Technology

Dec. 23 (UPI) — U.S. consumers showed steady confidence this holiday season, with retail spending up 4.2% from last year, according to preliminary data via Visa released Tuesday.

Despite ongoing economic challenges, shoppers continued to buy especially tech and personal items. The analysis — based on Visa payments data from Nov. 1 over a seven‑week period — excluded auto, gas and restaurant categories and wasn’t adjusted for inflation.

Michael Brown, principal U.S. economist at Visa, said the “underlying surprise” was that U.S. consumer spending “is holding up reasonably well in light of softer consumer confidence than we had this time last year and a number of headwinds and concerns about inflation.”

In-store purchases made up 73% of total spending, though online sales rose by 7.8% and were the main source of growth fueled by convenience and early holiday deals.

Brown said the 2025 holiday season signaled a clear change in shopping habits, driven in part by artificial intelligence reshaping how consumers discover products and compare prices.

“We are seeing consumers use AI in a big way in comparison shopping and then helping to narrow down that perfect gift,” Brown told CNBC.

Electronics saw the strongest gains, with sales up 5.8%, driven by demand for newer, high-powered devices linked to the AI boom.

Apparel and other accessories rose 5.3% and general merchandise retailers offering one-stop shopping recorded a 3.7% increase.

But home-focused categories lagged. Spending on building materials and garden supplies slipped 1% and furniture and home furnishings were nearly flat edging up just 0.8%.

Although overall retail growth appears solid, the figures are not adjusted for inflation, meaning actual inflation‑adjusted gains were likely smaller once Consumer Price Index data was fully factored in.

Meanwhile, a recent survey found that 41% of Americans intended to cut back on holiday spending this year, which was up six points from 2024.

“This is the first holiday shopping season where roughly half of the consumers in that survey responded that they are going to leverage AI for one of those two tasks,” Brown added.

Dec. 19 (UPI) — A Paris court denied an effort by the French government to suspend the fashion website Shein from operating in the country after it was found to be selling “childlike” sex dolls.

The court called the three-month suspension “disproportionate,” but said the site must implement strong age-verification protocols to sell any “sexual products that could constitute pornographic content.” It said the fine for each breach would be $11,700.

The action was taken after the sex dolls and weapons were discovered by France’s consumer watchdog in November, causing an uproar in France.

Shein, based in Singapore, issued a statement on Nov. 4 saying it had removed the dolls and permanently banned “all seller accounts linked to illegal or non-compliant sex-doll products.”

The court noted that the company removed the items and that the issue was only for a small number of the hundreds of thousands of items on the site.

A Shein spokesperson told Euro News that the platform will not reopen in France right away. It’s doing an internal audit to find weaknesses in its marketplace operations.

Paris senator Marie-Claire Carrère-Gée of the conservative Les Républicains party told Euro News that “the issue with Shein or Temu goes far beyond these specific products. It is an entire business model that violates consumer rights, destroys our companies and jobs, and tramples on human rights, including environmental protection.”

The Paris prosecutor’s office has begun a criminal investigation and assigned it to France’s Office for the Protection of Minors. It includes other online retailers, including AliExpress, Temu, Wish and eBay.

The company opened its first-ever brick-and-mortar store in Paris on Nov. 5, soon after the controversy began. The store opened to chaos, as shoppers lined up to get in and protesters shouted at them, “Shame!”

The European Commission has requested information from Shein but hasn’t launched an investigation. It has begun investigating AliExpress and Temu.

“This is what gives us purpose.” Coders and engineers in Gaza’s tech sector are fighting to finish projects and keep clients, dealing with little electricity, limited internet, and aging equipment.

The FTC had accused the grocery delivery giant of charging fees to consumers after promising ‘free delivery’.

Instacart has agreed to pay $60m in refunds to settle allegations brought by the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that the online grocery delivery platform deceived consumers about its membership programme and free delivery offers.

According to court documents filed in San Francisco on Thursday, Instacart’s offer of “free delivery” for first orders was illusory because shoppers were charged other fees, the FTC alleged.

The agency also accused Instacart of failing to adequately notify shoppers that their free trials of its Instacart+ subscription service would convert to paid memberships and of misleading consumers about its refund policy.

“The FTC is focused on monitoring online delivery services to ensure that competitors are transparently competing on price and delivery terms,” said Christopher Mufarrige, who leads the FTC’s consumer protection work.

An Instacart spokesperson said the company flatly denies any allegations of wrongdoing, but that the settlement allows the company to focus on shoppers and retailers.

“We provide straightforward marketing, transparent pricing and fees, clear terms, easy cancellation, and generous refund policies — all in full compliance with the law and exceeding industry norms,” the spokesperson said.

The shopping platform is currently under scrutiny after a recent study by nonprofit groups found that individual shoppers simultaneously received different prices for the same items at the same stores.

The FTC is investigating the company and has demanded information about Instacart’s Eversight pricing tool, the news agency Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Instacart has said that retailers are responsible for setting prices, and that pricing tests run through Eversight are random and not based on user data.

Lindsay Owens, the executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative, an economic think tank, criticised the grocery platform for using artificial intelligence (AI) to tweak its prices.

“At a time when families are being squeezed by the highest grocery costs in a generation, Instacart chose to run AI experiments that are quietly driving prices higher,” Owens said in written remarks provided to Al Jazeera.

She also called on the administration of US President Donald Trump to take action to prevent such price manipulation from continuing into the future.

“While the FTC’s investigation is welcome news, it must be followed with meaningful action that ends these exploitative pricing schemes and protects consumers,” Owens said. “Instacart must face consequences for their algorithmic price gouging, not just a slap on the wrist.”

On Wall Street, Instacart’s stock is taking a hit on the heels of the settlement, finishing out the day down 1.5 percent.

Dec. 18 (UPI) — Peru signed a strategic agreement with South Korean defense firm Hyundai Rotem for the future acquisition of tanks and armored vehicles — a deal that, if finalized, could become South Korea’s largest land-defense export to a Latin American country.

The agreement involves the sale of 54 K2 main battle tanks and 141 K808 armored personnel carriers, with an expected value that exceeds $1.4 billion, RPP Noticias reported. It would mark the first sale of this type of South Korean military equipment in the region.

Peru’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement that the agreement also includes technological cooperation, financing options and the promotion of industrial projects linked to the defense sector, in line with the country’s plans to modernize and strengthen its military capabilities.

Peruvian lawmaker and former admiral Jorge Montoya told UPI that military cooperation between the two countries began about a decade ago through contacts between Peruvian shipyards and Hyundai.

“For the past 40 years, Peru has acquired weapons from Germany. However, after a series of economic and technological assessments, the decision was made to change suppliers to Hyundai,” Montoya said. “A cooperation agreement has also been signed with them for the development of submarine units.”

Montoya said the goal of the agreement is to ensure a defense capability suited to the country’s realities.

“We are not seeking to compete with any country in the region, because other countries spend twice as much on defense as we do,” he said. “Peru allocates the smallest share of GDP to defense, just 0.8%. All countries are ahead of us, including Bolivia.”

He added that Peru’s extensive borders require modern capabilities for the armed forces.

The framework agreement sets the stage for deliveries beginning in 2026, with the possibility of local assembly starting in 2029. The plan includes joint industrial projects involving Peru’s Army Weapons and Ammunition Factory and Hyundai Rotem.

Maj. Gen. Jorge Arevalo, commander of the Army’s Logistics Command and a board member of the state-owned arms manufacturer, recently confirmed that South Korean partners are planning an initial $270 million investment to build an industrial complex in Peru where K2 tanks and armored vehicles would be assembled, Peru 21 reported.

Peru’s Prime Minister Ernesto Alvarez said the Army is recovering lost capacity to transport troops in armored vehicles, a process that also involves acquiring front-line tanks to replace Soviet-era T-55 models that he said no longer have deterrent capability.

Alvarez also confirmed that Peru this week received a second batch of three UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters donated by the United States under an agreement signed in October last year for a total of nine aircraft.

In a healthcare system devastated by Israel’s genocidal war where medical supplies are few, doctors are turning to 3D printers powered by solar energy to treat some injuries in Gaza. Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary took a closer look.

In October, a small electronics manufacturer in the western Indian state of Gujarat shipped its first batch of chip modules to a client in California.

Kaynes Semicon, together with Japanese and Malaysian technology partners, assembled the chips in a new factory funded with incentives under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s $10bn semiconductor push announced in 2021.

Modi has been trying to position India as an additional manufacturing hub for global companies that may be looking to expand their production beyond China, with limited success.

One sign of that is India’s first commercial foundry for mature chips that is currently under construction, also in Gujarat. The $11bn project is supported by technology transfer from a Taiwanese chipmaker and has onboarded the United States chip giant Intel as a potential customer.

With companies the world over hungering for chips, India’s entry into that business could boost its role in global supply chains. But experts caution that India still has a long way to go in attracting more foreign investment and catching up in cutting-edge technology.

Unprecedented momentum

Semiconductor chips are designed, fabricated in foundries, and then assembled and packaged for commercial use. The US leads in chip design, Taiwan in fabrication, and China, increasingly, in packaging.

The upcoming foundry in Gujarat is a collaboration between India’s Tata Group, one of the largest conglomerates in the country, and Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC), which is assisting with the plant’s construction and technology transfer.

On December 8, Tata Electronics also signed an agreement with Intel to explore the manufacturing and packaging of its products in Tata’s upcoming facilities, including the foundry. The partnership will address the growing domestic demand.

Last year, Tata was approved for a 50 percent subsidy from the Modi government for the foundry, along with additional state-level incentives, and could come online as early as December 2026.

Even if delayed, the project marks a pivotal moment for India, which has seen multiple attempts to build a commercial fab stall in the past.

The foundry will focus on fabricating chips ranging from 28 nanometres (nm) to 110nm, typically referred to as mature chips because they are comparatively easier to produce than smaller 7nm or 3nm chips.

Mature chips are used in most consumer and power electronics, while the smaller chips are in high demand for AI data centres and high-performance computing. Globally, the technology for mature chips is more widely available and distributed. Taiwan leads production of these chips, with China fast catching up, though Taiwan’s TSMC dominates production for cutting-edge nodes below 7nm.

“India has long been strong in chip design, but the challenge has been converting that strength into semiconductor manufacturing,” said Stephen Ezell, vice president for global innovation policy at the Washington, DC-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).

“In the past two to three years, there’s been more progress on that front than in the previous decade – driven by stronger political will at both the central and state levels, and a more coordinated push from the private sector to commit to these investments,” Ezell told Al Jazeera.

Easy entry point

More than half of the Modi government’s $10bn in semiconductor incentives is earmarked for the Tata-PSMC venture, with the remainder supporting nine other projects focused mainly on the assembly, testing and packaging (ATP) stage of the supply chain.

These are India’s first such projects – one by Idaho-based Micron Technology, also in Gujarat, and another by the Tata Group in the northeastern Assam state. Both will use in-house technologies and have drawn investments of $2.7bn and $3.3bn, respectively.

The remaining projects are smaller, with cumulative investments of about $2bn, and are backed by technology partners such as Taiwan’s Foxconn, Japan’s Renesas Electronics, and Thailand’s Stars Microelectronics.

“ATP units offer a lower path of resistance compared to a large foundry, requiring smaller investments – typically between $50m and $1bn. They also carry less risk, and the necessary technology know-how is widely available globally,” Ashok Chandak, president of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), told Al Jazeera.

Still, most of the projects are behind schedule.

Micron’s facility, approved for incentives in June 2023, was initially expected to begin production by late 2024. However, the company noted in its fiscal 2025 report that the Gujarat facility will “address demand in the latter half of this decade”.

Approved in February 2024, the Tata facility was initially slated to be operational by mid-2025, but the timeline has now been pushed to April 2026.

When asked for reasons behind the delays, both Micron and Tata declined to comment.

One exception is a smaller ATP unit by Kaynes Semicon, which in October exported a consignment of sample chip modules to an anchor client in California – a first for India.

Another project by CG Semi, part of India’s Murugappa Group, is in trial runs, with commercial production expected in the coming months.

The semiconductor projects under the Tata Group and the Murugappa Group have drawn public scrutiny after Indian online news outlet Scroll.in reported that both companies made massive political donations after they were picked for the projects.

As per Scroll.in, the Tata Group donated 7.5 billion rupees ($91m) and 1.25 billion rupees ($15m), respectively, to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) just weeks after securing government subsidies in February 2024 and ahead of national elections. Neither group had made such large donations to the party before. Such donations are not prohibited by law. Both the Tata Group and the Murugappa Group declined to comment to Al Jazeera regarding the reports.

Meeting domestic demand a key priority

The upcoming projects in India – both the foundry and the ATP units – will primarily focus on legacy, or mature, chips sized between 28nm and 110nm. While these chips are not at the cutting-edge of semiconductor technology, they account for the bulk of global demand, with applications across cars, industrial equipment and consumer electronics.

China dominates the ATP segment globally with a 30 percent share and accounted for 42 percent of semiconductor equipment spending in 2024, according to DBS Group Research.

India has long positioned itself as a “China Plus One” destination amid global supply chain diversification, with some progress evident in Apple’s expansion of its manufacturing base in the country. The company assembles all its latest iPhone models in India, in partnership with Foxconn and Tata Electronics, and has emerged as a key supplier to the US market this year following tariff-related uncertainties over Chinese shipments.

Its push in the ATP segment, however, is driven largely by the need to meet the growing domestic demand for chips, anticipated to surge from $50bn today to $100bn by 2030.

“Globally, too, the market will expand from around $650bn to $1 trillion. So, we’re not looking at shifting manufacturing from China to elsewhere. We’re looking at capturing the incremental demand emerging both in India and abroad,” Chandak said.

India’s import of chips – both integrated circuits and microassemblies – has jumped in recent years, rising 36 percent in 2024 to nearly $24bn from the previous year. An integrated circuit (IC) is a chip serving logic, memory or processing functions, whereas a microassembly is a broader package of multiple chips performing combined functions.

The momentum has continued this year, with imports up 20 percent year-on-year, accounting for about 3 percent of India’s total import bill, according to official trade data. China remains the leading supplier with a 30 percent share, followed by Hong Kong (19 percent), South Korea (11 percent), Taiwan (10 percent), and Singapore (10 percent).

“Even if it’s a 28 nm chip, from a trade balance perspective, India would rather produce and package it domestically than import it,” Ezell of ITIF said, adding that domestic capability would enhance the competitiveness of chip-dependent industries.

Better incentives needed

The Modi government’s support for the chip sector, while unprecedented for India, is still dwarfed by the $48bn committed by China and the $53bn provisioned under the US’s CHIPS Act.

To achieve scale in the ATP segment for meaningful import substitution – and to advance towards producing chips smaller than 28nm – India will need continued government support, and there is a second round of incentives already in the works.

“The reality is, if India wants to compete at the leading edge of semiconductors, it will need to attract a foreign partner – American or Asian – since only a handful of companies globally operate at that level. It’s highly unlikely that a domestic firm will be competitive at 7nm or 3nm anytime soon,” Ezell said.

According to him, India needs to continue focusing on improving its overall business environment – from ensuring reliable power and infrastructure to streamlining regulations, customs and tariff policies.

India’s engineers make up about a fifth of the global chip design workforce, but rising competition from China and Malaysia to attract multinational design firms could erode that edge.

In its latest incentive round, the Indian government limited benefits to domestic firms to promote local intellectual property – a move that, according to Alpa Sood, legal director at the India operations of California-based Marvell Technology, risks driving multinational design work elsewhere.

“India already has a thriving chip design ecosystem strengthened by early-stage incentives from the government. What we need, to further accelerate and build stronger R&D muscle – is incentives that mirror competing countries like China [220 percent tax incentives] and Malaysia [200 percent tax incentives]. This will ensure we don’t lose the advantage we’ve built over the years,” Sood told Al Jazeera.

Marvell’s India operations are its largest outside the US.

The Trump effect

India’s upcoming chip facilities, while aimed at meeting domestic demand, will also export to clients in the US, Japan, and Taiwan. Though US President Donald Trump has threatened 100 percent tariffs on semiconductors made outside the US, none have yet been imposed.

A bigger concern for India-US engagement – so far limited to education and training – is Washington’s 50 percent tariff on India over its Russian crude imports. Semiconductors remain exempt, but the broader trade climate has turned uncertain.

“Over half the global semiconductor market is controlled by US-headquartered firms, making engagement with them crucial,” Chandak said. “Any alignment with these firms, either through joint ventures or technology partnerships – is a preferred option.”

The global chip race is accelerating, and India’s policies will need to keep pace to become a serious player amid growing geo-economic fragmentation.

“These new 1.7nm fabs are so advanced they even factor in the moon’s gravitational pull – it’s literally a moonshot,” Ezell said. “Semiconductor manufacturing is the most complex engineering task humanity undertakes – and the policymaking behind it must be just as precise.”

Dec. 17 (UPI) — Fears of risks to children’s mental health and development have two U.S. senators sounding an alarm and seeking information on toys that use artificial intelligence.

Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., jointly wrote a letter sent to executives in charge of Mattel, Little Learners Toys, Miko, FoloToy, Curio Interactive and Kayi Robot to obtain information on testing of their respective AI-powered toys, NBC News reported.

“These AI toys — specifically those powered by chatbots embedded in everyday children’s toys like plushies, dolls, and other beloved toys — pose risks to children’s healthy development,” they said in the letter signed on Tuesday.

“While AI has incredible potential to benefit children with learning and accessibility, experts have raised concerns about AI toys and the lack of research that has been conducted to understand the full effect of these products on our kids.”

The senators said many AI toys do not cultivate interactive play and instead expose kids to “inappropriate content, privacy risks and manipulative engagement tactics.”

“These aren’t theoretical worst-case scenarios,” Blackburn and Blumenthal said. “They are documented failures uncovered through real-world testing, and they must be addressed.”

The senators said many of the toys use the same AI systems that are dangerous for older children and teens, but are included in toys that are marketed for children and infants.

Chatbots that simulate human conversations with children are especially problematic, the senators said.

“These chatbots have encouraged children to commit self-harm and suicide, and now your company is pushing them on the youngest children who have the least ability to recognize this danger,” Blumenthal and Blackburn wrote.

By way of an example, they said one teddy bear toy responded to a researcher’s question regarding “kink,” and the toy detailed a variety of sexual situations, including between adults and children.

The same toy also provided instructions on how to light a match when asked, they said.

“It is unconscionable that these products would be marketed to children, and these reports raise serious questions about the lack of child safety research conducted on these toys,” Blackburn and Blumenthal said.

The senators also aired their concerns about the data colleed by AI-powered toys and the potential for using that data to design addictive toys for children.

They likened it to social media addiction among youth and asked the respective toy company executives to explain what, if any, safeguards are used to prevent inappropriate conversations and if independent testing is done by third parties.

Blumenthal and Blackburn also want to know if the toy manufacturers share data collected by AI-powered toys with third parties.

Officials for Curio Interactive said their “top priority” is children’s safety when contacted by The Hill.

“Our guardrails are meticulously designed to protect kids, and our toys can only be used with parent permission,” they responded.

“We encourage parents to monitor conversations, track insights, and choose the controls that work best for their family on the Curio: Interactive Toys app,” they explained.

“We work closely with KidSAFE and maintain strict compliance with COPPA and other child-privacy laws.”

The Technology Mind Health half-day summit, hosted by the Global Academy for Future Governance (GAFG) and its partners, brought together interdisciplinary leaders, researchers, and thinkers to explore the intersection of digital technologies and human psychological well-being. Reflecting the Academy’s foundational mission to enhance the development of governments, businesses, academia, civil society, and consumers through ethical and human-centered deployment of technology, the event underscored that technological progress, when governed thoughtfully, can strengthen individual and collective mental health rather than undermine it.

What made this event truly unparalleled on a global scale was its extraordinary diversity, uniting every geography and every generation under the Global Academy’s platform. No other gathering brings together both the developing and the developed world in such a format—not only in its audience but also among its speakers.

The summit indeed offered a genuinely equal platform across continents and age groups: from seasoned experts and leading professionals to the youngest participant, just 11 years old. All stood side by side, engaged in a shared mission to confront one of the most urgent issues of our time, the relationship between technology, mind, and health, and to collectively explore the challenges and chart future pathways.

Or, as the Development-8 Secretary-General, Isiaka A. Imam, urged previously, the emerging digital world must be co-written by all nations, not inherited by a few. These are words that were further detailed by Charles Oppenheimer, who warned that AI is a new primordial fire, powerful enough to uplift humanity or to undo it. 

Mission and Framing

Founded to advance the ‘3M’ matrix (maximum good for maximum species over maximum time), mindful, measurable, and mutually beneficial technological integration across sectors, the Global Academy for Future Governance promotes sustainable progress free of hidden social, environmental, and health costs. Its interdisciplinary, multispatial, cross-sector mandate aligns with pressing global needs to distinguish substantive technological challenges from hype and to strengthen frameworks that enable early identification and mitigation of risks.

The Technology Mind Health summit of early December 2025 opened with a warm introduction delivered by Dr. Philippe Reinisch, GAFG co‑founder. He highlighted this gathering as the inaugural event for the newly created GAFG and emphasized the importance of bridging technology and society with human enhancement, including human mental wellness.

Acting as the GAFG host, Jesinta Adams, Assistant Director-General of GAFG, spoke passionately about the central role different generations play at the intersection of technology and mind health. 

Voices from Leadership and Thought

The event began with a prerecorded (unauthorized) address by Dr. Khaled El‑Enany Ezz, a candidate for UNESCO Secretary‑General. This powerful note reflected on humanity’s current crossroads amid rapid technological change, underscoring rising challenges related to health, wealth inequality, and psychological well‑being. He emphasized education as the essential tool for guiding technological deployment with wisdom, extending beyond technical mastery into cultural and ethical literacy. His message was clear: “Use technology as a tool rather than a master.”

Following this, Vladimir Norov, former Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan and former Secretary‑General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, addressed the Summit. He drew attention to expanding societal risks, including threats to mental health, social cohesion, privacy, and equitable access, but urged attendees to consider the transformative potential of AI when governed ethically. Highlighting examples from medical innovation in Central Asia, Norov stressed three core principles for beneficial technological integration: human‑centered design, ethical governance, and resilience building. He concluded, “Technology does not replace us but elevates us.” 

Expert Contributions on Mind, Health, and Technology

Closing on the high level, the keynote addresses and the substantive section as the central part of the Summit have started with Dr. KaT Zarychta, a specialist in technology, innovation, and holistic health. She opened by comparing artificial intelligence to the human mind, reminding audiences that AI cannot feel, empathize, or emotionally self‑correct. She argued that the most effective path forward lies in human‑AI collaboration, where evidence‑based digital tools support rather than supplant human capacities. Dr. Zarychta closed with a call to co‑create a world where psychological well‑being is nurtured and protected in tandem with technological innovation.

As the next speaker, Marisa Peer, RTT founder and bestselling author, focused on the role of social media as a source of disconnection and psychological distress. She highlighted the platforms’ addictive dynamics and their proliferation of unrealistic ideals that fuel dissatisfaction and self‑doubt. She urged reimagining digital spaces as tools for learning, growth, and mental enrichment—enabling technology to expand, not contract, human potential.

Prof. John A. Naslund, co‑director of the Mental Health for All Lab at Harvard Medical School, addressed the global mental health crisis, particularly rising depression rates. He introduced the EMPOWER Model, a psychosocial behavioral intervention framework emphasizing community‑based support and scalable delivery. Naslund highlighted the model’s adaptability, from teenagers to adults, and its multilingual expansion, demonstrating how evidence‑driven designs can strengthen resilience across populations.

Dr. Malek Bajbouj, Head of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at Charité Berlin, examined psychological health in contexts of conflict, pandemics, and ecological anxiety. He described the accelerating demand for mental health support and positioned trustworthy digital tools as essential if governed ethically. According to Dr. Bajbouj, resilient mental health systems rest on population‑wide strategies, transparent communication, and sustained trust in public institutions.

From Uruguay, Professor María Castelló of the Clemente Estable Research Institute investigated neurological and psychological effects of prolonged technology use, especially in youth. She highlighted concerns about brain development, anxiety, depression, and unhealthy digital habits. Yet Castelló also acknowledged potential cognitive benefits, such as enhanced memory, behavioral functioning, and multitasking skills. Her call to action called for policies that address digital inequities and mental health from a neuro‑social perspective rather than one‑size‑fits‑all approaches. 

In her part, Prof. Birgitta Dresp-Langley identified excessive childhood exposure to digital environments as a central factor underlying a range of growing health concerns. Prolonged screen time indoors reduces children’s exposure to natural daylight, which is essential for healthy visual development, sleep regulation, and metabolic balance. This deficit is linked to increasing rates of early myopia, obesity, sleep disorders, depression, and behavioral difficulties, with risks emerging even in very young children.

French professor Dresp-Langley proposes a unifying biological model in which reduced daylight and increased artificial light disrupt vitamin D and melatonin production, leading to deregulation of serotonin and dopamine pathways in the developing brain. These neurochemical changes resemble those seen in addictive disorders and may result in long-term cognitive, emotional, and behavioral consequences. She concluded her detailed writing contribution to the Summit by concluding that urgent awareness, preventive policies, and increased outdoor activity are needed to mitigate these risks.

Youth Engagement and Future Directions

The event culminated with the announcement of winners from the Technology Mind Health Essay Competition, led by Theodora Vounidi (Balkan Youth Initiative founder). Contestants (aged 14-18 and 18-28) discussed the correlation between digital technology and mental health and the need for balance between analog and digital time, as well as the newly formed ‘always online’ (sub-)culture.

With 40 global submissions comprising about 60 writers, as some elected to work in teams, including from the youngest entrant at age 11 (demoiselle Tess), the competition highlighted both the breadth of youth engagement and the global relevance of the human technology dialogue.

First place was awarded to Nikos Galitsis from Greece, second place to Claudio Monani from Italy, and third place was awarded to Kenedy Agustin from the Philippines, while fourth place was secured by a participant from India. Fifth place was awarded to the youngest entrant from Singapore. The top three winners of the competition were given the opportunity to present their work, offering insightful perspectives on the emerging intersection of technology and mental health. 

Main takeaways & future outlook

The Technology Mind Health summit highlighted a crucial truth—as encapsulated in the closing remarks by Prof. Anis H. Bajrektarevic, GAFG cofounder, “technological advancement is inevitable, but its impact on humanity is not predetermined—it depends on the collective choices we make.”

Across sessions, speakers emphasized that technology can either be a catalyst for psychological well-being or a source of disruption, depending on how it is designed, governed, and integrated into society. Ethical frameworks, evidence-based policies, and human-centered governance are essential to ensure that digital tools empower rather than diminish individual and collective mental health.

Equally important is the role of education, intergenerational dialogue, and global collaboration. As the GAFG summit demonstrated, solutions require insights from every sector, culture, and age group—from seasoned professionals to the youngest participants. By fostering awareness of risks such as digital overexposure, social media-induced stress, and inequitable access, while simultaneously encouraging innovative approaches for mental wellness, society can navigate the technological landscape thoughtfully.

Ultimately, the responsibility to shape a future where technology enhances rather than undermines human flourishing lies with all stakeholders—governments, academia, civil society, businesses, and individuals alike.

By successfully conducting such a complex and content-rich event, the GAFG demonstrated its true capability to provide flexible, impartial, and highly engaging solutions for the FAST technology to both the public and private sectors.

In recognition of the summit’s success and the youth essay competition’s impact, the Global Academy for Future Governance (GAFG) has decided to annualize both the Technology-Mind-Health Summit and the essay competition (with its BYI partner), ensuring ongoing dialogue and engagement at the intersection of technology, meridians, generations, and mental well-being.

Dec. 16 (UPI) — Tesla shares closed at a record-high $489.88 on Tuesday, days after CEO Elon Musk announced the company had been testing driverless vehicles in Texas.

Shares rose 3.1% for the day and were up 21% for the year, CNBC reported. This came after Tesla’s worst quarter since 2022 when it dropped 36% in the first quarter of this year.

Techstock² reported that in addition to the roboatxi announcement, Tesla saw a boost on the stock market in response to a fresh round of filings with the Securities Exchange Commission.

The filings showed that WT Wealth Management increased its Tesla stake by 178.7%, Carter Financial Group opened a new Tesla position, Orion Portfolion solutions increased its holdings of Tesla by 14.8%, National Wealth Management Group increased its stake by 26.3% and Momentum Wealth Planning purchased a new stake of 9,802 shares worth about $3.11 million.

Tesla also invested $1.2 billion in a battery cell plant in Berlin.

With Tuesday’s bounce, Tesla’s market cap reached $1.63 trillion, making it the seventh-most valuable company in trading behind Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta, CNBC reported.

Dec. 15 (UPI) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday said President Donald Trump’s executive order last week seeking national rules on artificial intelligence doesn’t prevent states from imposing laws on the use of the technology.

Speaking at an AI event at Florida Atlantic University, DeSantis said Florida will move forward on AI policies he has dubbed a “Citizen Bill of Rights for Artificial Intelligence.”

“The president issued an executive order. Some people were saying, ‘well, no, this blocks the states,'” DeSantis said, according to The Hill. “It doesn’t.”

Trump signed an executive order Thursday seeking to give the United States a “global AI dominance through a minimally burdensome national policy framework.”

“To win, United States AI companies must be free to innovate without cumbersome regulation,” the order says. “But excessive state regulation thwarts this imperative.”

Politico reported the Trump administration has said it’s prepared to file lawsuits and without funding to states that interfere with federal AI plans.

DeSantis said, though, that an executive order can’t block states.

“You can preempt states under Article 1 powers through congressional legislation on certain issues, but you can’t do it through executive order,” he said.

“But if you read it, they actually say a lot of the stuff we’re talking about are things that they’re encouraging states to do. So even reading very broadly, I think the stuff we’re doing is going to be very consistent. But irrespective, clearly we have the right to do this.”

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced a new California-led public health initiative, tapping former U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials who publicly clashed with the Trump administration, including the former agency chief who warned that the nation’s public health system was headed to “a very dangerous place.”

Newsom said the initiative will be led by Dr. Susan Monarez, the former CDC director, and Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s former chief medical officer. The pair will lead the Public Health Network Innovation Exchange, or PHNIX, which the governor’s office said will “modernize public health infrastructure and maintain trust in science-driven decision-making.”

The initiative was created to improve the systems that detect and investigate public health trends and build a modern public-health backbone that connects data, technology and funding across states.

“The Public Health Network Innovation Exchange is expected to bring together the best science, the best tools, and the best minds to advance public health,” Newsom said in a statement Monday. “By bringing on expert scientific leaders to partner in this launch, we’re strengthening collaboration and laying the groundwork for a modern public health infrastructure that will offer trust and stability in scientific data not just across California, but nationally and globally.”

Monarez will serve as strategic health technology and funding advisor for the initiative, helping advance private sector partnerships to better integrate healthcare data systems and enable faster disease surveillance.

“I am deeply excited to bring my experience in health technology and innovation to support PHNIX,” Monarez said in a statement shared by Newsom’s office. “California has an extraordinary concentration of talent, technology, and investment, and this effort is about putting those strengths to work for the public good — modernizing how public health operates, accelerating innovation, and building a healthier, more resilient future for all Californians.”

Houry was named senior regional and global public health medical advisor for PHNIX. Newsom’s office also announced it will work with Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, founder and chief executive of Your Local Epidemiologist. Jetelina will advise the California Department of Public Health on building trust in public health.

Monarez and Houry both described extraordinary turmoil inside the nation’s health agencies during congressional hearings, telling senators in September that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and political advisors rebuffed data supporting the safety and efficacy of vaccines. Monarez was fired after just 29 days on the job. She said Kennedy told her to resign if she did not sign off on new unsupported vaccine recommendations. Kennedy has described Monarez as admitting to him that she is “untrustworthy,” a claim Monarez has denied through her attorney.

“Dramatic and unfounded changes in federal policy, funding, and scientific practice have created uncertainty and instability in public health and health care,” Dr. Erica Pan, CDPH director and state public health officer, said in a statement. “I am thrilled to work with these advisors to catalyze our efforts to lead a sustainable future for public health. California is stepping up to coordinate and build the scaffolding we need to navigate this moment.”

The salaries of the new positions were not immediately known.

Newsom’s office said the California initiative would build on previously announced public health partnerships, such as the West Coast Health Alliance.

Dec. 12 (UPI) — A federal judge in New York sentenced Do Kwon, the former CEO of blockchain and cryptocurrency company Terraform Labs, to 15 years in prison for a scheme that cost victims billions of dollars.

The 34-year-old South Korean native received a higher sentence than defense lawyers and even prosecutors sought — five years and 12 years, respectively, The New York Times reported. Prosecutors agreed to let Kwon serve the second half of his sentence in South Korea.

U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer for the Southern District of New York said he went with the 15-year sentence because Kwon’s crimes represented “fraud on an epic, generational scale.” He also ordered Kwon to pay more than $19 million in proceeds from the scheme.

The judgment was handed down in court Thursday, some four months after Kwon pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit commodities fraud, securities fraud and wire fraud as well as one count of committing wire fraud. Authorities arrested Kwon in Montenegro after he led them on an 18-month manhunt, The Guardian reported.

“Do Kwon devised elaborate schemes to mislead investors and inflate the value of Terraform’s cryptocurrencies for his own benefit,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said Thursday in a news release.

“When his crimes caught up to him, Kwon embarked on a deceptive public relations campaign to cover up his fraud, laundered the proceeds of his illegal schemes and sought to purchase political protection in foreign countries to evade criminal prosecution.”

Federal prosecutors said Terraform, under Kwon, offered a unique blockchain that issued stablecoins under a distinct protocol that it falsely claimed would maintain a fixed value even when market conditions fluctuated. He told investors the company’s stablecoin, UST, could always be exchanged for $1 of its blockchain’s native LUNA token.

Kwon received investments from several firms across the globe to buy or lend Terraform’s cryptocurrencies built on the company’s blockchain. The market value of all UST and LUNA surpassed $50 billion by spring 2022.

Prosecutors said, though, that much of that growth was due to Kwon’s falsifications about Terraform’s technology, causing the two cryptocurrencies to collapse in value and losing investors $40 billion. Kwon hid the losses through a fraudulent audit.

Dec. 11 (UPI) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday night that limits states’ ability to regulate artificial intelligence companies.

The order is designed “to sustain and enhance the United States’ global AI dominance through a minimally burdensome national policy framework for AI,” according to a release on the White House website.

“To win, United States AI companies must be free to innovate without cumbersome regulation,” the order says. “But excessive State regulation thwarts this imperative.”

Trump has been a strong proponent of U.S. leadership in AI development, and said at the executive order signing ceremony Thursday night that AI companies “want to be in the United States, and they want to do it here, and we have big investment coming. But if they had to get 50 different approvals from 50 different states, you could forget it.”

The order instructs Attorney General Pam Bondi to establish an “AI Litigation Task Force” within 30 days whose “sole responsibility shall be to challenge State AI laws” that don’t align with the Trump administration’s minimal approach to regulation.

It could also revise existing state laws, and directs Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to identify state laws that “require AI models to alter their truthful outputs,” which aligns with Trump’s efforts to prevent what he describes as “woke AI.”

Trump has also used federal funding as an incentive to encourage states with such laws not to enforce them. Under terms of the executive order, federal AI law would preempt state regulations. State AI laws designed to protect children would not be affected.

The executive order comes after congress voted in July and November against creating a similar policy.

Critics of the plan created by the executive order call it an attempt to block meaningful regulation on AI and say congress is not equipped to replace state-specific laws with a single, nationwide standard.

Tech companies have been supportive of efforts to limit the power of states to regulate AI. The executive order marks a victory for tech companies like Google and OpenAI, which have launched campaigns through a super PAC, and have as much as $100 million to spend in an effort to shape the outcome of next year’s midterm elections.

The order is also seen as a move to thwart Democrat-led states such as California and New York from exerting state laws over AI development

Dec. 11 (UPI) — Time magazine on Thursday named the architects of artificial intelligence as the 2025 Person of the Year.

While no one specific person was singled out by the magazine for the annual honor, the cover story for the edition featured interviews with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Baidu CEO Robin Li.

Time editor in chief Sam Jacobs, in a letter to readers about the selection, said no one had a greater impact on individuals than those who created AI.

“This was the year when artificial intelligence’s full potential roared into view, and when it became clear that there will be no turning back or opting out,” he wrote.

“For these reasons, we recognize a force that has dominated the year’s headlines, for better or worse. For delivering the age of thinking machines, for wowing and worrying humanity, for transforming the present and transcending the possible, the architects of AI are Time’s 2025 Person of the Year.”

The Person of the Year edition of the magazine features two covers this year — one depicting builders on scaffolding constructing the letters “AI” and another showing several tech leaders sitting on a steel beam above a cityscape, reminiscent of an iconic 1932 photo of construction workers eating lunch on a steel beam. The edition goes on sale beginning Dec. 19.

Time also named YouTube CEO Neal Mohan as CEO of the Year; Leonardo DiCaprio as Entertainer of the Year; A’ja Wilson as Athlete of the Year; and KPop Demon Hunters as Breakthrough of the Year.

Published on
11/12/2025 – 10:48 GMT+1

Global markets failed to retain the momentum sparked by an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday after fears of an AI bubble resurfaced.

Disappointing results from cloud computing giant Oracle weighed on wider tech stocks, with Nasdaq 100 futures down around 1% just after 3am in New York. S&P 500 futures slipped 0.79%, while Dow Jones futures dropped 0.44%. Asian markets were broadly in the red, while Europe opened lower.

Around the same time, Oracle shares were down 11.83% in pre-market trading as investors grew increasingly sceptical about the company’s business outlook.

Oracle on Wednesday announced heavy capital expenditures while missing profit and revenue expectations, reigniting fears around an imminent AI bubble burst. As excitement around the technology has driven firms to sky-high valuations, analysts are concerned that a correction is due as business fundamentals fail to keep up.

Oracle brought in revenue of $16.06bn (€13.74bn) for the quarter to November, marking a 14% year-on-year increase but still coming in below the $16.21bn (€13.86bn) projected by analysts.

Net income came to $6.14bn (€5.25bn), a dramatic 95% increase, boosted by a $2.7bn (€2.3bn) pre-tax gain in the sale of Oracle’s Ampere chip company to SoftBank.

The company also said it expected full-year revenues to remain unchanged from its previous forecast of $67bn (€57.29bn).

Investors nonetheless kept their focus on the company’s debt, ramped up via high bond sales in recent months, and spending on long-term assets.

Capital expenditure for the 2026 financial year is now expected to be 40% higher than previously forecasted, totalling around $50bn (€42.75bn).

Another metric causing concern is revenue from Oracle’s cloud infrastructure business, which came in below expectations at $4.1bn (€3.5bn).

A large share of the firm’s capital expenditure is earmarked for the construction of data centres to power AI for clients like OpenAI, although investors fear that the firm might be placing too much money on a narrow, high-stakes bet. That’s particularly relevant as OpenAI sees more competition from companies like Google.

Compared to rivals like Amazon and Microsoft, Oracle was late to shift its focus from business software to cloud computing, and analysts now warn the firm could lose out if it fails to diversify revenue streams.

The souring narrative around Oracle is reflective of the broader change in market sentiment around AI. In September, the firm’s shares soared after OpenAI said it had agreed to purchase $300bn (€256.53bn) in computing power from Oracle over five years. That briefly made Oracle chairman Larry Ellison the world’s richest man.

Since that high, the firm’s shares have lost 40% of their value as investors wake up to the risks of a market correction. Analysts have notably sounded the warning bell over circular financing, where money is invested in a loop between related parties.

Elsewhere in the tech world, Nvidia stocks were down 1.58% in pre-market trading, while CoreWeave saw a 3.27% drop.