Capacity development

New Gemini AI tool animates photos into short video clips

Google has rolled out a new feature for Gemini AI that transforms still photos into short, animated eight-second videos with sound. The capability is powered by Veo 3, Google’s latest video generation model, and is currently available to Gemini Advanced Ultra and Pro subscribers.

The tool supports background noise, ambient audio, and even spoken dialogue, with support gradually expanding to users in select countries, including India. At launch, access to the web interface is limited, though Google has announced that mobile support will follow later in the week.

To use the tool, users upload a photo, describe the intended motion, and optionally add prompts for sound effects or narration. Gemini then generates a 720p MP4 video in a 16:9 landscape format, automatically synchronising visuals and audio.

Josh Woodward, Vice President of the Gemini app and Google Labs, showcased the feature on X (formerly Twitter), animating a child’s drawing. ‘Still experimental, but we wanted our Pro and Ultra members to try it first,’ he said, calling the result fun and expressive.

To maintain authenticity, each video includes a visible ‘Veo’ watermark in the bottom-right corner and an invisible SynthID watermark. This hidden digital signature, developed by Google DeepMind, helps identify AI-generated content and preserve transparency around synthetic media.

The company has emphasised its commitment to responsible AI deployment by embedding traceable markers in all output from this tool. These safeguards come amid increasing scrutiny of generative video tools and deepfakes across digital platforms.

To animate a photo using Gemini AI’s new tool, users should follow these steps: Click on the ‘tools’ icon in the prompt bar, then choose the ‘video’ option from the menu. Upload the still image, describe the desired motion, and provide sound or narration instructions, optionally.

The underlying Veo 3 model was first introduced at Google I/O as the company’s most advanced video generation engine. It can produce high-quality visuals, simulate real-world physics, and even lip-sync dialogue from text and image-based prompts.

A Google blog post explains: ‘Veo 3 excels from text and image prompting to real-world physics and accurate lip syncing.’ The company says users can craft short story prompts and expect realistic, cinematic responses from the model.

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WSIS+20: Inclusive ICT policies urged to close global digital divide

At the WSIS+20 High-Level Event in Geneva, Dr Hakikur Rahman and Dr Ranojit Kumar Dutta presented a sobering picture of global digital inequality, revealing that more than 2.6 billion people remain offline. Their session, marking two decades of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), emphasised that affordability, poor infrastructure, and a lack of digital literacy continue to block access, especially for marginalised communities.

The speakers proposed a structured three-pillar framework — inclusion, ethics, and sustainability- to ensure that no one is left behind in the digital age.

The inclusion pillar advocated for universal connectivity through affordable broadband, multilingual content, and skills-building programs, citing India’s Digital India and Kenya’s Community Networks as examples of success. On ethics, they called for policies grounded in human rights, data privacy, and transparent AI governance, pointing to the EU’s AI Act and UNESCO guidelines as benchmarks.

The sustainability pillar highlighted the importance of energy-efficient infrastructure, proper e-waste management, and fair public-private collaboration, showcasing Rwanda’s green ICT strategy and Estonia’s e-residency program.

Dr Dutta presented detailed data from Bangladesh, showing stark urban-rural and gender-based gaps in internet access and digital literacy. While urban broadband penetration has soared, rural and female participation lags behind.

Encouraging trends, such as rising female enrollment in ICT education and the doubling of ICT sector employment since 2022, were tempered by low data protection awareness and a dire e-waste recycling rate of only 3%.

The session concluded with a call for coordinated global and regional action, embedding ethics and inclusion in every digital policy. The speakers urged stakeholders to bridge divides in connectivity, opportunity, access, and environmental responsibility, ensuring digital progress uplifts all communities.

Track all key events from the WSIS+20 High-Level Event 2025 on our dedicated page.

Building digital resilience in an age of crisis

At the WSIS+20 High-Level Event in Geneva, the session ‘Information Society in Times of Risk’ spotlighted how societies can harness digital tools to weather crises more effectively. Experts and researchers from across the globe shared innovations and case studies that emphasised collaboration, inclusiveness, and preparedness.

Chairs Horst Kremers and Professor Ke Gong opened the discussion by reinforcing the UN’s all-of-society principle, which advocates cooperation among governments, civil society, tech companies, and academia in facing disaster risks.

The Singapore team unveiled their pioneering DRIVE framework—Digital Resilience Indicators for Veritable Empowerment—redefining resilience not as a personal skill set but as a dynamic process shaped by individuals’ environments, from family to national policies. They argued that digital resilience must include social dimensions such as citizenship, support networks, and systemic access, making it a collective responsibility in the digital era.

Turkish researchers analysed over 54,000 social media images shared after the 2023 earthquakes, showing how visual content can fuel digital solidarity and real-time coordination. However, they also revealed how the breakdown of communication infrastructure in the immediate aftermath severely hampered response efforts, underscoring the urgent need for robust and redundant networks.

Meanwhile, Chinese tech giant Tencent demonstrated how integrated platforms—such as WeChat and AI-powered tools—transform disaster response, enabling donations, rescues, and community support on a massive scale. Yet, presenters cautioned that while AI holds promise, its current role in real-time crisis management remains limited.

The session closed with calls for pro-social platform designs to combat polarisation and disinformation, and a shared commitment to building inclusive, digitally resilient societies that leave no one behind.

Track all key events from the WSIS+20 High-Level Event 2025 on our dedicated page.

Parliamentarians step up as key players in shaping the digital future

At the 2025 WSIS+20 High-Level Event in Geneva, lawmakers from Egypt, Uruguay, Tanzania, and Thailand united to call for a transformative shift in how parliaments approach digital governance. Hosted by ITU and the IPU, the session emphasised that legislators are no longer passive observers but essential drivers of digital policy.

While digital innovation presents opportunities for growth and inclusion, it also brings serious challenges, chief among them the digital divide, online harms, and the risks posed by AI.

Speakers underscored a shared urgency to ensure digital policies are people-centred and grounded in human rights. Egypt’s Amira Saber spotlighted her country’s leap toward AI regulation and its rapid expansion of connectivity, but also expressed concerns over online censorship and inequality.

Uruguay’s Rodrigo Goñi warned that traditional, reactive policymaking won’t suffice in the fast-paced digital age, proposing a new paradigm of ‘political intelligence.’ Thailand’s Senator Nophadol In-na praised national digital progress but warned of growing gaps between urban and rural communities. Meanwhile, Tanzania’s Neema Lugangira pushed for more capacity-building, especially for female lawmakers, and direct dialogue between legislators and big tech companies.

Across the board, there was strong consensus – parliamentarians must be empowered with digital literacy and AI tools to legislate effectively. Both ITU and IPU committed to ramping up support through training, partnerships, and initiatives like the AI Skills Coalition. They also pledged to help parliaments engage directly with tech leaders and tackle issues such as online abuse, misinformation, and accessibility, particularly in the Global South.

The discussion ended with cautious optimism. While challenges are formidable, the collaborative spirit and concrete proposals laid out in Geneva point toward a digital future where democratic values and inclusivity remain central. As the December WSIS+20 review approaches, these commitments could start a new era in global digital governance, led not by technocrats alone but by informed, engaged, and forward-thinking parliamentarians.

Track all key events from the WSIS+20 High-Level Event 2025 on our dedicated page.

Report shows China outpacing the US and EU in AI research

AI is increasingly viewed as a strategic asset rather than a technological development, and new research suggests China is now leading the global AI race.

A report titled ‘DeepSeek and the New Geopolitics of AI: China’s ascent to research pre-eminence in AI’, authored by Daniel Hook, CEO of Digital Science, highlights how China’s AI research output has grown to surpass that of the US, the EU and the UK combined.

According to data from Dimensions, a primary global research database, China now accounts for over 40% of worldwide citation attention in AI-related studies. Instead of focusing solely on academic output, the report points to China’s dominance in AI-related patents.

In some indicators, China is outpacing the US tenfold in patent filings and company-affiliated research, signalling its capacity to convert academic work into tangible innovation.

Hook’s analysis covers AI research trends from 2000 to 2024, showing global AI publication volumes rising from just under 10,000 papers in 2000 to 60,000 in 2024.

However, China’s influence has steadily expanded since 2018, while the EU and the US have seen relative declines. The UK has largely maintained its position.

Clarivate, another analytics firm, reported similar findings, noting nearly 900,000 AI research papers produced in China in 2024, triple the figure from 2015.

Hook notes that governments increasingly view AI alongside energy or military power as a matter of national security. Instead of treating AI as a neutral technology, there is growing awareness that a lack of AI capability could have serious economic, political and social consequences.

The report suggests that understanding AI’s geopolitical implications has become essential for national policy.

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Microsoft and Salesforce use AI to cut costs and reshape workforce

Microsoft is reporting substantial productivity improvements across its operations, thanks to the growing integration of AI tools in daily workflows.

Judson Althoff, the company’s chief commercial officer, stated during a recent presentation that AI contributed to savings of over $500 million in Microsoft’s call centres last year alone.

The technology has reportedly improved employee and customer satisfaction while supporting operations in sales, customer service, and software engineering. Microsoft is also now using AI to handle interactions with smaller clients, streamlining engagement without significantly expanding headcount.

The developments follow Microsoft’s decision to lay off over 9,000 employees last week, marking the third round of cuts in 2024 and bringing the total to around 15,000.

Although it remains unclear whether automation directly replaced job losses, CEO Satya Nadella has previously stated that AI now generates 20 to 30 percent of the code in Microsoft repositories.

Similar shifts occur at Salesforce, where CEO Marc Benioff has openly acknowledged AI’s growing role in company operations and resource planning.

During a recent analyst call, Robin Washington, Salesforce’s CFO and COO confirmed that hiring has slowed, and 500 customer service roles have been reassigned internally.

The adjustment is expected to result in cost savings of $50 million, as the company focuses on optimising operations through digital transformation. Benioff also disclosed that AI performs between 30 and 50 percent of work previously handled by staff, contributing to workforce realignment.

Companies across the tech sector are rapidly adopting AI to improve efficiency, even as the broader implications for employment and labour markets continue to emerge.

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McDonald’s faces backlash over AI hiring system security failures

A major security flaw in McDonald’s AI-driven recruitment platform has exposed the personal information of potentially 64 million job applicants.

The McHire platform, developed by Paradox.ai and powered by an AI chatbot named Olivia, suffered from basic authentication vulnerabilities and lacked critical security controls.

Security researchers Ian Carroll and Sam Curry discovered they could access the system using weak default credentials—simply the username and password ‘123456’.

The incident underscores serious cybersecurity lapses in automated hiring systems and raises urgent concerns about data protection in AI-powered HR tools. McHire is designed to streamline recruitment at McDonald’s franchise locations by using AI to screen candidates, collect contact details, and assess suitability.

The chatbot Olivia interacts with applicants using natural language processing, but users have often reported issues with miscommunication and unclear prompts. As a broader shift toward automation in hiring takes shape, McHire represents an attempt to scale recruitment efforts without expanding HR staff.

However, according to the researchers’ findings, the system’s backend infrastructure—housing millions of résumés, chat logs and assessments—was critically unprotected.

After prompt injection attacks failed, the researchers focused on login mechanisms and discovered a Paradox.ai staff portal linked from the McHire homepage.

Using simple password combinations and dictionary attacks, they could access the system with the password ‘123456’, bypassing standard security protocols. More worryingly, the account lacked two-factor authentication, enabling unrestricted access to administrative tools and candidate records.

From there, the researchers found an Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerability that allowed traversal of the applicant database by manipulating ID numbers.

By increasing the numeric applicant ID above 64 million, they could view multiple records containing names, email addresses, phone numbers and chat logs. Although only seven records were considered during the test, five included personally identifiable information, highlighting the scale of the exposure.

Paradox.ai insisted that only a fraction of records held sensitive data, but the researchers warned of phishing risks linked to impersonation of McDonald’s recruiters. These could be used for payroll-related scams or to harvest further private information under false pretences.

McDonald’s acknowledged the breach and expressed disappointment in its third-party provider’s handling of basic security measures.

Paradox.ai confirmed the vulnerabilities and announced a bug bounty programme to incentivise researchers to report flaws before they are exploited. The exposed account was a dormant test login created in 2019 that had never been properly turned off—evidence of poor development hygiene.

Both companies have pledged to investigate the matter further and implement stronger safeguards, as scrutiny over AI accountability in hiring continues to grow.

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Meta offers $200 million to top AI talent as superintelligence race heats up

Meta has reportedly offered over $200 million in compensation to Ruoming Pang, a former senior AI engineer at Apple, as it escalates its bid to dominate the AI arms race.

The offer, which includes long-term stock incentives, far exceeded Apple’s willingness to match and is seen as one of Silicon Valley’s most aggressive poaching efforts.

The move is part of Meta’s broader campaign to build a world-class team under its new Meta Superintelligence Lab (MSL), which is focused on developing artificial general intelligence (AGI).

The division has already attracted prominent names, including ex-GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, AI investor Daniel Gross, and Scale AI co-founder Alexandr Wang, who joined as Chief AI Officer through a $14.3 billion stake deal.

Most compensation offers in the MSL reportedly rival CEO packages at global banks, but they are heavily performance-based and tied to long-term equity vesting.

Meta’s mix of base salary, signing bonuses, and high-value stock options is designed to attract and retain elite AI talent amid a fierce talent war with OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently claimed Meta has dangled bonuses up to $100 million to lure staff away, though he insists many stayed for cultural reasons.

Still, Meta has already hired more than 10 researchers from OpenAI and poached talent from Google DeepMind, including principal researcher Jack Rae.

The AI rivalry could come to a head as Altman and Zuckerberg meet at the Sun Valley conference this week.

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OpenAI to release Chromium-based AI browser competing with Chrome

OpenAI is preparing to launch an AI-powered web browser that could challenge Google Chrome’s dominant market position. The browser is expected to debut in the coming weeks and aims to change how users interact with the web fundamentally.

The new browser will reportedly integrate AI capabilities directly into the browsing experience, allowing for more intelligent and task-driven user interactions. Instead of simply directing users to websites, the browser is designed to keep many interactions within a native ChatGPT-style interface.

If adopted by ChatGPT’s 500 million weekly users, the browser could seriously threaten Google’s ad-driven ecosystem. Chrome is critical in Alphabet’s advertising revenue, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the company’s income by collecting user data and directing traffic to Google Search.

By building its browser, OpenAI would gain more direct access to user behaviour data, improving its AI models and enabling new forms of web engagement. However, this move is part of OpenAI’s broader strategy to integrate its services into users’ personal and professional lives.

The browser will reportedly support AI ‘agents’ capable of performing tasks such as making reservations or filling out web forms automatically. These agents could operate directly within websites, making the browsing experience more seamless and productive.

While OpenAI declined to comment, sources suggest the browser is built on Google’s open-source Chromium codebase—the same foundation behind Chrome, Edge, and Opera. However, this allows OpenAI to maintain compatibility while customising user experience and data control.

Competition in the AI-powered browser space is heating up. Startups like Perplexity and Brave have already launched intelligent browsers, and The Browser Company continues to develop features for AI-driven navigation and summarisation.

Despite Chrome’s 3-billion-strong user base and over two-thirds of the browser market share, OpenAI sees an opportunity to disrupt the space. Apple’s Safari holds second place with just 16% of the global share, leaving room for new challengers.

Last year, OpenAI hired two senior Google engineers from the original Chrome team, fueling speculation that the company was eyeing the browser space. One executive even testified that OpenAI would consider buying Chrome if it were made available through antitrust divestiture.

Instead, OpenAI built its browser from the ground up, allowing greater autonomy over features, data collection, and AI integration. A source told Reuters this approach ensures better alignment with OpenAI’s goal of embedding AI across user experiences.

In addition to hardware acquisitions and agent-based interfaces, the browser represents a crucial link in OpenAI’s strategy to deepen user engagement. The company recently acquired the AI hardware firm io, co-founded by Apple’s former design chief Jony Ive, for $6.5 billion.

The browser could become the gateway for OpenAI’s AI agents like ‘Operator,’ enhancing productivity by turning passive browsing into interactive assistance. Such integration could give OpenAI a competitive edge in the evolving consumer AI landscape.

Meanwhile, Google faces legal challenges over Chrome’s central role in its ad monopoly. A US judge ruled that Google maintains an unlawful hold over online search, prompting the Department of Justice to push for divestiture of key assets, including Chrome.

OpenAI’s entry could spark a broader shift in how consumers, businesses, and advertisers engage with the internet as the browser race intensifies. With built-in AI capabilities and task automation, browsing may become a different experience.

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Kazakhstan rises as an AI superpower

Since the launch of its Digital Kazakhstan initiative in 2017, the country has shifted from resource-dependent roots to digital leadership.

It ranks 24th globally on the UN’s e‑government index and among the top 10 in online service delivery. Over 90% of public services, such as registrations, healthcare access, and legal documentation, are digitised, aided by mobile apps, biometric ID and QR authentication.

Central to this is a Tier III data-centre-based AI supercluster, launching in July 2025, and the Alem.AI centre, both designed to supply computing power for universities, startups and enterprises.

Kazakhstan is also investing heavily in talent and innovation. It aims to train up to a million AI-skilled professionals and supports over 1,600 startups at Astana Hub. Venture capital surpassed $250 million in 2024, bolstered by a new $1 billion Qazaqstan Venture Group fund.

Infrastructure upgrades, such as a 3,700 km fibre-optic corridor between China and the Caspian Sea, support a growing tech ecosystem.

Regulatory milestones include planned AI law reforms, data‑sovereignty zones like CryptoCity, and digital identity frameworks. These prepare Kazakhstan to become Central Asia’s digital and AI nexus.

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