Author: Art Ryan

Trelawny, Jamaica (May 25–27, 2026) — Closing the Summit, Dr. Azizi Seixas announced two flagship initiatives: MILEU (Media Innovation Lab Education Universe), an AI-enabled precision learning and teacher-innovation platform, and GHIVE (Global Hub for Innovative Ventures & Ecosystems), a fellowship-based incubator to turn ideas into viable products and companies. These initiatives will strengthen digital equity, empower educators, and build innovation pipelines across Jamaica and the Caribbean. “Innovation must be continuous, collaborative, and mission-driven — not confined to events,” Dr. Seixas affirmed. Event DetailsEvent: Innovation With and For a Purpose (IP) Summit 2026Dates: May 25–27, 2026Location: Trelawny, Jamaica (Ocean Coral Spring…

Trelawny, Jamaica (May 25–27, 2026) — At the Innovation With and For a Purpose (IP) Summit 2026, Dr. Collins Airhihenbuwa, Distinguished Professor at Georgia State University’s School of Public Health, delivered a powerful challenge to the technical focus of earlier sessions. He asked participants to confront deeper questions: Why are we innovating, for whom, and are we truly breaking free from colonial legacies or reproducing them in digital form? Speaking in what he described as a “polylog,” Dr. Airhihenbuwa drew on African, Caribbean, and diasporic intellectual traditions — invoking thinkers such as Kwame Nkrumah, Frantz Fanon, Toni Morrison, Chinua Achebe,…

Trelawny, Jamaica (May 25–27, 2026) — The session “Imagining Paradise: Reimagining Tourism in Jamaica through AI and Technology” brought together some of Jamaica’s most influential tourism leaders to explore how artificial intelligence can enhance competitiveness while safeguarding cultural identity. Moderated by Dr. Carey Wallace, Executive Director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, the panel featured Mrs. Nicola Madden Greig, Group Director of Marketing & Sales at Courtleigh Hospitality Group; Professor Lloyd Waller, Executive Director of the Global Tourism Resilience & Crisis Management Centre; and Professor Hopeton Dunn, Professor of Communications Policy & Digital Media at The University of the West Indies.…

Trelawny, Jamaica (May 25–27, 2026) — At the Innovation With and For a Purpose (IP) Summit 2026, two signature presentations underscored the twin pillars of AI readiness: infrastructure and talent. Dr. Parris Lyew-Ayee Jr., Managing Director of The LEAP Company, called for an integrated national AI strategy where infrastructure, governance, talent, and sustainability are treated as interconnected. He highlighted the need for transparent procurement, stronger data-protection frameworks, and collaboration across universities, industry, and government. His recommendations included apprenticeships, hackathons, pilot projects to build public confidence, and modernized TVET to ensure practical, future-focused skills. Ms. Celina Lee, CEO and Founder of…

Trelawny, Jamaica (May 25–27, 2026) — At the Innovation With and For a Purpose (IP) Summit 2026, Dr. Brent Anders of the American University of Armenia challenged educators and policymakers to confront how education must evolve in an era defined by artificial intelligence. He warned that higher education has been slow to adapt, leaving students unprepared and demanding relevance and agency in their learning. Dr. Anders called for decisive reforms: experiential learning that immerses students in real-world problem-solving, AI-augmented personalization to support diverse learners, skills-based assessment through portfolios and performance tasks, stackable credentials for lifelong upskilling, and co-creation of learning…

Trelawny, Jamaica (May 25–27, 2026) — The Innovation With and For a Purpose (IP) Summit 2026 opened with a keynote by Dr. David Rhew, Global Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Healthcare at Microsoft, who demystified artificial intelligence and set the strategic tone for the event. He emphasized that AI is not a futuristic abstraction but a present-day force reshaping healthcare, education, finance, logistics, and creative industries. Rhew emphasized that AI is not here to replace human expertise but to augment it, enabling professionals to work smarter, faster, and with greater precision Dr. Rhew highlighted that outdated, reactive health…

Trelawny, Jamaica (May 25–27, 2026) — More than 300 participants — including Jamaican educators, researchers, policymakers, and international innovators — gathered at the Innovation With and For a Purpose (IP) Summit 2026 to explore how emerging technologies can drive purposeful innovation across healthcare, education, tourism, sustainability, and national development. The Summit was co-hosted by The Mico University College and the Media and Innovation Lab at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, underscoring a powerful partnership between Jamaica and international innovation leadership. Keynote addresses were delivered by Dr. David Rhew, Global Chief Medical Officer at Microsoft; Mr. Evan Thompson,…

Rio de Janeiro is making a major push to become one of Latin America’s leading artificial intelligence hubs. This comes as Web Summit Rio opens in the city, bringing together thousands of technology founders, investors, executives, and policymakers. The event arrives at a pivotal moment for Brazil’s tech ambitions. Beyond its global reputation for tourism, culture, beaches, and major international events, Rio is now working to position itself as a serious player in the AI economy. At the center of that strategy is Rio AI City, a large-scale artificial intelligence infrastructure project planned for the city’s Olympic Park. The project…

Dubai-based artificial intelligence operations company Algebra AI has raised $7 million in funding and emerged from stealth to help mid-market businesses across the Gulf Cooperation Council adopt and manage AI-powered workflows. The company is focusing on verticals such as financial services, food and beverage, manufacturing and distribution. Its funding round includes backing from BECO Capital, Silicon Badia, Infinity Constellation, and Waseel Investments. Algebra AI Targets the GCC’s Mid-Market AI Gap Algebra AI is positioning itself as a managed AI operations provider for companies that need more than basic software tools but may not have the internal resources required to build…

Dubai’s drive to make public transport smarter continues with the introduction of AI-powered dashboards at the Roads and Transport Authority’s Bus Operations Control Centre. The system is intended to assist transport operators to: manage bus services in real time; improve schedule reliability; reduce emissions; and respond more quickly to service disruptions. Built on the Dataiku platform and developed with the RTA’s in-house Artificial Intelligence Centre, the AI system is now integrated into daily bus network operations across Dubai. The project forms part of Dubai RTA’s wider digital transformation and AI Strategy 2030. This strategy aims to make mobility smarter, more…

The UK’s plan to become an “AI maker, not an AI taker” is beginning to take shape through new sovereign compute infrastructure, startup support and enterprise AI deployments powered by NVIDIA technologies. At London Tech Week, NVIDIA and its partners highlighted how the country is building the foundations for a domestic AI ecosystem. The effort focuses on keeping more AI development, data processing and computing capacity inside the UK while helping local startups and enterprises scale advanced AI systems. Sovereign AI has become a major priority for governments worldwide. For the UK, the goal is to strengthen national AI capability…

Minerva has officially launched its AI platform for consumer marketing leaders, introducing a system designed to help brands unify customer data, improve campaign performance, and make faster marketing decisions using AI agents. The Brooklyn-based company announced its public launch alongside $20 million in funding from The General Partnership, 8VC, Lingotto Innovation, Topology Ventures, NBA Investments, and other backers. The launch also includes a collaboration with OpenAI, signaling Minerva’s goal to bring advanced AI capabilities into day-to-day marketing operations. Turning Fragmented Customer Data Into Marketing Intelligence Many consumer brands have large amounts of first-party customer data, but that data is often…

Apple’s WWDC 2026 event kicked off yesterday at Apple Park, starting a week packed with reveals about Siri AI, iOS 27, Apple Intelligence, and more, along with developer events and demos as Apple looks to reassert itself with users and developers who haven’t been impressed with their releases within the wildly competitive AI space. It also marks CEO Tim Cook’s last WWCD with the company, after announcing he’s handing things off to Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering John Ternus on September 1. Did they succeed? Keep tabs on this page, and the rest of our ongoing coverage, to find out!…

Anthropic has officially released Claude Fable 5, giving the public access to a version of its advanced Mythos AI model for the first time. The launch marks a major step for the AI company as it pushes more powerful models into wider use while also adding strict safety controls around high-risk tasks. Claude Fable 5 is designed for demanding work such as software engineering, knowledge tasks, visual reasoning, and advanced AI-assisted workflows. However, Anthropic is not releasing the model without limits. The company says the system includes safeguards that block certain requests in sensitive areas, including cybersecurity, biology, chemistry, and…

China is readying for one of the world’s most ambitious artificial intelligence infrastructure expansions. It is planning to invest about 2 trillion yuan, or $295 billion, over the next five years. The move is intended to bolster the country’s AI backbone and boost quantum computing research. It will also support humanoid robotics and lessen reliance on foreign technology. The plan is part of a broader effort by Beijing to create a self-sufficient AI ecosystem. China wants more of its AI infrastructure to be powered by domestic suppliers rather than relying heavily on U.S. chips, cloud systems and overseas computing networks.…

Taiwan is contemplating tighter controls on the export of sophisticated AI chips to China, potentially changing the course of the global semiconductor race. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly dependent on high-performance computing, access to advanced chips has become one of the most important battlegrounds in the technology rivalry between China, Taiwan, and the United States. The reported policy shift would bring Taiwan more closely in line with U.S. efforts to limit China’s access to cutting-edge AI hardware. That could create new obstacles for Beijing to acquire the processors it needs to train large AI models, power data centers and underpin…

Web Summit Rio 2026 Sets New Record with 40,287 Attendees as AI Startups Shine Web Summit Rio 2026 has kicked off its most attended event to date. It has welcomed a record 40,287 attendees from over 100 countries. Brazil is cementing its place as a leading destination for technology, startups, and artificial intelligence. The event’s fourth edition, held at Rio Centro from June 8 to June 11, also saw a record 1,572 startups and 688 investors participate. This strong turnout reflects growing global interest in Latin America’s technology ecosystem. In particular, artificial intelligence continues to reshape how companies build products,…

O ecossistema de startups português dá um grande salto para o palco internacional com 27 startups nacionais que vão participar na Web Summit Rio 2026. Entre elas, as Portuguese AI startups Web Summit Rio 2026 ganham destaque neste evento. Este é um dos maiores eventos de tecnologia e inovação da América Latina. The Portuguese delegation includes companies working across artificial intelligence, machine learning, health technology, and defence. This reflects the country’s growing presence in high-impact technology sectors. Together, the startups employ nearly 270 people and have raised more than €20 million in investment. Portugal Strengthens Its Presence at Web Summit…

Zoom has opened its second data center in Saudi Arabia. This extends its digital infrastructure footprint in the Kingdom. This comes amid rising demand for secure, locally hosted collaboration and AI-enabled workplace tools. The new facility is hosted at center3, a Saudi-headquartered carrier-neutral data center and subsea cable operator based in Riyadh. The launch builds on Zoom’s previously announced $75 million investment commitment in Saudi Arabia. This commitment focuses on artificial intelligence innovation and the infrastructure needed to support large-scale digital transformation. This move is especially significant for government agencies, large enterprises and critical national infrastructure organizations that require local…

Saudi-Egyptian venture capital firm Edafa Venture has acquired two Egyptian AI startups, Kuadra and IRRI Vision, in separate six-figure dollar deals. This marks another sign of growing investor confidence in Egypt’s artificial intelligence startup ecosystem. Notably, Edafa Venture acquires Egyptian AI startups as part of its regional growth strategy. The acquisitions were announced during AI Everything Middle East and Africa, held in Cairo earlier this year. Moreover, the move is in line with Edafa Venture’s strategy to build a regional investment platform focused on promising startups. It also aims to accelerate the adoption of AI in key sectors like technology,…