Desk
Global Impact
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England widens its test of a Google DeepMind-built AI tool for homeowners' planning requests to 15 councils
England is widening a year-long test of PlanAssist, an AI tool built with Google DeepMind that checks routine planning applications, such as loft conversions and extensions, and drafts a report for a planning officer to review. The government says early testing in three councils cut the time officers spent on key tasks by 58%, and it intends to offer the tool to every council in England by the end of 2027 if the testing goes well. Officers still make every decision, and the results so far come from the government and Google DeepMind, neither of which has published an outside review of them.
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Wikipedia's nonprofit and three House Democrats weigh in on a major newspaper's AI copyright case against OpenAI
Wikipedia's nonprofit and three House Democrats filed arguments on Oct. 30 in a major U.S. newspaper's copyright case against OpenAI and Microsoft, which asks whether AI companies may use news articles and other writing to build their models without permission or payment. The lawmakers asked to file a brief urging the judge to reject the Justice Department's arguments for the AI companies, while the Wikimedia Foundation proposed a middle path. The judge has not ruled, and the foundation expects the decision to sway other courts.
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UK regulator investigates Meta terms that could let the company use publishers' content for AI
Britain's competition regulator opened an investigation on Oct. 30 into whether the terms Meta sets for businesses that use its services break competition law. The regulator says Meta's terms, including changes it planned and has now put on hold, could let Meta collect content from publishers' websites and use it for its own products, AI features included, without giving publishers a say. The regulator has not decided whether Meta broke the law, and its first step, gathering information, is expected to run to January 2027, though that timing may change.
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Toyota will build driverless taxis for Waymo, with road tests in Japan from 2027
Toyota will build self-driving versions of its electric bZ4X for Waymo at a plant in Japan, and the two companies plan to start testing a fleet there in 2027, then take the cars to the UK and other markets in later years. Toyota says it paves the way for Japan's first driverless taxi service built on mass-produced cars made in the country. Neither company has said how many cars Toyota will build or when people in Japan could take a paid ride.
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Two Singapore public health groups will test Google AI tools for doctors and a health coach for residents
Google is working with two of Singapore's public health groups to test its AI in care: a tool that answers doctors' questions from medical guidelines and research, and a chat coach that would send residents lifestyle advice and preventive care reminders. NHG Health says the coach's first trial could include up to a few thousand people from early 2027, according to a news report. Singapore's senior minister of state for health says any step toward the AI helping to manage patients will begin in simulation. Neither side has said what the work costs or when the doctors' tool could reach patients.
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Trump says imported robots and factory machines threaten U.S. security, orders trade talks, not tariffs, for now
President Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday agreeing with a Commerce Department finding that robots, factory machines and their parts are coming into the country in amounts and ways that threaten U.S. national security. Instead of setting tariffs now, it tells U.S. trade officials to negotiate with other countries and report back within 180 days, and says the president may consider tariffs, quotas or fees later, depending on how the talks go. It does not name any country or say how high any tariff might be.