ai

AI and human love in the digital age debate

AI is increasingly entering intimate areas of human life, including romance and emotional companionship. AI chatbots are now widely used as digital companions, raising broader questions about emotional authenticity and human-machine relationships.

Millions of people use AI companion apps, and studies suggest that a significant share of them describe their relationship with a chatbot as romantic. While users may experience genuine emotions, experts stress that current AI systems do not feel love but generate responses based on patterns in data.

Researchers explain that large language models can simulate empathy and emotional understanding, yet they lack consciousness and subjective experience. Their outputs are designed to imitate human interaction rather than reflect genuine emotion.

Scientific research describes love as deeply rooted in biology. Hormones such as dopamine and oxytocin, along with specific brain regions, shape attraction, attachment, and emotional bonding. These processes are embodied and chemical, which machines do not possess.

Some scholars argue that future AI systems could replicate certain cognitive aspects of attachment, such as loyalty or repeated engagement. However, most agree that replicating human love would likely require consciousness, which remains poorly understood and technically unresolved.

Debate continues over whether conscious AI is theoretically possible. While some researchers believe advanced architectures or neuromorphic computing could move in that direction, no existing system meets the established criteria for consciousness.

In practice, human-AI romantic relationships remain asymmetrical. Chatbots are designed to engage, agree, and provide comfort, which can create dependency or unrealistic expectations about real-world relationships.

Experts therefore emphasise transparency and AI literacy, stressing that users should understand AI companions simulate emotion and do not possess feelings, intentions, or awareness; while these systems can imitate expressions of love, they do not experience it, and the emotional reality remains human even when the interaction is digital.

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AI workshops strengthen digital skills in Wales tourism sector

Wales has launched a national programme of practical AI workshops to help tourism and hospitality businesses adopt digital tools. Funded by Visit Wales and the Welsh Government, the initiative aims to strengthen the sector’s competitiveness by assisting companies to save time and enhance their online presence.

Strong demand reflects growing readiness within the sector to embrace AI. Delivered through Business Wales, the free sessions have quickly reached near capacity, with most places booked shortly after launch. The programme is tailored to small and medium-sized enterprises and prioritises hands-on learning over technical theory.

Workshops focus on simple, immediately usable tools that improve website content, search visibility, and customer engagement. Organisers highlight that AI-driven search features are reshaping how visitors discover tourism services, making accuracy, consistency, and authoritative digital content increasingly important.

At the centre of the initiative is Harri, a bespoke AI tool explicitly developed for Welsh tourism businesses. Designed to reflect the local context, it supports listings management, customer enquiries, and search optimisation. Early feedback indicates that the approach delivers practical and measurable benefits.

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Cisco warns AI agents need checks before joining workforces

The US-based conglomerate Cisco is promoting a future in which AI agents work alongside employees rather than operate as mere tools. Jeetu Patel, the company’s president, revealed that Cisco has already produced a product written entirely with AI-generated code and expects several more by the end of 2026.

A shift to spec-driven development that allows smaller human teams to work with digital agents instead of relying on larger groups of developers.

Human oversight will still play a central role. Coders will be asked to review AI-generated outputs as they adjust to a workplace where AI influences every stage of development. Patel argues that AI should be viewed as part of every loop rather than kept at the edge of decision-making.

Security concerns dominate the company’s planning. Patel warns that AI agents acting as digital co-workers must undergo background checks in the same way that employees do.

Cisco is investing billions in security systems to protect agents from external attacks and to prevent agents that malfunction or act independently from harming society.

Looking ahead, Cisco expects AI to deliver insights that extend beyond human knowledge. Patel believes that the most significant gains will emerge from breakthroughs in science, health, energy and poverty reduction rather than simple productivity improvements.

He also positions Cisco as a core provider of infrastructure designed to support the next stage of the AI era.

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South Korea launches labour–government body to address AI automation pressures

A new consultative body has been established in South Korea to manage growing anxiety over AI and rapid industrial change.

The Ministry of Employment and Labour joined forces with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions to create a regular channel for negotiating how workplaces should adapt as robots and AI systems become more widespread across key industries.

The two sides will meet monthly to seek agreement on major labour issues. The union argued for a human-centred transition instead of a purely technological one, urging the government to strengthen protections for workers affected by restructuring and AI-powered production methods.

Officials in South Korea responded by promising that policy decisions will reflect direct input gathered from employees on the ground.

Concerns heightened after Hyundai Motor confirmed plans to mass-produce Atlas humanoid robots by 2028 and introduce them across its assembly lines. The project forms part of the company’s ambition to build a ‘physical AI’ future where machines perform risky or repetitive tasks in place of humans.

The debate intensified as new labour statistics showed a sharp decline in employment within professional and scientific technical services, where AI deployment is suspected of reducing demand for new hires.

KCTU warned that industrial transformation could widen inequality unless government policy prioritises people over profit.

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AI adoption leaves workers exhausted as a new study reveals rising workloads

Researchers from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business examined how AI shapes working habits inside a mid-sized technology firm, and the outcome raised concerns about employee well-being.

Workers embraced AI voluntarily because the tools promised faster results instead of lighter schedules. Over time, staff absorbed extra tasks and pushed themselves beyond sustainable limits, creating a form of workload creep that drained energy and reduced job satisfaction.

Once the novelty faded, employees noticed that AI had quietly intensified expectations. Engineers reported spending more time correcting AI-generated material passed on by colleagues, while many workers handled several tasks at once by combining manual effort with multiple automated agents.

Constant task-switching gave a persistent sense of juggling responsibilities, which lowered the quality of their focus.

These researchers also found that AI crept into personal time, with workers prompting tools during breaks, meetings, or moments intended for rest.

As a result, the boundaries between professional and private time weakened, leaving many employees feeling less refreshed and more pressured to keep up with accelerating workflows.

The study argues that AI increased the density of work rather than reducing it, undermining promises that automation would ease daily routines.

Evidence from other institutions reinforces the pattern, with many firms reporting little or no productivity improvement from AI. Researchers recommend clearer company-level AI guidelines to prevent overuse and protect staff from escalating workloads driven by automation.

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Facebook boosts user creativity with new Meta AI animations

Meta has introduced a new group of Facebook features that rely on Meta AI to expand personal expression across profiles, photos and Stories.

Users gain the option to animate their profile pictures, turning a still image into a short motion clip that reflects their mood instead of remaining static. Effects such as waves, confetti, hearts and party hats offer simple tools for creating a more playful online presence.

The update also includes Restyle, a tool that reimagines Stories and Memories through preset looks or AI-generated prompts. Users may shift an ordinary photograph into an illustrated, anime or glowy aesthetic, or adjust lighting and colour to match a chosen theme instead of limiting themselves to basic filters.

Facebook will highlight Memories that work well with the Restyle function to encourage wider use.

Feed posts receive a change of their own through animated backgrounds that appear gradually across accounts. People can pair text updates with visual backdrops such as ocean waves or falling leaves, creating messages that stand out instead of blending into the timeline.

Seasonal styles will arrive throughout the year to support festive posts and major events.

Meta aims to encourage more engaging interactions by giving users easy tools for playful creativity. The new features are designed to support expressive posts that feel more personal and more visually distinctive, helping users craft share-worthy moments across the platform.

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AI helps keep Saudi Arabia’s Qiddiya City megaproject on track

Qiddiya City, a purpose-built entertainment, sports and cultural destination covering nearly three times the area of Paris, involves more than 700 companies and 22,000 workers, with thousands of assets and complex data flowing across teams.

Microsoft 365 Copilot has been integrated into Qiddiya Investment Company’s project dashboards to help employees query data in natural language, saving time on reporting, email summarisation and document creation.

The technology also helps harmonise information across 20 different systems used by design and execution teams, simplifying tasks such as matching asset names and identifying discrepancies.

Copilot can extract insights that static dashboards miss, for example, flagging overdue invoices without engineer comments, enabling more informed decision-making.

QIC’s workforce has adopted Copilot for productivity beyond construction management, with the tool generating hundreds of thousands of emails and meeting summaries.

AlAli emphasises that careful planning and implementation are key to realising the benefits of AI at scale, underscoring how AI can provide an ‘unfair advantage’ when properly embedded into workflows for data-intensive projects.

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Spotify sets new user record as engagement surges thanks to Wrapped and free-tier upgrades

Swedish streaming giant Spotify reported a record 751 million monthly active users (MAUs) in the fourth quarter of 2025, an 11 per cent year-on-year increase that marks the biggest quarterly net growth in the company’s history.

The growth was led by the annual Spotify Wrapped campaign, which engaged over 300 million users and generated 630 million social media shares, as well as new free-tier features that improved discovery and user interaction.

Premium subscribers also rose 10 per cent to 290 million, helping lift total revenue to about €4.53 billion ($5.39 billion). Spotify saw gross margin expand to a record 33.1 per cent, reflecting stronger profitability driven by subscription growth and increased podcast and music ad sales, even as ad-supported revenue dipped slightly.

The surge comes as Spotify broadens its platform beyond music streaming to include podcasts, audiobooks, video content, social sharing and AI-driven features like interactive DJ tools and AI playlists.

The company expects continued user growth, forecasting 759 million MAUs and 293 million paying subscribers in the current quarter.

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India enforces a three-hour removal rule for AI-generated deepfake content

Strict new rules have been introduced in India for social media platforms in an effort to curb the spread of AI-generated and deepfake material.

Platforms must label synthetic content clearly and remove flagged posts within three hours instead of allowing manipulated material to circulate unchecked. Government notifications and court orders will trigger mandatory action, creating a fast-response mechanism for potentially harmful posts.

Officials argue that rapid removal is essential as deepfakes grow more convincing and more accessible.

Synthetic media has already raised concerns about public safety, misinformation and reputational harm, prompting the government to strengthen oversight of online platforms and their handling of AI-generated imagery.

The measure forms part of a broader push by India to regulate digital environments and anticipate the risks linked to advanced AI tools.

Authorities maintain that early intervention and transparency around manipulated content are vital for public trust, particularly during periods of political sensitivity or high social tension.

Platforms are now expected to align swiftly with the guidelines and cooperate with legal instructions. The government views strict labelling and rapid takedowns as necessary steps to protect users and uphold the integrity of online communication across India.

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Slovenia sets out an ambitious AI vision ahead of global summit

Ambitions for AI were outlined during a presentation at the Jožef Stefan Institute, where Slovenia’s Prime Minister Robert Golob highlighted the country’s growing role in scientific research and technological innovation.

He argued that AI has moved far beyond a supportive research tool and is now shaping the way societies function.

He called for deeper cooperation between engineering and the natural sciences instead of isolated efforts, while stressing that social sciences and the humanities must also be involved to secure balanced development.

Golob welcomed the joint bid for a new national supercomputer, noting that institutions once competing for excellence are now collaborating. He said Europe must build a stronger collective capacity if it wants to keep pace with the US and China.

Europe may excel in knowledge, he added, yet it continues to lag behind in turning that knowledge into useful tools for society.

Government officials set out the investment increases that support Slovenia’s long-term scientific agenda. Funding for research, innovation and development has risen sharply, while work has begun on two major projects: the national supercomputer and the Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence.

Leaders from the Jožef Stefan Institute praised the government for recognising Slovenia’s AI potential and strengthening financial support.

Slovenia will present its progress at next week’s AI Action Summit in Paris, where global leaders, researchers, civil society and industry representatives will discuss sustainable AI standards.

Officials said that sustained investment in knowledge remains the most reliable route to social progress and international competitiveness.

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