Elon Musk has accused Apple of favouring ChatGPT on its App Store and threatened legal action, sparking a clash with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Musk called Apple’s practices an antitrust violation and vowed to take immediate action through his AI company, xAI.
Critics on X noted rivals like DeepSeek AI and Perplexity AI have topped the App Store this year. Altman called Musk’s claim ‘remarkable’ and accused him of manipulating X. Musk called him a ‘liar’, prompting demands for proof he never altered X’s algorithm.
OpenAI and xAI launched new versions of ChatGPT and Grok, ranked first and fifth among free iPhone apps on Tuesday. Apple, which partnered with OpenAI in 2024 to integrate ChatGPT, did not comment on the matter. Rankings take into account engagement, reviews, and downloads.
The dispute reignites a feud between Musk and OpenAI, which he co-founded but left before the success of ChatGPT. In April, OpenAI accused Musk of attempting to harm the company and establish a rival. Musk launched xAI in 2023 to compete with major players in the AI space.
Chinese startup DeepSeek has disrupted the AI market with cost-efficient models. Since ChatGPT’s 2022 debut, major tech firms have invested billions in AI. OpenAI claims Musk’s actions are driven by ambition rather than a mission for humanity’s benefit.
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Google has announced a $9 billion investment in Oklahoma over the next two years to expand cloud and AI infrastructure.
The funds will support a new data centre campus in Stillwater and an expansion of the existing facility in Pryor, forming part of a broader $1 billion commitment to American education and competitiveness.
The announcement was made alongside Governor Kevin Stitt, Alphabet and Google executives, and community leaders.
Alongside the infrastructure projects, Google funds education and workforce initiatives with the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University through the Google AI for Education Accelerator.
Students will gain no-cost access to Career Certificates and AI training courses, helping them acquire critical AI and job-ready skills instead of relying on standard curricula.
Additional funding will support ALLIANCE’s electrical training to expand Oklahoma’s electrical workforce by 135%, creating the talent needed to power AI-driven energy infrastructure.
Google described the investment as part of an ‘extraordinary time for American innovation’ and a step towards maintaining US leadership in AI.
The move also addresses national security concerns, ensuring the country has the infrastructure and expertise to compete with domestic rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as international competitors such as China’s DeepSeek.
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A federal judge has rejected Elon Musk’s bid to dismiss claims that he engaged in a ‘years-long harassment campaign’ against OpenAI.
US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that the company’s counterclaims are sufficient to proceed as part of the lawsuit Musk filed against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, last year.
Musk, who helped found OpenAI in 2015, sued the AI firm in August 2024, alleging Altman misled him about the company’s commitment to AI safety before partnering with Microsoft and pursuing for-profit goals.
OpenAI responded with counterclaims in April, accusing Musk of persistent attacks in the press and on his platform X, demands for corporate records, and a ‘sham bid’ for the company’s assets.
The filing alleged that Musk sought to undermine OpenAI instead of supporting humanity-focused AI, intending to build a rival to take the technological lead.
The feud between Musk and Altman has continued, most recently with Musk threatening to sue Apple over App Store listings for X and his AI chatbot Grok. Altman dismissed the claim, criticising Musk for allegedly manipulating X to benefit his companies and harm competitors.
Despite the ongoing legal battle, OpenAI says it will remain focused on product development instead of engaging in public disputes.
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Coinbase development staff realise that autonomous AI agents will become Ethereum’s most significant user base, leveraging a long-dormant web standard to make real-world payments in cryptocurrency.
The programme is powered by the HTTP 402 ‘Payment Required’ status, a web standard that was defined thirty years ago. It has now been combined with Ethereum Improvement Proposal 3009 to enable automated stablecoin transfers.
Developers are already experimenting, proving the programme is moving from a theoretical possibility to a practical reality.
The shift could be transformative, as it allows AI agents to autonomously pay for services, eliminating the need for human oversight of API calls or data storage. Potential applications range from self-driving taxis covering their own costs to AI models creating content on demand.
Ethereum’s trustless settlement layer makes it the ideal blockchain for this new payment protocol.
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President Lee Jae-myung has announced a sweeping national megagrowth plan that positions South Korea at the forefront of AI and energy transformation.
The initiative includes the creation of an ‘AI expressway’, starting with the Ulsan AI data centre, underpinned by bold tax incentives and regulatory reforms to attract private sector investment. Complementing this is a proposed investment of 100 trillion won to accelerate AI innovation, next-generation semiconductors, and the development of AI infrastructure and innovation zones.
On the energy front, the government has launched a dedicated task force to develop an AI-powered next-generation power grid. This ‘electric highway’ aims to integrate AI technology into renewable energy distribution and grid modernisation without needing vast new infrastructure.
Complementing the power grid overhaul, Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) plans to invest around 73 trillion won by 2038 to expand transmission lines and upgrade the power infrastructure serving major semiconductor complexes.
Together, these measures form a robust blueprint that aligns digital transformation with energy security, aimed at keeping South Korea globally competitive while responding to rising electricity demands from AI and other tech industries.
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At the Emkay Confluence in Mumbai, Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran emphasised that while trade-related concerns remain significant, they must not obscure the urgent need for India to boost its AI and semiconductor sectors.
He pointed to AI’s transformative economic potential and strategic importance, warning that India must act decisively to remain competitive as the United States and China advance aggressively in these domains.
By focusing on energy transition, energy security, and enhanced collaboration across sectors, Nageswaran argued that India can strengthen its innovation capacity and technological self-reliance.
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Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov established a digital transformation group, or digital headquarters, to advance AI integration across Kazakhstan, following President Tokayev’s directives on 11 August 2025.
The group includes senior officials, such as the deputy prime minister, the head of strategic planning, the minister of digital development, innovation, and aerospace industry, and the presidential digitalisation advisor. The group is tasked with implementing nine priority areas outlined by the president.
These span AI deployment in the economy, public administration, and healthcare; digital strategy development; IT architecture modernisation; cybersecurity; support for IT startups; the national QazTech platform; and innovative city initiatives.
A significant plan component involves crafting a roadmap with the Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund to embed AI in production and boost labour productivity. AI solutions are expected to improve diagnostics, personalise treatment, enable continuous patient monitoring, and streamline workflows in healthcare. Startups will gain access to the Ministry of Health infrastructure and integration into a unified medical database.
Consolidating government communication via the Aitu national messenger, IT modernisation, and strengthened cybersecurity aims to create a seamless, safe digital environment for citizens. The emphasis is swift collaboration to address AI integration challenges across all sectors.
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According to Science and Technology Daily, Chinese researchers have reported a breakthrough in quantum drug discovery using edge encoding. Origin Quantum, USTC, and the Hefei AI Institute built a quantum-embedded graph neural network (GNN) to predict drug-molecule properties.
In drug development, graph neural networks model molecules as atoms and bonds. Classical and some quantum approaches handle atoms well but struggle with bonds. The gap limits accuracy and screening speed.
The team from China introduced quantum edge and node embeddings to process bonds and atoms simultaneously at the quantum level. The quantum-embedded GNN unifies both signals in one pass. Results show sharper predictions for the properties of candidate drugs.
Validation on the Origin Wukong quantum computer indicates stable performance despite today’s noisy hardware. Benchmarking suggests efficiency gains for molecular screening pipelines. Researchers say the approach is production-oriented as devices scale.
Findings appear in the Journal of Chemical Information and Modelling. Collaboration highlights China’s push to integrate quantum computing with biopharmaceutical research and development. More exhaustive testing on larger qubit counts is anticipated.
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A recent survey by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) finds that two in five people would consider a career in accountancy if AI could handle routine tasks. The research suggests automation may improve the profession’s appeal by shifting the focus from admin to strategic support.
Among current accountants, four in five agree that AI tools have made their roles easier by lightening administrative burdens, while 80% say it enables more problem-solving and advisory work. AI will enhance efficiency and accuracy, and allow finance professionals to concentrate on impactful tasks.
The survey reveals 42% of those who have worked in accounting say AI tools have been genuinely valuable; this rises to 55% for 25- to 34-year-olds. Most also support upskilling, with nearly 80% interested in developing AI and machine learning skills as part of workplace training.
Claire Bennison of AAT stresses that AI is not here to replace accountants but to empower them. She argues that building an AI-savvy workforce is essential in meeting skills shortages and modernising the finance profession.
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Google has introduced a new ‘Preferred Sources’ feature that allows users to curate their search results by selecting favourite websites. Once added, stories from these sites will appear more prominently in the ‘Top Stories’ section and a dedicated ‘From your sources’ section on the search results page.
Now rolling out in India and the US, the feature aims to improve search quality by helping users avoid low-value content. There is no limit to the number of sources that can be chosen, and early testers typically added more than four.
While preferred outlets will appear more often, search results will still include content from other websites.
To set preferred sources, users can click the icon next to the ‘Top Stories’ section when searching for a trending topic, find the outlet they want, and reload results.
Google says the change may also benefit publishers, offering them more visibility when AI-driven search engines sharply reduce traffic to news websites.
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