The New York Times
Governments worldwide are introducing generative AI tools in schools, often through partnerships with major U.S. tech companies, aiming to save teachers time, personalize learning, and prepare students for an AI-driven economy. Initiatives span the UAE, Kazakhstan, El Salvador, the U.S., and parts of Europe. Critics warn of risks including diminished critical thinking, misinformation, and over-reliance on chatbots. Countries like Estonia and Iceland are taking cautious approaches, emphasizing AI literacy, teacher training, and limits on student use.
From "Tech Giants Embed AI in Schools"
The New York Times (01/02/26) Natasha Singer
View Full Article - May Require Paid Subscription
InfoWorld
Microsoft’s C# was named the Tiobe Index Programming Language of 2025. Reported usage of C# rose 2.94 percentage points year over year, with a rating of 7.39% and ranking of fifth in January 2026. The language was also Tiobe’s language of the year in 2023. “From a language design perspective, C# has often been an early adopter of new trends among mainstream languages,” wrote Tiobe CEO Paul Jansen.
From "C# Named Tiobe's Programming Language of the Year"
InfoWorld (01/05/26) Paul Krill
View Full Article
The Washington Post
A backlash is emerging against the rapid expansion of large datacenters across the U.S., reshaping local and national politics. Communities from Oklahoma to Arizona are protesting projects tied to the AI race, citing concerns over land use, water consumption, and rising electricity costs. Resistance spans the political spectrum and has led to a surge in delayed or blocked projects worth tens of billions of dollars.
From "Datacenter Rebellion Reshapes Political Landscape"
The Washington Post (01/06/26) Evan Halper
View Full Article - May Require Paid Subscription
The Wall Street Journal
Hospitals are rapidly adopting AI, with radiology emerging as one of the clearest early test cases. At Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, generative AI now analyzes imaging scans and drafts radiology reports, cutting review times and helping clinicians manage heavy patient backlogs. AI also has shown promise in detecting subtle findings, such as early breast cancers that can be missed between routine screenings. However, experts stress human oversight remains essential.
From "Hospitals a Proving Ground for What AI Can/Can’t Do"
The Wall Street Journal (01/05/26) Te-Ping Chen; Chao Deng
View Full Article - May Require Paid Subscription
Penn State News
As part of an open-access publishing agreement between Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) Libraries and ACM, Penn State peer-reviewed research published through ACM will be free to the authors and all readers. The "read and publish" agreement with ACM ensures Penn State authors incur no author publishing charges, and there is no cap on the number of accessible articles. ACM is moving to a completely open-access publishing model starting this year.
From "Penn State, ACM Expand Open-Access Research"
Penn State News (01/05/26)
View Full Article
Financial Times
The Baltic region has seen six instances of damage to underwater optic cables in as many days, with some officials airing concerns about Russian sabotage. Latvia's state police inspected a vessel in the port of Liepaja on Jan. 3 but failed to identify any connection to the damaged cable in Latvian territorial waters. This followed the seizure of a vessel by Finnish special forces for its suspected involvement in the damage of two undersea cables between Estonia and Finland.
From "Baltic Countries on Alert After Series of Undersea Cable Outages"
Financial Times (01/05/26) Ben Hall; Richard Milne
View Full Article - May Require Paid Subscription
