Q-day (the day when quantum computers will successfully actually break the internet) may be some time away yet. However, that does not mean that companies — and states — shouldn’t hop on the qubit bandwagon now so as not to be left behind in the race for a technology that could potentially alter how we think about life, the Universe, and well… everything.
Spurred on by a discourse that more and more revolves around the concept of “digital sovereignty,” 11 EU member states this week signed the European Declaration on Quantum Technologies.
The signatories have agreed to align, coordinate, engage, support, monitor, and all those other international collaboration verbs, on various parts of the budding quantum technology ecosystem. They include France, Belgium, Croatia, Greece, Finland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Malta, Estonia, and Spain. However, the coalition is still missing some quantum frontrunners, such as the Netherlands, Ireland, and Germany, who reportedly opted out due to the short time frame.
Ultimate aim: to create a globally competitive quantum ecosystem
“Quantum computing, simulation, communication, and sensing and metrology, are all emerging fields of global strategic importance that will bring about a change of paradigm in technological capacities,” the declaration begins.
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It further states that the bloc’s innovators and industry have not yet sufficiently mobilised to take full advantage of this potential as much as in other regions of the world. As such, it stresses the importance of building domestic R&D capacities for quantum technologies, as well as producing devices and systems based on them.
In addition, it needs to invest in the whole quantum stack — from hardware to software and applications and standards, so as to safeguard “strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security.”
“The ultimate aim is to create a globally competitive ecosystem that can support a wide range of scientific and industrial applications, identify the industrial sectors where quantum technologies will have high economic and societal impact, and foster quantum innovation in small and large companies alike, from promising startups and scaleups to major industrial players — in short, to become the ‘quantum valley’ of the world,” the declaration reads.
Thierry Breton, whose time as Commissioner for the Internal Market has been marked by a big tech regulation crusade, has declared quantum one of his “favourite subjects.” We can expect to see even more of a push towards greater collaboration across the bloc, should he land the top job of Commission President next year.
Potentially, Breton could get more member states on board to coordinate on a more detailed bloc-wide quantum strategy. With quantum engineering talent notoriously difficult to come by, this could indeed be key to keeping Europe from getting left behind in yet another key technology race.
The tech world is waiting with bated breath for the results from the final negotiations in Brussels regarding the EU’s landmark AI Act. The discussions that commenced at 14: 00 CET on Wednesday failed to reach a conclusion before the end of the day. However, negotiators did reportedly reach a compromise for the control of generative AI systems, such as ChatGPT.
According to sources familiar with the talks, they will now continue on the topic of the controversial use of AI for biometric surveillance — which lawmakers want to ban. As reported by Reuters, governments may have made concessions on other accounts in order to be able to use the tech for purposes related to “national security, defence, and military.”
Sources expect negotiations to continue for several more hours on Thursday.
AI Act: innovation vs. regulation
While the AI Act — the first attempt globally at regulating artificial intelligence — has been in the works since April 2021, the rapid evolution of the technology and the emergence of GenAI has thrown a wrench in the gears of the Brussels machinery.
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In addition to having to understand the technological side to foundation models — and anticipate the evolution of the technology over time so as not to render regulation obsolete within a couple of years — member states have settled into different camps.
Lawmakers have proposed requirements for developers to maintain information on how they train their models, along with disclosing use of copyrighted material, and labelling content produced by AI, as opposed to humans.
France and Germany (home to European frontrunners Mistral AI and Aleph Alpha) have opposed binding rules they say would handicap the bloc’s homegrown generative AI companies. Along with Italy, they would prefer to let developers self-regulate, adhering to a code of conduct.
If Thursday’s talks fail to generate (see what we did there) any definitive conclusions, fears are that the whole act could be shelved until after the European elections next year — which will usher in a new Commission and Parliament. Given the barrage of news of developments, such as Google’s Gemini and ADM’s new super AI chip, regulators may well need to rewrite the rules entirely by then. Oh well, that is Brussels bureaucracy for you.
The European Space Agency’s Ariane 6 rocket is scheduled for its debut launch in mid-2024, its director Josef Aschbacher announced yesterday.
The news follows a successful hot-fire test on November 23 at Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana. The term ‘hot-fire’ refers to the fact that the engine is fired with its propellants, producing actual combustion and exhaust. The only difference from an actual launch is that the boosters are not ignited — keeping the rocket firmly planted to the ground.
“With the latest test complete, Ariane 6 has been through the essential rehearsals required for qualification,” said Aschbacher on X, formerly Twitter. “We have validated our models, increased our knowledge of operations and are now confident for our first launch period for Europe’s new heavy-lift launcher.”
While the inaugural flight won’t carry major payloads in orbit, it will transport several smaller satellites. If that launch is successful, Arianespace, the company who developed the rocket, will aim for a second launch later in the year. That second launch would carry the CSO-3 reconnaissance satellite for the French military, said the company’s CEO Stéphane Israël in a press briefing.
Following that, Ariane 6 would be put to work conducting as many flights as possible. The long-term objective is to launch the rocket into space 9-10 times per year, said Israël. These would include 18 launches for Amazon’s Kuiper broadband megaconstellation project.
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Ariane 6 was first scheduled to launch four years ago. However, the rocket suffered a series of delays, attributed to technical issues, COVID-19, and design changes.
With Ariane 6’s predecessor, Ariane 5, officially decommissionedand Italy’s Vega C rocket grounded following launchfailurein December, Europe is currently without independent access to space satellites.
So it is welcome news that Ariane 6 is on track for launch in around 6 months’ time — if all goes to plan that is.
My ancient Samsung Galaxy is ready for retirement. Cracks expand across the screen, photos are hazy blurs, and the battery barely survives a day. It’s time to buy a replacement.
The initial contenders for my cash were the usual mix: Androids and iPhones with old names, incremental upgrades, and eye-watering price tags. While mulling over the options, a serendipitous email arrived in my inbox. A budding phonemaker called Murena was building a new handset with a bullish promise: “the ultimate pro-privacy smartphone.”
To substantiate the slogan, the company flaunted two compelling features: a physical “kill switch” to disconnect the device and an anti-tracking operating system. Consider me intrigued.
The announcement of the phone — named the Murena 2 — was timely. Just hours later, a news story provided an inadvertent advertisement for the product.
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Several US government agencies had been illegally using location data taken from mobile apps. In one case, an official had tracked coworkers for personal reasons.
Such scandals have become commonplace.
The Murena 2 introduces new privacy features for both hardware and software. Credit: Murena
In the past few weeks alone, politicians have accused the Indian government of phone tapping, big box repair stores have snooped on customer devices, and Motorola users have sued the company for “surreptitiously” taking data from their selfies. Prince Harry has also won the latest stage in his lawsuit over alleged phone hacking by newspapers.
The frequency of the offences has a numbing effect. In the decade since Edward Snowden exposed rampant surveillance of our devices, eavesdropping has become just another boring dystopia.
Our nonchalance is reinforced by a sense that ordinary folk aren’t impacted — but that may be wishful thinking. Just a fortnight ago, reports emerged that British police are requesting data from menstrual tracking apps after “unexplained” pregnancy losses.
Average Janes and Joes face a further threat from big tech’s push into health insurance. Any company that sets insurance rates will find enormous value in the personal data on our phones.
There’s also a more pressing danger lurking.
“You have no guarantee that the data is never going to be hacked,” Alexis Noetinger, Murena’s COO, tells TNW. “For us, this is the biggest issue. The more data that is collected, the more risk there is that this data can fall into the wrong hands.”
The Murena 2 aims to mitigate this risk. Set to launch in December, the handset promises “unparalleled” levels of privacy. To test the claim, we got our hands on a prototype of the device.
Our trial doesn’t have the most encouraging start. After turning on the phone, a warning message appears on the screen: “Orange state: Your device has been unlocked and can’t be trusted.”
It’s an inauspicious welcome, but Murena assures us that it’s just a teething issue with the pre-release model. From that point on, the software ran smoothly — which we had expected from Murena.
The French startup emerged from /e/OS, a “deGoogled” operating system. A privacy-focused fork of Android, /e/OS is an anti-tracking, democratised version of its progenitor.
The operating system is open-source, which means anyone can probe the privacy protections. By default, it doesn’t send any data to Google or third parties.
On launch, the Big G’s apps and services have been replaced by open-source versions. If you do install more familiar alternatives, the tracking can be restricted.
“The idea we had was to tilt the status quo on its head, and instead of promoting proprietary and closed solutions, to develop an alternative based on open-source software,” Noetinger says.
That status quo is a duopoly that’s dominated the sector for over a decade.
The similarity to Android makes adapting to /e/OS pretty quick. Credit: Munera
After Blackberry plummeted from the industry’s pinnacle, Android and Apple devoured the smartphone market between them. Regular consumers now only have two real choices: go with Android and its voracious data collection, or opt for the iPhone’s closed ecosystem, which may provide more privacy, but still gobbles up ample user information.
In 2021, researchers at Trinity College Dublin found that both operating systems share data with their motherships every 4.5 minutes on average — even when the handsets aren’t being used.
The data that they send is diverse and detailed. It includes your location, phone number, cookies, local network, and even information about other devices nearby. Some of this is shared when the phone is sitting idle in a pocket or bag.
According to the Trinity team, it could allow location tracking when location services are disabled. They found that both Apple’s iOS and Android transmit telemetry — despite users explicitly opting out of this.
The researchers also contested Apple’s claims of superior protection. They argued that iOS offered “no greater privacy than Google devices.”
“I think most people accept that Apple and Google need to collect data from our phones to provide services such as iCloud or Google Drive,” said study author Professor Douglas Leith.
“But when we simply use our phones as phones — to make and receive calls and nothing more — it is much harder to see why Apple and Google need to collect data.”
There is one obvious reason why it’s necessary: advertising.
Online ads provide the bulk of Google’s revenues, and data provides the biggest selling point. It creates detailed profiles of our real-world tastes, demographics, and behaviours, which advertisers use to target us with ads.
This personalised marketing can be convenient for consumers. But it can also turbocharge political propaganda, disinformation, echo chambers, and exploitation of the vulnerable.
Another bugbear for privacy advocates is government access. Authorities can request the data with a warrant — and they do. Google regularly gives law enforcement agencies search and location data.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has tried to reassure the US Congress that his company is responsive to law enforcement requests. Credit: Greg Beadle
These issues extend from operating systems to apps. Facebook, for instance, tracks you across all its apps and sites — even after you log off the social network. The social network requests a dizzying array of permissions, from your contacts, calls, and messages to your camera, microphone, and storage. To use Facebook, you must give the company almost full control of your device.
Once you open the app, the Meta behemoth monitors when you log in, what you browse, where you go, which products you buy, and how long you’re on the platform. All of this determines the ads we receive. Sometimes, it also serves more nefarious purposes.
Personal data has been stolen from Facebook by hackers, misused by third-party apps, publicly exposed, and shared without permission. Most infamously, the data of up to 87 million users was harvested without permission by Cambridge Analytica during the 2016 US Presidential election.
It was a damning breach for Facebook. But the platform is far from the only app that puts our data at risk. Murena’s pitch for /e/OS is protection from them all.
On /e/OS, every tracker is removed by default. Extra privacy protections are also installed, while connections to Google are cut.
The deGoogling is extensive. The Google default search engine is replaced by a Murena system, Google apps are switched for open source equivalent, no Google servers are used to check connectivity, geolocation uses Mozilla services, and the Google Play Store is ditched for Murena’s App Lounge.
The full extent of the deGoogling is too broad to catalogue here — although some still wish it was wider. More on that later.
Noetinger (right) alongside Murena founder Gaël Duval, who also created /e/OS. Credit: Murena
The OS is paired with an advanced privacy module. Once inside, you can monitor each app’s permissions, as well as the hidden trackers, which collect your data and follow your activity. You can then cut the tracking.
“We give the user the visibility on which app is trying to access the data — and which tracker is trying to access the data,” Noetinger says.
You can also find privacy scores for each app, which contains some big surprises. Facebook, for instance, got a whopping nine out of 10 for privacy — the same as Signal. LinkedIn and Spotify, meanwhile, were both given zero out of 10. TikTok, a bogey app for many in the Western world, received a middling four.
Facebook’s apparent superiority has a simple explanation: the app doesn’t use trackers. Yet it obviously still collects copious user data. As Murena told TNW, Facebook doesn’t need a tracker “because it is already one big tracker.” Unfortunately, this somewhat devalues the privacy scores.
Thankfully, you can still fortify your defences against these snooping apps. /e/OS users can fake their location to random and specific places, use a dummy email, or even hide their IP address.
The advanced privacy and anti-tracking features are unusual in consumer smartphones. Credit: Murena
Alongside the operating system and privacy features, /e/OS provides a default set of open-source apps and online services. Among them is the Murena Cloud, which includes an email account, cloud storage, and an online office suite.
In our experience, the software performed pretty well. Like the operating system, the apps are fairly intuitive, functional, and familiar to Android users — although they lack the slickness and style of the Google versions.
Then there is the app store — which is where the deGoogling gets contentious.
Additional applications for the Murena 2 are downloaded from the /e/OS App Lounge, an open-source system that connects directly to the Google Play Store.
The App Lounge combines common apps, open-source apps, and progressive web apps (PWAs) — which work directly from a browser — in one single repository. According to Murena, there’s no other app store that does this today.
To access Google products, the system has a compatibility layer. This means that you can still access Android apps. The free ones are accessible via anonymous browsing to circumvent trackers, but the paid apps still require a Google account.
These concessions have irked early adopters. Murena wants to create a deGoogled world, but won’t fully cut connections to the tech giant.
It’s struck a balance that won’t satisfy every privacy advocate, but the business case is clear. An absence of Play Store apps and Google services would likely send the device to an early grave. It would certainly be a dealbreaker for me.
The compromise evokes the “privacy paradox.” This phenomenon arises when people claim to highly value their privacy, but readily disregard the protection of their personal data. Noetinger sympathises with their plight.
“We know that people need to access some applications because they don’t have the choice,” he says.
“This way, you can still use the applications you need. If they feature trackers, you can block them, and we have additional features that can be quite aggressive.”
After searching for apps, users can find their privacy scores. Credit: Murena
Another issue with the Google link is the App Lounge. When the Murena One launched last year, the developer community XDA claimed that the App Lounge is in a legal “grey area,” because it pulls apps from Google’s servers while bypassing the requirement for a Google account.
Murena acknowledges that there’s an issue here. The company told TNW that Google has hardened its account usage policy this year. Murena said that it proactively warns users about the potential curbs, but that it hadn’t received any reports of restrictions related to the App Lounge. The company assures users that the App Lounge’s terms and conditions are compatible with those of Google.
After finding a foothold in smartphone software, Murena ventured into hardware with last year’s launch of the Murena 1. Its successor adds several compelling features.
One that really caught our eye is the new physical kill switch. This disables all the device’s microphones and cameras, which many apps use for unspecified reasons. They’re also vulnerable to hacking.
During our trial, the button worked seamlessly. With the flick of a finger, a circuit block instantly deactivated the mic and cams. To reconnect them for a call, we just hit the switch again.
It’s a feature that should impress even Mark Zuckerberg. The Meta boss was once photographed next to a laptop with a physical cover over its webcam and microphone. And if anyone should know about privacy threats, it’s the founder of Facebook.
Zuckerberg’s protective tape technique isn’t ideal for phones.
A second new addition is a disconnection switch. With a tap, the button disables all network activity and mutes the phone.
This one is primarily a “do not disturb” feature. The concept taps into the growing demands for distraction-free environments and digital detoxes. In the future, Murena may add an option to customise the switch’s purpose.
As for the conventional specs, they’re comparable to typical mid-range devices. There’s a 6.43″ high-resolution display, 128GB of storage, 8GB of RAM, a 4000mAh battery, and a 2.1GHz octa-core processor.
For photos, you get a 25mp front selfie camera and a rear triple camera (5mp, 13mp, 64mp). Undoubtedly, the pictures dramatically outclassed those from my decrepit Samsung — although that’s pretty faint praise. If you want the finest photos and the leading specs, you’ll need a top-end phone.
“Our standpoint is not to compete on the specs, because if you want to compete on specs, it never ends,” Noetinger says. “At the end of the day, even if the device is not premium, it will most likely be enough for most people out there for day-to-day use.”
Murena hopes the smartphone’s privacy edge attracts these regular consumers. But the mass market remains a formidable target.
The kill switch adds a rare innovation to a stagnant sector. Credit: Murena
The mobile industry is mired in a historic downturn. Stocks have slumped, sales have slowed, and innovation has stagnated. In 2023, global smartphone shipments are projected to decline by 4.7% to 1.15 billion units — a ten-year low. These are challenging times for new entrants to the market — but they also present opportunities.
A key problem for the sector is consumer apathy. With massive price tags for minor upgrades to interchangeable devices, the big brands no longer provide a big bang for our buck. The latest iPhones and Androids simply aren’t as special as they used to be.
In these uninspiring times, the Munera 2 stands out. By combining inventive hardware, privacy-centric software, and an alternative to the Android/iPhone duopoly, the device has a unique appeal.
Those charms, however, won’t attract everyone. Without the familiar Android interface, a recognisable name, and default Google service, the device will struggle to reach the mainstream.
But for privacy enthusiasts, early adopters, and big tech boycotters, the release date is worth adding to the calendar. Until that day comes, my ageing Samsung will have to survive a few more charges.
The Murena 2 is now available for preorder on Indiegogo. The retail price is $499 in the US, €499 in the EU, £429 in the UK, $679 in Canada, $829 in Australia, and 479 CHF in Switzerland. Shipments are estimated to start in December 2023. The official public launch is planned for early 2024.
A European spacecraft has revealed the secrets of a star system that has puzzled researchers for years.
The rare six sextuplet of planets was found thanks to data collected by Cheops — the CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite.
Cheops is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission to study known exoplanets, which are any planets beyond our solar system. Its latest discovery emerged from confusion surrounding a star called HD110067.
The star lies around 100 light-years away, in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices. Dips in its brightness suggested that planets were passing in front of the star, but scientists couldn’t identify them.
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“That’s when we decided to use Cheops,” said Rafael Luque of the University of Chicago. “We went fishing for signals among all the potential periods that those planets could have.”
After tapping into data from Cheops, the team detected a third planet in the system. The signals also showed that the three planets were in an orbital resonance, which occurs when orbiting bodies exert regular, periodic gravitational influence on each other. This unravelled an even bigger mystery.
By predicting other orbital resonances and linking them to satellite data, the researchers determined that there were another three planets in the system.
Orbitally resonant systems like this are extremely rare finds. They’re also highly valuable to our knowledge of the universe. Astronomers use them to understand the formation and evolution of the planetary system.
The family of six exoplanets are all smaller than Neptune. Cheops confirmed the orbital period of the third planet in the system, which was the key to unlocking the entire system. Credit: ESA
Understandably, ESA is proud of the role that it’s played in the new breakthrough.
“As our science team puts it: Cheops is making outstanding discoveries sound ordinary,” said Maximilian Günther, an exoplanet project scientist at ESA. “Out of only three known six-planet resonant systems, this is now the second one found by Cheops, and in only three years of operations.”
For Cheops, the mission continues. The small spacecraft still has many more exoplanets to characterise. Astronomers have hopes that it could even discover one that can sustain life.
The world’s first transatlantic flight with 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has been attacked as “greenwashing” by critics.
The Tuesday trip from London to New York on a Vrigin Atlantic 787 has been celebrated by airlines and politicians as a “milestone” in the journey to net zero. Scientists and climate campaigners, however, have poured scorn on these claims.
Opinions are divided over the potential of SAFs, which derive from various alternatives to fossil fuels. For Tuesday’s flight, the SAF was made primarily from waste fats and plant sugars, according to a Virgin Atlantic factsheet [PDF] shared with TNW. The airline expects the resulting carbon emissions to be 70% lower than those produced by petroleum-based jet fuel.
Shai Weiss, Virgin Atlantic’s CEO, said the Boeing 787 test flight would prove that SAF “can be used as a safe, drop-in replacement for fossil-derived jet fuel.” She added that it was “the only viable solution for decarbonising long-haul aviation.”
The reactions from the UK government — which partly funded the fight — have been even more optimistic. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak praised the journey as “the first net zero transatlantic flight,” while the Department for Transport declared that it was “ushering in a new era of guilt-free flying.” Both claims were promptly pilloried by environmental groups.
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Cait Hewitt, policy director of the Aviation Environment Federation (AEF), said promises that the trip will take us closer to “guilt-free flying” were “a joke.” She notes that SAFs currently comprise around 0.1% of global aviation fuel — and will be extremely hard to scale sustainably.
“Trying to scale up production of alternative fuel, using the waste products of fundamentally unsustainable industries like intensive animal agriculture, or using unrecyclable plastic — as the UK government is planning to do – is hardly a sustainable solution,” Hewitt told TNW.
She added that SAFs also emit as much CO2 as kerosene at the tailpipe. This is because they’re still hydrocarbon fuels and produce the same volume of CO2 emissions as kerosene when combusted. According to the AEF, any CO2 reduction will be “net” savings made during the production phase — as with a carbon offset.
“Linking it to the idea of ‘guilt-free flying’ is deeply misleading and risks setting back a proper, honest discussion about how much we can fly while achieving climate goals,” Hewitt said. “If the public is led to believe the industry has found the solution to green flying, that could be environmentally harmful.”
The AEF’s concerns were echoed by Stay Grounded, a global network of climate crisis campaigners. The group described the flight as “greenwashing.”
Stay Grounded insists that SAF isn’t a net zero flight or even sustainable, as it relies on vast quantities of biofuels and inefficient use of renewables. The group also lambasted SAF as “wasting biomass and renewables on transport for the rich.” It said a more fitting term for the power source is “Fossil Fuel Substitutes” or “Agrofuels.”
“[The] fuel has been produced via a process which is a technological dead-end,” Finlay Asher, a former aerospace engineer at Rolls Royce and a member of Stay Grounded, said in a statement. “It can’t be sustainably scaled beyond a few percent of existing jet fuel use.”
Until truly green flying is possible, both the AEF and Stay Grounded say the only sustainable option is to dramatically reduce air travel. According to the aviation industry, that simply isn’t realistic.
The sector has also pointed to the social and economic benefits of SAF.
Like many airlines, Virgin Atlantic wants SAF to account for 10% of aviation fuel by 2030. The company predicts that this will contribute around £1.8bn (€2.1bn) in Gross Value Added to the UK, as well as more than 10,000 jobs.
Virgin Atlantic does, however, agree with the campaigners on one point: reaching SAF production at scale remains immensely challenging. To achieve this goal, the airline is calling for more government investment.
Tesla sued the Swedish Transport Agency and the country’s postal service yesterday in an attempt to squash the biggest strike the American carmaker has ever faced anywhere in the world.
Just hours after the lawsuits were filed, a court in Norrköping, where one of Tesla’s service centers is based, ruled in favour of Elon Musk’s car company — the latest twist in the month-long union action.
But first, a bit of context.
Postal workers across Sweden are currently refusing to handle Tesla-related mail and deliveries in a show of solidarity with mechanics who are seeking more security in their employment contracts with the EV-maker. This blockade has prevented number plates from the Swedish Transport Agency being delivered to new Teslas, as current regulations say they can only be delivered via the Swedish postal service.
The suits Tesla filed were to pressure the agency to allow it to collect number plates for new vehicles directly rather than have to receive them via post. In a separate action, the firm sued the postal service to allow it to collect all the plates currently in their possession.
Now, in line with the court order, the Swedish Transport Agency has seven days to allow the automaker to collect the number plates directly or face a fine of of 1 million Swedish crowns ($95,000).
“We are pleased that with this decision, Tesla can continue to deliver new cars to our customers,” the automaker said in a statement to the Financial Times.
Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, previously wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the number plate blockade was “insane”.
The suits signal an escalation in the battle between Tesla and Swedish workers that has ensued for over a month now — and shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.
How did we get here?
About 130 mechanics at seven Tesla-owned repair shops in Sweden downed tools last month after the automaker refused their request for a collective bargaining agreement. The Nordic country doesn’t have laws that set working conditions such as a minimum wage, so instead workers rely on these bargaining contracts — which Tesla have consistently refused to grant.
Frustrated, industrial workers’ union IF Metall went on strike on October 27, in an action that has quickly escalated. Dockworkers, car dealers, and the postal service have since refused to work with the US brand in a show of solidarity with the mechanics. Workers at a Swedish supplier ofcritical components for the Tesla Model Y also joined the walkout. The strike action now threatens to spill over into other EU states.
Musk has long been opposed to unionisation, and has so far managed to avoid issuing collective bargaining agreements in all the countries where Tesla operates. However, in Sweden such agreements are the standard way almost all businesses operate, so the workers discontent is understandable.
Seko, a Swedish trade union, said that it viewed the lawsuits “as a sign that Tesla has not been able to circumvent our sympathy action.”
Sympathy actions, where workers from other employers down tools in solidarity, are legal in Sweden, but not in many of the other countries where Tesla operates, including Germany, where it has a gigafactory.
For Seko, and the workers, “there is an easy way for Tesla to solve this, and that is to sign a collective agreement with IF Metall,” it said.
The EU’s upcoming AI Act has an ambitious goal: to set the first landmark framework for regulating artificial intelligence. But its strict approach towards General Purpose AI (GPAI) and foundation models has sparked controversy both among the bloc’s policymakers and the wider tech industry.
Now, following the act’s latest Trilogue negotiations between the Commission, the Council, and the Parliament, representatives of Europe’s IT sector are worried that the bill “misses the mark on tech neutrality and risk-based control.”
In a joint statement, the signatories, who include DOT Europe, argue that the suggested proposals on GPAI and foundation models are neither aligned with the complexity of the AI value chain, nor are they consistent with the act’s intended approach to regulate based on risk and not on the type of technology being used.
Specifically, they express concerns about the potential classification of the two technologies as “highly capable,” or as having “high impact,” noting that the EU’s criteria for this assessment aren’t directly linked to the level of risk an AI system may pose.
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They further add that any obligations designed for foundation models should take into consideration the multinational and multi-stakeholder ecosystem, in order to enable co-regulatory processes where actors across the entire value chain can help shape future governance.
Meanwhile, the sector representatives are against the potential additional requirements for using copyrighted data to train AI systems, given that there’s already a comprehensive framework of copyright protection in the bloc.
“We believe this additional legal complexity is out of place in the AI Act, which is primarily focused on health, safety, and fundamental rights,” reads the statement.
Alongside DOT Europe, the signatories include The Software Alliance (BSA), the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), the Developers Alliance, the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), and the Association of the Internet Industry (eco).
The IT sector isn’t the first to express concerns about the AI Act. Executives at some of Europe’s biggest companies have raised fears over how over-regulation could stifle innovation, while the US has warned that the bill would hurt smaller European companies and only benefit the big players.
The European Space Agency’s next-generation heavy-lift rocket Ariane 6 successfully completed a full dress rehearsal on Thursday, in preparation for its maiden flight next year.
The so-called hot-fire test at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana “simulated a complete launch sequence and thus validated the entire flight phase of Ariane 6’s core stage,” said the agency.
During the rehearsal, the rocket engine was ignited while securely mounted to a test stand or test platform. The term ‘hot-fire’ refers to the fact that the engine is fired with its propellants, producing actual combustion and exhaust. The only difference from an actual launch was that the boosters were not ignited — leaving Ariane 6 firmly planted on the launch pad.
“The teams from ArianeGroup, CNES and ESA have now run through every step of the rocket’s flight without it leaving Earth,” explained ESA director general Josef Aschbacher, who declared success means “We are back on track towards resecuring Europe’s autonomous access to space.”
Ariane 6 was first scheduled to launch four years ago. However, the rocket has suffered a series of delays, attributed to technical issues, COVID-19, and design changes. The rocket’s previous hot-fire test, in June, ended in failure.
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With its Ariane 6’s predecessor, Ariane 5, officially decommissioned and Italy’s Vega C rocket grounded following launch failure in December, Europe is now without independent access to space satellites.
Until Ariane 6 gets up and running, the EU is forced to contract the work to Elon Musk’s SpaceX — the company’s Falcon rocket is the only viable alternative for hauling large satellites into orbit.
Despite its setbacks, Ariane 6 has a number of institutional launches to carry out, not just for the ESA. It has been attracting commercial contracts, including 18 launches for Amazon’s Kuiper broadband megaconstellation project.
For now, ArianeGroup’s CEO Martin Sion praised the team for the “real industrial feat”, but added that “a few additional tests”, notably fault tolerance, were still needed before the rocket was ready for launch. The next test, of the upper stage, is set to take place this December.
The UK’s new quantum computing missions have been praised as “visionary” and “exciting” plans that can reap financial and geopolitical benefits.
The five long-term moonshots were launched today by the British government.
The first aims to build quantum computers that can run 1 trillion operations by 2035. Another with a deadline for that year is deploying the world’s most advanced quantum network at scale. This initiative aims to pioneer the future quantum internet.
Three other projects have an earlier target date of 2030.
One plans to provide quantum sensing-enabled solutions to every local National Health Service organisation, for use in early diagnosis and treatment of chronic illnesses.
The second intends to equip aircraft with quantum navigation systems. The third aims to unlock new situational awareness with mobile, networked quantum sensors. This would be integrated into critical infrastructure.
Startups and investors welcomed the ambitious plans.
“The missions are bold and contain some genuinely exciting and visionary thinking,” said Stuart Woods, COO of Quantum Exponential, a VC fund and accelerator for the sector.
“The plan to implement quantum technology wide scale in the NHS to save money is particularly welcome and our expertise in medical quantum sensing is already world-class — this could greatly accelerate point-of-care diagnostics.”
Analysts have also pointed to the economic benefits. According to McKinsey, quantum computing could create $1.3 trillion ($1.2 trillion) in value by 2035. To maximise its share of that money, the British government is taking a targeted approach.
“The UK can’t outspend the United States, China or the European Union,” Steve Brierley, the CEO of quantum startupRiverlane, told TNW.
“As a nation, we’re unlikely to even outspend some of the US and China’s individual technology giants. But with a focused approach as outlined today, the UK quantum computing industry can work to solve the scaling problem for all quantum computers globally.”
The politics of quantum computing
Not everyone is a fan of the plans. Critics argue that governments should minimise their direct involvement in technological development. Instead, they want politicians to focus on fostering the broader investment environment, by providing tax incentives and improving infrastructure.
Brierley would like both forms of support. He points to the examples set in the US, where the government has built NASA for aerospace advances, IARAP for intelligence technologies, DARPA for defence tech, and national labs for supercomputing.
The impact of these bodies has spread far beyond their founding missions. They’ve introduced innovations ranging from GPS and smartphone cameras to a little something called “the internet.”
“Emerging technologies with enormous potential often first need public seed investment to take it from development to commercial stages,” Brierley said. “If done right, early government investment can unlock industries worth billions in the long-term as well as geopolitical advantage.”
That investment, however, remains a concern. Funding for the new missions will reportedly come from the £2.5 billion (€2.86bn) that was previously committed to a 10-year national quantum strategy. Woods believes the ambitious missions will need a bigger cash injection.
“While it’s encouraging to see a commitment from the government across the spectrum of quantum technologies, it is simply not practical for the UK to strive for ‘world-leading’ status in such a range of deep technologies with a £2.5bn, inadequately defined national quantum strategy,” he said.
Amid a global race for green tech sovereignty, the European Parliament on Tuesday passed the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) — a bill intended to boost the EU’s manufacturing output in the technologies needed for decarbonisation.
Initially proposed by the Commission in March, the NZIA sets a couple ambitious goals. Firstly, it seeks to ensure that at least 40% of the bloc’s net-zero technology demand is produced domestically by 2030. Secondly, it aims to capture 25% of the global market share for these technologies.
To achieve this, the act proposes several key actions to drive investment in domestic production of strategic technologies, spanning from solar and wind power to carbon capture, battery storage, and renewable hydrogen.
The measures include the acceleration of permits, a designated platform to enable the cooperation between the Commission and member states, the increase of skilled workers, and regulatory sandboxes member states can use to test innovative technologies.
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With their Tuesday vote, MEPs suggested the expansion of the draft legislation’s scope to cover the entire supply chain of net-zero technologies, including components, materials, and production machinery. They also proposed a more comprehensive list of technologies and added nuclear fission, fusion technologies, and sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs).
“Without these steps to reduce the administrative burden, speed up processes, and increase public investment in our industry and innovation, Europe would face decarbonisation by deindustrialisation. This proposal shows we can prevent this”, said lead MEP Christian Ehler.
To finance this endeavour, the union will leverage support from funding programmes such as InvestEU, the Innovation Fund, and the upcoming European Sovereignty Fund. An overall budget plan has yet to be disclosed, but the bloc will have to compete with the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) — a $369bn subsidy package for North American-made green tech that has already raised fears over its potential to lure EU companies to the other side of the Atlantic.
Meanwhile, China accounts for 90% of global investments in net-zero tech manufacturing facilities, and the bloc still heavily relies on Beijing for strategic products such as photovoltaic components, EVs, and batteries.
It remains to be seen whether the NZIA — subject to approval by the Council — will manage to reverse this trend and boost the EU’s competitiveness and independence in the sector.
The UK doesn’t plan on introducing AI regulation anytime soon — in contrast to the EU’s and China’s strict legislation efforts.
During a Financial Times conference on Thursday, the country’s first minister for AI and intellectual property, Viscount Jonathan Camrose, confirmed government concerns over regulation curbing growth and said that a UK law on artificial intelligence won’t be coming “in the short term.”
While he refrained from critising other nations’ approaches, he noted that “there is always a risk of premature regulation,” which could do more harm than good by “stifling innovation.”
The statements come as no surprise and are on par with the UK’s overall vision to transform itself into an AI-enabled country and economy.
In a white paper published in March, officials already put forward a clear, pro-innovation agenda, noting that a heavy-handed and rigid approach would slow AI adoption.
“To ensure we become an AI superpower, it is crucial that we do all we can to create the right environment to harness the benefits of AI and remain at the forefront of technological developments,” Michelle Donelan, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, wrote in the paper. “That includes getting regulation right so that innovators can thrive and the risks posed by AI can be addressed.”
The UK has also introduced a designated AI taskforce to boost the development of foundation models, while Rishi Sunak has been bedding with big tech and has secured “early access” to the models of DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
Meanwhile, the EU, the US, and China are moving closer to overreaching, risk-based legislation. It remains to be seen whether the UK’s intended lax regulatory environment can strike the right balance — especially amidst recurring calls to ensure regulatory safeguards before it’s too late.
