• Householders are getting free hot water from Heata, a company that installs rented servers in homes
• Heat generated by the servers is passed to the water supply for showers and hot taps
• Heata pays for any additional electricity used, ensuring homeowners win and businesses have their data stored safely

What happens to waste heat from servers? In a server room or data center, the heat is removed through industrial cooling systems and exhausted. But what if it could be reused? What if that heat could be used to keep domestic heating bills down?

Heata is one of several companies across the UK and Europe delivering solutions to server space and heating costs. Domestic waste-heat use appears to be a growing industry, and offers homeowners the chance to cut bills significantly while giving businesses low-cost server space.

The idea is simple: install a server in the home, rent the server space to businesses, and donate the heat generated by compute processes to the home, reducing their energy bills in the process.

How servers heat homes

If you’ve worked in a server room, you know how hot things can get, particularly if there is a problem with the extraction system. This is the starting point for these so-called “data furnaces” where the heat from an active compute unit is used to heat water. Heata say that the waste heat from a single data center could provide hot water for around 30,000 homes, which puts it into context.

Their model is simple: a compute model is attached to a hot water cylinder, heating the water and reducing the requirement for gas heating. Homes need fast broadband to provide fast data routing to the compute module, and Heata pays for additional electricity used by the mini server. It aims to provide around 80% of heat for the heating system, reducing domestic gas bills considerably.

Like Heata, Wales-based Thermify is looking for trial customers. Their system is a little different, relying on a HeatHub, within which a cluster of Raspberry Pi Compute Modules are generating data solutions and heat.

Compatible boilers

While the having a server or compute unit in a remote part of your property to assist in heating the water – essentially using the same electricity twice – might seem an attractive option, it does not come without shortcomings. For example, there is the issue of compatibility.

With the Heata example, only vented hot water cylinders can be used. Unvented, pressurised cylinders are not compatible. Other providers of similar data-to-heat services can provide the heated water in other ways – for example, Thermify uses its HeatHub to replace a home’s boiler.

With no new homes permitted to have gas boilers installed from 2027 onward, an alternative to hot water is needed, and companies turning data into heat could be the best solution.

• Adobe Premiere is now free on Android, following its earlier roll-out to iPhone
• Premiere offers everything you can get on Canva, and more, without the subscription fees
• Compatible with Android 13 and later and requiring 5GB of RAM, it is unlikely to run on most Chromebooks, and is without advanced desktop features

Adobe has launched its flagship Adobe Premiere software as a mobile app on Android, and has made it free to use. After its previous release on iPhone in 2025, the stripped down take on Premiere has proved to be a smart move from Adobe, attracting users away from upstart competitor Canva.

Like Canva, Adobe Premiere for mobile has AI features. While free to download and use the app, you’ll still need to pay for the AI credits to use those features, but this will likely prove more affordable than the monthly plan of the desktop version.

A standard Adobe Premiere Pro subscription on desktop will typically cost £21.98/$22.99 a month with an annual plan, which makes the new Adobe Premiere for Android an attractive option if you don’t need the full set of features. There’s a bonus, too: if you use a modern Chromebook with Google Play installed, you should be able to use this version of Adobe Premiere.

Is it really Adobe Premiere?

While Adobe Premiere Rush is already available on Android, this is a pretty basic take on the video editing tools now in demand by content creators. This new free Adobe Premiere – which doesn’t have the same features as the desktop original – is a more accomplished version than Adobe Premiere Rush, with multi-track timeline, audio enhancements, 4K video, and more.

Adobe is generally better value than Canva, and the company’s decision to release feature-packed mobile versions of Adobe Premiere on iPhone and now Android underlines how seriously it takes the competition. While Adobe has a massive market share in the creative software market, Canva’s small 4% is backed by a more active user base.

Both tools offer creative AI, but Adobe has a legacy of providing audio and video editing software. The free Adobe Premiere app offers access to the Adobe Stock and support for creator assets, too – and unlike Canva, doesn’t demand a login to start using it.

Free Adobe tools on Android

To install Adobe Premiere on Android, you’ll need Android 13 or later, with 5GB of RAM. The first release has a download of just under 60MB, and Firefly-powered generative AI features will require an active internet connection. Modern Chromebooks with over 4GB of RAM should be able to run the software, although there is every chance that Adobe removes that option.

Other Adobe tools are also available on Android. Aside from Adobe Premiere Rush (which would seem to be heading to retirement), Adobe Lightroom Mobile, Adobe Photoshop Express, and Adobe Express are among the most popular, offering mobile takes on the desktop Photoshop experience. These also provide an alternative to Canva’s monthly subscription, and again are free to use but have some paid features.

• $1.6 billion has been claimed by scammers impersonating police and government officials
• The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received almost 61,000 complaints concerning such scams between January 2025 and July 2026
• Some scams targeted foreign nationals and immigrants, threatening to cancel passports or impose extradition, unless payment is made

Between January 2025 and July 2026, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received almost 61,000 complaints concerning scams using police and government official impersonation tactics. As a result, around $1.6 billion is believed to have been scammed and extorted.

Tactics used by scammers included unsolicited phone calls and in some cases video calls, with victims losing an average of $26,000 per scam.

Particularly concerning is the targeting of foreign nationals, international students, and immigrant citizens, often with threats to cancel visas and home country passports. Incredibly, 10% of all losses were traced to a single scam, one that targeted fewer than 3% of the victims.

Foreign national victims

According to the FBI, the fake cop/fake government official scam has various angles, from alleging missed jury duty to threatening arrest due to circumstantial links to an alleged crime.

The demand from the scammers, inevitably, is payment.

Making a commitment to extreme lengths of scamming and extortion, the criminals took things to a new level when it came to targeting victims. International students, visiting foreign nationals, and other immigrant citizens were given special treatment. Not only were they threatened with extradition, there was also the implication of victims losing their home country passport.

To convince the target, scammers built actual studio sets, donned uniforms or suits, and appeared in video calls to the victims, who were convinced they were talking to foreign law enforcement agents or US-based diplomats. Creating the illusion of officialdom to sell the scam, victims paid whatever necessary to stay in their adopted country.

How to spot the scam

It is important to note that not all fraud of this type takes place in the US. These may be online or offline, but the so-called fake cop scam is an international criminal phenomenon. So, how do you avoid it?

We’ll assume you’ve answered a call inadvertently rather than having spam calls blocked (that should be set already).

First, remain calm. These situations are designed to impose stress and heightened anxiety. Scammers rely on these factors to cloud their victim’s judgement and force the narrative they are selling (“you missed jury duty”/“your presence in the country is illegal.”)

Second, it is vital to request credentials. Failure to provide these is the first red flag that the person communicating with you is not what they seem. That’s your cue to end the conversation.

Third, check the credentials. It doesn’t matter how long this takes – a legitimate caller will not mind waiting for you to do the necessary background check, even if it means them calling back.

Finally, and most importantly: neither law enforcement, security services, nor the FBI will demand money. If that is happening, it’s time to end the call.

• Privacy policies are famously difficult to read, and in the world of LLMs, they’re impenetrable and long
• The policy for Meta’s Muse Spark is over 14,000 words long, taking almost an hour to read
• Cybersecurity firm Bridewell carried out the study, assessing the privacy policies of 20 popular LLMs

When you input data into an AI chatbot, you expect it to interpret and process the words or numbers to save you time. But what is it doing with that data? You can check the privacy policy to find out – assuming, that is, that you have the time to do so.

A new study has found that the average time it takes to read a privacy policy for an LLM is 20 minutes – and some are a much longer read.

With around 75% of people admitting to using an AI chatbot at least once a month, understanding where the questions and data queries are going and how they are used is increasingly important.

Ease of reading

Privacy policies provide that understanding, but are they easy to read? A study by Bridewell’s cyber security experts suggests not, with many having a poor Fleisch Reading Ease Score, meaning that in layman’s terms, these documents are pretty impenetrable.

Bridewell’s study assessed privacy policies from 20 large language models (LLMs), and found that the average length of time to read one is 20 minutes. The average word count is 4,603, but the real challenge is understanding the information.

The Flesch Reading Ease Score is a measure of readability devised by Rudolf Flesch in 1948, and is widely used to score texts. A score over 60 is good, whereas a score below that is not. The average Flesch score for these privacy policies is 40.2, suggesting a degree of jargon-based density that most people will not understand.

How, then, might the general public safely use an LLM chatbot like ChatGPT or Google Gemini while in full knowledge of how the information they input is being used?

Training on inputs

In evaluating the LLMs, Bridewell found that 13 of the 20 use inputs and outputs to train their models. Some LLMs offer the option to opt out of training, but others do not. Even where an opt out is possible, it isn’t always clear how to action it.

“It’s essential for users to fully understand how their data is being processed by LLMs, and businesses need clear internal guidance on what can and can't be shared, and ideally proper enterprise accounts with the right protections in place," noted Chris Linnell, Associate Director of Data Privacy at Bridewell,  "employees may be at risk of sharing highly sensitive or confidential information that may end up being used to train LLMs.”

There isn’t just a personal risk from data input into an AI. Employees need to be aware of how they are using the technology for work.

As a rule of thumb, the more complex the LLM (e.g., Meta's Muse Spark, or Moonshot AI’s Kimi K), the longer the privacy policy takes to read.

• A Vladimir Putin press call showed the Russian president casting an online vote for the country’s parliamentary elections
• The short clip has revealed that not only is Putin using a US-built Dell PC, it is running Windows 10 – and the license has not been activated
• Putin’s example of voting online is intended to encourage voters to take part, but has instead raised eyebrows and launched memes

Parliamentary elections in Russia took place on Friday, September 18 2026, with online voting for positions in the State Duma open to the public for the first time. To demonstrate the ease of online voting, a press call highlighted Russian President Vladimir Putin casting his vote – but this hasn’t gone quite as planned.

While the president appeared to have difficulty reading the display, the real challenge seems to be that the Russian leader is using a version of Windows 10 that has not been activated. Furthermore, the PC is a Dell, rather than a Russian-built system.

The Putin publicity stunt has already launched memes, but the it also raises questions about his ability to use a computer, not to mention the suitability of the hardware for voting.

“You can’t go wrong”

With 73-year-old President Putin lined up for the cameras with the Dell PC set up on his desk, he goes through the motions of “voting online,” presumably to demonstrate how easy it is. (In person and mail voting options were also available.)

The press call has all the authenticity of an unlicensed copy of Windows 10. Ironically, this is exactly what is in use, as you can see toward the end of the video.

Watch to the end:

Although an initial reaction might be “Russian state IT is pretty weak,” it seems more likely that the state-controlled hardware overseeing infrastructure, networks, and military systems is far more up-to-date. What is more likely is that that PC was pulled out of a back room and an old copy of Windows quickly installed simply to provide President Putin with his short encouragement to vote.

Dell vs. Aquarius

The use of a Dell PC is curious, however. While Russia and the US have cordial relations, it seems strange for the Russian president to use a foreign PC. Sanctions aside, Russia has a policy of forcing the use of home-grown brands (such as Aquarius) over those from overseas.

After voting, the five-times elected Russian leader uttered the memorable line “you can’t go wrong,” in his native language, perhaps highlighting the futility of voting for any candidates not in his favoured party, United Russia.

While it is difficult to assess the legitimacy of the elections in Russia itself, the governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom have challenged the elections in occupied Ukraine territories. The nations have described the them as “sham elections” that violate “Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence, and the UN Charter.”

• Over 1,000 small drones are being added to the British Army’s modernized battlefield surveillance kit
• 245 FOXE-NATO drones from Evolve Dynamics in Hampshire, England, have been ordered by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), with a further 670 built by California-based Skydio
• A further £400 million investment in “long-endurance surveillance drones” has also been announced

The British government has announced spending on over 1,000 small surveillance drones for the British Army, as part of its Defence Investment Plan. This includes compact, lightweight devices assembled at UK-based Evolve Dynamics, designed for fast deployment.

Announcing the spending plans and investment, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has emphasized the use of what it terms Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) drones as a step forward in detecting emerging threats.

In addition, a huge £400 million is being invested in replacing the Watchkeeper Uncrewed Air System. This unmanned drone surveillance program has been in operation since 2014, and is being retired in 2027.

UK companies handling delivery

In total, 1,025 smaller drones are being procured in the £16 million deal, which involves deals with a trio of UK-based companies. Among these small and medium sized companies is Evolve Dynamics, a Hampshire-based company which is supplying the army with 245 FOXE-NATO drones. Weighing under 250g and equipped with infrared cameras for nighttime use, the FOXE-NATO drones are also designed for quick deployment from a backpack or pouch.

Meanwhile, Marlborough Communications Limited, in Surrey, England, is supplying the MoD with 670 Skydio X10 INTL drones, also capable of a fast deployment and speeds of up to 45 mpg. Skydio is a California-based company.

Finally, Exeter-based Brigantes Consulting and and Harmattan AI are delivering 110 SONORA drones. These are training devices, to prepare soldiers for using field-ready drones.

“Our soldiers deserve the best technology, and that’s what we’re delivering,” said Luke Pollard MP, the UK’s Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry.

“From small drones giving troops eyes on the enemy, to the AR5 offering commanders better intelligence over the battlefield, we’re transforming the Army’s ability to see, understand and act first.”

“This is defence procurement that backs British industry, creates skilled jobs and keeps our Armed Forces ahead of our adversaries.”

Long-endurance

Joining the smaller surveillance and training drone expenditure, the MoD has announced a £400 million spend on a fleet of Tekever AR5 surveillance drones (initially six, rising to 24 by 2029), designed and built for endurance. These craft have already seen action in Ukraine.

“We are proud to be delivering the AR5 to the British Army at this critical moment for national security,” said Tekever UK’s Managing Director Karl Brew. “This investment allows us to grow our UK operations, create hundreds of skilled jobs and bring cutting-edge surveillance technology, proven on the battlefield in Ukraine, into service with British forces.”

These units, capable of carrying up to 50kg of cameras and sensors, are being assembled at Swindon, UK, and the contract is expected to create 1,000 jobs at sites around the UK, including sites in the South West, Edinburgh, and London.

• So-called signal sharing between Microsoft and Google uncovered the RedVDS marketplace was behind large-scale cyber fraud
• RedVDS sold access to virtual machines running unlicensed software from which cybercriminals launched scams and directed attacks
• Threat data was shared securely via the Global Signal Exchange (GSE), a non-profit organization

A major cybercrime marketplace has been taken out of action thanks to cooperation between Microsoft and Google via a secure threat data sharing platform.

Known as the Global Signal Exchange, the collaboration led to the take-down of the RedVDS, an online cybercrime mall supplying virtual machines for launching phishing, business email compromise attacks, and more.

The marketplace – which provided quickly-deleted and therefore virtually untraceable VMs – was meticulously monitored by Microsoft’s security team, Digital Crimes Unit, with both Microsoft and Google suspending the operation and action taken to seize domains and servers.

A secondary case featuring the GSE identified a Microsoft-impersonating tech support scam, resulting, highlighting the importance of secure thread data collaboration platforms.

Digital Crimes Unit

Finding massive scams is not easy. Even with its own Digital Crimes Unit, Microsoft has to rely on information sharing with third party organizations. In this case, the RedVDS marketplace was identified ahead of disruptive action taken by Microsoft in January 2026, which applied to courts in the UK and US to have the RedVDS web domains seized.

Data shared via the GSE enabled Google to follow suit, identifying related accounts on its networks and suspending them. Meanwhile, servers were impounded in Germany, and Europol took action against Europe-based RedVDS servers.

It’s an impressive account of cooperative, decisive action against cybercrime, a collaborative response to what has been described as a “$66 million fraud marketplace.”

An incredible 130,000 organizations were targeted by RedVDS-provided virtual machines between September and December 2025, with 191,000 Microsoft email accounts compromised during this period. All of this access to cybercrime was available from just $24 a month for a basic scam-ready virtual machine.

The importance of collaboration

The Global Signal Exchange is a UK-based non-profit, co-founded with Google in 2025 with the aim of providing real-time monitoring of the cybercrime supply chain.

"Fraud does not respect company boundaries, and no single organization ever sees the whole picture," noted Emily Taylor, CEO at Oxford Information Labs and Co-Founder of the Global Signal Exchange.

"That is exactly why we built GSE: to give trusted partners a secure way to share what they know, quickly. These two cases are a good example of GSE doing exactly what it was designed to do."

The Global Signal Exchange’s role in the sharing of information between Google and Microsoft has highlighted the importance in such collaborations. Both organizations have stated they plan to continue sharing information through the GSE, whose other partners include Meta, Amazon, Google, among many others.

• 85% of employees are being encouraged to use AI in the workplace
• Incredibly, 42% don’t know why AI is being used in the first place, raising questions about company strategies with the technology
• Some 112,000 people responded to the survey globally

“Why are we using AI?” That seems to be the view of almost half (48%) of employees, according to new research that looks at AI adoption in business. While a majority (85%) of workers are being encouraged to rely on AI for tasks, many don’t know why.

While employees certainly seem to feel the benefits of AI, citing benefits of increased productivity and motivation, the big question appears to surround their managers. The survey, by Culture Amp, points at a disconnect between corporate strategy around AI and how managers are (or are not) communicating this to their teams.

The survey also emphasizes that it is still early days in the AI revolution, and that the impact of the technology on workforces and individual roles is yet to become apparent.

Decisive insights

Culture Amp’s report, How Employees Really Feel About AI at Work, is described as a benchmark, and as the inaugaural publication looks set to chart the path of AI in the workplace over the coming years.

Its initial findings raise questions about how AI is really being introduced and used in businesses around the world. With 112,000 survey respondents questioned, situated within 123 businesses around the globe, the report offers one of the most decisive insights into business AI use yet.

The unfinished plan

Employees are telling us they understand the risks, they are using the tools, and they feel more productive," notes Amy Lavoie VP of People Science at Culture Amp. "That is not a workforce resisting change. That is a workforce that has done its part and is waiting on leadership to do theirs.”

The lack of decisive direction from management may not be entirely the fault of individual managers. In some cases, the corporate direction for AI use may be “in development” with leaders waiting on clearer instructions to communicate to their teams.

“We do not know with certainty which roles AI reshapes, which skills hold their value, or what a career path looks like three years out,” says Lavoie. “As a result, leaders may go quiet, because saying nothing feels safer than saying something that turns out to be wrong.”

So what is the answer? How do employees struggling to find the sense in using AI come to terms with the lack of direction concerning its use?

Lavoie concludes: “The most useful thing a leader can do right now is admit the plan is unfinished, and then keep talking anyway. Certainty is not what employees need from you right now. Candor is."

• A collaboration between Samsung and Qualcomm aims to harness 'organic bridge' technology to reduce costs for AI CPUs
• The process is being developed for 2.1D packaging, a lower-cost integration than 2.5D , where silicon, glass, or ceramic materials are used
• Resins and composites are among the organic materials typically used in semiconductor integration

Samsung and Qualcomm have collaborated on a new type of CPU that takes advantage of organic materials for integration between layers, rather than silicon or its alternatives.

Described as an “organic bridge,” the technology is intended for AI semiconductors.

The development of what has been named 2.1D packaging is aimed at reducing costs in AI chip fabrication, where 2.5D packaging is typically used. 2.5D chips rely on silicon, glass, or ceramic for connectivity between layers of microcircuits. With 2.1D, however, the use of organic material improves bandwidth.

The organic bridge

The key element of the 2.1D packaging is the organic bridge. It’s a technology adopted (and shrunk down) from PCB manufacture, and can reduce reduce production costs while boosting assembly. In short, it is a mass producer’s dream.

Rather than the silicon (or an inorganic alternative), the organic bridge is a layer cut from resin or polymer. Its purpose is to connect multiple microcircuit dies, while providing insulation, as with silicon. However, the organic bridge has been proved to be more efficient, and can be produced more easily at scale. In addition, the organic bridge solves the supply chain issues surrounding silicon.

Development of the technology for die fabrication appears to have commenced around October 2024, when a patent for “interconnected bridge” technology was filed.

With the drive towards increased AI data centers in full swing, the 2.1D processor packaging could prove pivotal in delivering the predicted benefits of artificial intelligence.

Multiple partners

Qualcomm isn’t the only partner Samsung is working with on organic bridge technology. Various other companies have also expressed an interest in developing chips with 2.1D packaging.

The significance of the drive to build 2.1D packaging for AI chips has not gone unnoticed by other companies in the tech industry. Korean magazine TheElec suggests that other Samsung customers are interested in working with the giant’s Samsung Electro-Mechanics subsidiary to develop 2.1D. If true, this would suggest that 2.1D is being widely considered as one solution to the the cost and energy demands of AI processing.

Samsung isn’t the only chip maker working on 2.1D packaging. Intel Foundry Services has its own process in development, as does TSMC, which has expanded into 2.1D packaging after dominating the 2.5D market.

It seems that work between Samsung and Qualcomm has been ongoing for the past year, which indicates that it might be some time before any production-ready AI chips with 2.1D packaging are available.

• The Nuri rocket is set to deploy 15 satellites following a planned launch on October 7 2026
• Its payload consists its first five disaster response NEONSAT units, and 10 CubeSats
• The NEONSAT satellites will form the first half of a 10-strong microsatellite constellation, potentially laying the groundwork for a Starlink-style network for the country and beyond

South Korea is preparing for the fifth launch of its Nuri rocket, which will have a 15-strong payload of NEONSATs and CubeSats, marking the first time the nation has deployed a microsatellite constellation.

If successful, the launch could spearhead future projects that might even include a Starlink-like satellite internet service.

Five NEONSATS and 10 CubeSats will be deployed by the Nuri rocket, which has a planned launch date of October 7, 2026. Once launched, the five NEONSATS will later be joined by a further five microsatellites. With the 10-strong constellation monitoring the Korean Peninsula to assist with national security threat and disaster response procedures.

Electro-optical cameras

While the 10 CubeSats represent scientific and corporate partnerships in the launch, the NEONSATS are of particular interest. The quintet of New-space Earth Observation Satellite Constellation for National Safety units will be deployed first as a five-piece constellation, and thanks to electro-optical cameras will provide previously unavailable monitoring of South Korea from orbit, ostensibly for disaster response. However, they also have the capacity to provide support in national security scenarios.

South Korea and North Korea are technically still at war, despite recently proposing talks to officially end the 1953 armistice.

Park Jae-sung, head of the Korea AeroSpace Administration’s (KASA) space transportation division, told press that "On its fifth launch, the Nuri rocket will attempt Korea's first satellite constellation launch mission. It will mark a turning point for the country's satellite development as it advances toward mass production and constellation operations."

Is this a “Starlink” dry-run?

While the electro-optical cameras on the 500 kg NEONSATS offer unprecedented monitoring for disasters and potentially neighboring territories, the entire launch set up appears to mirror a completely different project: Starlink.

Korea’s home grown Nuri rocket, a fifth launch, and a long-term ambition to reach Mars by 2045 might seem like a general mirroring of Elon Musk’s plans with SpaceX. However, the launch of a microsatellite constellation adds a further dimension. Could South Korea be planning its own Starlink-like satellite internet communications network?

If the Nuri rocket successfully deploys its payloads and the NEONSATS link up as intended, a Starlink-like system at some point in the future should not be ruled out. However, this clear potential comes with a pretty big warning sign: North Korea.

Starlink currently refuses to provide internet to North Korea, where it is banned. Would a South Korea-only network of internet microsatellites be able to avoid providing connectivity to its neighbor? In practice, this should not be difficult using the type of Phased Array Antennas that Starlink employs, which directs data more specifically than was possible with traditional satellites.

Objections from North Korea – reasonable or otherwise – may scupper any Starlink-inspired ambitions from Seoul, however.

• Report finds 57% of UK organizations opted to extend legacy system use rather than replace the tech
• This is despite almost half of UK businesses are scaling AI
• Meanwhile, over three quarters of UK businesses have gone over budget on modernization, with over two thirds have paused or abandoned the process

Does technological progress necessarily mean replacing old gear? New research from Ensono claims businesses are keeping hold of legacy tech, with older systems extended and upgraded to support modern applications.

This is happening while businesses scale their AI use, focusing budgets on affordable upgrades for existing PCs, laptops, and servers on one hand, and embracing AI on the other. It’s a balancing act, one that is being managed by around 52% of businesses – 57% in the UK, and 48% in the US.

However, the driving factor for this reliance on older tech may not be smart budgeting and foresight. Across the US and UK, 61% of businesses have been forced to pause, scale back, delay, or even completely abandon IT modernization in the past two years.

IT modernization?

Ensono’s second annual State of IT Modernization Report seems to point to a change in how IT modernization is achieved: rather than replacing old tech, businesses are upgrading. The takeaway is that IT budgets are dictating a focus on AI spending, so where possible PCs, laptops, and some lower-end servers are increasingly being upgraded with faster, higher capacity storage and RAM.

Other key statistics in the report include the news that 71% of IT modernization projects have exceeded budgets, with workflow challenges (33%) and limitations with existing infrastructure (28%) among the roadblocks to an ROI on AI spending.

Underpinning all of this is the growth in decision makers declaring that AI is accelerating modernization, up from 39% last year to 54%.

Rediscovering legacy systems

Budget demands seem to be driving the reliance on older tech within organizations striving to keep up with AI modernization.

“AI is expanding the possibilities for modernization, enterprises are discovering that legacy systems, like the mainframe, are intensely powerful, reliable and efficient sources of computing that can now be augmented and made more agile thanks to AI," noted Brian Klingbeil, Chief Strategy Officer at Ensono.

This means that IT leaders are being forced to decide what needs to be preserved, and where to use AI investment wisely.

“These systems contain decades of data and business logic that drive many businesses,” says Klingbeil. “The advantage will go to organizations that understand their environments well enough to distinguish what should be replaced vs. what should be augmented, and embrace new modernization methods that simply were not available even 18 months ago."

• Future memory could be more durable thanks to developments with wurtzite ferroelectrics materials
• A new structural design has enabled a demonstration of 10 billion writing cycles, around 100 times the previous limit
• The breakthrough was made by scientists from the Xidian University working with the City University of Hong Kong and Fudan University.

Next generation memory for future AI systems will need far faster and more durable performance, and scientific researchers in China seem to have made a breakthrough, demonstrating a new design which can complete some 10 billion writing cycles, 100 times more than the previous limit.

This development – by teams at the Xidian University working with the City University of Hong Kong and Fudan University – is one of the most significant breakthroughs in memory development, and relies on the discovery of a quirk in the behavior of Nitrogen atoms.

Dense, low-power memory chips now seem to be a realistic possibility for a future demanding ever-scaling AI processing.

Wurtzite ferroelectrics

Creating faster memory and storage with greater capacity while keeping the energy requirements low is the holy grail of computing.

Over the past few years, research has increasingly focused on wurtzite ferroelectrics (polar crystal materials) such as aluminium scandium nitride (AlScN), which has the advantage of being compatible with semiconductor manufacturing processes currently in use.

It also offers that low energy target, along with the superior switching speed required by fast storage. Until now, the main challenge had been reliability. Testing of repeated switching in previously developed AlScN chips had resulted in failure after around 100 million writing cycles, but the researchers have found a solution.

Nitrogen cornfields

So, why has this breakthrough been made now? The previous failed attempts led researchers into deeper investigation as to why the AlScN chips would top out at 100 million cycles, which is where they found the problem: missing nitrogen atoms.

Wang Ruiqing, is a doctoral researcher at Xidian University and one of the authors of the research paper on the study, recently published in journal Science.

“Think of ferroelectric material as a neatly planted cornfield,” Wang said, “with nitrogen vacancies representing spots where seedlings are missing.” The defects were not the problem itself, however, but rather their behavior during switching. Rather than remain stationary, the nitrogen vacancies would move, and even group together. The consequence of this was the creation of “pathways” that allowed electricity to leak.

Upon discovering this, the team designed a structure to minimise the nitrogen vacancies, slowing the deterioration of the material.

“In the past, researchers knew that the devices failed and could observe some of the symptoms, but no one had been able to explain at the atomic scale what was moving, how they were moving and how that movement ultimately caused failure.” Wang added.

If successful, AlScN-based RAM and storage could form the backbone of future server farms and provide the framework for greater LLM and artificial intelligence adoption.