Governance, Legislation, and Geostrategies
India and Italy Sign Pact to Deepen Science Ties, Target Quantum, AI And Biotech
(Quantum Insider – 21 April 2025) India and Italy signed a new scientific cooperation agreement targeting joint initiatives in quantum technology, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology. The 2025–2027 Executive Programme of Cooperation will support 10 research mobility projects and 10 major collaborative research efforts. The agreement builds on more than 150 prior joint projects and aligns with a broader strategic action plan discussed by the two countries’ leaders at the G20 Summit. – https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/04/21/india-and-italy-sign-pact-to-deepen-science-ties-target-quantum-ai-and-biotech/
Exploring AI Methods in Biology Research
(Steph Batalis, Catherine Aiken, James Dunham – Center for Security and Emerging Technology – 21 April 2025) The convergence of AI and biotechnology regularly made headlines in 2024. The year saw success stories for AI-developed drugs and a Nobel Prize for the pioneering developers of protein design tools, raising public awareness of the opportunity for AI to advance biomedical research. But 2024 also brought continued conversation around fears that bad actors could use AI to make biological or chemical weapons. These opposing narratives around AI for biotechnology made us wonder how biotech researchers are actually using AI in published research. – https://cset.georgetown.edu/article/exploring-ai-methods-in-biology-research/
Instagram expands teen protection, uses AI to catch users lying about their age
(Interesting Engineering – 21 April 2025) In a bid to keep kids safer online, Instagram is stepping up its efforts to detect users who lie about their age. Meta, the parent company of Instagram, on Monday said it has begun testing AI tools that can proactively detect situations in which users may have misrepresented their age on the platform and automatically switch them into more restrictive privacy settings. While Meta has been using AI to estimate users’ ages for some time, the company said it will now “proactively” seek out teen accounts on the photo and video-sharing app even if they may have provided inaccurate birthdates to sign up on the platform. If a user is found to be misrepresenting their age, their account will automatically be converted into a teen account, which comes with stricter safety controls, the company further said. – https://interestingengineering.com/culture/instagram-ai-flags-teens-fake-ages?group=test_b
AI Technologies and National Security
(Kenneth Payne – RUSI – 17 April 2025) AI is rapidly reshaping national security, offering transformative possibilities for defence, intelligence and strategic influence. From AI-driven cybersecurity to predictive analysis and autonomous systems, these technologies have the potential to enhance the UK’s ability to protect its citizens. However, AI also introduces complex risks, including unintended consequences in warfare and the erosion of democratic norms. – https://www.rusi.org/news-and-comment/explainers/ai-technologies-and-national-security
Quantum Technologies in the UK
(Rob Young – RUSI – 17 April 2025) Quantum physics governs the microscopic world, enabling groundbreaking technologies that surpass conventional capabilities. Once a domain of abstract theory, quantum science is now driving real-world innovation, with huge potential for reshaping industries and sectors. With strategic investments through channels such as the National Quantum Technologies Programme, the UK is at the forefront of quantum computing, security and sensing. These advancements promise economic and security benefits, but this progress is not without risk. Quantum computers could theoretically break existing encryption, threatening data security worldwide. Quantum=secured communications could also make hostile actors more difficult to identify. Advanced quantum sensors may even expose military operations once thought covert. – https://www.rusi.org/news-and-comment/explainers/quantum-technologies-uk
Space Technologies in the UK
(Clifford Fletcher-Jones – RUSI – 17 April 2025) Space technologies are critical to the UK’s economic future in finance, navigation, defence and secure communications. As competition in space intensifies, the UK is investing in innovation to maintain it strategic edge. This includes small satellites, sustainable launch systems, and secure space communications: all areas where the UUK’s growing space sector is making rapid advancements. The UK’s National Space Strategy, Defence Space Strategy and Space Industrial Plan outline a commitment to sustainable, responsible space use. By prioritising small companies and emerging technologies, the UK is shaping a resilient and adaptable space economy. – https://www.rusi.org/news-and-comment/explainers/space-technologies-uk
Navigating global trade: AI solutions for tariff turmoil
(Sean Doherty – World Economic Forum – 16 April 2025) The United States has introduced its highest tariffs in over a century, marking a dramatic shift in international trade dynamics. Artificial intelligence is becoming essential for businesses navigating complex and evolving trade environments. – https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/04/navigating-global-trade-ai-solutions-for-tariff-turmoil/
Frontiers
China launches world-first 10G broadband network in high-tech Xiong’an city
(Interesting Engineering – 21 April 2025) It seems only yesterday companies were advertising the immense speeds of 5G with tech demos and long-distance, latency-free robotic surgeries. Now, China has reportedly pushed the industry even further forward by launching the first 10G broadband network in its futuristic megacity, Xiong’an. Huawei and China Unicom collaborated to deliver the service using 50G-PON technology. – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/china-10g-broadband-smart-city?group=test_b
Soft muscles, DNA drives and AI brains: Can new tech pull androids from the uncanny valley?
(Interesting Engineering – 21 April 2025) Humanoid robots have glimmered on the tech horizon for half a century, but each new prototype still triggers Masahiro Mori’s “uncanny valley.” When a machine looks almost, but not quite, human, our brains register threat, not comfort. Manufacturers know that beating this instinct is the price of entry to giant markets: factories with 24‑hour android crews, hotel lobbies staffed by tireless greeters, or elder‑care wards serviced by gentle mechanical nurses. Yet aesthetics is only one of four colossal engineering challenges. A wave of new research—from silicone facial motors and soft pneumatic “muscles” to DNA‑based memory and multimodal AI—aims to narrow every gap between silicon and biology. The question is no longer whether androids will arrive, but how long their high-tech limbs will take to synchronize. – https://interestingengineering.com/culture/are-humanoids-goind-too-far?group=test_b
AI Nose lets robots smell trouble, infections, and gas leaks before humans can
(Interesting Engineering – 21 April 2025) Robots just got a nose, giving machines a whole new way to sense the world. In a major step forward for sensory robotics, Ainos has installed its AI Nose on a humanoid robot built by ugo, Japan’s leading service robotics company. The collaboration introduces a new class of robots that can perceive the world not just through sight and sound, but also through smell, enabling them to make more intuitive and intelligent decisions that will transform industries, public health, and everyday life. – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/ainos-and-ugo-unlock-olfactory-sensing?group=test_b
The Hidden AI Compute Crisis: A Bottleneck for Genomics Breakthroughs
(AI Insider – 20 April 2025) Genomics has long been viewed as the ultimate key to personalized medicine. From unveiling the origins of rare diseases to fast-tracking drug discovery, our expanding ability to decode DNA is transforming healthcare. Yet, a looming obstacle could derail this progress: the growing scarcity and cost of compute power. Artificial intelligence stands at the heart of today’s genomic revolution. AI enables everything from pinpointing elusive genetic mutations to predicting complex protein structures. These capabilities promise breakthroughs in fields as diverse as oncology, rare disease research, and regenerative medicine. But they come with an enormous computational price tag—AI algorithms now demand trillions of operations per second across vast datasets. While researchers push genomic science to new frontiers, many labs and startups are in a race for computing resources they can no longer afford. This is the hidden crisis few outside the genomics community appreciate: one in which promising therapies may stall because compute access has become the new bottleneck. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/04/20/guest-post-the-hidden-ai-compute-crisis-a-bottleneck-for-genomics-breakthroughs/