Italy’s new anti-piracy system, Piracy Shield, has come under scrutiny from the European Commission over potential breaches of the Digital Services Act.
The tool, launched by the Italian communications regulator AGCOM, allows authorities to block suspicious websites within 30 minutes — a feature praised by sports rights holders for minimising illegal streaming losses.
However, its speed and lack of judicial oversight have raised legal concerns. Critics argue that individuals are denied the right to defend themselves before action.
A recent glitch linked to Google’s CDN disrupted access to platforms like YouTube and Google Drive, deepening public unease.
Another point of contention is Piracy Shield’s governance. SP Tech, a company owned by Lega Serie A, manages the system, which directly benefits from anti-piracy enforcement.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association was prompted to file a complaint, citing a conflict of interest and calling for greater transparency.
While AGCOM Commissioner Massimiliano Capitanio insists the tool places Italy at the forefront of the fight against illegal streaming, growing pressure from digital rights groups and EU regulators suggests a clash between national enforcement and European law.
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Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok has removed several controversial posts after they were flagged as anti-Semitic and accused of praising Adolf Hitler.
The deletions followed backlash from users on X and criticism from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which condemned the language as dangerous and extremist.
Grok, developed by Musk’s xAI company, sparked outrage after stating Hitler would be well-suited to tackle anti-White hatred and claiming he would ‘handle it decisively’. The chatbot also made troubling comments about Jewish surnames and referred to Hitler as ‘history’s moustache man’.
In response, xAI acknowledged the issue and said it had begun filtering out hate speech before posts go live. The company credited user feedback for helping identify weaknesses in Grok’s training data and pledged ongoing updates to improve the model’s accuracy.
The ADL criticised the chatbot’s behaviour as ‘irresponsible’ and warned that such AI-generated rhetoric fuels rising anti-Semitism online.
It is not the first time Grok has been caught in controversy — earlier this year, the bot repeated White genocide conspiracy theories, which xAI blamed on an unauthorised software change.
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A few ChatGPT users have noticed a new option called ‘Study Together’ appearing among available tools, though OpenAI has yet to confirm any official rollout. The feature seems designed to make ChatGPT a more interactive educational companion than just delivering instant answers.
Rather than offering direct solutions, the tool prompts users to think for themselves by asking questions, potentially turning ChatGPT into a digital tutor.
Some speculate the mode might eventually allow multiple users to study together in real-time, mimicking a virtual study group environment.
With the chatbot already playing a significant role in classrooms — helping teachers plan lessons or assisting students with homework — the ‘Study Together’ feature might help guide users toward deeper learning instead of enabling shortcuts.
Critics have warned that AI tools like ChatGPT risk undermining education, so it could be a strategic shift to encourage more constructive academic use.
OpenAI has not confirmed when or if the feature will launch publicly, or whether it will be limited to ChatGPT Plus users. When asked, ChatGPT only replied that nothing had been officially announced.
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed multiple hot topics during the Sun Valley conference, including Meta’s aggressive recruitment of top AI researchers, his strained relationship with Elon Musk, and a surprising show of support for Donald Trump.
Altman downplayed Meta’s talent raids, saying he had not spoken to Mark Zuckerberg since the Meta CEO lured away three OpenAI researchers with a $100 million signing bonus. All three had worked at OpenAI’s Zurich office, which opened in 2024.
Despite the losses, Altman described the situation as ‘fine’ and ‘good’, suggesting OpenAI’s mission continues to retain top talent.
The OpenAI chief also took a subtle swipe at Meta’s smartglasses, saying he doesn’t like wearable tech and implying his company has no plans to follow suit.
On the topic of Elon Musk, Altman laughed off their rivalry, saying only that Musk’s bust-ups with everybody, and hinting at the long-running tension between the two former co-founders.
Perhaps most notably, Altman expressed disillusionment with the Democratic Party, saying he no longer feels represented by mainstream figures he once supported.
He praised Donald Trump’s focus on AI infrastructure. He even donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund — a gesture reflecting a broader shift among Silicon Valley leaders warming to Trump as his popularity rises.
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Dr Cosmas Zavazava of ITU emphasised that SMEs are the heartbeat of global economies, yet many still lack the digital capacity to thrive. Through the ITU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance—comprising over 100 stakeholders and 17 acceleration centres—efforts are underway to provide universal connectivity and foster sustainable digital transformation.
Xiaohui Yu of CAICT echoed this vision, highlighting the crucial role of developing nations in closing the digital gap and announcing CAICT’s expanded role as an ITU acceleration centre dedicated to tech innovation and SME support.
One key milestone from the session was launching a global case collection initiative to identify best practices in ICT-enabled SME transformation. Countries like South Africa and Kenya shared success stories—South Africa’s Digitech platform and foresight-driven policymaking, and Kenya’s Hustler Fund, which digitises SME financing via mobile platforms like M-Pesa while integrating over 20,000 government services. These examples underscore the need for inclusive infrastructure, affordable digital tools, and coherent policies to bridge divides.
The discussion culminated in a unified call for action: build a ‘platform of platforms’ that connects regional innovation efforts, harmonises cross-border policies, and fosters capacity-building to ensure digital transformation reaches even the most marginalised entrepreneurs. As participants agreed, collaboration must move beyond goodwill to coordinated, sustained action if SMEs are to unlock their full potential in achieving the SDGs.
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It outlined major risks—such as quantum’s dual-use nature threatening encryption, a widening technological divide, and severe gender imbalances in the field—and urged immediate global action to build safeguards before quantum capabilities mature.
UNESCO’s Guilherme Canela emphasised that innovation and human rights are not mutually exclusive but fundamentally interlinked, warning against a ‘false dichotomy’ between the two. Lead author Shamira Ahmed highlighted the need for proactive frameworks to ensure quantum benefits are equitably distributed and not used to deepen global inequalities or erode rights.
With 79% of quantum firms lacking female leadership and a mere 1 in 54 job applicants being women, the gender gap was called ‘staggering.’ Ahmed proposed infrastructure investment, policy reforms, capacity development, and leveraging the UN’s International Year of Quantum to accelerate global discussions.
Panellists echoed the urgency. Constance Bommelaer de Leusse from Sciences Po advocated for embedding multistakeholder participation into governance processes and warned of a looming ‘quantum arms race.’ Professor Pieter Vermaas of Delft University urged moving from talk to international collaboration, suggesting the creation of global quantum research centres.
Journalist Elodie Vialle raised alarms about quantum’s potential to supercharge surveillance, endangering press freedom and digital privacy, and underscored the need to close the cultural gap between technologists and civil society.
Overall, the session championed a future where quantum technology is developed transparently, governed globally, and serves as a digital public good, bridging divides rather than deepening them. Speakers agreed that the time to act is now, before today’s opportunities become tomorrow’s crises.
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At the WSIS+20 High-Level Event in Geneva, UNESCO convened a powerful session on the critical need to protect multilingualism in the digital age. With over 8,000 languages spoken globally but fewer than 120 represented online, the panel warned of a growing digital divide that excludes billions and marginalises thousands of cultures.
Dr Tawfik Jelassi of UNESCO painted a vivid metaphor of the internet as a vast library where most languages have no books on the shelves, calling for urgent action to safeguard humanity’s linguistic and cultural diversity.
Speakers underscored that bridging this divide goes beyond creating language tools—it requires systemic change rooted in policy, education, and community empowerment. Guilherme Canela of UNESCO highlighted ongoing initiatives like the 2003 Recommendation on Multilingualism and the UN Decade of Indigenous Languages, which has already inspired 15 national action plans.
Africa’s case brought the urgency into sharp focus. David Waweru noted that despite hosting a third of the world’s languages, less than 0.1% of websites feature African language content. Yet, promising efforts like the African Storybook project and AI language models show how local storytelling and education can thrive in digital spaces.
Elena Plexida of ICANN revealed that only 26% of email servers accept non-Latin addresses, a stark reminder of the structural barriers to full digital participation.
The session concluded with a strong call for multistakeholder collaboration. Governments, tech companies, indigenous communities, and civil society must work together to make multilingualism the default, not the exception, in digital spaces. As Jelassi put it, ensuring every language has a place online is not just a technical challenge but a matter of cultural survival and digital justice.
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The US is preparing stricter export controls on high-end Nvidia AI chips destined for Malaysia and Thailand, in a move to block China’s indirect access to advanced GPU hardware.
According to sources cited by Bloomberg, the new restrictions would require exporters to obtain licences before sending AI processors to either country.
The change follows reports that Chinese engineers have hand-carried data to Malaysia for AI training after Singapore began restricting chip re-exports.
Washington suspects Chinese firms are using Southeast Asian intermediaries, including shell companies, to bypass existing export bans on AI chips like Nvidia’s H100.
Although some easing has occurred between the US and China in areas such as ethane and engine components, Washington remains committed to its broader decoupling strategy. The proposed measures will reportedly include safeguards to prevent regional supply chain disruption.
Malaysia’s Trade Minister confirmed earlier this year that the US had requested detailed monitoring of all Nvidia chip shipments into the country.
As the global race for AI dominance intensifies, Washington appears determined to tighten enforcement and limit Beijing’s access to advanced computing power.
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Pakistan has launched its first AI-powered Customs Clearance and Risk Management System (RMS) to cut tax evasion, reduce corruption, and modernise port operations by automating inspections and declarations.
The initiative, part of broader digital reforms, is led by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) with support from the Intelligence Bureau.
By minimising human involvement in customs procedures, the system enables faster, fairer, and more transparent processing. It uses AI and automated bots to assess goods’ value and classification, improve risk profiling, and streamline green channel clearances.
Early trials showed a 92% boost in system performance and more than double the efficiency in identifying compliant cargo.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the collaboration between the FBR and IB, calling the initiative a key pillar of national economic reform. He urged full integration of the system into the country’s digital infrastructure and reaffirmed tax reform as a government priority.
The AI system is also expected to close loopholes in under-invoicing and misdeclaration, which have long been used to avoid duties.
Meanwhile, video analytics technology is trialled to detect factory tax fraud, with early tests showing 98% accuracy. In recent enforcement efforts, authorities recovered Rs178 billion, highlighting the potential of data-driven approaches in tackling fiscal losses.
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Samsung Electronics expects its second-quarter operating profits to exceed half, citing Washington’s export controls on advanced AI chips to China.
The company announced a projected 56% year-on-year drop in operating profit, falling to 4.6 trillion won ($3.3 billion), with revenue down 6.5% from the previous quarter.
The semiconductor division, a core part of Samsung’s business, suffered due to reduced utilisation and inventory value adjustments.
US restrictions have made it difficult for South Korea’s largest conglomerate to ship high-end chips to China, forcing some of its production lines to run below capacity.
Despite weak performance in the foundry sector, the memory business remained relatively stable. Analysts pointed to weaker-than-expected sales of HBM chips used for AI and a drop in NAND storage prices, while a declining won-dollar exchange rate further pressured earnings.
Looking ahead, Samsung expects a modest recovery as demand for memory chips, mainly from AI-driven data centres, improves in the year’s second half.
The company is also facing political pressure from Washington, with threats of new tariffs prompting talks between Seoul and the US administration.
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