A woman from Littlehampton, West Sussex, is ‘deeply grateful’ to AI for detecting her breast cancer, which had previously gone unnoticed despite a routine mammogram showing no signs of the disease. Sheila Tooth, 68, had her mammogram at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, where AI is being used to enhance breast cancer screenings and identify cancers that human reviewers might miss.
Sheila’s cancerous cells were nearly undetectable by traditional methods, and she believes AI’s detection helped catch it at an early, treatable stage. ‘I just feel so lucky,’ she said, reflecting on how AI detected the cancer that could have become invasive if left unnoticed. The technology is part of a larger project involving 15 trusts across the UK, which reviewed over 12,000 mammograms to identify missed cases. AI flagged nearly 10% of these as potentially needing a second look, leading to further investigations for some women and five confirmed breast cancer diagnoses.
Dr Olga Strukowska, a consultant radiologist, called AI screening ‘exciting’ because it enhances the accuracy of breast cancer detection, reduces missed diagnoses, and lowers false positives. AI’s role in early and precise cancer detection could greatly improve outcomes for patients, according to Dr Strukowska. With about 650 women diagnosed with breast cancer annually in Sussex, the trust now plans to participate in a national trial to further integrate AI into routine breast screenings.
GEA Digital and EIT Digital Champions are collaborating to boost AI-driven innovation in the European defence sector through the prestigious EIT Digital Champions competition. As the sponsor of this 12th edition, GEA Digital is focused on advancing AI solutions for defence applications, particularly in areas like electronic warfare, real-time threat detection, autonomous drone identification, edge computing, and communication disruption.
The partnership offers European scaleups a unique platform to showcase their cutting-edge technologies, addressing the growing need for scalable and efficient defence capabilities. Through this competition, GEA Digital also aims to bridge the gap between startups and defence organisations, encouraging the defence sector to adopt a more open approach to innovation.
In January 2025, the finalists will pitch their solutions to an international panel of investors, with winners receiving tailored support from EIT Digital’s Growth Services program, exclusive access to Italian defence clients, and mentoring from GEA Digital’s experts. GEA Digital’s sponsorship reflects its commitment to modernising Italy’s defence industry at a crucial time.
With rising demands for advanced technology and a shrinking workforce, GEA Digital aims to promote collaboration between the defence sector and high-tech industries. This partnership supports Italy’s defence organisations in adopting innovative technologies, helping them stay competitive in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
OpenAI has acquired Chat.com, adding another high-profile domain to its portfolio. Starting today, the website redirects directly to ChatGPT, the company’s popular AI chatbot, marking a significant move in expanding OpenAI’s online footprint. Though OpenAI has yet to reveal the acquisition price, reports indicate the domain previously sold for $15.5M when bought by HubSpot co-founder Dharmesh Shah, making it one of the largest known domain sales.
Last year, Shah sold Chat.com to an undisclosed buyer, which he recently confirmed on social media to be OpenAI. The sale may have included OpenAI shares as part of the deal, but no further details have been shared. While Chat.com now directs users to ChatGPT, it does not represent a rebranding. The domain acquisition aligns with OpenAI’s ongoing strategy of increasing accessibility to its AI offerings by securing memorable, high-value digital properties.
Researchers at the University of Manchester and The Christie Cancer Hospital have received a £5.9 million grant from Cancer Research UK to use AI in cancer treatment. The funding will support a project that simulates clinical trials to test the effectiveness of radiotherapy on ‘virtual’ patients, created using real-life data. This innovative approach aims to make cancer research faster, safer, and more cost-effective than traditional large-scale clinical trials.
The virtual trials will focus on patient-specific genetics and tumours, with a particular emphasis on comparing new proton beam therapy with conventional radiotherapy for lung cancer. AI will allow researchers to test treatments more quickly than through traditional trials involving real patients. This initiative is part of Cancer Research UK’s push to advance radiotherapy research, with Manchester being one of only seven centres of excellence in the UK to receive funding for this work.
Martin Storey, a lung cancer survivor who benefited from radiotherapy in a clinical trial, expressed his support for the project, saying that AI-driven trials could help more people survive cancer. Storey, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009, believes that the use of AI could accelerate treatment advancements and improve outcomes for future patients.
Microsoft is introducing AI-powered text editing to Notepad, allowing users to rewrite text with ease. The new feature, called Rewrite, is now available in preview for Windows Insiders. It lets you modify text by rephrasing sentences, adjusting the tone, and changing the length of content. To use it, simply highlight the text you want to adjust, right-click, and select the ‘Rewrite’ option. You can choose from three different reworded versions to replace the original text.
The Rewrite feature requires a Microsoft account for authentication and is available in select countries including the US, UK, and Germany. This feature is part of a broader update to Microsoft’s productivity tools, including improvements to Notepad, such as spell check and autocorrect, rolled out in July.
In addition to updates in Notepad, Microsoft is also testing AI-powered tools in Paint. The Generative Fill feature lets users add new content to images based on a text prompt, while the Generative Erase tool removes parts of an image and blends in the surrounding space. These tools are available to Windows Insiders, with some features rolling out on specific devices.
Researchers in the UK are exploring how AI could lead to new treatments for children with brain tumours. With around 420 children diagnosed annually, the team at the Cancer Research UK Children’s Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence in Cambridge is focused on improving survival rates, especially for those with the most aggressive forms of the disease, who currently have a low likelihood of survival beyond a year.
Dr Elizabeth Cooper, one of the researchers, noted that children’s brain tumours differ from adult tumours due to the ongoing development of the brain in children, which may explain why treatments like immunotherapy, effective in other cancers, have limited success with brain tumours. Dr Cooper highlighted that the brain has its own unique immune system, but scientists have yet to fully understand how to harness it for treatment.
Led by co-director Prof. Richard Gilbertson, the team is also working to develop new drugs that are less harmful to young patients. With a substantial grant, the centre plans to use AI to build digital models of complex brain tumours. These models will allow the team to conduct virtual trials, aiming to identify more effective and less toxic treatment options than traditional methods like radiotherapy, which can cause severe side effects in children.
Singapore’s Keppel has announced an agreement to acquire an AI-ready data centre being developed by Japan’s Mitsui Fudosan in Tokyo. The deal comes shortly after Keppel revealed plans to significantly increase its data centre funds under management, aiming to take advantage of the growing AI sector.
Mitsui Fudosan will handle the core and shell development of the facility, while Keppel’s private fund will oversee the fit-out works. The data centre is expected to be completed by 2027, with Keppel taking on the role of facility manager, which will contribute to its recurring income stream.
Keppel emphasised its ongoing partnership with Mitsui Fudosan to develop a strong pipeline of assets for its upcoming Keppel Data Centre Fund III. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed due to confidentiality agreements.
Amazon’s Prime Video has introduced ‘X-Ray Recaps‘, a new feature that provides spoiler-free summaries of TV episodes and seasons using AI technology. Designed to spare viewers from accidental spoilers, the feature offers concise synopses of individual episodes, entire seasons, and even specific scenes. Amazon assures that the AI-generated recaps have built-in safeguards to prevent any unwanted plot reveals, enabling viewers to enjoy their favourite shows worry-free.
X-Ray Recaps builds on Prime Video’s X-Ray feature, which traditionally offers information about cast members and trivia when viewers pause a scene. To access the new summaries, users can visit a TV show’s detail page and select from three options: episode recap, season recap, or previous season recap. Currently in beta, X-Ray Recaps is initially available to Fire TV users in the United States, with plans for broader device support by year’s end.
The feature is powered by Amazon’s own AI models developed with Amazon Bedrock and SageMaker, which analyse video, subtitles, and dialogue to craft summaries of key moments without revealing significant plot points. X-Ray Recaps also synchronises with where viewers are in an episode, delivering personalised recaps that align with the scene in progress.
The rollout comes as Prime Video’s competitor Google TV recently introduced its own AI-generated summaries for TV shows and movies, signalling growing interest in AI-powered tools for enhancing viewer experience.
Google has announced plans to open a new AI-focused data centre in Saudi Arabia, aligning with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to expand research in Arabic language AI models and ‘Saudi-specific AI applications.’ The project arrives as Google continues to face scrutiny over meeting its own climate goals, including its commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 2030.
The tech giant’s choice of location, a region highly dependent on fossil fuels, has raised eyebrows, given Google’s 2020 pledge to avoid developing AI algorithms for oil and gas. Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned petroleum company, currently uses AI to enhance production, with one oil field reportedly seeing a 15% boost through AI integration. While Google has stated the partnership ‘comports’ with its climate pledges, the data centre may contribute to advancing AI within the oil and gas sector.
The exact nature of ‘Saudi-specific AI applications’ remains unclear, though the centre could have implications for energy production as AI’s role in Saudi industry expands.
NTT DATA and Google Cloud have partnered to accelerate the adoption of cloud-based data analytics and generative AI solutions across the Asia Pacific region. By combining NTT DATA’s industry expertise and client base with Google Cloud’s cutting-edge technologies, the partnership aims to drive innovation, improve operational efficiency, and enhance agility for enterprises.
Specifically, the collaboration focuses on co-developing industry-specific solutions for sectors such as healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, retail, and the public sector. A new NTT DATA Google Cloud Business Unit will also be created to focus on joint solutions in data analytics, GenAI, applications, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and SAP on the Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
The expansion also involves enhancing internal expertise, as NTT DATA plans to certify at least 1,000 more engineers in the APAC region and provide advanced training to its teams to ensure successful solution delivery. With global public cloud spending projected to grow significantly, the partnership aims to capture the increasing demand for cloud services and AI-driven solutions.
The goal is to grow NTT DATA’s cloud business in APAC by more than 10 times over the next three years. By combining NTT DATA’s digital transformation portfolio with Google Cloud’s advanced technologies, the collaboration is set to drive modernisation in AI, cloud infrastructure, and cybersecurity, offering businesses secure and efficient solutions to accelerate their digital transformation.
