This week’s list of top data news highlights covers December 6, 2025 to December 12, 2025 and includes articles on developing robotic caregivers and having conversations with Santa.
1. Assessing Fatty Liver Disease in Drug Trials
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared an AI tool to measure liver damage in drug trials for a serious liver disease. The system analyzes images of liver biopsy samples and assigns standardized scores for fat buildup, inflammation, and scarring, which physicians then review. That means drug companies can use this AI tool to analyze biopsy images and submit its results to the FDA as part of their trial data, instead of relying only on multiple human reviewers.
2. Improving Firefighter Visibility
Longan Vision, a Canadian technology company based in Ontario, has developed a helmet-mounted, hands-free thermal vision system that uses thermal infrared sensors to help firefighters see through smoke and darkness during emergencies. The system translates those signals into a visual overlay on the responder’s field of view and streams real-time video back to command centers. Fire departments across Canada are testing the system to improve coordination and safety during high-risk rescue operations.
3. Developing Robotic Caregivers
Researchers at Waseda University in Tokyo are developing AIREC, a humanoid robot designed to assist elderly patients with daily care. The prototype uses full-body sensors and adaptive controls to help with tasks such as dressing, folding laundry, preparing simple meals, and repositioning patients to prevent bedsores. The goal is to reduce the physical strain on human caregivers while helping people with dementia remain safely supported for longer.
4. Modernizing Naval Shipbuilding
The U.S. Navy has launched a digital platform called Shipbuilding Operating System, that replaces fragmented, manual shipyard planning with a unified, data-driven view of production. The system links scheduling tools, supply data, and factory-floor information to identify delays and material shortages early. In pilot programs, Ship OS reduced submarine planning work from days to minutes.
5. Improving Prosthetic Hand Control
Researchers at the University of Utah have built an AI-assisted prosthetic hand that automatically adjusts its grip as users interact with objects. The system combines pressure and proximity sensors in each fingertip with an AI model trained on natural human grasping, allowing the hand to predict how firmly and where to grip without requiring conscious finger-by-finger control. By taking over those adjustments automatically, the prosthetic makes everyday actions like holding a cup or picking up small objects easier and more reliable than other prosthetics currently available.
Cursor, a U.S.-based software company, has built an AI tool that lets designers change the appearance of websites by editing the live code that runs them. Instead of creating mockups in separate design tools that engineers later have to recreate, users can ask the tool to adjust elements such as colors, spacing, or buttons and see those changes applied immediately to the working website. By letting visual design changes happen directly in the codebase, the tool reduces back-and-forth between designers and engineers and speeds up web development.
Tavus, a U.S.-based AI startup, has released a conversational AI tool that allows families to interact with a digital version of Santa through text, phone, or video. The system generates synthetic speech and animated facial expressions in real-time, allowing Santa to respond to users’ gestures, remember past conversations, and offer personalized suggestions during live interactions.
8. Using VR to Support Dementia Patients
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara are testing lightweight VR headsets that allow adults with dementia to share immersive experiences with family members and caregivers. The headsets let users explore familiar places, revisit meaningful locations through street-level imagery, and participate in guided group activities inside shared virtual environments. By combining social interaction with immersive visual stimulation, the technology helps reduce isolation and supports emotional well-being for aging people.
NeoSapien, a startup based in India, has built a wearable device worn around the neck that acts as a hands-free AI assistant. The device listens to conversations and daily activity, identifies what information matters, and organizes reminders or notes automatically without requiring users to open an app or press buttons. The technology aims to support memory, organization, and decision-making throughout the day with minimal effort from the user.
10. Matching Long-Term Partners with AI
Keeper, a U.S.-based dating service, uses AI to increase match potential by organizing users into more compatible subsets instead of presenting long lists of loosely related profiles. The system applies rule-based filters to structure users around shared values, goals, and life preferences, then uses AI models to further assess compatibility within those groups based on patterns in user responses and preferences. The goal is to focus attention on a smaller set of people with stronger potential for long-term relationships.
