GENEVA: The UN on Monday warned that generative AI could become &quot;a modern-day Frankenstein&#39;s monster&quot;, with human rights the first casualty, as powerful tech giants unleash the technology on the world.&nbsp;UN rights chief Volker Turk said generative AI had &quot;tremendous promise&quot; but told the world body&#39;s business and human rights forum that its &quot;exploitation for purely political or economic benefit can manipulate, distort, and distract&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;When powerful tech giants introduce new technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence, human rights can be the first casualty,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;The threats to several human rights, including privacy, political participation, free expression and work are clear and present,&quot; he added.&nbsp;&quot;Without proper safeguards and regulations, AI systems have the potential to turn into a modern-day Frankenstein&#39;s monster&quot;, he added.&nbsp;The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that the threats of today &quot;could materialise into harms that undermine the promise of emerging technologies and could unleash unpredictable consequences&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;Governments have a responsibility to come together to prevent such an outcome.&quot;&nbsp;Beyond generative AI, Turk highlighted the threat posed by an increasing concentration of corporate power and the massive &quot;accumulation of personal and corporate wealth among a handful of players&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;In some cases, this exceeds the economies of entire countries,&quot; he said, stressing that when &quot;power is not constrained by law, it can lead to abuse and subjugation&quot;.

Artificial Intelligence

The UN warned generative AI could threaten human rights without safeguards. Volker Turk said tech giants’ unchecked power risks manipulation, privacy breaches, and societal harm, urging global regulation and highlighted dangerous corporate wealth concentration that can enable abuse.

UN rights chief warns over generative AI

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Russia is focusing on artificial intelligence as a key area of international collaboration, with President Vladimir Putin highlighting plans for enhanced AI cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), of which Pakistan is a member. According to a statement shared by Russia News on X on Thursday, Putin stated: &ldquo;Russia will strengthen international cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence with its partners, including within BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1991207275625939154&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=8e89c49013efbcf647cee602d8c42d1116ef4f49&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 754px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>&ldquo;We have instructed the Cabinet of Ministers and the Presidential Administration to work on establishing a headquarters to manage all AI-related activities in Russia.&rdquo; He said, &ldquo;regional governors have been tasked with developing a national plan for the implementation of generative AI across the country,&rdquo; adding, &ldquo;By March 2026, the relevant authorities must provide comprehensive information on the use of AI in the economy.&rdquo; Putin said, &ldquo;There are areas in which we can rely entirely on our own AI developments, including the work of intelligence agencies.&rdquo; &ldquo;The stability and independence of the national digital infrastructure must be ensured.&rdquo; &ldquo;A total of 38 nuclear power units are scheduled to be launched in Siberia, the Urals, and the Far East. Russia also plans to transition to mass production of small nuclear power plants,&rdquo; the post says. &ldquo;The stability and independence of the national digital infrastructure must be guaranteed,&rdquo; Putin said, according to the post. &lsquo;More influential SCO&rsquo;According to a post shared by Sputnik, earlier on Tuesday, the Russian president, during a meeting with delegation leaders from the SCO Council of Heads of Government, stated: &ldquo;We all have one common goal, that is to enhance the prominence and influence of the SCO as one of the major and largest regional groupings in the world and in the region.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1990798399554400366&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=8e89c49013efbcf647cee602d8c42d1116ef4f49&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 672px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div> Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-russia-vow-stronger-multilateral-coordination-at-un-sco-forums" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">recently</a> met his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Moscow. Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to deepen coordination at major multilateral platforms, including the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.</div>

Asia

Russian president says, ‘We all have one common goal, that is to enhance the prominence and influence of the SCO as one of the major and largest regional groupings in the world and in the region.’

Putin aims for AI leadership, eyes regional cooperation through SCO

HONG KONG: Asian investors battled Wednesday to kick-start a recovery in equities following the latest stagger across world markets that has been caused by worries over an AI-fueled bubble and uncertainty over US interest rates. Stocks have endured a tough November as speculation has grown that the tech-led rally this year may have gone too far, and valuations have become frothy enough to warrant a stiff correction. With the Magnificent Seven, including Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Apple, accounting for the majority of the rally to record highs for Wall Street&#39;s three main indexes, there are worries that any problems with them could have huge ripple effects on markets. And so the spotlight Wednesday turns on the earnings report from the biggest of the bunch: chip giant Nvidia, which this month became the first $5 trillion company. Investors are nervous that any sign of weakness could be the pin that pops the AI bubble, having spent months fearing that the hundreds of billions invested may have been excessive. &quot;The AI complex, once the undisputed locomotive of 2025&#39;s rally, now sounds like an engine with sand in the gears,&quot; said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management. &quot;This isn&#39;t a crash, or a panic, or even a proper correction; it&#39;s the unmistakable sensation of a market trading at altitude with borrowed oxygen, suddenly aware of how thin the air has become.&quot; He added that four days of losses in Wall Street&#39;s S&amp;P 500, the VIX &ldquo;fear index&rdquo; hitting 25 &mdash; a level that causes traders concern &mdash; and a tone shift were &ldquo;all signs that investors are finally blinking at the speed and scale of the AI capex boom.&rdquo; Meanwhile, a Bank of America survey of fund managers found that more than half thought AI stocks were already in a bubble, and 45% considered that the most significant &ldquo;tail risk&rdquo; to markets, ahead of&nbsp;inflation. That came after the BBC released an interview with the head of Google&#39;s parent company, Alphabet &mdash; Sundar Pichai &mdash; who warned that every company would be affected if the AI bubble burst. Still, after a tough run in recent sessions, Asia enjoyed a little stability as markets fluctuated between gains and losses. Tokyo edged up but was anchored by simmering China tensions and questions over Japan&#39;s fiscal state, ahead of an economic stimulus package that has pushed government bond yields to record highs. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, and Manila rose, but Seoul, Wellington, and Jakarta fell. Also in sight this week is the planned release of key US data, particularly on job creation, which will be closely watched for clues about the Fed&#39;s plans for interest rates. Investors have scaled back their bets on a third successive cut next month &mdash; weighing on markets of late &mdash; after a string of decision-makers, including bank boss Jerome Powell, questioned the need for another cut amid stubbornly high inflation.

Pedestrians stand in front of an electronic quotation board displaying the Nikkei 225 stock prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange during a morning session in Tokyo on November 18, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

Business

Asian investors battled Wednesday to kick-start a recovery in equities following the latest stagger across world markets that has been caused by worries over an AI-fueled bubble and uncertainty over US interest rates.

Asian markets bounce as Nvidia takes centre stage amid AI bubble fears

BERLIN: Google unveiled Tuesday its biggest-ever investment in Germany, pledging 5.5 billion euros ($6.4 billion) for a new data centre and other projects, as Europe seeks to catch up in the AI race.&nbsp;&quot;We are driving growth in Germany,&quot; Chancellor Friedrich Merz said as the investments, to be made by 2029, were announced.&nbsp;&quot;Our country is and will remain one of the most attractive places for investment in the world,&quot; he said.&nbsp;Google&#39;s plans include a new data centre and expansion of an existing centre in the western state of Hesse, providing computing power for artificial intelligence.&nbsp;It also plans to expand its offices in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich, and outlined various projects aimed at reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.&nbsp;These included buying renewable wind and solar energy and a &quot;heat recovery project&quot; that would see excess heat produced by a data centre re-used by local residents.&nbsp;The plans will support around 9,000 jobs a year in Germany, Google said.&nbsp;The investments are a boost for Germany, whose economy is struggling, as well as for Europe it seeks to catch up with AI leaders the United States and China.

Google announced a record $6.4 billion investment in Germany by 2029, including new and expanded data centers, office growth, and green energy projects, creating about 9,000 jobs and supporting Europe’s push to advance in artificial intelligence.

Google unveils $6.4 bn investment in Germany

SAN FRANCISCO: In the race for artificial intelligence dominance, American tech giants have the money and the chips, but their ambitions have hit a new obstacle: electric power. &ldquo;The biggest issue we are now having is not a compute glut, but it&rsquo;s the power and ... the ability to get the builds done fast enough close to power,&rdquo; Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella acknowledged on a recent podcast with OpenAI chief Sam Altman. &ldquo;So if you can&rsquo;t do that, you may actually have a bunch of chips sitting in inventory that I can&rsquo;t plug in,&rdquo; Nadella added. Echoing the 1990s dot-com frenzy to build internet infrastructure, today&rsquo;s tech giants are spending unprecedented sums to construct the silicon backbone of the artificial intelligence revolution. Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Meta are drawing on their massive cash reserves to spend roughly $400 billion in 2025 &mdash; and even more in 2026 &mdash; backed for now by enthusiastic investors. All this cash has helped alleviate one initial bottleneck: acquiring the millions of chips needed for the computing power race. The tech giants are accelerating their in-house processor production as they seek to challenge global leader Nvidia. These chips will go into the racks that fill massive data centers &mdash; which also consume enormous amounts of water for cooling. Building these information warehouses takes an average of two years in the United States, while bringing new high-voltage power lines into service takes five to 10 years. Energy wallThe &ldquo;hyperscalers,&rdquo; as major tech companies are called in Silicon Valley, saw the energy wall coming. A year ago, Virginia&rsquo;s leading utility provider, Dominion Energy, already had a data center order book of 40 gigawatts &mdash; equivalent to the output of 40 nuclear reactors. The capacity it must deploy in Virginia, the world&rsquo;s largest cloud computing hub, has since risen to 47 gigawatts, the company announced recently. Already blamed for inflating household electricity bills, data centers in the United States could account for 7% to 12% of national power consumption by 2030, up from 4% today, according to various studies. But some experts say the projections could be overblown. &ldquo;Both the utilities and the tech companies have an incentive to embrace the rapid growth forecast for electricity use,&rdquo; Jonathan Koomey, an expert from the University of California, Berkeley, warned in September. As with the late 1990s internet bubble, &ldquo;many data centers that are talked about and proposed &mdash; and in some cases even announced &mdash; will never get built,&rdquo; Koomey said. Emergency coalIf the projected growth materializes, it could create a 45-gigawatt shortage by 2028 &mdash; equivalent to the consumption of 33 million American households, according to Morgan Stanley. Several US utilities have already delayed the closure of coal plants, despite coal being the most climate-polluting energy source. Natural gas, which powers 40% of data centers worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency, is also seeing renewed favor because it can be deployed quickly. In Georgia, where data centers are multiplying, one utility has requested authorization to install 10 gigawatts of gas-powered generators. Some providers, including Elon Musk&rsquo;s startup xAI, have rushed to purchase used turbines from abroad to build capacity quickly. Even recycling aircraft turbines &mdash; an old niche solution &mdash; is gaining traction. &ldquo;The real existential threat right now is not a degree of climate change. It&rsquo;s the fact that we could lose the AI arms race if we don&rsquo;t have enough power,&rdquo; Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in October. Nuclear, solar, and spaceTech giants are quietly downplaying their climate commitments. Google, for example, promised net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 but removed that pledge from its website in June. Instead, companies are promoting long-term projects. Amazon is championing a nuclear revival through small modular reactors, an experimental technology that would be easier to build than conventional reactors. Google plans to restart a reactor in Iowa in 2029. And the Trump administration announced in late October an $80 billion investment to begin construction on 10 conventional reactors by 2030. The hyperscalers are also investing heavily in solar power and battery storage, particularly in California and Texas. The Texas grid operator plans to add about 100 gigawatts of capacity from these technologies alone by 2030. Finally, both Musk, through his Starlink program, and Google have proposed putting chips in orbit, powered by solar energy. Google plans to conduct tests in 2027.

An employee works on a production line for electric flying car “Land Aircraft Carrier” at a factory of Xpeng's subsidiary Aridge in Guangzhou, in southern China's Guangdong province on November 6, 2025. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)

In the race for artificial intelligence dominance, American tech giants have the money and the chips, but their ambitions have hit a new obstacle: electric power.

The AI revolution has a power problem

SYDNEY: Australian police are working on an AI prototype that will help them decipher Gen Z slang and emoji-laden messages written by online predators, a top official said on&nbsp;Wednesday. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said social media had become a breeding ground for bullying, sexual exploitation and radicalization. Police were working with software giant Microsoft to develop a tool that would unravel sinister messages hidden by seemingly innocuous emojis and slang, she said. Clever AFP members, with Microsoft, are developing a prototype AI tool that will interpret emojis and Gen Z-and-Alpha slang in encrypted communications. &quot;This prototype aims to make it quicker for our teams to save children from harm much earlier.&quot; Barrett also warned about the rise of so-called &quot;crimefluencers&quot; -- online predators who used their social media savvy to target young and vulnerable users. &quot;They are crimefluencers, and they are motivated by anarchy and hurting others, with most of their victims pre-teen or teenage girls,&quot; she said. Australia will from December 10 force social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to remove users under the age of 16. There is keen interest in whether Australia&#39;s sweeping restrictions can work, as regulators around the globe wrestle with the dangers of social media.

Australian police, in partnership with Microsoft, are developing an AI tool to decode Gen Z slang and emojis used by online predators. The initiative aims to detect hidden abuse, counter “crimefluencers,” and protect children online.

Australian police build AI to decode Gen Z slang in predator chats

NEW YORK: Facebook owner Meta is cutting 600 jobs in its artificial intelligence division in a move intended to streamline operations after an aggressive hiring spree, US media reported on Wednesday. The job cuts will not affect the TBD Lab, an operation established by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and other publications. The lab&#39;s staffing was quickly grown through the poaching of top researchers with expensive pay packages from rivals like OpenAI and Apple. Rather, the job cuts will target teams focused on artificial intelligence products and infrastructure, aiming to boost efficiency without sacrificing work on the company&#39;s most ambitious ventures, according to a Wall Street Journal report that said many of the affected workers could be deployed elsewhere by the company. The New York Times described the job cuts as aimed at addressing &quot;organizational bloat&quot; following aggressive hiring to build up the AI program. Both newspapers quoted a memo from Chief AI Office Alexandr Wang that the job cuts mean &quot;fewer conversations will be required to make a decision.&quot; Meta did not respond to an AFP query on the matter.

The layoffs come after an aggressive hiring spree. Reports say the move targets product and infrastructure teams to improve efficiency, while Zuckerberg’s elite TBD Lab and core AI research remain untouched.

Meta to cut 600 jobs in artificial intelligence

MENLO PARK: Meta is adding parental controls for kids&#39; interactions with artificial intelligence chatbots &mdash; including the ability to turn off one-on-one chats with AI characters altogether &mdash; beginning early next year. But parents won&#39;t be able to turn off Meta&#39;s AI assistant, which Meta says will &ldquo;will remain available to offer helpful information and educational opportunities, with default, age-appropriate protections in place to help keep teens safe.&rdquo; Parents who don&#39;t want to turn off all chats with all AI characters will also be able to block specific chatbots. And Meta said Friday that parents will be able to get &ldquo;insights&rdquo; about what their kids are chatting about with AI characters &mdash; although they won&#39;t get access to the full chats. The changes come as the social media giant faces ongoing criticism over harms to children from its platforms. AI chatbots are also drawing scrutiny over their interactions with children that lawsuits claim have driven some to suicide. Even so, more than 70% of teens have used AI companions and half use them regularly, according to a recent study from Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that studies and advocates for using screens and digital media sensibly. On Tuesday, Meta announced that teen accounts on Instagram will be restricted to seeing PG-13 content by default and won&rsquo;t be able to change their settings without a parent&rsquo;s permission. This means kids using teen-specific accounts will see photos and videos on Instagram that are similar to what they would see in a PG-13 movie &mdash; no sex, drugs or dangerous stunts. Meta said the PG-13 restrictions will also apply to AI chats. Children&#39;s online advocacy groups, however, were skeptical. &ldquo;From my perspective, these announcements are about two things. They&rsquo;re about forestalling legislation that Meta doesn&rsquo;t want to see, and they&rsquo;re about reassuring parents who are understandably concerned about what&rsquo;s happening on Instagram,&rdquo; said Josh Golin, the executive director of the nonprofit Fairplay, after Meta&#39;s announcement Tuesday.

Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox speaks at LlamaCon 2025, an AI developer conference, in Menlo Park, Calif., April 29, 2025. (AP)

Meta's new parental controls for AI chats are a cautious step amid criticism, but skepticism remains about their effectiveness and motives behind these measures.

Meta adds parental controls for AI-teen interactions

SAN ANTONIO: On a scorching hot Saturday in San Antonio, dozens of teachers traded a day off for a glimpse of the future. The topic of the day&rsquo;s workshop: enhancing instruction with artificial intelligence. After marveling as AI graded classwork instantly and turned lesson plans into podcasts or online storybooks, one high school English teacher raised a concern that was on the minds of many: &ldquo;Are we going to be replaced with AI?&rdquo; That remains to be seen. But for the nation&rsquo;s 4 million teachers to stay relevant and help students use the technology wisely, teachers unions have forged an unlikely partnership with the world&rsquo;s largest technology companies. The two groups don&rsquo;t always see eye to eye but say they share a common goal: training the future workforce of America. Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic are providing millions of dollars for AI training to the American Federation of Teachers, the country&rsquo;s second-largest teachers union. In exchange, the tech companies have an opportunity to make inroads into schools and win over students in the race for AI dominance. AFT President Randi Weingarten said skepticism guided her negotiations, but the tech industry has something schools lack: deep pockets. &ldquo;There is no one else who is helping us with this. That&rsquo;s why we felt we needed to work with the largest corporations in the world,&rdquo; Weingarten said. &ldquo;We went to them &mdash; they didn&rsquo;t come to us.&rdquo; Weingarten first met with Microsoft CEO Brad Smith in 2023 to discuss a partnership. She later reached out to OpenAI to pursue an &ldquo;agnostic&rdquo; approach that means any company&#39;s AI tools could be used in a training session. Under the arrangement announced in July, Microsoft is contributing $12.5 million to AFT over five years. OpenAI is providing $8 million in funding and $2 million in technical resources, and Anthropic has offered $500,000. Tech money will build an AI training hub for teachersWith the money, AFT is planning to build an AI training hub in New York City that will offer virtual and in-person workshops for teachers. The goal is to open at least two more hubs and train 400,000 teachers over the next five years. The National Education Association, the country&rsquo;s largest teacher&#39;s union, announced its own partnership with Microsoft last month. The company has provided a $325,000 grant to help the NEA develop AI trainings in the form of &ldquo;micro credentials&rdquo; &mdash; online trainings open to the union&rsquo;s 3 million members, said Daaiyah Bilal, NEA&rsquo;s senior director of education policy. The goal is to train at least 10,000 members this school year. &ldquo;We tailored our partnership very surgically,&rdquo; Bilal said. &ldquo;We are very mindful of what a technology company stands to gain by spreading information about the products they develop.&rdquo; Both unions set similar terms: Educators, not the private funders, would design and lead trainings that include AI tools from multiple companies. The unions own the intellectual property for the trainings, which cover safety and privacy concerns alongside AI skills. The Trump administration has encouraged the private investment, recently creating an AI Education Task Force as part of an effort to achieve &quot;global dominance in artificial intelligence.&rdquo; The federal government urged tech companies and other organizations to foot the bill. So far, more than 100 companies have signed up. Tech companies see opportunities in education beyond training teachers. Microsoft unveiled a $4 billion initiative for AI training, research and the gifting of its AI tools to teachers and students. It includes the AFT grant and a program that will give all school districts and community colleges in Washington, Microsoft&rsquo;s home state, free access to Microsoft CoPilot tools. Google says it will commit $1 billion for AI education and job training programs, including free access to its Gemini for Education platform for U.S. high schools. Several recent studies have found that AI use in schools is rapidly increasing but training and guidance are lagging. The industry offers resources that can help scale AI literacy efforts quickly. But educators should ensure any partnership focuses on what&rsquo;s best for teachers and students, said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education. &ldquo;These are private initiatives, and they are run by companies that have a stake,&rdquo; Lake said. Microsoft CEO Brad Smith agrees that teachers should have a &ldquo;healthy dose of skepticism&rdquo; about the role of tech companies. &ldquo;While it&rsquo;s easy to see the benefits right now, we should always be mindful of the potential for unintended consequences,&rdquo; Smith said in an interview, pointing to concerns such as AI&rsquo;s possible impact on critical thinking. &ldquo;We have to be careful. It&rsquo;s early days.&rdquo; Teachers see new possibilitiesAt the San Antonio AFT training, about 50 educators turned up for the three-hour workshop for teachers in the Northside Independent School District. It is the city&#39;s largest, employing about 7,000 teachers. The day started with a pep talk. &ldquo;We all know, when we talk about AI, teachers say, &lsquo;Nah, I&rsquo;m not doing that,&rsquo;&rdquo; trainer Kathleen Torregrossa told the room. &ldquo;But we are preparing kids for the future. That is our primary job. And AI, like it or not, is part of our world.&rdquo; Attendees generated lesson plans using ChatGPT, Google&rsquo;s Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot and two AI tools designed for schools, Khanmingo and Color&iacute;n Colorado. Gabriela Aguirre, a 1st grade dual language teacher, repeatedly used the word &ldquo;amazing&rdquo; to describe what she saw. &ldquo;It can save you so much time,&rdquo; she said, and add visual flair to lessons. She walked away with a plan to use AI tools to make illustrated flashcards in English and Spanish to teach vocabulary. &ldquo;With all the video games, the cellphones you have to compete against, the kids are always saying, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m bored.&rsquo; Everything is boring,&rdquo; Aguirre said. &ldquo;If you can find ways to engage them with new technology, you&rsquo;ve just got to do that.&rdquo; Middle school teacher Celeste Simone said there is no turning back to how she taught before. As a teacher for English language learners, Simone can now ask AI tools to generate pictures alongside vocabulary words and create illustrated storybooks that use students&#39; names as characters. She can take a difficult reading passage and ask a chatbot to translate it into Spanish, Pashto or other languages. And she can ask AI to rewrite difficult passages at any grade level to match her students&#39; reading levels. All in a matter of seconds. &ldquo;I can give my students access to things that never existed before,&rdquo; Simone said. &ldquo;As a teacher, once you&rsquo;ve used it and see how helpful it is, I don&rsquo;t think I could go back to the way I did things before.&rdquo;

Northside American Federation of Teachers 

Tech companies like Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic are funding AI training for teachers, aiming to integrate AI tools in classrooms. Unions are partnering with them to enhance education while ensuring teacher control over content and privacy.

Can AI replace teachers? Tech giants invest millions in training educators

Gadgets

Scientists at Swiss start-up FinalSpark are using human mini-brains, or brain organoids, as biocomputers, potentially replacing traditional AI processors. These living neurons are energy-efficient but face challenges like short lifespan and ethical concerns about consciousness.

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