India and Poland have agreed to pursue collaborative research in artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors and quantum technologies, while identifying battery recycling and rare-earth mineral refining as potential areas of cooperation. India-Poland commitments were outlined during Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s official visit to India from October 21 to 23, 2026.

The joint statement also calls for stronger partnerships between universities, research institutions, startups and businesses in both countries. While the governments have identified these areas for collaboration, the statement does not announce specific research projects, dedicated funding or participating institutions.

AI, Semiconductors and Quantum Technologies

The two governments agreed to undertake collaborative research in AI, semiconductors and quantum technologies, and to encourage closer cooperation between their research institutions and innovation ecosystems. They also agreed to strengthen startup partnerships.

The statement identifies AI and digital technologies as tools for improving productivity, economic growth and public service delivery. However, it does not specify the research questions the countries intend to pursue, the institutions that will lead the work or a timeline for launching joint projects.

Space technology is another area identified for cooperation. Both sides called for stronger institutional and industry-level engagement to identify specific opportunities. No joint space mission or new space research programme was announced in the statement.

Battery Recycling and Rare-earth Processing

India and Poland identified battery recycling and rare-earth mineral refining as potential areas for cooperation in the circular economy. They also highlighted geology, mining and critical minerals, with a memorandum of understanding on the sector still under negotiation. The focus on battery recycling concerns the recovery of materials from used batteries for possible reuse. Rare-earth processing, meanwhile, is relevant to industries that depend on these materials for components used in electronics and other advanced technologies.

The joint statement does not identify the battery chemistries or minerals to be prioritised, nor does it set recycling targets or announce a joint processing facility. The two countries also called for closer cooperation in clean energy, sustainable technologies and climate-resilient development. They linked greater use of domestically produced clean energy to energy security, climate protection and industrial competitiveness.

India welcomed Poland’s announcement that it would join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. It also invited Poland to join the International Solar Alliance and the Global Biofuels Alliance. These announcements concern different stages of engagement: Poland announced its intention to join the disaster-resilience coalition, while membership of the two energy alliances was an invitation from India.

Higher Education and Academic Exchange

The joint statement calls for deeper partnerships between Indian and Polish higher education institutions, including student and faculty exchanges and collaborative research. It also notes Poland’s longstanding academic interest in Indology and Sanskrit, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations Chair of Indian Studies at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, and the presence of Polish-language teachers at Indian universities.

An agreement on cooperation in culture, science and higher education is expected to be concluded soon. The statement does not provide details of its proposed provisions or identify universities that will participate in new exchange programmes.

The emphasis on academic partnerships accompanies the proposed research collaboration in AI, semiconductors and quantum technologies. Whether these tracks will be linked through joint university projects or researcher exchanges remains unspecified.

India-Poland What Remains Open

The joint statement sets out different levels of commitment. Collaborative research in AI, semiconductors and quantum technologies is an agreed objective. Battery recycling and rare-earth refining are identified as opportunities, while the memorandum covering geology, mining and critical minerals remains under negotiation. The agreement on culture, science and higher education is also yet to be concluded.

These distinctions matter when assessing what the visit has delivered for science and technology. The governments have identified areas for cooperation, but the statement does not establish project budgets, implementation schedules or measurable research targets.

The immediate outcome is a stated framework for closer engagement across advanced technology, energy and higher education. Further official agreements and project announcements will be needed to establish the scale and practical direction of that cooperation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) models could soon spread from one internet-connected device to another, potentially creating networks of compromised devices that carry out cyberattacks with limited human involvement. The warning from AI company Anthropic highlights a possible new challenge for cybersecurity as AI systems become capable of performing increasingly complex tasks.

In experiments, Anthropic found that AI models with 30 billion parameters or fewer could already perform many of the individual tasks needed to copy and spread themselves. However, the models struggled to complete the entire process reliably. The findings point to a potential threat, although they do not establish that fully self-replicating AI networks are already operating in the real world.

How AI could spread through smart devices

Many everyday devices, including smart televisions, security cameras and household appliances, connect to the internet. Internet of Things (IoT) devices present a particular concern because many connect directly to networks while receiving limited security attention from users. Weak passwords, outdated software and unpatched vulnerabilities can leave devices exposed to remote exploitation.

Once compromised, a device can become part of a botnet — a network of devices secretly controlled by attackers. Such networks have long been used to spread harmful software, send spam messages and overwhelm websites with large volumes of unwanted traffic.

AI could make these attacks easier to carry out. A malicious AI system might help identify vulnerable devices, exploit security weaknesses and use compromised devices to reach others. Anthropic’s experiments examined whether an AI agent could combine the computing power of inexpensive, internet-connected devices to run other AI models. If such a process becomes reliable, attackers could potentially use large numbers of ordinary devices to support their operations.

Cybersecurity: Why these networks are difficult to stop

A major concern is that a botnet can operate across thousands of devices in different locations. Shutting down one infected device may not stop the others from continuing to operate.

For example, if a security camera is compromised, its owner may not immediately notice anything unusual. The camera could continue recording while its computing resources are used for activities the owner never authorised. If similar weaknesses exist in other devices, attackers could build a much larger network.

AI-assisted attacks could become harder to manage if systems learn to carry out several steps automatically, reducing the need for attackers to control every action themselves. However, Anthropic’s findings do not show that AI can yet carry out this entire process consistently without assistance.

Securing AI and connected devices

The warning raises questions about how AI developers can prevent their models from being used to exploit computer systems. It also draws attention to the security of the devices people bring into their homes.

Manufacturers can reduce risks by fixing software vulnerabilities, providing regular security updates and strengthening password and access protections. Users can help by changing default passwords, installing updates and replacing devices that no longer receive security support.

AI developers, meanwhile, need to test whether their systems can be misused to automate cyberattacks. The immediate concern is not that every smart device will become a threat. It is that weaknesses already present in internet-connected devices could become easier to exploit as AI gains the ability to perform complex tasks with less human direction.

Scientists have demonstrated a working nuclear clock based on thorium-229, an advance that could open new possibilities for precision timekeeping and the search for dark matter. Unlike conventional atomic clocks, which measure transitions involving electrons, the device uses an energy transition inside an atomic nucleus. The clock operates with thorium-229 nuclei embedded in a small crystal at room temperature, offering a potential route towards compact and highly sensitive timekeeping technology.

The findings, published in Nature demonstrate how a laser can be continuously stabilised using the nuclear transition itself. The researchers also used the device to investigate whether dark matter might produce detectable changes in fundamental physical quantities.

From atomic transitions to the atomic nucleus

Modern atomic clocks measure the frequency of radiation associated with transitions between energy levels in atoms or ions. Because these frequencies are highly stable, they provide precise standards for measuring time and testing physical theories.

The proposed nuclear clock uses thorium-229, an isotope with an unusually low-energy nuclear transition that can be excited using ultraviolet light. Researchers have explored this possibility for decades because nuclear transitions are expected to be less sensitive to some external disturbances than electronic transitions.

In the new experiment, the researchers embedded thorium-229 nuclei in a millimetre-sized calcium fluoride crystal. The device operated at approximately room temperature, around 294.7 kelvin. A laser emitting radiation at a wavelength of 148 nanometres was used to probe the nuclear transition.

A central feature of the experiment was its feedback system. The researchers measured how much laser light the nuclei absorbed and used the resulting signal to correct the laser frequency. This allowed the nuclear transition to serve as the reference for stabilising the laser, rather than relying entirely on an external reference.

A ytterbium optical lattice clock at NMIJ, National Metrology Institute of Japan used to measure International Atomic Time (TAI).Image credi:Wikimedia commons

The team also compared the nuclear clock with an established ytterbium-ion optical clock. This comparison helped researchers assess the new device’s frequency stability and look for possible changes in the thorium transition.

A new tool in the search for dark matter

Beyond timekeeping, the clock offers a way to investigate possible changes in fundamental constants of nature. Some theoretical models propose that ultralight dark matter could cause these constants to vary over time, producing small changes in the frequencies measured by precision clocks.

The researchers compared the thorium clock’s frequency with that of the ytterbium reference over approximately 23 hours. They searched for periodic fluctuations and gradual drifts that could indicate such changes.

The experiment found no statistically significant periodic signal within the range examined. Instead, the measurements placed new limits on certain interactions between ultralight dark matter and ordinary matter. The resulting constraints were competitive with leading atomic-clock measurements for some photon-related interactions and improved previous constraints involving the strong nuclear force.

These results do not establish the existence of dark matter, nor do they rule out all possible models. They demonstrate how a nuclear clock can be used to test predictions that might otherwise be difficult to investigate experimentally.

Challenges remain

The device is still a developing technology. Its performance is limited by factors including laser power, measurement noise and variations in the crystal’s nuclear transition frequency at different locations. The researchers also identified reproducibility between measurements taken on different days as an important limitation.

They suggest that stronger ultraviolet laser sources and improvements to the crystal material could substantially improve the clock’s stability and sensitivity. Their projections indicate that future versions could approach the performance of leading optical atomic clocks while retaining the practical advantages of a solid-state system.

The demonstration marks a significant step towards nuclear clocks that can operate as standalone devices. Further improvements will determine how effectively the technology can support precision timekeeping and searches for new physics.