Future of work

Sberbank issues Russia’s first crypto-backed loan

Sberbank has issued Russia’s first crypto-backed loan, providing financing to Intelion Data, one of the country’s largest Bitcoin miners. The bank did not disclose the loan size or the cryptocurrency used as collateral but described the move as a pilot project.

The loan leveraged Sberbank’s own cryptocurrency custody solution, Rutoken, ensuring the digital assets’ safety throughout the loan period. The bank plans to offer similar loans and collaborate with the Central Bank on regulatory frameworks.

Intelion Data welcomed the deal, calling it a milestone for Russia’s crypto mining sector and a potential model for scaling similar financing across the industry. The company is expanding with a mining centre near the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant and a gas power station.

Sberbank has also been testing decentralised finance tools and supports gradual legalisation of cryptocurrencies in Russia. VTB and other banks are preparing to support crypto transactions, while the Central Bank may allow limited retail trading.

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Korean Air employee data breach exposes 30,000 records after cyberattack

Investigators are examining a major data breach involving Korean Air after personal records for around 30,000 employees were exposed in a cyberattack on a former subsidiary.

An incident that affected KC&D Service, which previously handled in-flight catering before being sold to private equity firm Hahn and Company in 2020.

The leaked information is understood to include employee names and bank account numbers. Korean Air said customer records were not impacted, and emergency security checks were completed instead of waiting for confirmation of the intrusion.

Korean Air also reported the breach to the relevant authorities.

Executives said the company is focusing on identifying the full scope of the breach and who has been affected, while urging KC&D to strengthen controls and prevent any recurrence. Korean Air also plans to upgrade internal data protection measures.

The attack follows a similar case at Asiana Airlines last week, where details of about 10,000 employees were compromised, raising wider concerns over cybersecurity resilience across the aviation sector of South Korea.

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AI in education receives growing attention across the EU

A recent Flash Eurobarometer survey shows that EU citizens consider digital skills essential for all levels of education. Nearly nine in ten respondents believe schools should teach students to manage the effects of technology on mental and physical health.

Most also agree that digital skills deserve equal focus to traditional subjects such as reading, mathematics and science.

The survey highlights growing interest in AI in education. Over half of respondents see AI as both beneficial and challenging, emphasising the need for careful assessment. Citizens also expect teachers to be trained in AI use, including Generative AI, to guide students effectively.

While many support smartphone bans in schools, there is strong backing for digital learning tools, with 87% in favour of promoting technology designed specifically for education. Teachers, parents and families are seen as key in fostering safe and responsible technology use.

Overall, EU citizens advocate for a balanced approach that combines digital literacy, responsible use of technology, and the professional support of educators and families to foster a healthy learning environment.

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SK Telecom introduces South Korea’s first hyperscale AI model

The telecommunications firm, SK Telecom, is preparing to unveil A.X K1, Korea’s first hyperscale language model built with 519 billion parameters.

Around 33 billion parameters are activated during inference, so the AI model can keep strong performance instead of demanding excessive computing power. The project is part of a national initiative involving universities and industry partners.

The company expects A.X K1 to outperform smaller systems in complex reasoning, mathematics and multilingual understanding, while also supporting code generation and autonomous AI agents.

At such a scale, the model can operate as a teacher system that transfers knowledge to smaller, domain-specific tools that might directly improve daily services and industrial processes.

Unlike many global models trained mainly in English, A.X K1 has been trained in Korean from the outset so it naturally understands local language, culture and context.

SK Telecom plans to deploy the model through its AI service Adot, which already has more than 10 million subscribers, allowing access via calls, messages, the web and mobile apps.

The company foresees applications in workplace productivity, manufacturing optimisation, gaming dialogue, robotics and semiconductor performance testing.

Research will continue so the model can support the wider AI ecosystem of South Korea, and SK Telecom plans to open-source A.X K1 along with an API to help local developers create new AI agents.

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The AI terms that shaped debate and disruption in 2025

AI continued to dominate public debate in 2025, not only through new products and investment rounds, but also through a rapidly evolving vocabulary that captured both promise and unease.

From ambitious visions of superintelligence to cultural shorthand like ‘slop’, language became a lens through which society processed another turbulent year for AI.

Several terms reflected the industry’s technical ambitions. Concepts such as superintelligence, reasoning models, world models and physical intelligence pointed to efforts to push AI beyond text generation towards deeper problem-solving and real-world interaction.

Developments by companies including Meta, OpenAI, DeepSeek and Google DeepMind reinforced the sense that scale, efficiency and new training approaches are now competing pathways to progress, rather than sheer computing power alone.

Other expressions highlighted growing social and economic tensions. Words like hyperscalers, bubble and distillation entered mainstream debate as data centres expanded, valuations rose, and cheaper model-building methods disrupted established players.

At the same time, legal and ethical debates intensified around fair use, chatbot behaviour and the psychological impact of prolonged AI interaction, underscoring the gap between innovation speed and regulatory clarity.

Cultural reactions also influenced the development of the AI lexicon. Terms such as vibe coding, agentic and sycophancy revealed how generative systems are reshaping work, creativity and user trust, while ‘slop’ emerged as a blunt critique of low-quality, AI-generated content flooding online spaces.

Together, these phrases chart a year in which AI moved further into everyday life, leaving society to wrestle with what should be encouraged, controlled or questioned.

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New AI directorates signal Türkiye’s push for AI

Türkiye has announced new measures to expand its AI ecosystem and strengthen public-sector adoption of the technology. The changes were published in the Official Gazette, according to Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir.

The Ministry’s Directorate General of National Technology has been renamed the Directorate General of National Technology and AI. The unit will oversee policies on data centres, cloud infrastructure, certification standards, and regulatory processes.

The directorate will also coordinate national AI governance, support startups and research, and promote the ethical and reliable use of AI. Its remit includes expanding data capacity, infrastructure, workforce development, and international cooperation.

Separately, a Public AI Directorate General has been established under the Presidency’s Cybersecurity Directorate. The new body will guide the use of AI across government institutions and lead regulatory work on public-sector AI applications.

Officials say the unit will align national legislation with international frameworks and set standards for data governance and shared data infrastructure. The government aims to position Türkiye as a leading country in the development of AI.

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How AI in 2026 will transform management roles and organisational design

In 2026, AI will transform management structures and automate tasks as companies strive to demonstrate real value. By 2026, AI is expected to move beyond experimentation and pilot projects and begin reshaping how companies are actually run.

According to researchers and professors at IMD, the focus will shift from testing AI tools to redesigning organisational structures, decision-making processes, and management roles themselves. After several years of hype-driven investment, many companies are now under pressure to show clear returns from AI.

Those that remain stuck in proof-of-concept mode risk falling behind competitors who are willing to make more significant operational changes. Several corporate functions are set to become AI native by the end of the year.

Human roles in these areas will focus more on interpersonal judgement, oversight and complex decision-making, while software forms the operational backbone. Workforce structures are also likely to change. Middle management roles are expected to shrink gradually as AI systems take over reporting, forecasting and coordination tasks.

At the same time, risks associated with AI are growing. Highly realistic synthetic media is expected to fuel a rise in misinformation, exposing organisations to reputational and governance challenges. To respond, companies will need faster monitoring systems, clearer crisis-response protocols and closer cooperation with digital platforms to counter fabricated content.

Economic uncertainty is adding further pressure. Organisations that remain stuck in pilot mode may be forced to scale back, while those committing to bigger operational change are expected to gain an advantage.

Operational areas are expected to deliver the highest returns on investment. Supply chains, core operations and internal processes are expected to outperform customer-facing applications in efficiency, resilience and cost reduction.

As a result, chief operating officers may emerge as the most influential leaders of AI within executive teams. Ultimately, by 2026, competitive advantage will depend less on whether a company uses advanced AI and more on how deliberately it integrates these systems into everyday decision-making, roles, and organisational structures.

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EU targets addictive gaming features

Video gaming has become one of Europe’s most prominent entertainment industries, surpassing a niche hobby, with over half the population regularly engaging in it.

As the sector grows, the EU lawmakers are increasingly worried about addictive game design and manipulative features that push players to spend more time and money online.

Much of the concern focuses on loot boxes, where players pay for random digital rewards that resemble gambling mechanics. Studies and parliamentary reports warn that children may be particularly vulnerable, with some lawmakers calling for outright bans on paid loot boxes and premium in-game currencies.

The European Commission is examining how far design choices contribute to digital addiction and whether games are exploiting behavioural weaknesses rather than offering fair entertainment.

Officials say the risk is higher for minors, who may not fully understand how engagement-driven systems are engineered.

The upcoming Digital Fairness Act aims to strengthen consumer protection across online services, rather than leaving families to navigate the risks alone. However, as negotiations continue, the debate over how tightly gaming should be regulated is only just beginning.

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Kazakhstan climbs global AI readiness ranking

Kazakhstan has risen to 60th place out of 195 countries in the 2025 Government AI Readiness Index, marking a 16-place improvement and highlighting a year of accelerated institutional and policy development.

The ranking, compiled by Oxford Insights, measures governments’ ability to adopt and manage AI across public administration, the economy, and social systems.

At a regional level, Kazakhstan now leads Central Asia in AI readiness. A strong performance in the Public Sector Adoption pillar, with a score of 73.59, reflects the widespread use of digital services, e-government platforms, and a shift toward data-led public service delivery.

The country’s advanced digital infrastructure, high internet penetration, and mature electronic government ecosystem provide a solid foundation for scaling AI nationwide.

Political and governance initiatives have further strengthened Kazakhstan’s position. In 2025, the government enacted its first comprehensive AI law, which covers ethics, safety, and digital innovation.

At the same time, the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry was restructured into a dedicated Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, signalling the government’s commitment to making AI a central policy priority.

Kazakhstan’s progress demonstrates how a focused policy, infrastructure, and institutional approach can enhance AI readiness, enabling the responsible and effective integration of AI across public and economic sectors.

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Japan to boost spending on semiconductors and AI

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is set to significantly increase funding for advanced semiconductors and AI in the coming fiscal year.

Spending on chips and AI is expected to nearly quadruple to ¥1.23 trillion ($7.9 billion), accounting for the majority of the ministry’s ¥3.07 trillion budget, a 50% increase from last year. The budget, approved by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Cabinet, will be debated in parliament early next year.

The funding boost reflects Japan’s push to strengthen its position in frontier technologies amid global competition with the US and China. The government will fund most of the additional support through regular budgets, ensuring more stable backing for semiconductor and AI development.

Key initiatives include ¥150 billion for chip venture Rapidus and ¥387.3 billion for domestic foundation AI models, data infrastructure, and ‘physical AI’ for robotics and machinery control.

The budget also allocates ¥5 billion for critical minerals and ¥122 billion for decarbonisation, including next-generation nuclear power. Special bonds worth ¥1.78 trillion will also support Japanese investment in the US, reinforcing the trade agreement between the two countries.

The increase in funding demonstrates Japan’s strategic focus on achieving technological self-sufficiency and enhancing global competitiveness in emerging industries, thereby ensuring long-term support for innovation and critical infrastructure.

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