Governance and Legislation
Strengthening global AI Safety: A perspective on the Singapore Consensus
(Lee Wan Sie, Denise Wong – OECD.AI – 5 June 2025) As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies advance rapidly, societies around the world face a growing urgency to ensure that the AI safety research keeps pace and that these tools are not only powerful but also safe, reliable, and aligned with human values. Given this globally pressing issue, we are proud that Singapore hosted the 2025 Singapore Conference on AI (SCAI), to bring together the best global minds across geographies to produce a significant international milestone in the field of AI safety: the Singapore Consensus on Global AI Safety Research Priorities. This Consensus reflects shared priorities of over 100 AI experts from 11 countries, including researchers, policymakers, and private sector leaders. Its core objective is to establish a practical, shared research agenda that identifies critical technical areas of AI safety research requiring international attention, ensuring the safe development and deployment of AI. As representatives of Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), and as members of the OECD.AI Network of Experts, we believe this document holds particular significance globally and aligns closely with the OECD AI Principles, which promote inclusive growth, transparency, robustness, and accountability in AI systems. – https://oecd.ai/en/wonk/strengthening-global-ai-safety-a-perspective-on-the-singapore-consensus
FTC chair implores Congress to strengthen children’s online privacy protection law
(Suzanne Smalley – The Record – 5 June 2025) Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Andrew Ferguson on Wednesday said that under his tenure the agency will “aggressively” enforce a newly formalized and tougher rule designed to protect children’s privacy online and, notably, called on Congress to strengthen relevant federal laws. While hailing the enhanced power the FTC’s newly revised Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) will give the agency to crack down on websites and online service providers which violate kids’ privacy, Ferguson said Congress needs to do more by updating its own version of COPPA. Without action from Congress, the FTC is limited in its ability to further bolster its rule. – https://therecord.media/ftc-chair-implores-congress-to-strengthen-childrens-privacy-law
Experts call for greater focus on children’s AI use as research shows nearly 1 in 4 children use AI for learning and play
(The Alan Turing Institute – 3 June 2025) Experts are calling for more involvement of children in AI decision making, better policy frameworks and more industry action to protect the wellbeing of children interacting with AI tools such as ChatGPT as nearly one in four children (22%) aged 8-12 are using the technology, according to new research published by the Alan Turing Institute today. Despite being among those most likely to be most impacted by the technology over their lifetimes, they are the least represented in decision-making processes about its development, use and regulation. The aim of this research, which was supported by the LEGO group, was to explore and understand the impact of generative AI use on children by combining quantitative and qualitative research methods, including online surveys of children, parents, carers and teachers, and school-based workshops. – https://www.turing.ac.uk/news/experts-call-greater-focus-childrens-ai-use-research-shows-nearly-1-4-children-use-ai-learning
Generative AI could free up valuable public sector time
(The Alan Turing Institute – 2 June 2025) Around 40% of public sector time could be supported by generative AI, according to a new report by the Alan Turing Institute, the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published today. Researchers at the Turing set out to identify where generative AI can be meaningfully applied within public sector work activities to ease the workload of time-pressed public sector staff and reduce the administrative burden. However, its potential to support public sector work activities varies across different sectors. Those who work in education could see the most benefit, with up to half (49%) of time currently spent on various teaching activities that generative AI could support with. Those in healthcare are likely to see less benefit – yet still a significant amount – with a third (33%) of their time benefitting from the adoption of generative AI. – https://www.turing.ac.uk/news/generative-ai-could-free-valuable-public-sector-time
Geostrategies
Deep Down in the Stack: China’s Entrenchment in Serbia’s Technology Landscape
(Sharinee Jagtiani – German Marshall Fund of the United States – 5 May 2025) Serbia, a land-locked nation with a population of under seven million, has emerged as a key player in the PRC’s Digital Silk Road (DSR) initiative within the Western Balkans. Its strategic location, connecting Southeastern Europe to Central and Western Europe, coupled with its role as a regional hub for internet traffic, has positioned Serbia as a valuable springboard for the PRC to market its technologies to the EU. Since 2012, Serbia has been an EU accession candidate and has prioritized digital transformation in its international engagements, notably with the PRC. The country’s commitment to digital advancement is also evident through its participation in the European Commission’s Digital Agenda for the Western Balkans in 2018 and the Digital Europe Program in 2023. – https://www.gmfus.org/news/deep-down-stack-chinas-entrenchment-serbias-technology-landscape
Russia and China in Central Asia’s Technology Stack
(Dylan Welch – German Marshall Fund of the United States – 5 June 2025) Central Asia’s role as a geopolitical battleground among Russia, China, Europe, and the United States has grown in recent years as Western countries seek trade and digital connectivity routes that bypass Russian infrastructure. While Western discourse on a “Middle Corridor” through Central Asia has focused on railways, ports and pipelines, China’s Digital Silk Road is quietly reshaping the region’s digital landscape and deepening strategic dependencies on Beijing. At the same time, Central Asian governments are drawing primarily on PRC technologies and Russian regulatory models to strengthen their own digital authoritarian regimes, risking joint domination by the increasingly aligned governments in Beijing and Moscow. China’s increasing control over the region’s “technology stack” could have an outsized impact on the future of digital connectivity, cybersecurity, and geopolitical competition across Eurasia. Russia’s regulatory influence on the region’s governments could shape digital governance norms across Eurasia. For Central Asian actors and Western policymakers invested in preserving the region’s strategic autonomy, it is crucial to understand these vulnerabilities and offer viable alternatives in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. Ensuring a resilient and diversified digital landscape in Central Asia is therefore not only a regional concern but a vital issue for global security. This report seeks to shed light on the influence of Russia and China on the ICT sectors of three Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. It uses the “technology stack” method adapted from two previous reports by GMF’s Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD) on the future internet and the digital information stack released in 2020 and 2022. The framework is used to examine one country’s presence in and penetration of another country’s technology and regulatory ecosystem. The analysis of the resulting dependencies provides an indicative, rather than exhaustive overview of Russia and China’s technological footprint in Central Asia, offering key examples and highlighting areas where policymakers can focus their attention with the goal to de-risk digital technologies and governance in Central Asia. – https://www.gmfus.org/news/russia-and-china-central-asias-technology-stack
Dubai emerges as a top tech hub in the Middle East
(DigWatch – 5 June 2025) Dubai is emerging as a global hub for technology and innovation, driven by government-backed initiatives and a thriving ecosystem of Free Zones. Their economic agenda aims to make it the fastest and most connected city worldwide, with emphasis on AI, fintech, blockchain, and other industries. – https://dig.watch/updates/dubai-emerges-as-a-top-tech-hub-in-the-middle-east
Kagame hails Algeria ties and AI education support
(DigWatch – 5 June 2025) President Paul Kagame has praised Algeria’s support in educating Rwandan students in artificial intelligence and data science during his official visit to Algiers. He highlighted the strength of bilateral ties and commended Algeria’s National School of AI, where five Rwandan students are currently enrolled. – https://dig.watch/updates/kagame-hails-algeria-ties-and-ai-education-support
Defense, Warfare, and Intelligence
Drones with stealth coatings, can go undercover, use SIM cards to connect home to launch attacks
(Interesting Engineering – 5 June 2025) Attack drones are reshaping modern warfare across the world, providing militaries with a cutting-edge and cheap option to target a location, a moving object, or a flying object with precision. Unmanned aerial vehicles offer several benefits when compared to conventional aerial attack options, which are mainly aircraft and missiles that are far more expensive than drones. Losing an aircraft or missiles in a combat scenario can actually hamper the war budget, while the use of drones gives military powers options to remain on the battleground for a longer time. Now, reports have emerged that Russia is producing long-range attack drones in Alabuga, Tatarstan. Moscow has established production lines for Shahed drones that were purchased a few years ago from Iran. – https://interestingengineering.com/military/russia-stealth-coated-drone-use-sim-cards
US Army turns to 3D-printed skin to protect soldiers from worst war threats
(Interesting Engineering – 5 June 2025) The US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC) has entered into a strategic research partnership with the University of Hawaii System, targeting the development of biomaterials and forward-deployable manufacturing capabilities. The effort is designed to enhance warfighter survivability and operational effectiveness, particularly in support of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). – https://interestingengineering.com/military/3d-printed-skin-us-army
GE Aerospace expands US hypersonic test facility for Mach 5+ speeding weapons, drones
(Interesting Engineering – 5 June 2025) GE Aerospace has announced it will expand its hypersonic testing infrastructure in the US. The aerospace company will upgrade sites in Evendale, Ohio, Bohemia, New York, and Niskayuna. These will allow it “to conduct higher-Mach, mission-relevant testing at a scale not previously possible,” GE Aerospace explained in a press release. The work forms part of a wider push within the US to accelerate the development of next-generation hypersonic weapons testing capabilities. – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/ge-aerospace-expands-us-hypersonic-facility
A Digitized, Efficient Model of War
(Rupert Barrett-Taylor, Gavin Wilde – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace – 3 June 2025) Battlefields from Ukraine to Gaza have recently been marked, as have many conflicts over the last two decades, by the extensive use of airborne assets, surveillance, and computing power in pursuit of victory. Both precision guided weapons and unmanned vehicles create new and heavy demands on training and logistics, as well as whole organizational structures devoted to finding targets. In this regard, the datafication of the battlefield and the automation of targeting has reached a modern-day zenith, on the heels of decades of theorizing about “information dominance” in warfare. However, this digital-age collection and targeting process is founded on a premise of fierce optimization and brutal efficiency. The resulting model of warfare is both a product of physical observation and digital construction. It is process-driven, techno-centric, and ultimately premised on being entirely calculable. A model of warfare which demands efficiency above all else not only risks fostering a disregard for pragmatism and efficacy, but is also arguably a subtle cover for the exercise of institutional power and control. This article critiques an overly reductive model of war, in the context of increasing demands for greater automation and applications of artificial intelligence (AI) which are widely presumed to be fixtures in future conflict. – https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/06/a-digitized-efficient-model-of-war?lang=en
Frontiers
US startup claims ‘first-ever’ IVF embryo genetic optimization software for parents
(Interesting Engineering – 5 June 2025) What if you could choose your child’s future health and lifespan—before they were even born? A U.S.-based biotech company claims to have developed the world’s first genetic optimization software that allows parents pursuing IVF to select embryos with potentially lower risks of disease and better chances at a longer, healthier life. Nucleus Genomics, a DNA testing and analysis company, announced on Friday that its new technology “helps parents pursuing IVF see and understand the complete genetic profile of each of their embryos.” – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/genetic-tool-ranks-ivf-embryos-disease-risk
AI uncovers the Bible’s secret authors in groundbreaking linguistic breakthrough
(Interesting Engineering – 5 June 2025) For centuries, scholars have debated who wrote the Bible. The texts were copied, edited, and compiled over generations, leaving behind few clues about their original authors. Despite theological and academic efforts, authorship of many biblical books has remained uncertain. Now, artificial intelligence may offer a breakthrough. An international team of researchers has used AI, statistical modeling, and linguistic analysis to examine the first nine books of the Hebrew Bible, known as the Enneateuch. The study reveals that the texts reflect three distinct scribal traditions. The AI model also determined the most likely authorship of several contested passages while clearly explaining how it reached its conclusions. “We found that each group of authors has a different style—surprisingly, even regarding simple and common words such as ‘no,’ ‘which,’ or ‘king.’ Our method accurately identifies these differences,” said Thomas Römer of the Collège de France. – https://interestingengineering.com/culture/hebrew-bible-ai-authorship-study
How AI Can Prevent Blackouts
(David “davidad” Dalrymple – AI Frontiers – 5 June 2025) Over the course of 10 hours this April, a massive power outage swept across Spain and Portugal, causing extensive disruption. The most severe blackout in both countries’ history, it paralyzed entire transport networks and interrupted essential services throughout the Iberian Peninsula, causing estimated economic damages in the billions of euros — and at least eight fatalities. Weeks earlier, a fire at an electrical substation had a similarly debilitating effect on Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, shuttering it for an entire day. It led to over 1,300 flight cancellations and caused tens of millions in economic damage. These are precisely the kind of incidents that AI could help mitigate. AI systems deployed in critical electrical infrastructure could analyze complex patterns and predict potential failures before they occur. They could monitor and respond to grid anomalies in milliseconds, catching signs of an overloaded system or impending blackout far more quickly than the current system of safeguards. But there’s a catch: We cannot simply plug AI into these high-stakes systems and hope for the best. What happens when an AI system hallucinates, fails to check a critical condition, or optimizes for the wrong objective when thrust into an unprecedented scenario? For safety-critical domains like energy grids, “probably safe” isn’t good enough. To realize the potential of AI in these areas, we need to develop more robust, mathematical guarantees of safety. – https://ai-frontiers.org/articles/ai-grid-blackouts-guarantees
MIT’s new tech enables robots to act in real time, plan thousands of moves in seconds
(Interesting Engineering – 5 June 2025) MIT and NVIDIA Research researchers have developed a powerful new algorithm that drastically accelerates how robots plan their actions. Robots may complete intricate, multistep manipulation tasks in seconds using this technology, which uses the parallel computing capability of graphics processing units (GPUs) to analyze thousands of possible answers simultaneously rather than one at a time. Robots in factories and warehouses may be able to handle and pack items of different sizes and shapes more effectively thanks to this development, even in confined spaces or busy settings, without suffering harm or running into collisions. “This would be very helpful in industrial settings where time really does matter and you need to find an effective solution as fast as possible. If your algorithm takes minutes to find a plan, as opposed to seconds, that costs the business money,” said William Shen, a graduate student at MIT and lead author of the research paper, as reported by MIT News. https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/mit-nvidias-new-algorithm-for-robots
Quantum tech unlocks particle secrets that powerful supercomputers can’t solve
(Interesting Engineering – 5 June 2025) A research team from the Technical University of Munich, Princeton University, and Google Quantum AI has revealed that quantum computers could play a key role in decoding the building blocks of nature. Given the complexity of theoretical models used to describe the fundamental forces of nature, they have demonstrated the use of quantum computers as a potential solution to understanding the universe with more ease. – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/quantum-computers-decoding-the-universe
Humanoid robots step into Amazon’s delivery game with real-world San Francisco tests
(Interesting Engineering – 5 June 2025) Amazon is preparing to test humanoid robots for package delivery, aiming to automate the final step of its logistics chain. According to a media report, Amazon is finishing construction of a “humanoid park”—an indoor obstacle course at one of its San Francisco offices—where it will soon begin testing the robots. In a series of announcements, Amazon also showcased how AI will enhance its stockroom robots, delivery operations, and vast warehouse network to accelerate package deliveries. Last month, Amazon deployed Vulcan, its first robot equipped with a sense of touch, at a fulfillment center in Dortmund, Germany. – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/humanoid-robots-step-up-amazons-delivery-game
AI and farmers go head-to-head in China’s rice fields
(DigWatch – 5 June 2025) China’s second AI rice farming competition is underway in Sichuan Province, where human farmers and AI-assisted teams are competing across 66.7 hectares of land. AI teams rely on a network of sensors and satellite data to guide real-time decision-making on planting and pest control. The initiative, running through September, tests whether machine learning can outperform traditional farming practices in yield, efficiency, and quality. Organisers emphasise that the competition is not a battle between humans and machines, but a step toward integrating AI into agriculture. – https://dig.watch/updates/ai-and-farmers-go-head-to-head-in-chinas-rice-fields
Who Could Fund Future Artificial Intelligence Development?
(Edward Parker, Benjamin M. Miller, Colin Levaunt – RAND Corporation – 2 June 2025) Since 2018, artificial intelligence (AI) developers have been creating broadly capable foundation models—AI models trained on large and diverse datasets that can be adapted to perform a wide variety of tasks. The most advanced of these models have improved rapidly over just a few years and have already demonstrated very impressive performance at certain tasks, but they also consume exponentially increasing amounts of resources, such as electricity and advanced computer chips. This growth raises the question of who might pay for the large costs of developing and deploying new AI models if resource requirements continue to increase. Some stakeholders suggest that world-changing returns to productivity and well-being—along with significant first-mover advantages—can be unlocked if governments can coordinate national and global resources to support massive financial investments. Other stakeholders suggest that the private sector might well be capable of marshaling the resources required to achieve these outcomes. In this paper, the authors lay out a framework of plausibly imaginable futures for the development and training of AI foundation models, focusing on who will pay for such training. The resulting framework can help both government and private stakeholders consider when and whether various funding models are appropriate. – https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA3701-1.html
New AI tool aids caribou conservation in a changing Arctic
(The Alan Turing Institute – 29 May 2025) Artificial intelligence sea ice forecasting systems could help predict and protect the migration routes of endangered caribou in the Canadian Arctic, according to a new study published today in Ecological Solutions and Evidence. The research, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists in partnership with the Alan Turing Institute, WWF and the Government of Nunavut, demonstrates how this technology could assist local agencies in protecting critical migration routes which cross areas of land and sea ice. – https://www.turing.ac.uk/news/new-ai-tool-aids-caribou-conservation-changing-arctic