Latest AI (Artificial Intelligence) News
AI dominates CES 2026 with everyday gadgets and playful robotics
At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, AI is embedded in everything from smart LEGO toys and dancing robot dogs to AI-powered âdigital twinâ personas for employees, highlighting a shift toward AI as entertainment and everyday utility. Exhibitors showed AI that brews customized coffee, designs personalized scents, and powers tennis robots, signaling how generative and embodied AI are moving rapidly from prototypes into consumer products.
Consumer advocates, however, question whether many of these devices truly need AI or simply add cost and complexity.
Consumer groups call out âworstâ AI products at CES over privacy and repairability
European and US consumer groups named several AI-powered devices at CES 2026 the âworst tech products,â criticizing them for surveillance risks, poor sustainability, and difficult repair. Samsungâs Bespoke AI Family Hub fridge and Amazonâs Ring cameras were singled out for intrusive connectivity and AI-driven monitoring, raising concerns that AI-enhanced home devices can erode privacy for both owners and their neighbors.
The groups argue that marketing everything as âAIâ often undermines security and user control rather than delivering genuine intelligence.
China Media Group outlines top 10 global AI trends for 2026
China Media Group released a report identifying **10 key AI trends for 2026**, including globalization of AI governance, scaling of intelligent computing, and mainstream adoption of AI applications. The report emphasizes the convergence of AI with embodied robotics, predicting mass-produced robots for inspection, factories, and elder care, as well as âAI for Scienceâ accelerating breakthroughs in materials, astrophysics, and drug discovery.
It also highlights brain-inspired AI, spiking neural networks, and neuromorphic computing as frontiers that could transform autonomous driving and intelligent healthcare.
Duke researchers use radio waves to deliver large AI models to edge devices
Researchers at Duke University demonstrated a **Wireless Smart Edge (WISE)** architecture that embeds large AI model weights into radio waves sent from base stations to devices, enabling powerful AI on tiny hardware. Their prototype achieved nearly 96% image classification accuracy while using over an order of magnitude less energy than leading digital processors, without storing the whole model on-device.
The team argues this blend of communication and computation could let swarms of drones, cameras, and sensors run advanced models without relying on energy-hungry chips or distant cloud servers.
Taiwan economist warns of âKâshapedâ growth from AI-driven export boom
An economist in Taiwan cautioned that the current AI and semiconductor boom is creating **âK-shapedâ growth**, where export-oriented electronics benefit disproportionately while many service-sector workers remain on low wages. Taiwanâs economy is forecast to have grown strongly on AI-related exports, with per capita GDP expected to exceed US$40,000, yet more than 7 million workers in services see far fewer gains than the roughly 1 million employed in higher-paid electronics jobs.
Officials say policy must use AI to upgrade traditional industries and services to avoid widening inequality.
New research urges workerâcentric AI design to protect safety and welfare
Australian research highlighted by Eurasia Review argues that AI deployment in workplaces must prioritize **worker safety, autonomy, and wellbeing**, not just productivity. The authors stress that AI systems should complement rather than displace human workers, incorporating principles from occupational health and participatory design.
They call for regulations and organizational practices that give employees more voice in how AI tools are introduced and monitored on the job.
AI for science poised to accelerate âzeroâtoâoneâ breakthroughs
The CMG 2026 AI trends report says **âAI for Scienceâ** is now capable of generating hypotheses, designing experiments, and validating results across materials science, astrophysics, and life sciences. According to the report, tighter integration of AI with scientific computing is speeding the design of antibodies and novel drug molecules and could reshape how fundamental research is conducted.
This trend reinforces AIâs role as a core tool in high-end R&D rather than just consumer applications.
Embodied AI and humanârobot collaboration near mass adoption
CMGâs trend list predicts that the convergence of âphysical AIâ and embodied intelligence will enable robots that learn from real-world interaction and adapt to complex environments. Such systems are expected to move from prototype to mass production, supporting tasks in inspection, service halls, factories, elder care, and healthcare while collaborating safely with humans.
The report frames embodied AI as a key step toward robots that can act as autonomous coworkers rather than preprogrammed tools.
Brainâinspired AI and neuromorphic computing emerge as next frontier
The same CMG analysis notes that **brain-inspired intelligence** is increasingly intertwined with brain science, biological imaging, and data science, driving advances in spiking neural networks and neuromorphic hardware. These techniques aim to make AI more efficient and adaptive for domains like autonomous driving and intelligent healthcare by mimicking neural processing patterns.
If realized, such systems could offer major energy savings and new capabilities beyond conventional deep learning.
Global forums spotlight AI as a core emerging technology shaping economies
The World Economic Forumâs recent coverage of emerging technologies continues to place AI at the center of digital transformation narratives across industries. Stories published in January focus on how AI, alongside technologies like blockchain and IoT, is restructuring supply chains, financial services, and public-sector operations worldwide.
This underscores that governments and businesses increasingly treat AI not as a niche tool but as foundational infrastructure for future economic growth.