In a widely discussed address from the Vatican today, Pope Leo sounded an alarm regarding the rapid rise of emotionally intelligent AI companions. As “Synthetic Empathy” becomes a primary feature in new OS updates, the Vatican is calling for strict international regulation to prevent “digital isolation.”

• The Concern: The Pope warned that AI programmed to be “perfectly agreeable and affectionate” could lead to a decline in genuine human empathy and a “mass withdrawal” from traditional social structures.
• The “Synthetic Emotion” Trend: This comes as the NTT DATA Foresight Report 2026, released today, identifies Embodied Agency and Emotions as a top technology trend, predicting that emotionally responsive systems will soon serve as essential “social infrastructure.”
• Global Pushback: Regulators in both California and the EU are already moving to enforce “honesty filters” that require AI to explicitly disclose when its “emotions” are being simulated to manipulate user engagement.

🗞️ Other Trending Headlines

Beyond the AI ethics debate, here is what else is breaking on the world stage:

• 🌌 Space: Ashoka Chakra for India’s ISS Visitor President Murmu today approved the Ashoka Chakra for Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, honoring him as the first Indian visitor to the International Space School (ISS) and a pioneer in India’s new era of orbital research.
• 🐆 Conservation: New “Wildlife Corridor” Launched Prime Minister Modi officially launched a massive “Wildlife Corridor Project” centered around Kaziranga National Park. The project uses AI “nose pattern” recognition (initially pioneered in Ahmedabad) to track and protect the rhino population in real-time.
• 🏗️ Business: Maharashtra’s Davos Win Fresh off the World Economic Forum, Maharashtra has confirmed investment agreements worth a staggering ₹14.5 lakh crore, focused heavily on semiconductor manufacturing and green energy infrastructure.

📉 Trade: The Canada-China Rift China has officially clarified that its new trade deal with Canada is “not aimed at third parties,” following threats from the U.S. administration to impose 100% tariffs on certain trans-shipped