Artificial intelligence

UAE university bets on AI to secure global talent

Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed bin Zayed University of AI (MBZUAI) claims to have rapidly become central to the UAE’s ambition to lead in AI.

Founded six years ago, the state-backed institute has hired over 100 faculty, recruited students from 49 nations, and now counts more than 700 alumni. All students receive full scholarships, while professors enjoy freedom from chasing research grants.

The university works closely with G42, the UAE’s flagship AI firm, and has opened a research lab in Silicon Valley. It has already unveiled non-English language models, including Arabic, Kazakh, and Hindi, and recently launched K2 Think, an open-source reasoning model.

MBZUAI is part of a wider national strategy that pairs investment in semiconductor chips with the creation of a global talent pipeline. The UAE now holds over 188,000 AI chips, second only to the US, and aims for AI to contribute 20% of its non-oil GDP by 2031.

About 80% of graduates have remained in the country, aided by long-term residency incentives and tax-free salaries. Analysts say the university’s success will depend on whether it can sustain momentum and secure permanent endowments to outlast shifting UAE government priorities.

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Lufthansa to cut thousands of jobs as AI reshapes operations

Lufthansa Group announced it will cut 4,000 jobs by 2030 as part of a restructuring drive powered by AI and digitalisation. Most of the affected positions will be administrative roles in Germany, with operational staff largely unaffected.

The company said it aims to improve efficiency by reducing duplication across its airlines Lufthansa through the use of AI, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and ITA Airways. It noted that advances in AI would streamline work and allow greater integration within the group.

Despite the job cuts, demand for flights remains high. Capacity is constrained by limited aircraft and engine supply, which has kept planes full and revenue strong. Lufthansa said it expects significantly higher profitability by the end of the decade.

The airline also confirmed plans for the largest fleet modernisation in its history, with over 230 new aircraft to be delivered by 2030, including 100 long-haul jets. Lufthansa employed more than 101,000 people in 2024 and posted revenue of €37.6 billion.

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Diplo explores AI and diplomacy in the Gulf

DiploFoundation has taken its work on AI and governance to the Gulf, with engagements in Oman and Qatar focused on how AI is reshaping diplomacy and policymaking. In Muscat, Jovan Kurbalija delivered a lecture on AI’s geopolitical implications, led a workshop on the future of digital diplomacy, and met with institutions advancing Oman’s National AI Strategy and innovation ecosystem.

In Doha, Diplo participated in the international conference AI Ethics: The Convergence of Technology and Diverse Moral Traditions. Dr Kurbalija joined a panel on transnational AI principles, discussing how diverse ethical and cultural frameworks can guide global standards for responsible AI.

Diplo in Gulf

The Gulf engagements highlighted the need to balance innovation with responsibility. Discussions focused on equipping government staff with AI expertise, ensuring technology is integrated into governance that reflects cultural values, and shaping diplomatic practice around collaboration with tech companies.

Diplo’s programme builds on its long-standing research into how Arabic and Islamic philosophical traditions can enrich global debates on AI. The initiative aims to advance inclusive, practical, and ethical approaches to AI in international policy and diplomacy by bringing these perspectives to the table.

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Internal chatbot Veritas helps Apple refine Siri features ahead of launch

Apple is internally testing its upcoming Siri upgrade with a chatbot-style tool called Veritas, according to a report by Bloomberg. The app enables employees to experiment with new capabilities and provide structured feedback before a public launch.

Veritas enables testers to type questions, engage in conversations, and revisit past chats, making it similar to ChatGPT and Gemini. Apple is reportedly using the feedback to refine Siri’s features, including data search and in-app actions.

The tool remains internal and is not planned for public release. Its purpose is to make Siri’s upgrade process more efficient and guide Apple’s decision on future chatbot-like experiences.

Apple executives have said they prefer integrating AI into daily tasks instead of offering a separate chatbot. Craig Federighi confirmed at WWDC that Apple is focused on natural task assistance rather than a standalone product.

Bloomberg reports that the new Siri will use Apple’s own AI models alongside external systems like Google’s Gemini, with a launch expected next spring.

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Semicon Coalition unites EU on chip strategy and autonomy

European ministers have signed the Declaration of the Semicon Coalition, calling for a revised EU Chips Act 2.0 to boost semiconductor resilience, innovation, and competitiveness. The declaration outlines five priorities: collaboration, investment, skills, sustainability, and global partnerships.

The coalition, launched by the Netherlands in March, includes Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain. Other EU states joined today in Brussels, where Dutch minister Vincent Karremans presented the declaration to the European Commission.

Over fifty leading European and international semiconductor players have endorsed the declaration. This support strengthens momentum for placing end-markets at the core of the EU’s semiconductor strategy and aligns with Mario Draghi’s report on competitiveness.

The priorities include aligning EU and national funding, accelerating approvals for strategic projects, building a skilled talent pipeline, and promoting circular, energy-efficient manufacturing. International partnerships will also be deepened while safeguarding European strategic autonomy.

Minister Karremans said the strategy demonstrates Europe’s response to global tensions and its commitment to boosting semiconductor capacity, research funding, and readiness for demand in AI, automotive, energy, and defense.

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Sam Altman predicts AGI could arrive before 2030

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has warned that AI could soon automate up to 40 percent of the tasks humans currently perform. He made the remarks in an interview with German newspaper Die Welt, highlighting the potential economic shift AI will trigger.

Altman described OpenAI’s latest model, GPT-5, as the most advanced yet and claimed it is ‘smarter than me and most people’. He said artificial general intelligence (AGI), capable of outperforming humans in all areas, could arrive before 2030.

Instead of focusing on job losses, Altman suggested examining the percentage of tasks that AI will automate. He predicted that 30 to 40 per cent of tasks currently carried out by humans may soon be completed by AI systems.

These comments contribute to the growing debate about the societal impact of AI, with mass layoffs already being linked to automation. Altman emphasised that this wave of change will reshape economies and workplaces, requiring businesses and governments to prepare for disruption.

As AGI approaches, Altman urged individuals to focus on acquiring in-demand skills to stay relevant in an AI-enabled economy. The relationship between humans and machines, he said, will be permanently reshaped by these developments.

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New era for Kazakhstan’s digital economy

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has outlined a bold vision to transform the nation into a fully digital state within three years. He plans to leverage AI to modernise the economy and public administration.

At the opening of a new parliamentary session, Tokayev emphasised the need for comprehensive digitalisation to ensure socio-economic stability amid global challenges. A new Ministry of AI and Digital Development will drive the agenda under a Digital Code for AI, big data, and the platform economy.

Tokayev urged a revised investment policy to boost competitiveness, focusing on high-tech manufacturing instead of reliance on raw materials. The government has been tasked with streamlining investment processes, with the Prime Minister directly responsible for attracting funds.

The Asset Recovery Committee will be reshaped into the Committee for Investors’ Rights after recovering 850 billion tenge for public projects like schools and healthcare.

The President proposed parliamentary reform, calling for a unicameral Parliament elected by party lists by 2027, pending public debate and a referendum. The move aims to enhance legislative efficiency and align with global parliamentary traditions.

Agriculture, transport, and water management will undergo digital upgrades, with AI optimising land use, logistics, and resource conservation for sustainable development.

Kazakhstan will strengthen its Eurasian transit hub role with projects like the Trans-Caspian Route and a digital freight platform, Smart Cargo. Tokayev urged unity and patriotism to tackle global challenges and build a prosperous digital Kazakhstan.

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Google tests AI hosts for YouTube Music

Google is testing AI-generated hosts for YouTube Music through its new YouTube Labs programme. The AI hosts will appear while users listen to mixes and radio stations, providing commentary, fan trivia, and stories to enrich the listening experience.

The feature is designed to resemble a radio jockey but relies on AI, so there is a risk of occasional inaccuracies.

YouTube Labs, similar to Google Labs, allows the company to trial new AI features and gather user feedback before wider release. The AI hosts are currently available to a limited group of US testers, who can sign up via YouTube Labs and snooze commentary for an hour or all day.

The rollout follows Google’s Audio Overviews in NotebookLM, which turns research papers and documents into podcast-style summaries. Past AI experiments on YouTube, such as automatic dubbing, faced criticism as viewers had limited control over translations.

The AI hosts experiment shows Google’s push to integrate AI across its apps, enhancing engagement while monitoring feedback before wider rollout.

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Qwen3-Omni tops Hugging Face as China’s open AI challenge grows

Alibaba’s Qwen3-Omni multimodal AI system has quickly risen to the top of Hugging Face’s trending model list, challenging closed systems from OpenAI and Google. The series unifies text, image, audio, and video processing in a single model, signalling the rapid growth of Chinese open-source AI.

Qwen3-Omni-30B-A3B currently leads Hugging Face’s list, followed by the image-editing model Qwen-Image-Edit-2509. Alibaba’s cloud division describes Qwen3-Omni as the first fully integrated multimodal AI framework built for real-world applications.

Self-reported benchmarks suggest Qwen3-Omni outperforms Qwen2.5-Omni-7B, OpenAI’s GPT-4o, and Google’s Gemini-2.5-Flash, known as ‘Nano Banana’, in audio recognition, comprehension, and video understanding tasks.

Open-source dominance is growing, with Alibaba’s models taking half the top 10 spots on Hugging Face rankings. Tencent, DeepSeek, and OpenBMB filled most of the remaining positions, leaving IBM as the only Western representative.

The ATOM Project warned that US leadership in AI could erode as open models from China gain adoption. It argued that China’s approach draws businesses and researchers away from American systems, which have become increasingly closed.

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Balancing chaos and precision: The paradox of AI work

In a recent blog post, Jovan Kurbalija explores why working in AI often feels like living with two competing personalities. On one side is the explorer, curious, bold, and eager to experiment with new models and frameworks. That mindset thrives on quick bursts of creativity and the thrill of discovering novel possibilities.

Yet, the same field demands the opposite. The engineer’s discipline, a relentless focus on precision, validation, and endless refinement, until AI systems are impressive and reliable.

The paradox makes the search for AI talent unusually difficult. Few individuals naturally embody both restless curiosity and meticulous perfectionism.

The challenge is amplified by AI itself, which often produces plausible but uncertain outputs, requiring both tolerance for ambiguity and an insistence on accuracy. It is a balancing act between ADHD-like energy and OCD-like rigour—traits rarely found together in one professional.

The tension is visible across disciplines. Diplomats, accustomed to working with probabilities in unpredictable contexts, approach AI differently from software developers trained in deterministic systems.

Large language models blur these worlds, demanding a blend of adaptability and engineering rigour. Recognising that no single person can embody all these traits, the solution lies in carefully designed teams that combine contrasting strengths.

Kurbalija points to Diplo’s AI apprenticeship as an example of this approach. Apprentices are exposed to both the ‘sprint’ of quickly building functional AI agents and the ‘marathon’ of refining them into robust, trustworthy systems. By embracing this duality, teams can bridge the gap between rapid innovation and reliable execution, turning AI’s inherent contradictions into a source of strength.

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