Digital business models

ESMA highlights risks of tokenised equity products

A top European regulator has warned that tokenised stocks could mislead investors and undermine confidence in financial markets. Natasha Cazenave of ESMA said many tokenised stocks, like voting or dividends, lack shareholder rights.

Unlike traditional equities, tokenised stocks are typically issued through intermediaries and merely track share prices. Cazenave cautioned that retail investors may wrongly believe they own company shares, exposing them to a risk of misunderstanding.

Her warning follows the expansion of tokenised stock services on platforms like Robinhood and Kraken.

The World Federation of Exchanges recently echoed these concerns, urging regulators to strengthen oversight. Without intervention, the group warned that tokenised products could threaten market integrity and heighten investor risks.

Although advocates say tokenisation could cut costs and widen access, Cazenave noted most projects remain small, illiquid, and far from delivering promised efficiency. Regulators, she added, remain focused on balancing innovation with investor protection.

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ChatGPT safety checks may trigger police action

OpenAI has confirmed that ChatGPT conversations signalling a risk of serious harm to others can be reviewed by human moderators and may even reach the police.

The company explained these measures in a blog post, stressing that its system is designed to balance user privacy with public safety.

The safeguards treat self-harm differently from threats to others. When a user expresses suicidal intent, ChatGPT directs them to professional resources instead of contacting law enforcement.

By contrast, conversations showing intent to harm someone else are escalated to trained moderators, and if they identify an imminent risk, OpenAI may alert authorities and suspend accounts.

The company admitted its safety measures work better in short conversations than in lengthy or repeated ones, where safeguards can weaken.

OpenAI is working to strengthen consistency across interactions and developing parental controls, new interventions for risky behaviour, and potential connections to professional help before crises worsen.

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Alibaba shares soar on AI and cloud growth

Alibaba’s Hong Kong shares rose over 15%, their most significant single-day gain since early 2023, following strong AI revenue growth. AI-related sales surged triple digits, and the cloud division grew 26% to 33.4 billion yuan ($4.7 billion), exceeding expectations and driving expansion.

The results underline Alibaba’s transformation from a retail-heavy company into a diversified technology player. Analysts say AI is now a central growth driver, with cloud and AI offerings boosting investor confidence despite price war pressures from JD.com and Meituan.

Alibaba is investing in AI hardware and developing proprietary chips to reduce reliance on foreign semiconductors. The strategy aims to build faster, cheaper, and more secure AI systems for domestic and international markets, including Lazada and AliExpress.

Experts view this calculated self-reliance and strong cloud and AI services as a long-term growth driver.

While retail rivals continue to struggle with profit pressure, Alibaba’s leadership has emphasised AI as a core strategic focus.

CEO Eddie Wu emphasised ambitions in artificial general intelligence, with analysts noting AI could protect Alibaba from price wars and support growth across multiple business areas.

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Historic Bitcoin event set for November in San Salvador

El Salvador will host the world’s first state-sponsored Bitcoin conference, Bitcoin Histórico, on 12–13 November 2025 in San Salvador’s historic centre. The two-day event, organised by the National Bitcoin Office, will focus on money, culture, and crypto innovation, with early bird tickets available in Bitcoin or fiat.

Centro Histórico will be transformed into a hub for discussions, workshops, and cultural exchange. Keynote addresses at the National Palace will be broadcast to Plaza Gerardo Barrios, with additional sessions held at the National Library and National Theatre.

Speakers include billionaire Ricardo Salinas, author Jeff Booth, Bitcoin advocates Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert, Lightning Network developer Jack Mallers, and industry figures Pierre Rochard, Jimmy Song, Darin Feinstein, and Lina Seiche.

El Salvador’s government, holding 6,220 BTC, recently amended the constitution to extend presidential terms, allowing President Nayib Bukele another term.

The conference will address regulation, infrastructure, power use, financial inclusion, price volatility, and public understanding, guiding developing nations on using cryptocurrency.

The announcement coincides with a BTC recovery, trading above $109,175 following last week’s dip. Institutional demand remains strong, with Japanese company Metaplanet adding 1,009 BTC, while US spot ETFs recorded $440 million weekly inflows.

Anticipation of a Fed rate cut may further support Bitcoin and other risk assets.

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Meta under fire over AI deepfake celebrity chatbots

Meta faces scrutiny after a Reuters investigation found its AI tools created deepfake chatbots and images of celebrities without consent. Some bots made flirtatious advances, encouraged meet-ups, and generated photorealistic sexualised images.

The affected celebrities include Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway, and Selena Gomez.

The probe also uncovered a chatbot of 16-year-old actor Walker Scobell producing inappropriate images, raising serious child safety concerns. Meta admitted policy enforcement failures and deleted around a dozen bots shortly before publishing the report.

A spokesperson acknowledged that intimate depictions of adult celebrities and any sexualised content involving minors should not have been generated.

Following the revelations, Meta announced new safeguards to protect teenagers, including restricting access to certain AI characters and retraining models to reduce inappropriate content.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta called exposing children to sexualised content ‘indefensible,’ and experts warned Meta could face legal challenges over intellectual property and publicity laws.

The case highlights broader concerns about AI safety and ethical boundaries. It also raises questions about regulatory oversight as social media platforms deploy tools that can create realistic deepfake content without proper guardrails.

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Apple creates Asa chatbot for staff training

Apple is moving forward with its integrated approach to AI by testing an internal chatbot designed for retail training. The company focuses on embedding AI into existing services rather than launching a consumer-facing chatbot like Google’s Gemini or ChatGPT.

The new tool, Asa, is being tested within Apple’s SEED app, which offers training resources for store employees and authorised resellers. Asa is expected to improve learning by allowing staff to ask open-ended questions and receive tailored responses.

Screenshots shared by analyst Aaron Perris show Asa handling queries about device features, comparisons, and use cases. Although still in testing, the chatbot is expected to expand across Apple’s retail network in the coming weeks.

The development occurs amid broader AI tensions, as Elon Musk’s xAI sued Apple and OpenAI for allegedly colluding to limit competition. Apple’s focus on internal AI tools like Asa contrasts with Musk’s legal action, highlighting disputes over AI market dominance and platform integration.

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Walmart rolls out AI agents to transform shopping and operations

Walmart has unveiled four AI agents to ease the workloads of shoppers, employees, and suppliers. The tools, revealed at the company’s Retail Rewired event, include Marty for suppliers, Sparky for customers, an Associate Agent for staff, and a Developer Agent.

The retailer is leaning on AI as inflation, tariffs, and policy pressures weigh on consumer spending. Its agents cover payroll, time-off requests, merchandising, and personalised shopping recommendations.

Sparky is set to eventually handle automatic reordering of staples, aiming to simplify everyday restocking for households.

Walmart is also investing in ‘digital twins,’ virtual replicas of stores that allow early detection of operational issues. The company says this technology cut emergency alerts by 30% last year and reduced refrigeration maintenance costs by nearly a fifth.

Machine learning is further being applied to improve delivery-time predictions, helping to boost efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Rival retailers are making similar moves. Amazon reported a surge in generative AI use during its Prime Day sales, while Google Cloud AI has partnered with Lush to cut training costs.

Analysts suggest such tools could reshape the retail experience as companies search for ways to hold margins in a tighter economy.

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Beijing seeks to curb excess AI investment while sustaining growth

China has pledged to rein in excessive competition in AI, signalling Beijing’s desire to avoid wasteful investment while keeping the technology central to its economic strategy.

The National Development and Reform Commission stated that provinces should develop AI in a coordinated manner, leveraging local strengths to prevent duplication and overlap. Officials in China emphasised the importance of orderly flows of talent, capital, and resources.

The move follows President Xi Jinping’s warnings about unchecked local investment. Authorities aim to prevent overcapacity problems, such as those seen in electric vehicles, which have fueled deflationary pressures in other industries.

While global investment in data centres has surged, Beijing is adopting a calibrated approach. The state also vowed stronger national planning and support for private firms, aiming to nurture new domestic leaders in AI.

At the same time, policymakers are pushing to attract private capital into traditional sectors, while considering more central spending on social projects to ease local government debt burdens and stimulate long-term consumption.

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Meta faces turmoil as AI hiring spree backfires

Mark Zuckerberg’s ambitious plan to assemble a dream team of AI researchers at Meta has instead created internal instability.

High-profile recruits poached from rival firms have begun leaving within weeks of joining, citing cultural clashes and frustration with the company’s working style. Their departures have disrupted projects and unsettled long-time executives.

Meta had hoped its aggressive hiring spree would help the company rival OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic in developing advanced AI systems.

Instead of strengthening the company’s position, the strategy has led to delays in projects and uncertainty about whether Meta can deliver on its promises of achieving superintelligence.

The new arrivals were given extensive autonomy, fuelling tensions with existing teams and creating leadership friction. Some staff viewed the hires as destabilising, while others expressed concern about the direction of the AI division.

The resulting turnover has left Meta struggling to maintain momentum in its most critical area of research.

As Meta faces mounting pressure to demonstrate progress in AI, the setbacks highlight the difficulty of retaining elite talent in a fiercely competitive field.

Zuckerberg’s recruitment drive, rather than propelling Meta ahead, risks slowing down the company’s ability to compete at the highest level of AI development.

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