The Future of Autonomous Battling: Will it change the Balance of Power?

September 9, 2025

US department of defense_ Sgt. Cory D. Payne — *US Department of Defense / Sgt. Cory D. Payne, public domain* ^[1]

Although AI is a hot topic in the media, we hear little about its military uses. AI, machine learning, and the brain-computer interface will undoubtedly have a dramatic effect on battlefields of the future, and hence potentially on global balances of power. Are we prepared for that?

Any machine could rebel, from a toaster to a Terminator, and so it’s crucial to learn the common strengths and weaknesses of every robot enemy. Pity the fate of the ignorant when the robot masses decide to stop working and to start invading.

– Daniel H. Wilson ^[2]

Many years ago – never mind how many – as a graduate student at MIT, I was treated to alluring conversations about a relatively new research lab involved with machine vision, robots, and artificial intelligence. In the late 1960s, a whole department was devoted to artificial intelligence; the thinking was that machines could outsmart humans in various ways, including beating them at games like chess. Some staff and PhD students in the math department had switched departments because their instincts portended extraordinary excitement about the potential of a new research lab at MIT called MIT AI, a spin-off from what was then a small department researching operating systems, artificial intelligence, and computation theory. AI was then crude or, at most, narrow by today’s standards; indeed, some AI specialists working specific tasks call it “Narrow AI” (NAI).

The most exciting advance was a joke played by Professor Joseph Weizenbaum, who programmed a computer named ELIZA to act as if it were a human psychotherapist; it responded to users’ words by reorganizing the words to repeat them as plausible questions. Expectations were high, coming from a promising paradigm shift in believing that fundamental digital machine language, represented by sequences of 0s and 1s, could someday mimic human biochemical signals that trigger cognition. After all, in those days, computer buffs felt that everything hinged on computer models. And they were somewhat right. In that future, the MIT AI Research Lab was able to easily recruit young research staff and PhD students from the math department. I was not one of them, but I did go to a meeting with the director, Professor Marvin Minsky, who never said the word “artificial” but rather talked incessantly about what he called “intelligent machines.” I thought all machines worked intelligently but could not accept the simplest notion of an equivalence between machine and human intelligence, which must include imagination and emotions.

In 1987, we had a comprehensive understanding of how a machine can have what we think of as intelligence. That was 39 years ago, when an IBM computer known as Deep Blue beat the chess champion of the world, Garry Kasparov, in a chess match. Kasparov had that unique human skill of being able to process five moves ahead and possibly far more when needed. ^[3] For any chess match, the number of possible moves, countermoves, and outcomes is as vast as the number of stars in the universe. ^[4]

It depends on the nature of the position. Chess is a complicated game. But in positions where everything is forced – one move, one answer – I can calculate something between ten and fifteen moves ahead. But that happens very rarely. Usually, the positions are more complicated than that – one move, then five answers, each of them having five answers. You have to use your intuition in cases like that, your positional understanding. It’s very good if you can calculate five, six, maybe seven moves ahead.

– Garry Kasparov, Playboy interview ^[5]

In the 39 years that have passed, artificial intelligence has moved from being able to spot far more than just five chess moves ahead. Doing so for chess is far harder than beating anyone in checkers. These days, AI can go further to beat anyone in a match of Go, one of the oldest games in history. With data banks of millions of possible outcomes in games like chess and Go, AI is the master winner of all games that require 100 percent of skill, but that does not eliminate games of partial luck. For games, AI doesn’t fully know the difference between skill and luck; it feeds itself on its immense collection of data that points to all possible outcomes.

For games, AI doesn’t fully know the difference between skill and luck; it feeds itself on its immense collection of data that points to all possible outcomes.

We have been inundated by the news media’s volume of AI reporting, especially after witnessing the explosion on November 30, 2022, when OpenAI released ChatGPT, a tool to generate text, speech, and videos simply by user commands. From the opinions of political pundits to those of experts, we seem to be somewhat enlightened on the advantages and dangers. It is and will always be considered another dawn of the digital revolution, a societal future shock that brings with it bewilderment regarding what it is. We might not know what it is, but we do know it includes harmful effects of mis- and disinformation, raising the question of preparedness for such a blow against the way we build and process truthful information.

Machine engagements of conflict

What about war? Not chess, Go, or any competitive sport, but rather a sustained armed conflict causing battle-related human fatalities. All wars are deeply connected. AI could, or at least should, admit that its cyber-appendages can draw strong and elastic associations between one war and all.

The strongest connection is the unknown probability of winning. Like chess, the fundamental military model, each planned move of an armed conflict goes through a maze of possible realignment combat actions, each leading to the next. The “and then what” question arises. And just as in chess, that forward action is one of a myriad of others likely to be missed by the military commanders on one side or the other. That’s where military AI comes in: to foresee not just the ensuing realignment of combat decisions but also those in three, four, five, or 25 undisclosed possible adjustments down the line.

The most current brutal wars

Take the Ukraine-Russia war as an example. Russia failed to perceive beyond the second tier of possible consequences of its invasion. Military intelligence reports suggested that the invasion began with poor planning, readiness, and aged equipment. But had they relied on even the least sophisticated AI tools, the strategic moves would have advanced far more effectively. AI would have warned of the challenges, such as Ukraine’s military high motivation and Russia’s low combat readiness. These are warnings that AI does quite well. It would have signaled the likely finding that the West could supply Ukraine with the most sophisticated military equipment that would halt Russian air and sea operations. It would have given instructions on organization structure and even steps to avoid losing 16,071 military personnel killed in action in that first year after the invasion.

Another example is the Gaza War. After almost two years of war, we do not see a plan to end the Hamas-Israel conflict, other than an expansion of its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, codenamed Operation Gideon Chariots, aimed at defeating Hamas by destroying its military and taking control over most of Gaza. It seems clear that the Israeli Defense Forces are aiming to destroy Hamas, with a failure to see a few more possible strategies to gain any sense of what is likely to happen, say, in the third year of the war. AI would have warned the IDF about the possibility of hunger and a humanitarian catastrophe. It could have advised a plan among many that could have avoided the current explosion of international upsets. Instead, Israel has locked itself into a plan to demolish Hamas.

Wait! What and who is left of Hamas? With most of its military leaders in the Gaza Strip assassinated, what could be left to demolish? That war is essentially over. So, what is Israel’s next goal if there is no one left to kill? Perhaps it is the return of hostages. But is there a clear next move that will free a hostage or two? Or is there some secret political plan? As Ami Ayalon, an Israeli politician and former head of Shin Bet, Israel’s secret service, and commander-in-chief of the Navy, recently wrote in Foreign Affairs, “Wars without a clear political goal cannot be won. They cannot be ended. The longer the vacuum in Israel’s planning persists, the more international actors will have to come together to prevent an even worse catastrophe than the one currently unfolding.” ^[9] You see, here is the problem. With almost 75 percent of Gaza being taken by the IDF, and with over a third of Hamas fighters killed, Israel’s initial mission to defeat Hamas and bring back the living and dead hostages could be on the brink of being achieved. And yet, the war continues elusively. The IDF reported, “From the intelligence and findings on the ground, most of the Hamas Brigades have been dismantled. It is estimated that most of the battalions are at a low level of competency and can no longer function as a military framework.” ^[10] And yet, new fighters, perhaps thousands of recent recruits, in northern Gaza have appeared to rebuild brigades. “Hamas can draw on these 2 million people for recruits. Most Gazans are young, with many under the age of 25. This means Hamas needs to recruit a few percent, and it has many forces.” As the Times of Israel put it, “Hamas returned. Or perhaps Hamas never left.” ^[11]

Hammas Commanders in Gaza — *Hamas Commanders in Gaza*

Israel, being one of a half-dozen leaders in AI, must have had AI intelligence flagging the likely possibility that among the 2.1 million Gazans and Palestinian refugees remaining in Gaza, there is enough of a pool of reinvigorated young recruits to reinflate the forces and battalions needed to keep the war going. On July 28, Ron Dermer, Israel’s Minister for Strategic Affairs, spoke with David Friedman, a former US Ambassador, saying, “No outside force will be able to take control of Gaza if there are still 20,000 Hamas terrorists running around the territory. No investor will rebuild Gaza if Hamas remains, and things could flare up again. This is our opportunity to put Gaza on a different track and ensure security for decades to come.” ^[12] So, did AI give Israel that information earlier to pack some reasoning into its ongoing Gaza plans? Most likely, but they must not have been taken seriously, because political and commercial plans trumped reason. The warnings about new recruits must have been considered in planning adjustments as the war continued; Hamas lost 20,000 fighters in the beginning, but in two years of the war, it gained 20,000 to refill its brigades and battalions. Filling ranks to continue the war indefinitely was surely flagged from the beginning. AI would have warned that the active military objective would keep the war going chaotically under its chosen plan because every killing angers a noncombatant young person willing to die to satisfy emotional revenge. Did anyone listen to AI, or was its plan dead on arrival?

A sister of artificial intelligence: machine learning

While AI is, and will continue to be, used in armed conflicts to improve decision-making, machine learning (ML) contributes to enhancing autonomous weapons systems , “exacerbate existing power imbalances, and blur the lines of accountability in warfare.” ^[13] Those are two distinct but intertwined roles.

While AI is, and will continue to be, used in armed conflicts to improve decision-making, machine learning contributes to enhancing autonomous weapons systems.

For the past decade, the thermostat in my house has been learning my habits. It’s not AI per se, but ML. There is a difference. AI reaches for data; billions of pieces associated in one way or another with other pieces that can be algorithmized. ML has a correction function, a guessing game that makes decisions based on routines that work and those that don’t. Its functioning is not unlike human decision-making if we consider that we decide on the roads to take that are best for living well. My smart thermostat is just a guessing machine that goes by my routines, nothing more. The same works for my car’s lane change assist system that alerts me to dangers and could – if turned on – offer steering assistance with the help of sensors and cameras. It is just following what it knows and sees as potential hazards. Some of the newer cars collect data to be later used for the next level of safety. So, AI and ML mingle to help each other. Each has a function.

Here is the right question to ask: though AI can check human error and likely improve some efficiency, what could happen when its systems malfunction or become weaponized? ML could fail and turn a machine into a weapon; however, it does not make decisions – humans do. Self-driving cars control steering and braking by cameras and sensors to avoid calamities. And, in a stretched sense, they rely on physical data supported by precise satellite and road reports. Military AI is different. For that, ML is joined at the hip with AI. My article “Wars Of The Future Are Coming. Are We Ready?” reports on concerns that autonomous warfare strategies with mechanical soldiers might save lives, mostly on the side of who is using them, but how it behaves has moral and social ramifications following “the foundations of humanity itself, and who we are as a people.” ^[14] Some good may come from AI- and ML-supported future wars of autonomous battling; however, dangers could come from those new tools of warfare that could be used by criminal players, crime syndicates, militias, and terrorists. Military theaters are constantly reviewing how far they can go with international law restrictions.

How far can they go?

These days, almost all military operations include intelligence gathering, surveillance, pattern analysis, and analysis of enemy behavior, to optimize military strategies. NATO tells us that AI is used to identify and communicate risks or threats and give an advantage in preparing for attack.^[15]Even though the US, China, the UK, the European Union, and countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, signed a declaration in the UK (the Bletchley Park Declaration), agreeing that there are advantages, challenges, and risks, and warn that AI and ML could go wrongly in armed conflicts, they speedily continue to develop that technology with no hesitation. ^[16]The risks include autonomous fighter jets ready to attack without the human trait of instinctive hesitation.

Unmanned Fighter Jet
Photo credit: U.S. Air Force / Kyle Brasier
Public Doman

The photo above shows an X-62A VISTA, a modified F-16. Although it is a two-seater plane, generally, no humans are sitting in those seats during test flights. On May 2, 2024, however, Frank Kendall, former United States Secretary of the Air Force, flew in one of those seats while the X-62A entered a dogfight against a conventionally controlled F-16. “The dueling F-16s came nearly nose to nose in a series of maneuvers within 1,000 feet of each other, according to the Associated Press, which witnessed the aerial confrontation. The Air Force hasn’t disclosed a winner.” With that success, the U.S. Air Force plans to have over 1,000 autonomous fighter jets ready by 2028.^[17] “It’s a security risk not to have it. At this point, we must have it,” Kendall said after he landed. That brings us to a new kind of warfare.

Could AI-ML bring on more wars? AI can roughly sift through the data of two enemies to compare their military capabilities and the weight and balance of their powers. When that happens, an inevitable persuasive argument rises to aggressive heights of influence: the use of force to gain property or political advantage. AI can tell a leader whether a military success is achievable. The most noteworthy example is WWI. Although AI was not involved, since it didn’t yet exist, considerable data showed the balance of military power to be on the side of Germany. With that advantage, the Kaiser was able to play his cards of force. That force mistakenly drummed up his country’s capabilities to battle. AI, now with all its data-sifting analysis, could easily make the same mistake, for war has hidden complexities that ride on the view that war is biologically necessary for some animal species that struggle with subsistence and fight for existence. No surprise: leaders with high military power, especially those with grandiose self-image, instinctually weigh their odds in decision-making and conflict-planning. Military advantages tend to be triumphalist itches for wars. The military historian and Prussian general Friedrich Adams Julius von Bernhardi, who was “the first German to ride through the Arc de Triomphe when the Germans entered Paris”, wrote in his best-selling 1911 book Germany and the Next War, “[War] is a biological necessity … the natural law, upon which all the laws of Nature rest, the law of the struggle for existence.” ^[18] That primordial impulse will always be with us, along with the good, bad, and acceptable human urges that brought us to this stage of existence.

Delegating lethality decisions to machines

How does AI tweak the advantages or balances of power, if it does? The Vietnam War has an answer: the American strategy was based on chess, while the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army, under a cultural difference, played their guerrilla war as if it were a game of Go. They are very different strategies! In chess, we take out the most valuable pieces. In Go, we encompass territory. But the strongest tweak comes from AI’s decision-making after analyzing data that could be true, false, or weak. When AI sifts through its data, it can fact-check at fantastic speeds, easily corroborating a million sides, if there are that many. When it comes to a final decision without human oversight – because, in war moves, the mass of possible actions, procedures, and episodes could be too enormous without a capacity for help from someone like Garry Kasparov – potential mistakes leading to accidental escalation are likely. That is because AI algorithms, with all their speed and capacity, can also generate realistic but fake information and shoddy, junk, or manipulated science using their own tools to flood the web, and be confused by their own creations and how they interpret them. Remember that a half-billion pieces of disinformation come from AI sifting through the world of data that it hopes to analyze without human reliance, and thereby without regard for even the smallest range of human values. But that is only one part of military AI. Another is weapon automation, and all the speed-of-light tools of administering robotic command and control attack networks in black-box deliberation and unpredictable decision-making, soon after compiling neutral and biased data, whether for preemptively defensive or offensive conclusions.

When AI sifts through its data, it can fact-check at fantastic speeds, easily corroborating a million sides, if there are that many.

Military AI is used for planning warfare strategies that save lives, and autonomous weaponry that sidesteps moral and social ramifications. Future wars could be less lethal if wars are to become robot against robot. How they advance regarding killing will depend on the brilliance of human strategic planning, not on AI decision-making, but rather on the continued sales of new tools used by criminal players, crime syndicates, militias, and terrorists. ^[19] So much can go wrong with weapons tied to AI autonomy that have neither fear nor emotions. Of course, military planners understand that there are natural biases that need overseeing with hopes that commitments sensibly follow international law restrictions before funding. Lives could be saved, and machines that fight without care can replace soldiers. War would then become a platform of entertainment. However, war is never simple. Moral codes of robot specs depend on how tactical intelligence is programmed regarding robot sensors that could clash with objectives, Those conflicting situations ignoring the human brain, as Daniel Wilson said, “might go berserk not knowing when to click the off switch.”

AI moves so fast that sometimes it is so far ahead of its game that it does not find rare but essential hidden nuances of change. It scans data to learn immense amounts of information, while uncovering intelligence treasures by sifting through garbage. It cannot learn much when human ideas swiftly surface as paradigm shifts, vis-à-vis the recent switch from trench warfare using tanks and armored personnel carriers to the simplicities of automated drone wars. The Ukrainian military did not invent the drone; the overwhelming drone strategy has changed the war’s dynamic to maintain an edge by drones, causing more than 80 percent of Russian frontline casualties and the destruction of almost 90 percent of Russian tanks and armored vehicles. The brilliance of Ukraine’s AI drone approach offsets the balance of power; Russia thought it had an enormous advantage with its tanks, missiles, armored personnel carriers, and planes, but its war plans, with all its AI planning, totally missed “Operation Spiderweb” backing Ukrainian warrior pride, morale, and its creations of cheap (less than $800) one-way lethal drones following simple algorithms that overwhelm enemy combatants in frontline foxholes and hitting high-value targets and multiple airbases deep inside Russian territory.

Time is moving from an epoch of nuclear deterrence hopes to AI’s military intelligence defenses. The might of nuclear deterrence depends on survival and retaliation power after a nuclear attack, making a first strike suicidal. Sam Winter-Levy and Nikita Lalwani, both at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote in Foreign Affairs that if a state can use AI to pinpoint locations of nuclear submarines and missile sites, and to disable command-and-control networks, then, with a risky first strike, it would tip the balance of power to a position of absolute dominance. ^[20]Of course, any first strike, even an action that hints at such a blow, would be dangerously boosting an arms race.

Brain-computer interface

According to RAND, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, the U.S. Department of Defense (rebranded as Department of War ^[21]) is developing brain-computer-interface (BCI) technologies for humans with neural implants to have cognitive and AI data exchanges with a computer. BCI development began as research for people with disabilities, enabling prosthetic limbs, voice recognition, and many other hopeful neurological benefits through practical means. The technology started at the dawn of the 20th century with the invention of the electroencephalogram (EEG). By the early 70s, cortical activity through BCI, including visual control of computer cursors, was rapidly experimented with human brain implant units that interacted with digital devices.

BCI neurological advances are helping people with disabilities. Now, though, the military is seeding ideas centered on human-machine decision-making in combat scenarios and military planning and tactics. After all, the military’s mission is to win wars. That harbors a frightening question: will neurotechnology advance to a level that permits combatants in conflict to ethically control weapons by thought, without fear, anxiety, or other emotions that follow a more efficient mission through control of behavior?

What?! Could a special forces unit, using BCI techniques, send and receive thoughts to and from unit commanders, enabling real-time, rapid response to threats? Yes! Dr. Al Emondi, program manager in DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office, ^[22] said, “Smart systems will significantly impact how our troops operate in the future, and now is the time to be thinking about what human-machine teaming will actually look like, and how it could offer what it needs to accomplish. If we put the best scientists on this problem, we will disrupt current neural interface approaches and open the door to practical, high-performance interfaces.” ^[23] DARPA says the U.S. military will be ready for BCI by 2050, a relatively long time from now, so there is time for human rights agencies to step up their duty to safeguard the human dignity that incorporates emotions, thinking, imagining, and the perception of reason.

As Minsky is purported to have said, although I cannot find citation evidence, “the brain is a meat machine.” Following that metaphor, and the significant advances over the last 50 years, I don’t see any evidence of that, though I do worry about how long it might be preserved.

Go to top

About the Author

Joseph Mazur is an Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at Emerson College’s Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts & Interdisciplinary Studies. He is a recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim, Bogliasco, and Rockefeller Foundations, and the author of eight acclaimed popular nonfiction books. His latest book is The Clock Mirage: Our Myth of Measured Time (Yale).

Follow his World Financial Review column at https://worldfinancialreview.com/category/columns/understanding-war/. More information about him is at https://www.josephmazur.com/

Notes

^[1] Marwala Tshilidzi. “Militarization of AI Has Severe Implications for Global Security and Warfare,” United Nations University, UNU Centre, 2023-07-24, https://unu.edu/article/militarization-ai-has-severe-implications-global-security-and-warfare.

^[2] Daniel H. Wilson, How to Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion (New York: Bloomsbury, 2005) 14.

^[3] https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/can-chess-survive-artificial-intelligence

^[4] https://www.sciencefocus.com/future-technology/ai-has-dominated-chess-for-25-years-but-now-it-wants-to-lose

^[5] https://www.playboy.com/magazine/articles/1989/11/playboy-interview-garry-kasparov

^[6] https://hai.stanford.edu/ai-index

^[7] https://www.tortoisemedia.com/data/global-ai

^[8] https://hai.stanford.edu/ai-index

^[9] https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/israel-fighting-war-it-cannot-win

^[10] https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-rejects-cnn-claim-many-hamas-battalions-remain-operational-says-most-dismantled/#:~:text=The%20investigation%20by%20CNN%20found,and%20financially%20support%20our%20work.&text=The%20Times%20of%20Israel%20Community.

^[11] Ibid. Times of Israel

^[12] https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-862638

^[13] https://nrdc-ita.nato.int/newsroom/insights/navigating-the-ai-battlefield-opportunities–challenges–and-ethical-frontiers-in-modern-warfare

^[14] https://worldfinancialreview.com/wars-of-the-future-are-coming-are-we-ready-foretelling-technological-and-strategic-evolution-of-battlefields/

^[15] https://nrdc-ita.nato.int/newsroom/insights/navigating-the-ai-battlefield-opportunities–challenges–and-ethical-frontiers-in-modern-warfare

^[16] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/countries-agree-to-safe-and-responsible-development-of-frontier-ai-in-landmark-bletchley-declaration

^[17] https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-fighter-jets-air-force-6a1100c96a73ca9b7f41cbd6a2753fda#

^[18] Barbara W. Tuchman, The Guns of August (Toronto: Presidio Press, 2004) p. 12-13.

^[19] https://worldfinancialreview.com/wars-of-the-future-are-coming-are-we-ready-foretelling-technological-and-strategic-evolution-of-battlefields/

^[20] San Wubter-Levy and Nikita Lalwani, “The End of Mutual Assured Destruction,” Foreign Affairs, (August 7, 2025). https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/artificial-intelligence-end-mutual-assured-destruction?check_logged_in=1

^[21] Mr. Hegseth, the U.S. Secretary of Defense said. “As the president has said, we’re not just defense, we’re offense.” “https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/us/politics/trump-war-department-defense-history.html

^[22] DARPA is the U.S. Department of Defense agency responsible for fostering revolutionary technologies for national security.

^[23] https://www.darpa.mil/news/2018/nonsurgical-neural-interfaces

Microlearning Offers A Flexible Approach to Gen AI Education

September 9, 2025

Business woman, conference room and machine learning presentation on screen for innovation, idea and training

By Dr. Gleb Tsipursky

Microlearning has emerged as a dynamic approach to corporate education, breaking down complex topics into concise, focused lessons that are easier to digest and apply. For corporations striving to remain competitive in the age of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), this strategy offers a powerful way to upskill employees without disrupting daily operations.

By delivering bite-sized, actionable content tailored to specific roles, microlearning empowers employees to absorb information at their own pace, practice what they’ve learned, and quickly apply new skills. For businesses navigating the complexities of digital transformation, this approach provides the agility needed to stay ahead of the curve.

Why Corporations Need Microlearning for Gen AI Education

In today’s fast-paced business environment, corporate leaders face the challenge of equipping employees with the skills required to harness the power of technologies like Gen AI. The vast potential of Gen AI for streamlining processes, enhancing decision-making, and driving innovation makes it an essential area of focus. Yet traditional training programs, which often demand significant time and resources, are no longer practical for many companies.

In today’s fast-paced business environment, corporate leaders face the challenge of equipping employees with the skills required to harness the power of technologies like Gen AI.

Microlearning offers a solution by making education flexible, personalized, and accessible. Lessons typically last 10–15 minutes and are delivered through formats that cater to different learning styles, such as videos, interactive exercises, and quizzes. This format is ideal for employees juggling demanding workloads, as it allows them to integrate learning into their schedules seamlessly.

Furthermore, microlearning ensures relevance by offering tailored learning paths. For example, a marketing team can focus on modules that explore Gen AI-powered audience segmentation, while a customer service team might learn about automated response systems and predictive analytics. This customization ensures that training is directly applicable, increasing engagement and retention.

Client Case Study in Gen AI Education: Microlearning in Action

To illustrate how microlearning can transform corporate training, consider the case of a multinational consumer packaged goods (CPG) firm that sought to integrate Gen AI into its operations. The company recognized the potential of AI tools to enhance productivity and innovation but faced several challenges:

Time Constraints: Employees were already stretched thin, managing tight deadlines and critical projects.
Skill Gaps: Teams varied widely in their familiarity with AI technologies, requiring training tailored to different levels of expertise.
Scalability: With offices spread across multiple time zones, delivering consistent, high-quality training to a global workforce was a major challenge.

To address these challenges, the company asked me to help it adopt a microlearning strategy.

Designing a Microlearning Program

We began by identifying the key areas where Gen AI could make an immediate impact, including sales forecasting, product development, and customer experience management. Working with subject matter experts, they created a series of microlearning modules tailored to specific roles and objectives.

For example:

Sales Teams: Modules focused on using AI tools to predict customer needs, improve lead scoring, and optimize outreach strategies.
Product Developers: Training covered AI-driven design tools and algorithms to accelerate prototyping and refine product features.
Customer Support Teams: Lessons explored AI chatbots, sentiment analysis, and personalized service recommendations.

Each module was designed to be engaging and interactive, encouraging employees to apply what they learned immediately. The content was hosted on a mobile-friendly Learning Management System (LMS), ensuring accessibility for employees regardless of location or time zone.

Making Learning Flexible and Personalized

Flexibility was a cornerstone of the program. Employees could access the modules whenever it suited them, such as during breaks, commutes, or downtime between meetings. The LMS also included progress tracking, enabling participants to monitor their development and revisit areas where they needed additional support.

To enhance engagement, we helped the company incorporate gamification elements, such as badges and leaderboards, to motivate learners and celebrate achievements. Employees could also choose their own learning paths, selecting modules that aligned with their roles and career aspirations. This personalization ensured that training was not only relevant but also empowering, as employees felt a greater sense of ownership over their learning journey.

Support and Mentorship

From our experience with other companies, self-paced learning works best with guidance, so we helped the company pair the microlearning program with optional mentorship opportunities. Experienced AI practitioners within the organization served as mentors, hosting weekly virtual office hours where employees could ask questions and receive advice.

For instance, a sales manager might consult a mentor about integrating AI tools into an existing CRM system, while a customer support specialist could seek tips on optimizing chatbot responses for better customer satisfaction. These interactions provided valuable context and practical insights, reinforcing the concepts covered in the microlearning modules.

Results That Speak for Themselves

After six months, the microlearning initiative delivered measurable results across multiple metrics:

Increased Efficiency: Sales teams reported a 22% reduction in time spent on lead qualification, thanks to AI-enhanced processes.
Improved Innovation: Product developers cut prototyping time by 18%, enabling faster iteration and delivery of new products.
Enhanced Customer Experience: Customer satisfaction scores improved by 26%, as support teams used AI tools to provide quicker, more personalized service.

These results not only demonstrated the immediate impact of microlearning but also highlighted its long-term potential to drive operational excellence and competitive advantage.

Building a Culture of Continuous Learning

Beyond the tangible outcomes, the microlearning program had a profound effect on the company’s culture. Employees became more confident and proactive in experimenting with AI tools, sharing their learnings with colleagues, and proposing new applications for the technology.

For example, a marketing team used insights from their training to develop an AI-powered campaign that outperformed previous efforts by 30%. Similarly, a regional office implemented an AI tool for inventory management, significantly reducing waste and costs. These successes reinforced a culture of continuous learning and innovation, where employees were empowered to take initiative and explore the possibilities of emerging technologies.

Microlearning is not a one-and-done solution; it is a dynamic approach that evolves with the needs of the business. As Gen AI capabilities advance, companies can expand their training libraries to cover new applications, ensuring that employees remain at the forefront of innovation.

For example, future modules might focus on advanced AI ethics, regulatory compliance, or integrating AI into sustainability initiatives, while managing risks. By continuously updating and refining their microlearning programs, corporations can maintain a skilled and adaptable workforce ready to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.

The Strategic Advantage of Gen AI Education Through Microlearning

By tailoring training to the unique needs of different teams and roles, microlearning ensures that every employee can contribute meaningfully to the company’s success.

For corporations, microlearning offers a strategic advantage in an increasingly competitive landscape. It allows businesses to upskill employees quickly and efficiently, driving productivity and innovation while minimizing disruption. Moreover, by tailoring training to the unique needs of different teams and roles, microlearning ensures that every employee can contribute meaningfully to the company’s success. Whether it’s a sales representative using AI to close deals faster or an operations manager leveraging AI for process optimization, the benefits of this approach extend across the organization.

By embracing microlearning, corporations not only enhance their operational capabilities but also foster a culture of growth, adaptability, and forward-thinking. In an era defined by rapid technological change, this mindset is critical for long-term success. Microlearning represents the future of corporate education. Its ability to deliver focused, engaging, and personalized training makes it the ideal approach for equipping employees with the skills they need to thrive in the age of Gen AI. By adopting this strategy, corporations can ensure that their teams are not just keeping up with change but leading it, driving innovation and setting new benchmarks for success.

Go to top

About the Author

Dr. Gleb Tsipursky was named “Office Whisperer” by The New York Times for helping leaders overcome frustrations with Generative AI. He serves as the CEO of the future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts. Dr. Gleb wrote seven best-selling books, and his two most recent ones are Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams and ChatGPT for Leaders and Content Creators: Unlocking the Potential of Generative AI. His cutting-edge thought leadership was featured in over 650 articles and 550 interviews in Harvard Business Review, Inc. Magazine, USA Today, CBS News, Fox News, Time, Business Insider, Fortune, The New York Times, and elsewhere. His writing was translated into Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Korean, French, Vietnamese, German, and other languages. His expertise comes from over 20 years of consulting, coaching, and speaking and training for Fortune 500 companies from Aflac to Xerox. It also comes from over 15 years in academia as a behavioral scientist, with 8 years as a lecturer at UNC-Chapel Hill and 7 years as a professor at Ohio State. A proud Ukrainian American, Dr. Gleb lives in Columbus, Ohio.

5 Ways Small Businesses Can Reduce Their Carbon Footprint

September 8, 2025

Business - Digital screen with environment day — Designed by Freepik

Establishing and running a business comes with various responsibilities. To ensure sustainability and set your company on the journey to success, several factors require your attention. One of which is how you are affecting the environment.

It is essential to focus on reducing carbon emissions, as it not only shrinks your carbon footprint but also helps you set an excellent example for your clients and partners. No matter the size of your business, your changes to reduce greenhouse gas make a significant difference.

If you are a business owner struggling to reduce your carbon footprint, worry not. Here are some simple and easy ways to help you in this regard.

1. Improve Energy Efficiency

Lowering overall energy consumption directly reduces greenhouse gas emissions. It means that by focusing on making your building, equipment, and processes energy efficient, you can save on your energy bills. It will ultimately strengthen your company’s bottom line, leading to success.

Here is how you can improve the energy efficiency of your business:

Upgrade to LED Lighting

The old incandescent bulbs consume a large amount of energy. Replacing them with LEDs can help you save a lot of money on electricity bills.

Use Programmable Thermostat

A programmable thermostat regulates your office’s heating and cooling based on your specific needs and preferences. By using them, you can avoid unnecessary energy consumption when the space is empty.

Encourage Good Habits

You must remind your staff to shut down all the devices at the end of the day. Moreover, ask them to use energy-saving settings on their monitors.

2. Consider Eco-Friendly Packaging

For packaging, you must consider using materials with low environmental impact. Additionally, optimise your packaging design for less waste and consider streamlining your production and distribution. In this way, you can save a lot of energy and reduce pollution.

Eco friendly packaging not only decreases greenhouse gas emissions and waste but also enhances your brand reputation. It is a wise approach to cut your operational costs and attract environmentally conscious consumers.

3. Reduce Business Travel Emissions

As a business owner, you must encourage your employees to walk or use public transport instead of driving to work. Moreover, to minimise the need for travel, embrace virtual meetings and opt for video conferencing.

4. Apply the Three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

When it comes to environmental protection, following the principle of the three R’s (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) is essential. You must consider how to apply it to every aspect of your business. From office supplies to the core operation of your company, consider what can be reduced, reused, and recycled.

5. Support Sustainable Supply Chains

To protect the environment, you must prioritise purchasing products and materials from suppliers who demonstrate environmentally friendly practices. In this way, you can significantly contribute to lowering the carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions.

Moreover, encouraging the use of recycled products and opting for reusable options can make a big difference. So you must consider making some essential changes in the supply chains of your business to ensure a healthy and safe environment.

Go to top

Rothinvest.com Enhances Outcomes With an Accessible Digital Platform

September 8, 2025

Zürich, Switzerland – Rothinvest.com is a financial firm that focuses on making its services more open and available to a wide audience. The company’s latest work centers on providing an accessible digital platform designed to deliver better outcomes for clients. The development reflects the continuing need for reliable financial services that adapt to modern expectations of speed, clarity, and usability.

Accessible Platform For Financial Needs

The current era has shown that accessibility plays a major role in shaping financial experiences. By focusing on an open digital system, users are now able to interact with resources in a more straightforward manner. Reports on Rothinvest review highlight that accessibility remains one of the strongest aspects of its system, pointing to the way the platform supports smoother financial engagement without unnecessary complexity.

Enhancing Outcomes Through Practical Features

A financial service must not only be functional but also provide practical outcomes that add value. The platform has been refined with the aim of helping clients carry out important activities with greater ease. Key features are streamlined to reduce friction, ensuring that outcomes remain reliable across different types of financial needs. According to a recent Rothinvest review, this emphasis on steady results has gained notable recognition among those who rely on dependable digital systems in the financial sector.

Strong Focus On Reliability

Reliability continues to be a core standard within the industry. The platform developed by the company is created to align with these standards while ensuring flexibility for different requirements. This ensures that financial outcomes are consistent regardless of the level of use. A Rothinvest review also points out that stability is a recurring element, with users frequently acknowledging the strength of the platform in maintaining reliable access and execution.

Meeting Expectations In A Changing Financial Landscape

The financial world is shifting rapidly, and access to tools that meet modern expectations is vital. The company’s platform is positioned to align with these expectations, providing a clear and secure pathway for individuals and organizations to manage financial matters. Rothinvest reviews show that many have recognized its ability to adapt to an evolving environment, maintaining an effective balance between innovation and usability.

Transparent And Clear Service Delivery

Clarity is an essential factor in financial services, as users expect straightforward communication and transparent features. The company has worked to ensure that these standards are present in its digital offering. By maintaining clarity across its functions, the platform ensures users are well-informed and confident in their usage. Rothinvest review feedback has underlined this transparency as a significant value, noting that it helps create a stronger sense of trust in the system.

About Rothinvest.com

Rothinvest.com is a financial services company dedicated to providing solutions that emphasize accessibility, reliability, and transparency. With its digital platform, the company continues to prioritize outcomes that meet the needs of a wide range of clients, ensuring that financial interactions remain both effective and straightforward. Its operations are centered on simplifying financial access while maintaining high standards of security and consistency.

The company plays a significant role in aligning digital resources with the evolving needs of the financial landscape. By enhancing its services with an accessible digital platform, it demonstrates an ongoing commitment to improving financial outcomes without creating barriers. Rothinvest continues to be recognized as a firm that supports dependable, clear, and outcome-driven solutions across the financial sector.

Company Details

Company Name: Rothinvest
Email Address: [email protected]
Company Address: Thurgauerstrasse 30-32, 8050 Zürich, Switzerland.
Company Website: http://rothinvest.com

Go to top

Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba to Step Down Amid Party Pressure

September 8, 2025

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will resign to prevent a split in his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), local media reported Sunday, throwing the world’s fourth-largest economy into renewed political uncertainty.

The Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but officials confirmed Ishiba will address the nation at a 6 p.m. (0900 GMT) press conference.

Ishiba has faced mounting pressure since taking office in September last year, as his coalition lost control of both houses of parliament amid public anger over rising living costs. He had previously rejected calls to quit following the LDP’s defeat in July’s upper house elections.

Market concerns over Japan’s political outlook drove the yen lower and pushed the yield on 30-year government bonds to a record high last week. The LDP had been set to vote Monday on whether to hold an emergency leadership contest, fueling speculation about Ishiba’s departure.

Attention now turns to possible successors, including Sanae Takaichi, a fiscal dove who has criticized the Bank of Japan’s rate hikes. Takaichi narrowly lost to Ishiba in the party’s last leadership runoff.

If confirmed, Ishiba’s final act as leader will have been securing a $550 billion investment pledge in a trade deal with the United States in exchange for reduced U.S. tariffs on Japanese autos, a key industry targeted by President Donald Trump.

Related Readings:

France Moves Right as Macron Taps Barnier for Prime Minister

Trump Threatens Tariffs on Japan Over Rice Trade Dispute

Japan’s PM Kishida to Step Down Amid Declining Support

Go to top

Xi and Kim Pledge Closer Ties Amid Russia Alliance

September 5, 2025

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un vowed to deepen strategic coordination during their first formal summit in six years, following a joint display of unity with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a military parade in Beijing.

Xi hosted Kim on Thursday at the Great Hall of the People, where the two leaders reaffirmed that their partnership will not waver “no matter how the international situation changes,” according to Chinese state media. Xi described China and North Korea as “good neighbors, good friends and good comrades bound by shared destiny,” while urging stronger coordination on global and regional affairs.

Kim pledged that North Korea will “invariably support” China in safeguarding its sovereignty and development interests, the Korean Central News Agency reported. The summit comes as Pyongyang has drawn closer to Moscow, supplying troops to aid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Notably, China’s readout made no mention of “denuclearization of the Korea Peninsular,” a break from past meetings. Analysts said the omission reflects a tacit acknowledgment of North Korea’s nuclear status. “Beijing and Pyongyang spoke warmly of friendship while leaving the issue of denuclearization untouched – effectively acquiescing to North Korea’s nuclear status,” said Wu Qiang, a Beijing-based analyst.

The high-profile summit followed Wednesday’s military parade marking 80 years since the end of World War II, where Xi, Putin and Kim appeared together publicly for the first time. The event, attended by 26 foreign leaders including Iran and Pakistan, showcased China’s growing bloc with Russia and North Korea in defiance of Western influence.

Experts say Xi’s meeting with Kim underscores Beijing’s attempt to reassert its role as Pyongyang’s key ally, even as North Korea strengthens ties with Moscow through a defense pact signed last year. China remains North Korea’s biggest trading partner and only formal military ally, providing a crucial lifeline to its heavily sanctioned economy.

Related Readings:

China and EU Hold Fragile Summit Amid Rising Tensions

Trump Weighs New Russia Sanctions as Peace Memo Fails to Materialize

China Boosts Russian Oil Orders as India Cuts Purchases

Go to top

Trump Tariffs Face Supreme Court Test as Refunds Loom

September 4, 2025

President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs face a critical showdown after a federal appeals court ruled that he illegally relied on emergency powers to impose duties on imports. The decision, if upheld by the Supreme Court, could force the Treasury Department to return more than $210 billion collected from American businesses.

Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to raise tariffs as high as 50% on goods from India and Brazil and up to 145% on Chinese imports. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that the court’s ruling could mean the government would have to “give back” the revenue but insisted the tariffs are vital to protecting U.S. industries.

“It’s a very important decision, and frankly, if they make the wrong decision, it would be a devastation for our country,” Trump told reporters. His administration is preparing an appeal to the Supreme Court as early as Wednesday to keep the tariffs in place past an October 14 deadline.

Trade experts say the high court will likely take the case. If it rules against Trump, tariff collections would end immediately, though refunding businesses may take years. Options range from blanket repayments to requiring importers to file claims or an administrative process overseen by Customs.

Law firms are already advising clients to file protests to preserve refund rights. Some businesses have been approached by investment firms offering to buy claims at a discount, providing quick liquidity but risking a smaller payout later.

While companies may welcome potential refunds, economists warn of ripple effects. Returning billions could force the government to borrow more, driving Treasury yields higher and raising borrowing costs across the economy. The 30-year yield briefly touched 5% Wednesday, its highest in months.

Refunds could also stoke inflation if paired with Trump’s push for lower interest rates. Analysts say the combination could remind investors of the high-inflation era under the Biden administration.

For now, the tariffs remain in place, but the stakes for Trump’s trade policy — and the economy — will soon rest with the Supreme Court.

Related Readings:

Court Rules Trump Overstepped Authority on Global Tariffs

Trump Imposes New Tariffs on Over 90 Countries

Trump Announces Trade Pact With Indonesia, Slashes Tariffs

Go to top

How Can You Use Salon Software to Automate Daily Tasks and Free Up Time for Your Team?

September 4, 2025

Running a salon often means juggling phone calls, scheduling, payments, and client follow-ups on top of delivering great service. These repetitive tasks can take hours each week and leave staff with less time to focus on clients. Salon software automates many of these daily operations, which saves time, reduces errors, and helps the team work more efficiently.

With the right tools, tasks such as appointment booking, confirmations, inventory control, and even marketing can run in the background. This creates a smoother experience for clients while giving staff more freedom to focus on service instead of paperwork. Automation also helps reduce no-shows, keep products in stock, and encourage repeat visits without extra effort.

Technology now goes beyond simple scheduling systems. AI-powered tools can handle client communication, suggest retail products, and even personalize promotions. As a result, salons can operate with less stress while still delivering consistent service that keeps clients coming back.

Automating Core Salon Operations with Software

Modern salon software helps reduce repetitive tasks, improve accuracy, and give staff more time to focus on clients. By automating scheduling, communication, and team management, owners can cut down on errors and streamline daily operations.

Appointment Booking and Calendar Management

A salon booking system allows clients to set appointments online at any time, which reduces the need for phone calls and manual scheduling. This makes the process faster for both clients and staff. Automated confirmations and waitlist features also help minimize no-shows.

Systems such as TimeTailor, salon booking system include features like real-time availability, service menus, and built-in buffer times. These tools prevent double-booking and give stylists enough time between clients for preparation.

Clear visibility of the calendar also helps managers track peak hours and adjust service capacity. Staff can quickly check schedules on their devices, which reduces confusion and avoids last-minute changes.

Client Communication and Reminders

Automated reminders sent by text or email lower the chance of missed appointments. Software can schedule these notifications to go out 24–48 hours before a visit, which gives clients enough time to confirm or reschedule.

Follow-up messages after appointments can include satisfaction surveys, rebooking prompts, or product suggestions. This creates a consistent communication flow without extra work for staff.

Birthday messages or loyalty rewards can also be sent automatically. By personalizing these messages with client history, the salon strengthens relationships while saving time.

Staff Scheduling and Shift Planning

Automated scheduling tools reduce the effort needed to create fair and accurate staff rosters. Managers can set rules for availability, service specialties, and time-off requests. The system then generates a schedule that balances workload and avoids conflicts.

Shift changes or last-minute updates can trigger instant notifications to staff. This keeps everyone informed without long group chats or phone calls.

Some platforms also analyze booking patterns to predict busy periods. This helps managers assign more staff during peak hours while reducing labor costs during slower times. As a result, the team works more efficiently and with less stress.

Leveraging AI-Powered Tools for Salon Efficiency

AI-powered automation helps salons save time on repetitive tasks, reduce errors, and improve client interactions. From customer communication to financial management and marketing, the right tools allow teams to focus on service while software handles the background work.

AI Chatbots and Virtual Assistants for Customer Service

AI chatbots and virtual assistants allow salons to handle appointment requests, missed calls, and client questions without staff involvement. Tools such as Tidio, Chatfuel, Zendesk AI, or Freshdesk can answer common inquiries, confirm bookings, and even send SMS reminders.

Unlike standard booking systems, these assistants work 24/7. A client can schedule a haircut late at night, and the system updates the calendar instantly. This reduces scheduling errors and cuts down on no-shows.

AI assistants also collect feedback after appointments. By using survey tools such as Survicate or Qualaroo, salons can gather opinions quickly and identify patterns in client satisfaction. This creates a smoother experience for customers while giving staff more time for in-person service.

Automated Invoicing, Payments, and Financial Tracking

Automated invoicing and payment tools remove the need for manual billing. Systems like QuickBooks Online, Xero, Wave, and Zoho Books allow salons to send invoices, set up payment reminders, and track income with minimal input.

AI-based accounting tools also help with financial forecasting. By analyzing past sales and seasonal demand, they predict future revenue and expenses. This helps salon owners plan staffing levels, order supplies, and manage cash flow with greater accuracy.

Integration with scheduling software means invoices can be generated immediately after a service. Automatic payment collection speeds up transactions, reduces errors, and keeps records organized. Staff no longer spend hours balancing books, which frees them to focus on client care.

Marketing, Feedback Collection, and Analytics

AI tools support marketing by creating personalized campaigns. Email assistants and AI writing tools such as Jasper AI, Copy.ai, or even ChatGPT help craft messages that fit client preferences. Social media planning with platforms like Buffer or Later allows salons to post consistent content without daily effort.

Analytics platforms such as Google Analytics, Hubspot, or AI-driven analytics tools measure campaign performance. They track which promotions attract bookings and which posts drive engagement. This data helps owners decide where to invest their marketing budget.

Feedback collection also plays a major role. Automated surveys sent after visits provide insights into client needs. Combined with tools like Fathom, Float, or transcription assistants such as Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai, salons can review conversations and identify opportunities for improvement. This approach creates a continuous loop of data-driven decisions that support steady growth.

Conclusion

Salon software helps teams reduce repetitive tasks and focus more on client service. Features like automated booking, digital payments, and inventory tracking save time and cut down on errors.

It also supports smoother communication through reminders, follow-ups, and loyalty rewards that run without constant staff input. As a result, staff can dedicate more energy to creative work and client care.

By using these tools in daily operations, salons create a more organized workflow, improve accuracy, and free up valuable time that benefits both the team and the clients.

Go to top

Legendary Characters: Timeless Heroes in Teen Fantasy

September 4, 2025

Every generation finds its heroes. In teen fantasy they often carry the weight of old myths yet walk through worlds that feel close to home. Harry Potter wrestles with doubt as much as magic. Katniss Everdeen fights not only for survival but for the right to choose her own path. These stories strike a chord because they mix the impossible with the familiar.

People who teach themselves often use Z lib to keep learning and in a way that mirrors how young heroes gain wisdom. They stumble into trials and discover knowledge that shapes who they are. Their quests echo the process of learning itself: messy uncertain and full of growth.

What Keeps These Heroes Alive in Memory

Heroes endure because they are never spotless. Percy Jackson jokes his way through fear. Ged from “A Wizard of Earthsea” struggles with mistakes that shadow every step. They carry scars as well as victories. That balance between ordinary weakness and extraordinary strength keeps them alive in memory.

Legends are not only about battles won but about what is lost along the way. The moments of doubt the hard lessons and the quiet choices reveal more than any final triumph. These stories keep circling back because they feel less like polished myths and more like lived experience.

Here is where their true appeal unfolds:

Struggle and Sacrifice

No great hero escapes without cost. Frodo weakens under the Ring. Lyra faces betrayal that changes her forever. Their sacrifices give weight to their victories. Without that sense of loss the triumphs would ring hollow. The lesson lingers long after the story ends: nothing of worth comes free.

Companionship and Loyalty

Standing alone is powerful but standing with friends leaves a deeper mark. Hermione and Ron beside Harry or Sam beside Frodo remind us that loyalty shapes destiny. Companionship in fantasy stories is not decoration. It is the core of courage itself showing that strength often grows in company not in solitude.

Identity and Self Discovery

Teen fantasy thrives on the question of who someone is meant to be. Tris in “Divergent” feels the tug of belonging and independence. Eragon discovers both pride and burden in his bond with a dragon. Their journeys underline a truth: identity is never fixed. It is explored step by step sometimes painfully and always with change in sight.

These three threads—sacrifice friendship identity—interweave to form the fabric of stories that last. They explain why the same names keep surfacing in conversations decades later.

The Quiet Influence of Modern Learning

Stories today spread differently yet their pull is the same. Readers can return to a book at midnight or discover a forgotten tale with one search. Zlibrary plays a role in this quiet shift offering a doorway to countless shelves once locked away. Access shapes memory and keeps old characters alive for new readers.

Even so the core pattern remains. A call to adventure a rise through obstacles and a moment of earned transformation continue to guide the heart of these stories. It does not matter whether the pages are paper or digital. The pulse of legend still beats steady.

Carrying the Torch Forward

The world shifts quickly but the hunger for heroes endures. Teen fantasy opens space to wrestle with questions of justice courage and belonging. It shows what might be possible if an ordinary life is asked to carry extraordinary weight.

Go to top

Focus on Sustainability: Cathay Financial Holdings Discovers New Trend in Hi-Tech Investing

September 4, 2025

Historically, discussions around sustainable investment were marked by investor apprehension regarding a perceived trade-off between environmental impact and financial returns. However, the market paradigm has since evolved. Leading institutions now increasingly acknowledge that integrating ESG principles is not merely a compliance exercise but a strategic imperative that enhances long-term viability and drives profitability. Cathay Financial Holdings, a prominent financial holding and investment benchmark across Taiwan and Asia, stands as a key proponent in this shift. Cathay’s experience of an early adopter of responsible investment demonstrates the feasibility and practicality of ESG implementation, while its recent move signals an emerging trend within high-tech investing.

The period from 2021 to 2025 witnessed the accelerated mainstreaming of ESG investment, evolving from a specialized consideration to a critical financial imperative. This shift was significantly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, which underscored systemic social and governance vulnerabilities, prompting a rapid expansion of investor interest and substantial capital reallocation towards ESG-aligned enterprises across diverse sectors. Now, despite some political headwinds in certain regions, ESG principles are increasingly viewed not merely as ethical overlays but as critical drivers of long-term financial resilience, risk mitigation, and value creation, becoming a more deeply integrated component of investment strategy rather than a separate asset class, says Dr. Matthew Bell, EY Global Climate Change and Sustainability Services Leader: “Institutional investors are aligning their portfolios toward better ESG performance. This signals a different approach from focusing on “responsible funds,” and instead seeing ESG issues as fundamental to the performance for all investments.”

Cathay Financial Holdings offers a pertinent illustration of this market evolution. Challenging the conventional apprehension regarding a potential trade-off between ESG integration and financial performance, Cathay’s experience demonstrates that strategic asset allocation within an ESG framework can yield competitive returns: “You can always find areas with better returns to compensate the overall portfolio,” observes Sophia Cheng, the holding’s Chief Investment Officer.

Cathay Financial Holdings’ portfolio, excluding cash and derivatives, is fully ESG-integrated, a strategic decision whose returns affirm the business case for embedding ESG principles as a core operational model. And, while acknowledging the critical role of Social and Governance elements, Cathay places particular emphasis on environmental stewardship. As an active participant in global climate and engagement initiatives, the company initiated its ‘Carbon Management Year One’ campaign in 2024, systematically implementing internationally certified carbon neutrality practices throughout its operations. These concerted efforts have led to Cathay and its affiliates achieving PAS 2060 organizational carbon neutrality verification and earning six international carbon neutrality certificates, representing a significant milestone in its trajectory toward a 2050 net-zero objective.

Reflecting the evolving dynamics, Cathay Financial Holdings made de-risking global high-carbon sectors its long-standing strategic imperative by direct integration of environmental considerations into its financial objectives. Concurrently, the holding has recently identified an emergent opportunity within a highly profitable sector that still presents significant environmental integration challenges.

Responsible Hi-Tech Investing

Analysis of current market trends indicates the high-tech sector’s preeminence in attracting investment capital, largely fueled by the accelerating advancements in generative AI and the subsequent surge in demand for processing power. Post-2022 market corrections introduced, both major players and early-stage projects have witnessed considerable valuation appreciation, directly attributable to the critical need for foundational hardware. While this robust expansion, supported by strong earnings and the promise of widespread productivity gains, has allowed asset managers and venture capital firms to significantly enhance portfolio performance via public market rallies and strategic private investments, the sustained intensity of this demand presents ongoing challenges related to another market trend.

The escalating energy consumption of advanced semiconductor operations, particularly within high-performance computing and AI data centers, poses a substantial issue for investors committed to ESG principles. The reliance on vast amounts of energy, frequently derived from fossil fuels, introduces material ESG risks and potential reputational liabilities for investments in the sector. Consequently, investors, increasingly integrating ESG criteria into their due diligence for long-term resilience and systemic risk management, are demanding that semiconductor manufacturers demonstrate better environmental stewardship, with a particular focus on optimizing water usage and energy efficiency. Evolving consumer preferences for sustainable and ethically sourced electronics are compelling major brands to intensify scrutiny of their semiconductor supply chains. This dual pressure—from investor scrutiny and consumer demand—amplified by evolving global regulatory frameworks and the industry’s significant environmental footprint, positions environmental standards not merely as a compliance necessity but as a fundamental competitive differentiator. Failure to meet these evolving standards increasingly poses a barrier to market access and erodes investor confidence, a trend expected to intensify beyond 2025.

Cathay’s recent participation through its venture capital arm Cathay Venture in a Series A funding round for French chip designer SiPearl offers a strategic response to this challenge. SiPearl, initially supported by the European Union’s European Processor Initiative consortium in January 2020, specializes in the design and development of High-Performance, Low-Power (HPLP) microprocessors. These chips are specifically engineered for critical applications such as supercomputing and AI inference, where the dual imperative of maximizing computational power while minimizing energy footprint is paramount. The chips designer’s focus on the HPLP technology directly addresses the critical market requirement of the urgent demand for energy-efficient solutions and operational costs associated with high-performance computing, said Stanley Yu, assistant vice president at Cathay Venture, while commenting on the funding: “[SiPearl] is one of the few semiconductor design companies in the world that, from its inception, set out to address the computing power and energy efficiency challenges faced by modern datacenters’ needs.”

Indeed, SiPearl’s strategic trajectory directly confronts a lack of chip designs that effectively reconcile peak performance with low power consumption. Current industry leaders, including Nvidia and AMD, predominantly focus on maximizing raw computational power and broad market applicability. Their primary competitive vector remains processing capability benchmarks and market penetration, which leads to elevated power consumption and creates substantial operational and environmental liabilities. Concurrently, the French chip designer’s specialization in the HPLP design has strategically positioned the company, allowing it to secure a critical foothold within the demanding European exascale supercomputing sector. The company’s Rhea 1 HPLP chip, currently in production at TSMC, is slated as a foundational component for the Jupiter supercomputer, Europe’s inaugural exascale system, and other EuroHPC JU-funded initiatives. Its applications encompass high-fidelity simulations across diverse fields, including engineering, materials science, astrophysics (e.g., dark matter), and plasma physics. The subsequent Rhea 2 generation is projected to extend this capability, supporting advanced scientific research, complex engineering simulations, and demanding AI workloads, all while delivering superior performance with further optimized energy efficiency.

Thus, Cathay’s investment in SiPearl underscores a nascent market trend: the convergence of high-performance computing with sustainable energy consumption. This strategic move validates an investment thesis focused on addressing the substantial operational and environmental liabilities associated with conventional high-power chip designs. The company’s specialization in the HPLP design positions it as a critical asset within this evolving landscape, while its robust investment outlook is further bolstered by substantial financial backing, a comprehensive R&D infrastructure, and a secured client base, notably its position in the European exascale supercomputing. Furthermore, the stringent ESG frameworks prevalent in the European market not only reinforce SiPearl’s operational discipline but also align with growing investor demand for verifiable compliance and responsible corporate governance, thereby mitigating reputational risks for investors.

Altogether, the investor’s move serves as a significant market signal, potentially influencing funds allocation towards high-tech ventures that prioritize both performance and sustainability. Now, we can anticipate redirecting capital towards companies demonstrating leadership in critical areas such as HPLP chip development, sustainable data center infrastructure, and ethical AI. Such investments are poised to foster an industry-wide paradigm shift, not merely aiming for social impact but also alleviating the financial burden on high-emission industries and unlocking new global investment opportunities.

Go to top

1...585960...1,125 Page 59 of 1,125

FOLLOW US!

EDITOR'S PICK OF THE WEEK

CFO's new mandate. CFO explaining the presentation

The Performance and Transformation Orchestrator: The CFO’s New Mandate in the Age of AI

Anglea 0

By Terence Tse CFOs are evolving into AI-driven transformation orchestrators, balancing finance, technology, and strategy while upskilling teams, managing risks, and driving measurable business value. A key insight from this year’s AI for CFOs event, organized...