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DIGITAL LIFE

What to consider if a company that made AI-related job cuts wants you back

Companies around the world are increasingly citing artificial intelligence when slashing jobs, fueling anxiety that a lot more workers may lose their livelihoods to machines.

Microsoft, Barclays Bank and supermarket chain Kroger are among the latest entries on a growing list of companies that have announced AI-related workforce reductions this year, including the elimination of jobs deemed redundant or shed to free up money for investing in the technology.

But the job cuts of the AI era, which are affecting tens of thousands of people, occasionally have an epilogue. Some companies, after discovering that AI models, applications and agents don't perform as well as expected, end up rehiring laid-off workers to fill eliminated positions.

It's unclear how common such reversals are, but they are happening often enough to acquire a nickname: the "AI boomerang."

"Two years ago, we said, 'Would this happen?' and now we're saying, 'Yes, it is happening in real time,'" said Lucy Beaumont, a global senior vice president at SHL, a U.K.-based technology company that develops employment-related tests and tools.

Hiring managers in fields including finance, marketing, law and health reported earlier this year that their companies had eliminated positions primarily because of AI or automation, only to hire again for the same or similar roles, according to recruitment and staffing firm Robert Half.

The most frequently cited reasons for restoring dropped jobs included the technology needing more human oversight than anticipated and its inability to replicate institutional knowledge, the firm said.

"When you need critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, institutional knowledge, those are things that AI just can't replicate," Bill Driscoll, a senior district president at Robert Half, said. "And I think that's where companies are starting to realize, 'Wow, we really do need people to do these jobs.'"

Klarna, the Swedish provider of buy now, pay later services, began recruiting human customer service representatives again last year. CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski acknowledged in an interview with Bloomberg News that the company's reliance on an AI chatbot to cut costs had gone too far.

In June, Ford said it had hired or promoted 350 veteran engineers after AI tools the automaker deployed to do quality control work did not perform at the expected level.

"AI utilization has been an important part of our quality gains and that—along with deep technical expertise of our teams—is a powerful combination," a Ford spokesperson told The Associated Press.

However, companies don't always broadcast their U-turns on shifting resources or responsibilities from employees to AI systems, Beaumont said.

"Maybe their shareholders love that they did this right-sizing motion ... and then they have to turn around and quietly, with their tail between their legs, admit that they weren't ready for that or they shouldn't have done that," she said.

Management experts offered employment advice for workers as companies make greater use of AI tools and consider—or reconsider—their staffing needs while assessing the technology's capabilities.

Rehiring suggests the invisible work of humans is not easily replaced...When companies use AI to perform tasks previously done by people, they often miss the invisible work employees do beyond their formal job descriptions, said Betsy Summers, a principal analyst on the Future of Work team at market research and advisory firm Forrester.

That might include sensing emotions and moods, holding impromptu meetings and putting in extra effort when feeling inspired or otherwise motivated, Summers said.

"We don't know all the work that's required to do things well within the organization," she said. "The citizenship behaviors of team cohesion and team building and making sure that you have trust within your team, none of that is accounted for. So when you rip out humans who are doing that work and then expect agents to be able to then deliver exactly what humans have delivered, they are frequently mistaken."

Another factor that complicates assigning more work to AI-powered tools is that company procedures for tasks such as data processing and bookkeeping are not always well documented, experts said.

"Organizations are not spending enough time doing the up-front work to really truly understand workflows and where humans add value in the process," said Brooks Holtom, a professor of management at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business.

In roles such as customer service, AI agents and chatbots frequently need to refer questions and complaints to a worker who can recognize emotions, assess the severity or complexity of a problem and respond creatively within established policies, Holtom said.

"It's that combination of creativity but staying in the guardrail that's really hard for a machine to figure out," he said.

Figure out what gives you a competitive edge as a human...As companies redirect resources toward AI, current employees and those asked to come back might want to emphasize skills that complement the technology, such as emotional intelligence and sound judgment, Holtom said.

"Really try to be able to articulate, what's your value proposition as a human?" Holtom said. "Don't be afraid to lean into the technology as well, and understand how to differentiate yourself from what machines do well. Embrace that, understand that, and you can become uniquely qualified to help with implementation."

Empathy is a human quality that technology has not fully mastered, Beaumont said.

"Think about an angry customer. They want to be listened to, they want to be heard, they really want a human on the other end of the line," Beaumont said. "Can an AI replace that right now in a way that feels meaningful to individuals? Perhaps not."

Know your leverage and use caution if you're asked back...Many people are understandably reluctant to return to a company that laid them off as part of a reorganization around artificial intelligence, according to Beaumont.

"To come back to a business where you've been let go, replaced by AI, to be asked back to that business, your trust is gone, your psychological safety there, your relationship with the employer, and that's very, very difficult to build back," she said.

Workers offered their old jobs back are asking for more money and to know how AI might impact future staffing, Beaumont said. Requesting additional training and a clear explanation of your opportunities for advancement could be part of the discussion, she said.

Communicate ways you would contribute value as a returning employee, outlining a new job description "that leverages the technology but also your expertise," Holtom said. You could end up in a higher-ranking position that pays more than the one you left, he said.

Before accepting an offer, seek a commitment such as a one-year renewable contract that includes a buyout clause if the job is terminated in less than a year, Holtom suggested.

Don't discount the distinctly human values of motivation and curiosity, which make people efficient and effective, Summers said.

"Within our societies, work serves a broader purpose than just creating value for shareholders or customers or constituents," she added. "Work serves a human purpose as well. It's the manifestation of our search for meaning and purpose. We want to contribute to our communities as human beings."

If an employer previously eliminated your role in favor of automation and is now asking you to return, you are part of a growing trend. Many companies are experiencing "rehire regret" as automated systems underperform, meaning you hold significant leverage. Prominent brands like Klarna and Ford have had to rehire or promote human teams after finding that chatbots and automated quality control couldn't match human expertise.

If you are negotiating a return, consider these critical factors regarding your value, your leverage, and your contract stability:

1. Leverage your unique human value...Firms often adopt AI models before fully understanding how much of their workflow depends on human intuition and judgment.

• Define your value proposition: Explicitly state what you bring to the table that machines cannot replicate, such as advanced emotional intelligence, ethical decision-making, and deep contextual experience.

• Emphasize empathy: For customer-facing roles, remind them that frustrated users require authentic human connection, active listening, and problem-solving that AI tools still struggle to meaningfully deliver.

• Position yourself as the "final line of defense": Frame your return around quality control—auditing AI outputs, fixing its systematic errors, and managing tool implementation.

2. Renegotiate your scope and compensation...Because the company is likely re-entering negotiations "with their tail between their legs", do not simply accept your old job back on the exact same terms.

• Propose a higher-ranking role: Work with management to co-create a new, elevated job description that combines your domain expertise with technology management.

• Demand a raise: Restaffing an disrupted department is incredibly expensive for an enterprise; use this premium to request higher compensation than what you earned before you left.

• Secure training commitments: Request that the company explicitly fund your upskilling and continuous training so you can effectively integrate and oversee new automated workflows.

3. Build in strict financial protections...Past behavior remains one of the strongest indicators of future corporate actions. If leadership rushed to cut costs once, they may attempt it again when a newer iteration of software debuts.

• Request a guaranteed contract: Try to secure a one-year renewable contract rather than standard at-will employment.

• Include a severance/buyout clause: Ensure the contract states that if your position is terminated again within a specific window (e.g., less than a year), the company owes you a substantial, predefined financial payout.

• Demand transparency: Ask flat out how AI tools are expected to impact broader department staffing over the next 18 to 24 months

If an employer that laid you off to replace you with artificial intelligence asks you to return, you hold the leverage, but you must evaluate the company's technical stability, negotiate strict job security safeguards, and demand a significant premium on your compensation.

A growing wave of companies—ranging from tech startups to legacy automakers like Ford and fintech giants like Klarna—are quietly walking back aggressive AI automation plans. Research indicates that more than half of employers that cut staff in favor of AI now regret it, realizing they handed critical processes to models before fully understanding how much those tasks relied on human oversight, sound judgment, and empathy.

If your former company reaches out with an offer to return, keep the following strategic considerations in mind:

1. Assess why the AI strategy failed...Before accepting, you need to understand exactly what went wrong during your absence so you can prevent history from repeating itself.

• Determine the operational gap: Did the AI tools fail to perform at the expected quality level (as seen with automakers deploying automated quality control)? Or did customer satisfaction tank because clients demanded human interaction?

• Identify your exact role: Are they asking you back to do your old job, or are they bringing you back as a "fixer" to clean up the errors and hallucinations the AI generated?

• Gauge management's self-awareness: Is leadership transparently admitting they overreached? Be wary of management teams that try to minimize their previous strategic errors, as they may try to automate your role again the moment a new software update drops.

2. Define your value proposition as a human...When discussing a return, do not simply slot back into your old, pre-layoff routine. Position yourself as a strategic partner who manages and elevates the technology.

• Emphasize complementary skills: Clearly articulate the human-centric skills you bring that software lacks, such as complex problem-solving, deep technical expertise, emotional intelligence, and team cohesion.

• Rewrite your job description: Collaborate on a new role that explicitly balances your expertise with the company’s AI infrastructure. You should be positioned to oversee, train, or audit the AI, effectively future-proofing your position.

3. Demand financial and contractual protections...Because the company already proved it views your role as a line-item cost that can be automated, you must protect yourself against future tech-driven "right-sizing" motions.

• Ask for a premium: Restaffing an disrupted department is incredibly expensive for an employer. Because they need your institutional knowledge immediately to correct ongoing mistakes, you have the upper hand to demand higher pay or a higher-ranking title than the one you left.

• Negotiate a buyout clause: Workplace experts suggest securing a guaranteed contract (such as a one-year renewable agreement) that includes a strict severance or buyout clause if the job is eliminated due to technology or restructuring in less than a year.

• Verify employee benefits: Some companies funding heavy AI infrastructure have quietly cut 401(k) matches or reallocated salary raises to fund software licenses. Audit the company’s current benefit structure to ensure you aren't walking back into diminished total compensation

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TECH

Mystery of 60-second fluctuations in power grids solved

Why do our grids show a brief spike in electricity demand every minute? A team led by Dirk Witthaut from Forschungszentrum Jülich has now demonstrated that this is due to regular power checks carried out by large-scale battery storage systems. These findings could help to make our electricity supply more robust, as the team reports in an article published in Nature Energy.

Tennet Germany, the largest transmission system operator in Germany, has observed over several years that the frequency in the European power grid dips briefly every 60 seconds. While these deviations were not critical to grid security, they were clearly measurable and unusually regular. The cause of this phenomenon was initially unclear.

A team from Jülich led by Dirk Witthaut, together with researchers from the University of Cologne and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, set out to investigate – and found the answer: the cause appears to be the many large-scale battery storage systems that check their state of charge every minute. This leads to measurable fluctuations in electricity consumption, which can contribute to turbine wear and tear, for example. The battery storage systems ensure an uninterrupted power supply, and their numbers have increased significantly worldwide in recent years. The researchers found that this was not a European phenomenon, but a global one.

Many devices, a common rhythm...“It really was years of detective work,” says Witthaut. The grid frequency pattern is shaped by many different factors. For example, it reveals the influence of electricity trading, with power stations being switched on and off abruptly, as well as the fluctuating feed-in from renewable energy sources, and various other disturbances.

“It quickly became clear to us that the cause must be something controlled by the clock,” says Witthaut. There was no other way to explain the precise 60-second cycle. It was also clear that: “The observed effect can only be produced if many devices are consuming electricity at the same time.” A single consumer or generator could therefore be ruled out.

Measurements on campus provide the clue...But how do all these devices synchronize their consumption? The researchers finally found the crucial clues with the help of the Living Lab Energy Campus. This research infrastructure on the Jülich campus is primarily used to develop and test highly integrated energy supply systems. The team installed measuring points on end devices at a total of 80 locations – and sure enough, the same periodic pattern in electricity consumption was observed precisely at the locations where large-scale battery storage systems are designed to ensure an uninterrupted power supply. “We took a closer look at one of them and found a spike in electricity consumption at the start of every minute due to the power check,” explains Witthaut.

As there are no binding standards for such power checks, Witthaut suspects that most battery manufacturers assumed that a 60-second interval would be sensible. The start of every minute was simply chosen as the test time. “It is entirely possible, however, that battery storage systems are only part of the problem here,” says Witthaut. “It cannot be ruled out that other digitally controlled appliances – such as air-conditioning systems, heat pumps, washing machines, and dishwashers – may also exhibit similar patterns.”

Less synchronization, less wear and tear...The periodic fluctuations in electricity demand are already having an impact on hydroelectric power stations. The brief spikes in demand mean that the turbines slow down momentarily before accelerating back to their original rotational speed. This increases wear and tear. With the expansion of storage technologies, such problems could become even more prevalent. In Ireland, for example, where data centres with large-scale battery storage systems currently account for around a fifth of the country’s electricity demand, the amplitude of the 1-minute signal quadrupled between 2016 and 2021. The solution, however, would be simple: “You would simply have to distribute the checks randomly, rather than always starting them at the same time,” says Witthaut.

One fallen power line exposed a growing AI data center problem — here’s how to fix it...A power line went down outside of Washington, DC, this week. Normally, the grid would only need a few seconds to recover from such an event. But this one took more than 10 minutes because data centers stopped drawing over 3 gigawatts’ worth of power nearly simultaneously.

The event caused voltage across the PJM grid to spike from Northern Virginia to Chicago, according to data collected by Ting Labs, a startup that runs an IoT sensor network out of people’s electrical sockets.

The event didn’t cause a blackout, but it did cause lights across the region to flicker. The incident demonstrated the effect that data centers can have on the grid — an outcome that experts believe will become more frequent.

Northern Virginia, which is in PJM’s territory, is home to the highest concentration of data centers in the world.

“It’s the canary in the coal mine,” Ricardo de Azevedo, CTO at ON.Energy, told TechCrunch. These sorts of events involving large loads like data centers are “happening more and more,” he added.

The event echoes one that happened two years ago, also on PJM’s grid, and it could foreshadow larger events if data centers aren’t built to more elegantly handle disruptions to power supplies. The PJM Interconnection manages grids from New Jersey to Illinois and serves 67 million customers, making it the largest grid operator in the United States.

When the power line went down this week, it triggered data centers to switch to backup power, and about 3.1 gigawatts of load vanished in about 30 seconds, according to PJM data. The grid appeared to recover somewhat, but a short time later additional loads dropped off. At its peak, PJM’s grid had an extra 3.49 gigawatts of electricity on it. It took another 11 minutes before it stabilized. The disconnected data centers represented around 3% of total demand on PJM at the time, according to Reuters.

A few percent may not sound like much, but the electrical grid needs to operate in a state of near-perfect balance, with supply and demand closely matched. If they don’t, voltages can sag or spike. The grid and devices connected to it can tolerate small fluctuations, but if those fluctuations grow too large, they’ll trigger fail-safes within the grid or within individual facilities, causing them to disconnect. 

When data centers in Northern Virginia sensed the fluctuation caused by the failed power line, they switched to backup power, which removed their load from the grid. As more data centers made the switch, they removed greater amounts of load from the grid. What started as a relatively small drop in supply became an even larger drop in demand, sending supply surging and causing light bulbs to flicker. 

Large-scale battery energy storage systems are the source of mysterious 60-second fluctuations detected in power grids worldwide. An international study led by researchers at Forschungszentrum Jülich, published in the journal *Nature Energy*, has solved the puzzle that had been baffling transmission system operators across the globe.

European regulators recently published a nearly 500-page report on the outage, attributing it to numerous and interacting factors. The report cited work from researchers in WSU’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science regarding poorly understood frequency oscillations throughout the power grid that were part of the event. The work cited came from PhD students, Arash Nezam Sarmadi, Tianying “Lily” Wu, Yuan Zhi, and Salman Shiuab. All have since graduated.

“We have the best students, and it is really something to be proud of for WSU that this report, originating in Europe, cited publications from four of our students, and that these tools we developed are being used — both in real time and for offline analysis of complex events — for this Iberian blackout,” said Mani Venkatasubramanian, Boeing Distinguished Professor in Electrical Engineering who led the work.

It was a beautiful spring day last year when the European power grid began oscillating in frequency. Venkatasubramanian, director of WSU’s Energy Systems Innovation Center, who holds a joint appointment at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, has worked with graduate students for decades to develop online monitoring tools to detect these harmful oscillations that cause fluctuations in power outputs in the power grid. The work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and by the Power Systems Engineering Research Center. He received a patent and started a company, Phasor Informatics LLC, that has licensed the technology. The software uses a suite of algorithms to assess oscillation problems in transmission systems and to notify operators when they occur.

Two five-minute oscillation events occurred that morning in Spain, and each time, power grid operators in Paris, France, received notifications from the software developed at WSU. The operators in Spain, in coordination with their counterparts in France, took actions to dampen them.

“The phenomenon that a forced oscillation resonated with the system mode was something that we had postulated in our papers, and we showed the theory on how that would affect the large power system,” said Venkatasubramanian. “So those were what caused the big oscillations that were seen between Spain and France and possibly other countries.”

As grid operators reacted, however, voltages on the power lines increased above acceptable limits, and power plants automatically disconnected in a cascading event. In less than two minutes around noon, about 60 million people across Spain and Portugal lost power in an outage that lasted 12 to 16 hours.

A new open-source tool developed at WSU helped Iberian blackout investigators uncover the likely source of the first oscillation that originated in Spain.

Using a new open-source tool developed at WSU that uses measurements with a slower reporting rate to detect faster oscillations, the Iberian blackout investigators helped uncover the likely source of the first oscillation that originated in Spain.

“That was exciting because we developed this tool just two years ago,” Venkatasubramanian said.

Oscillations remain a challenge for the power grid. The researchers have developed controls intended to dampen them, but they don’t fully understand why those actions don’t always work.

The U.S. has strict regulations and a more robust system than many other countries, but there have been oscillation events here, which are warnings for the system. In recent years, power grid operators have been planning for and seeing significant changes in the grid’s management. The cost of renewable energy production has dropped dramatically so that solar and wind power are now the cheapest and often the most attractive ways to produce electricity. Renewables provide variable amounts of energy during the day and are often distributed around a region instead of being centralized. At the same time, climate change, extreme weather events, and the growth of AI and data centers add to power grid challenges. Meanwhile, the system remains hampered by the lack of transmission support.

“Because of economic and societal issues, it’s very difficult to build new transmission lines in the U.S., and that is stressing the system more and more,” said Venkatasubramanian. “It is requiring us to become smart in how we use the existing resources to serve this growing demand.”

Venkatasubramanian’s group is developing open-source planning tools for modeling and analyzing the complexities and uncertainties that come about from the use of renewables and from extreme weather events.

The mechanism behind the phenomenon:

• Involuntary synchronization: Thousands of commercial battery systems around the planet have been programmed by their manufacturers to perform internal state-of-charge tests at the very beginning of every minute.

• Instantaneous consumption spike: While the impact of a single battery is negligible, the simultaneous and precisely coordinated behavior of a vast number of units creates a measurable fluctuation in the frequency of the global power grid.

• Lack of standards: The 60-second pattern emerged spontaneously because manufacturers simply chose an intuitive time interval, with no regulatory standard in place to account for this domino effect.

Practical consequences:

• Infrastructure wear and tear: These brief, cyclical oscillations force hydroelectric turbines to momentarily slow down and then speed back up, increasing the mechanical wear on the equipment.

• Amplification through technological advancement: As the energy transition progresses and more storage systems are connected to the grid, the amplitude of this signal grows. In Ireland, driven by the expansion of data centers equipped with battery backups, the magnitude of this impact on the grid has quadrupled over a five-year period.

The proposed solution... The definitive resolution to the problem is surprisingly simple. The study suggests that the issue can be resolved by decentralizing the tests—specifically, by introducing a randomized time distribution for when the batteries perform their checks. Instead of responding to the clock in an identical manner at the very first second of each minute, the devices would take their measurements at staggered times, completely neutralizing the collective peak load.

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TECH

Why might photonics be the key to reducing energy and water consumption in artificial intelligence?

A new report has identified photonics as the only viable solution to meet the rapidly growing energy demands driven by artificial intelligence (AI) without increasing carbon emissions. As AI models and data centres expand across Europe, concerns are mounting about the environmental and economic impact of soaring electricity consumption.

The report, released by Photonics21 and authored by TEMATYS, warns that electricity use by AI is outpacing the capacity of existing power grids. According to the International Energy Agency, global data centres consumed 415 TWh of electricity in 2024. TEMATYS projects this figure could more than double by 2030 if current growth rates continue, largely because of increased AI workloads.

Such levels of energy consumption risk undermining Europe's efforts to meet climate commitments. The study finds that current silicon-based semiconductor technologies are unable to keep up with the increasing need for computational power without heavy energy and environmental costs.

Photonics potential...Photonics, the use of light to transmit and process information, is presented in the study as a critical complement to existing chip technology. Integrating photonic elements into data centres and chip architectures-using methods such as co-packaged optics-could significantly cut energy use and emissions associated with AI computing.

The report highlights that while photonics will not replace CPUs or GPUs, it can alleviate the pressure on them, reducing the carbon and cost implications of AI expansion. It also states that the right policy and investment choices in the coming years will determine whether Europe can maintain control over its AI hardware supply chain and uphold its environmental objectives.

"Photonics can provide the infrastructure that will determine whether AI becomes cleaner and more competitive or simply costlier and dirtier. Europe has the research base to lead; what it lacks is coordinated investment and industrial scale," said Sébastien Bigo, Nokia Bell Labs Fellow and Photonics21 Work Group Leader for Digital Infrastructure.

The growth of artificial intelligence requires connecting thousands of processors that continuously exchange information. This communication consumes energy and contributes to the heat that data centers must dissipate. One approach to reducing this burden is to bring light-based transmission closer to the chips themselves. Known as photonics, this field has the potential to make networks more efficient and—depending on the cooling method used—can also lower the demand for water.

“We are reaching the end of the copper era,” states Chris Sharp, Chief Technology Officer at Digital Realty, in the original text. This remark refers to the possibility of replacing some of the connections currently used to transport data.

This does not mean eliminating metal from data centers entirely; copper remains essential for electrical infrastructure and other critical systems.

The focus is on specific links between equipment and processors. As computational capacity grows, transporting information quickly and efficiently becomes just as important as performing the actual calculations.

A powerful processor offers little advantage if it has to wait for data to arrive from other components.

Photonics uses light to transport information. It involves the generation, control, and detection of light. Within networks, information can travel as optical signals rather than relying solely on electrical connections.

Fiber optics are already used for long-distance communications and many internal connections within data centers. The next step is to bring optical components closer to electronic circuits—even integrating them into the same package.

Nvidia describes this type of integration in its networking technologies, where optical transmitters and receivers are placed near the chips in switches—the equipment responsible for routing data.

The goal is to shorten electrical paths and reduce the energy consumption associated with communication. However, the gains reported for these specific components do not translate into an equivalent reduction in the total energy consumption of an entire data center. Optical transmission can reduce losses and the energy required to move large volumes of information. It can also decrease some of the heat that a facility needs to remove.

However, using light does not make a system free from electrical consumption. Lasers, control circuits, and converters still require power, while processors continue to generate heat.

The relationship with water stems from cooling requirements. The U.S. Department of Energy explains that reducing dissipated heat can lower water usage in evaporative cooling towers.

Thus, photonics can indirectly contribute to water conservation in these facilities. The actual outcome varies depending on the specific design, climate, and equipment used.

Integrating optics and electronics necessitates new manufacturing approaches. This transition brings together industrial processes that must function in tandem; it is not as simple as swapping out a cable—optical components require precise alignment, testing, and assembly.

The CORNERSTONE platform, based at the University of Southampton, provides silicon photonics prototyping services, bridging the gap between research and manufacturing.

According to experts cited in the original text, the expertise gained within the semiconductor industry can help scale up production. Furthermore, certain processes allow for the reuse of equipment from previous generations.

Even so, cost reduction requires the coordination of suppliers, manufacturing, packaging, and maintenance. Technical efficiency must be matched by economic viability.

Light does not eliminate thermal challenges. Optical components remain surrounded by equipment that generates heat; because their performance can be temperature-sensitive, environmental control remains essential.

Such facilities also require specialized handling. Optical fibers have specific bend radius limits and necessitate distinct procedures for handling, connecting, and maintenance.

Another frontier involves minimizing the frequent conversions between optical and electrical signals. Architectures capable of keeping data within the optical domain for more stages could significantly enhance efficiency.

Photonics uses light (photons) instead of electricity (electrons) to transmit and process information, which can dramatically lower energy consumption and cooling needs in artificial intelligence data centers.

Why photonics reduces energy consumption:

• Zero resistance losses: Electrons moving through copper wires face electrical resistance that converts energy into waste heat. Photons have no charge and travel through optical waveguides with almost no loss.

• High-speed interconnects: Optical connections and co-packaged optics (placing photonic circuits next to GPUs on the same silicon) reduce the power needed to transfer data between chips by 50% to 80%.

• Optical matrix nultiplications: Neural networks rely heavily on matrix and vector operations. Photonic chips can perform these mathematical calculations using light in parallel, yielding up to two orders of magnitude lower carbon emissions and energy use compared to traditional electronic processors.

• Wavelength-division multiplexing: A single optical connection can carry multiple streams of data at different light frequencies, replacing dozens of power-hungry electronic connections.

How this lowers water consumption:

• Less waste heat: Because light-based operations generate significantly less thermal dissipation than electrical circuits, the chips run much cooler.

• Reduced cooling demands: Traditional AI data centers require massive amounts of water for evaporation-based cooling systems and chillers to combat the intense heat of GPUs. By cutting heat at the hardware level, data centers can scale down or eliminate water-intensive cooling infrastructure.

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DIGITAL LIFE

How Gen Z is challenging the power Big Tech holds over their time and lives

After years of using digital platforms, Gen Z is questioning the impact that Big Tech, social media, and technology have on their lives. This movement—which also encompasses an aversion to artificial intelligence—is paving the way for the creation of apps and devices designed to help users reclaim their time and their lives.

Nelissa Moukoudi, a 19-year-old university student in Canada, noticed a decline in her quality of life after she began using Instagram and TikTok. “My social life completely collapsed, and it felt like all I did was use social media and study,” she told *The Guardian*. She decided to download Opal, an app that requires users to solve math problems before they can reopen distracting applications—a method she found effective for resisting the "infinite scroll."

The app is part of a growing number of products that attract users with the promise of keeping them away from their devices. The sector is currently valued at nearly $1 billion, with estimates suggesting it could reach nearly $8 billion by 2035.

Many of these companies hope to capitalize on the very fatigue that Gen Z feels toward the devices and social media platforms they grew up with. In a global survey conducted in April, nearly 60% of Gen Z respondents reported being addicted to social media.

This shift has also been driven by growing dissatisfaction with tech platforms, which has left some members of Gen Z feeling exploited for the sake of corporate profit.

Gen Z “has basically been optimized for dopamine by very intelligent systems,” says 39-year-old Kenneth Schlenker, a former product marketing professional at Google and co-founder of Opal. “But this generation is also realizing what it doesn’t want, and is attempting to change the way the system affects it.”

Kendall Schrohe, 23, a co-founder of Attention Studio—a consultancy that advises parents and policymakers on the responsible use of technology—echoes this sentiment. “These big tech companies have been harming people for years, and only now are we feeling the impacts,” she told *The Guardian*. “Our generation was used as a guinea pig by big tech companies, which profited from our suffering and our addiction to these apps,” said Schrohe, who swapped her smartphone for a “Light Phone”—a device with limited features compared to a conventional mobile phone.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Shreya Nallamothu, a computer science student at Duke University, created her own DIY version of “Brick,” a device that blocks specific apps. To do this, she used Near-Field Communication (NFC) tags purchased online.

“Everyone deserves to have a healthy relationship with technology, and that shouldn’t be cost-prohibitive,” Nallamothu stated. “Often, the interests of tech companies don’t align with those of their users. Social media has strayed from what good technology can offer, and people have caught on to that.”

A return to in-person interaction...New apps focused on in-person events are also looking to capitalize on this shift away from social media. “Pie” (short for “People I Enjoy”)—an app that highlights local events, such as pop-up parties at bars, 5K runs, or group outings to concerts—saw 150% growth in just one month, jumping from 120,000 users in July to 300,000 in August.

Co-founder Nadya Okamoto describes Pie as an “active” social network, centered on face-to-face gatherings. “I think of social media as a passive consumption of content, but Pie is different,” said Okamoto. “Users are actively making connections and expanding their social circles.”

The prices for these digital detox apps vary. An Opal subscription costs $99.99 per year. Brick—a physical device that users place near their phone to lock and unlock apps—costs $59. Shift, an app that promises to turn a smartphone into a basic, stripped-down phone capable only of making calls or sending text messages, charges a one-time fee of $150.

Like about 95% of Opal’s 10 million users—75% of whom belong to Gen Z—Moukoudi says she uses the free version. “I’m not going to pay for an app just to get my life back,” the student said.

For some, simply deleting the apps is enough. 26-year-old Han Choi removed all social media from his phone last year to devote more time to trivia nights and physical exercise. “People are rejecting systems created by those who have a financial interest in our submission,” he told The Guardian. “An economy based on the endless scrolling of negative news is not something we need to keep participating in.”

The Great Unplugging is more than just a place; it’s an ethos made tangible. Attendees trade their smartphones for flip phones (if they bring any mobile device at all) and their digital profiles for face-to-face introductions. Workshops abound, teaching practical skills long since outsourced to apps: basic electronics repair, permaculture gardening, knot tying, sourdough baking, even rudimentary coding for open-source, privacy-focused software.

Panel discussions, often held around a crackling bonfire, dissect everything from the ethics of generative AI ai to the economics of data harvesting. Leading voices from academic philosophy, independent journalism, and ethical tech advocacy share stages with young activists. The conversations are vibrant, often challenging, but always rooted in a shared desire for a more human-centric technological future.

Art installations critique surveillance and corporate control. One piece features a towering sculpture made from discarded electronics, each component embedded with a tiny, blinking eye, silently watching. Another projects anonymous data streams onto natural canvases, starkly illustrating the invisible information flows that define modern life.

Food is locally sourced, communal meals foster genuine interaction, and evenings often end with storytelling or live, unplugged music. It’s an intentional effort to create an environment where the default is human interaction and self-reliance, rather than algorithmic distraction and corporate dependence. The goal isn’t just to disconnect, but to reconnect – with nature, with community, and with oneself.

Beyond the Bonfire: What’s the Real Impact? Is The Great Unplugging merely a niche counter-cultural event, a fleeting trend for privileged few seeking a digital detox? Or is it a canary in the coal mine, signaling a broader societal shift? The truth, as always, lies somewhere in between.

The practicalities of a full-scale return to a pre-digital existence are, for most, untenable. Our lives are too deeply intertwined with digital infrastructure. From banking to healthcare, communication to transportation, technology is embedded. The festival attendees, while critical, are not advocating for the wholesale dismantling of the internet. Instead, they’re advocating for conscious consumption, for ethical design, for regulatory oversight, and for the development of alternative, decentralized technologies that prioritize user agency and privacy.

This movement aligns with a growing global awareness of digital well-being. Organizations like the World Health Organization are increasingly recognizing the impact of screen time and social media on mental health, particularly in younger demographics. WHO on Digital Health The demand for “slow tech,” for devices and platforms designed for mindfulness rather than addiction, is on the rise. We’re seeing more apps designed to limit screen time, more hardware companies focusing on privacy-centric devices, and a burgeoning interest in digital minimalism.

The most significant impact of festivals like The Great Unplugging may not be in converting millions to an off-grid lifestyle, but in shaping the discourse. They are powerful symbolic statements, demanding that Big Tech acknowledge the human cost of their innovations. They force us to ask critical questions: Is perpetual growth at any cost truly sustainable? Are the benefits of hyper-connectivity outweighing the drawbacks? Who truly owns our data, and what are the implications of that ownership?

Despite being the first generation raised entirely in an environment of algorithmic feeds, Generation Z is actively challenging the power of Big Tech by orchestrating a massive cultural shift toward "digital minimalism," reclaiming their offline time, and pushing back against AI automation. Rather than remaining passive consumers, young people are increasingly viewing constant connectivity not as a status symbol, but as an exploitative contract that trades their mental health for corporate profit.

1. Trading smartphones for "Dumbphones"...A growing subset of Gen Z is intentionally downgrading their hardware to break the dopamine loop of endless scrolling.

• Feature phones: Young people are spending hundreds of dollars on minimalist devices like the Light Phone or old-school flip phones that only handle calls and texts.

• Physical app blockers: Rather than relying on software, they use physical tools like Brick, which utilizes custom NFC tags to strictly lock distracting social media applications.

• The "work phone" Split: Professionals in this age group are increasingly using smartphones strictly for standard working hours, turning them off completely during personal time.

2. The rise of radical offline communities...Disengagement has evolved from an isolated choice into an organized social movement.

• The luddite club: Founded by New York City teenagers, groups like the Luddite Club gather weekly in public parks to sit in silence, read paper books, sketch, and log off completely.

• In-person social apps: Gen Z is migrating away from passive algorithmic scrolling toward utility apps like Pie that serve only one purpose: coordinating localized, face-to-face meetups.

• Analog Hobbies: Puzzles, knitting, journaling, vinyl records, and physical books are surging in popularity as young adults seek tactile experiences untouched by screens.

3. Executing "the great unfollow"...Gen Z is actively breaking the social contract of constant online performance.

• App deletions: Global market surveys highlight that up to a third of Gen Z consumers deleted at least one major social media app over the past year.

• Declining screen time: Average daily social media consumption has seen a steady, double-digit decline among teenagers and individuals in their twenties.

• Utility-focused communication: When they do use platforms like Instagram or Snapchat, it is primarily as direct messaging utilities to talk to close friends, entirely bypassing the main algorithmic discovery feeds.

4. Active resistance against algorithmic AI...The pushback has expanded from social media to the rapid rollouts of corporate AI.

• Demanding accountability: Student organizers, such as campus chapters of PauseAI US, are lobbying lawmakers to halt frontier AI developments and protect data privacy.

• Protesting infrastructure: Local youth coalitions are successfully blocking massive, resource-heavy data center projects due to their massive environmental footprints.

• Protecting authenticity: Gen Z heavily rejects AI-generated content, fake influencers, and automated writing because it directly undermines the online authenticity they highly value

by mundophone

 

TECH

Intel vs AMD: Lenovo ThinkPad and HP EliteBook business laptop go head-to-head

Both Lenovo and HP build enterprise-grade laptops bought by corporates and governments worldwide, so either is a safe, high-quality choice. The quick verdict: choose Lenovo (ThinkPad) if you type all day and want the best keyboard, legendary durability and the TrackPoint; choose HP (EliteBook) if you want premium machined-aluminium design, brilliant screens and HP’s Wolf Security. Both run Intel i5/i7 with an SSD and Windows 11 Pro, both are graded and 20-point tested, and both carry our 12-month warranty, so this comes down to feel and priorities, not reliability.

Lenovo’s ThinkPad and HP’s EliteBook sit at the top of the business laptop market, and both are engineered far beyond consumer machines: durable chassis, spill-resistant keyboards, business security and clean serviceability. On our bench both are reliable performers that keep going for years, so you are choosing between strengths, not avoiding weaknesses.

The ThinkPad is the typist’s choice, with the best keyboard and TrackPoint in the business and understated, rugged build. The EliteBook answers with brighter, sharper displays and a more premium, design-led feel. If words are your day, lean ThinkPad; if you stare at the screen and care how the machine looks on the desk, lean EliteBook. Prices are close, so let the strengths decide.

Both the ThinkPad and EliteBook are designed to be opened, which is one of the quiet advantages of buying a business laptop over a consumer one. On most models you can reach the RAM and storage with a few screws, which makes upgrades and repairs straightforward and keeps the machine useful for longer. Service manuals are readily available for both lines, and parts are easy to source.

ThinkPads have a long reputation for repair-friendly design, and many EliteBooks are just as accessible. For a buyer, this means either machine can be upgraded with more memory or a bigger SSD down the track rather than replaced. When we prepare these laptops we take advantage of exactly that, fitting the storage and memory that make the most sense, and you can do the same later if your needs grow.

Among business laptops, Lenovo ThinkPad and HP EliteBook are two of the most prominent brands. We tested two mainstream 14-inch models that compete directly against each other, one with AMD CPUs and one with Intel chips.

When one is considering business laptops for a corporate fleet or just as a personal productivity device, two brand names are sure to come up: Lenovo ThinkPad and HP EliteBook. Both represent the commercial laptop lines of the two largest PC manufacturers by sales numbers, and they carry a huge legacy to their names. And within the ThinkPad and EliteBook lineups, the two central pillars are the ThinkPad T series and HP EliteBook 8 series. We reviewed the newest 14 inch versions of both, making a direct comparison possible.

Black or silver: ThinkPads look very different from EliteBooks...From the outside, the HP EliteBook 8 G2a 14 and the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 7 look very different. One is a black, boxy slab, the other is a silver slab with rounded corners. The silver EliteBook is mostly made out of aluminum, while the ThinkPad uses black plastic and an internal magnesium frame.

In terms of overall quality, both are pretty much equal, though some people may prefer the easier to clean metal surface of the EliteBook. In turn, the EliteBook is a big heavier. The other big difference is the ThinkPad TrackPoint and its dedicated buttons, which the EliteBook does not have. Instead, it has a bigger glass touchpad, while the ThinkPad uses a plastic, mylar surface. Both offer excellent keyboards, with the ThinkPad having a better keyboard layout but the EliteBook offering a slightly better typing experience.

When it comes to the other physical features, the ThinkPad has one more USB-A port, while the EliteBook has one more USB-C port, which is placed on the right side of the system. USB-C is more useful, since you can use it to charge the system. On the other hand, the ThinkPad T14 G7 always comes with RJ45 Ethernet, which is merely optional on the EliteBook 8 G2a 14. Speaking of optional: RAM was soldered for the version of the EliteBook we tested, but the ThinkPad always either has LPCAMM2 (Intel) or SO-DIMM memory (AMD). Another plus for the ThinkPad: the user removable keyboard.

ThinkPad versus EliteBook, Intel versus AMD...Both the ThinkPad and the EliteBook can be configured with various display options. The main difference: The ThinkPad has an optional 2.8K (2,880 x 1,800) OLED screen, while the EliteBook instead bets on a WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) OLED screen or a 2.5K (2,560 x 1,600) IPS panel. The ThinkPad option is better overall, but some users may prefer the IPS screen over OLED for fears of burn in or PWM.

Coming to the performance, we recently tested the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 7 with the more powerful Ultra 7 366H. The ThinkPad overall outdid the EliteBook 8 G2a 14 with the AMD Ryzen 7 450 by around six percent in terms of CPU performance. At least, the EliteBook does have a slightly faster GPU, but both are not well endowed in this regard. After all, these are business laptops. Meanwhile, on battery life, temperatures and fan noise, the ThinkPad and EliteBook are pretty equal, with a slight advantage to the ThinkPad on the battery life - especially if you configure it with the optional 75 Wh battery

All in all, the ThinkPad and EliteBook are matched in many areas, with the deciding points coming down mostly to personal preferences. We would give the edge to the ThinkPad, due to the fact that it always has upgradeable RAM, which is only optional on the EliteBook.

The head-to-head competition between the Lenovo ThinkPad and HP EliteBook corporate product lines—offering a choice between Intel and AMD processors—balances a legacy of superior typing experiences, design, and raw performance.

Lenovo ThinkPad (Intel vs. AMD):

• Keyboard and Productivity: Widely considered the best keyboard in the corporate market, featuring long key travel and the iconic red pointing stick (TrackPoint).

• Durability: Robust construction with military-grade certification (MIL-SPEC), making it ideal for demanding work environments and travel.

• Repairability and Upgradability: A traditional advantage in terms of ease of maintenance, with upgradeable RAM (typically via SO-DIMM modules in many models).

• Processor Performance (Intel vs. AMD): Versions equipped with AMD Ryzen PRO processors often excel in heavy multitasking, rendering, and multicore efficiency, while variants featuring Intel Core / Core Ultra processors offer comprehensive remote management suites (vPro) and integrated NPUs for AI tasks.

HP EliteBook (Intel vs. AMD):

• Design and Display: Focuses on a premium aesthetic, featuring slim chassis made of machined aluminum and magnesium, along with brighter displays (with an optional HP Sure View privacy filter).

• Security: Includes the HP Wolf Security hardware-based protection suite, integrated at both the BIOS and IT management levels.

• RAM: Often utilizes soldered memory in many of the slimmer configurations (though modularity is retained in certain specific lines, such as the 800 series).

• Processor Performance (Intel vs. AMD): Offers updated options with Intel Core Ultra or AMD Ryzen PRO chips; some configurations provide slightly faster integrated GPUs for basic graphics, though performance is very similar for everyday office tasks.

Which one should you choose?

• Choose a ThinkPad if: You type all day, value extreme durability, want the ability to expand your RAM in the future, and prefer a functional, understated aesthetic.

• Choose an EliteBook if: You prioritize a more refined metallic look, more vibrant displays for presentations or media, and HP’s enterprise-grade security features.

• Intel or AMD? Opt for AMD Ryzen if you are looking for maximum raw multi-core performance and efficiency for demanding tasks (coding, complex spreadsheets, intensive multitasking); choose Intel if your company relies strictly on the vPro management ecosystem or requires compatibility with legacy enterprise systems.

by mundophone

 

DIGITAL LIFE

Dublin Declaration and priorities for AI in Europe

The Dublin Declaration, adopted on October 14, 2026, by participating European Union member states, establishes seven priorities for cooperation toward the development of safe, reliable, and technologically sovereign artificial intelligence. The document seeks to align national policies in areas such as model safety, computational capacity, the use of AI in public services, and European technological autonomy.

The text, published by the Irish government on October 15, reflects a concern that extends beyond the mere regulation of artificial intelligence. Europe aims to strengthen its capacity to develop, deploy, and apply these technologies within a market where a large portion of the computational infrastructure and the most advanced models depend on international providers.

The declaration was agreed upon during an international summit on artificial intelligence held in Dublin, coinciding with Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Declaration reinforces international cooperation on trusted AI and supports Ireland's ambition to become a global leader in AI innovation and adoption

Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke TD and Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation Niamh Smyth TD have welcomed the strong international engagement at the International AI Summit in Dublin and the support secured from EU member states for the Dublin Declaration on Trusted, Safe and Sovereign Artificial Intelligence.

The International AI Summit brought together government leaders, industry, researchers and innovators to discuss how countries can work together to harness the opportunities of artificial intelligence while strengthening trust, resilience and technological capability. Building on Ireland's ambition to become one of the world's leading locations for applied AI, the Summit highlighted the role AI can play in driving productivity, supporting innovation, improving public services and enhancing long-term competitiveness.

The Dublin Declaration, which was agreed in the runup to the Summit, sets out a shared vision for advancing trusted, safe and sovereign AI across Europe. It calls for closer cooperation between participating countries on AI adoption, skills, safety, digital infrastructure, research excellence and strategic technological capacity, while promoting international collaboration with trusted partners.

Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke TD said, "Artificial intelligence represents one of the greatest economic opportunities of our generation. Ireland is determined not only to adopt these technologies, but to help shape how they are developed and applied. The Dublin Declaration reflects a shared commitment to ensuring that AI is trusted, safe and delivers real benefits for businesses, workers and citizens.

“Ireland is well placed to lead in applied AI. We have world-class talent, a strong innovation ecosystem, deep connections to global technology leaders and a proven track record of turning technological change into economic growth. Through the International AI Summit, we are strengthening partnerships that will help Europe and like-minded countries compete, innovate and prosper in the AI era." Minister of State with Responsibility for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation Niamh Smyth TD said,

"The Declaration seeks to advance cooperation among Member States in strengthening AI safety and resilience, accelerating the adoption of trusted AI across our economies and public services, investing in strategic digital and computing infrastructure, supporting European innovation, and building the skills and capabilities necessary for long-term leadership in artificial intelligence.

 "The Dublin Declaration is a strong political signal of Member States’ shared commitment to reinforce and accelerate the important work already under way at European level.

 “Ireland's ambition is clear: to be at the centre of Europe's AI future, helping to shape an AI ecosystem that is innovative, competitive and grounded in trust."

The ministers also outlined progress under the government's Intelligence: Applied agenda, which aims to position Ireland as a leading location to develop, deploy and scale AI. Measures include initiatives to strengthen AI literacy, accelerate adoption across key sectors of the economy, support AI startups and scaling companies, invest in research excellence and build the infrastructure needed to support future growth. The International AI Summit forms part of the government's wider ambition under Digital Ireland to ensure Ireland remains a global hub for AI innovation and adoption, building on the country's strengths in talent, enterprise, connectivity, research and trusted regulation.  

The seven priorities of the Dublin Declaration...According to the document published by Ireland’s Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, the participating countries have committed to cooperating in seven areas:

AI safety and resilience, with increased cooperation in identifying and managing risks associated with these systems.

Adoption of reliable AI, both within public administration and in the private sector.

European technological sovereignty, to strengthen the capacity to develop and utilize strategic technologies.

Infrastructure, skills, and computational capacity, through investment in both technical and human resources.

Sustainability, with a focus on the environmental impact of artificial intelligence technologies.

Innovation in the public sector, to develop new applications and improve services provided to citizens.

European and international cooperation, regarding governance policies and technological development.

These priorities indicate that governments are seeking to address two interrelated issues. The first concerns the safety of and trust in AI systems. The second aspect concerns the economic and industrial capacity required to develop these technologies and deploy them across various sectors.

Technological sovereignty is gaining prominence in European strategy...Technological sovereignty occupies a central place in the Dublin Declaration. The concept does not necessarily imply abandoning foreign suppliers; rather, it seeks to reduce dependencies that could limit the decision-making and operational capacity of European nations.

In the context of artificial intelligence, these dependencies encompass components such as specialized processors, data centers, cloud computing services, and models developed by companies based outside the European Union.

This concern was previously voiced by Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank. In a speech delivered in September, Lagarde warned of the risks posed by Europe’s reliance on AI, advocating for the strengthening of computational capacity and the development of European-made models to safeguard the continent’s economic sovereignty.

Bolstering Europe’s computational capacity could provide companies and public institutions with more alternatives for developing and running AI systems. Access to infrastructure that is either homegrown or provided by European entities may also be crucial for organizations that handle sensitive information.

The declaration links this ambition to economic competitiveness. For the participating states, establishing rules on the use of artificial intelligence is not enough; it is equally essential to create the conditions that enable companies, researchers, and public administrations to develop and implement the technology.

This approach complements the European Artificial Intelligence Regulation—known as the AI ​​Act—which imposes legal obligations on specific systems and providers. The Dublin Declaration, by contrast, focuses on policy cooperation and the development of technological capabilities.

Civil society criticizes representation at the summit... The initiative has also drawn criticism regarding the level of participation by independent organizations in the European debate on artificial intelligence. In an analysis published on October 27, CDT Europe—an organization dedicated to defending digital rights—noted that the official agenda for the Dublin summit prioritized political and business representatives, failing to include civil society organizations or academics among the speakers.

According to the organization, this absence prompted civil society representatives to organize an alternative summit, focused on the perspectives of workers regarding the development and adoption of artificial intelligence.

Critics raise questions regarding how European priorities will be implemented. Decisions concerning infrastructure, data usage, security, and the application of AI in public services could have implications for fundamental rights, working conditions, and citizens' access to technology.

Consequently, the involvement of various sectors of society may prove significant as political commitments are translated into concrete programs and measures.

The European commitment does not yet define funding or timelines. Despite the broad scope of these priorities, the Dublin Declaration creates no new legal obligations, nor does it establish a binding schedule for the implementation of the measures.

Furthermore, the document lacks a common budget, specific financial targets, or dedicated oversight mechanisms. The national investments announced by Ireland during the summit are part of the country’s own strategy and should not be conflated with funding approved under the framework of the declaration.

In its official announcement on October 14, the Irish government presented the commitment as a means to strengthen cooperation among participating states and accelerate European initiatives already underway.

The Dublin Declaration on Trustworthy, Safe and Sovereign Artificial Intelligence is a policy document adopted by 24 European Union member states on October 14, 2026, during the International AI Summit in Dublin, under the Irish presidency of the Council of the EU.

Key objectives and priorities:

The declaration is not a new law or a legally binding treaty, but rather a strategic commitment to translate existing rules into practical capabilities. It outlines seven core priorities:

• Safety and resilience: Advancing cyber defense, incident monitoring, and the technical capacity to test advanced AI systems.

• Trustworthy applied AI: Accelerating the adoption of safe and useful AI in public services, industries, and critical infrastructure.

• European AI sovereignty: Ensuring control over essential data, knowledge, and technologies, while avoiding foreign dependencies.

• Infrastructure and skills: Investing in computational capacity (compute), data networks, and skills training.

• Sustainability: Ensuring that AI infrastructure is both energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable.

• Public sector innovation: Leveraging purchasing power and public procurement to drive the development of interoperable and trustworthy European technologies.

• International cooperation: Deepening partnerships within Europe and globally to align governance frameworks and practical projects.

The immediate significance of the Dublin Declaration is, therefore, primarily political. While the document identifies areas for government cooperation, it does not specify which projects will be funded, what resources will be made available, or when concrete results might emerge.

The term "Dublin Declaration" can refer to several different official or scientific statements:

• Dublin Declaration of Scientists on the Societal Role of Livestock (2023): A scientific consensus statement emphasizing the nutritional, environmental, and socio-economic benefits of animal agriculture and warning against generalized anti-livestock reductionism (The Dublin Declaration).

• Dublin Declaration on Trustworthy, Safe and Sovereign Artificial Intelligence (2026): A commitment adopted by participating EU member states on October 14, 2026, focused on AI safety, infrastructure investment, public sector innovation, and European AI sovereignty (DETE).

• Dublin Declaration on Maternal Healthcare (2012): A statement signed by medical practitioners asserting that direct abortion is not medically necessary to save a mother's life, used in global debates regarding abortion laws (Committee for Excellence in Maternal Healthcare).

• European Declaration on Global Education to 2050 (GE2050): Adopted during the Dublin Congress in November 2022 to integrate global education into learning systems (GENE).

• Dublin Declaration on Access to Environmental Information: A United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) document relating to environmental transparency (UN Digital Library).

• Global Diaspora Summit Dublin Declaration: An outcome document focusing on diaspora engagement supported by the African Union and international partners (iDiaspora)

mundophone

 

TECH

Thermal energy storage could let nuclear plants flex with the grid

The increasing penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources (RES) introduces significant volatility to electric grids worldwide. While RES are crucial for global decarbonization, their variable nature creates a mismatch between energy supply and demand, necessitating flexible grid balancing solutions. However, large-scale baseload units, particularly nuclear power plants (NPPs), are traditionally designed for steady-state operation. To illustrate this challenge, Poland serves as a highly relevant case study as it exemplifies the conflict between inflexible baseload generation and a highly dynamic energy market. RES have a fast-growing share in Poland’s energy mix, reaching 36.6 GW (∼51% of total installed capacity) by the end of October 2025, a 3.5 GW increase over the end of 2024. While this expansion aligns with broader climate goals under the “Fit for 55″ European Union package, which aims for a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, it has also led to electricity grid stability issues. Renewable energy curtailment periods occur more frequently during periods of low demand or constrained transmission capacity – in 2024, 731.4 GWh of renewable energy was curtailed, compared to 74.4 GWh in 2023 and 8.4 GWh in 2022. This trend has intensified further, as curtailed renewable energy totalled 1347 GWh by the end of November 2025.

This results in wasted potential of installed RES capacity, their reduced profitability and higher average carbon dioxide emissions of grid electricity, but also forces coal and lignite power plants, designed for baseload operation, to work as grid stabilisation units, further reducing their efficiency and increasing their carbon footprint. The problem is likely to grow, as the capacity of weather-dependent power sources is expected to increase by 58.8 GW (178%) by 2040.

In 2024, Poland used coal-fired and gas-fired units for grid stabilization. Coal and lignite plants generated 105 TWh, approximately 63% of national electricity demand. Coal-fired power units can adjust their output with ramp rates of 2–4% of installed capacity per minute. They also have a technical minimum of 40–50% of their installed capacity and start-up times of up to 5 h, limiting their ability to balance intermittent RES generation. Coal-fired units are expected to be decommissioned by 2049 (with approximately 30% phased out by 2030), so cleaner alternatives are sought to replace them, such as combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT) and NPPs. Simultaneously, various energy storing solutions are considered to allow the use of renewable energy at a time other than when it was generated. Pumped hydroelectric storage offers large capacities, but is strictly limited by geographical constraints. Hydrogen generation incurs severe round-trip efficiency penalties, while sensible or latent heat storage (e.g., using molten salts) requires costly intermediate heat exchangers and complex plant redesigns. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) provide rapid response, however their operational lifespan is limited due to calendar and cyclic aging. The distinct advantage of adopting a direct-steam accumulator approach is its low-intrusion nature and working fluid compatibility as it utilizes the exact same medium as already used in the secondary circuit of an NPP, avoiding the need for construction of intermediate heat transfer loops.

Modern nuclear power plants, similarly to coal units, are classified as thermal power plants. They use steam as a working medium in the Rankine cycle for power generation and offer comparable ramp rates usually between 2.5–5% of their power capacity per minute (depending on their power output at a given time and progress of the fuel cycle). Their technical minimum can be as low as 20% of their installed capacity (with load cycling operation between 50% and 100% of rated power), but the time to reach full power depends on how they were shut down and their operation before the shutdown (related to reactor poisoning). Nuclear power plants are considered a low-emission energy source with a median lifecycle emission factor of 12 g CO2eq/kWh, comparable to values for onshore wind turbines (11 g CO2eq/kWh) and lower than for utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) installations (48 g CO2eq/kWh).

According to Poland’s energy system projections, generation III + nuclear power plants with a combined installed capacity of 6.2 GW will be introduced by 2040. NPPs are anticipated to operate predominantly at baseload, with minimal grid stabilization roles, due to high capital costs and concerns about possible accelerated component degradation from frequent load adjustments. Periodic shortfalls in renewable energy source (RES) generation will be addressed through three primary measures: 12.9 GW of storage systems, 0.8 GW of gas-fired peaking plants, and a significant overcapacity of RES installations (90 GW) relative to projected average demand (35 GW).

The feasibility of using variations in the power output of the plant's nuclear reactor has been explored for the Slovenian power grid – the results demonstrate promising capability to compensate for daily solar power fluctuations, but also highlight control challenges such as managing boron concentration and control rod movements, potentially affecting reactor stability and waste generation. Another, revenue-oriented analysis for the U.S. Southwest power grid showed that flexible nuclear power plant operation allows for higher integration of wind and solar resources and provides frequency regulation, therefore improving the profitability of nuclear plants.

Integrating thermal energy storage (TES) with NPPs could improve operational flexibility to address grid demand fluctuations or RES oversupply, while maintaining stable reactor output and avoiding excessive load variations. This method leverages NPPs as dispatchable power sources by stabilizing thermal output through secondary steam circuit heat storage, decoupling electricity generation from direct reactor operation.

Nuclear power plants were engineered to do one thing exceptionally well: generate electricity at a steady rate, around the clock. That design philosophy made sense for decades, but it is increasingly at odds with a grid that now shares space with solar and wind resources whose output rises and falls with the weather and the time of day. Researchers at the University of Central Florida’s Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research (CATER) argue that thermal energy storage, or TES, could be the key to reconciling the two.

In a study published in the Journal of Energy Resources Technology, Part A: Sustainable and Renewable Energy, the CATER team paired thermodynamic modeling with an economic analysis of how nuclear plants could operate in a shifting energy market. The paper, titled “Molten Salt Reactor Dispatch Optimization via Thermal Energy Storage: Coupled Thermodynamic Modeling and Rolling-Horizon Economic Analysis,” examines how a molten salt reactor equipped with TES could be dispatched more flexibly than conventional nuclear plants allow. The research team included doctoral research assistants Augusto Delavald Marques and Abhilash Prasad, postdoctoral scholar Shinjan Ghosh, associate professor Erik Fernandez, alumnus Marcel Otto, and CATER director Jayanta Kapat.

The core problem the researchers set out to address is a mismatch between reactor design and grid demand. “Nuclear power needs to be flexible while nuclear reactors operate at a steady pace because grid demand varies throughout the day,” Marques says. “This is a challenge for power plants because they must adjust quickly to meet grid demand.”

Traditional nuclear plants are not built to cycle rapidly on and off. When demand drops, operators face an unattractive choice: deliberately ramp down output, which can place mechanical stress on equipment, or keep producing electricity that the grid does not currently need. Both options carry costs, and both become more frequent as weather-dependent renewables claim a larger share of generation.

TES offers a third path. Instead of forcing the reactor itself to follow demand, a storage system can absorb excess heat produced by the reactor and regulate how much of that heat is delivered to the power conversion side of the plant. When electricity demand is low, heat accumulates in storage; when demand climbs, the stored thermal energy can be drawn down to run the plant’s generation equipment.

The reactor keeps operating at the steady pace it was designed for, while the plant’s electrical output flexes to match the grid. The flexibility has a financial dimension as well. Electricity prices fluctuate through the day as supply and demand shift, and the researchers’ rolling-horizon economic analysis was designed to capture how dispatch decisions play out under those changing conditions.

“By storing the energy when demand and prices are low and using it when demand and prices increase, it can increase the value of the electricity produced,” Ghosh says. In effect, TES lets a nuclear plant sell its output when it is worth the most rather than when the reactor happens to produce it. The study’s focus on molten salt reactors reflects where the researchers see the opportunity.

“As renewable power generation grows, the need for flexibility in nuclear plants has become more important,” Marques says. “The deployment of next-generation nuclear reactors in the US over the next few years, such as molten salt reactors, is an opportunity to incorporate TES and improve the integration of nuclear and renewable energy on the same grid.”

It is worth emphasizing what the study does and does not show. The findings come from coupled thermodynamic modeling and economic analysis, not from an operating plant, so the results represent model-based projections of how a TES-equipped molten salt reactor could be dispatched and how such dispatch might affect revenue. Real-world performance would depend on factors the models necessarily simplify.

For a country investing in both advanced reactors and large volumes of solar and wind, the CATER team’s analysis suggests that the heat leaving a reactor does not have to become electricity at the exact moment it is produced. Stored as thermal energy and released on schedule, it could give nuclear power the dispatch flexibility that modern grids increasingly demand, without asking reactors to do something they were never designed to do.

The integration of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) systems with nuclear power plants is gaining momentum within the scientific community. Researchers from institutions such as the Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research (CATER) at the University of Central Florida (UCF), MIT, and various national laboratories have been exploring the use of these technologies to revolutionize the role of nuclear energy in modern power grids.

💡 The problem with traditional nuclear energy...Conventional nuclear power plants are designed to operate under a constant-load (baseload) regime. The reactor core functions most safely and economically when it generates a continuous, stable flow of heat.

However, as the share of intermittent renewable sources (such as solar and wind) in the energy mix grows, electricity demand and prices fluctuate significantly:

• Damaging cycles: Forcing a nuclear reactor to rapidly ramp its power output up or down—a process known as "load following"—subjects equipment to thermal stress and shortens its operational lifespan.

• Negative prices: During periods of peak renewable energy production, nuclear power plants are often forced to sell electricity at very low—or even negative—prices, as they cannot be shut down quickly.

Integrating Thermal Energy Storage (TES) with nuclear power plants allows steady-state nuclear reactors to adapt to fluctuating grid demands and high levels of renewable energy without constantly ramping their internal heat production.

How nuclear-TES integration works:

• Decoupling Generation: Traditional nuclear plants struggle to cycle rapidly on and off. TES acts as a thermal buffer in the secondary steam circuit or heat loop, separating continuous reactor operation from real-time electricity generation.

• Absorbing Excess Heat: During periods of low electricity demand or high solar and wind generation, surplus heat or power is diverted to charge the thermal storage medium (such as molten salt or steam accumulators).

• Releasing Stored Power: During peak demand hours or when renewable output drops, the stored thermal energy is sent to turbines to generate extra electricity alongside the reactor's baseline output.

Key benefits:

• Reactor Stability: Keeps the nuclear core running at a constant, optimal output, avoiding mechanical stress from frequent load-following.

• Economic Value: Allows plants to store energy when electricity prices are low and dispatch it when prices spike, improving financial returns.

• Renewable Integration: Helps grids absorb variable wind and solar energy, preventing renewable curtailment and acting as a dispatchable low-carbon resource.

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