Digital business models

New era for Kazakhstan’s digital economy

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has outlined a bold vision to transform the nation into a fully digital state within three years. He plans to leverage AI to modernise the economy and public administration.

At the opening of a new parliamentary session, Tokayev emphasised the need for comprehensive digitalisation to ensure socio-economic stability amid global challenges. A new Ministry of AI and Digital Development will drive the agenda under a Digital Code for AI, big data, and the platform economy.

Tokayev urged a revised investment policy to boost competitiveness, focusing on high-tech manufacturing instead of reliance on raw materials. The government has been tasked with streamlining investment processes, with the Prime Minister directly responsible for attracting funds.

The Asset Recovery Committee will be reshaped into the Committee for Investors’ Rights after recovering 850 billion tenge for public projects like schools and healthcare.

The President proposed parliamentary reform, calling for a unicameral Parliament elected by party lists by 2027, pending public debate and a referendum. The move aims to enhance legislative efficiency and align with global parliamentary traditions.

Agriculture, transport, and water management will undergo digital upgrades, with AI optimising land use, logistics, and resource conservation for sustainable development.

Kazakhstan will strengthen its Eurasian transit hub role with projects like the Trans-Caspian Route and a digital freight platform, Smart Cargo. Tokayev urged unity and patriotism to tackle global challenges and build a prosperous digital Kazakhstan.

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

Google tests AI hosts for YouTube Music

Google is testing AI-generated hosts for YouTube Music through its new YouTube Labs programme. The AI hosts will appear while users listen to mixes and radio stations, providing commentary, fan trivia, and stories to enrich the listening experience.

The feature is designed to resemble a radio jockey but relies on AI, so there is a risk of occasional inaccuracies.

YouTube Labs, similar to Google Labs, allows the company to trial new AI features and gather user feedback before wider release. The AI hosts are currently available to a limited group of US testers, who can sign up via YouTube Labs and snooze commentary for an hour or all day.

The rollout follows Google’s Audio Overviews in NotebookLM, which turns research papers and documents into podcast-style summaries. Past AI experiments on YouTube, such as automatic dubbing, faced criticism as viewers had limited control over translations.

The AI hosts experiment shows Google’s push to integrate AI across its apps, enhancing engagement while monitoring feedback before wider rollout.

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

Qwen3-Omni tops Hugging Face as China’s open AI challenge grows

Alibaba’s Qwen3-Omni multimodal AI system has quickly risen to the top of Hugging Face’s trending model list, challenging closed systems from OpenAI and Google. The series unifies text, image, audio, and video processing in a single model, signalling the rapid growth of Chinese open-source AI.

Qwen3-Omni-30B-A3B currently leads Hugging Face’s list, followed by the image-editing model Qwen-Image-Edit-2509. Alibaba’s cloud division describes Qwen3-Omni as the first fully integrated multimodal AI framework built for real-world applications.

Self-reported benchmarks suggest Qwen3-Omni outperforms Qwen2.5-Omni-7B, OpenAI’s GPT-4o, and Google’s Gemini-2.5-Flash, known as ‘Nano Banana’, in audio recognition, comprehension, and video understanding tasks.

Open-source dominance is growing, with Alibaba’s models taking half the top 10 spots on Hugging Face rankings. Tencent, DeepSeek, and OpenBMB filled most of the remaining positions, leaving IBM as the only Western representative.

The ATOM Project warned that US leadership in AI could erode as open models from China gain adoption. It argued that China’s approach draws businesses and researchers away from American systems, which have become increasingly closed.

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

Microsoft adds AI auto-categorisation to Photos app

Microsoft is introducing an AI-powered auto-categorisation feature to the Photos app on Windows 11 for all Insider channels. The update automatically sorts images into screenshots, receipts, identity documents, and notes, making managing large photo libraries easier.

The feature is language-agnostic, recognising document types regardless of language, and aims to save time and reduce clutter.

Photos that match the AI model are grouped automatically, but users can browse categories via the app’s navigation or Search bar and manually reassign images if needed. The update adds Super Resolution to Copilot Plus PCs, enhancing low-resolution images with advanced AI.

Microsoft has included other unspecified fixes and improvements in the update, ensuring overall app performance is optimised. The company emphasises that the rollout may be gradual, so some features appear later for certain Insider users.

To access the new features, users must update the Photos app to version 2025.11090.25001.0 or higher via the Microsoft Store. The enhancements are part of Microsoft’s ongoing effort to make Windows 11 more intuitive, efficient, and AI-driven for everyday tasks.

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

Technology and innovation define Researchers’ Night 2025 in Greece

Greece hosted the European Researchers’ Night 2025 on Friday, 26 September at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall, marking a significant celebration of science and technology.

The Centre coordinated it for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), which also celebrated its 25th anniversary.

Visitors experienced an extensive interactive technology exhibition featuring VR, autonomous robots and AI applications, alongside demonstrations across energy, digital systems and life sciences.

Attendees engaged directly with researchers and explored how cutting-edge research is transformed into practical innovations with societal and economic impact.

Contributions came from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the University of Ioannina, the International Hellenic University, the Anna Papageorgiou STEM Centre, the Hellenic Agricultural Organisation – DIMITRA, and the Astronomy Friends Association.

The event showcased CERTH’s spin-offs and technology transfer initiatives, highlighting how advanced research evolves into market-ready products and services. The ‘European Corner’ also presented EU policies and opportunities for research and innovation.

In parallel, the online ‘Chat Lab’ brought together 51 researchers for public discussions on emerging scientific issues until 3 October.

With simultaneous events in Athens, Heraklion, Patras, Larissa and Rethymno, the European Researchers’ Night once again reinforced the role of Greece in connecting frontier research with society.

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

UK supports JLR supply chain with £1.5 billion loan guarantee

The UK Government will guarantee a £1.5 billion loan to Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in response to the cyber-attack that forced the carmaker to halt production.

An Export Development Guarantee, administered by UK Export Finance, will back a commercial bank loan repaid over five years to stabilise JLR’s finances and protect its supply chain.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle described the attack as a strike on the UK’s automotive sector and said the guarantee would safeguard jobs across the West Midlands, Merseyside and beyond.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves called JLR a ‘jewel in the crown’ of the UK economy, stressing that the package would protect tens of thousands of jobs directly and indirectly linked to the manufacturer.

JLR employs 34,000 people in the UK and supports an automotive supply chain of 120,000 workers, many in SMEs.

The guarantee forms part of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy, which includes backing for electric vehicle adoption, reduced energy costs for manufacturers, and multi-billion-pound commitments to research and development.

An announcement follows ministerial visits to JLR headquarters and supplier Webasto, with ministers promising to keep working with industry leaders to get production back online and strengthen Britain’s automotive resilience.

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

OpenAI for Germany to modernise public sector with AI

SAP SE and OpenAI have announced the launch of OpenAI for Germany, a partnership to bring advanced AI solutions to the public sector.

The initiative will combine SAP’s expertise with OpenAI’s AI technology, ensuring safe, responsible use while meeting strict German data, security, and legal standards. The platform will be supported by SAP’s Delos Cloud, running on Microsoft Azure technology.

Starting in 2026, the collaboration will help public sector staff and institutions streamline tasks, automate workflows, and focus on people rather than paperwork. Customised AI will be integrated into existing systems to improve records management and data analysis.

SAP plans to expand Delos Cloud infrastructure to 4,000 GPUs to support AI workloads and will explore further investment based on demand.

OpenAI for Germany aligns with the country’s national AI strategy, which aims for AI-driven value creation of up to 10% of GDP by 2030. The ‘Made for Germany’ initiative, supported by 61 companies including SAP, has pledged over €631 billion for growth and digital modernisation.

SAP has also committed more than €20 billion to reinforce Europe’s digital sovereignty.

SAP, OpenAI, and Microsoft executives emphasised the partnership’s focus on trust, safety, and operational resilience. The initiative underscores Germany’s commitment to AI, maintaining strict standards and ensuring benefits reach all public institutions.

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

Bye Bye Google AI hides unwanted AI results in Search

Google is pushing AI deeper into its services, with AI Overviews already reaching billions of users and AI Mode now added to Search. Chrome is also being rebranded as an AI-first browser.

Not all users welcome these changes. Concerns remain about accuracy, intrusive design and Google’s growing control over how information is displayed. Unlike other features, AI elements in Search cannot be turned off directly, leaving users reliant on third-party solutions.

One such solution is the new ‘Bye Bye, Google AI’ extension, which hides AI-generated results and unwanted blocks such as sponsored links, shopping sections and discussion forums.

The extension works across Chromium-based browsers, though it relies on CSS and may break when Google updates its interface.

A debate that reflects wider unease about AI in Search.

While Google claims it improves user experience, critics argue it risks spreading false information and keeping traffic within Google’s ecosystem rather than directing users to original publishers.

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

London faces major job shifts as AI takes hold

Nearly a million jobs in London face change as AI reshapes the workplace.

New research suggests repetitive roles such as telemarketing, bookkeeping, and data entry will be among the most affected, with women at greater risk since they comprise much of the workforce in these sectors.

Analysts from LiveCareer UK and McKinsey reported that job adverts for roles most exposed to automation have dropped sharply in the past three years.

They warn that fewer entry-level opportunities could damage the future workforce unless businesses rethink how to balance automation with human creativity and judgement.

Some organisations are already adapting AI to support staff instead of replacing them. At Queen Elizabeth Hospital, a pharmaceutical robot works alongside clinicians, using AI to predict medicine demand and improve patient safety.

Leaders at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust argue AI should relieve staff of repetitive tasks so they can focus on higher-value care.

Across industries, firms from Ford to Microsoft predict significant disruption. Ford’s chief executive has suggested AI could replace half of white-collar roles in the US, while others argue it will boost productivity instead of eliminating jobs.

Tech companies such as Snap are experimenting with AI-driven creativity tools, insisting the technology should act as an aid for workers rather than a threat to employment.

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

Persistent WordPress malware campaign hides as fake plugin to evade detection

A new malware campaign targets WordPress sites, utilising steganography and persistent backdoors to maintain unauthorised admin access. It uses two components that work together to maintain control.

The attack begins with malicious files disguised as legitimate WordPress components. These files are heavily obfuscated, create administrator accounts with hardcoded credentials, and bypass traditional detection tools. However, this ensures attackers can retain access even after security teams respond.

Researchers say the malware exploits WordPress plugin infrastructure and user management functions to set up redundant access points. It then communicates with command-and-control servers, exfiltrating system data and administrator credentials to attacker-controlled endpoints.

This campaign can allow threat actors to inject malicious code, redirect site visitors, steal sensitive data, or deploy additional payloads. Its persistence and stealth tactics make it difficult to detect, leaving websites vulnerable for long periods.

The main component poses as a fake plugin called ‘DebugMaster Pro’ with realistic metadata. Its obfuscated code creates admin accounts, contacts external servers, and hides by allowing known admin IPs.

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