"Scores" of workers at Google DeepMind, the company's British AI research arm, are demanding union recognition over the use of their work by Israel and the US military.
Tech giants like Google and Amazon are seeing increased carbon emissions due to AI investments, jeopardizing net-zero goals. Meanwhile, Meta is exploring new revenue streams like cloud computing and prediction markets amid stock decline and legal challenges.
Scotland's government may consider a moratorium on new datacenters, a move that could jeopardize the UK's AI strategy. The SNP national council passed a motion to freeze projects lacking planning permission, citing "overdevelopment" and environmental concerns.
China's robotaxi industry leverages its strong EV ecosystem for rapid, low-cost innovation. Companies like Baidu and WeRide face competition from US firms like Waymo, but complex driving conditions in China provide valuable data. Challenges include safety concerns, regulatory hurdles, and geopolitical data security issues.
A major AI datacentre complex in Scotland, promised to be powered by on-site renewables, has misrepresented its energy plans. Documents reveal developers and the government were aware of power provision issues, raising doubts about the UK's AI infrastructure ambitions.
Chinese start-ups are leveraging manufacturing advantages and government support for 'embodied AI' to develop highly dextrous robotic hands, aiming to transform humanoid robots from novelties into practical tools. This focus addresses the significant engineering challenge of replicating human hand capabilities, which is seen as crucial for unlocking future economic potential amidst an aging workforce.
UK mobile coverage lags behind EU and G7 countries, ranking 57th globally for network performance. Despite cheap costs, poor signal quality and slow speeds affect over a third of customers, impacting modern economy infrastructure and daily use.
