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Who should own the knowledge that underpins AI technology?

September 14, 2026 (Conversation) Russian mathematician Yurii Nesterov was recently awarded the Gauss Prize for outstanding mathematical contributions for his “groundbreaking work” on optimisation. The award cited his work on gradient descent methods – and in particular, the “efficiency gains [they] provide to AI technologies”. Everyone using large language model (LLM) chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini – for any purpose – depends on Nesterov’s methods. They may speak like humans and be personified with names, but under the bonnet, LLMs are computer programs that work via optimisation of billions of parameters known as neural networks for their similarity

Big AI wants to slow down AI research. Is it a safety pause or a strategic retreat?

September 14, 2026 (Conversation) Over the weekend, Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called for artificial intelligence (AI) companies, including his own, to slow down their work. Sam Altman and Elon Musk, heads of rivals OpenAI and xAI respectively, agreed. The move reflects concern across the AI industry and more broadly about the dangers of new, rapidly improving systems. Recent high-profile incidents such as OpenAI AI agents hacking another company and hijacking a public website have shown current systems can break out of safety confines – and even more capable systems are in development. Further complicating AI safety is the tension

Retail inflation rises to 4.82 pc in August

Retail inflation rises to 4.82 pc in August

New Delhi, Sep 14 (PTI) Retail inflation increased to 4.82 per cent in August, largely driven by higher food prices, according to government data released on Monday. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation was 4.45 per cent in July. Food inflation in August increased to 5.95 per cent compared to 5.52 in the preceding month, according to CPI data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO). Reserve Bank has projected the CPI inflation for 2026-27 at 5 per cent, with Q2 at 4.7 per cent, Q3 at 5.9 per cent, and Q4 at 5.5 per cent. The Reserve Bank

Old age and hearing loss: lack of screening ends up being costly

THE ESSENTIALS Hearing loss, which occurs with age, remains insufficiently detected and treated. However, the data clearly shows that wearing hearing aids prevents falls as well as cognitive decline. Failing to adequately address the issue of hearing in policies for the elderly has a health cost, but also an economic one. Long relegated to the status of a “minor ailment” of aging, hearing loss is still too often perceived as an unavoidable inconvenience. Yet, in older people, its effects go far beyond mere difficulty hearing: it can compromise independence, undermine daily safety, and impair the quality of care. And, as

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