Access

Armenia plans major AI hub with NVIDIA and Firebird

Armenia has unveiled plans to develop a $500mn AI supercomputing hub in partnership with US tech leader NVIDIA, AI cloud firm Firebird, and local telecoms group Team.

Announced at the Viva Technology conference in Paris, the initiative marks the largest tech investment ever seen in the South Caucasus.

Due to open in 2026, the facility will house thousands of NVIDIA’s Blackwell GPUs and offer more than 100 megawatts of scalable computing power. Designed to advance AI research, training and entrepreneurship, the hub aims to position Armenia as a leading player in global AI development.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan described the project as the ‘Stargate of Armenia’, underscoring its potential to transform the national tech sector.

Firebird CEO Razmig Hovaghimian said the hub would help develop local talent and attract international attention, while the Afeyan Foundation, led by Noubar Afeyan, is set to come on board as a founding investor.

Instead of limiting its role to funding, the Armenian government will also provide land, tax breaks and simplified regulation to support the project, strengthening its push toward a competitive digital economy.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Amazon launches AU$ 20 bn investment in Australian solar-powered data centres

Amazon will invest AU$ 20 billion to expand its data centre infrastructure in Australia, using solar and wind power instead of traditional energy sources.

The plan includes power purchase agreements with three utility-scale solar plants developed by European Energy, one of which—Mokoan Solar Park in Victoria—is already operational. The other two projects, Winton North and Bullyard Solar Parks, are expected to lift total solar capacity to 333MW.

The investment supports Australia’s aim to enhance its cloud and AI capabilities. Amazon’s commitment includes purchasing over 170MW of power from these projects, contributing to both data centre growth and the country’s renewable energy transition.

According to the International Energy Agency, electricity demand from data centres is expected to more than double by 2030, driven by AI.

Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman said the move positions Australia to benefit from AI’s economic potential. The company, already active in solar projects across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, continues to prioritise renewables to decarbonise operations and meet surging energy needs.

Instead of pursuing growth through conventional means, Amazon’s focus on clean energy could set a precedent for other tech giants expanding in the region.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

OpenAI turns to Google Cloud in shift from solo AI race

OpenAI has entered into an unexpected partnership with Google, using Google Cloud to support its growing AI infrastructure needs.

Despite being fierce competitors in AI, the two tech giants recognise that long-term success may require collaboration instead of isolation.

As the demand for high-performance hardware soars, traditional rivals join forces to keep pace. OpenAI, previously backed heavily by Microsoft, now draws from Google’s vast cloud resources, hinting at a changing attitude in the AI race.

Rather than going it alone, firms may benefit more by leveraging each other’s strengths to accelerate development.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai, speaking on a podcast, suggested there is room for multiple winners in the AI sector. He even noted that a major competitor had ‘invited me to a dance’, underscoring a new phase of pragmatic cooperation.

While Google still faces threats to its search dominance from tools like ChatGPT, business incentives may override rivalry.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

AI health tools need clinicians to prevent serious risks, Oxford study warns

The University of Oxford has warned that AI in healthcare, primarily through chatbots, should not operate without human oversight.

Researchers found that relying solely on AI for medical self-assessment could worsen patient outcomes instead of improving access to care. The study highlights how these tools, while fast and data-driven, fall short in delivering the judgement and empathy that only trained professionals can offer.

The findings raise alarm about the growing dependence on AI to fill gaps caused by doctor shortages and rising costs. Chatbots are often seen as scalable solutions, but without rigorous human-in-the-loop validation, they risk providing misleading or inconsistent information, particularly to vulnerable groups.

Rather than helping, they might increase health disparities by delaying diagnosis or giving patients false reassurance.

Experts are calling for safer, hybrid approaches that embed clinicians into the design and ongoing use of AI tools. The Oxford researchers stress that continuous testing, ethical safeguards and clear protocols must be in place.

Instead of replacing clinical judgement, AI should support it. The future of digital healthcare hinges not just on innovation but on responsibility and partnership between technology and human care.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Taiwan tightens rules on chip shipments to China

Taiwan has officially banned the export of chips and chiplets to China’s Huawei and SMIC, joining the US in tightening restrictions on advanced semiconductor transfers.

The decision follows reports that TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, was unknowingly misled into supplying chiplets used in Huawei’s Ascend 910B AI accelerator. The US Commerce Department had reportedly considered a fine of over $1 billion against TSMC for that incident.

Taiwan’s new rules aim to prevent further breaches by requiring export permits for any transactions with Huawei or SMIC.

The distinction between chips and chiplets is key to the case. Traditional chips are built as single-die monoliths using the same process node, while chiplets are modular and can combine various specialised components, such as CPU or AI cores.

Huawei allegedly used shell companies to acquire chiplets from TSMC, bypassing existing US restrictions. If TSMC had known the true customer, it likely would have withheld the order. Taiwan’s new export controls are designed to ensure stricter oversight of future transactions and prevent repeat deceptions.

The broader geopolitical stakes are clear. Taiwan views the transfer of advanced chips to China as a national security threat, given Beijing’s ambitions to reunify with Taiwan and the potential militarisation of high-end semiconductors.

With Huawei claiming its processors are nearly on par with Western chips—though analysts argue they lag two to three generations behind—the export ban could further isolate China’s chipmakers.

Speculation persists that Taiwan’s move was partly influenced by negotiations with the US to avoid the proposed fine on TSMC, bringing both countries into closer alignment on chip sanctions.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Deepseek searches soar after ChatGPT outage

ChatGPT users faced widespread disruption on 10 June 2025 after a global outage hit OpenAI’s services, affecting both the chatbot and associated APIs. OpenAI has yet to confirm the cause, stating only that users are experiencing high error rates and delays.

The blackout halted work for many creative teams who rely on the tool to generate content and meet deadlines. While some were stalled, others turned to alternatives, sparking a surge in interest in rival AI chatbots.

Searches for DeepSeek, a Chinese-developed AI model, jumped 109% to over 2.1 million on the outage day. Claude AI saw a 95% increase in queries, while interest in Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot also spiked significantly.

Industry experts say the incident underscores the risk of overdependence on a single platform and highlights the growing maturity of competing AI tools. While frustrating for many, the disruption appears to be fuelling broader competition and diversification in the generative AI market.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Sam Altman says GPT-4o demand overwhelmed OpenAI’s GPU supply

OpenAI faced a significant infrastructure strain after its GPT-4o image generator went viral for producing Ghibli-style memes. The sudden influx of user demand added a million new users in under an hour, putting immense pressure on the company’s systems.

CEO Sam Altman admitted that OpenAI had to slow feature rollouts and borrow computing power from its research division to keep the service running. The platform temporarily introduced rate limits as it coped with overloaded GPUs.

Altman described the situation as unprecedented, saying no other company has had to manage such intense viral spikes. He noted that image generation with GPT-4o requires significant compute resources, which the company could not fully meet with its current GPU inventory.

Despite the challenges, Altman maintained that OpenAI is committed to managing high user demand while continuing development. The company is also considering watermarking the AI images created by free users to help manage scale and traceability.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

PCCW Global and partners to launch AAE-2 subsea cable linking Asia, Africa, and Europe

A consortium of four leading subsea cable operators, PCCW Global, Sparkle, Telecom Egypt, and Zain Omantel International (ZOI), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on constructing the Asia-Africa-Europe-2 (AAE-2) subsea cable system. The ambitious project will link Hong Kong and Singapore to Italy, traversing secure, high-capacity terrestrial corridors across Thailand, the Arabian Peninsula, and Egypt.

The cable system will also include strategic extensions to additional key destinations, further enhancing intercontinental connectivity across Asia, Africa, and Europe. AAE-2 aims to deliver a next-generation, geographically diverse, and resilient digital infrastructure designed to support the increasing demands of cloud services, content delivery, and digital transformation.

By combining both subsea and terrestrial networks, it will establish a future-proof, high-performance data highway facilitating faster and more reliable international traffic across three continents. Building on the success of the earlier AAE-1 cable, AAE-2 will incorporate cutting-edge technology to offer unprecedented bandwidth capacity, empowering communities and businesses throughout the connected regions.

PCCW Global is committed to providing scalable, secure connectivity, while Sparkle focuses on enhancing route diversity and resilience through submarine systems and hubs. Telecom Egypt highlights its global connectivity via the WeConnect ecosystem, and ZOI leverages its strategic position as a gateway linking Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Together, the consortium is dedicated to successfully delivering this transformative infrastructure that will reshape the future of global digital connections and foster economic growth in emerging markets.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Nvidia’s Huang: ‘The new programming language is human’

Speaking at London Tech Week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called AI ‘the great equaliser,’ explaining how AI has transformed who can access and control computing power.

In the past, computing was limited to a select few with technical skills in languages like C++ or Python. ‘We had to learn programming languages. We had to architect it. We had to design these computers that are very complicated,’ Huang said.

That’s no longer necessary, he explained. ‘Now, all of a sudden, there’s a new programming language. This new programming language is called ‘human’,’ Huang said, highlighting how AI now understands natural language commands. ‘Most people don’t know C++, very few people know Python, and everybody, as you know, knows human.’

He illustrated his point with an example: asking an AI to write a poem in the style of Shakespeare. The AI delivers, he said—and if you ask it to improve, it will reflect and try again, just like a human collaborator.

For Huang, this shift is not just technical but transformational. It makes the power of advanced computing accessible to billions, not just a trained few.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

UK health sector adopts AI while legacy tech lags

The UK’s healthcare sector has rapidly embraced AI, with adoption rising from 47% in 2024 to 94% in 2025, according to SOTI’s new report ‘Healthcare’s Digital Dilemma’.

AI is no longer confined to administrative tasks, as 52% of healthcare professionals now use it for diagnosis and 57% to personalise treatments. SOTI’s Stefan Spendrup said AI is improving how care is delivered and helping clinicians make more accurate, patient-specific decisions.

However, outdated systems continue to hamper progress. Nearly all UK health IT leaders report challenges from legacy infrastructure, Internet of Things (IoT) tech and telehealth tools.

While connected devices are widely used to support patients remotely, 73% rely on outdated, unintegrated systems, significantly higher than the global average of 65%.

These systems limit interoperability and heighten security risks, with 64% experiencing regular tech failures and 43% citing network vulnerabilities.

The strain on IT teams is evident. Nearly half report being unable to deploy or manage new devices efficiently, and more than half struggle to offer remote support or access detailed diagnostics. Time lost to troubleshooting remains a common frustration.

The UK appears more affected by these challenges than other countries surveyed, indicating a pressing need to modernise infrastructure instead of continuing to patch ageing technology.

While data security remains the top IT concern in UK healthcare, fewer IT teams see it as a priority, falling from 33% in 2024 to 24% in 2025. Despite a sharp increase in data breaches, the number rose from 71% to 84%.

Spendrup warned that innovation risks being undermined unless the sector rebalances priorities, with more focus on securing systems and replacing legacy tools instead of delaying necessary upgrades.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!