Digital standards

Solana withstands massive DDoS pressure

Reports suggest Solana was targeted by a sustained DDoS campaign in mid-December, with peak traffic estimates close to 6 Tbps. Public dashboards showed full uptime and no visible disruption for users.

Recent upgrades appear central to the outcome, as they move spam filtering and prioritisation closer to the network edge. QUIC traffic handling, stake-weighted routing and local fee markets helped limit congestion.

Focus is shifting from outage risks to resilience under pressure. The episode suggests major blockchains are now engineered and attacked like Tier 1 internet infrastructure.

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Competing visions of AGI emerge at Google DeepMind and Microsoft

Two former DeepMind co-founders now leading rival AI labs have outlined sharply different visions for how artificial general intelligence (AGI) should be developed, highlighting a growing strategic divide at the top of the industry.

Google DeepMind chief executive Demis Hassabis has framed AGI as a scientific tool for tackling foundational challenges. These include fusion energy, advanced materials, and fundamental physics. He says current models still lack consistent reasoning across tasks.

Hassabis has pointed to weaknesses, such as so-called ‘jagged intelligence’. Systems can perform well on complex benchmarks but fail simple tasks. DeepMind is investing in physics-based evaluations and AlphaZero-inspired research to enable genuine knowledge discovery rather than data replication.

Microsoft AI chief executive Mustafa Suleyman has taken a more product-led stance, framing AGI as an economic force rather than a scientific milestone. He has rejected the idea of race, instead prioritising controllable and reliable AI agents that operate under human oversight.

Suleyman has argued that governance, not raw capability, is the central challenge. He has emphasised containment, liability frameworks, and certified agents, reflecting wider tensions between rapid deployment and long-term scientific ambition as AI systems grow more influential.

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Russia considers restoring Roblox access after compliance talks

Roblox has signalled willingness to comply with Russian law, opening the possibility of the platform being unblocked in Russia following earlier access restrictions.

Roskomnadzor stated that cooperation could resume if Roblox demonstrates concrete steps instead of declarations towards meeting domestic legal requirements.

The regulator said Roblox acknowledged shortcomings in moderating game content and ensuring the safety of user chats, particularly involving minors.

Russian authorities stressed that compliance would require systematic measures to remove harmful material and prevent criminal communication rather than partial adjustments.

Access to Roblox was restricted in early December after officials cited the spread of content linked to extremist and terrorist activity.

Roskomnadzor indicated that continued engagement and demonstrable compliance could allow the platform to restore operations under the regulatory oversight of Russia.

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New AI model analyses X-rays to predict ageing and disease risk

AI may offer a new way to assess how quickly the body is aging by analysing chest X-rays, according to research published in The Journals of Gerontology. The CXR-Age AI model detected age-related changes in the heart, lungs, and health more accurately than DNA-based epigenetic clocks.

Researchers compared CXR-Age to two biological age measures, Horvath Age and DNAm PhenoAge, using data from 2,097 adults in the Project Baseline Health Study, a US multi-site initiative exploring health and disease over time.

CXR-Age showed strong links with early signs of heart and lung aging, frailty, and proteins associated with neuroinflammation, while DNA clocks displayed weaker or no correlations, particularly in middle-aged adults.

Findings suggest that AI applied to routine medical imaging could help clinicians identify individuals at risk of age-related diseases before symptoms appear. AI metrics like CXR-Age could enhance traditional assessments and support personalised preventive healthcare.

The study concludes that machine learning and medical imaging have the potential to advance understanding of organ-specific aging, offering a promising tool for monitoring cardiopulmonary health and supporting early interventions.

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OpenAI expands AI training for newsrooms worldwide

The US tech company, OpenAI, has launched the OpenAI Academy for News Organisations, a new learning hub designed to support journalists, editors and publishers adopting AI in their work.

An initiative that builds on existing partnerships with the American Journalism Project and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, reflecting a broader effort to strengthen journalism as a pillar of democratic life.

The Academy goes live with practical training, newsroom-focused playbooks and real-world examples aimed at helping news teams save time and focus on high-impact reporting.

Areas of focus include investigative research, multilingual reporting, data analysis, production efficiency and operational workflows that sustain news organisations over time.

Responsible use sits at the centre of the programme. Guidance on governance, internal policies and ethical deployment is intended to address concerns around trust, accuracy and newsroom culture, recognising that AI adoption raises structural questions rather than purely technical ones.

OpenAI plans to expand the Academy in the year ahead with additional courses, case studies and live programming.

Through collaboration with publishers, industry bodies and journalism networks worldwide, the Academy is positioned as a shared learning space that supports editorial independence while adapting journalism to an AI-shaped media environment.

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Meta updates AI glasses with voice and music features

Meta has updated its AI smart glasses with a conversation-focused feature that amplifies voices in noisy environments. Users can adjust the volume by swiping to the right on the temple or through device settings.

The conversation-focused feature is designed for busy environments such as restaurants, trains or bars. It is similar to Apple AirPods’ Conversation Boost, which helps users focus on a single speaker.

The update also adds Spotify integration, allowing the glasses to play songs based on what the wearer sees, such as an album cover or festive decorations. The feature links visual cues with interactive actions in apps.

The software update (v21) will initially roll out to participants in Meta’s Early Access Program. The conversation-focused feature will initially be available in the US and Canada, while the Spotify feature is offered in English across multiple markets.

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Google launches Gemini 3 Flash for scalable frontier AI

The US tech giant, Google, has unveiled Gemini 3 Flash, a new frontier AI model designed for developers who need high reasoning performance combined with speed and low cost.

Built on the multimodal and agentic foundations of Gemini 3 Pro, Gemini 3 Flash delivers faster responses at less than a quarter of the price, while surpassing Gemini 2.5 Pro across several major benchmarks.

The model is rolling out through the Gemini API, Google AI Studio, Vertex AI, Android Studio and other developer platforms, offering higher rate limits, batch processing and context caching that significantly reduce operational costs.

Gemini 3 Flash achieves frontier-level results on advanced reasoning benchmarks while remaining optimised for large-scale production workloads, reinforcing Google’s focus on efficiency alongside intelligence.

Early adopters are already deploying Gemini 3 Flash across coding, gaming, deepfake detection and legal document analysis, benefiting from improved agentic capabilities and near real-time multimodal reasoning.

By lowering cost barriers while expanding performance, Gemini 3 Flash enhances Google’s competitive position in the rapidly evolving AI model market. It broadens access to advanced AI systems for developers and enterprises.

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Euro stablecoins pass $1 billion milestone

Euro-denominated stablecoins have surpassed $1 billion in circulating supply, according to industry data, marking a significant milestone but remaining relatively insignificant within Europe’s broader monetary system. The total represents just 0.006% of the eurozone’s estimated $15.5 trillion M2 money supply.

Issuance activity was limited during 2020 and 2021, before accelerating from late 2023 onwards. Growth has continued through 2024 and into 2025, signalling renewed interest in tokenised euro products despite their small overall footprint.

Ethereum still hosts the largest share of euro stablecoins, although issuance has expanded to other blockchain networks, including Solana, Polygon, Arbitrum, Base, Avalanche, and Stellar. The shift reflects a move toward multi-chain deployment, focusing on payments, settlement, and cross-border transfers.

Euro stablecoins remain far smaller than dollar-based tokens, which continue to dominate on-chain liquidity and settlement. The euro’s limited digital presence highlights growth potential if regulation and institutional adoption advance.

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UNDP and UNESCO support AI training for judiciary

UNESCO and UNDP have partnered to enhance judicial capacity on the ethical use of AI. A three-day Bangkok training, supported by the Thailand Institute of Justice, brought together 27 judges from 13 Asia-Pacific countries to discuss the impact of AI on justice and safeguards for fairness.

Expert sessions highlighted the global use of AI in court administration, research, and case management, emphasising opportunities and risks. Participants explored ways to use AI ethically while protecting human rights and judicial integrity, warning that unsupervised tools could increase bias and undermine public trust.

Trainers emphasised that AI must be implemented with careful attention to bias, transparency, and structural inequalities.

Judges reflected on the growing complexity of verifying evidence in the age of generative AI and deepfakes, and acknowledged that responsible AI can improve access to justice, support case reviews, and free time for substantive decision-making.

The initiative concluded with a consensus that AI adoption in courts should be guided by governance, transparency, and ongoing dialogue. The UNDP will continue to collaborate in advancing ethical, human rights-focused AI in regional judiciaries.

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AI-generated ads face new disclosure rules in South Korea

South Korea will require advertisers to label AI-generated or AI-assisted advertising from early 2026, marking a shift in how the country governs AI in online commerce and consumer protection.

The measure responds to a sharp rise in deceptive ads using synthetic imagery and deepfakes, particularly in healthcare and financial promotions. Regulators say transparency at the point of content delivery is intended to reduce manipulation and restore consumer trust.

Authorities in South Korea acknowledge that mandatory labelling alone may not deter malicious actors, who can bypass rules through offshore hosting or rapidly changing content. Detection challenges and uneven enforcement capacity across platforms remain open concerns.

South Korea’s industry groups warn that the policy could have uneven economic effects within the country’s advertising ecosystem. Large platforms and agencies are expected to adapt quickly, while smaller firms may face higher compliance costs that slow experimentation with generative tools.

Policymakers argue the framework aligns with South Korea’s broader AI governance strategy, positioning the country between innovation-led and precautionary regulatory models as synthetic media becomes more widespread.

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