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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The San Francisco-based software company Salesforce has opened a significantly expanded office in Stockholm, reinforcing its long-term investment in Sweden and its broader Northern European strategy.
A new location that reflects the growing demand for AI-driven enterprise tools as regional businesses increasingly adopt agent-based technologies across their operations.
Located at Sveavägen 20, the Stockholm office is four times larger than Salesforce’s previous space and has been designed to support hybrid work, collaboration and innovation.
The opening event highlighted the focus of Salesforce on real estate as a strategic enabler for AI transformation, bringing together employees, partners, customers and community organisations.
A launch that also featured the Agentforce Sweden Nonprofit Hackathon, where Swedish charities presented AI agent solutions to improve efficiency and impact.
Majblomman received SEK 150,000 for an autonomous financial aid agent, underlining Salesforce’s ambition to position the Stockholm office as a regional hub for agentic enterprise development and responsible AI adoption.
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Meta has introduced SAM Audio, a new AI model that uses intuitive prompts to isolate and segment sounds from complex audio recordings. The release extends the company’s Segment Anything collection beyond visuals into audio and video workflows.
SAM Audio allows users to separate sounds through text prompts, visual cues, or time-based selections. Creators can extract vocals or instruments, remove background noise, or isolate specific sound sources in recordings without specialised audio engineering tools.
Meta describes SAM Audio as a unified model designed around how people naturally think about sound. It supports combined text, visual, and time-based prompts, enabling flexible audio separation across music, podcasting, film, accessibility, and research.
Meta says the model achieves strong performance across diverse audio environments and is already being used internally to develop next-generation creative tools. The approach lowers technical barriers while expanding the range of possible audio editing applications.
SAM Audio is available through the Segment Anything Playground, where users can test the model with sample assets or upload their own files. Meta has also made the model available for download, signalling broader ambitions to make audio segmentation a core capability of its AI ecosystem.
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Everbloom has developed Braid.AI, an AI system that transforms waste fibres into high-quality textiles. The process can use poultry feathers, wool, and other keratin-rich materials to replicate fabrics like cashmere.
The system works with standard textile machinery, combining chopped waste with proprietary compounds to produce biodegradable fibres. Everbloom aims to reduce environmental impact while maintaining material quality comparable to traditional cashmere.
Co-founder Sim Gulati said the startup aims to make materials economically accessible. Products are designed to offer both environmental benefits and cost-effectiveness, avoiding a ‘sustainable premium’ for consumers.
The AI can fine-tune fibre properties for multiple fabrics beyond cashmere, including polyester alternatives. Everbloom collects waste from farms, mills, and other sources to create a sustainable supply chain.
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The European Commission and the European Investment Bank have approved €1.8 billion in new clean energy funding under the EU Modernisation Fund, supporting 45 projects across 12 member states.
Portugal receives funding for the first time after becoming eligible in 2024, while total support from the Fund since 2021 has now reached €20.7 billion across 294 investments.
Financed through revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System, the Fund targets high-impact projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in energy, industry and transport, while improving energy efficiency and strengthening energy security.
In 2025 alone, total disbursements reached €5.46 billion, with significant allocations directed to Czechia, Poland, Romania and Hungary, alongside support for Greece, Portugal and Slovenia.
All projects approved during 2025 focus on renewable electricity generation, energy storage, grid modernisation and efficiency upgrades in public infrastructure and industry.
The Modernisation Fund plays a central role in supporting national climate plans, reducing dependence on fossil fuel imports and advancing the EU’s Fit for 55 and REPowerEU objectives, with further investment proposals scheduled for early 2026.
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In rural Armenia, small agritech startups are applying AI, drones and blockchain technologies to meet the needs of local farmers and producers.
At SkyAgro, drones are used for precision spraying and crop monitoring, allowing farmers to apply inputs with higher efficiency, use fewer chemicals and save water, enhancements critical in water-scarce regions like the Ararat Valley.
Another startup, BeeSync, employs machine-learning hardware attached to beehives that analyses photographic data and environmental sensors to alert beekeepers when colonies show signs of disease or stress, potentially boosting yields.
Blockchain is also being tested in the wool market by ArmWool, which creates immutable records of each step in the production process, from farmer to artisan, to build product traceability and add value for consumers.
While these technologies hold promise for improving productivity, startups face economic hurdles in a small domestic market and are encouraged to pitch solutions globally to sustain growth.
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Itaú Asset Management partner Renato Eid has advised investors to consider allocating between 1% and 3% of their portfolios to Bitcoin. The recommendation, described as a measured approach, aims to strike a balance between diversification benefits and protection against currency weakness.
As head of beta strategies at Brazil’s largest private bank, Eid stressed the importance of a long-term perspective rather than attempting to time market cycles. Bitcoin, in his view, should function as a complementary asset rather than a central holding in a portfolio.
The guidance highlights explicitly Itaú’s BITI11 fund, a Brazilian-listed Bitcoin ETF that began trading on the B3 exchange in 2022 through a partnership with Galaxy Digital. The fund currently manages about $115.6 million and offers regulated exposure to Bitcoin for local investors.
Brazil’s currency volatility supports the case, with the real hitting record lows in December 2024 before partially recovering. Eid linked the strategy to Itaú Unibanco’s wider crypto expansion and increasing acceptance of crypto allocations among central global banks.
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A panel of local business leaders, educators and policymakers in the Columbia Basin convened to discuss how AI can be harnessed to benefit the region’s economy, workforce and public services.
Participants highlighted AI’s potential to streamline government operations, enhance training programs and support small-business growth through data analysis and automation.
Speakers emphasised the importance of investing in workforce education and upskilling, so residents can capitalise on AI-related opportunities rather than being displaced by automation. Partnerships between local schools, employers and community organisations were cited as key to building ‘real-world readiness’ for AI integration across sectors such as agriculture, healthcare and manufacturing.
Panellists also emphasised ethical considerations and the need for community engagement in governance frameworks to ensure AI tools are adopted responsibly and equitably.
They argued that thoughtful regional planning can attract high-quality jobs and help the Columbia Basin carve out a competitive place in the broader digital economy.
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The European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group have launched BioTechEU, a new initiative to mobilise €10 billion in investment for biotechnology and life sciences between 2026 and 2027.
The programme targets Europe’s biotech funding gap, seeking to strengthen global competitiveness by channelling public and private capital into health innovation, including gene therapies, mRNA treatments, personalised medicine and AI-enabled medical technologies.
BioTechEU will operate under the EIB Group’s TechEU framework and draw on instruments such as the InvestEU guarantee. The initiative aligns with broader EU efforts to retain strategic health innovation within Europe and reduce reliance on external markets.
European Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi said under-investment continues to constrain biotech startups, adding that the European Commission sees BioTechEU as a way to help promising treatments scale and reach patients more efficiently across the EU.
EIB President Nadia Calviño said Europe has strong scientific talent and ideas, but deeper capital markets are needed. She described BioTechEU as a catalyst for enabling EU-based biotech companies to grow and compete globally.
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BRICS countries are working to harmonise their approaches to AI, though it remains too early to speak of a unified AI framework for the bloc, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.
Speaking as Russia’s BRICS sherpa, Ryabkov said discussions are focused on aligning national positions and shared principles rather than establishing binding standards, noting that no common BRICS AI rules have yet taken shape.
He highlighted the adoption of a standalone leaders’ declaration on global AI governance at the Rio de Janeiro summit, describing it as a milestone for the organisation and a first for the grouping.
BRICS members, including Russia, view cooperation on AI as a way to manage emerging risks, build capacity and help narrow the digital divide, particularly for developing countries.
Ryabkov added that the group supports a central coordinating role for the United Nations, with AI governance anchored in national legislation, respect for sovereignty, data protection and human rights.
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