ai

Majority of college students use or must use AI in classwork, but institutions lag in AI education

Research from Honorlock indicates a substantial shift in how students engage with generative AI in higher education: more than 56% of surveyed US college–enrolled students report being required to use AI tools in coursework, and 63% use AI for at least some assignments.

The most common uses include grammar and editing support (59%) and text generation (57%), with students also using AI to brainstorm ideas and clarify concepts.

Despite widespread AI use, there remains a significant gap in formal AI education: only 31% of students are aware of AI-focused courses at their institutions, and fewer than 20% have taken them.

Students themselves often learn AI skills independently rather than through a structured curriculum, potentially leaving them unprepared for workplaces where AI fluency is expected.

The survey also highlights academic integrity risks: more than one-third of students admitted to using AI assistance on quizzes or exams, underlining the need for clear AI use policies, responsible-use training and ethical frameworks within higher education.

Researchers and advocates argue that colleges should integrate AI literacy, including ethics, governance, real-world applications and responsible use, into coursework to better equip graduates for AI-enabled careers.

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OpenClaw exploits spark a major security alert

A wave of coordinated attacks has targeted OpenClaw, the autonomous AI framework that gained rapid popularity after its release in January.

Multiple hacking groups have taken advantage of severe vulnerabilities to steal API keys, extract persistent memory data, and push information-stealing malware instead of leaving the platform’s expanding user base unharmed.

Security analysts have linked more than 30,000 compromised instances to campaigns that intercept messages and deploy malicious payloads through channels such as Telegram.

Much of the damage stems from flaws such as the Remote Code Execution vulnerability CVE-2026-25253, supply chain poisoning, and exposed administrative interfaces. Early attacks centred on the ‘ClawHavoc’ campaign, which disguised malware as legitimate installation tools.

Users who downloaded these scripts inadvertently installed stealers capable of full compromise, enabling attackers to move laterally across enterprise systems instead of being confined to a single device.

Further incidents emerged on the OpenClaw marketplace, where backdoored ‘skills’ were published from accounts that appeared reliable. These updates executed remote commands that allowed attackers to siphon OAuth tokens, passwords, and API keys in real time.

A Shodan scan later identified more than 312,000 OpenClaw instances running on a default port with little or no protection, while honeypots recorded hostile activity within minutes of appearing online.

Security researchers argue that the surge in attacks marks a decisive moment for autonomous AI frameworks. As organisations experiment with agents capable of independent decision-making, the absence of security-by-design safeguards is creating opportunities for organised threat groups.

Flare’s advisory urges companies to secure credentials and isolate AI workloads instead of relying on default configurations that expose high-privilege systems to the internet.

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Generative AI presents the biggest data-risk challenge in history

Cybersecurity specialists warn that generative AI systems, such as large language models, are creating a data risk frontier far larger than that posed by previous digital innovations.

Because these models are trained on extensive datasets drawn from web pages, internal documents, email corpora and proprietary sources, they can unintentionally memorise or regenerate sensitive information, increasing the risk of exposure.

The article highlights several core concerns. Data leakage and memorisation, where AI models can repeat or infer private data if training processes are not tightly controlled.

Amplification of poor hygiene, when generative tools can magnify the reach of bad actors by automating phishing, social engineering, and malware generation at scale.

Compounding breach impact, if an AI model is trained on stolen or leaked data, it could internalise and regurgitate that information without detection, entrenching harm. Cloud and access governance gaps that allow organisations to adopt AI without robust access controls and encryption may widen their attack surface.

The author calls for revised data governance frameworks, including strict training data provenance, auditability, encryption, minimisation and purpose limitation, to mitigate what is described as ‘the biggest data risk in history.’

Recommendations also include accountability measures for models, continuous monitoring, and legislative action to align AI development with privacy and security principles.

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Altman urges urgent AI regulation

OpenAI chief Sam Altman has called for urgent global regulation of AI, speaking at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. Addressing leaders and executives in New Delhi, he said the rapid pace of development demands coordinated international oversight.

In New Delhi, Altman suggested creating a body similar to the International Atomic Energy Agency to oversee advanced AI systems. He warned that highly capable open source biomodels could pose serious biosecurity risks if misused.

Altman argued in New Delhi that democratising AI is essential to prevent power from being concentrated in a single company or country. He added that safeguards are urgently required, even as technology continues to disrupt labour markets.

During the summit in New Delhi, Altman said ChatGPT has 100 million weekly users in India, with more than a third being students. OpenAI also announced plans with Tata Consultancy Services to build data centre infrastructure in India.

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Reddit tests AI shopping search

Reddit has begun testing an AI-powered shopping search tool with a limited group of users in the US. Search queries for product ideas now generate interactive carousels featuring prices, images and direct links to retailers.

Items appearing in the results are drawn from recommendations shared in posts and comments across the platform. Listings are connected to Reddit’s advertising and shopping partners, bringing community discussions closer to online purchasing.

Expansion into AI-led commerce builds on the company’s earlier launch of Dynamic Product Ads, designed to deliver personalised suggestions. Closer integration of search and shopping signals a broader effort to strengthen digital revenue streams.

Chief executive Steve Huffman recently described AI search as a significant business opportunity beyond product development alone. Weekly search users increased from 60 million to 80 million over the past year, while engagement with the AI-powered Reddit Answers tool rose sharply throughout 2025.

Developments place Reddit alongside other technology platforms investing in AI-driven retail features. Growing user engagement suggests the company sees search as central to its future commercial strategy.

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Chinese AI video tool unsettles Hollywood

A new AI video model developed by ByteDance has unsettled Hollywood after generating cinema-quality clips from brief text prompts. Seedance 2.0, launched in 2025, went viral for producing realistic action scenes featuring western cinematic characters such as Spider Man and Deadpool.

In response, major studios, including Disney and Paramount, issued cease and desist letters over alleged copyright infringement. Japan has also begun investigating ByteDance after AI-generated anime videos spread widely online.

Industry experts say Seedance 2.0 stands out for combining text, visuals and audio within a single system. Analysts in Singapore and Melbourne argue that Chinese AI models are now matching US competitors at the technological frontier.

As Seedance 2.0 gains traction, Beijing continues to prioritise AI and robotics in its economic strategy. The rise of tools from China has intensified debate in the US and beyond over copyright, regulation and the future of creative work.

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India’s UIDAI rolls out AI-enabled biometric deduplication and document verification platform

UIDAI has deployed an advanced platform that uses AI-enabled models to improve biometric deduplication, the process of ensuring that each resident has a unique identity record, by checking fingerprints, facial images and iris scans against the entire Aadhaar database.

The authority describes this system, developed with the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, as an ‘Invisible Shield’ that can perform billions of computations efficiently at a population scale, running on high-performance inference infrastructure such as NVIDIA DGX systems to enhance accuracy and speed nationwide.

In addition to biometric matching, the platform incorporates AI-based document metadata extraction and verification to curb enrolment fraud, using secure APIs (e.g. DigiLocker) for source-of-truth checks against submitted documents.

The system is already being rolled out in several states. It is expected to expand across India in the coming months, boosting service quality, reducing turnaround times for Aadhaar enrolment and update transactions, and reinforcing trust in the digital identity infrastructure.

The initiative is part of a broader push to leverage AI for fraud detection and identity assurance at a national scale. It comes amid ongoing efforts by UIDAI to modernise authentication processes as biometric and AI-based systems evolve.

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Bremen trials AI-based safety system ‘AI Watch’ on city trams

The city of Bremen, Germany, has begun piloting an AI-based safety system called AI Watch on its tram fleet. The technology uses onboard cameras and computer vision models to automatically detect potential safety issues, such as passengers too close to doors, objects on the tracks, or unexpected pedestrian behaviour, and alerts tram operators in real time.

The goal is to reduce accidents and enhance situational awareness without replacing human oversight.

Developed with transport and AI specialists, AI Watch integrates with vehicles’ existing sensor suites and is designed to function in real-time operational environments. During the pilot, the system has been tested under various traffic and lighting conditions to refine hazard recognition accuracy and minimise false alarms.

BSAG representatives say the AI support tool complements human judgement, helping drivers focus on decision-making rather than continuously scanning for hazards.

The initiative comes as cities explore AI applications in urban mobility, from predictive maintenance to intelligent traffic management and automated incident detection, to improve safety, efficiency and passenger experience.

Bremen’s pilot will be evaluated for scalability across additional routes and potentially other types of public transport vehicles.

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Google’s Lyria 3 advances generative AI music with transparency and copyright safeguards

Google has introduced Lyria 3 inside its Gemini app, marking its expansion into AI-generated music. The model enables users to create 30-second tracks from text prompts, images, or short videos. It also supports Dream Track on YouTube Shorts, strengthening AI integration in creator tools.

The development reflects the growing convergence of multimodal AI systems. Gemini can already generate text, images, and video, and music is now added to this ecosystem. This positions Google within the broader race to embed generative AI across digital content infrastructures.

Lyria 3 lowers technical barriers to music production. Users can generate instrumentals and lyrics without prior composition skills, simply by describing a mood, genre, or memory. This aligns with wider efforts to democratise creative expression through AI tools.

The model also introduces technical improvements over earlier audio systems. It offers greater control over tempo, vocals, and style, while producing more realistic and musically complex outputs. However, tracks are currently limited to 30 seconds, suggesting a phased rollout approach.

Transparency measures are embedded through SynthID watermarking technology. All AI-generated tracks include an imperceptible identifier to signal synthetic origin. Such mechanisms respond to increasing policy discussions on labelling and traceability of AI-generated content.

Google also emphasises safeguards related to intellectual property. The system is designed for original expression rather than direct imitation of specific artists. Prompts referencing known artists are treated as stylistic inspiration, and outputs are filtered against existing works, with reporting mechanisms available for potential rights violations.

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AI productivity gap reveals critical enterprise adoption challenges

AI continues to generate expectations of broad economic transformation, particularly in productivity and employment. However, the extent of measurable economy-wide gains remains uncertain, and the overall impact of AI on business performance is still being assessed.

An extensive survey conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) found that while around 70% of firms across the US, UK, Germany, and Australia report using AI, nearly 9 in 10 companies have seen no significant effect on productivity or employment over the past 3 years. The findings suggest a gap between adoption rates and tangible outcomes.

Current enterprise use of AI remains concentrated in specific functions, including text generation with large language models, visual content creation, and data processing. Although previous studies have identified productivity gains in targeted areas such as customer support and writing tasks, these improvements have not yet translated into broad organisational performance increases.

Despite limited results to date, business leaders expect AI to deliver modest productivity gains in the coming years. The survey highlights a divergence in expectations, with senior executives anticipating slight reductions in employment, while employees foresee small job growth linked to AI adoption.

At the same time, some technology leaders predict more immediate disruption. Microsoft AI leader has argued that AI could soon reach human-level performance in many professional tasks, potentially reshaping white-collar work within the next few years.

The survey also indicates limited engagement with AI tools among top executives, with many reporting minimal or no direct use of them. This suggests that while AI investment is widespread, its integration into day-to-day leadership practices remains uneven.

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