Indonesian students are now encouraged to explore AI and coding to unlock new talents and prepare for a tech-driven future. Deputy Minister of Creative Economy Irene Umar stated that the option to study these subjects opens opportunities for young people, but she urged schools to make these courses voluntary rather than mandatory, allowing students to choose these areas of study according to their interests.
AI and coding education is part of Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s vision for a ‘Golden Indonesia’, aiming to create a generation equipped with essential digital skills. The initiative seeks to introduce these courses at both primary and secondary education levels, supporting Indonesia’s global competitiveness in a world increasingly shaped by technology.
The internet, widely accessible across Indonesia, offers new avenues for self-directed learning in AI and coding, according to Umar. She pointed out that many Indonesian game developers have already taught themselves coding through online resources, demonstrating that digital skills can be acquired outside formal educational settings.
Umar highlighted the potential of AI and coding to inspire Indonesia’s youth, noting that with the right digital knowledge, young Indonesians can become innovative leaders. Harnessing this potential could foster new ideas and entrepreneurial success, helping to fulfil Indonesia’s vision of a future led by a skilled, tech-savvy generation.
Visa has announced a partnership with fintech Affirm to introduce a new feature allowing United States customers to use a single card for both debit transactions and buy now, pay later (BNPL) purchases. The feature aims to meet growing consumer demand for payment flexibility. Visa will also launch the service in the United Arab Emirates in collaboration with Liv Bank and plans to expand to Europe in the coming months.
Mark Nelsen, Visa‘s global head of consumer products, highlighted that customers increasingly prioritise convenience in payments, especially as e-commerce continues to thrive. A Visa study revealed that 51% of card users desire access to multiple accounts and funding options through a single credential, streamlining their payment experiences. The ‘Flexible Credential’ feature is already available in markets such as Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore, with further expansion planned over the next year.
Visa and Affirm’s collaboration signals a growing trend of traditional financial institutions working with fintech firms to drive innovation. While fintech companies have often been seen as challengers to established banks, such partnerships can benefit both sides by unlocking new revenue opportunities. Affirm CEO Max Levchin emphasised the company’s commitment to providing a seamless product that integrates debit and credit without hidden fees.
SoftBank is making strides in Japan’s AI landscape, using Nvidia’s latest Blackwell chip technology to drive advancements in artificial intelligence and telecommunications. The telecom giant plans to construct Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer, integrating Nvidia’s Blackwell and Grace Blackwell platforms to create a robust system for advanced AI applications.
In a pioneering trial, SoftBank tested an AI-enabled 5G network that utilises Nvidia’s AI Aerial platform, potentially unlocking new revenue streams for telecom providers. By converting telecom base stations into AI-ready infrastructure, SoftBank demonstrated how its AI-RAN technology can optimise both 5G network performance and support for AI services, allowing for the monetisation of unused network capacity.
Through this collaboration, Nvidia and SoftBank foresee telecom operators generating substantial returns, estimating up to $5 in AI revenue for every $1 invested in AI-RAN infrastructure. SoftBank’s energy-efficient AI network is designed for real-time AI inference, supporting applications like autonomous vehicle operations and robotics, and transforming Japan’s telecom industry into a global AI leader.
A future Nvidia-powered AI marketplace aims to broaden access to AI services across various sectors in Japan. By enabling localised, secure, and low-latency AI solutions, SoftBank is set to provide innovative AI support for sectors from healthcare to research, positioning Japan at the forefront of the AI revolution.
The US Commerce Department has pledged up to $18.2 million in funding to California-based Akash Systems to build a 40,000-square-foot cleanroom facility dedicated to advanced semiconductor manufacturing in West Oakland, California. This funding, part of the $52.7 billion semiconductor subsidy program, will be combined with Akash’s own investments and venture capital to create a $121 million production site for Diamond Cooling substrates and systems designed to enhance thermal management in AI-driven data centres.
Akash CEO Felix Ejeckam highlighted this investment as a significant step in meeting the challenges of high-performance computing. Last year, the company also established a landmark labor neutrality agreement for West Oakland semiconductor production workers in partnership with the IUE-CWA union, covering both construction and production roles.
The announcement comes as the Commerce Department works to finalise semiconductor grants under the 2022 Chips and Science Act, aimed at bolstering US-based chip production to reduce reliance on Asia. Thus far, around 20 companies have been awarded 36 billion in preliminary agreements, including a finalised $123 million deal with Polar Semiconductor to modernise its facility in Minnesota. Additional awards for major chipmakers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and GlobalFoundries, are expected before the administration transition in January.
Elon Musk’s Starlink has received government approval to provide satellite internet in Chad, aiming to bridge the country’s significant connectivity gap. With only 12% of the population online as of 2022, the move is expected to bring internet access to remote regions lacking fiber-optic coverage. Communications Minister Boukar Michel confirmed the agreement, noting that better connectivity could spur public service digitalisation and tech start-up growth.
The satellite internet provider, a division of SpaceX, operates in several African nations, including Nigeria and Madagascar, though it has encountered regulatory hurdles elsewhere. In Chad, Starlink’s deployment is seen as a solution to the nation’s limited infrastructure. Elon Musk celebrated the expansion with an announcement on social media, declaring, ‘Starlink now available in Chad!’.
Despite its growing presence, Starlink has faced resistance from state-run telecom monopolies in some regions. In Cameroon, its equipment was seised earlier this year due to licensing issues. Meanwhile, local telecom operators in countries like Kenya are urging regulators to require partnerships between satellite services and national mobile providers.
Adobe has unveiled new AI tools that allow users to create modified images from its stock photo library while ensuring the original creators are compensated. The software giant, known for products like Photoshop, has been rapidly integrating AI into its platform as it faces competition from newer firms like OpenAI. Adobe‘s strategy focuses on making AI-generated content legally safe for commercial use and guaranteeing fair payments for artists.
The newly released tools enable customers to take stock images and modify them with AI to meet specific requirements. Adobe compensates the original image creators as if their unmodified work was used, ensuring fair earnings. Matthew Smith, Adobe’s vice president for strategy, design, and emerging products, emphasised that the goal is to enhance creative possibilities, not replace traditional stock imagery or artists.
Smith also highlighted the demand for flexible content creation. While some users prefer generating images from text prompts, many still need to adapt conventional stock images to fulfil their unique purposes. Generative AI, he said, provides an opportunity for creatives to increase their potential earnings by making their contributions more adaptable.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office has criticised a recent US decision to halt Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) from shipping advanced chips to certain Chinese customers. The office’s spokeswoman, Zhu Fenglian, stated that the US is ‘playing the Taiwan card’ to heighten tensions in the Taiwan Straits and that the move negatively impacts Taiwanese businesses. This statement follows reports that TSMC stopped these shipments on Monday after an order from US authorities.
The restricted chips, widely used in AI technology, are part of ongoing US efforts to tighten export controls amid rising bipartisan concerns over Chinese access to advanced tech. The restrictions follow a recent notification by TSMC to the US Commerce Department, revealing that one of its chips was used in a Huawei AI processor. Huawei, a central figure in US-China tech tensions, has been under trade restrictions, requiring suppliers to secure licenses for any technology exports.
Google is testing an AI-driven feature for YouTube Shorts, allowing creators to alter licensed audio tracks to fit different styles or genres. Part of YouTube’s Dream Track experiment, the feature lets select creators customise songs by simply describing their desired transformation, such as changing the music genre. YouTube’s AI then generates a 30-second soundtrack for the creator’s short video, maintaining the original vocals and lyrics.
The experimental tool has clear attribution rules, ensuring viewers can see that the song has been restyled with AI. Videos featuring these AI-enhanced tracks will display the original song information and note that AI was used to alter the sound. This setup helps protect the rights of original music creators while giving video makers new artistic possibilities.
The Dream Track experiment has been in testing since last year, initially giving creators access to AI-generated artist voices with approved songs. This latest feature now expands to allow broader soundtrack customisation within Shorts, aiming to boost creator flexibility and viewer engagement.
Separately, YouTube is testing a swipe-up feature for its Android app, making it easier to navigate between videos. Available to a limited number of users, the swipe-up gesture now brings a navigation method similar to Instagram Reels, potentially signalling an interface shift across YouTube’s mobile platform.
The US Supreme Court will review a high-stakes securities fraud case involving Nvidia, the chipmaker widely known for its AI hardware. Nvidia faces accusations from shareholders who claim the company misled investors about its exposure to the cryptocurrency market. The case, originating from a 2018 class-action lawsuit led by Swedish investment firm E. Ohman J:or Fonder AB, alleges Nvidia downplayed the extent to which its revenue was driven by crypto mining—a volatile business tied to fluctuating cryptocurrency values. The lawsuit contends that Nvidia’s failure to fully disclose this dependency led to an inflated stock price that plummeted when the crypto market softened in late 2018.
Nvidia’s legal defence argues that the plaintiffs did not meet the rigorous legal standards set by the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, which requires concrete evidence of intentional or reckless deception to pursue securities fraud claims. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals revived the lawsuit after a federal judge initially dismissed it, ruling that the plaintiffs presented sufficient claims that Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, knowingly or recklessly misrepresented the company’s crypto-related revenues.
The case is one of two before the Supreme Court this month that could alter the legal landscape for securities fraud litigation. The other case, brought against Meta Platforms’ Facebook, also examines the threshold for holding corporations accountable for alleged deception. With President Biden’s administration backing the shareholders in the Nvidia case, the rulings, expected by mid-2024, could make it significantly harder for private parties to sue companies for alleged fraud, depending on the Court’s decision.
In a significant rise, over 5 million Koreans used the ChatGPT app in October, a sevenfold jump from the previous year, according to data from WiseappㆍRetailㆍGoods. This surge marks a milestone, with around 10 percent of smartphone users in Korea, totalling 51.2 million, now engaging with ChatGPT regularly.
Reports reveal that Korean users are also spending more time on the app, averaging 51.6 minutes each month—an increase of 20 minutes compared to last year. Frequency of use has similarly grown, with users logging into ChatGPT around 5.7 days a month, up from 3.2 days last year.
The increase in Korea is part of a larger global trend, with ChatGPT visits worldwide reaching 3.1 billion in September, a dramatic 112 percent increase year-on-year. This global growth underscores the rising appeal and practicality of AI applications like ChatGPT.
Analysts attribute this trend to ChatGPT’s expanding capabilities, making it a versatile tool for both personal and professional use. As more people discover its potential, ChatGPT’s popularity is expected to continue climbing globally and within Korea.
