Digital business models

AI generated podcasts flood platforms and disrupt the audio industry

Podcasts generated by AI are rapidly reshaping the audio industry, with automated shows flooding platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

Advances in voice cloning and speech synthesis have enabled the production to large volumes of content at minimal cost, allowing AI hosts to compete directly with human creators in an already crowded market.

Some established podcasters are experimenting cautiously, using cloned voices for translation, post-production edits or emergency replacements. Others have embraced full automation, launching synthetic personalities designed to deliver commentary, biographies and niche updates at speed.

Studios, such as Los Angeles-based Inception Point AI, have scaled the model to scale, producing hundreds of thousands of episodes by targeting micro-audiences and trending searches instead of premium advertising slots.

The rapid expansion is fuelling concern across the industry, where trust and human connection remain central to listener loyalty.

Researchers and networks warn that large-scale automation risks devaluing premium content, while creators and audiences question how far AI voices can replace authenticity without undermining the medium itself.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

US TikTok investors face uncertainty as sale delayed again

Investors keen to buy TikTok’s US operations say they are left waiting as the sale is delayed again. ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese owner, was required to sell or be blocked under a 2024 law.

US President Donald Trump seems set to extend the deadline for a fifth time. Billionaires, including Frank McCourt, Alexis Ohanian and Kevin O’Leary, are awaiting approval.

Investor McCourt confirmed his group has raised the necessary capital and is prepared to move forward once the sale is allowed. National security concerns remain the main reason for the ongoing delays.

Project Liberty, led by McCourt, plans to operate TikTok without Chinese technology, including the recommendation algorithm. The group has developed alternative systems to run the platform independently.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Zoom launches AI Companion 3.0 with expanded features

Zoom has unveiled AI Companion 3.0, its latest AI assistant, which extends functionality beyond meetings with a new web interface, workflow tools, and agentic search. Select features are now accessible to free Zoom Workplace Basic users, while full access is available via a paid add-on.

Free users can generate meeting summaries, action item lists, and insights, albeit with usage limitations.

The updated AI Companion introduces agentic retrieval, enabling searches across meeting summaries, transcripts, and connected services, such as Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, with Gmail and Outlook support planned.

Users can automatically generate follow-up tasks and draft emails using a post-meeting template, while the Daily Reflection Report summarises tasks and updates to help prioritise work.

A new agentic writing mode allows drafting, editing, and refining business documents in a canvas-style interface, and AI-created content can be exported in multiple formats, including Markdown, PDF, Word, and Zoom Docs.

Additional tools include AI-based brainstorming and, for Custom AI Companion users, a deep research mode consolidating insights from multiple meetings and documents.

Basic plan users get limited access for up to three meetings per month, including automated summaries, in-meeting queries, and AI-generated notes. Up to 20 prompts are included via the side panel and web interface, while broader access requires a subscription priced at Rs 1,080 per month.

The new web interface also offers built-in prompts to guide users in exploring the assistant’s capabilities.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot! 

Canada advances quantum computing with a strategic $92 million public investment

Canada has launched a major new quantum initiative aimed at strengthening domestic technological sovereignty and accelerating the development of industrial-scale quantum computing.

Announced in Toronto, Phase 1 of the Canadian Quantum Champions Program forms part of a wider $334.3 million investment under Budget 2025 to expand Canada’s quantum ecosystem.

The programme will provide up to $92 million in initial funding, with agreements signed with Anyon Systems, Nord Quantique, Photonic and Xanadu Quantum Technologies for up to $23 million each.

A funding that is designed to support the development of fault-tolerant quantum computers capable of solving real-world problems, while anchoring advanced research, talent, and production in Canada, rather than allowing strategic capabilities to migrate abroad.

The initiative also supports Canada’s forthcoming Defence Industrial Strategy, reflecting the growing role of quantum technologies in cryptography, materials science and threat analysis.

Technical progress will be assessed through a new Benchmarking Quantum Platform led by the National Research Council of Canada, with further programme phases to be announced as development milestones are reached.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

OpenAI’s rise signals a shift in frontier tech investment

OpenAI overtook SpaceX as the world’s most valuable private company in October after a secondary share sale valued the AI firm at $500 billion. The deal put Sam Altman’s company about $100 billion ahead of Elon Musk’s space venture.

That lead may prove short-lived, as SpaceX is now planning its own secondary share sale that could value the company at around $800 billion. An internal letter seen by multiple outlets suggests Musk would reclaim the top spot within months.

The clash is the latest chapter in a rivalry that dates back to OpenAI’s founding in 2015, before Musk left the organisation in 2018 and later launched the startup xAI. Since then, lawsuits and public criticism have marked a sharp breakdown in relations.

Musk also confirmed on X that SpaceX is exploring a major initial public offering, while OpenAI’s recent restructuring allows it to pursue an IPO in the future. The valuation battle reflects soaring investor appetite for frontier technologies, as AI, space, robotics and defence startups attract unprecedented private funding.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Study warns that LLMs are vulnerable to minimal tampering

Researchers from Anthropic, the UK AI Security Institute and the Alan Turing Institute have shown that only a few hundred crafted samples can poison LLM models. The tests revealed that around 250 malicious entries could embed a backdoor that triggers gibberish responses when a specific phrase appears.

Models ranging from 600 million to 13 billion parameters (such as Pythia) were affected, highlighting the scale-independent nature of the weakness. A planted phrase such as ‘sudo’ caused output collapse, raising concerns about targeted disruption and the ease of manipulating widely trained systems.

Security specialists note that denial-of-service effects are worrying, yet deceptive outputs pose far greater risk. Prior studies already demonstrated that medical and safety-critical models can be destabilised by tiny quantities of misleading data, heightening the urgency for robust dataset controls.

Researchers warn that open ecosystems and scraped corpora make silent data poisoning increasingly feasible. Developers are urged to adopt stronger provenance checks and continuous auditing, as reliance on LLMs continues to expand for AI purposes across technical and everyday applications.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot! 

Google boosts Translate with Gemini upgrades

Google is rolling out a major Translate upgrade powered by Gemini to improve text and speech translation. The update enhances contextual understanding so idioms, tone and intent are interpreted more naturally.

A beta feature for live headphone translation enables real-time speech-to-speech output. Gemini processes audio directly, preserving cadence and emphasis to improve conversations and lectures. Android users in the US, Mexico and India gain early access, with wider availability planned for 2026.

Translate is also gaining expanded language-learning tools for speaking practice and progress tracking. Additional language pairs, including English to German and Portuguese, broaden support for learners worldwide.

Google aims to reduce friction in global communication by focusing on meaning rather than literal phrasing. Engineers expect user feedback to shape the AI live translation beta across platforms.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot! 

CES 2026 to feature LG’s new AI-driven in-car platform

LG Electronics will unveil a new AI Cabin Platform at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, positioning the system as a next step beyond today’s software-defined vehicles and toward what the company calls AI-defined mobility.

The platform is designed to run on automotive high-performance computing systems and is powered by Qualcomm Technologies’ Snapdragon Cockpit Elite. LG says it applies generative AI models directly to in-vehicle infotainment, enabling more context-aware and personalised driving experiences.

Unlike cloud-dependent systems, all AI processing occurs on-device within the vehicle. LG says this approach enables real-time responses while improving reliability, privacy, and data security by avoiding communication with external servers.

Using data from internal and external cameras, the system can assess driving conditions and driver awareness to provide proactive alerts. LG also demonstrated adaptive infotainment features, including AI-generated visuals and music suggestions that respond to weather, time, and driving context.

LG will showcase the AI Cabin Platform at a private CES event, alongside a preview of its AI-defined vehicle concept. The company says the platform builds on its expanding partnership with Qualcomm Technologies and on its earlier work integrating infotainment and driver-assistance systems.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Indonesia fines Platform X for pornographic content violations

Platform X has paid an administrative fine of nearly Rp80 million after failing to meet Indonesia’s content moderation requirements related to pornographic material, according to the country’s digital regulator.

The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs said the payment was made on 12 December 2025, after a third warning letter and further exchanges with the company. Officials confirmed that Platform X appointed a representative to complete the process, who is based in Singapore.

The regulator welcomed the company’s compliance, framing the payment as a demonstration of responsibility by an electronic system operator under Indonesian law. Authorities said the move supports efforts to keep the national digital space safe, healthy, and productive.

All funds were processed through official channels and transferred directly to the state treasury managed by the Ministry of Finance, in line with existing regulations, the ministry said.

Officials said enforcement actions against domestic and global platforms, including those operating from regional hubs such as Singapore, remain a priority. The measures aim to protect children and vulnerable groups and encourage stronger content moderation and communication.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Europe risks falling behind without telecom scale, Telefónica says

Telefónica has called for a shift in Europe’s telecommunications policy, arguing that market fragmentation is undermining investment, digital competitiveness, and the continent’s technological sovereignty, according to a new blog post from the company.

In the post, Telefónica says Europe’s emphasis on maximising retail competition has produced a highly fragmented operator landscape. It cites industry data showing the average European operator serves around five million customers, far fewer than peers in the United States or China.

The company argues that this lack of scale explains Europe’s lower per-capita investment in telecoms infrastructure and is slowing the rollout of technologies such as standalone 5G, fibre networks, and sovereign cloud and AI platforms.

Telefónica points to recent reports by Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta as signs of a policy shift, with EU institutions placing greater weight on investment capacity, resilience, and dynamic efficiency alongside traditional competition objectives.

The blog post concludes that Europe faces a strategic choice between preserving fragmented markets or enabling responsible consolidation. Telefónica says carefully regulated mergers could support sustainability, reduce regional digital divides, and strengthen Europe’s digital infrastructure.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!