Digital standards

OpenAI launches nationwide AI initiative in Australia

OpenAI has launched OpenAI for Australia, a nationwide initiative to unlock the economic and societal benefits of AI. The program aims to support sovereign AI infrastructure, upskill Australians, and accelerate the country’s local AI ecosystem.

CEO Sam Altman highlighted Australia’s deep technical talent and strong institutions as key factors in becoming a global leader in AI.

A significant partnership with NEXTDC will see the development of a next-generation hyperscale AI campus and large GPU supercluster at Sydney’s Eastern Creek S7 site.

The project is expected to create thousands of jobs, boost local supplier opportunities, strengthen STEM and AI skills, and provide sovereign compute capacity for critical workloads.

OpenAI will also upskill more than 1.2 million Australians in collaboration with CommBank, Coles and Wesfarmers. OpenAI Academy will provide tailored modules to give workers and small business owners practical AI skills for confident daily use.

The nationwide rollout of courses is scheduled to begin in 2026.

OpenAI is launching its first Australian start-up program with local venture capital firms Blackbird, Square Peg, and AirTree to support home-grown innovation. Start-ups will receive API credits, mentorship, workshops, and access to Founder Day to accelerate product development and scale AI solutions locally.

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EU partners with EIB to support AI gigafactories

The European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group (EIB) have signed a memorandum of understanding to support the development of AI Gigafactories across the EU. The partnership aims to position Europe as a leading AI hub by accelerating financing and the construction of large-scale AI facilities.

The agreement establishes a framework to guide consortia responding to the Commission’s informal Call for Expression of Interest. EIB advisory support will help turn proposals into bankable projects for the 2026 AI Gigafactory call, with possible co-financing.

The initiative builds on InvestAI, announced in February 2025, mobilising €20 billion to support up to five AI Gigafactories. These facilities will boost Europe’s computing infrastructure, reinforce technological sovereignty, and drive innovation across the continent.

By translating Europe’s AI ambitions into concrete, large-scale projects, the Commission and the EIB aim to position the EU as a global leader in next-generation AI, while fostering investment and industrial growth.

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€700 million crypto fraud network spanning Europe broken up

Authorities have broken an extensive cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering network that moved over EUR 700 million after years of international investigation.

The operation began with an investigation into a single fraudulent cryptocurrency platform and eventually uncovered an extensive network of fake investment schemes targeting thousands of victims.

Victims were drawn in by fake ads promising high returns and pressured via criminal call centres to pay more. Transferred funds were stolen and laundered across blockchains and exchanges, exposing a highly organised operation across Europe and beyond.

Police raids across Cyprus, Germany, and Spain in late October 2025 resulted in nine arrests and the seizure of millions in assets, including bank deposits, cryptocurrencies, cash, digital devices, and luxury watches.

Europol and Eurojust coordinated the cross-border operation with national authorities from France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Malta, Cyprus, and other nations.

The second phase, executed in November, targeted the affiliate marketing infrastructure behind fraudulent online advertising, including deepfake campaigns impersonating celebrities and media outlets.

Law enforcement teams in Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, and Israel conducted searches, dismantling key elements of the scam ecosystem. Investigations continue to track down remaining assets and dismantle the broader network.

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Russia blocks Snapchat and FaceTime access

Russia’s state communications watchdog has intensified its campaign against major foreign platforms by blocking Snapchat and restricting FaceTime calls.

The move follows earlier reports of disrupted Apple services inside the country, while users could still connect through VPNs instead of relying on direct access. Roskomnadzor accused Snapchat of enabling criminal activity and repeated earlier claims targeting Apple’s service.

A decision that marks the authorities’ first formal confirmation of limits on both platforms. It arrives as pressure increases on WhatsApp, which remains Russia’s most popular messenger, with officials warning that a whole block is possible.

Meta is accused of failing to meet data-localisation rules and of what the authorities describe as repeated violations linked to terrorism and fraud.

Digital rights groups argue that technical restrictions are designed to push citizens toward Max, a government-backed messenger that activists say grants officials sweeping access to private conversations, rather than protecting user privacy.

These measures coincide with wider crackdowns, including the recent blocking of the Roblox gaming platform over allegations of extremist content and harmful influence on children.

The tightening of controls reflects a broader effort to regulate online communication as Russia seeks stronger oversight of digital platforms. The latest blocks add further uncertainty for millions of users who depend on familiar services instead of switching to state-supported alternatives.

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Google launches Workspace Studio for AI-powered automation

Google has made Workspace Studio generally available, allowing employees to design, manage, and share AI agents directly within Workspace. Powered by Gemini 3, these agents automate tasks ranging from simple routines to complex business workflows, all without coding.

The platform aims to save time on repetitive work, freeing employees to focus on higher-value activities.

Agents can understand context, reason through problems, and integrate with core Workspace apps such as Gmail, Drive, and Chat, as well as enterprise platforms like Asana, Jira, Mailchimp, and Salesforce.

Early adopters, including cleaning solutions leader Kärcher, have utilised Workspace Studio to streamline workflows, reducing planning time by up to 90% and consolidating multiple tasks into a single minute.

Workspace Studio allows users to build agents using templates or natural language prompts, making automation accessible to non-specialists. Agents can manage status reports, reminders, email triage, and critical tasks, such as legal notices or travel requests.

Teams can also easily share agents, ensuring collaboration and consistency across workflows.

The rollout to business customers will continue over the coming weeks. Users can start creating agents immediately, explore templates, use prompts for automations, and join the Gemini Alpha program to test early features and controls.

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Google boosts Nigeria’s AI development

The US tech giant, Google, has announced a $2.1 million Google.org commitment to support Nigeria’s AI-powered future, aiming to strengthen local talent and improve digital safety nationwide.

An initiative that supports Nigeria’s National AI Strategy and its ambition to create one million digital jobs, recognising the economic potential of AI, which could add $15 billion to the country’s economy by 2030.

The investment focuses on developing advanced AI skills among students and developers instead of limiting progress to short-term training schemes.

Google will fund programmes led by expert partners such as FATE Foundation, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, and the African Technology Forum.

Their work will introduce advanced AI curricula into universities and provide developers with structured, practical routes from training to building real-world products.

The commitment also expands digital safety initiatives so communities can participate securely in the digital economy.

Junior Achievement Africa will scale Google’s ‘Be Internet Awesome’ curriculum to help families understand safe online behaviour, while the CyberSafe Foundation will deliver cybersecurity training and technical assistance to public institutions, strengthening national digital resilience.

Google aims to create more opportunities similar to those of Nigerian learners who used digital skills to secure full-time careers instead of remaining excluded from the digital economy.

By combining advanced AI training with improved digital safety, the company intends to support inclusive growth and build long-term capacity across Nigeria.

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SAP elevates customer support with proactive AI systems

AI has pushed customer support into a new era, where anticipation replaces reaction. SAP has built a proactive model that predicts issues, prevents failures and keeps critical systems running smoothly instead of relying on queues and manual intervention.

Major sales events, such as Cyber Week and Singles Day, demonstrated the impact of this shift, with uninterrupted service and significant growth in transaction volumes and order numbers.

Self-service now resolves most issues before they reach an engineer, as structured knowledge supports AI agents that respond instantly with a confidence level that matches human performance.

Tools such as the Auto Response Agent and Incident Solution Matching enable customers to retrieve solutions without having to search through lengthy documentation.

SAP has also prepared organisations scaling AI by offering support systems tailored for early deployment.

Engineers have benefited from AI as much as customers. Routine tasks are handled automatically, allowing experts to focus on problems that demand insight instead of administration.

Language optimisation, routing suggestions, and automatic error categorisation support faster and more accurate resolutions. SAP validates every AI tool internally before release, which it views as a safeguard for responsible adoption.

The company maintains that AI will augment staff rather than replace them. Creative and analytical work becomes increasingly important as automation handles repetitive tasks, and new roles emerge in areas such as AI training and data stewardship.

SAP argues that progress relies on a balanced relationship between human judgement and machine intelligence, strengthened by partnerships that turn enterprise data into measurable outcomes.

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UK positions itself for leadership in the quantum computing race

Quantum computing is advancing as governments and industry pursue new frontiers beyond AI. The UK benefits from strong research traditions and skilled talent. Policymakers see early planning as vital for long-term competitiveness.

Companies across finance, energy and logistics are testing quantum methods for optimisation and modelling. Early pilots suggest that quantum techniques may offer advantages where classical approaches slow down or fail to scale. Interest in practical applications is rising across Europe.

The UK benefits from strong university spinouts and deep industrial partnerships. Joint programmes are accelerating work on molecular modelling and drug discovery. Many researchers argue that early experimentation helps build a more resilient quantum workforce.

New processors promise higher connectivity and lower error rates as the field moves closer to quantum advantage. Research teams are refining designs for future error-corrected systems. Hardware roadmaps indicate steady progress towards more reliable architectures.

Policy support will shape how quickly the UK can translate research into real-world capability. Long-term investments, open scientific collaboration and predictable regulation will be critical. Momentum suggests a decisive period for the country’s quantum ambitions.

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Privacy concerns lead India to withdraw cyber safety app mandate

India has scrapped its order mandating smartphone manufacturers to pre-install the state-run Sanchar Saathi cyber safety app. The directive, which faced widespread criticism, had raised concerns over privacy and potential government surveillance.

Smartphone makers, including Apple and Samsung, reportedly resisted the order, highlighting that it was issued without prior consultation and challenged user privacy norms. The government argued the app was necessary to verify handset authenticity.

So far, the Sanchar Saathi app has attracted 14 million users, reporting around 2,000 frauds daily, with a sharp spike of 600,000 new registrations in a single day. Despite these figures, the mandatory pre-installation rule provoked intense backlash from cybersecurity experts and digital rights advocates.

India’s Minister of Communications, Jyotiraditya Scindia, dismissed concerns about surveillance, insisting that the app does not enable snooping. Digital advocacy groups welcomed the withdrawal but called for complete legal clarity on the revised Cyber Security Rules, 2024.

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Meta begins removing underage users in Australia

Meta has begun removing Australian users under 16 from Facebook, Instagram and Threads ahead of a national ban taking effect on 10 December. Canberra requires major platforms to block younger users or face substantial financial penalties.

Meta says it is deleting accounts it reasonably believes belong to underage teenagers while allowing them to download their data. Authorities expect hundreds of thousands of adolescents to be affected, given Instagram’s large cohort of 13 to 15 year olds.

Regulators argue the law addresses harmful recommendation systems and exploitative content, though YouTube has warned that safety filters will weaken for unregistered viewers. The Australian communications minister has insisted platforms must strengthen their own protections.

Rights groups have challenged the law in court, claiming unjust limits on expression. Officials concede teenagers may try using fake identification or AI-altered images, yet still expect platforms to deploy strong countermeasures.

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