Sustainable development

Google signs groundbreaking deal to cut data centre energy use

Google has become the first major tech firm to sign formal agreements with US electric utilities to ease grid pressure. The deals come as data centres drive unprecedented energy demand, straining power infrastructure in several regions.

The company will work with Indiana Michigan Power and Tennessee Valley Authority to reduce electricity usage during peak demand. These arrangements will help divert power to general utilities when needed.

Under the agreements, Google will temporarily scale down its data centre operations, particularly those linked to energy-intensive AI and machine learning workloads.

Google described the initiative as a way to speed up data centre integration with local grids while avoiding costly infrastructure expansion. The move reflects growing concern over AI’s rising energy footprint.

Demand-response programmes, once used mainly in heavy manufacturing and crypto mining, are now being adopted by tech firms to stabilise grids in return for lower energy costs.

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OpenAI launches ‘study mode’ to curb AI-fuelled cheating

OpenAI has introduced a new ‘study mode’ to help students use AI for learning rather than cheating. The update arrives amid a spike in academic dishonesty linked to generative AI tools.

According to The Guardian, a UK survey found nearly 7,000 confirmed cases of AI misuse during the 2023–24 academic year. Universities are under pressure to adapt assessments in response.

Under the chatbot’s Tools menu, the new mode walks users through questions with step-by-step guidance, acting more like a tutor than a solution engine.

Jayna Devani, OpenAI’s international education lead, said the aim is to foster productive use of AI. ‘It’s guiding me towards an answer, rather than just giving it to me first-hand,’ she explained.

The tool can assist with homework and exam prep and even interpret uploaded images of past papers. OpenAI cautions it may still produce errors, underscoring the need for broader conversations around AI in education.

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The US launches $100 million cybersecurity grant for states

The US government has unveiled more than $100 million in funding to help local and tribal communities strengthen their cybersecurity defences.

The announcement came jointly from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), both part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Instead of a single pool, the funding is split into two distinct grants. The State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) will provide $91.7 million to 56 states and territories, while the Tribal Cybersecurity Grant Program (TCGP) allocates $12.1 million specifically for tribal governments.

These funds aim to support cybersecurity planning, exercises and service improvements.

CISA’s acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, said the grants ensure communities have the tools needed to defend digital infrastructure and reduce cyber risks. The effort follows a significant cyberattack on St. Paul, Minnesota, which prompted a state of emergency and deployment of the National Guard.

Officials say the funding reflects a national commitment to proactive digital resilience instead of reactive crisis management. Homeland Security leaders describe the grant as both a strategic investment in critical infrastructure and a responsible use of taxpayer funds.

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Altman shares first glimpse of GPT-5 via Pantheon screenshot

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a screenshot on X showing GPT-5 in action. The post casually endorsed the animated sci-fi series Pantheon, a cult tech favourite exploring general AI.

When asked if GPT-5 also recommends the show, Altman replied with a screenshot: ‘turns out yes’. It marked one of the earliest public glimpses of the new model, hinting at expanded capabilities.

GPT-5 is expected to outperform its predecessors, with a larger context window, multimodal abilities, and more agentic task handling. The screenshot also shows that some quirks remain, such as its fondness for the em dash.

The model identified Pantheon as having a 100% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes and described it as ‘cerebral, emotional, and philosophically intense’. Business Insider verified the score and tone of the reviews.

OpenAI faces mounting pressure to keep pace with rivals like Google DeepMind, Meta, xAI, and Anthropic. Public teasers such as this one suggest GPT-5 will soon make a broader debut.

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Hackers infiltrate Southeast Asian telecom networks

A cyber group breached telecoms across Southeast Asia, deploying advanced tracking tools instead of stealing data. Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 assesses the activity as ‘associated with a nation-state nexus’.

A hacking group gained covert access to telecom networks across Southeast Asia, most likely to track users’ locations, according to cybersecurity analysts at Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42.

The campaign lasted from February to November 2024.

Instead of stealing data or directly communicating with mobile devices, the hackers deployed custom tools such as CordScan, designed to intercept mobile network protocols like SGSN. These methods suggest the attackers focused on tracking rather than data theft.

Unite42 assessed the activity ‘with high confidence’ as ‘associated with a nation state nexus’. The Unit notes that ‘this cluster heavily overlaps with activity attributed to Liminal Panda, a nation state adversary tracked by CrowdStrike’; according to CrowdStrike, Liminal Panda is considered to be a ‘likely China-nexus adversary’. It further states that ‘while this cluster significantly overlaps with Liminal Panda, we have also observed overlaps in attacker tooling with other reported groups and activity clusters, including Light Basin, UNC3886, UNC2891 and UNC1945.’

The attackers initially gained access by brute-forcing SSH credentials using login details specific to telecom equipment.

Once inside, they installed new malware, including a backdoor named NoDepDNS, which tunnels malicious data through port 53 — typically used for DNS traffic — in order to avoid detection.

To maintain stealth, the group disguised malware, altered file timestamps, disabled system security features and wiped authentication logs.

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The US considers chip tracking to prevent smuggling to China

The US is exploring how to build better location-tracking into advanced chips, as part of an effort to prevent American semiconductors from ending up in China.

Michael Kratsios, a senior official behind Donald Trump’s AI strategy, confirmed that software or physical updates to chips are being considered to support traceability.

Instead of relying on external enforcement, Washington aims to work directly with the tech industry to improve monitoring of chip movements. The strategy forms part of a broader national plan to counter smuggling and maintain US dominance in cutting-edge technologies.

Beijing recently summoned Nvidia representatives to address concerns over American proposals linked to tracking features and perceived security risks in the company’s H20 chips.

Although US officials have not directly talked with Nvidia or AMD on the matter, Kratsios clarified that chip tracking is now a formal objective.

The move comes even as Trump’s team signals readiness to lift certain export restrictions to China in return for trade benefits, such as rare-earth magnet sales to the US.

Kratsios criticised China’s push to lead global AI regulation, saying countries should define their paths instead of following a centralised model. He argued that the US innovation-first approach offers a more attractive alternative.

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AI tools like Grok 4 may make developers obsolete, Musk suggests

Elon Musk has predicted a major shift in software development, claiming that AI is turning coding from a job into a recreational activity. The xAI CEO believes AI has removed much of the ‘drudgery’ from writing software.

Replying to OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Musk compared the future of coding to painting. He suggested that software creation will be more creative and expressive, no longer requiring professional expertise for functional outcomes.

Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, left the organisation after a public dispute with the current CEO, Sam Altman. He later launched xAI, which now operates the Grok chatbot as a rival to ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.

Generative AI firms are accelerating efforts in automated coding. OpenAI recently launched Codex to create a cloud-based software engineering agent, while Microsoft released GitHub Spark AI to generate apps from natural language.

xAI’s latest offering, Grok 4, supports over 20 programming languages and integrates with code editors. It enables developers to write, debug, and understand code using commands.

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Google rolls out Deep Think to Gemini AI Ultra users

Google has launched Deep Think for AI Ultra subscribers within the Gemini app, with the Gemini 2.5-based model also available to select mathematicians, offering powerful tools for complex problem-solving and mathematical exploration.

Google’s Deep Think AI, improved from its I/O version, offers quicker reasoning and enhanced usability. It achieved Bronze-level performance on the 2025 IMO standard in internal benchmarks.

Select mathematicians are now using Deep Think to test conjectures. Google notes its excellence in creative problem-solving through parallel reasoning for refined outcomes.

The model has been given extended inference time, enabling deeper analysis and more inventive answers. Reinforcement learning techniques guide it to explore longer reasoning paths, improving its problem-solving ability.

Beyond maths, Google considers Deep Think useful for design, planning, and coding. It can enhance web development, reason through scientific literature, and tackle algorithmic challenges, supporting users with strategic and iterative thinking across disciplines.

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AI is the next iPhone moment, says Apple CEO Tim Cook

Any remaining doubts about Apple’s commitment to AI have been addressed directly by its CEO, Tim Cook.

At an all-hands meeting on Apple’s Cupertino campus, Cook told employees that the AI revolution is as big as the internet, smartphones, cloud computing, and apps.

According to Bloomberg’s Power On newsletter, Cook clarified that Apple sees AI as an imperative. ‘Apple must do this,’ he said, describing the opportunity as ‘ours to grab’.

Despite Apple unveiling its AI suite, Apple Intelligence, only in June, well after competitors, Cook remains optimistic about Apple’s ability to take the lead.

‘We’ve rarely been first,’ he told staff. ‘There was a PC before the Mac; a smartphone before the iPhone; many tablets before the iPad; an MP3 player before the iPod.’

Cook stressed that Apple had redefined these categories and suggested a similar future for AI, declaring, ‘This is how I feel about AI.’

Cook also outlined concrete steps the company is taking. Around 40% of the 12,000 hires made last year were allocated to research and development, with much of the focus on AI.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is also reportedly developing a new cloud-computing chip, code-named Baltra, designed to support AI features. In a recent interview with CNBC, Cook stated that Apple is open to acquisitions that could accelerate its progress in the AI sector.

Apple is not alone in its intense focus on AI. Rival firms are also increasing expectations and pressure. Sergey Brin, the former Google CEO who has returned to the company, told employees that 60-hour in-office work weeks may be necessary to win the AI race.

Reports of burnout and extreme workloads are becoming more frequent across leading AI firms. Former OpenAI engineer Calvin French-Owen recently described the company’s high-pressure and secretive culture.

French-Owen noted that the environment had become so intense that leadership offered the entire staff a week off to recover, according to Wired.

AI has become the next major battleground in big tech, with companies ramping up investment and reshaping internal structures to secure dominance.

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Eswatini advances digital vision with new laws, 5G and skills training

Eswatini is moving forward with a national digital transformation plan focused on infrastructure, legislation and skills development.

The country’s Minister of ICT, Savannah Maziya, outlined key milestones during the 2025 Eswatini Economic Update, co-hosted with the World Bank.

In her remarks, Maziya said that digital technology plays a central role in job creation, governance and economic development. She introduced several regulatory frameworks, including a Cybersecurity Bill, a Critical Infrastructure Bill and an E-Commerce Strategy.

Additional legislation is planned for emerging technologies such as AI, robotics and satellite systems.

Infrastructure improvements include the nationwide expansion of fibre optic networks and a rise in international connectivity capacity from 47 Gbps to 72 Gbps.

Mbabane, the capital, is being developed as a Smart City with 5G coverage, AI-enabled surveillance and public Wi-Fi access.

The Ministry of ICT has launched more than 11 digital public services and plans to add 90 more in the next three years.

A nationwide coding initiative will offer digital skills training to over 300,000 citizens, supporting wider efforts to increase access and participation in the digital economy.

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