Sustainable development

UNDP and Algorand launch blockchain training for 24,000 staff

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has officially expanded its Blockchain Academy to reach 24,000 personnel worldwide, including staff from UNDP, UN Volunteers, and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).

The initiative, launched in partnership with the Algorand Foundation, aims to strengthen understanding and practical use of blockchain technology to support sustainable development goals.

The academy’s expanded curriculum builds on a successful beta phase that certified over 30 UN personnel and introduced 18 hours of specialised training. It now offers advanced modules to help UN staff design transparent and efficient blockchain solutions for real-world challenges.

The training also fosters a collaborative network where participants share best practices and develop blockchain-driven projects across global programmes.

UNDP has used blockchain since 2015 to boost transparency and inclusion, from tracking supply chains to supporting energy trading and digital investments. Through its Algorand partnership, UNDP aims to speed up blockchain adoption by offering technical support and project incubation for scalable sustainable impact.

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Anthropic strengthens European growth through Paris and Munich offices

AI firm Anthropic is expanding its European presence by opening new offices in Paris and Munich, strengthening its footprint alongside existing hubs in London, Dublin, and Zurich.

An expansion that follows rapid growth across the EMEA region, where the company has tripled its workforce and seen a ninefold increase in annual run-rate revenue.

The move comes as European businesses increasingly rely on Claude for critical enterprise tasks. Companies such as L’Oréal, BMW, SAP, and Sanofi are using the AI model to enhance software, improve workflows, and ensure operational reliability.

Germany and France, both among the top 20 countries in Claude usage per capita, are now at the centre to Anthropic’s strategic expansion.

Anthropic is also strengthening its leadership team across Europe. Guillaume Princen will oversee startups and digital-native businesses, while Pip White and Thomas Remy will lead the northern and southern EMEA regions, respectively.

A new head will soon be announced for Central and Eastern Europe, reflecting the company’s growing regional reach.

Beyond commercial goals, Anthropic is partnering with European institutions to promote AI education and culture. It collaborates with the Light Art Space in Berlin, supports student hackathons through TUM.ai, and works with the French organisation Unaite to advance developer training.

These partnerships reinforce Anthropic’s long-term commitment to responsible AI growth across the continent.

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Meta invests $600 billion to expand AI data centres across the US

A $600 billion investment aimed at boosting innovation, job creation, and sustainability is being launched in the US by Meta to expand its AI infrastructure.

Instead of outsourcing development, the company is building its new generation of AI data centres domestically, reinforcing America’s leadership in technology and supporting local economies.

Since 2010, Meta’s data centre projects have supported more than 30,000 skilled trade jobs and 5,000 operational roles, generating $20 billion in business for US subcontractors. These facilities are designed to power Meta’s AI ambitions while driving regional economic growth.

The company emphasises responsible development by investing heavily in renewable energy and water efficiency. Its projects have added 15 gigawatts of new energy to US power grids, upgraded local infrastructure, and helped restore water systems in surrounding communities.

Meta aims to become fully water positive by 2030.

Beyond infrastructure, Meta has channelled $58 million into community grants for schools, nonprofits, and local initiatives, including STEM education and veteran training programmes.

As AI grows increasingly central to digital progress, Meta’s continued investment in sustainable, community-focused data centres underscores its vision for a connected, intelligent future built within the US.

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Inside OpenAI’s battle to protect AI from prompt injection attacks

OpenAI has identified prompt injection as one of the most pressing new challenges in AI security. As AI systems gain the ability to browse the web, handle personal data and act on users’ behalf, they become targets for malicious instructions hidden within online content.

These attacks, known as prompt injections, can trick AI models into taking unintended actions or revealing sensitive information.

To counter the issue, OpenAI has adopted a multi-layered defence strategy that combines safety training, automated monitoring and system-level security protections. The company’s research into ‘Instruction Hierarchy’ aims to help models distinguish between trusted and untrusted commands.

Continuous red-teaming and automated detection systems further strengthen resilience against evolving threats.

OpenAI also provides users with greater control, featuring built-in safeguards such as approval prompts before sensitive actions, sandboxing for code execution, and ‘Watch Mode’ when operating on financial or confidential sites.

These measures ensure that users remain aware of what actions AI agents perform on their behalf.

While prompt injection remains a developing risk, OpenAI expects adversaries to devote significant resources to exploiting it. The company continues to invest in research and transparency, aiming to make AI systems as secure and trustworthy as a cautious, well-informed human colleague.

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A €358 million EU investment strengthens the clean energy transition

The EU has announced more than €358 million in new funding for 132 environmental and climate projects under the LIFE Programme.

The investment covers over half of the total €536 million required, with the remainder coming from national and local governments, private partners and civil society.

A project that will advance the transition of the EU to a clean, circular and climate-resilient economy while supporting biodiversity, competitiveness and long-term climate neutrality.

Funding includes €147 million for nature and biodiversity, €76 million for circular economy initiatives, €58 million for climate resilience and €77 million for clean energy transition projects.

Examples include habitat restoration in Sweden and Poland, sustainable farming in France, and renewable energy training in France’s new LIFE SUNACADEMY. Other projects will tackle pollution, restore peatlands, and modernise energy systems across Europe, from rural communities to remote islands.

Since its launch in 1992, the LIFE Programme has co-financed over 6,500 projects that support environmental innovation and sustainability.

The current programme runs until 2027 with a total budget of €5.43 billion, managed by the European Climate Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA).

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Cars.com launches Carson AI to transform online car shopping

The US tech company, Cars.com, has unveiled Carson, a multilingual AI search engine designed to revolutionise the online car shopping experience.

Instead of relying on complex filters, Carson interprets natural language queries such as ‘a reliable car for a family of five’ or ‘a used truck under $30,000’, instantly producing targeted results tailored to each shopper’s needs.

A new AI feature that already powers around 15% of all web and mobile searches on Cars.com, with early data showing that users engaging with Carson return to the site twice as often and save three times more vehicles.

They also generate twice as many leads and convert 30% more frequently from search to vehicle detail pages.

Cars.com aims to simplify decision-making for its 25 million monthly shoppers, 70% of whom begin their search without knowing which brand or model to choose.

Carson helps these undecided users explore lifestyle, emotional and practical preferences while guiding them through Cars.com’s award-winning listings.

Further updates will introduce AI-generated summaries, personalised comparisons and search refinement suggestions.

Cars.com’s parent company, Cars Commerce, plans to expand its use of AI-driven tools to strengthen its role at the forefront of automotive retail innovation, offering a more efficient and intelligent marketplace for both consumers and dealerships.

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Suleyman sets limits for safer superintelligence at Microsoft

Microsoft AI says its work toward superintelligence will be explicitly ‘humanist’, designed to keep people at the top of the food chain. In a new blog post, Microsoft AI head Mustafa Suleyman announced a team focused on building systems that are subordinate, controllable, and designed to serve human interests.

Suleyman says superintelligence should not be unbounded. Models will be calibrated, contextualised, and limited to align with human goals. He joined Microsoft last year as its AI CEO, which has begun rolling out its first in-house models for text, voice, and images.

The move lands amid intensifying competition in advanced AI. Under a revised agreement with OpenAI, Microsoft can now independently pursue AGI or partner elsewhere. Suleyman says Microsoft AI will reject race narratives while acknowledging the need to advance capability and governance together.

Microsoft’s initial use cases emphasise an AI companion to help people learn, act, and feel supported; healthcare assistance to augment clinicians; and tools for scientific discovery in areas such as clean energy. The intent is to combine productivity gains with stronger safety controls from the outset.

‘Humans matter more than AI,’ Suleyman writes, casting ‘humanist superintelligence’ as technology that stays on humanity’s team. He frames the programme as a guard against Pandora’s box risks by binding robust systems to explicit constraints, oversight, and application contexts.

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UNESCO launches Beruniy Prize to promote ethical AI innovation

UNESCO and the Uzbekistan Arts and Culture Development Foundation have introduced the UNESCO–Uzbekistan Beruniy Prize for Scientific Research on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.

The award, presented at the 43rd General Conference in Samarkand, recognises global leaders whose research and policy efforts promote responsible and human-centred AI innovation. Each laureate received $30,000, a Beruniy medal, and a certificate.

Professor Virgilio Almeida was honoured for advancing ethical, inclusive AI and democratic digital governance. Human rights expert Susan Perry and computer scientist Claudia Roda were recognised for promoting youth-centred AI ethics that protect privacy, inclusion, and fairness.

The Institute for AI International Governance at Tsinghua University in China also received the award for promoting international cooperation and responsible AI policy.

UNESCO’s Audrey Azoulay and Gayane Uemerova emphasised that ethics should guide technology to serve humanity, not restrict it. Laureates echoed the need for shared moral responsibility and global cooperation in shaping AI’s future.

The new Beruniy Prize reaffirms that ethics form the cornerstone of progress. By celebrating innovation grounded in empathy, inclusivity, and accountability, UNESCO aims to ensure AI remains a force for peace, justice, and sustainable development.

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Coca-Cola enhances its AI-powered Christmas ad to fix last year’s visual flaws

Coca-Cola has released an improved AI-generated Christmas commercial after last year’s debut campaign drew criticism for its unsettling visuals.

The latest ‘Holidays Are Coming’ ads, developed in part by San Francisco-based Silverside, showcase more natural animation and a wider range of festive creatures, instead of the overly lifelike characters that previously unsettled audiences.

The new version avoids the ‘uncanny valley’ effect that plagued 2024’s ads. The use of generative AI by Coca-Cola reflects a wider advertising trend focused on speed and cost efficiency, even as creative professionals warn about its potential impact on traditional jobs.

Despite the efficiency gains, AI-assisted advertising remains labour-intensive. Teams of digital artists refine the content frame by frame to ensure realistic and emotionally engaging visuals.

Industry data show that 30% of commercials and online videos in 2025 were created or enhanced using generative AI, compared with 22% in 2023.

Coca-Cola’s move follows similar initiatives by major firms, including Google’s first fully AI-generated ad spot launched last month, signalling that generative AI is now becoming a mainstream creative tool across global marketing.

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How Google uses AI to support teachers and inspire students

Google is redefining education with AI designed to enhance learning, rather than replace teachers. The company has unveiled new tools grounded in learning science to support both educators and students, aiming to make learning more effective, efficient and engaging.

Through its Gemini platform, users can follow guided learning paths that encourage discovery rather than passive answers.

YouTube and Search now include conversational features that allow students to ask questions as they learn, while NotebookLM can transform personal materials into quizzes or immersive study aids.

Instructors can also utilise Google Classroom’s free AI tools for lesson planning and administrative support, thereby freeing up time for direct student engagement.

Google emphasises that its goal is to preserve the human essence of education while using AI to expand understanding. The company also addresses challenges linked to AI in learning, such as cheating, fairness, accuracy and critical thinking.

It is exploring assessment models that cannot be easily replicated by AI, including debates, projects, and oral examinations.

The firm pledges to develop its tools responsibly by collaborating with educators, parents and policymakers. By combining the art of teaching with the science of AI-driven learning, Google seeks to make education more personal, equitable and inspiring for all.

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