Weekly news roundup: Intel, Samsung, TSMC shift chip strategy, DDR4 surges, China rises in Artificial Intelligence and CIS
This week’s most-read stories track Intel’s 18A progress, Samsung and Groq’s 4nm Artificial Intelligence chip plan, shifts in TSMC’s global buildout, selective EDA access in China, and a sharp DDR4 price spike.
Artificial intelligence coding tools upend buy versus build and threaten SaaS
Tools like Bolt, Replit, Cursor, and Lovable are lowering the cost and complexity of building custom apps, prompting companies to rethink purchasing SaaS. Netlify’s CEO says a wave of Artificial Intelligence‑native builders could replace some add-on SaaS functionality as firms adopt opinionated platforms to manage reliability and support.
EPFL fractures ductile rocks at supercritical depths to unlock geothermal potential
Researchers at EPFL report that ductile rocks can still be fractured at supercritical depths, enabling water circulation and pointing to a path for large scale geothermal power beyond volcanic regions.
Cloudflare defaults to blocking artificial intelligence crawlers, shifting to permission-based access
Cloudflare will now block artificial intelligence crawlers from scraping content by default, giving website owners explicit control over who can access and use their work.
Medtronic expands Artificial Intelligence and robotics hub in London as Virtuoso robot wins FDA breakthrough
Medtronic is doubling its London footprint to create a global digital center for Artificial Intelligence and surgical robotics, while Virtuoso Surgical secured FDA breakthrough status for en bloc bladder lesion removal.
Artificial Intelligence hallucinations create real-world risks for businesses
Artificial Intelligence systems can generate confident falsehoods that damage brands, drive legal exposure, and erode efficiency. Companies are turning to stronger governance, human oversight, and technical safeguards to manage the risk.
Artificial Intelligence is flattening management and threatening white collar jobs
Companies are slimming down layers of management as Artificial Intelligence tools automate more supervisory work. Executives warn the shift could reshape office employment and squeeze entry points for new graduates.
Artificial intelligence energy use could drop 90 percent with smarter design, says UN
A UNESCO and University College London report finds that large language model energy demand can fall by up to 90 percent through task-specific design, concise interactions and model compression. Campaigners meanwhile urge the UK to reject biomass-powered Artificial Intelligence data centers linked to Drax.