Governance, Legislation, and Geostrategies

FDA deploys generative AI tool Elsa to transform agency operations in historic move

(Interesting Engineering – 2 June 2025) In a major step toward modernizing its operations, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday launched Elsa, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool, designed to help agency employees, including scientific reviewers and field investigators, work smarter and faster. Elsa is the regulator’s first large-scale foray into generative AI and is being dubbed as a turning point for the agency. – https://interestingengineering.com/health/fda-deploys-ai-tool-elsa

AI copyright clash stalls UK data bill

(DigWatch – 2 June 2025) A bitter standoff over AI and copyright has returned to the House of Lords, as ministers and peers clash over how to protect creative workers while fostering technological innovation. At the centre of the debate is the proposed Data (Use and Access) Bill, which was expected to pass smoothly but is now stuck in parliamentary limbo due to growing resistance. The bill would allow AI firms to access copyrighted material unless rights holders opt out, a proposal that many artists and peers believe threatens the UK’s £124bn creative industry. – https://dig.watch/updates/ai-copyright-clash-stalls-uk-data-bill

Courts consider limits on AI evidence

(DigWatch – 2 June 2025) A newly proposed rule by the Federal Judicial Conference could reshape how AI-generated evidence is treated in court. Dubbed Rule 707, it would allow such machine-generated evidence to be admitted only if it meets the same reliability standards required of expert testimony under Rule 702. – https://dig.watch/updates/courts-consider-limits-on-ai-evidence

Japan to develop new cybersecurity strategy and measures

(DigWatch – 2 June 2025) The Japanese government is preparing to develop a new cybersecurity strategy within the year, aiming to address growing digital threats targeting both public institutions and private enterprises. As part of the forthcoming strategy, the government plans to transition its internal communications systems from public-key cryptography to post-quantum cryptography, which is considered more resilient against potential cyberattacks enabled by quantum computing technologies. – https://dig.watch/updates/japan-to-develop-new-cybersecurity-strategy-and-measures

ZTE and XLSMART partner to boost Indonesia’s digital future

(DIGWatch – 2 June 2025) ZTE Corporation and XLSMART partnered to accelerate Indonesia’s digital transformation by building a future-ready network infrastructure. Formed after the merger of PT XL Axiata Tbk and PT Smartfren Telecom Tbk, XLSMART aims to enhance connectivity, sustainability, and customer experience across the country, in line with the government’s digital growth vision. –  https://dig.watch/updates/zte-and-xlsmart-partner-to-boost-indonesias-digital-future

IIT Bombay and BharatGen lead AI push with cultural datasets

(DigWatch – 2 June 2025) In a landmark effort to support AI research grounded in Indian knowledge systems, IIT Bombay has digitised 30 ancient textbooks covering topics such as astronomy, medicine and mathematics—some dating back as far as 18 centuries. The initiative, part of the government-backed AIKosh portal, has produced a dataset comprising approximately 218,000 sentences and 1.5 million words, now available to researchers across the country. Launched in March, AIKosh serves as a national repository for datasets, models and toolkits to foster home-grown AI innovation. – https://dig.watch/updates/iit-bombay-and-bharatgen-lead-ai-push-with-cultural-datasets

Notice of the Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Organizing and Launching the Computing Power Infrastructure Enhancement Challenge Campaign

(Center for Security and Emerging Technology – 29 May 2025) The following Chinese government announcement lists 22 compute-related technologies that it wishes to make progress on by 2026, and invites qualified companies and research institutes to apply for subsidies and other government support in developing these technologies. The overall goal of this effort is to make China’s data centers faster, more powerful, more reliable, and more energy-efficient, chiefly to support AI model training and inference. – https://cset.georgetown.edu/publication/china-compute-challenge-campaign/

Defense, Intelligence, and Warfare

World’s first drone combat textbook lands in Russian schools to train 1 million kids

(Interesting Engineering – 2 June 2025) Russia has formally introduced drone operations into its national school curriculum as part of a comprehensive initiative to train a new generation of unmanned systems operators. On Monday, Russian drone manufacturer Geoscan announced the release of the country’s first state-approved school textbook on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), designed for use in 8th and 9th-grade classrooms. Titled “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: 8th and 9th Grades,” the publication is now included in the federal list of approved teaching materials, following formal certification by the Russian Ministry of Education. – https://interestingengineering.com/military/worlds-first-drone-textbook-russia

Finland to Lead EU Quantum Defense Project Targeting Battlefield Applications

(Quantum Insider – 2 June 2025) Finland will lead a new EU defense initiative called Quest to explore military applications of quantum technologies, focusing on computing, sensing, and metrology. The project is part of the EU’s Permanent Structured Cooperation (Pesco) framework and includes partners such as Germany, Denmark, Latvia, and Italy, with Sweden, Greece, and the Netherlands as observers. The initiative targets strategic use cases like encryption-breaking, positioning in GPS-denied areas, and missile defense, amid rising global investment in battlefield-ready quantum capabilities. – https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/06/02/finland-to-lead-eu-quantum-defense-project-targeting-battlefield-applications/

NATO weighs inclusion of cybersecurity in new 5% defense spending target

(DigWatch – 2 June 2025) NATO is discussing proposals to broaden the scope of defence-related expenditures to help member states meet a proposed spending target of 5% of GDP. According to Bloomberg, the target includes 3.5% for traditional defence spending and 1.5% for related activities. The 1.5% portion may include cybersecurity, protection of critical infrastructure, border and coastal security, space-related initiatives, and the work of non-defence intelligence agencies. Some member states are also advocating for the inclusion of counter-terrorism efforts and dual-use infrastructure, pending agreement among the alliance. – https://dig.watch/updates/nato-weighs-inclusion-of-cybersecurity-in-new-5-defense-spending-target

North Korea gets Russian air defense system with sophisticated tech that can jam radio

(Interesting Engineering – 1 June 2025) North Korea has reportedly received a powerful mobile air defense system from Russia. Reports revealed that at least one Pantsir-S1 system was delivered to Pyongyang along with a critical electronic warfare tech. The guidance and targeting systems of the country’s ballistic missiles can also receive upgrades as Moscow has reportedly offered technical upgrade support with the help of its military technicians. Russia’s military equipment support to Pyongyang is a violation of U.N. sanctions. However, the latest move appears to be a clear sign of Moscow and, Pyongyang’s deepening ties. The mobile, multi-channel short-range air defense missile and gun system “Pantsir-S1” has high firepower and is capable of effectively engaging a wide range of air attack weapons. – https://interestingengineering.com/military/north-korea-gets-russian-air-defense

Frontiers

Neuralink rival Paradromics completes first human implant, plans clinical trials

(Interesting Engineering – 2 May 2025) Elon Musk’s Neuralink isn’t the only contender in the brain-tech race. Paradromics has entered the arena with its first human brain-computer interface (BCI) implant. The neurotechnology startup on Monday announced that it successfully implanted and removed its BCI device during a scheduled epilepsy surgery at the University of Michigan on May 14. The entire process took just 20 minutes and marks a major milestone for the Texas-based company, which was founded in 2015. – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/paradromics-tests-first-human-implant

Stevens Team Creates AI Model to Spot Misleading Scientific Reporting

(AI Insider – 2 June 2025) Researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology have developed an AI system using large language models to detect misleading claims in news coverage of scientific research. The system, trained on 2,400 reports linked to peer-reviewed research, achieved about 75% accuracy by analyzing claims through structured “validity dimensions” such as oversimplification and confusion of correlation with causation. The research is reportedly the first to systematically use LLMs for verifying scientific accuracy in public media and could lead to tools like browser plugins to flag inaccuracies in science reporting. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/06/02/stevens-team-creates-ai-model-to-spot-misleading-scientific-reporting/

Step Toward SuperAI? LLMs Can Learn to Reason—Without Rewards

(AI Insider – 2 June 2025) A new study from UC Berkeley and Yale shows that LLMs can improve reasoning skills without external rewards by training on their own internal confidence scores, using a system called INTUITOR. The method, Reinforcement Learning from Internal Feedback (RLIF), replaces human approval or verifiable answers with a self-certainty score, allowing models to generalize more effectively across tasks like math and code generation. INTUITOR demonstrated performance gains up to 76% over baseline on code reasoning benchmarks and may represent an early step toward autonomous, self-improving AI systems. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/06/02/step-toward-superai-llms-can-learn-to-reason-without-rewards/

Study: GPT-4o Shows Signs of Human Trait Cognitive Dissonance

(AI Insider – 2 June 2025) A Harvard University study has found that GPT-4o, a popular AI model developed by OpenAI, exhibits behavior resembling cognitive dissonance, a psychological phenomenon where individuals adjust their beliefs to align with past actions. The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that the AI’s stance on Russian President Vladimir Putin shifted depending on whether it had previously written an essay supporting or opposing him. Although GPT-4o lacks awareness or intent, researchers argue the shift demonstrates how advanced language models can simulate human-like reasoning patterns. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/06/02/study-gpt-4o-shows-signs-of-human-trait-cognitive-dissonance/

China creates AI to detect real nuclear warheads

(DigWatch – 2 June 2025) Chinese scientists have created the world’s first AI-based system capable of identifying real nuclear warheads from decoys, marking a significant step in arms control verification. The breakthrough, developed by the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE), could strengthen Beijing’s hand in stalled disarmament talks, although it also raises difficult questions about AI’s growing role in managing weapons of mass destruction. – https://dig.watch/updates/china-creates-ai-to-detect-real-nuclear-warheads

Serbian startup revolutionises cancer diagnostics with AI-powered radiotherapy tool

(DigWatch – 2 June 2025) A group of Serbian physicists, programmers, and radiologists, led by Stevan Vrbaški, has developed a groundbreaking software solution through their startup, Vinaver Medical. After gaining experience through studies and research abroad, the team returned to Serbia, where they launched a project to improve cancer diagnostics using advanced radiotherapy technology. Their work is centred on particle radiotherapy, a precise cancer treatment method that surpasses conventional X-ray-based radiotherapy. The innovation lies in software that combines AI and CT imaging to enhance diagnostic accuracy and improve the planning of radiotherapy in oncology. – https://dig.watch/updates/serbian-startup-revolutionises-cancer-diagnostics-with-ai-powered-radiotherapy-tool

Breakthrough laser crystals power quantum computing and imaging without rare earths

(Interesting Engineering – 2 June 2025) Lasers play a crucial role across many industries, from medicine to quantum computing. But producing them depends heavily on rare earth elements, most of which come from China. Recent export controls and geopolitical tensions have exposed how fragile this supply chain is. In response, German researchers at Fraunhofer are working to create laser crystals and fibers without relying on these scarce imported materials. – https://interestingengineering.com/energy/germany-laser-crystal-alternative-rare-earths

Inside Europe’s innovation arena: What robots, corn waste, and game theory have in common

(Interesting Engineering – 1 June 2025) Foro Transfiere, one of the leading European events dedicated to research, development, and innovation, was held earlier this year, in March 2025 in Malaga, Spain. The forum brings together scientific institutions, companies, startups, and organizations each year to exchange knowledge and foster collaboration in the field of innovation. This year’s event gathered an audience of over 5,000 visitors, featured around 230 startups, and hosted more than 100 thematic panels. The topics covered various cutting-edge fields, including robotics, cybersecurity, medicine, advanced therapies, and digital transformation. – https://interestingengineering.com/science/spain-foro-transfiere-tech

China unveils metrology plan to boost chip, quantum fields by 2030, beat US in tech

(Interesting Engineering – 1 June 2025) China has announced a five-year action plan aimed at driving disruptive innovation in metrology, the science of precise measurement. Released by the State Administration for Market Regulation, the 2030 plan prioritizes major breakthroughs in chip technology and quantum-scale measurement. A recent report in the ministry’s Science and Technology Daily highlights that China’s plan aims to address multiple “pain points” in its metrology capabilities, focusing on areas where measurement technologies are lacking or require improvement. – https://interestingengineering.com/science/china-boosts-quantum-tech-metrology-plan