Google has launched a 12-month free AI Pro Plan for university students aged 18 and above across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The plan gives access to Google’s top AI tools, including Gemini 2.5 Pro, Deep Research, NotebookLM, Veo 3, Nano Banana, and 2 TB of cloud storage.
Students can use these tools for homework, research, content creation, and creative projects, all designed to enhance learning and skill development.
Guided Learning in Gemini helps students with step-by-step support for math, essays, and test preparation. AI tools let students explore creativity by generating images, editing visuals, and making short cinematic clips with Veo 3 and Nano Banana.
Educators gain over 30 new tools with Gemini for Education and Classroom to plan lessons, create resources, and foster AI literacy. Google is partnering with universities to integrate AI into teaching, helping students gain practical skills for the future workforce.
The initiative reflects Google’s commitment to equipping students with AI skills, boosting critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving while expanding access to knowledge through innovative technologies.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Samsung Electronics has been chosen by Vodafone as a primary partner to deploy virtualised RAN and Open RAN networks in Germany and several European countries. The agreement builds on previous collaborations and represents one of the largest Open RAN projects in Europe.
Germany will serve as the first and main market, with thousands of sites planned, including a full deployment in Wismar by early 2026. The rollout will expand across Europe over five years, beginning with a live site already operating in Hannover.
Samsung will provide its virtualised RAN solutions supporting 2G, 4G and 5G, as well as O-RAN compliant radios, Massive MIMO equipment and AI-powered management tools. The company will also integrate its CognitiV Network Operations Suite to improve performance, efficiency and automation.
Partners such as Dell Technologies, Intel and Wind River will contribute hardware and cloud platforms to ensure interoperability and large-scale integration.
Vodafone’s Chief Network Officer Alberto Ripepi said Open RAN is essential for building flexible, future-ready networks and expanding connectivity across Europe.
Samsung’s Networks Business President Woojune Kim highlighted the project as a major step in developing software-based and autonomous networks designed for the AI era. Both companies view the partnership as a means to advance digital transformation and enhance network efficiency.
The collaboration also promotes energy efficiency and shared infrastructure. Samsung’s AI Energy Saving Manager will monitor traffic to reduce power consumption during low-use periods. The company’s radio systems will support RAN sharing, helping operators cut costs and deliver consistent coverage.
Analysts consider Vodafone’s decision a validation of Samsung’s leadership in open and virtualised network technology.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
They trained models using more than 1,400 iPhone images of Hass avocados, achieving around 92% accuracy for firmness (a proxy for ripeness) and over 84% accuracy in distinguishing fresh from rotten fruit.
Avocado waste is a major issue because they spoil quickly, and many are discarded before reaching consumers. The AI tool is intended to guide both shoppers and businesses on when fruit is best consumed or sold.
Beyond consumer use, the system could be deployed in processing and retail facilities to sort avocados more precisely. For example, more ripe batches might be sent to nearby stores instead of longer transit routes.
The researchers used deep learning (rather than older, manual feature extraction) to capture shape, texture and spatial cues better. As the model dataset grows, its performance is expected to improve further.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
The new centres in the Czech Republic, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, and Poland will give startups, SMEs, and industry access to AI-optimised supercomputers and support.
The expansion is backed by over €500 million in joint investment from the EU and Member States, bringing the total funding for the AI Factories and Antennas initiative to more than €2.6 billion. The investments aim to boost Europe’s supercomputing capacity and speed up AI adoption in key sectors.
AI Factory Antennas will provide national AI communities with secure remote access to supercomputing resources alongside the factories. The initiative backs the EU’s AI Continent Action Plan and complements AI Gigafactories for developing and training advanced AI models.
By expanding infrastructure and expertise, the EU aims to position itself as a global leader in AI, fostering innovation, competitiveness, and adoption of AI across both industry and the public sector.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Jim Lee rejects generative AI for DC storytelling, pledging no AI writing, art, or audio under his leadership. He framed AI alongside other overhyped threats, arguing that predictions falter while human craft endures. DC, he said, will keep its focus on creator-led work.
Lee rooted the stance in the value of imperfection and intent. Smudges, rough lines, and hesitation signal authorship, not flaws. Fans, he argued, sense authenticity and recoil from outputs that feel synthetic or aggregated.
Concerns ranged from shrinking attention spans to characters nearing the public domain. The response, Lee said, is better storytelling and world-building. Owning a character differs from understanding one, and DC’s universe supplies the meaning that endures.
Policy meets practice in DCs recent moves against suspected AI art. In 2024, variant covers were pulled after high-profile allegations of AI-generated content. The episode illustrated a willingness to enforce standards rather than just announce them.
Lee positioned 2035 and DC’s centenary as a waypoint, not a finish line. Creative evolution remains essential, but without yielding authorship to algorithms. The pledge: human-made stories, guided by editors and artists, for the next century of DC.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Andhra Pradesh will sign an agreement with Google on Tuesday for a 1-gigawatt hyperscale data centre in Visakhapatnam. Officials describe the ₹80,000-crore investment as a centrepiece of ‘AI City Vizag’. Plans include clean-energy integration and resilient subsea and terrestrial connectivity.
The campus will deploy Google’s full AI stack to accelerate AI-driven transformation across India. Infrastructure, data-centre capacity, large-scale energy, and expanded fibre converge in one hub. Design targets reliability, scalability, and seamless links into Google’s global network.
Andhra Pradesh Secures India’s Largest-Ever Foreign Direct Investment: Google's Raiden Infotech to set up data centre in Visakha
SIPB approves investments to a tune of Rs 1,14,824 Cr
CM suggests regional economic corridors in North Andhra, Coastal and Rayalaseema pic.twitter.com/6PhKzr1ypm
State approval came via the State Investment Promotion Board led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. Government estimates forecast average annual GSDP gains of ₹10,518 crore in 2028–2032. About 1,88,220 jobs a year, plus ₹9,553 crore in Google Cloud-enabled productivity spillovers, are expected.
The agreement will be signed at Hotel Taj Mansingh in New Delhi. Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Ashwini Vaishnaw will attend with Chief Minister Naidu. Google executives Thomas Kurian, Bikash Koley, and Karan Bajwa will represent the company.
Delivery will rely on single-window clearances, reliable utilities, and plug-and-play, renewable-ready infrastructure, led by the Economic Development Board and ITE&C. Naidu will invite the Prime Minister to ‘Super GST – Super Savings’ in Kurnool and the CII Partnership Summit in Vizag on 14–15 November.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Japan will prioritise home-grown AI technology in its new national strategy, aiming to strengthen national security and reduce dependence on foreign systems. The government says developing domestic expertise is essential to prevent overreliance on US and Chinese AI models.
Officials revealed that the plan will include better pay and conditions to attract AI professionals and foster collaboration among universities, research institutes and businesses. Japan will also accelerate work on a next-generation supercomputer to succeed the current Fugaku model.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said Japan must catch up with global leaders such as the US and reverse its slow progress in AI development. Not a lot of people in Japan reported using generative AI last year, compared with nearly 70 percent in the United States and over 80 percent in China.
The government’s strategy will also address the risks linked to AI, including misinformation, disinformation and cyberattacks. Officials say the goal is to make Japan the world’s most supportive environment for AI innovation while safeguarding security and privacy.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Amazon’s Project Kuiper is moving ahead with its global satellite internet network, adding another 24 satellites to orbit as part of its ongoing deployment plan.
The latest mission, known as KF-03, is scheduled for today, launching on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The KF-03 launch will bring the total number of Kuiper satellites to 153, furthering the plan of Amazon to build a low Earth orbit constellation of more than 3,200 spacecraft.
Once deployed at an altitude of 289 miles, the satellites will undergo health checks before being raised to their operational orbit of 392 miles. The mission marks Amazon’s third collaboration with SpaceX as part of over 80 launches planned for the project.
Earlier missions in 2025 included deployments using both SpaceX Falcon 9 and ULA Atlas V rockets. The first launch in April carried 27 satellites, followed by additional missions in June, July, August and September.
Each operation has strengthened the foundation of Kuiper’s network, which aims to provide reliable internet connectivity to customers and communities worldwide.
Amazon’s Project Kuiper represents a major investment in global connectivity infrastructure, with its Kennedy Space Center facility in Florida supporting multiple launch campaigns simultaneously.
Once complete, the system is expected to compete with other satellite internet networks by expanding digital access across underserved regions.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Italy’s data protection authority has ordered an immediate suspension of the app Clothoff, which uses AI to generate fake nude images of real people. The company behind it, based in the British Virgin Islands, is now barred from processing personal data of Italian users.
The watchdog found that Clothoff enables anyone, including minors, to upload photos and create sexually explicit or pornographic deepfakes. The app fails to verify consent from those depicted and offers no warning that the images are artificially generated.
The regulator described the measure as urgent, citing serious risks to human dignity, privacy, and data protection, particularly for children and teenagers. It has also launched a wider investigation into similar so-called ‘nudifying’ apps that exploit AI technology.
Italian media have reported a surge in cases where manipulated images are used for harassment and online abuse, prompting growing social alarm. Authorities say they intend to take further steps to protect individuals from deepfake exploitation and strengthen safeguards around AI image tools.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Tech firms are racing to integrate AI into social media, reshaping online interaction while raising fresh concerns over privacy, misinformation, and copyright. Platforms like OpenAI’s Sora and Meta’s Vibes are at the centre of the push, blending generative AI tools with short-form video features similar to TikTok.
OpenAI’s Sora allows users to create lifelike videos from text prompts, but film studios say copyrighted material is appearing without permission. OpenAI has promised tighter controls and a revenue-sharing model for rights holders, while Meta has introduced invisible watermarks to identify AI content.
Safety concerns are mounting as well. Lawsuits allege that AI chatbots such as Character.AI have contributed to mental health issues among teenagers. OpenAI and Meta have added stronger restrictions for young users, including limits on mature content and tighter communication controls for minors.
Critics question whether users truly want AI-generated content dominating their feeds, describing the influx as overwhelming and confusing. Yet industry analysts say the shift could define the next era of social media, as companies compete to turn AI creativity into engagement and profit.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
