At its annual Snap Partner Summit, Snapchat announced new AI-powered features to improve the user experience. The app’s My AI chatbot now functions similarly to Google Lens. It enables users to take pictures of menus in foreign languages for translations, identify plants, or understand parking signs using AI. These updates aim to make My AI more practical, moving beyond entertainment to become a helpful tool for users.
Snapchat is introducing AI-powered edits for Snapchat+ subscribers through the ‘My Selfie’ feature. This feature allows users to enhance saved Snaps with captions and creative lenses. For example, users can transform a selfie into a Renaissance painting. Additionally, users can choose to be featured in AI-generated images with friends, such as being portrayed as lawyers or athletes.
Snapchat is also introducing a new AI-powered lens that displays users’ possible future appearances in response to TikTok’s trendy old-age filter. Other updates include enhanced HD video calls, SnapMail for leaving messages when friends miss a call, and local time zone displays in chats to improve worldwide user connections.
Google’s advertising business has faced renewed scrutiny in the EU, with a recent proposal to sell its advertising marketplace, AdX, being rejected by European publishers. The tech giant offered the sale to resolve an antitrust investigation by the EU, which accuses Google of favouring its services. The investigation followed complaints from the European Publishers Council, and the European Commission has since charged Google with anti-competitive practices.
Publishers dismissed Google’s offer as insufficient, arguing that the sale of AdX alone would not address the broader conflicts of interest due to Google’s dominance across the entire adtech supply chain. These industry insiders suggest that more drastic measures may be needed to curb Google’s influence, but the EU has not yet demanded such extensive divestments.
Google, meanwhile, maintains that the Commission’s claims are based on a misinterpretation of the competitive nature of the advertising sector. Despite facing similar antitrust trials in the US over its advertising technology, the company continues to defend its business practices, where authorities have called for selling its Ad Manager product.
AdX, which allows publishers to auction unsold ad space to advertisers in real time, has become a key component in the ongoing investigation. The EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager previously suggested Google divest additional tools to resolve the issue. However, experts believe the Commission may first issue a simpler ruling to halt Google’s current practices before escalating to demands for asset sales.
With advertising contributing to 77% of Google’s $237.85 billion revenue in 2023, the company’s dominant position in digital advertising remains a central point of contention in the EU and globally.
Google is facing a billionaire lawsuit in London as Alphabet, its parent company, asked a tribunal to dismiss claims accusing the tech giant of abusing its dominance in the online search market. The lawsuit, which could amount to £7 billion ($9.3 billion), focuses on businesses’ costs when using Google’s search advertising services, which plaintiffs argue are ultimately passed on to consumers. The legal challenge is one of several targeting Google’s practices in recent years, including a similar case in Britain concerning its advertising market dominance and an ongoing antitrust trial in the United States.
Consumer rights advocate Nikki Stopford, representing the class of claimants, argues that Google’s overwhelming market presence allows it to increase costs unfairly. Her lawsuit also points to a €4.5 billion fine imposed by the European Commission in 2018 over Google’s restrictions on Android manufacturers, a decision currently being appealed. Furthermore, the lawsuit accuses Google of striking a deal with Apple to make its search engine the default on Apple’s Safari browser in exchange for a portion of mobile search ad revenues.
Google has dismissed these claims as unfounded. Its lawyer, Meredith Pickford, stated that the case is flawed, rejecting the notion that Google’s practices harmed consumers. Pickford also emphasised that Google’s agreement with Apple was legally sound and argued that the European Commission’s ruling was based on technicalities rather than substantive issues. The tribunal’s decision on whether the case will proceed to trial remains pending.
GSMA has launched its inaugural Responsible AI (RAI) Maturity Roadmap, marking a significant step toward ethical AI practices across the telecom sector. That initiative represents the first sector-wide effort to unify approaches to responsible AI use, providing telecom operators with a structured framework to assess their current AI maturity and set clear goals for future improvement.
The roadmap integrates global standards and regulations from organisations such as the OECD and UNESCO, ensuring its guidelines are comprehensive and internationally recognised. This alignment supports the creation of a robust framework that promotes ethical AI practices throughout the industry.
GSMA and industry leaders emphasise the substantial economic potential of AI, with projections suggesting up to $680 billion in opportunities for the telecom sector over the next 15-20 years. The roadmap focuses on five core dimensions—vision and strategic goals, AI governance, technical controls, third-party collaboration, and change management—providing a comprehensive approach to responsible AI. That includes best practices such as fairness, privacy, safety, transparency, accountability, and environmental impact.
Why does this matter?
Statements from GSMA Director General Mats Granryd and Telefónica Chairman José María Álvarez-Pallete López highlight the need for ethical guidelines to manage AI’s rapid development and set a precedent for other industries to follow in adopting responsible AI practices.
Donald Trump has unveiled a new cryptocurrency business, World Liberty Financial, during a live event on X Spaces. However, few details were provided about the company, its formation, or financing. The timing of the launch, just before the upcoming election, is unusual, but Trump aims to attract digital asset advocates.
The former president, once a critic of cryptocurrencies, has now embraced them, pledging to make the US the ‘crypto capital of the planet’. He promises minimal regulation and a national bitcoin reserve. This shift is seen as part of his strategy to appeal to tech-savvy voters.
Trump’s two sons, Eric and Donald Jr., have actively promoted the project, claiming it will revolutionise digital asset finance. Despite these bold statements, specifics about how World Liberty Financial will operate remain unclear.
Trump’s cryptocurrency move, combined with his evolving stance on digital assets, signals his focus on emerging financial technologies as a key aspect of his re-election campaign, looking to capitalise on the growing interest in the sector.
A growing number of countries, representing 98% of the global economy, are exploring digital versions of their currencies, with almost half of them at an advanced stage of development. Countries like China, the Bahamas, and Nigeria have already seen a noticeable increase in the usage of their central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Research by the Atlantic Council reveals that all G20 nations are now investigating CBDCs, with 44 countries currently piloting them, up from 36 last year. Authorities are accelerating these efforts in response to decreasing cash usage and the potential threat from cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and big tech companies.
Notable growth has been observed in the CBDCs of the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Nigeria, while China’s digital yuan (e-CNY) has seen its transaction value almost quadruple to 7 trillion yuan ($987 billion). The European Central Bank has also launched a multi-year digital euro pilot, while the US, despite being slower to act, has recently joined a cross-border CBDC project with six other central banks.
Meanwhile, the United States is grappling with privacy concerns over CBDCs. Although a bill prohibiting a ‘retail’ CBDC has been passed by the US House of Representatives, the issue remains prominent in the country’s political discourse. Elsewhere, Russia’s digital rouble pilot has expanded to Moscow’s metro, and Iran is working on a digital rial.
MicroStrategy has announced plans for its third debt offering this year, aiming to raise $700 million by issuing convertible senior notes due in 2028. The company intends to use the funds to pay off $500 million in existing senior secured notes and purchase more Bitcoin, with any remaining proceeds going towards general corporate purposes. The notes will be unsecured and will begin paying interest from March 2025, available only to qualified institutional buyers.
This marks MicroStrategy’s third debt offering in 2024, following similar issuances in March and June. The company, one of the largest public holders of Bitcoin, currently holds 244,800 BTC, valued at approximately $14 billion. However, the volatility of its Bitcoin holdings has affected its financial performance, with the company posting a net loss of $102.6 million in the second quarter of 2024, largely driven by a $180.1 million digital asset impairment.
Despite concerns about its significant exposure to Bitcoin, MicroStrategy’s stock has performed well. Its share price has surged nearly 295% over the past year, with a 96% increase so far in 2024, reaching $134 as of 16 September.
Microsoft is enhancing its $30-per-user Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription with new AI-driven features across Office apps. Excel now integrates Python with Copilot for advanced data analysis, while PowerPoint offers improved AI-assisted narrative building, and Word benefits from more efficient AI-generated drafts. The Copilot AI will also assist with organising Outlook inboxes.
Excel’s Python integration allows users to perform complex data analysis, such as forecasting and machine learning, using natural language commands. PowerPoint’s AI features can now help draft slide decks using company templates, and Teams will summarise both spoken and written conversations in meetings, helping organisers track important questions.
Outlook users will soon benefit from AI-powered inbox prioritisation, with Copilot sorting emails based on personal preferences. Additionally, the AI will be able to track keywords or topics, marking related emails as high priority. Word and OneDrive will also see updates, allowing users to reference data from emails, meetings, and documents seamlessly.
Microsoft aims to attract more businesses to Copilot, with Vodafone signing up for 68,000 licenses after successful trials. Microsoft reports that 60% of Fortune 500 companies now use Copilot, with daily usage nearly doubling each quarter.
The company has announced a new $60 billion share buyback program, approved by its board, alongside a quarterly dividend increase to $0.83 per share, reflecting a 10% rise. The Tech Giant will host its yearly shareholders’ meeting on December 10th.
Amid growing AI investments, Microsoft revealed a significant 77.6% increase in capital spending in the quarter ending 30 June, largely attributed to AI infrastructure. Although its Azure cloud business has exhibited slower growth recently, the company anticipates an acceleration in the second half of fiscal 2025.
Big tech firms like Microsoft and Google are under pressure to justify their AI investments. Microsoft is one of the few companies that has reported AI’s contributions in its earnings. Its stock has risen about 15% this year and saw a slight increase in aftermarket trading following the news.
Intel Corporation has been awarded up to $3.5 billion in federal grants to produce advanced semiconductors for the Pentagon under the Secure Enclave program. The initiative aims to develop military-grade chips in several states, including Arizona, and is part of broader efforts to reduce reliance on foreign manufacturers.
The grant follows previous funding announcements for Intel, which is set to receive as much as $8.5 billion in grants and $11 billion in loans from the Chips and Science Act. This new program highlights the government’s trust in Intel despite its recent financial struggles. Intel is still negotiating terms for its broader incentive package, including facilities in Ohio, New Mexico, and Oregon.
The Pentagon’s decision to choose Intel reflects limited options, as it is the only US manufacturer of advanced processors. Other semiconductor makers, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung, have also received US support to build facilities, but they remain foreign-based companies.
While the specific chip models to be produced for the Pentagon are unknown, the Secure Enclave program marks a significant commitment by the US government to bolster its semiconductor industry. Intel continues to seek further contracts and has invited other tech companies to explore using its chip facilities.
