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OpenAI accelerates enterprise AI growth after Gartner names it an emerging leader

The US tech firm, OpenAI, gained fresh momentum after being named an Emerging Leader in Generative AI by Gartner. The assessment highlights strong industry confidence in OpenAI’s ability to support companies that want reliable and scalable AI systems.

Enterprise clients have increasingly adopted the company’s tools after significant investment in privacy controls, data governance frameworks and evaluation methods that help organisations deploy AI safely.

More than one million companies now use OpenAI’s technology, driven by workers who request ChatGPT as part of their daily tasks.

Over eight hundred million weekly users arrive already familiar with the tool, which shortens pilot phases and improves returns, rather than slowing transformation with lengthy onboarding. ChatGPT Enterprise has experienced sharp expansion, recording ninefold growth in seats over the past year.

OpenAI views generative AI as a new layer of enterprise infrastructure rather than a peripheral experiment. The next generation of systems is expected to be more collaborative and closely integrated with corporate operations, supporting new ways of working across multiple sectors.

The company aims to help organisations convert AI strategies into measurable results, rather than abstract ambitions.

Executives described the recognition as encouraging, although they stressed that broader progress still lies ahead. OpenAI plans to continue strengthening its enterprise platform, enabling businesses to integrate AI responsibly and at scale.

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EU aviation regulator opens debate on AI oversight and safety

EASA has issued its first regulatory proposal on AI in aviation, opening a three-month consultation for industry feedback. The draft focuses on trustworthy, data-driven AI systems and anticipates applications ranging from basic assistance to human–AI teaming.

The move comes amid wider criticism of EU AI rules from major tech firms and political leaders. Aviation stakeholders are now assessing whether compliance costs and operational demands could slow development or disrupt competitive positioning across the sector.

Experts warn that adapting to the framework may require significant investment, particularly for companies with limited resources. Others may accelerate AI adoption to preserve market advantage, especially where safety gains or efficiency improvements justify rapid deployment.

EASA stresses that consultation is essential to balance strict assurance requirements with the flexibility needed for innovation. Privacy and personal data issues remain contentious, shaping expectations for acceptable AI use in safety-critical environments.

Meanwhile, Airbus is pushing to reach 75 A320-family deliveries per month by 2027, driven by the A321neo’s strong order book. In parallel, Mitsui OSK Lines continues to lead the global LNG carrier market, reflecting broader momentum across adjacent transport sectors.

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Report calls for new regulations as AI deepfakes threaten legal evidence

US courtrooms increasingly depend on video evidence, yet researchers warn that the legal system is unprepared for an era in which AI can fabricate convincing scenes.

A new report led by the University of Colorado Boulder argues that national standards are urgently needed to guide how courts assess footage generated or enhanced by emerging technologies.

The authors note that judges and jurors receive little training on evaluating altered clips, despite more than 80 percent of cases involving some form of video.

Concerns have grown as deepfakes become easier to produce. A civil case in California collapsed in September after a judge ruled that a witness video was fabricated, and researchers believe such incidents will rise as tools like Sora 2 allow users to create persuasive simulations in moments.

Experts also warn about the spread of the so-called deepfake defence, where lawyers attempt to cast doubt on genuine recordings instead of accepting what is shown.

AI is also increasingly used to clean up real footage and to match surveillance clips with suspects. Such techniques can improve clarity, yet they also risk deepening inequalities when only some parties can afford to use them.

High-profile errors linked to facial recognition have already led to wrongful arrests, reinforcing the need for more explicit courtroom rules.

The report calls for specialised judicial training, new systems for storing and retrieving video evidence and stronger safeguards that help viewers identify manipulated content without compromising whistleblowers.

Researchers hope the findings prompt legal reforms that place scientific rigour at the centre of how courts treat digital evidence as it shifts further into an AI-driven era.

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New Quantum Echoes system reveals molecular structures at scale

Google says its new Quantum Echoes algorithm runs 13,000 times faster than leading supercomputers, marking what it calls the first verifiable quantum result across different hardware. The breakthrough brings real-world use cases in medicine and materials science closer to feasibility.

Quantum Echoes is built to overcome a core limitation in today’s models: constrained memory that prevents long reasoning chains. The method uses structured world models to maintain a single research goal while processing tens of millions of tokens across multiple agent runs.

Powered by the Willow quantum chip, the system reads thousands of scientific papers and executes tens of thousands of lines of analysis code in a single run. Early estimates suggest one execution could match six months of human scientific labour.

Recent studies have shown that the algorithm reproduces known molecular findings and generates new insights using a technique likened to a quantum molecular ruler. Results matched those of nuclear magnetic resonance techniques, indicating that quantum tools could reveal previously inaccessible structural detail.

Experts still caution that practical quantum computing remains years away. Google faces competition from IBM, Microsoft, and Chinese labs, yet the company argues that Quantum Echoes proves its hardware and algorithms are converging toward usable scientific applications.

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Nokia to build Surge’s 5G fixed-wireless network in Indonesia

Indonesian telecom provider Surge (Solusi Sinergi Digital) and Nokia have entered a multi-year agreement to roll out a 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) network across Java, Papua, and Maluku.

Nokia will leverage its existing FTTx, IP and optical infrastructure for backhaul, and deploy a new RAN and customer premises equipment (CPE) tailored for FWA. The deployment will utilise Nokia’s AirScale RAN portfolio, comprising baseband, remote radio heads, and zero-footprint sites, all enabled by its energy-efficient ReefShark chip technology.

To help manage the network, Surge will utilise Nokia’s MantaRay NM network management system, which provides a unified view of operations. The agreement also includes deployment, maintenance and support services, with AI-based performance, efficiency and safety enhancements.

This project supports broader aims of digital inclusion in Indonesia: Surge plans to offer flat-rate 5G FWA services at around IDR 100,000 (~US$6) per month, with speeds of up to 100 Mb/s and no data cap.

From a policy and infrastructure standpoint, the deal is noteworthy. It shows how 5G FWA can be used to address connectivity gaps in regions where fibre rollout is challenging, and how advanced RAN technologies, combined with AI-led operations, can make large-scale broadband deployment more feasible.

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New strategy targets Africa’s connectivity gap

Africa’s latest digital summit in Cotonou presented a growing concern. Coverage has expanded across West and Central Africa, yet adoption remains stubbornly low. Nearly two-thirds of Africans remain offline, despite most already living in areas with mobile networks.

Senior figures at the World Bank argued that the continent now faces an inclusion challenge rather than an infrastructure gap, as many households weigh daily necessities against the cost of connectivity.

Affordability has become the dominant barrier. Mobile Internet often consumes more than twice the global threshold for acceptable pricing, while fixed broadband can account for a striking share of monthly income. Devices remain expensive, and digital literacy is far from widespread.

Women, in particular, lag, and many rural communities lack the necessary skills to utilise essential digital services. Concerns also extend to businesses that struggle to train staff for digital tools and emerging AI solutions.

Policymakers now argue for a shift in strategy. The World Bank intends to prioritise digital public goods such as digital identification, electronic payments and interoperable platforms, believing that valuable services will encourage people to go online.

Governments hope that a stronger ecosystem will make online health, connected agriculture and digital learning more accessible and therefore more valuable.

Benin used the summit to highlight its advances in online administration and training programmes. Regional leaders also called for the creation of an African Single Digital Market that would lower access costs, encourage cross-border investment and harmonise regulations.

Officials insisted that a unified approach could accelerate development and equip African workers with the skills required for the digital jobs expected to expand by the end of the decade.

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New report warns retailers are unprepared for AI-powered attacks

Retailers are entering the peak shopping season amid warnings that AI-driven cyber threats will accelerate. LevelBlue’s latest Spotlight Report says nearly half of retail executives are already seeing significantly higher attack volumes, while one-third have suffered a breach in the past year.

The sector is under pressure to roll out AI-driven personalisation and new digital channels, yet only a quarter feel ready to defend against AI attacks. Readiness gaps also cover deepfakes and synthetic identity fraud, even though most expect these threats to arrive soon.

Supply chain visibility remains weak, with almost half of executives reporting limited insight into software suppliers. Few list supplier security as a near-term priority, fuelling concern that vulnerabilities could cascade across retail ecosystems.

High-profile breaches have pushed cybersecurity into the boardroom, and most retailers now integrate security teams with business operations. Leadership performance metrics and risk appetite frameworks are increasingly aligned with cyber resilience goals.

Planned investment is focused on application security, business-wide resilience processes, and AI-enabled defensive tools. LevelBlue argues that sustained spending and cultural change are required if retailers hope to secure consumer trust amid rapidly evolving threats.

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AI Scientist Kosmos links every conclusion to code and citations

OpenAI chief Sam Altman has praised Future House’s new AI Scientist, Kosmos, calling it an exciting step toward automated discovery. The platform upgrades the earlier Robin system and is now operated by Edison Scientific, which plans a commercial tier alongside free access for academics.

Kosmos addresses a key limitation in traditional models: the inability to track long reasoning chains while processing scientific literature at scale. It uses structured world models to stay focused on a single research goal across tens of millions of tokens and hundreds of agent runs.

A single Kosmos run can analyse around 1,500 papers and more than 40,000 lines of code, with early users estimating that this replaces roughly six months of human work. Internal tests found that almost 80 per cent of its conclusions were correct.

Future House reported seven discoveries made during testing, including three that matched known results and four new hypotheses spanning genetics, ageing, and disease. Edison says several are now being validated in wet lab studies, reinforcing the system’s scientific utility.

Kosmos emphasises traceability, linking every conclusion to specific code or source passages to avoid black-box outputs. It is priced at $200 per run, with early pricing guarantees and free credits for academics, though multiple runs may still be required for complex questions.

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NVIDIA brings RDMA acceleration to S3 object storage for AI workloads

AI workloads are driving unprecedented data growth, with enterprises projected to generate almost 400 zettabytes annually by 2028. NVIDIA says traditional storage models cannot match the speed and scale needed for modern training and inference systems.

The company is promoting RDMA for S3-compatible storage, which accelerates object data transfers by bypassing host CPUs and removing bottlenecks associated with TCP networking. The approach promises higher throughput per terabyte and reduced latency across AI factories and cloud deployments.

Key benefits include lower storage costs, workload portability across environments and faster access for training, inference and vector database workloads. NVIDIA says freeing CPU resources also improves overall GPU utilisation and project efficiency.

RDMA client libraries run directly on GPU compute nodes, enabling faster object retrieval during training. While initially optimised for NVIDIA hardware, the architecture is open and can be extended by other vendors and users seeking higher storage performance.

Cloudian, Dell and HPE are integrating the technology into products such as HyperStore, ObjectScale and Alletra Storage MP X10000. NVIDIA is working with partners to standardise the approach, arguing that accelerated object storage is now essential for large-scale AI systems.

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EU moves to reinforce cooperation against VAT fraud

The European Commission has presented a plan to strengthen cooperation among the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the European Anti-Fraud Office, and member states as part of a broader effort to combat VAT fraud.

The proposal establishes a legal framework for the sharing of information. It grants the EU bodies immediate access to VAT data, which is expected to enhance the detection of cross-border tax evasion schemes.

Real-time reporting of cross-border trade, delivered through the VAT in the Digital Age package, provides national authorities with the information needed to identify suspicious activity, rather than relying on delayed or incomplete records.

Carousel fraud alone costs EU taxpayers billions each year and remains a significant element of the broader VAT compliance gap, which stood at over €89 billion in 2022.

The Commission argues that faster access to VAT information will help investigators uncover fraudulent networks, halt their activities and pursue prosecutions more effectively.

EPPO, OLAF and the Eurofisc network would gain direct communication channels, enabling closer coordination and rapid intelligence sharing throughout the Union.

A proposal that will now move to the Council for agreement and to the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee for consultation.

Once adopted and published, the changes will take effect and initiate the implementation phase across the EU.

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