Digital cooperation

Apple develops smart search engine to rival ChatGPT

Apple is developing its AI-powered answer engine to rival ChatGPT, marking a strategic turn in its company’s AI approach. The move comes as Apple aims to close the gap with competitors in the fast-moving AI race.

A newly formed internal team, Answers, Knowledge and Information, is working on a tool to browse the web and deliver direct responses to users.

Led by former Siri head Robby Walker, the project is expected to expand across key Apple services, including Siri, Safari and Spotlight.

Job postings suggest Apple is recruiting talent with search engine and algorithm expertise. CEO Tim Cook has signalled Apple’s willingness to acquire companies that could speed up its AI progress.

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AI adoption soothes stress even as job fears rise among employees

A recent Fortune survey indicates that 61 percent of white‑collar professionals expect AI to make their roles, or even their entire teams, obsolete within 3–5 years, yet most continue to rely on AI tools daily without visible concern.

Seventy percent of respondents credit AI with boosting their creativity and productivity, and 40  percent say it has eased stress and improved work‑life balance. Despite these benefits, many admit to ‘feigning’ AI use in workplace settings, often driven by peer pressure or a lack of formal training.

Executive commentary underscores the tension: senior business leaders, including Jim Farley and Dario Amodei, predict rapid AI‑driven disruption of white‑collar roles. Some executives forecast up to 50  percent of certain job categories could be eliminated, though others argue AI may open new opportunities.

Academic studies suggest a more nuanced impact: AI is reshaping role definitions by automating routine tasks while increasing demand for complementary skills, such as ethics, teamwork, and digital fluency. Wage benefits are growing in jobs that effectively blend AI with human oversight.

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AI’s transformation of work habits, mindset and lifestyle

At Mindvalley’s AI Summit, former Google Chief Decision Scientist Cassie Kozyrkov described AI as not a substitute for human thought but a magnifier of what the human mind can produce. Rather than replacing us, AI lets us offload mundane tasks and focus on deeper cognitive and creative work.

Work structures are being transformed, not just in factories, but behind computer screens. AI now handles administrative ‘work about work,’ multitasking, scheduling, and research summarisation, lowering friction in knowledge work and enabling people to supervise agents rather than execute tasks manually.

Personal life is being reshaped, too. AI tools for finance or health, such as budgeting apps or personalised diagnostics, move decisions into data-augmented systems with faster insight and fewer human biases.

Meanwhile, creativity is co-authored via AI-generated design, music or writing, requiring humans to filter, refine and ideate beyond the algorithm.

Recognising cognitive change, AI thought leaders envision a new era where ‘blended work’ prevails: humans manage AI agents, call the shots, and wield ethical oversight, while the AI executes pipelines of repetitive or semi-intelligent tasks.

Scholars warn that this model demands new fairness, transparency, and collaboration skills.

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Samsung TV apps are working again after global outage

Samsung smart TVs have returned to normal after a widespread outage that left users unable to access popular streaming apps like YouTube, Apple TV, and Hulu. The disruption began on Thursday evening, with users reporting issues across multiple countries.

While the apps remained visible, attempts to open them produced server maintenance and connectivity errors. Netflix appeared unaffected, likely due to its use of an independent content delivery system.

Samsung has not publicly stated about the outage, and the exact cause remains unknown. Most users now report that their apps are working again.

Some regained access by holding the power button on their remote to perform a hard reboot of the TV.

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Zuckerberg’s billion-dollar AI buyout blocked by Aussie innovator

Andrew Tulloch, an Australian AI engineer raised in Perth, has reportedly rejected a US$1 billion (A$1.55 billion) compensation package from Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta.

Tulloch, a University of Sydney mathematics graduate with a near-perfect ATAR, co-founded the AI start-up Thinking Machines Lab earlier this year with former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati.

Thinking Machines Lab, focused on building safer, customisable multimodal AI systems, has already secured US$2 billion in seed funding and is now valued at $12 billion. Investors include major tech firms Nvidia, AMD and Cisco, and the Albanian government.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Meta attempted to acquire the company and later made direct offers to key employees. Tulloch declined the offer, which Meta dismissed as “inaccurate and ridiculous.”

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Eswatini advances digital vision with new laws, 5G and skills training

Eswatini is moving forward with a national digital transformation plan focused on infrastructure, legislation and skills development.

The country’s Minister of ICT, Savannah Maziya, outlined key milestones during the 2025 Eswatini Economic Update, co-hosted with the World Bank.

In her remarks, Maziya said that digital technology plays a central role in job creation, governance and economic development. She introduced several regulatory frameworks, including a Cybersecurity Bill, a Critical Infrastructure Bill and an E-Commerce Strategy.

Additional legislation is planned for emerging technologies such as AI, robotics and satellite systems.

Infrastructure improvements include the nationwide expansion of fibre optic networks and a rise in international connectivity capacity from 47 Gbps to 72 Gbps.

Mbabane, the capital, is being developed as a Smart City with 5G coverage, AI-enabled surveillance and public Wi-Fi access.

The Ministry of ICT has launched more than 11 digital public services and plans to add 90 more in the next three years.

A nationwide coding initiative will offer digital skills training to over 300,000 citizens, supporting wider efforts to increase access and participation in the digital economy.

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Apple’s quiet race to replace Google Search with its own AI

Apple occasionally seems out of step with public sentiment, particularly when it comes to AI. A revealing example, highlighted by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter, involves Apple’s initial reluctance to build a ChatGPT-style chatbot for the iPhone.

Engineers within Apple’s AI division reportedly concluded that creating such a chatbot was unnecessary. Executives in both software and marketing agreed, suggesting there was only limited consumer interest in these tools.

However, chatbots have already demonstrated strong capabilities in answering user queries—something Siri still struggles with. While Siri can manage simple phone tasks, such as setting timers and alarms, it falls short in terms of the depth and accuracy of modern generative AI models.

Currently, Siri can redirect questions to ChatGPT, but only with user consent on a case-by-case basis. The responses, however, are brief and lack the detail found in the standalone ChatGPT app.

For richer answers, users are better off installing ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini directly. Siri’s limited integration does not extend to older models, such as the iPhone 15 or 15 Plus, which lack Apple Intelligence.

Users of these devices are strongly encouraged to install the AI apps manually for a more capable assistant experience. AI is also transforming search. Apple Services chief Eddy Cue has acknowledged that AI-driven search is the future.

Nonetheless, Apple remains financially bound to Google, which pays approximately $20 billion annually to be the default search engine on Apple devices. The US Department of Justice may soon intervene, potentially disrupting a partnership crucial to the growth of Apple’s Services division.

In a bid to modernise its search experience, Apple is developing its answer engine through an internal team known as AKI (Answers, Knowledge and Information).

The goal is to build a web-crawling system capable of delivering accurate responses to general knowledge queries, similar to what ChatGPT offers. Apple is considering deploying this answer engine not only within Siri but also across Spotlight and Safari.

A standalone app may also be developed to complement these efforts. Apple has also shown interest in external AI tools, such as Perplexity. Its iOS app, boasting a near-perfect rating from almost 230,000 reviews, promises clear, up-to-date answers, a long-time demand from users frustrated with Siri’s limitations.

The success of Apple’s in-house AI search project will be closely watched. Many iPhone users are hopeful that the next wave of AI tools will finally deliver the intelligence and responsiveness long expected from Apple’s digital assistant.

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VPN use surges in UK as age checks go live

The way UK internet users access adult content has undergone a significant change, with new age-verification rules now in force. Under Ofcom’s directive, anyone attempting to visit adult websites must now prove they are over 18, typically by providing credit card or personal ID details.

The move aims to prevent children from encountering harmful content online, but it has raised serious privacy and cybersecurity concerns.

Experts have warned that entering personal and financial information could expose users to cyber threats. Jake Moore from cybersecurity firm ESET pointed out that the lack of clear implementation standards leaves users vulnerable to data misuse and fraud.

There’s growing unease that ID verification systems might inadvertently offer a goldmine to scammers.
In response, many have started using VPNs to bypass the restrictions, with providers reporting a surge in UK downloads.

VPNs mask user locations, allowing access to blocked content, but free versions often lack the security features of paid services. As demand rises, cybersecurity specialists are urging users to be cautious.

Free VPNs can compromise user data through weak encryption or selling browsing histories to advertisers. Mozilla and EC-Council have stressed the importance of avoiding no-cost VPNs unless users know the risks.

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Apple plans new AI answer engine

Apple is quietly developing its own AI-powered ‘answer engine‘ as part of a push to compete in the growing intelligent search field. The initiative is led by a new team called ‘Answers, Knowledge, and Information’.

The project aims to create a system that can respond to user questions by pulling from web-based content.

The tool may be launched as a standalone app or integrated into existing Apple platforms such as Siri and Safari. Although Apple has added ChatGPT support to Siri, plans for a more advanced, personalised AI assistant have faced repeated delays.

Apple is hiring engineers with search expertise, signalling a long-term plan to reshape how users access information across its products.

The company may also need to revise its longstanding search partnership with Google following the tech giant’s antitrust defeat, further pushing Apple towards building its solution.

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Meta bets on smartglasses to lead future tech

Mark Zuckerberg is boldly pushing to replace the smartphone with smartglasses powered by superintelligent AI. The Meta CEO described a future where wearable devices replace phones, using sight and sound to assist users throughout the day.

Meta is heavily investing, offering up to $100 million to attract top AI talent. Zuckerberg’s idea of ‘personal superintelligence’ merges AI and hardware to offer personalised help and build an Apple-style ecosystem under Meta’s control.

The company’s smartglasses already feature cameras, microphones and speakers, and future models could include built-in screens and AI-generated interfaces.

Other major players are also chasing the next computing shift. Amazon is acquiring a startup that builds AI wearables, while OpenAI’s Sam Altman and former Apple designer Jony Ive are working on a new physical AI device.

These efforts all point to a changing landscape in which mobile screens might no longer dominate.

Apple CEO Tim Cook responded by defending the iPhone’s central role in modern life, though he acknowledged complementary technologies may emerge. While Apple remains dominant, Meta’s advances signal that the competition to define the next computing platform is wide open.

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