Digital cooperation

Grok to get new AI video detection tools, Musk says

Musk said Grok will analyse bitstreams for AI signatures and scan the web to verify the origins of videos. Grok added that it will detect subtle AI artefacts in compression and generation patterns that humans cannot see.

AI tools such as Grok Imagine and Sora are reshaping the internet by making realistic video generation accessible to anyone. The rise of deepfakes has alarmed users, who warn that high-quality fake videos could soon be indistinguishable from real footage.

A user on X expressed concern that leaders are not addressing the growing risks. Elon Musk responded, revealing that his AI company xAI is developing Grok’s ability to detect AI-generated videos and trace their origins online.

The detection features aim to rebuild trust in digital media as AI-generated content spreads. Commentators have dubbed the flood of such content ‘AI slop’, raising concerns about misinformation and consent.

Concerns about deepfakes have grown since OpenAI launched the Sora app. A surge in deepfake content prompted OpenAI to tighten restrictions on cameo mode, allowing users to opt out of specific scenarios.

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Age verification and online safety dominate EU ministers’ Horsens meeting

EU digital ministers are meeting in Horsens on 9–10 October to improve the protection of minors online. Age verification, child protection, and digital sovereignty are at the top of the agenda under the Danish EU Presidency.

The Informal Council Meeting on Telecommunications is hosted by the Ministry of Digital Affairs of Denmark and chaired by Caroline Stage. European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen is also attending to support discussions on shared priorities.

Ministers are considering measures to prevent children from accessing age-inappropriate platforms and reduce exposure to harmful features like addictive designs and adult content. Stronger safeguards across digital services are being discussed.

The talks also focus on Europe’s technological independence. Ministers aim to enhance the EU’s digital competitiveness and sovereignty while setting a clear direction ahead of the Commission’s upcoming Digital Fairness Act proposal.

A joint declaration, ‘The Jutland Declaration’, is expected as an outcome. It will highlight the need for stronger EU-level measures and effective age verification to create a safer online environment for children.

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AI cameras boost wildfire detection in Minnesota

Xcel Energy has deployed the first AI-driven wildfire-detection cameras in Minnesota to improve early warning for grass and forest fires. The technology aims to protect communities, natural resources, and power infrastructure while strengthening the grid’s resilience.

The first two Pano AI camera systems have been installed in Mankato and Clear Lake, with 38 planned for higher-risk areas. The cameras provide continuous 360-degree scanning and use AI to detect smoke, enabling rapid alerts to local fire agencies.

Pano AI technology combines high-definition imaging, satellite data, and human verification to locate fires in real time. Fire departments gain access to live terrain intelligence, including hard-to-monitor areas, helping shorten response times and improve firefighter safety.

More than 1,200 wildfires have burned nearly 49,000 acres in Minnesota so far this year. Xcel Energy already uses Pano AI cameras in Colorado and Texas, where the technology has proven effective in identifying fires early and containing their spread.

The initiative is part of Xcel Energy’s Minnesota Wildfire Mitigation Program, which combines advanced technologies, modernised infrastructure, and vegetation management to reduce risks. The company is working with communities and agencies to strengthen prevention and response efforts.

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Google Cloud to power Gap Inc.’s digital transformation with AI

Gap Inc. has announced a multi-year partnership with Google Cloud to power its human-centred, digitally enabled technology strategy. The collaboration aims to accelerate AI adoption across the company’s brands, including Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta.

The partnership will give Gap Inc. access to Google’s AI stack, including Gemini, Vertex AI, and BigQuery. These tools will drive innovation in product design, pricing, marketing, and employee workflows, improving efficiency and enabling faster, more personalised retail experiences.

AI tools will accelerate product development and planning, support hyper-personalised shopping, and optimise marketing through smarter recommendations and storytelling. Gap Inc. is also using Google Ads to strengthen its omnichannel campaigns through AI-driven optimisation.

For employees, AI will act as a partner in decision-making and execution, making operations more agile and freeing teams to focus on creativity and customer engagement. This shift reflects a broader redesign of workflows to embed AI across the business.

Gap Inc. CTO Sven Gerjets said the partnership will bring AI to life across the company. Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian described it as a step towards reinventing retail with speed, personalisation, and industry-leading experiences.

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OpenAI joins dialogue with the EU on fair and transparent AI development

The US AI company, OpenAI, has met with the European Commission to discuss competition in the rapidly expanding AI sector.

A meeting focused on how large technology firms such as Apple, Microsoft and Google shape access to digital markets through their operating systems, app stores and search engines.

During the discussion, OpenAI highlighted that such platforms significantly influence how users and developers engage with AI services.

The company encouraged regulators to ensure that innovation and consumer choice remain priorities as the industry grows, noting that collaboration between major and minor players can help maintain a balanced ecosystem.

An issue arises as OpenAI continues to partner with several leading technology companies. Microsoft, a key investor, has integrated ChatGPT into Windows 11’s Copilot, while Apple recently added ChatGPT support to Siri as part of its Apple Intelligence features.

Therefore, OpenAI’s engagement with regulators is part of a broader dialogue about maintaining open and competitive markets while fostering cooperation across the industry.

Although the European Commission has not announced any new investigations, the meeting reflects ongoing efforts to understand how AI platforms interact within the broader digital economy.

OpenAI and other stakeholders are expected to continue contributing to discussions to ensure transparency, fairness and sustainable growth in the AI ecosystem.

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Microsoft attracts tech pioneers to build the next era of AI

Some of the world’s most influential technologists (the creators of Python, Kubernetes, Google Docs, Google Lens, RSS feeds and ONNX) are now helping Microsoft shape the next era of AI.

Drawn by the company’s scale, openness to collaboration, and long-term investment in AI, they are leading projects that span infrastructure, productivity, responsible innovation and reasoning systems.

R.V. Guha, who invented RSS feeds, is developing NLWeb, a project that lets users converse directly with websites.

Brendan Burns, co-creator of Kubernetes, focuses on improving AI tools that simplify developers’ work. At the same time, Aparna Chennapragada, the mind behind Google Lens, now leads efforts to build intelligent AI agents and enhance productivity through Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Sarah Bird, who helped create the ONNX framework, leads Microsoft’s responsible AI division, ensuring that emerging systems are safe, secure and reliable.

Meanwhile, Sam Schillace, co-creator of Google Docs, explores ways AI can collaborate with people more naturally. Python’s creator, Guido van Rossum, works on systems to strengthen AI’s long-term memory across conversations.

Together, these innovators illustrate how Microsoft has become a magnet for the pioneers who defined modern computing, and they are now united in advancing the next stage of AI’s evolution.

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Retailers face new pressure under California privacy law

California has entered a new era of privacy and AI enforcement after the state’s privacy regulator fined Tractor Supply USD1.35 million for failing to honour opt-outs and ignoring Global Privacy Control signals. The case marks the largest penalty yet from the California Privacy Protection Agency.

In California, there is a widening focus on how companies manage consumer data, verification processes and third-party vendors. Regulators are now demanding that privacy signals be enforced at the technology layer, not just displayed through website banners or webforms.

Retailers must now show active, auditable compliance, with clear privacy notices, automated data controls and stronger vendor agreements. Regulators have also warned that businesses will be held responsible for partner failures and poor oversight of cookies and tracking tools.

At the same time, California’s new AI law, SB 53, extends governance obligations to frontier AI developers, requiring transparency around safety benchmarks and misuse prevention. The measure connects AI accountability to broader data governance, reinforcing that privacy and AI oversight are now inseparable.

Executives across retail and technology are being urged to embed compliance and governance into daily operations. California’s regulators are shifting from punishing visible lapses to demanding continuous, verifiable proof of compliance across both data and AI systems.

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PayPay and Binance Japan unite to advance digital finance

PayPay, Japan’s top cashless payment firm and a SoftBank company, has acquired 40% of Binance Japan to unite traditional finance with blockchain innovation. The partnership merges PayPay’s 70 million users and trusted network with Binance’s digital asset expertise and global Web3 leadership.

Under the new alliance, Binance Japan users will soon be able to purchase cryptocurrencies using PayPay Money and withdraw funds directly into their PayPay wallets. The integration seeks to simplify digital trading and connect cashless payments with decentralised finance.

Executives from both companies highlighted the significance of this collaboration. PayPay’s Masayoshi Yanase said the deal supports Japan’s financial growth, while Takeshi Chino called it a milestone for everyday Web3 adoption.

The alliance is expected to accelerate Japan’s digital finance landscape, strengthening its role as one of the world’s most advanced economies in financial technology. By combining secure payments with blockchain innovation, PayPay and Binance Japan aim to build a seamless digital economy.

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Google fights to bundle Gemini AI with Maps and YouTube

Google is seeking permission to bundle its Gemini AI application with long-standing services such as YouTube and Maps, even as US regulators press for restrictions to curb its dominance in search.

At a recent court hearing, Google’s lawyer John Schmidtlein told Judge Amit Mehta that tying Gemini to its core apps is vital to delivering a consistent AI experience across its ecosystem.

He insisted the courts should not treat the AI market as a settled domain subject to old rules, and claimed that neither Maps nor YouTube is a monopoly product justifying special constraints.

The government’s position is more cautious. During the hearing, Judge Mehta questioned whether allowing Google to require its AI app to be installed to access Maps or YouTube would give it unfair leverage over competitors, mirroring past practices that regulators found harmful in search and browser markets.

This moment frames a broader tension: how antitrust frameworks will adapt (or not) when dominant platforms seek to integrate generative AI across many services. The outcome could shape the future of bundling practices and interoperability in AI ecosystems.

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Microsoft boosts AI leadership with NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 supercomputer

Microsoft Azure has launched the world’s first NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 supercomputing cluster, explicitly designed for OpenAI’s large-scale AI workloads.

The new NDv6 GB300 VM series integrates over 4,600 NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs, representing a significant step forward in US AI infrastructure and innovation leadership.

Each rack-scale system combines 72 GPUs and 36 Grace CPUs, offering 37 terabytes of fast memory and 1.44 exaflops of FP4 performance.

A configuration that supports complex reasoning and multimodal AI systems, achieving up to five times the throughput of the previous NVIDIA Hopper architecture in MLPerf benchmarks.

The cluster is built on NVIDIA’s Quantum-X800 InfiniBand network, delivering 800 Gb/s of bandwidth per GPU for unified, high-speed performance.

Microsoft and NVIDIA’s long-standing collaboration has enabled a system capable of powering trillion-parameter models, positioning Azure at the forefront of the next generation of AI training and deployment.

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