Digital standards Archives | Digital Watch Observatory

Chinese tech hubs promote OpenClaw AI agent

Technology hubs in China are promoting the OpenClaw AI agent as part of new local industry initiatives. Officials in China say the open source tool can automate tasks such as email management and travel booking.

Cities including Shenzhen, Wuxi and Hefei are drafting policies to build an ecosystem around OpenClaw. Authorities in China are offering subsidies, computing resources and office support to encourage AI-driven one-person companies.

OpenClaw has grown rapidly since its release and has become one of the fastest-expanding projects on GitHub. Technology groups say the tool could allow individuals to operate businesses with far fewer employees.

Regulators have also warned about security and data protection risks linked to AI agents. Draft rules in China propose limits on access to sensitive data and stronger oversight of cross-border information flows.

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Promptfoo joins OpenAI to secure AI deployments

OpenAI is acquiring Promptfoo, a platform designed to help enterprises identify and remediate vulnerabilities in AI systems during development. Once finalised, Promptfoo’s technology will be integrated into OpenAI Frontier, OpenAI’s platform for building and managing AI coworkers.

Promptfoo, led by Ian Webster and Michael D’Angelo, provides tools trusted by over a quarter of Fortune 500 companies. Its open-source CLI and library support evaluation and red-teaming of large language model applications.

The acquisition allows OpenAI to enhance both open-source initiatives and enterprise capabilities within Frontier.

Integration will introduce native security and evaluation features into Frontier. Enterprises will gain automated tools to detect risks such as prompt injections, jailbreaks, data leaks, tool misuse, and out-of-policy agent behaviour.

Security testing will be built into development workflows to catch issues early and support safe AI deployment.

Oversight and accountability features will also be strengthened. Integrated reporting and traceability will allow organisations to document testing, monitor changes over time, and meet governance, risk, and compliance requirements.

The acquisition is expected to expand OpenAI’s ability to deliver secure and reliable AI for enterprise applications.

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US government faces lawsuits over Anthropic AI move

Anthropic has launched two lawsuits against the US Department of Defence, disputing its recent designation of the AI firm as a ‘supply chain risk.’ The company claims the move is unlawful and infringes on its First Amendment rights.

The company argues that the government is punishing it for refusing to allow the military to use its AI for domestic surveillance or for fully autonomous weapons.

The lawsuits, filed in California and Washington, DC courts, follow the Pentagon’s unprecedented use of the supply chain risk tool against a US company. The designation requires other government contractors to sever ties with Anthropic, posing a serious threat to its business operations.

The company maintains it remains committed to supporting national security applications of its AI.

The Department of Defence has used anthropic’s AI model Claude in operations targeting Iran. The company says it has worked with the DoD on system adaptations and seeks to continue negotiations while protecting its business and partners.

The firm claims government actions cause harm, though CEO Dario Amodei said the designation’s impact is limited. Anthropic insists judicial review is a necessary step to defend its business and ensure the responsible deployment of its technology.

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Canada warns about AI-generated scams targeting citizens online

Authorities in Canada have issued a warning about the growing use of AI in impersonation scams targeting citizens. Fraudsters increasingly deploy advanced tools capable of mimicking politicians, government officials and other public figures with convincing realism.

Deepfake videos, synthetic audio and AI-generated messages allow scammers to create convincing communications that appear to come from trusted authorities.

Such tactics are often used to persuade victims to send money, reveal personal information, install malicious software or engage with fraudulent investment offers.

Officials also warn about fake government websites created with AI-assisted tools that imitate official pages by copying national symbols and similar domain names. Suspicious websites often use unusual web addresses, extra characters, or unfamiliar domain endings to mislead visitors.

Authorities advise Canadians to verify unexpected messages through official channels rather than clicking links or responding immediately.

Suspected impersonation attempts should be reported to the Competition Bureau or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

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Astronauts test AI-assisted health checks in orbit

AI is playing an increasingly important role in space medicine as astronauts aboard the International Space Station test new technologies designed to support autonomous health monitoring. The experiment combines augmented reality with an AI system that analyses ultrasound scans in orbit.

NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway and European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot carried out guided ultrasound examinations using the EchoFinder-2 biomedical device.

Augmented-reality instructions helped the astronauts position the scanner correctly while AI analysed the images and confirmed the identification of internal organs.

The developers of the system aim to reduce reliance on medical specialists on Earth. Future crews travelling farther into space may face communication delays, making real-time guidance from ground teams more difficult.

Reliable AI-supported diagnostics could therefore become a key tool for long-duration missions, enabling astronauts to perform complex medical checks independently during journeys to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

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Blockchain network Tron joins Agentic AI Foundation to advance AI infrastructure

Tron has joined the Linux Foundation’s Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF) as a governing member to support the development of AI agent infrastructure. The network aims to enable collaboration and interoperability among systems that efficiently manage high-volume, low-value transactions.

Founder Justin Sun highlighted Tron’s speed, scalability, and low fees as key advantages for AI-agent use cases. He noted that as AI agents move to mainstream machine-to-machine commerce, transaction volumes could rise, increasing demand for robust blockchain networks.

The AAIF encourages open-source agentic AI development and establishes standards for governance, safety, and interoperability. Tron joins major members like Circle and JPMorgan while building tools and infrastructure to support AI, including the Bank of AI with AINFT.

Tron currently leads in blockchain revenue, with data showing strong performance over 24 hours, seven days, and 30 days. Sun confirmed that AI activity is contributing to this growth, reflecting the rapid adoption and scaling of agentic AI on the network.

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Dutch intelligence warns about phishing attacks on Signal and WhatsApp

A large-scale cyber campaign linked to state hackers is targeting accounts on the messaging platforms Signal and WhatsApp.

Intelligence services warn that phishing attacks aim to gain access to communications belonging to diplomats, military personnel and government officials.

The warning was issued by the Dutch intelligence agencies, General Intelligence and Security Service and Military Intelligence and Security Service, which confirmed that several government employees in the Netherlands have already been targeted during the campaign.

Security officials believe the operation forms part of a broader intelligence effort focused on individuals considered valuable to foreign state interests.

Journalists and other public figures may also be potential targets as attackers attempt to monitor sensitive conversations or gather confidential information.

Authorities advise users to remain cautious when receiving unexpected messages or login requests on encrypted messaging platforms.

Phishing attempts designed to capture account credentials remain one of the most effective methods used in cyberespionage campaigns.

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Qualcomm and NEURA Robotics partner to accelerate physical AI and cognitive robotics

NEURA Robotics and Qualcomm have formed a long-term strategic collaboration to advance physical AI and next-generation robotics platforms.

A partnership that aims to bring intelligent robots into real-world environments more rapidly by combining advanced AI processors with full-stack robotic systems.

The cooperation focuses on developing ‘Brain + Nervous System’ reference architectures that integrate high-level cognition, such as perception, reasoning and planning, with ultra-low-latency control systems.

Qualcomm’s robotics processors, including the Dragonwing IQ10 Series, will provide AI compute and connectivity, while NEURA contributes robotic hardware platforms and embodied AI software.

Both companies intend to support deployment across multiple robotic forms, including robotic arms, mobile robots, service machines and humanoid platforms.

NEURA’s cloud environment, Neuraverse, will serve as a shared platform for simulation, training and lifecycle management of robotic intelligence, allowing innovations developed by one robot to spread across entire fleets.

The collaboration also aims to establish a global developer ecosystem for robotics applications. Standardised runtime environments and deployment interfaces are expected to simplify how AI workloads move from development into production while maintaining reliability and safety.

Executives from both companies emphasised that robotics represents one of the most demanding AI environments, as decisions must be made instantly and locally.

By combining edge AI processing with cognitive robotic systems, the partnership aims to accelerate commercial deployment of humanoid and general-purpose robots capable of operating safely alongside humans across industries.

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Microsoft launches Copilot Cowork to automate tasks across Microsoft 365

AI is moving from assistance to execution as Microsoft introduces Copilot Cowork, a system designed to perform tasks across the Microsoft 365 environment.

Instead of simply generating text or suggestions, the feature allows users to delegate real work by describing a desired outcome.

Copilot Cowork converts requests into structured plans that run in the background. The system analyses signals from workplace tools such as Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Excel to understand schedules, documents and ongoing projects.

Users can approve or modify each step while the AI coordinates actions across meetings, files and messages.

Several enterprise scenarios illustrate the system’s capabilities. Cowork can reorganise calendars by analysing meetings and automatically proposing schedule changes.

It can also prepare complete briefing materials for customer meetings by collecting relevant emails, files and data before generating presentations and research summaries.

The technology also supports deeper analysis tasks. Users can request company research and receive structured outputs that include summaries, financial data and supporting documents.

In product launch planning, Cowork can compile competitive intelligence, build presentations and outline project milestones, creating a coordinated workflow for teams.

Microsoft emphasises that the system operates within enterprise security boundaries. Identity, compliance policies and data permissions remain enforced while tasks execute in a protected cloud environment.

The platform also reflects a multi-model strategy, combining Microsoft AI capabilities with Anthropic technology through the integration of the model behind Claude.

Copilot Cowork is currently available to a limited group of customers through a research preview.

Wider availability is expected later in 2026 through Microsoft’s Frontier programme as the company expands AI-driven workplace automation.

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Space startup to test crypto mining in orbit

Starcloud, a space startup, is preparing to test Bitcoin mining in orbit with its upcoming Starcloud-2 satellite. The mission will carry specialised ASIC mining processors, marking one of the first attempts to run crypto infrastructure beyond Earth.

The initiative builds on a successful 2025 demonstration when Starcloud operated Nvidia H100 GPUs in low Earth orbit. During that mission, the satellite performed AI computing tasks, proving that data-centre-grade hardware can function in space.

Starcloud-2 will expand these capabilities by adding a larger GPU cluster and mining-specific ASICs.

Operating in orbit offers potential advantages for energy-intensive computing. Satellite solar arrays provide near-continuous power, and space’s vacuum allows natural heat dissipation, cutting the need for water-based cooling systems.

Engineers warn that technical challenges remain. Radiation exposure, shielding needs, and the difficulty of repairing hardware once launched could complicate operations.

Despite these obstacles, Starcloud sees orbit as a promising environment for next-generation computing and Bitcoin mining.

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