The annual State of Broadband report serves as a comprehensive global assessment of broadband access, affordability, and usage trends. This year’s edition, titled ‘Leveraging AI for Universal Connectivity,’ is being released in two parts. The first part, unveiled on June 20, 2024, outlines how AI applications are transforming sectors like e-government, education, healthcare, finance, and environmental management. It also examines the implications of AI for bridging or exacerbating the digital divide.
Authored by over 50 high-level Commissioners, including UN leaders, industry CEOs, and government officials, the report highlights AI’s potential to drive development while cautioning against its risks. The second part of the report, yet to be released, will provide updated data and deeper insights from the Broadband Commissioners, offering a more detailed analysis of AI’s evolving role in the digital realm.
As the Broadband Commission tracks progress towards its 2025 Advocacy Targets and prepares for future global summits, the report underscores the critical role of policymakers in maximizing the benefits of AI while ensuring equitable access to digital opportunities. It aims to inform strategic decisions that align with sustainable development goals, emphasising the need for proactive measures to harness AI responsibly and inclusively.
Amazon plans to overhaul its Alexa service with a new project known internally as ‘Banyan,’ aiming to integrate generative AI and introduce two service tiers. The initiative, called ‘Remarkable Alexa,’ could include a monthly fee of around $5 for the premium version, which would offer advanced capabilities like composing emails and placing orders from a single prompt. That would mark Alexa’s first major update since its 2014 launch.
The project is driven by Amazon’s need to revitalise Alexa, which has struggled to turn a profit and compete with AI advancements from companies like Google, Microsoft, and Apple. CEO Andy Jassy has prioritised this update, setting an internal deadline for August. The new Alexa aims to provide more intelligent, personalised assistance, building on generative AI already integrated into over half a billion devices worldwide.
Despite the ambitious plans, some Amazon employees view the project as a ‘desperate attempt’ to save Alexa, citing challenges such as software inaccuracies and poor morale within the team. While Amazon hopes the AI-powered Alexa will drive more significant sales and enhance home automation, the project’s success depends on customer willingness to pay for features currently offered for free and the effectiveness of the new technology.
Google LLC and the University of Tokyo are teaming up to leverage generative AI to tackle local challenges in Japan, such as the nation’s shrinking workforce. The initiative, featuring prominent AI researcher Professor Yutaka Matsuo, will be piloted in Osaka and Hiroshima prefectures, with plans to expand successful models nationwide by 2027.
In Osaka, the project aims to address employment mismatches by using AI to suggest job opportunities and career paths that job seekers might not have considered. That approach differs from traditional job placement agencies and will draw from extensive online data to offer more tailored job suggestions.
The specific focus for Hiroshima has yet to be determined. However, Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki expressed a vision for AI to provide detailed responses to relocating inquiries, signalling AI’s potential to shape the prefecture’s future.
Beyond these initial projects, Google suggests that generative AI could enhance medical care on remote islands and automate agriculture, forestry, and fisheries tasks. Professor Matsuo emphasised that effectively utilising generative AI presents a significant opportunity for Japan.
Anthropic, a startup backed by Google and Amazon, has introduced a new AI model named Claude 3.5 Sonnet alongside a revamped user interface to enhance productivity. The release comes just three months after the launch of its Claude 3 family of AI models. Claude 3.5 Sonnet surpasses its predecessor, Claude 3 Opus, in benchmark exam performance, speed, and cost efficiency, being five times cheaper for developers.
CEO Dario Amodei emphasised AI’s flexibility and rapid advancement, noting that, unlike physical products, AI models can be quickly updated and improved. Anthropic’s latest technology is now available for free on Claude.ai and through an iOS app. Additionally, users can opt into a new feature called ‘Artifacts,’ which organises generated content in a side window, facilitating collaborative work and the production of finished products.
Anthropic’s rapid development cycle reflects the competitive nature of the AI industry, with companies like OpenAI and Google also pushing forward with significant AI advancements. The startup plans to release more models, including Claude 3.5 Opus, within the year while focusing on safety and usability.
The Verge reports that chances of renewing government internet subsidies are slim as Democrats and Republicans struggle to agree on funding. Both parties have proposed different bills to reauthorise the US Federal Communications Commission’s spectrum auctions, but only the Democratic bill includes funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which recently ended.
The Senate Commerce Committee, led by Maria Cantwell (D-WA), postponed a meeting to discuss the bill due to opposition from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). Although some Republicans backed previous attempts to extend the subsidy program, these efforts failed to pass in time to prevent its termination. Cantwell criticised Cruz for blocking the bill, stressing its importance for low-income Americans, including elderly and military families.
Cruz and Sen. John Thune (R-SD) proposed a competing bill that excludes ACP funding, focusing instead on expanding commercial access to mid-band spectrum for 5G. That version is favoured by some telecom industry players because it allows for exclusive licensing but is opposed by major tech companies supporting Cantwell’s bill. With the upcoming election, bipartisan cooperation on the issue seems increasingly unlikely.
Why does it matter?
Initially established in December 2020 and later expanded and renamed by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the ACP enrolled over 23 million subscribers nationwide, covering rural, suburban, and urban areas—equivalent to one in six U.S. households. It provided essential support for broadband access, aiding households with up to $30 per month for internet service, up to $75 for those on Tribal lands, and a one-time discount on devices.
African ICT and Communications Ministers have collectively endorsed the ‘Continental Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy and African Digital Compact’ to accelerate the continent’s digital evolution by harnessing the potential of new digital technologies. The decision came during the 2nd Extraordinary Specialized Technical Committee on Communication and ICT session, attended by over 130 African ministers and experts. The aim is to drive digital transformation amidst rapid advancements fueled by AI technology and applications.
The Continental AI Strategy aims to guide African nations in utilising AI to fulfil development goals while ensuring ethical use, mitigating risks, and capitalising on opportunities. It emphasises an Africa-owned, people-centred, and inclusive approach to enhance the continent’s AI capabilities across infrastructure, talent, datasets, innovation, and partnerships while prioritising safeguards against potential threats.
African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, Dr Amani Abou-Zeid, highlighted AI’s significant opportunities for positive transformation, economic growth, and social progress in Africa. The strategy underscores the importance of AI-enabled systems in fostering homegrown solutions, driving economic growth, and sustainable development, aligning with the AU Agenda 2063 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Leaders stressed the need for collective efforts to leverage AI to advance Africa’s digital agenda and achieve long-term developmental objectives.
In a post on his platform X, tech boss Elon Musk revealed his partnership with Dell Technologies and Super Micro Computer to provide server racks set to power Musk’s AI startup, xAI. According to Dell CEO Michael Dell, the company is responsible for manufacturing half the microchips for the project. To this end, Dell has partnered with Nvidia Corporation, a multinational technology company that supplies electronic chips for computer motherboard chipsets, smartphones and game consoles. The duo, together with Super Micro Computers, will build xAI’s supercomputer, which will, in turn, power the startup’s chatbot, Grok.
Musk’s xAI, a rival to Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Alphabet’s Google, opened its doors last year, and its chatbot is already on version 2. Musk’s timeline for Grok 3 is fall 2025. The chatbot requires 100,000 Nvidia H100 chips to run. Grok 2 utilised 20,000 Nvidia H100 graphic processing units. The Nvidia H100 GPU chip is the most powerful GPU chip on the market and is designed for AI applications only. The chips are in short supply, and on average, one costs $25,000.
A report published by venture capital firm Accel shows the state of affairs of Europe and Israel’s generative AI (GenAI). That type of AI is able to generate text, images, sounds, videos and other mediums based on datasets upon which it is trained. Four countries in the region are leading the pack, with the UK and France coming up as winners in their distinct categories.
The UK leads with 30% of the 221 GenAI startups analysed, followed by Germany (14%), Israel (13%) and France (11%). The UK’s strong lead can be explained by a long tradition of tech and AI development over the last quarter century. UK universities have partnered with tech giants to create AI research hubs throughout the country, setting the perfect grounds for attracting AI talent. UK based AI giants like DeepMind, Microsoft and Meta, have seen many of their former employees go on to create their own GenAI startups. 12% of all GenAI startups surveyed in the UK had at least one founder who had worked at the British AI pioneer DeepMind, the report said.
Despite coming in fourth place by quantity of GenAI startups, France comes in first in terms of funding at $2.29 billion. Next, at half of that, is the UK with $1.15 billion, Israel at $1.04 billion and Germany at $636 million. The funding boom is both a symptom and a cause of the country becoming a new AI hub for Europe. French universities such as École Polytechnique, Université Pierre et Marie Curie and École normale Supérieure have educated and given work experience to the many maths and engineering students starting GenAI startups. In return, this has led Google, Meta and Kyutai to open facilities in Paris to attract that potential.
Three of the region’s best funded companies are French, with Mistral, Europe’s competitor to OpenAI, raising over €600 million alone. Cooperation between universities and tech giants in Israel and Germany are also a main source of growth for their respective AI sectors.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended fiscal policies for governments grappling with the economic impacts of AI, including taxes on excess profits and a levy to address AI-related carbon emissions. In a recent report, the IMF highlighted the rapid advancement of generative AI technologies like ChatGPT, which can simulate human-like text, voices, and images from simple prompts, noting their potential to spread quickly across industries.
One key suggestion from the IMF involves implementing a carbon tax to account for the significant energy consumption of AI servers used in data centres. These servers contribute to global emissions, currently amounting to up to 1.5%. The IMF emphasised the need to factor these environmental costs into the price of AI technologies.
The report also raised concerns about AI’s impact on job markets, predicting potential wage declines as a proportion of national income and increased inequality. It warned that AI could exacerbate job losses across various sectors, affecting white-collar professions such as law and finance and blue-collar jobs in manufacturing and trade.
Why does it matter?
To address these challenges, the IMF proposed measures such as enhancing capital income taxes, including corporation tax and personal income taxes on capital gains. It suggested reconsidering corporate income tax policies to prevent profit shifting and ensure fair taxation across sectors.
Additionally, the IMF recommended policies to support workers affected by AI-driven automation, including extending unemployment insurance and focusing on education and training programs tailored to new technologies. While the report expressed caution about universal basic income due to potential fiscal implications, it acknowledged the need for future considerations if AI disruption intensifies.
Era Dabla-Norris, co-author of the report and deputy director of the IMF’s fiscal affairs department, highlighted the importance of preparing for potential disruptions from AI and designing effective policies to mitigate their impacts on economies and societies.
A report published by startup Orca AI on Tuesday revealed AI’s potential impact on the shipping industry. By automating certain tasks, it claims that AI can help reduce deviations on shipping routes and prevent collisions between ships, making the industry more efficient and ecologically friendly.
The startup primarily sells AI products to synthesise real-time information about shipping conditions and recommend more efficient transportation. Much of this data is collected from an AI awareness system that can recognise vessels, buoys and marine life in real-time, making close interactions safer.
Why does it matter?
The report stated that 47 million tonnes of carbon emissions could be avoided by making shipping more efficient. That would represent a 5% reduction in emissions when compared to the 858 million tonnes of emissions in 2022 estimated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Such a reduction would fall into the International Maritime Organization’s aim to cut shipping emissions by 20% by 2030. Orca AI’s awareness system could also help prevent collisions with whales, making coexistence between ships and wildlife easier.
With Orca AI reporting that an average vessel could save up to $100,000 in fuel costs, this kind of technology would reunite economic and ecological interests for the same goal.
