Governance and Legislation
Ensuring respect for human rights in the use of AI in migration management
(Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe – 3 July 2025) According to the Migration Committee, which met on 24 June in Strasbourg, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in migration management must balance efficiency gains with protection of human rights “at all stages of the migration journey”. In adopting the report by Petri Honkonen (Finland, ALDE), the committee proposed a set of measures for the regulation and control of AI tools and systems in order to establish “safeguards against bias, human oversight and ensuring the dignity of migrants”, at the pre-departure stage, during the transit stage, at the arrival stage, during the stay period, for circular migration and return stages, and in the context of sustainable reintegration. – https://pace.coe.int/en/news/9966/ensuring-respect-for-human-rights-in-the-use-of-ai-in-migration-management
EU kicks off review of controversial Big Tech rule book
(POLITICO – 3 July 2025) The European Commission has launched a review of its digital competition rules for Big Tech and is seeking views on how the regulation has worked to date and whether it needs to be reformed. The Digital Markets Act fully came into effect in the Spring of 2024 and includes a list of do’s and don’ts for the six Big Tech companies that fall under its scope: Meta, Google, Alphabet, Apple, ByteDance and Amazon. – https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-kicks-off-review-of-controversial-big-tech-rule-book/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication
Judge allows US antitrust case against apple to proceed
(DigWatch – 3 July 2025) A US federal judge has rejected Apple’s attempt to dismiss a major antitrust lawsuit, allowing the case to move forward. The ruling, issued Monday by District Judge Xavier Neals in New Jersey, marks a significant step in the Justice Department’s ongoing challenge to Apple’s business practices. The lawsuit, filed 15 months ago, accuses Apple of building an illegal monopoly around the iPhone by erecting barriers that prevent competition and inflate profits. Neals’ 33-page opinion found the case strong enough to proceed to trial, which could begin as early as 2027. – https://dig.watch/updates/judge-allows-us-antitrust-case-against-apple-to-proceed
Croatia turns bus stops into AI-powered health stations
(DigWatch – 3 July 2025) Croatia has introduced a groundbreaking public health campaign that uses AI and interactive billboards to tackle undiagnosed spinal issues. The initiative, led by Croatia Poliklinika, has provided over 100,000 free posture screenings and reached nearly 78% of the country’s population. – https://dig.watch/updates/croatia-turns-bus-stops-into-ai-powered-health-stations
UK to launch ‘innovator passports’ for faster health tech adoption
(DigWatch – 3 July 2025) A new ‘innovator passport’ is set to be introduced over the next two years to accelerate the adoption of new medical technologies within the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). Once a technology is robustly assessed by one part of the NHS, the system will allow it to be deployed more easily across the rest of the service. While healthcare innovations must be thoroughly tested to ensure safety and effectiveness, the process can delay the rollout of life-saving technologies. The new system aims to remove unnecessary barriers, helping companies innovate faster and allowing patients to benefit from cutting-edge treatments more quickly. – https://dig.watch/updates/uk-to-launch-innovator-passports-for-faster-health-tech-adoption
Geostrategies
Alibaba Cloud opens AI centre in Singapore to drive regional innovation
(DigWatch – 3 July 2025) Alibaba Cloud has launched its AI Global Competency Centre in Singapore to drive innovation and support growing regional demand for cloud and AI technologies. The centre aims to help more than 5,000 businesses and 100,000 developers access advanced tools. – https://dig.watch/updates/alibaba-cloud-opens-ai-centre-in-singapore-to-drive-regional-innovation
OpenAI and Oracle join forces for massive AI data centre expansion
(DigWatch – 3 July 2025) OpenAI had signed a significant cloud computing deal with Oracle worth $30 billion per year, aiming to secure around 4.5GW of capacity through the Stargate joint venture, in which Oracle is a key investor. Oracle plans to develop several large-scale data centres across the United States, including a potential expansion of its Abilene, Texas, site from 1.2GW to 2GW. – https://dig.watch/updates/openai-and-oracle-join-forces-for-massive-ai-data-centre-expansion
EU races to catch up in quantum tech amid cybersecurity fears
(DigWatch – 3 July 2025) The European Union is ramping up efforts to lead in quantum computing, but cybersecurity experts warn that the technology could upend digital security as we know it. In a new strategy published Wednesday, the European Commission admitted that Europe trails the United States and China in commercialising quantum technology, despite its strong academic presence. The bloc is now calling for more private investment to close the gap. Quantum computing offers revolutionary potential, from drug discovery to defence applications. But its power poses a serious risk: it could break today’s internet encryption. – https://dig.watch/updates/eu-races-to-catch-up-in-quantum-tech-amid-cybersecurity-fears
DeepSeek gains business traction despite security risks
(DigWatch – 3 July 2025) Chinese AI company DeepSeek is gaining traction in global markets despite growing concerns about national security. While government bans remain in place across several countries, businesses are turning to DeepSeek’s models for low cost and firm performance, often ranking just behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini in traffic and market share. DeepSeek’s appeal lies in its efficiency. With advanced engineering techniques like its ‘mixture-of-experts’ system, the company has reduced computing costs by activating fewer parameters without a noticeable drop in performance. – https://dig.watch/updates/deepseek-gains-business-traction-despite-security-risks
Security
NC State Researchers Expose AI Vision Weaknesses With RisingAttacK Tool
(AI Insider – 3 July 2025) North Carolina State University researchers have developed RisingAttacK, a new adversarial technique that reveals vulnerabilities in leading AI vision systems, with funding from the National Science Foundation and the Army Research Office. RisingAttacK subtly alters key visual features in images to fool computer vision systems without changing their appearance to humans, successfully deceiving top models like ResNet-50, DenseNet-121, ViTB, and DEiT-B. While currently limited to visual models, the technique may impact broader AI domains; it has been released publicly to help researchers test and secure AI systems. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/03/nc-state-researchers-expose-ai-vision-weaknesses-with-risingattack-tool/
Defence, Intelligence, and Warfare
Pentagon Elevates AI as Cornerstone of FY2026 Defense Tech Strategy
(AI Insider – 3 July 2025) The Pentagon’s FY2026 RDT&E budget prioritizes artificial intelligence as a core operational technology, with over $2.2 billion allocated across military domains. AI and autonomy are integrated into systems ranging from drones and submarines to decision support and electronic warfare, marking a shift from experimentation to deployment. Quantum technologies and space infrastructure continue to advance alongside AI, supporting secure communications, navigation, and sensor systems across classified and cross-service programs. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/03/pentagon-elevates-ai-as-cornerstone-of-fy2026-defense-tech-strategy/
World’s most advanced fighter jet’s fuselages now delivered every 30 hours with new tech
(Interesting Engineering – 3 July 2025) An American defense company has revealed that the world’s most advanced fighter jet’s manufacturing could be easily sped up. Northrop Grumman has employed advanced manufacturing technologies to develop the F-35’s center fuselages. The company manufactures center fuselages for all three variants of the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter at its Integrated Assembly Line (IAL) in Palmdale, California. With the help of new technologies, the IAL delivers one F-35 center fuselage every 30 hours to meet U.S. and international customer needs. – https://interestingengineering.com/military/f-35-center-fuselages-delivered-every-30-hours
Frontiers
UCLA Researchers Develop AI Model that Converts Hospital Records into Text for Better Emergency Care Decisions
(AI Insider – 3 July 2025) UCLA researchers created MEME, an AI system that transforms electronic health record tables into text-based pseudonotes to improve emergency room decision-making. Tested on over 1.3 million ER visits, MEME outperformed traditional machine learning and specialized healthcare AI. By processing patient data in modular narrative blocks, MEME improves accuracy, cross-hospital adaptability, and compatibility with advanced language models. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/03/ucla-researchers-develop-ai-model-that-converts-hospital-records-into-text-for-better-emergency-care-decisions/
Solar farm construction robot with 10x more efficiency to be deployed in Australia
(Interesting Engineering – 3 July 2025) An efficient robot designed to automate solar panel installation will now begin working in Australia with a new funding boost. Developed by Boston-based Luminous Robotics Inc., the robot can pick up solar panels and place them securely onto racks. The LUMI robot-maker has been selected to receive $4.9 million in funding from the Australian government’s $100 million Solar Scaleup Challenge. The company recently unveiled LUMI Series 3, which delivers a 10x boost in automation for solar construction, starting at module installation. – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/solar-construction-robot-lumi-australia-work
Lloyds Bank to test neurosymbolic AI for better customer support
(DigWatch – 3 July 2025) Lloyds has partnered with UnlikelyAI to test neurosymbolic AI across its operations to enhance customer service and reinforce its commitment to responsible AI. The trial will occur in Lloyd’s Innovation Sandbox and focus on ensuring accurate, consistent and explainable outputs. – https://dig.watch/updates/lloyds-bank-to-test-neurosymbolic-ai-for-better-customer-support
Meta’s AI chatbots are designed to initiate conversations and enhance user engagement
(DigWatch – 3 July 2025) Meta is training AI-powered chatbots that can remember previous conversations, send personalised follow-up messages, and actively re-engage users without needing a prompt. Internal documents show that the company aims to keep users interacting longer across platforms like Instagram and Facebook by making bots more proactive and human-like. Under the project code-named ‘Omni’, contractors from the firm Alignerr are helping train these AI agents using detailed personality profiles and memory-based conversations. – https://dig.watch/updates/metas-ai-chatbots-are-designed-to-initiate-conversations-and-enhance-user-engagement
X to test AI-generated Community Notes
(DigWatch – 3 July 2025) X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, is preparing to test a new feature allowing AI chatbots to generate Community Notes. These notes, a user-driven fact-checking system expanded under Elon Musk, are meant to provide context on misleading or ambiguous posts, such as AI-generated videos or political claims. The pilot will enable AI systems like Grok or third-party large language models to submit notes via API. Each AI-generated comment will be treated the same as a human-written one, undergoing the same vetting process to ensure reliability. – https://dig.watch/updates/x-to-test-ai-generated-community-notes