines suggest a rapid shift, yet broader labour data tells a more measured story.

US employment has grown by 1.1% since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, reaching over 157 million workers. Service industries expanded significantly, adding more than two million jobs, while goods-producing sectors declined modestly.

Overall trends indicate no major disruption to the labour market so far.

Sector-level data reveals uneven shifts. The information industry recorded the steepest losses, particularly in media, telecoms, and content production, where automation and long-term structural changes continue to reduce headcounts.

Meanwhile, highly automatable roles such as telemarketing and call centres saw the sharpest declines.

Professional services present a more complex picture. Legal, engineering, and consulting roles have grown or remained stable, defying expectations of widespread displacement.

Hiring continues to exceed layoffs in several sectors, though younger workers appear increasingly vulnerable as competition intensifies in AI-exposed roles.

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Tether unveils mobile-friendly AI training platform

Tether has launched an AI framework that runs large language models on smartphones and non-NVIDIA GPUs. The system is part of its QVAC platform and uses Microsoft’s BitNet architecture, along with LoRA techniques to reduce memory and computational requirements.

The framework enables cross-platform training on AMD, Intel, Apple Silicon, and mobile GPUs, allowing models with up to 1 billion parameters to be fine-tuned on phones in under 2 hours.

Larger models with up to 13 billion parameters are also supported on mobile devices. BitNet’s 1-bit architecture reduces VRAM requirements by nearly 78%, enabling larger models to run on limited hardware.

Performance improvements benefit inference, with mobile GPUs outperforming CPUs, enabling on-device training and federated learning. By reducing reliance on cloud infrastructure, the system offers more flexible AI development for distributed environments.

Tether’s expansion into AI mirrors a broader trend in the crypto sector, where companies are investing in AI infrastructure, autonomous agents, and high-performance computing.

Industry activity includes record revenue growth for AI and HPC operations, blockchain-integrated AI agents, and new tools for secure on-chain transactions.

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AgentKit enables ID verification for AI-powered online commerce

Tools for Humanity has introduced a new verification system to strengthen trust in online transactions, as demand for reliable ID verification tools grows in AI-driven environments. The update builds on its World project, which aims to prove that real humans, rather than automated systems, are behind digital activity.

The company’s latest release, AgentKit, is designed to support agentic commerce by allowing websites to verify that AI agents are acting on behalf of authenticated users. As AI programs increasingly browse websites and make purchases autonomously, ID verification tools are becoming essential to prevent fraud, spam, and misuse.

AgentKit relies on World ID, a system that generates a secure digital identity through biometric verification. Users obtain a verified ID by scanning their iris using a dedicated device, which converts the scan into an encrypted digital code. These ID verification tools are then used to confirm that transactions initiated by AI agents are linked to a real and unique individual.

The system integrates with the x402 protocol, a blockchain-based standard developed by Coinbase and Cloudflare, enabling automated transactions between systems. By combining this protocol with ID verification tools, websites can validate whether a human user authorises an AI agent before completing a purchase.

‘AgentKit is built as a complementary extension to the x402 v2 protocol, in coordination with Coinbase,’ the company said. ‘The integration is designed so that any website already using x402 can enable proof of unique human verification alongside (or instead of) micropayments.’

According to the company, the approach functions similarly to delegating authority to an AI agent, allowing platforms to decide whether to trust automated actions. These ID verification tools provide a layer of accountability, helping ensure that AI-driven transactions remain secure and traceable.

AgentKit is currently available in beta, with developers encouraged to test and refine the system. However, access depends on users obtaining a verified World ID, reinforcing the central role of biometric-based ID verification tools in the company’s ecosystem.

As agentic commerce expands across platforms such as Amazon and Mastercard, the need for trusted identity systems is becoming more urgent. By positioning its ID verification tools at the centre of this emerging market, the company aims to establish itself as a key provider of trust infrastructure for AI-powered digital transactions.

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UK announces £2.5 billion investment in AI and quantum technologies

Plans to accelerate technological leadership have been outlined by the HM Treasury and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with a £2.5 billion investment targeting AI and quantum computing.

Ambition has been reinforced by Rachel Reeves, who positioned AI as a central driver of economic growth, alongside closer European ties and regional development. Strategy aims to secure the fastest adoption of AI across the G7 while supporting domestic innovation ecosystems.

Significant funding in the UK will be directed towards a Sovereign AI initiative, quantum infrastructure and research capacity. Plans include procurement of large-scale quantum systems and targeted investment in startups, helping companies scale while strengthening national capabilities in advanced technologies.

Expectations surrounding quantum computing are framed as transformative, with potential to reshape industries from healthcare to energy. Combined investment reflects a broader effort to align innovation policy with long-term economic growth and global competitiveness.

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