Author: Art Ryan

Dr Ali bin Tamim, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), stated that artificial intelligence (AI) has now acquired the ability to produce narrative storytelling and visual content that almost mimics humans, revealing a new type of hybrid discourse between humans and machines. In statements to Emirates News Agency (WAM) ahead of the Congress of Arabic & Creative Industries 2025, he pointed out that there have been shifts in the role of the audience in light of the AI boom, as they have become participants in shaping the content they interact with. Bin Tamim explained that there are…

Fraud isn’t standing still. Today’s criminals have more advanced technology at their disposal than ever before, and they’re using it in ways that are subtle, sophisticated and effective. “Fraudster tactics to compromise funds start well before the transaction occurs,” Dustin White, vice president of risk products and solutions at Visa DPS told PYMNTS. Texts, emails and other forms of digital engagement are now the front lines of fraud, as criminals deploy artificial intelligence-powered tools to collect information that unlocks new avenues of attack, he said. Is there a new avenue of detection and defense? For Visa DPS, one area of focus is identity intelligence. Get used to…

Colorado has postponed implementation of its Artificial Intelligence Act (SB 24-205) to June 30, 2026, after Gov. Jared Polis signed an amendment (SB25B-004) on Aug. 28 following negotiations in a special legislative session. The five-month extension gives lawmakers more time to consider changes during the 2026 regular session, though similar efforts since the law’s passage in May 2024 have repeatedly stalled. Even with the new deadline, the timeline remains tight: Colorado’s session is scheduled to adjourn in May 2026, which would leave only weeks for the attorney general to issue rules and for employers to adapt compliance programs unless another delay is approved. The Colorado AI Act…

Micro1, a three-year-old startup that helps AI companies find and manage human contractors for data labeling and training, has raised a $35 million Series A funding round that values the company at $500 million. The round was led by 01 Advisors, a venture capital firm co-founded by Dick Costolo and Adam Bain, the former CEO and COO of Twitter. The startup is one of many companies looking to fill the gap in the data market created by recent changes involving Scale AI. After Meta invested $14 billion in Scale AI and hired its CEO, AI labs, including OpenAI and Google, said they planned…

This week, OpenAI and Oracle shocked the markets with a surprise $300 billion, five-year agreement, part of a surge of new business that sent the cloud provider’s stock skyrocketing. But maybe the markets shouldn’t have been taken by surprise. The deal is a reminder that, despite Oracle’s legacy status, the company still plays a major role in AI infrastructure. On the OpenAI side, the agreement was more revealing than the lack of details suggest. For one, the startup’s willingness to pay so much for compute provides a measurement of the startup’s appetite — even if it’s unclear where the electricity to…

Starting this summer, New Yorkers shopping online or booking rides might spot a new warning tucked beside the price: “This price was set by an algorithm using your personal data.” The requirement, effective July 8 under New York’s sweeping new law, marks the first time a U.S. state has mandated such algorithmic pricing disclosures for businesses that personalize prices based on consumer information. But as litigation brews and regulators across states and continents take note, the implications are destined to reverberate well beyond the Empire State. It also raises a broader question that every business using dynamic pricing must now confront:…

Microsoft and OpenAI are getting close to an agreement on the future of their partnership. The companies said in a joint statement released Thursday (Sept. 11): “Microsoft and OpenAI have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the next phase of our partnership. We are actively working to finalize contractual terms in a definitive agreement. Together, we remain focused on delivering the best AI tools for everyone, grounded in our shared commitment to safety.” In a separate statement released Thursday, OpenAI Chairman of the Board Bret Taylor said the company will move ahead with a planned evolution announced in May, in which the existing OpenAI nonprofit will not only…

Hello Patient raised $22.5 million in a Series A funding round to continue to expand the capabilities and reach of its conversational artificial intelligence-powered patient engagement platform for healthcare practices. The company’s platform manages patient conversations at the “front door,” which is the communication and scheduling that determines whether patients can see a doctor, according to a Sept. 4 press release. The platform’s artificial intelligence (AI) agents work across voice, text and chat to book appointments, answer questions and reengage patients, according to the release. They eliminate the need to hire additional staff or use software that can only deliver static messages. “With conversational AI, we…

As generative artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes how Americans work, shop and communicate, one generation isn’t just keeping pace, they’re pushing the frontier. Millennials, not the digital-native Gen Z, are the most enthusiastic adopters of AI in the workplace, using it to boost productivity and streamline daily tasks. That’s one of the more surprising insights from PYMNTS Intelligence’s latest Generational Pulse Report, titled “Generation AI: Why Gen Z Bets Big and Boomers Hold Back.” The July 2025 report analyzes how different age groups engage with gen AI based on a survey of 2,261 U.S. adults. While much attention has centered on Gen Z’s cultural comfort with AI-powered platforms, it’s millennials…

Treasury is quickly becoming the nerve center of finance with decisions that influence not just liquidity, but enterprise risk appetite, growth strategy, and digital transformation. Behind this shift are the three foundational pillars of AI, cyber defense and payments optimization. The momentum behind each represents a profound reshaping of treasury’s responsibilities and capabilities, especially in an operating landscape where risk and uncertainty are rippling faster than ever through balance sheets and forecasts. Together, these technologies and marketplace realities are recasting the finance function not as a back-office utility but as a strategic hub whose decisions now influence enterprise risk appetite, digital transformation, and growth strategy. And treasury’s transformation is not abstract.…

Food and drug retailer Albertsons Cos. has become the first retailer to deploy Google Cloud’s new Conversational Commerce agent, an artificial intelligence (AI) shopping assistant. Albertsons Cos. is leveraging this solution in an Ask AI tool that is accessible via the search bar in the apps of all its banner stores, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme and Tom Thumb, the companies said in a Wednesday (Sept. 10) press release. Jill Pavlovich, senior vice president, digital customer experience at Albertson Cos., said in the release that Ask AI provides “personalized interaction and intuitive guidance.” “By collaborating with Google Cloud to bring Conversational Commerce agent to market, we are providing our customers a solution that moves beyond traditional search to help…

Anthropic will now let its Claude AI chatbot “remember” the details of previous conversations without prompting. The feature is only rolling out for Team and Enterprise users for now, allowing Claude to automatically incorporate someone’s preferences, the context of the project they’re working on, and their main priorities into each of its responses. Anthropic rolled out the ability for paid users to prompt Claude to remember past chats last month, but now the chatbot can pull up these details without Team and Enterprise users having to ask. Claude’s memory also carries over to projects, a feature that lets Pro and Teams generate things like…

Delos Insurance uses AI to assess risk and offer homeowners insurance policies in wildfire-distressed parts of California.SAN FRANCISCO — California’s wildfire-driven insurance crisis has left many homeowners scrambling for coverage, but a San Francisco company says its artificial intelligence model is helping fill the gap. Delos Insurance Solutions, founded in 2017, is offering policies in high-risk areas where major insurers have pulled back. CEO Kevin Stein and Chief Data Officer Shanna McIntyre co-founded the company after seeing the industry’s struggle to adapt to climate change. Both came from aerospace. McIntyre’s background is in predictive modeling. “We started the company when we…

Klarna’s $15 billion IPO was more than a financial milestone. It spotlighted how the Swedish buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) firm is grappling with artificial intelligence (AI) at the heart of its operations. Back in 2023, Chief Executive Sebastian Siemiatkowski suggested AI could replace large parts of the company’s customer-service workforce. The remarks sparked pushback from employees and skepticism from customers, many of whom doubted whether the technology was advanced enough to provide empathy and reliability at scale. Pivoting and Learning Klarna’s first wave of AI adoption proved too rigid, with customers finding the experience inconsistent. The company now pivoted toward a blended approach: AI for speed and scale, humans for empathy and trust. That adjustment echoes a lesson resonating across industries. AI works best…

Artificial intelligence (AI) search startup Perplexity AI has reportedly secured $200 million in new funding. The new funding values the company at $20 billion, according to multiple media accounts late Wednesday (Sept 10). The company’s financing was initially reported by The Information, which cited sources familiar with the matter. That report noted that Perplexity has raised funds approximately once every two months in the last year, with its total funding exceeding $1 billion. Perplexity was valued at $14 billion following a funding round in March, with its valuation jumping to $18 billion after it raised another $100 million in July. This latest funding happened in the wake of Perplexity’s…

Dutch cloud computing company Nebius has raised $3.75 million via sales of stock and convertible notes. These sales are designed to help Nebius acquire additional compute power and hardware, secure “strategic high-quality and well-located” plots of lands with reliable providers and to expand its data center footprint, according to a Wednesday (Sept. 10) news release. “We believe this will enable us to aggressively grow our core business in 2026 and beyond as we aim to scale our global data center portfolio, including through new greenfield sites, and the expansion of our customer base, from AI native tech startups to larger enterprises,” the company…

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating the effect of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on children and teens. The commission announced Thursday (Sept. 11) that it was issuing orders to seven providers of AI chatbots in search of information on how those companies measure and monitor potentially harmful impacts of the technology on young people. The companies in question are Google, Character.AI, Instagram, Meta, OpenAI, Snap and xAI. “AI chatbots may use generative artificial intelligence technology to simulate human-like communication and interpersonal relationships with users,” the FTC said in a news release. “AI chatbots can effectively mimic human characteristics, emotions and intentions, and generally are designed to communicate like a friend or confidant, which…

Exclusive launch event at Sultan Hussein Kamel Palace, Cairo, highlights Egypt’s AI ambitions and global collaborations ahead of Ai Everything MEA Egypt 2026 Wednesday, 10 September 2025, Cairo: Following the show’s announcement last week, Ai Everything Middle East & Africa Egypt marked its first milestone moment in Cairo with an exclusive launch event at the iconic Sultan Hussein Kamel Palace. Organised by GITEX GLOBAL and hosted by Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), in strategic partnership with the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), the launch event served as a precursor to the region’s most empowering global AI…

Copenhagen-based Teton.ai, a predictive care company that offers an AI companion to help nurses monitor patients and improve workflows, has secured $20 million in a Series A capital raise. The round was led by Plural with participation from Bertelsmann Investments, Antler Elevate and Nebular and follow-on investment from PSV Tech. WHAT IT DOES Teton.ai generates digital twins that examine and recognize what is happening with residents and staff in the hospital setting to gain an understanding of health and behavior. The company says this allows for providers to gain deeper insights into operations. For example, by observing resident behavior, Teton.ai says…

Chinese scientists claimed to have developed the world’s first “brain-like” artificial intelligence large language model similar to ChatGPT, designed to consume less power and work without Nvidia chips. The AI model, named SpikingBrain1.0, mimics the way the human brain fires only the nerve cells it needs, according to researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Large language models widely in use, like ChatGPT and Meta’s Llama, are dependent on the scaling law, which implies that a reasoning AI system’s performance improves with more data and larger models. They work by applying a technique called “attention”, in which the AI model looks at all the words in a sentence at once to…