Governance, Legislation, Tech & Democracy

Inside America’s AI Action Plan: Blueprint for Tech Dominance or Policy Overreach?

(AI Insider – 25 July 2025) The White House released a sweeping AI Action Plan aimed at securing U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence through accelerated innovation, deregulation, infrastructure upgrades, and international strategy. The plan promotes open-source models, reduced regulatory oversight, and expanded access to computing and workforce training, while linking AI development to energy policy and national security. Critics warn the strategy prioritizes industry growth over privacy and safety, and raises concerns about politicized funding, global trust, and the balance between unilateral dominance and allied cooperation. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/25/inside-americas-ai-action-plan-blueprint-for-tech-dominance-or-policy-overreach/

Bots, buzzers and AI-driven campaigning distort democracy

(Netina Tan, Aiden McIlvaney – East Asia Forum – 25 July 2025) Social media has transformed political campaigning in Southeast Asia, enabling outreach while also unleashing disinformation, AI manipulation and bot-driven interference. Despite numerous cases of political actors exploiting these tools to sway voters and undermine rivals, government and platform responses remain fragmented. A coordinated, multi-stakeholder approach that brings together tech firms, civil society and regulators is essential to safeguarding electoral integrity in the region’s fast-evolving digital landscape. – https://eastasiaforum.org/2025/07/25/bots-buzzers-and-ai-driven-campaigning-distort-democracy/

Meta tells Australia AI needs real user data to work

(DigWatch – 25 July 2025) Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has urged the Australian government to harmonise privacy regulations with international standards, warning that stricter local laws could hamper AI development. The comments came in Meta’s submission to the Productivity Commission’s review on harnessing digital technology, published this week. Australia is undergoing its most significant privacy reform in decades. The Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024, passed in November and given royal assent in December, introduces stricter rules around handling personal and sensitive data. The rules are expected to take effect throughout 2024 and 2025. Meta maintains that generative AI systems depend on access to large, diverse datasets and cannot rely on synthetic data alone. In its submission, the company argued that publicly available information, like legislative texts, fails to reflect the cultural and conversational richness found on its platforms. – https://dig.watch/updates/meta-tells-australia-ai-needs-real-user-data-to-work

AI energy demand accelerates while clean power lags

(DigWatch – 25 July 2025) Data centres are driving a sharp rise in electricity consumption, putting mounting pressure on power infrastructure that is already struggling to keep pace. The rapid expansion of AI has led technology companies to invest heavily in AI-ready infrastructure, but the energy demands of these systems are outstripping available grid capacity. The International Energy Agency projects that electricity use by data centres will more than double globally by 2030, reaching levels equivalent to the current consumption of Japan. – https://dig.watch/updates/ai-energy-demand-accelerates-while-clean-power-lags

Funding Europe’s Open Digital Infrastructure

(OpenForum Europe – July 2025) This report outlines the case for an EU Sovereign Tech Fund (EU-STF) to address chronic underinvestment in open source technologies. By securing, maintaining, and scaling critical open digital infrastructure, the fund would strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty, cybersecurity, and competitiveness. Drawing on the success of Germany’s Sovereign Tech Fund, it proposes a mission-driven, pan-European model to ensure sustainable and resilient open source ecosystems. – https://eu-stf.openforumeurope.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/EU-STF-Feasibility-Study_vf.pdf

New York Seeking Public Opinion on Water Systems Cyber Regulations

(Security Week – 24 July 2025) Released by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the documents propose minimum standards for improving water infrastructure’s resilience against sophisticated cyberattacks. Additionally, the Department of Public Service (DPS) released proposed cyber regulations covering water-works corporations, cable television companies, and other public utilities. The proposed rules are accompanied by a new grant program established by the Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) alongside technical assistance for water and wastewater utilities. – https://www.securityweek.com/new-york-seeking-public-opinion-on-water-systems-cyber-regulations/

The Opportunities and Risks Inherent to Trump’s AI Action Plan

(Sebastian Mallaby, Jessica Brandt, Michael C. Horowitz, Kat Duffy, Erin D. Dumbacher, Rush Doshi, and Jonathan E. Hillman – Council on Foreign Relations – 24 July 2025) President Donald Trump released his new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan to coincide with his “Winning the AI Race” summit in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. The twenty-eight-page document contains more than ninety policy recommendations that the administration believes will expand the global sale of U.S. AI technology, speed up the construction of data centers, and reduce “red tape” that has proved an obstacle for the AI industry. As Trump put it in his keynote address, the plan will help the United States “win at AI, while dismantling regulatory barriers.” – https://www.cfr.org/article/opportunities-and-risks-inherent-trumps-ai-action-plan

Decoding Trump’s AI Playbook: The AI Action Plan and What Comes Next

(Brianna Rosen, Joshua Geltzer, Jenny Marron and Sam Winter-Levy – Just Security – 24 July 2025) The White House released its long-awaited AI Action Plan and signed three executive orders on AI, laying out the Trump administration’s strategy to secure what it calls “unquestioned and unchallenged” U.S. dominance across the entire AI tech stack. Framing AI as a global race for technological supremacy, the Plan envisions nothing short of an industrial revolution, an information revolution—and even a renaissance—all driven by AI. To achieve that vision, the Plan is centered around three pillars: innovation, infrastructure, and international diplomacy and security. It calls for upskilling the workforce, revising federal rules, building high-security data centers, and tightening export controls—all whilst removing what the administration views as regulatory obstacles to faster AI adoption. The plan also raises major questions. What’s the role of government in steering this technology responsibly? Are we building the right guardrails as we scale up? And what message is the U.S. sending to allies and adversaries as it charts a new course in AI policy? – https://www.justsecurity.org/117752/just-security-podcast-trump-ai-action-plan/

White House unveils sweeping plan to “win” global AI race through deregulation

(Ars Technica – 24 July 2025) On Wednesday, the White House released “Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan,” a 25-page document that outlines the Trump administration’s strategy to “maintain unquestioned and unchallenged global technological dominance” in AI through deregulation, infrastructure investment, and international partnerships. But critics are already taking aim at the plan, saying it’s doing Big Tech a big favor. Assistant to the President for Science and Technology Michael Kratsios and Special Advisor for AI and Crypto David Sacks crafted the plan, which frames AI development as a race the US must win against global competitors, particularly China. – https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/07/white-house-unveils-sweeping-plan-to-win-global-ai-race-through-deregulation/

From Tech Podcasts to Policy: Trump’s New AI Plan Leans Heavily on Silicon Valley Industry Ideas

(Associated Press – Security Week – 24 July 2025) The “AI Action Plan” embraces many of the ideas voiced by tech industry lobbyists and the Silicon Valley investors who backed Trump’s election campaign last year. “America must once again be a country where innovators are rewarded with a green light, not strangled with red tape,” Trump said at an unveiling event that was co-hosted by the bipartisan Hill and Valley Forum and the “All-In” podcast, a business and technology show hosted by four tech investors and entrepreneurs, which includes Trump’s AI czar, David Sacks. The plan includes some familiar tech lobby pitches. That includes accelerating the sale of AI technology abroad and making it easier to construct the energy-hungry data center buildings that are needed to form and run AI products. It also includes some AI culture war preoccupations of the circle of venture capitalists who endorsed Trump last year. – https://www.securityweek.com/from-tech-podcasts-to-policy-trumps-new-ai-plan-leans-heavily-on-silicon-valley-industry-ideas/

Mistral AI environmental report confirms AI is a hungry, thirsty beast

(The Register – 24 July 2025) While it’s widely known that the computers powering generative AI use a ton of water and power, its actual impact on the environment is often harder to pin down. In a push toward greater transparency, French model builder Mistral AI this week published a peer-reviewed report in collaboration with consulting firm Carbone 4 and France’s ecological transition agency (ADEME) which attempted to quantify the impact of its Mistral Large 2 LLM on the environment across three key metrics: greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water consumption, and materials use. In the 18 months since Mistral started work on the model, training and running it, a process known as inference, accounted for the lion’s share of GHG emissions (85.5 percent) and water consumption (91 percent). By Mistral’s estimate, training the 123 billion parameter model produced approximately 20 kilotons of CO2 equivalents (CO2e) and consumed 281,000 cubic meters of water – the equivalent of roughly 112 Olympic-sized swimming pools. – https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/24/mistral_environmental_report_ai_cost/

UN World Court declares countries must curb emissions or be held responsible

(The Register – 23 July 2025) In a sweeping and unprecedented legal opinion, the United Nations’ highest court has decreed that “The consequences of climate change are severe and far-reaching” and constitute an “urgent and existential threat.” What’s more, it stated that action must be taken to not only ameliorate that threat but also to determine the legal consequences for those states whose actions harm others. The opinion comes down as tech companies race to build big new datacenters to power the AI revolution. Those datacenters are going to require a lot of energy, most of which will likely be generated by burning fossil fuels, thereby belching more CO2 into the atmosphere. While Wednesday’s opinion has no immediate and binding jurisdictional power, its international authority and legal arguments may well have the power to sway more specific international litigation in the areas of damage compensation, regulations, insurance availability, mitigation funding, and the like. Possibly … Maybe … This blockbuster finding was released by the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ), known more colloquially as the World Court, in a 133-page Advisory Opinion [PDF] entitled Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change — or, in proper ICJese, Obligations des États en Matière de Changement Climatique. – https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/23/un_world_court_curb_emissions/

Experts react: What Trump’s new AI Action Plan means for tech, energy, the economy, and more

(Atlantic Council – 23 July 2025) “An industrial revolution, an information revolution, and a renaissance—all at once.” That’s how the Trump administration describes artificial intelligence (AI) in its new “AI Action Plan.” Released on Wednesday, the plan calls for cutting regulations to spur AI innovation and adoption, speeding up the buildout of AI data centers, exporting AI “full technology stacks” to US allies and partners, and ridding AI systems of what the White House calls “ideological bias.” How does the plan’s approach to AI policy differ from past US policy? What impacts will it have on the US AI industry and global AI governance? What are the implications for energy and the global economy?  –  https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/experts-react-what-trumps-new-ai-action-plan-means-for-tech-energy-the-economy-and-more/

Unpacking Trump’s AI Action Plan: Gutting Rules and Speeding Roll-Out

(Cristiano Lima-Strong – Tech Policy Press – 23 July 2025) The Trump administration on Wednesday released a long-awaited action plan on artificial intelligence that called for slashing regulations and hastening US deployment of the technology, deepening its split with the Biden administration’s focus on AI safety. The 28-page roadmap, “Winning the AI Race: America’s AI Action Plan,” recommends a raft of policies spanning federal procurement, research and development, infrastructure, energy and more. It is expected to be accompanied by a series of executive orders. The White House billed the document as a path to “achieve global dominance in artificial intelligence.”. – https://www.techpolicy.press/unpacking-trumps-ai-action-plan-gutting-rules-and-speeding-rollout/

The Case for Open Source Investment in Europe’s Digital Sovereignty Push

(Nicholas Gates – Tech Policy Press – 23 July 2025) With a new European Parliament and European Commission taking office amidst a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape, the European Union is ramping up efforts to build ‘independent’ digital infrastructure. Such efforts are often framed under the banner of digital sovereignty, sometimes called tech sovereignty. These efforts have accelerated in recent months, with the new Commission’s announcement of the new Executive Vice President for Tech Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, as well as the efforts of the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) to write dual draft reports on technological sovereignty. As a result, European policymakers are doubling down on efforts to build autonomous, resilient digital systems – ones that align with EU values, ensure regulatory independence, and reduce strategic reliance on US-based technologies. Across the continent, this ambition is materializing through projects such as the EuroStack Initiative and a proposed Open Internet Stack from the European Commission’s DG CNECT (the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content, and Technology). But, we would like to ask: To what end? As calls to build sovereign digital infrastructure grow louder, this article adds two often-overlooked dimensions to the debate. First, we explore how to strategically leverage open source software as a key asset in digital sovereignty. Second, and perhaps more urgently, we argue for sustained investment in the maintenance of open source maintainer ecosystems via an EU Sovereign Tech Fund (EU-STF), building on the example of the German Sovereign Tech Fund, now part of the Sovereign Tech Agency (STF/STA). – https://www.techpolicy.press/the-case-for-open-source-investment-in-europes-digital-sovereignty-push/

Meta pushes back on EU AI framework

(DigWatch – 23 July 2025) Meta has refused to endorse the European Union’s new voluntary Code of Practice for general-purpose AI, citing legal overreach and risks to innovation. The company warns that the framework could slow development and deter investment by imposing expectations beyond upcoming AI laws. In a LinkedIn post, Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, called the code confusing and burdensome, criticising its requirements for reporting, risk assessments and data transparency. – https://dig.watch/updates/meta-pushes-back-on-eu-ai-framework

Italy challenges tech giants over VAT on user data

(DigWatch – 23 July 2025) Meta, LinkedIn and X have filed appeals against a sweeping VAT claim by Italy, marking the first time the country has failed to settle such cases with major tech firms. Italy is demanding nearly €1 billion combined over the value of user data exchanged during free account registrations. Italian authorities argue that providing platform access in exchange for personal data constitutes a taxable service, which if upheld, could have far-reaching implications across the EU. The case marks a significant legal shift as it challenges traditional definitions of taxable transactions in the digital economy. – https://dig.watch/updates/italy-challenges-tech-giants-over-vat-on-user-data

Rethinking Speech Rights in the Era of Corporate Information Control

(David McNeill – Tech Policy Press – 23 July 2025) In his speech to Congress introducing the proposed amendments to the Constitution that would become our Bill of Rights, James Madison described the fundamental constitutional rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and the right to petition in the following terms. “The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable. The people shall not be restrained from peaceably assembling and consulting for their common good; nor from applying to the Legislature by petitions, or remonstrances, for redress of their grievances.”. These are the third and fourth sentences of Madison’s proposed fourth amendment, which became the basis for our First Amendment. Both Madison’s formulation and the broader congressional debates surrounding the adoption of the Bill of Rights make clear something we have largely forgotten to our peril. These rights were originally understood as the right of each member of the political community to freely participate in the deliberative practices of the political community. That is, freedom of speech as an individual right was understood as an essentially political right, inseparable from the demands of civic association and collective self-rule. We need to return to an essentially democratic, political conception of the constitutional right to free speech not because the original meaning of the constitutional document is, or should be, our law. We need to return to a political conception of free speech because an increasingly abstract and individualistic understanding of ‘expressive rights’ has left us poorly prepared to recognize and confront the greatest current threats to democratic self-governance. In a context where both the US government and tech oligarchs hide behind protestations of fundamental free speech rights to control the platforms through which information is exchanged, and the data exchanged on those platforms, our hope for the future of democratic self-governance depends upon recognizing the essential difference between data and speech. – https://www.techpolicy.press/rethinking-speech-rights-in-the-era-of-corporate-information-control/

AI governance needs urgent international coordination

(DigWatch – 22 July 2025) A GIS Reports analysis emphasises that as AI systems become pervasive, they create significant global challenges, including surveillance risks, algorithmic bias, cyber vulnerabilities, and environmental pressures. Unlike legacy regulatory regimes, AI technology blurs the lines among privacy, labour, environmental, security, and human rights domains, demanding a uniquely coordinated governance approach. The report highlights that leading AI research and infrastructure remain concentrated in advanced economies: over half of general‑purpose AI models originated in the US, exacerbating global inequalities. – https://dig.watch/updates/ai-poses-global-threats-across-society-economy-environment

Dutch publishers support ethical training of AI model

(DigWatch – 22 July 2025) Dutch news publishers have partnered with research institute TNO to develop GPT-NL, a homegrown AI language model trained on legally obtained Dutch data. The project marks the first time globally that private media outlets actively contribute content to shape a national AI system. Over 30 national and regional publishers from NDP Nieuwsmedia and news agency ANP are sharing archived articles to double the volume of high-quality training material. The initiative aims to establish ethical standards in AI by ensuring copyright is respected and contributors are compensated. – https://dig.watch/updates/dutch-publishers-support-ethical-training-of-ai-model

Emerging Trends in State Cyber Policy During the 2025 Legislative Session

(Shannon Pierson – Tech Policy Press – 22 July 2025) After six years of expanded federal leadership in cyber defense, the Trump Administration has begun scaling back the federal government’s role, including by reducing the staff of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) by a third and shrinking its budget by 17 percent. President Donald Trump also issued an executive order that shifts responsibility for cybersecurity preparedness to state and local governments, asserting that cybersecurity “preparedness is most effectively owned and managed at the state, local, and even individual levels” with limited federal support. At the same time, Congress is not expected to renew a landmark federal grant program providing cybersecurity funding to state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) governments, which is set to expire in September 2025. Amid these shifting headwinds, state legislatures are taking on the mantle of cybersecurity leadership. Local lawmakers across the country are continuing to pass prescriptive cybersecurity regulations for critical infrastructure sectors such as electric utilities, water systems, school districts, and healthcare – systems typically managed at the state or local level. – https://www.techpolicy.press/emerging-trends-in-state-cyber-policy-during-the-2025-legislative-session/

Why media and information literacy are essential in the age of disinformation

(Sasha Havlicek, Daniel Dobrygowski – World Economic Forum – 21 July 2025) Disinformation is a more complex challenge than ever, amplified by technologies such as generative AI. Effective media and information literacy must be integrated across all ages and sectors to build widespread information resilience. A proposed new ecosystem model aims to identify gaps and target interventions at each stage of disinformation, while supporting systemic responses. –  https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/07/disinformation-media-and-information-literacy/

Geostrategies

US alters tech policy, puts chips on the table

(Jennifer Lee and Fritz Lodge – The Strategist – 25 July 2025) A shift is underway in the Trump administration’s approach to tech policy. Nvidia said on 14 July that the US government would soon grant it licenses to resume exports of its H20 chips to China. AMD is expecting the same for its MI308 chips. This may appear surprising after multiple statements from Trump administration officials that controls on the export to China of higher-end AI chips, such as the H20, were off the table. This move doesn’t change the broader bipartisan consensus behind restricting China’s access to strategic tech, but rather fits into a pattern of recent decisions showing that tech export controls—previously viewed as a non-negotiable issue of US national security—can now be used as bargaining chips in trade talks with China. The next talks are scheduled for 28 and 29 July in Stockholm between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and his Chinese counterparts. This shift exacerbates uncertainty for domestic and international tech firms and will encourage Beijing to push for further loosening of controls in future negotiations. – https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/us-alters-tech-policy-puts-chips-on-the-table/

EU and Japan deepen AI cooperation under new digital pact

(DigWatch – 25 July 2025) In May 2025, the European Union and Japan formally reaffirmed their long-standing EU‑Japan Digital Partnership during the third Digital Partnership Council in Tokyo. Delegations agreed to deepen collaboration in pivotal digital technologies, most notably artificial intelligence, quantum computing, 5G/6G networks, semiconductors, cloud, and cybersecurity. – https://dig.watch/updates/eu-and-japan-deepen-ai-cooperation-under-new-digital-pact

In the Race for AI Supremacy, Can Countries Stay Neutral?

(Anton Leicht – AI Frontiers – 23 July 2025) Increasingly, the US-China AI race is taking center stage. To win this race, Washington and Beijing are rethinking a range of policies, from export controls and military procurement priorities to copyright and liability rules. This activity, under the vague banner of race victories, conceals a deeper lack of clarity on strategic objectives. The Trump administration’s AI Action Plan provides yet another entry on what the US strategy might look like — but it shouldn’t be mistaken for an indication of strategic clarity, as US factions are still vying for dominance from decision to decision. All in all, Chinese and US AI strategies are both still nascent. This raises important questions: What will each country decide that “winning the AI race” means? And where does that leave the rest of the world? The obvious answer to the first question is: whichever great power comes out ahead is the winner. But reducing the answer in this way risks missing a critical point, while disregarding the often-cited justification for the race to begin with: that US AI dominance is essential to ensure AI goes well for the world. Conventional wisdom in the AI policy space holds that, with regard to advanced AI systems, the policies of the US and perhaps China matter above all else. There is, of course, a way in which that is very true: policy made in the places where AI is being developed has outsized leverage over the entire world. But there is a way in which it is untrue: when it comes to shaping the consequences of advanced AI for people’s lives, the many other nations and economies that do not develop their own frontier systems matter greatly. This is especially true for “middle powers,” the group of advanced economies that are currently leaving their options for AI strategy open: much of Europe, Japan, India, Canada, and more. This piece looks at the open questions around great-power AI strategy and what they might mean for the fate of middle powers — and, therefore, for global AI outcomes. – https://aifrontiersmedia.substack.com/p/in-the-race-for-ai-supremacy-can

How Washington Could Leverage Its Gulf AI Deals

(Marianne Lu, Nick Shafer – Lawfare – 23 July 2025) On the first overseas trip of his second term, President Trump inked high-profile artificial intelligence (AI) agreements with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. Notably, they authorized the sale of advanced American semiconductor chips to the two Gulf states, a move enabled by Trump’s rollback of the Biden-era AI Diffusion Rule that had restricted such exports. As these deals inch toward finalization, many policy discussions have focused on their security risks, such as the potential for advanced chips to be diverted to or accessed remotely by China. Though important, these concerns obscure an important opportunity: Executed strategically, the deals offer a foundation to enhance U.S. AI leadership by anchoring Gulf states more firmly into the United States’s tech orbit and channeling their capital toward American AI interests. Trump’s four-day trip across the Middle East in May opened a floodgate of deals between American AI companies, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Chief among them was the announcement of a new 5-gigawatt AI campus led by UAE tech giant G42 in Abu Dhabi, a project that would surpass the scale of all major AI infrastructure projects announced to date, including the U.S.-based Stargate. The UAE also secured a preliminary agreement to import 500,000 of Nvidia’s most advanced chips annually, with 20 percent going to G42 and the rest to American companies operating data centers there. These deals represent a win for the Gulf countries, which increasingly view AI as core to their post-oil futures. They also benefit U.S. semiconductor companies seeking new markets and AI companies eager to leverage the Gulf’s abundant capital and energy––key inputs for the data centers that drive AI development and deployment. – https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/how-washington-could-leverage-its-gulf-ai-deals

New AI strategy aims to attract global capital to Indonesia

(DigWatch – 23 July 2025) Indonesia is moving to cement its position in the global AI and semiconductor landscape by releasing its first comprehensive national AI strategy in August 2025. Deputy Minister Nezar Patria says the roadmap aims to clarify the country’s AI market potential, particularly in sectors like health and agriculture, and provide guidance on infrastructure, regulation, and investment pathways. Already, global tech firms are demonstrating confidence in the country’s potential. Microsoft has pledged $1.7 billion to expand cloud and AI capabilities, while Nvidia partnered on a $200 million AI centre project. These investments align with Jakarta’s efforts to build skill pipelines and computational capacity. – https://dig.watch/updates/new-ai-strategy-aims-to-attract-global-capital-to-indonesia

New AI pact between Sri Lanka and Singapore fosters innovation

(DigWatch – 23 July 2025) Sri Lanka’s Cabinet has approved a landmark Memorandum of Understanding with Singapore, through the National University of Singapore’s AI Singapore program and Sri Lanka’s Digital Economy Ministry, to foster cooperation in AI. The MoU establishes a framework for joint research, curriculum development, and knowledge-sharing initiatives to address local priorities and global tech challenges. – https://dig.watch/updates/new-ai-pact-between-sri-lanka-and-singapore-fosters-innovation

UK and OpenAI deepen AI collaboration on security and public services

(DigWatch – 23 July 2025) OpenAI has signed a strategic partnership with the UK government aimed at strengthening AI security research and exploring national infrastructure investment. The agreement was finalised on 21 July by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and science secretary Peter Kyle. It includes a commitment to expand OpenAI’s London office. Research and engineering teams will grow to support AI development and provide assistance to UK businesses and start-ups. – https://dig.watch/updates/uk-and-openai-deepen-ai-collaboration-on-security-and-public-services

Rethinking the Global AI Race

(Lt. Gen. (ret.) John (Jack) N.T. Shanahan and Kevin Frazier – Just Security – 21 July 2025) The global competition over artificial intelligence is increasingly framed in stark and dramatic terms, often compared to the Manhattan Project, a new arms race, or a moonshot project requiring incredible resources to attain a difficult, if not, impossible goal. These analogies all suffer from a common flaw: they point us toward the wrong goal. AI is not a discrete project with a clear endpoint, like building a nuclear weapon or landing on the moon. It is a long-term, society-wide effort to develop powerful tools and ensure their benefits reach classrooms, battlefields, factories, and start-ups alike. The country that leverages advances in AI to establish and maintain substantial economic and military advantages will not necessarily be the one that develops the most advanced models in the shortest amount of time. The United States is not going to win the AI race against China, for example, simply because U.S.-made OpenAI models beat Chinese-made DeepSeek or Kimi K2 models on capability benchmarks. Instead, countries that learn how to bridge the gap between invention and widespread societal adoption will reap the most crucial benefits in the long term. By taking a longer view, the United States can make smarter decisions about how to align technological progress with national security and public welfare. If it continues to frame AI primarily as a short-term sprint toward technical milestones, it risks falling behind global peers and adversaries. – https://www.justsecurity.org/117137/rethinking-global-ai-race/

The U.K.’s Decryption Order, the CLOUD Act, and Recommended Next Steps

(Jennifer Daskal – Lawfare – 21 July 2025) According to the Financial Times, the UK is now seeking to get out of its encryption fight with Apple.  If true, this is good news.  The turnaround appears to be the result of pushing by Vice-President J.D. Vance and others, including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and a bipartisan group of members of Congress. At issue is a still-secret, yet widely discussed order, issued under the U.K.’s Investigative Powers Act, that reportedly directs Apple to design its systems so that it can respond to lawfully issued government demands for data. To date, however, the UK has not yet pulled the plug on its court case with Apple. The following suggests ways for the United States to use the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (CLOUD) to the United States’ advantage–as additional leverage–in pushing back on the U.K. and others that seek to impose decryption mandates on U.S. tech companies. The piece starts with background on the dispute, details the key legal provisions at issue, and then makes recommendations as to how to leverage the CLOUD Act  in the dispute with the U.K, and more broadly, to better protect digital security. – https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-u.k.-s-decryption-order–the-cloud-act–and-recommended-next-steps

West should coordinate to support Pacific cyber development

(Jason Van der Schyff – The Strategist – 21 July 2025) The Pacific is no longer an afterthought in global strategic competition. Stretching across a vast ocean, the region’s scattered island nations are navigating a digital transition that will shape their economic development, national security and geopolitical alignment. The question is no longer whether they will connect to the digital world, but through whom. For the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the European Union, this is a moment of strategic clarity. Closing the Pacific’s digital divide is not just a development priority. It is a litmus test for whether the West can offer a coherent and compelling alternative to China’s digital sphere of influence. – https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/west-should-coordinate-to-support-pacific-cyber-development/

America’s AI Pivot to the Gulf

(Ferial Saeed – Stimson Center – 18 July 2025) Facing domestic barriers to building data centers—regulatory bottlenecks, energy and capital constraints, and public resistance—the second Trump administration has embraced a strategy of “strategic diffusion,” lifting chip export controls to allow U.S. technology firms to partner with Gulf allies in building these facilities. This approach aims to extend American AI dominance and stall China’s momentum by binding Gulf states—namely the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia—to the U.S. AI ecosystem through proprietary platforms that limit interoperability. Geopolitical consequences of this pivot include the elevation of Gulf powers as strategic partners, the potential relative decline of Asia in American strategic thinking, and the rise of digital infrastructure as a new foundation of global power. Risks include the creation of future AI competition from the Gulf, partnerships with illiberal regimes, and that U.S. coercive use of these partnerships could alienate other states and push them toward China. – https://www.stimson.org/2025/americas-ai-pivot-to-the-gulf/

Big Tech in Taiwan. Beyond Semiconductors

(Sam Bresnick – CSET – July 2025) Several U.S. technology companies have embedded themselves in Taiwan’s economy by building data centers, opening R&D facilities, and contracting with Taiwanese manufacturing partners, even as China’s pressure on the island has intensified. Their footprints in Taiwan raise the question of how corporate assets and personnel might shape U.S. technology companies’ decision-making in a potential contingency. This study traces the economic and operational linkages of 17 U.S. technology companies—firms that supported Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion—to Taiwan, and examines how their entanglements with the island might impact their behavior in a future crisis.* Business calculations are only one factor in board‑room decision‑making, as reputation, public pressure, and corporate values also matter. That said, mapping the assets at stake helps illuminate the incentives and risks these companies would have to weigh if conflict erupts in the Taiwan Strait. While many, if not all, of the companies rely to some extent on Taiwan-made semiconductors, mapping their vulnerabilities to chip supply chain disruptions is beyond the scope of this report. Drawing on data on greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI), research and development (R&D) centers, data centers, supply chains, revenue, and job postings, this report finds that, of the companies that do business in China and Taiwan, the majority maintain more robust ties to the former. – https://cset.georgetown.edu/publication/big-tech-in-taiwan/

Sustaining the U.S. Edge in Remote Sensing, Launch, and Advanced Technologies for National Security

(Kathleen Curlee – CSET – July 2025) The U.S. space economy has evolved significantly over the past 70 years. What began in the 1950s as a fully government-supported sector has transformed into a dynamic ecosystem increasingly driven by private sector actors. In the 1960s, the first hints of corporate involvement emerged alongside government-led missions, as post-war political forces and technological advancements launched Sputnik and paved the way for U.S. remote-sensing satellites. Since then, a combination of Cold War necessity, public investment, and groundbreaking research has shaped the trajectory of the space economy, culminating in a modern industry in which innovation and competition among private firms play a central role. Today’s space economy is experiencing unprecedented growth, generating technological advancements, economic opportunity, and geopolitical influence. Valued at $630 billion in 2023 and projected to exceed $1.8 trillion by 2035, the global space industry is increasingly valuable to modern economies.1 From groundbreaking satellites to reusable launch systems, these advancements are as important to state economic interests as they are to global influence, security, and exploration. The United States has invested in this transformation more than any other country, allocating $73.2 billion to space programs in 2023 alone.2 This number is likely higher when combined with NASA’s budget. Historically, government investments and strategic policies have driven widespread innovation and enabled private companies to scale operations and develop transformative technologies.3 NASA’s early contracts with SpaceX, for instance, helped support the company’s development, and SpaceX’s technological breakthroughs, in turn, lowered barriers for new entrants in multiple sectors of the space industry, but only those not in direct competition with SpaceX.4 Payload providers can take advantage of SpaceX’s lower launch costs, but new launch companies have a harder time breaking into the market. Payload and satellite bus manufacturers are also facing a more challenging environment as SpaceX markets its Starlink bus for other purposes. – https://cset.georgetown.edu/publication/sustaining-the-u-s-edge-in-remote-sensing-launch-and-advanced-technologies-for-national-security/

Security

Deepfakes and nuclear weapons: Why AI regulation can’t wait

(Muhammad Ali Baig – The Interpreter – 25 July 2025) The AI-generated deepfake is becoming a familiar feature of political debates, but also a potential national security threat, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently discovered. An imitation of Rubio’s voice was used in an attempt to solicit counterparts to share information, highlighting how sophisticated and convincing AI voice scams have become. This deception adds to concern about the weaponisation of AI in geopolitics, via misinformation or algorithmic manipulation. It’s not only about influencing elections. Imagine the severe consequences that could flow from targeting high-level officials who might have access to nuclear controls. Misinformation and deepfakes are not new, but AI turns the danger into something faster, sharper and harder to untangle. This is especially a risk during a crisis. – https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/deepfakes-nuclear-weapons-why-ai-regulation-can-t-wait

Ransomware activity drops 43% in Q2 despite year‑on‑year rise

(DigWatch – 25 July 2025) Ransomware incidents fell sharply in Q2 2025, with public disclosures dropping 43% from Q1 (from 22.9 to 17.5 cases per day). However, attacks remain elevated compared to the same quarter last year, showing a 43% year‑on‑year increase. In total, 1,591 new victims appeared on leak sites, confirming ransomware is still a serious and growing threat. – https://dig.watch/updates/ransomware-activity-drops-43-in-q2-despite-year%e2%80%91on%e2%80%91year-rise

Safeguarding Critical Infrastructure: Key Challenges in Global Cybersecurity

(Nidhi Singh – Carnegie India – 24 July 2025) Cyberattacks against critical infrastructure (CI) have evolved from isolated incidents to coordinated campaigns by both state and non-state actors. Cyber threats have become increasingly sophisticated and frequent, particularly those that leverage artificial intelligence (AI). Technologists have noted that AI-powered cyberattacks can bypass traditional defenses, with recent breakout times as short as fifty-one seconds, illustrating the rapid evolution of these threats. These advancements are further exacerbated by China’s increasing offensive cyber capabilities that pose rising threats to CIs, thereby shrinking response windows and making real-time defense capabilities essential. A closed-door discussion titled “Safeguarding Cybersecurity of Critical Infrastructure” was organized at the Global Technology Summit 2025, co-hosted by Carnegie India and the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. The event brought together cybersecurity experts from Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, and France, along with industry leaders, legal experts, academics, and senior Indian policymakers. The discussion aimed to identify vulnerabilities in CI protection, discuss ways to enhance national cybersecurity resilience through international cooperation for incident response, and deliberate coordination required between government, the private sector, and international partners for protecting CI. Based on the discussion, this essay outlines four key challenges: varying definitions of CI across countries, gaps in international cooperation for norm enforcement, difficulties in public-private information sharing, and vulnerabilities in the hardware supply chain. – https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2025/07/safeguarding-critical-infrastructure-key-challenges-in-global-cybersecurity?lang=en&center=india

The U.S. Cannot Prevent Every AI Biothreat—But It Can Outpace Them

(Tal Feldman, Jonathan Feldman – Lawfare – 24 July 2025) The next biothreat might start as a line of code. A new class of artificial intelligence (AI) systems—known as protein language models (PLMs)—can design novel proteins with the potential to be used as bioweapons at astonishing speed. Originally developed to accelerate drug discovery, these systems can also propose mutations that make viruses more infectious, harder to detect, and resistant to treatment. The Trump administration’s newly released AI Action Plan includes a biosecurity section focused on access controls and nucleic acid synthesis screening. That emphasis is understandable but insufficient. Screening systems rely on matching against known pathogens, yet the threat from PLMs is precisely that they generate unknown proteins. Synthesis providers can’t evaluate whether a novel gene encodes a harmful function. And the growing availability of benchtop synthesis machines allows well-resourced actors to bypass providers entirely. In short, the danger has shifted upstream, to the model output itself. At first glance, PLMs resemble large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT: Both generate sequences using the same structure—words for LLMs, amino acids for PLMs. But that’s where the similarity ends. Harmful text from LLMs can be detected with filters and keywords. Dangerous proteins cannot be. Whether a protein is safe or harmful depends on complex biological properties—how it folds, what it interacts with, and how it behaves in the body—none of which can be reliably predicted from sequence alone. Today, scientists still need to test these proteins in the lab, using real human biological material, to understand their effects. – https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-u.s.-cannot-prevent-every-ai-biothreat-but-it-can-outpace-them

European healthcare group AMEOS suffers a major hack

(DigWatch – 24 July 2025) Millions of patients, employees, and partners linked to AMEOS Group, one of Europe’s largest private healthcare providers, may have compromised their personal data following a major cyberattack. The company admitted that hackers briefly accessed its IT systems, stealing sensitive data including contact information and records tied to patients and corporate partners. Despite existing security measures, AMEOS was unable to prevent the breach. The company operates over 100 facilities across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, employing 18,000 staff and managing over 10,000 beds. – https://dig.watch/updates/european-healthcare-group-ameos-suffers-a-major-hack

US agencies warn of rising Interlock ransomware threat targeting healthcare sector

(DigWatch – 24 July 2025) US federal authorities have issued a joint warning over a spike in ransomware attacks by the Interlock group, which has been targeting healthcare and public services across North America and Europe. The alert was released by the FBI, CISA, HHS and MS-ISAC, following a surge in activity throughout June. Interlock operates as a ransomware-as-a-service scheme and first emerged in September 2024. The group uses double extortion techniques, not only encrypting files but also stealing sensitive data and threatening to leak it unless a ransom is paid. – https://dig.watch/updates/us-agencies-warn-of-rising-interlock-ransomware-threat-targeting-healthcare-sector

China warns citizens to beware backdoored devices, on land and under the sea

(The Register – 23 July 2025) China’s Ministry of State Security has spent the week warning of backdoored devices on land and at sea. On Monday, the Ministry used its WeChat channel to publish a lengthy warning about backdoors in devices and supply chain attacks on software. The post explains that some developers and manufacturers install backdoors as innocent tools to allow maintenance, but that criminals later use them for nefarious purposes. The Ministry is less kind about supply chain attacks on software, which it says criminals carry out specifically to implement backdoors. – https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/23/china_backdoor_alerts/?td=rt-3a

Bitcoin’s security under quantum threat

(DigWatch – 23 July 2025) A leading cybersecurity expert has raised concerns that Bitcoin’s underlying cryptography could be broken within five years. David Carvalho, CEO of Naoris Protocol, warned that quantum computers could soon break the cryptography securing Bitcoin transactions. He believes the threat could materialise sooner than most anticipate, urging immediate action. Carvalho pointed to Shor’s algorithm as the core concern. Once sufficiently advanced quantum machines are deployed, they could crack Bitcoin’s defences in seconds. – https://dig.watch/updates/bitcoins-security-under-quantum-threat

Microsoft Links Ongoing SharePoint Exploits to Three Chinese Hacker Groups

(The Hacker News – 22 July 2025) Microsoft has formally tied the exploitation of security flaws in internet-facing SharePoint Server instances to two Chinese hacking groups called Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as early as July 7, 2025, corroborating earlier reports. The tech giant said it also observed a third China-based threat actor, which it tracks as Storm-2603, weaponizing the flaws as well to obtain initial access to target organizations. “With the rapid adoption of these exploits, Microsoft assesses with high confidence that threat actors will continue to integrate them into their attacks against unpatched on-premises SharePoint systems,” the tech giant said in a report published today. – https://thehackernews.com/2025/07/microsoft-links-ongoing-sharepoint.html

Hackers Exploit SharePoint Zero-Day Since July 7 to Steal Keys, Maintain Persistent Access

(The Hacker News – 22 July 2025) The recently disclosed critical Microsoft SharePoint vulnerability has been under exploitation as early as July 7, 2025, according to findings from Check Point Research. The cybersecurity company said it observed first exploitation attempts targeting an unnamed major Western government, with the activity intensifying on July 18 and 19, spanning government, telecommunications, and software sectors in North America and Western Europe. – https://thehackernews.com/2025/07/hackers-exploit-sharepoint-zero-day.html

UK to ban ransomware payments by public sector organizations

(The Register – 22 July 2025) The UK government is proposing to “ban” public sector organizations and critical national infrastructure from paying criminal operators behind ransomware attacks, under new measures outlined today. This means the NHS, local councils and schools – all of which have been in the crosshairs of various miscreants in recent years – will no longer be able to negotiate with the scumbags that lock up their systems and extort them. Almost three quarters of respondents to a government consultation backed this, we’re told. The idea is to make the public sector and CNI (which includes utilities and datacenters these days) less attractive targets for financially motivated attackers. The exact timeframe for implementing the proposals was not confirmed today. – https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/22/uk_to_ban_ransomware_payments/

New GLOBAL GROUP ransomware targets all major operating systems

(DigWatch – 22 July 2025) A sophisticated new ransomware threat, dubbed GLOBAL GROUP, has emerged on cybercrime forums, meticulously designed to target systems across Windows, Linux, and macOS with cross-platform precision. In June 2025, a threat actor operating under the alias ‘Dollar Dollar Dollar’ launched the GLOBAL GROUP Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) platform on the Ramp4u forum. The campaign offers affiliates scalable tools, automated negotiations, and generous profit-sharing, creating an appealing setup for monetising cybercrime at scale. GLOBAL GROUP leverages the Golang language to build monolithic binaries, enabling seamless execution across varied operating environments in a single campaign. The strategy expands attackers’ reach, allowing them to exploit hybrid infrastructures while improving operational efficiency and scalability. – https://dig.watch/updates/new-global-group-ransomware-targets-all-major-operating-systems

Singapore probes cyberattacks on critical infrastructure linked to UNC3886

(DigWatch – 22 July 2025) Singapore is addressing cyberattacks on its critical information infrastructure attributed to the state-sponsored cyberespionage group UNC3886. On 18 July, Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam identified the group as an advanced persistent threat (APT) actor capable of long-term network infiltration to gather intelligence or disrupt essential services. He noted that UNC3886 is currently targeting high-value strategic assets in Singapore but did not name any state sponsor. – https://dig.watch/updates/singapore-probes-cyberattacks-on-critical-infrastructure-linked-to-unc3886

US schools struggle to counter growing ransomware risks

(DigWatch – 22 July 2025) K-12 schools across the United States are facing a surge in cyberattacks, driven by rising digitisation, vast troves of personal data, and underdeveloped cybersecurity defences. Between July 2023 and December 2024, 82% of US schools experienced at least one cyber incident, according to a March report from the Center for Internet Security. Attackers are drawn to schools’ access to sensitive records and often find outdated systems and under-resourced IT teams unable to prevent or respond effectively. In a major case earlier this year, a 19-year-old admitted to hacking PowerSchool, a widely used student information system, and extorting $2.85 million. – https://dig.watch/updates/us-schools-struggle-to-counter-growing-ransomware-risks

Iran-Linked DCHSpy Android Malware Masquerades as VPN Apps to Spy on Dissidents

(The Hacker News – 21 July 2025) Cybersecurity researchers have unearthed new Android spyware artifacts that are likely affiliated with the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and have been distributed to targets by masquerading as VPN apps and Starlink, a satellite internet connection service offered by SpaceX. Mobile security vendor Lookout said it discovered four samples of a surveillanceware tool it tracks as DCHSpy one week after the onset of the Israel-Iran conflict last month. Exactly how many people may have installed these apps is not clear. “DCHSpy collects WhatsApp data, accounts, contacts, SMS, files, location, and call logs, and can record audio and take photos,” security researchers Alemdar Islamoglu and Justin Albrecht said. – https://thehackernews.com/2025/07/iran-linked-dchspy-android-malware.html

X tells the French police ‘non’ to its request for algorithmic data

(The Register – 21 July 2025) The site formerly known as Twitter has said it will not hand over any information to French police over an investigation into its recommendation algorithms. Earlier this month, French police announced they were investigating X after a member of the nation’s parliament and a top official claimed that the social media network was manipulating its algorithm for nefarious purposes and abusing the data of its users. The prosecutors have demanded information on how the X algorithm is structured, and also want data on users and their behavior. X named the politician as Eric Bothorel, a member of the National Assembly for President Macron’s Renaissance party. “French authorities have launched a politically-motivated criminal investigation into X over the alleged manipulation of its algorithm and alleged ‘fraudulent data extraction.’ X categorically denies these allegations,” X’s Global Government Affairs said in a post on its own site. – https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/21/x_french_police/

StrongestLayer Emerges from Stealth with $5.2M Seed Funding to Combat AI-Powered Email Threats

(AI Insider – 21 July 2025) StrongestLayer has launched from stealth with $5.2M in seed funding to combat AI-driven phishing attacks using an LLM-native email security platform that detects threats through reasoning and intent analysis. Its proprietary TRACE engine mimics the cognitive abilities of thousands of analysts to detect AI-generated threats, convict fake sites, and deliver real-time training to employees based on attack patterns. Founded by veterans from Google, McAfee, and FireEye, the platform has already flagged 3.9 million fake websites and is positioned as a next-gen alternative to outdated, pattern-based email security tools. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/21/strongestlayer-emerges-from-stealth-with-5-2m-seed-funding-to-combat-ai-powered-email-threats/

PoisonSeed Hackers Bypass FIDO Keys Using QR Phishing and Cross-Device Sign-In Abuse

(The Hacker News – 21 July 2025) Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed a novel attack technique that allows threat actors to downgrade Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) key protections by deceiving users into approving authentication requests from spoofed company login portals. FIDO keys are hardware- or software-based authenticators designed to eliminate phishing by binding logins to specific domains using public-private key cryptography. In this case, attackers exploit a legitimate feature—cross-device sign-in—to trick victims into unknowingly authenticating malicious sessions. – https://thehackernews.com/2025/07/poisonseed-hackers-bypass-fido-keys.html

3,500 Websites Hijacked to Secretly Mine Crypto Using Stealth JavaScript and WebSocket Tactics

(The Hacker News – 21 July 2025) A new attack campaign has compromised more than 3,500 websites worldwide with JavaScript cryptocurrency miners, marking the return of browser-based cryptojacking attacks once popularized by the likes of CoinHive. Although the service has since shuttered after browser makers took steps to ban miner-related apps and add-ons, researchers from the c/side said they found evidence of a stealthy miner packed within obfuscated JavaScript that assesses the computational power of a device and spawns background Web Workers to execute mining tasks in parallel without raising any alarm. More importantly, the activity has been found to leverage WebSockets to fetch mining tasks from an external server, so as to dynamically adjust the mining intensity based on the device capabilities and accordingly throttle resource consumption to maintain stealth. – https://thehackernews.com/2025/07/3500-websites-hijacked-to-secretly-mine.html

Nearly 2 million patients affected in healthcare cyberattack

(DigWatch – 21 July 2025) Anne Arundel Dermatology, a network of over 100 clinics across seven states, has confirmed a cyberattack that compromised patient data for nearly 1.9 million individuals. The breach between 14 February and 13 May 2025 may have exposed sensitive personal and medical records. The company responded swiftly by isolating affected systems, working with forensic experts and completing a full file review by 27 June. – https://dig.watch/updates/nearly-2-million-patients-affected-in-healthcare-cyberattack

Radiology Associates of Richmond data breach impacts 1.4 million people

(Security Affairs – 20 July 2025) Radiology Associates of Richmond has disclosed a data breach that impacted personal and health information of over 1.4 million individuals. Radiology Associates of Richmond (RAR) is a private radiology practice founded in 1905 and based in central Virginia. With over 100 years of continuous operation, RAR provides comprehensive diagnostic and interventional imaging services, including X‑rays, CT scans, MRI, ultrasound, mammography, nuclear medicine, and advanced vascular and neuro‑interventional procedures, across several hospital and outpatient facilities in the Richmond area. The organization discovered that threat actors gained access to its systems between April 2 and 6, 2024. The investigation confirmed on May 2, 2025, that the security breach exposed protected health and personal information. The practice quickly secured its network with the help of external cybersecurity experts and is assessing the impact. – https://securityaffairs.com/180128/data-breach/radiology-associates-of-richmond-data-breach-impacts-1-4-million-people.html

From streets to screens: fighting crime in the digital domain

(Europol – 18 July 2025) With European Union citizens spending up to half of their waking hours online, criminals are increasingly abusing this domain. Criminal actors exploit the existing digital infrastructure to its fullest, leveraging technology and online systems to facilitate illegal activities while evading law enforcement. To prevent online communities from becoming lawless spaces, police forces will have to establish an online presence. Europol’s Innovation Lab and the European Clearing Board’s Strategic Group on Online Policing have authored a concept paper on ‘policing in an online world’. Based on practical experience collected from partners across the EU, paired with academic insight and the discussion of wider societal trends, this concept paper delivers not only a situational snapshot but a set of guiding principles – https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/streets-to-screens-fighting-crime-in-digital-domain

Defence, Intelligence, Warfare

US lawmaker proposes to train young Americans in AI for cyberwarfare

(DigWatch – 25 July 2025) In a Washington Post opinion piece, Rep. Elise Stefanik and Stephen Prince, CEO of TFG Asset Management, argue that the United States is already engaged in a new form of warfare — cyberwarfare — waged by adversaries like China, Russia, and Iran using tools such as malware, phishing, and zero-day exploits. They assert that the US is not adequately prepared to defend against these threats due to a significant shortage of cyber talent, especially within the military and government. To address this gap, the authors propose the creation of the United States Advanced Technology Academy (USATA) — a tuition-free, government-supported institution that would train a new generation of Americans in cybersecurity, AI, and quantum computing. Modelled after military academies, USATA would be located in upstate New York and require a five-year public service commitment from graduates. – https://dig.watch/updates/us-lawmaker-proposes-to-train-young-americans-in-ai-for-cyberwarfare

China claims to fix fatal design flaw that killed US Navy’s stealth drone dreams

(Interesting Engineering – 24 July 2025) Chinese engineers say they have cracked a fundamental bottleneck in stealth aircraft design with a new software platform that lets designers juggle hundreds of variables without piling on computing costs. The team, led by Huang Jiangtao at the China Aerodynamics Research and Development Centre, demonstrated the method on the US Navy’s X‑47B stealth drone, long cited as a case study in design trade-offs, and reported “dramatic improvements” when optimising 740 variables at once, from drag and radar signature to engine thrust and airflow stability. – https://interestingengineering.com/military/china-design-hurdle-stealth-drone

Build, Buy, or Blend? Europe must make a defense decision for strategic autonomy

(Pamela Park – German Marshall Fund of the United States – 23 July 2025) European defense leaders are confronting a historic moment of change in their security environment. In the past, Europe has been deeply dependent on the United States for maintaining existing weaponry and acquiring new defense systems. European leaders now grapple with growing uncertainty over US commitment to NATO and an aggressive Russian threat. These dual challenges compel European leaders to reassess their defense strategies and their need for strategic autonomy. To navigate this complex security landscape, European defense leaders would benefit from looking to a Silicon Valley strategic decision-making framework for competitive, fast-evolving tech industries. In dynamic, high-stakes environments, tech firm leaders choose to build proprietary solutions (for example, Apple’s M-series chips for performance control), buy established technologies (for example, Google’s use of Qualcomm chips for its phones), or blend external innovations with internal capabilities for strategic advantage (for example, Microsoft’s integration of OpenAI into Azure). This Build-Buy-Blend framework offers three distinct approaches for balancing innovation, speed, and autonomy in defense modernization. It frames strategic choices as adaptable bets, continuously reassessed as technology, competition, and global events rapidly evolve. – https://www.gmfus.org/news/build-buy-or-blend

UK nuclear submarine fires drone torpedo to sniff out hidden enemies at sea

(Interesting Engineering – 23 July 2025) The Royal Navy has successfully tested the launch and recovery of uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) from a nuclear-powered submarine to expand its undersea warfare capabilities. The trials, part of Project Scylla, took place recently in the Mediterranean Sea and involved the deployment of UUVs via torpedo tubes from an Astute-class attack submarine. The tests aimed to enhance the submarine fleet’s ability to conduct underwater reconnaissance, seabed warfare, and secure undersea communications. – https://interestingengineering.com/military/britains-nuclear-submarine-drone-torpedo

Scaling Laws: Lt. Gen Jack Shanahan: Defense’s AI Integration

(Lawfare  – 22 July 2025) Lt. Gen. (ret) Jack Shanahan joins Kevin Frazier to explore the nuanced landscape of AI in national security. Challenging the prevalent “AI arms race” narrative. The discussion delves into the complexities of AI integration in defense, the cultural shifts required within the Department of Defense, and the critical role of public trust and shared national vision. Tune in to understand how AI is reshaping military strategies and the broader implications for society. – https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/scaling-laws–lt.-gen-jack-shanahan–defense’s-ai-integration

Frontiers

Vanta Secures $150M Series D to Power the Future of AI-Driven Trust

(AI Insider – 25 July 2025) Vanta has raised $150M in Series D funding at a $4.15B valuation to expand its AI-powered trust management platform, now used by over 12,000 companies worldwide. The platform automates security and compliance with features like AI Agents, zero-touch verification, and questionnaire automation, helping teams cut review times and boost efficiency. Vanta has launched 350 new features, acquired Riskey for vendor reviews, expanded into government compliance, and opened new global offices as it scales across industries and markets. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/25/vanta-secures-150m-series-d-to-power-the-future-of-ai-driven-trust/

OpenAI Cloud Agreement with Google Confirmed Despite Rivalry in AI Market

(AI Insider – 24 July 2025) Google has confirmed a new cloud computing partnership with OpenAI, its chief competitor in the generative AI space, marking a significant twist in the escalating AI landscape. CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledged the deal during Alphabet’s Q2 earnings call, expressing enthusiasm for supporting OpenAI’s AI model training and deployment on Google Cloud infrastructure. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/24/openai-cloud-agreement-with-google-confirmed-despite-rivalry-in-ai-market/

Bonsai Robotics Acquires farm-ng to Advance Autonomous Farming

(AI Insider – 24 July 2025) Bonsai Robotics has acquired farm-ng, combining vision-based AI autonomy with modular robotic platforms to accelerate the deployment of smart machines for agriculture. The merged company will offer AI-first, cost-effective machines that improve efficiency, reduce operational costs, and work across a variety of crops, geographies, and tasks. The combined team includes former John Deere technology director John Teeple as COO and OpenCV founder Gary Bradski as Chief Science Officer, positioning Bonsai as a leader in next-gen agtech integration. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/24/bonsai-robotics-acquires-farm-ng-to-lead-the-future-of-autonomous-farming/

OmniOps Launches Bunyan, Saudi Arabia’s First Inference as a Service Platform

(AI Insider – 24 July 2025) OmniOps has officially launched Bunyan بنيان, Saudi Arabia’s first sovereign Inference-as-a-Service platform, signaling a major milestone in national AI infrastructure. Designed for full data sovereignty and compliance, Bunyan delivers support for text, vision, and speech applications with performance gains including 2x faster inference, 50% lower energy use, and 40% reduced latency. Built on a GPU-agnostic, end-to-end AI stack, Bunyan enables rapid deployment of custom or catalog-based AI models across public or private cloud, giving enterprises the ability to accelerate AI workloads while maintaining control over sensitive data. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/24/omniops-launches-bunyan-saudi-arabias-first-inference-as-a-service-platform/

Leibniz Supercomputing Centre Computes With Light: World’s First Photonic AI Processor From Q.ANT Goes Into Operation

(Quantum Insider – 24 July 2025) Q.ANT has installed its Native Processing Server (NPS) at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ), marking the world’s first deployment of an analog photonic co-processor in an operational high-performance computing (HPC) environment. The photonic system promises up to 90x lower energy consumption and 100x greater data center capacity, enabling real-time AI and simulation workloads without the need for conventional cooling. Supported by German federal and Bavarian funding, the project aims to evaluate hybrid digital-analog architectures and sets the stage for broader adoption of photonic computing in HPC and scientific research. – https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/07/24/leibniz-supercomputing-centre-computes-with-light-worlds-first-photonic-ai-processor-from-q-ant-goes-into-operation/

Universal Quantum Joins Open Quantum Institute to Advance Endometriosis Drug Discovery with Quantum Computing

(Quantum Insider – 24 July 2025) Universal Quantum has joined the Open Quantum Institute to explore real-world quantum applications, starting with a drug discovery project for endometriosis. The collaboration will use quantum simulations to investigate non-hormonal treatments for a condition affecting 10% of women globally, with a focus on underserved populations. Universal Quantum’s participation reflects its broader mission to develop scalable ion-trap quantum hardware while ensuring ethical and socially beneficial applications aligned with global goals. – https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/07/24/universal-quantum-joins-open-quantum-institute-to-advance-endometriosis-drug-discovery-with-quantum-computing/

Infleqtion to Build Neutral Atom Quantum Computer in Illinois, Backed by $50 Million Partnership

(Quantum Insider – 24 July 2025) Infleqtion will build the first utility-scale neutral atom quantum computer in Illinois, backed by a $50 million public-private partnership with the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park and the National Quantum Algorithms Center. The system will use Infleqtion’s Sqale platform to target 100 logical qubits using thousands of neutral atom qubits, offering scalability, reconfigurability, and integration with AI and error correction technologies. The project establishes Illinois as Infleqtion’s quantum computing headquarters, with commitments to job creation, capital investment, and expanded quantum R&D infrastructure. – https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/07/24/infleqtion-to-build-neutral-atom-quantum-computer-in-illinois-backed-by-50-million-partnership/

Could a Network of Quantum Computers Probe General Relativity on Earth?

(Quantum Insider – 24 July 2025) A study published in PRX Quantum proposes using a network of optical clock-equipped quantum computers at different elevations to test how gravity affects quantum systems. The experiment relies on gravitational time dilation and precise quantum interference patterns to probe potential violations of the Born rule, a core principle of standard quantum theory. Researchers say the protocol is feasible with current quantum network technology and could be implemented using existing infrastructure in the Chicago area. – https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/07/24/could-a-network-of-quantum-computers-probe-general-relativity-on-earth/

India Opens Rolling Call for Quantum Startups Under National Mission

(Quantum Insider – 24 July 2025) India’s Department of Science and Technology has launched a rolling call for startup proposals under its National Quantum Mission to accelerate domestic innovation in quantum technologies. Eligible startups must focus on one of four areas—computing, communication, sensing and metrology, or materials and devices—and apply through a corresponding Thematic Hub at a top academic institution. The program offers more than funding, providing scientific mentorship, infrastructure access, and academic partnerships to help startups move toward commercialization. – https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/07/24/india-opens-rolling-call-for-quantum-startups-under-national-mission/

China’s Pudu Robotics Launches New Series of Heavy-Payload Industrial Robots

(AI Insider – 24 July 2025) Pudu Robotics has launched the T600 Series, a new line of heavy-payload autonomous delivery robots aimed at streamlining goods handling in complex industrial environments. The series includes two models: the PUDU T600 with touchscreen and manual controls for hybrid tasks, and the T600 Underride, a low-profile AMR that lifts and transports shelves for fully automated shelf-to-line logistics. Key features include a 600kg payload capacity, adaptive navigation in narrow aisles, elevator prioritization for multi-floor operations, VDA5050 protocol compatibility, IoT integration, and on-premises deployment options for data security in sensitive manufacturing settings. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/24/chinas-pudu-robotics-launches-new-series-of-heavy-payload-industrial-robots/

Yaskawa America Announces New Industrial Robotics Manufacturing Facility in U.S.

(AI Insider – 24 July 2025) Yaskawa America will begin manufacturing high-volume industrial robots in the U.S. for the first time, announcing a new advanced manufacturing facility on its forthcoming Franklin, Wisconsin campus. The new site will consolidate multiple Drives and Motion Division facilities into an 800,000-square-foot hub for robotics, AC drives, solar inverters, and motion control systems, while the Motoman Robotics Division will remain headquartered in Miamisburg, Ohio. The investment supports Yaskawa’s North American growth strategy and commitment to localizing production to reduce lead times, strengthen supply chains, and better serve customers across the Americas. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/24/yaskawa-america-announces-new-industrial-robotics-manufacturing-facility-in-u-s/

Delve Announces $32M Series A to Automate Compliance with AI Agents at $300M Valuation

(AI Insider – 24 July 2025) Delve, the AI compliance startup founded by MIT classmates Karun Kaushik and Selin Kocalar, has closed a $32 million Series A round at a $300 million valuation. The round, led by Insight Partners with participation from Fortune 500 CISOs, follows a rapid expansion since Delve’s $3 million seed raise earlier this year. Delve uses domain-specific AI agents to automate regulatory frameworks like HIPAA, SOC 2, PCI, and GDPR — replacing hundreds of hours of manual audit preparation with intelligent, real-time workflows. The platform integrates with company systems to gather evidence, track changes, and manage compliance documentation autonomously. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/24/delve-announces-32m-series-a-to-automate-compliance-with-ai-agents-at-300m-valuation/

ValGenesis Secures $16M Strategic Financing to Accelerate Global Expansion and AI-Driven Innovation

(AI Insider – 24 July 2025) ValGenesis has secured up to $16M in strategic financing from Bridge Bank’s Innovation Banking Group to accelerate global expansion and AI-powered product innovation in digital validation for life sciences. The funding supports growth of the ValGenesis Smart GxP™ platform, strategic hiring, and partner expansion across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific amid rising demand for compliance automation. Backed by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, ValGenesis is trusted by 30 of the top 50 global life sciences firms and continues to lead the market in digitizing validation lifecycle management. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/24/valgenesis-secures-16m-strategic-financing-to-accelerate-global-expansion-and-ai-driven-innovation/

Slingshot Launches Ash, the First AI Designed for Therapy

(AI Insider – 24 July 2025) Slingshot AI has launched Ash, the first AI built specifically for therapy, after 18 months of development and $93M in funding from investors including Radical Ventures, Forerunner, and a16z. Ash uses a custom psychology foundation model trained on diverse therapeutic approaches and continuously adapts to users through reinforcement learning for deeply personalized support. Backed by a clinical advisory board including former NIMH head Dr. Thomas Insel, Ash aims to broaden access to evidence-based mental health care, especially for underserved populations. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/24/slingshot-launches-ash-the-first-ai-designed-for-therapy/

US ditches steel in first nuclear reactor parts, turning to cutting-edge 3D printing

(Interesting Engineering – 24 July 2025) A novel construction method is taking shape in East Tennessee, where massive, custom-printed molds are being used to pour concrete for the nation’s first new advanced reactor in decades. At Kairos Power’s campus in Oak Ridge, these 3D-printed polymer forms are being used to build components for the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor. Notably, Hermes is the first advanced reactor to receive a construction permit from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. – https://interestingengineering.com/energy/3d-printing-for-nuclear-reactor-parts

Quantum chip brings collider-scale power to palm, advancing physics, medicine

(Interesting Engineering – 24 July 2025) Researchers at the University of Colorado (CU) Denver have found a novel way to create extreme electromagnetic fields, much like those at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, on a thumb-sized chip in the laboratory. The breakthrough promises a revolution in science, allowing quantum scientists to probe ideas that are straight out of science fiction and improve our understanding of medicine and physics, a press release said. Electromagnetic fields are created when electrons inside materials vibrate and bounce at very high speeds. These fields are important since they power most modern technology, from electronic chips to large scientific equipment used in modern medicine. – https://interestingengineering.com/science/lhc-on-a-chip-gamma-ray-laser

Teen builds Hindi AI tool to help paralysis patients speak

(DigWatch – 24 July 2025) An Indian teenager has created a low-cost AI device that translates slurred speech into clear Hindi, helping patients with paralysis and neurological conditions communicate more easily. Pranet Khetan’s innovation, Paraspeak, uses a custom Hindi speech recognition model to address a long-ignored area of assistive tech. – https://dig.watch/updates/teen-builds-hindi-ai-tool-to-help-paralysis-patients-speak

New Wi-Fi fingerprint tech tracks your body without device, phone, or camera

(Interesting Engineering – 23 July 2025) Surveillance in the digital age is no longer limited to cameras and smartphones. From facial recognition to GPS logs, the tools used to monitor people have grown increasingly sophisticated. Now, researchers in Italy have shown that even ordinary Wi-Fi signals can be used to track people, without needing them to carry any device at all. A team from La Sapienza University of Rome has developed a system called ‘WhoFi,’ which can generate a unique biometric identifier based on how a person’s body interacts with surrounding Wi-Fi signals. – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/wifi-fingerprint-ai-tracking-without-device

OpenAI Confirms $30B Annual Cloud Deal with Oracle to Power Massive AI Infrastructure

(AI Insider – 23 July 2025) OpenAI has confirmed it is the company behind Oracle’s previously undisclosed $30 billion per year cloud deal, first revealed in an SEC filing last month. While OpenAI CEO Sam Altman did not confirm the financial terms, he acknowledged the agreement on X and in a company blog post. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/23/openai-confirms-30b-annual-cloud-deal-with-oracle-to-power-massive-ai-infrastructure/

Latent Labs Launches LatentX, a Web-Based AI Model for Protein Design

(AI Insider – 23 July 2025) Latent Labs, the biotech AI startup founded by former DeepMind scientist Simon Kohl, has unveiled LatentX, a browser-based platform that enables users to design entirely new proteins with atomic-level precision. Six months after emerging from stealth with $50 million in funding, the company is now offering its foundational model to academic researchers, biotech startups, and pharmaceutical firms. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/23/latent-labs-launches-latentx-a-web-based-ai-model-for-protein-design/

Amazon Acquires AI Wearables Startup Bee to Expand Ambient Intelligence Offering

(AI Insider – 23 July 2025) Amazon has acquired Bee, an AI wearables startup known for its voice-recording bracelet and Apple Watch app, according to Bee co-founder Maria de Lourdes Zollo. The deal, which has not yet closed, was confirmed by Amazon to TechCrunch. Bee’s product captures ambient conversations to generate reminders and to-do lists, functioning as a low-cost AI assistant with a $49.99 device and $19 monthly subscription. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/23/amazon-acquires-ai-wearables-startup-bee-to-expand-ambient-intelligence-offering/

Elon Musk’s xAI Reportedly Seeking Up to $12B for Chip-Powered AI Expansion

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture xAI is reportedly working with Valor Equity Partners to raise as much as $12 billion to fund its rapid expansion, according to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal. The capital would support the acquisition of high-end Nvidia chips for a large-scale data center powering Grok, xAI’s conversational AI platform. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/23/elon-musks-xai-reportedly-seeking-up-to-12b-for-chip-powered-ai-expansion/

Nexxa.ai Announces $4.4M in Funding to Bring Specialized AI to Heavy Industries

(AI Insider – 23 July 2025) Nexxa.ai has raised $4.4M in pre-seed funding led by a16z speedrun to accelerate development of AI agents that enhance industrial engineering workflows without replacing existing software. Its AI-native platform integrates with tools used by over 4 million industrial engineers, automating complex operations and driving measurable impact for Fortune 100 and midmarket firms. Backed by top investors and selected for a16z’s elite accelerator, Nexxa has achieved two consecutive quarters of 3x growth in annual contract value since its May 2024 launch. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/23/nexxa-ai-announces-4-4m-in-funding-to-bring-specialized-ai-to-heavy-industries/

Hadrian Closes $260M in Funding for New AI-Powered Facilities

(AI Insider – 23 July 2025) Hadrian has raised $260M in Series C funding led by Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and Morgan Stanley to build AI-powered factories for naval defense and shipbuilding, including a new HQ and a 270,000 sq ft facility in Mesa, Arizona. The Mesa factory (Factory 3) will focus on large-scale precision manufacturing and create 350 jobs, while the HQ will include a 400,000 sq ft R&D center aiming to employ thousands. The company is also launching Hadrian Maritime and plans future divisions in munitions and UAVs, using its proprietary Opus software and a factories-as-a-service model to scale U.S. defense production. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/23/hadrian-closes-260m-in-funding-for-new-ai-powered-facilities/

Spacely AI Secures $1M Seed Round to Supercharge Generative AI Design for Architects Worldwide

(AI Insider – 23 July 2025) Spacely AI has raised $1M in Seed funding led by PropTech Farm to accelerate product development, launch a U.S. presence, and expand globally with its AI-powered design tools. Its platform enables architects and designers to create renders, stage spaces, and convert 2D to 3D with up to 80% less manual work, integrating directly with tools like SketchUp. With 10× revenue growth, 1,500+ clients in 50+ countries, and multiple startup awards, Spacely AI is emerging as a top AI solution for the architecture and interior design industry. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/23/spacely-ai-secures-1m-seed-round-to-supercharge-generative-ai-design-for-architects-worldwide/

3D printers to help UK nuclear fusion labs craft parts that withstand extreme forces

(Interesting Engineering – 22 July 2025) The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has commissioned two advanced 3D printing machines that use complementary methods to produce components for future fusion reactors. The machines will reportedly manufacture components built to withstand the extreme conditions inside fusion power plants, including high heat, intense neutron loads, and strong magnetic fields. Unveiled at the newly opened Central Support Facility (CSF), the electron beam machine which will be used to incorporate tungsten into parts, and the selective laser manufacturing system mark a major step in fusion manufacturing. – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/3d-printers-uk-nuclear-fusion-labs

Majority of U.S. Teens Are Using AI Companions, New Study Reveals

(AI Insider – 22 July 2025) A new study released by Common Sense Media, conducted with NORC at the University of Chicago, reveals that 72% of U.S. teens aged 13 to 17 have tried AI companions — chatbots designed for personal interaction rather than productivity. Of those, over half are now regular users, with 13% engaging daily. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/22/majority-of-u-s-teens-are-using-ai-companions-new-study-reveals/

Confident Security Emerges from Stealth with $4.2M to Bring End-to-End Privacy to AI

(AI Insider – 22 July 2025) San Francisco-based startup Confident Security has launched publicly with $4.2 million in seed funding to address one of the biggest barriers to AI adoption: data privacy. Backed by Decibel, South Park Commons, Ex Ante, and Swyx, the company offers CONFSEC, an encryption layer designed to wrap around foundational AI models, ensuring prompts and metadata remain invisible — even to the model provider. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/22/confident-security-emerges-from-stealth-with-4-2m-to-bring-end-to-end-privacy-to-ai/

LeadStory Raises $2.75M Seed Round, Unveils Superior AI Video Search

(DigWatch – 22 July 2025) LeadStory has raised $2.75M in Seed funding, led by Checker Media, to launch its AI video search tool and grow its global audience, now over 10 million strong. The platform replaces text-based AI responses with fact-checked, licensed video clips from top news sources like CBS, CNBC, and Reuters to combat misinformation and hallucinations. Already available on platforms like Samsung TV Plus and VIZIO, LeadStory is expanding into automotive news delivery, starting with Mercedes-Benz’s in-car video experience. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/21/leadstory-raises-2-75m-seed-round-unveils-superior-ai-video-search/

BrightAI Closes $51M in Funding from Khosla Ventures and Inspired Capital to Bring Physical AI to the World’s Essential Services

(AI Insider – 22 July 2025) BrightAI has raised $51M in Series A funding to scale its AI platform for physical infrastructure, bringing total funding to $78M and backing from major investors like Khosla Ventures and Inspired Capital. The company’s Stateful platform uses sensors, drones, and wearables to provide real-time, AI-driven monitoring and predictive maintenance across over 50,000 locations in sectors like power, water, and manufacturing. With over $100M in revenue and plans to expand its team and headquarters, BrightAI aims to modernize infrastructure management and eliminate reactive maintenance with continuous, intelligent observability. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/21/aiibrightai-closes-51m-in-funding-from-khosla-ventures-and-inspired-capital-to-bring-physical-ai-to-the-worlds-essential-services/

Critical minerals challenge AI’s sustainable expansion

(DigWatch – 22 July 2025) Recent debates on AI’s environmental impact have overwhelmingly focused on energy use, particularly in powering massive data centres and training large language models. However, a Forbes analysis by Saleem H. Ali warns that the material inputs for AI, such as phosphorus, copper, lithium, rare earths, and uranium, are being neglected, despite presenting similarly severe constraints to scaling and sustainability. – https://dig.watch/updates/critical-minerals-challenge-ais-sustainable-expansion

Quantum leaps: 3 ways banks can harness next-gen technologies for financial services

(Kate Whiting – World Economic Forum – 21 July 2025) Applications of quantum technologies are already being piloted by the financial services sector, with a number of key use cases. A new report from the World Economic Forum highlights the opportunities for financial institutions, while addressing the risks. From fraud detection and encryption to risk forecasting, here are three potential shifts to watch in the quantum era. – https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/07/banking-quantum-era-fraud-detection-risk-forecasting-financial-services/

China’s EngineAI Raises $139 Million in Fresh Funding for Humanoid Robots

(AI Insider – 21 July 2025) Shenzhen-based robotics firm EngineAI has secured approximately 1 billion yuan ($139 million) across two new funding rounds to accelerate its development of humanoid robots, DealStreetAsia reports. The pre-Series A++ round was led by Rocket Capital and XPeng, while the Series A1 round saw participation from JD.com, CATL Capital, Yintai Holdings, Tsinghua Holdings Capital, and existing investors like SenseCapital, Highlight Capital, and Baidu Ventures. Founded in 2022, EngineAI is advancing general-purpose humanoid robots powered by its proprietary SEED multimodal large model and plans to apply the new capital to R&D, AI-hardware integration, and international market expansion. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/21/chinas-engineai-raises-139-million-in-fresh-funding-for-humanoid-robots/

Researchers Introduce New Way for AI to “See”

(AI Insider – 21 July 2025) Researchers at Penn Engineering and the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) have introduced CoSyn, a synthetic image generation tool designed to train open-source AI models to interpret complex visual data like charts, diagrams, and labels. Using CoSyn, researchers created CoSyn-400K, a dataset of over 400,000 images and 2.7 million instruction sets that enabled open-source models to outperform proprietary systems like GPT-4V and Gemini 1.5 Flash on key benchmarks. By generating synthetic data via open-source models and releasing all tools publicly, the team aims to help open-source AI catch up to closed systems, supporting broader adoption of AI that can reason about and interact with real-world visual information. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/21/researchers-introduce-new-way-for-ai-to-see/

Proscia Scales AI Pathology Platform to Diagnose 32,000 Patients Daily as Demand Surges

(AI Insider – 21 July 2025) Proscia expects its AI pathology platform, Concentriq, to support diagnoses for 32,000 patients daily—a 400% year-over-year increase—as adoption accelerates across major laboratories. The company has introduced five pre-configured AI application suites for cancer detection, biomarker analysis, and quality control to streamline integration and standardize diagnostics. Proscia has expanded support services and integrated Concentriq with over 100 laboratory systems while enabling new lab revenue through pharmaceutical partnerships and real-world data licensing. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/21/proscia-scales-ai-pathology-platform-to-diagnose-32000-patients-daily-as-demand-surges/

Billee Technologies Secures $9.15M in Seed Funding to Disrupt Utility Management for Multifamily

(AI Insider – 21 July 2025) Billee Technologies has raised $9.15M in a Seed round led by RET Ventures to scale its AI-powered utility billing platform for the multifamily housing sector. The platform replaces manual billing processes with automation and real-time AI insights, helping operators avoid errors, improve compliance, and realize up to 52% in cost savings. Founded by proptech veteran John Hinckley, Billee aims to modernize utility billing and will use the funding to grow its R&D and expand its AI-driven solutions. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/21/billee-technologies-secures-9-15m-in-seed-funding-to-disrupt-utility-management-for-multifamily/

World’s first quantum teleportation sends telecom qubit into solid-state memory device

(Interesting Engineering – 21 July 2025) Quantum teleportation, once the stuff of science fiction, is rapidly becoming a central pillar in the race to build the next version of the internet. Instead of transmitting particles or signals through wires or airwaves, this process transfers the quantum state of a particle from one place to another, instantly and without physically moving the particle itself. It works by leveraging quantum entanglement, a phenomenon where two particles become so deeply connected that the state of one instantly affects the other, no matter how far apart they are. – https://interestingengineering.com/science/quantum-teleportation-telecom-memory-breakthrough

Figure unveils fireproof humanoid robot battery with 94% more energy capacity

(Interesting Engineering – 21 July 2025) Figure, a California-based robotics company, has introduced the F03 battery, the third generation of its in-house energy platform designed specifically for its humanoid robots. Built entirely at the company’s BotQ facility, the new battery delivers 2.3 kilowatt-hours of energy. That’s enough juice, the company claims, to enable up to five hours of peak performance runtime. It is also the first battery in the humanoid robotics sector undergoing certification for both UN38.3 and UL2271 safety standards – https://interestingengineering.com/energy/figure-unveils-fireproof-humanoid-robot-battery

OpenAI Releases ChatGPT Agent, Its Most Powerful AI Task Assistant to Date

(AI Insider – 21 July 2025) OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Agent, a new general-purpose AI tool designed to complete complex digital tasks directly within ChatGPT. The rollout (…) marks OpenAI’s most advanced move yet to transform its chatbot into an autonomous AI assistant that can navigate calendars, generate slide decks, execute code, and synthesize research using natural language prompts. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/21/openai-releases-chatgpt-agent-its-most-powerful-ai-task-assistant-to-date/

Mistral Launches Voxtral, Its First Open Audio AI Model for Businesses

(AI Insider – 18 July 2025) French AI startup Mistral has entered the speech AI arena with the launch of Voxtral, a new family of open-weight audio models designed to bring advanced speech intelligence to businesses at a fraction of the cost of closed systems. The release marks Mistral’s latest push to challenge proprietary AI incumbents by offering developers greater affordability and control. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/07/18/mistral-launches-voxtral-its-first-open-audio-ai-model-for-businesses/

New AI device brings early skin cancer diagnosis to remote communities

(DigWatch – 21 July 2025) A Scottish research team has developed a pioneering AI-powered tool that could transform how skin cancer is diagnosed in some of the world’s most isolated regions. The device, created by PhD student Tess Watt at Heriot-Watt University, enables rapid diagnosis without needing internet access or direct contact with a dermatologist. Patients use a compact camera connected to a Raspberry Pi computer to photograph suspicious skin lesions. – https://dig.watch/updates/new-ai-device-brings-early-skin-cancer-diagnosis-to-remote-communities

5G Advanced lays the groundwork for 6G, says 5G Americas

(DigWatch – 21 July 2025) 5G Americas has released a new white paper outlining how 5G Advanced features in 3GPP Releases 18 to 20 are shaping the path to 6G. The report highlights how 5G Advanced is evolving mobile networks through embedded AI, scaled IoT, improved energy efficiency, and broader service capabilities. Viet Nguyen, President of 5G Americas, called it a turning point for wireless systems, offering more intelligent, resilient, and sustainable connectivity. AI-native networking is a key innovation which brings machine learning into the radio and core network. The innovation enables zero-touch automation, predictive maintenance, and self-organising systems, cutting fault detection by 90% and reducing false alarms by 70%. – https://dig.watch/updates/5g-advanced-lays-the-groundwork-for-6g-says-5g-americas

Eric Schmidt warns that AI growth is limited by electricity

(DigWatch – 20 July 2025) Former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt has warned that electricity, rather than semiconductors, will limit the future growth of AI. Speaking on the Moonshots podcast, Schmidt said the push towards artificial superintelligence—AI that exceeds human cognitive ability in almost all domains—will depend on securing sufficient power instead of just developing more advanced chips. Schmidt noted the US alone may require an extra 92 gigawatts of electricity to support AI growth, equivalent to dozens of nuclear power stations. – https://dig.watch/updates/eric-schmidt-warns-that-ai-growth-is-limited-by-electricity