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Chief Scientist Advocates Transformative Leadership To Close The Gender Gap

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

March 25, 2026

Empowering Change At The Women Who Built Europe Summit

Cyprus presented its approach to inclusive innovation at the Women Who Built Europe summit in Brussels, highlighting the work of 35 women from government, business and technology. Chief Scientist Demetris Skourides said closing the gender gap in research and innovation requires a shift in how leadership is approached, with a stronger focus on inclusion.

Structural And Cultural Shifts For Inclusive Growth

Speaking during a fireside chat at the Council of the European Union, Skourides said progress depends on both policy changes and broader cultural shifts. He pointed to the importance of collaboration across teams and sectors, noting that changing perceptions is as important as introducing new measures.

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Policy Initiatives And Notable Achievements

Skourides outlined several initiatives led by the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) to support women in science and research. Between 2023 and 2025, the foundation launched 90 calls for proposals with a total budget of €100 million. These programmes created 739 jobs in research and innovation, including 209 roles filled by women. Female participation in leadership has also increased. Women led 61.16% of submitted proposals, while 76.4% of funded projects were coordinated by women.

Reinforcing Cyprus’ Role In STEM And Global Innovation

Cyprus’ national agenda reflects a strategic commitment to gender equality across all sectors. Women now represent 42.3% of participants in science, engineering, and STEM, 29.3% in ICT, and 37% of the cabinet, bolstered by initiatives such as Women for Tech and Women for Cyber. The summit also drew influential voices, including European Parliament member Tsvetelina Penkova and EU Female Founders president Monika Stanisheva, exemplifying the robust network of female leadership.

Historical Impact And A Vision For The Future

Skourides placed Cyprus’ advancements in a broader historical context, recalling over two centuries of female influence in shaping technological fields from programming languages to quantum technologies. He invoked the legacies of pioneers such as Ada Lovelace and Parisa Tabriz to illustrate the enduring impact of women in technology. Additionally, he addressed the performance-funding paradox by referencing research that demonstrates up to a 35% higher return on investment for companies led by women, further substantiated by leadership traits observed in Fortune 500 firms.

Leading By Example At Home And Abroad

The Cypriot delegation highlighted 35 women across different sectors, including public service, technology and healthcare. Their work reflects a broader shift toward more inclusive leadership and serves as a reference point for future initiatives.

Call To Action For A Future Of Inclusive Leadership

Skourides said progress will depend on strengthening networks, sharing experience and building partnerships at an international level. He encouraged women to take on leadership roles and contribute actively to shaping the future of innovation.

The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties

by News Editor

August 24, 2026

Courts Are Still Applying Old Copyright Rules To AI

AI companies train models on enormous amounts of published material, including books, articles and academic research. Whether using that content without authors’ permission violates copyright law remains unresolved.

Much of the debate centres on fair use, which allows copyrighted material to be used without permission in certain circumstances. Courts consider factors such as the purpose of the use, how much material was involved and its impact on the original market.

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Anthropic Case Sets An Important Precedent

A major case involving Anthropic and a group of authors provided one of the clearest rulings so far. Judge William Alsup found that using copyrighted books to train AI models was lawful, comparing the process to people reading and studying literature before creating something new.

Anthropic was nevertheless ordered to pay $1.5 billion in a settlement. The penalty concerned books the company had obtained from illegal online libraries rather than the AI training itself.

For AI companies, that distinction could prove significant because it separates studying copyrighted material from directly copying it.

Competition Could Be The Key Issue

A case involving Thomson Reuters and Ross Intelligence offers a different perspective. A court ruled that Ross could not claim fair use after using Reuters’ copyrighted material to develop a competing AI-powered legal research platform.

The decision suggests courts may be less willing to consider AI training fair use when copyrighted content is used to build a product that directly competes with the original.

For authors, an unresolved question is whether AI-generated content should be considered competition for the works used to train these models.

The Law Has Yet To Catch Up

US copyright law predates generative AI by decades, leaving courts to apply old principles to new technology. Questions also remain over copyright protection for AI-generated works. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, a court ruled that material created entirely by AI cannot receive copyright protection.

Major AI companies remain involved in copyright litigation, and different courts could reach different conclusions. For now, there is no universal rule: the legality of AI training will depend on the circumstances of each case and how courts ultimately interpret copyright and fair use.