January 2026 highlighted the accelerating pace of global transformation in AI governance, cybersecurity, and public sector reform. Across the UK, Europe, and Asia, governments advanced new strategies to modernise state capacity, strengthen resilience, and ensure that emerging AI systems are deployed with greater accountability and public trust.
In the UK, MP Darren Jones set out a plan to “move fast and fix things,” calling for Whitehall to be rewired in ways that incentivise innovation across the civil service and improve public sector performance. These ambitions were reinforced by the publication of the UK’s Cyber Action Plan, which outlines steps to strengthen national cyber resilience, protect critical services, and support the growth of the cyber sector. At the same time, the UK government announced plans to modernise public sector customer services by working with industry experts to improve digital delivery and user experience. Further attention was also drawn to AI safety and accountability, as the UK Technology Secretary issued a statement responding to concerns around xAI’s Grok image generation and editing tool.
At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos, many of these developments were framed within broader discussions about a rapidly fragmenting geopolitical environment. Global leaders highlighted the renewed importance of dialogue, cooperation, and inclusive innovation to address economic uncertainty, security pressures, and the uneven global distribution of technological capability. Alongside these debates, Davos also saw the launch of the UK Centre for AI-Driven Innovation, led by Imperial College London and the World Economic Forum, designed to accelerate responsible AI adoption, support policy delivery, and strengthen the UK’s international AI leadership.
Across Europe, the European Commission advanced its digital sovereignty and competitiveness agenda through a call for evidence on open-source digital ecosystems, signalling a growing policy emphasis on reducing strategic dependencies while strengthening innovation capacity. The Commission also unveiled new initiatives to reinforce EU cybersecurity resilience, enhancing preparedness, response capabilities, and cooperation among Member States. ENISA’s role was further expanded through its operation of the EU Cybersecurity Reserve, backed by a €36 million budget to strengthen rapid response capacity for major cyber incidents. In parallel, the Commission published a summary of stakeholder responses to its Digital Markets Act consultation, offering early signals of how regulatory scrutiny around platform power and competition may evolve ahead of the 2026 evaluation. Competition policy tensions were also reflected in Italy’s order requiring Meta to suspend a WhatsApp policy restricting rival AI chatbots.
Major investments continued to shape Europe’s strategic direction, with over €307 million committed to AI and related technologies to accelerate research, deployment, and uptake across key sectors. Amendments to the EuroHPC Regulation also underscored growing ambition to expand access to high-performance computing infrastructure, strengthening Europe’s sovereign capabilities in AI and quantum technologies.
Across Asia, governance frameworks continued to mature in response to increasingly autonomous AI systems. Singapore’s IMDA launched a Model AI Governance Framework for Agentic AI, offering practical guidance to help organisations deploy autonomous, action-taking systems responsibly with stronger risk controls and clear human accountability. China released draft rules targeting AI systems with human-like interaction, proposing new requirements around transparency, safety, and content controls. India introduced new norms governing AI-based cancer detection tools, signalling the growing importance of sector-specific standards for validation and clinical oversight as AI becomes embedded in healthcare systems.
Global debates around transparency and trust also intensified. Stanford’s 2025 Foundation Model Transparency Index reported declining transparency across major AI developers, highlighting persistent gaps in disclosure on training data, risks, and governance practices. At the same time, Anthropic released a new constitution for Claude, aiming to strengthen clarity around ethical commitments and safety principles. In the wider ecosystem, Google and Apple issued a joint statement reaffirming their shared commitment to privacy, security, and responsible technology development.
Innovation in healthcare and sovereign infrastructure remained a key theme. IBM researchers demonstrated how AI can detect previously hidden cancer indicators, potentially improving early diagnosis and clinical decision-making. SAP and Fresenius announced collaboration to build a sovereign AI backbone for healthcare in Europe, supporting secure data sharing and AI-enabled innovation. OpenAI also announced ChatGPT Health, a new initiative focused on health-related applications, while emphasising safety and reliability in deployment.
Beyond health, AI’s role in national security and strategic state capacity continued to expand. Ukraine launched the BRAVE1 Dataroom in partnership with Palantir to enable AI model training using battlefield data, illustrating the rapid integration of AI into defence and security ecosystems. In parallel, the Evidence Exchange network led by CSaP at the University of Cambridge announced a new initiative connecting UK civil and public servants with research organisations to strengthen evidence-informed policymaking.
Climate resilience and public interest innovation also advanced through new collaborations. A new AI forecasting initiative was launched to support climate resilience and food security in West Africa, strengthening early warning systems and decision-making tools. Researchers at King’s College London introduced ELAXIR, an interactive tool designed to support patients and clinicians in navigating the ethical use of AI in healthcare decision-making.
January’s developments reflect a widening convergence: governments are increasingly moving beyond high-level principles toward practical governance mechanisms, sector-specific standards, and institutional capacity-building. Across public services, cybersecurity, competition policy, and healthcare innovation, the month underscored a growing recognition that responsible AI adoption must be matched by regulatory preparedness, transparency, and stronger public trust.
To read the full January 2026 newsletter, click here.
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