Artificial intelligence is often framed as a race for larger data centres and greater energy supply. Professor Martijn Heck argues that the real frontier lies elsewhere: in the architecture of the chip itself. By integrating electronics, photonics and advanced packaging into unified systems, heterogeneous integration may determine whether AI scales sustainably — or overwhelms the infrastructure it depends on. In this conversation, Heck outlines why better chips, not bigger factories, will shape the technological balance of the coming decades.
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Four accounting firms once known for auditing balance sheets now shape the digital, regulatory and strategic architecture of modern states. As governments and corporations outsource expertise, Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG have become indispensable intermediaries — designing systems, interpreting geopolitics and increasingly certifying the safety of artificial intelligence. Their rise raises a critical question: who governs when governance itself is outsourced?
Telecom in Greece is no longer a consumer market but strategic infrastructure. In 2026, AI, energy constraints and geopolitics determine who is allowed to build, operate and be trusted with networks. This essay traces Greece’s shift from price competition to power, sovereignty and control.
When networks become intelligent, they stop being neutral. Decisions once made by institutions move quietly into protocols, standards and optimisation logic. In the era of 6G, the design of infrastructure becomes the invisible constitution of digital society.
For decades, digital networks have functioned as reactive infrastructures. They transmitted signals, responded to requests and waited for human input. Agency was clear: users acted, systems followed. Efficiency was measured in speed, bandwidth and latency.
When networks begin to anticipate rather than merely transmit, infrastructure becomes a question of values, power and intent — not just technology. In that shift, connectivity turns from a technical system into a societal choice.
The Unintended Diplomat of Light I travelled to Eindhoven for a conversation about chips. Not to analyse schematics or count transistors, but to understand what technology truly represents…
For decades, the logic of telecommunications was almost uncontested. Faster was better. More bandwidth meant progress. Shannon’s Law framed intelligence as an engineering problem: how efficiently can information be transmitted from point A to point B?
Healthcare is becoming increasingly electronic. From wearable sensors and smart patches to remote diagnostics and continuous monitoring, digital technologies now sit directly on the human body — sometimes even inside it. These innovations promise earlier detection, better outcomes and more personalised care. Yet beneath this progress lies a growing contradiction.
Europe’s economy stands tall in innovation, trade and regulatory influence. Yet, when it comes to finance, it remains a continent divided — a mosaic of stock exchanges, regulatory regimes and investment cultures. From Frankfurt’s DAX to Amsterdam’s AEX, from Milan to Madrid, Europe’s financial power is spread thin across borders. And while the European Union has mastered monetary integration through the euro, true financial integration remains elusive.
In the sprawling global chip race, the world tends to focus on the big names: Taiwan’s foundries, American fabless chip-firms, Chinese challengers. But tucked away in the Dutch city of Veldhoven sits a company quietly rewriting the rules: ASML. While many talk about Europe’s lag in semiconductor manufacturing, ASML is living proof that Europe still holds world-beating innovation — not by chasing the same paths as others, but by building the tools that everyone else needs.
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