KT has partnered with DigitalBridge to build new AI data centres in Korea and abroad. The agreement was signed in Seoul amid growing demand for high-performance computing. Both companies aim to expand into fast-developing regional AI markets.
DigitalBridge brings global data centre and cloud expertise, backed by significant investment capacity. KT says the partnership will boost national AI competitiveness and support expansion plans. Work will cover facility design, operations and improved network connectivity.
Engineers will optimise AI workloads for training and inference across industrial sectors. The partners plan to stabilise high-load systems and streamline data flow. Enterprise and telecom uses are expected to benefit directly.
Energy efficiency is a core priority for advanced AI facilities. KT and DigitalBridge will research cooling improvements and power-saving methods. Both companies frame sustainability as essential for long-term competitiveness.
KT says the collaboration strengthens ambitions for regional AI infrastructure within Korea. Analysts view the move as an effort to secure GPUs and expand capacity. The project aims to position Korea as a key AI data-centre hub.
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FIDReC recorded 4,355 claims in FY2024/2025, marking its highest volume in twenty years and a sharp rise from the previous year. Scam activity and broader dispute growth across financial institutions contributed to the increase. Greater public awareness of the centre’s role also drove more filings.
Fraud and scam disputes climbed to 1,285 cases, up more than 50% and accounting for nearly half of all claims. FIDReC accepted 2,646 claims for handling, with early resolution procedures reducing formal caseload growth. The phased approach encourages direct negotiation between consumers and providers.
Chief Executive Eunice Chua said rising claim volumes reflect fast-evolving financial risks and increasingly complex products. National indicators show similar pressures, with Singapore ranked second globally for payment card scams. Insurance fraud reports also continued to grow during the year.
Compromised credentials accounted for most scam-related cases, often involving unauthorised withdrawals or card charges. Consumers reported incidents without knowing how their details were obtained. The share of such complaints rose markedly compared with the previous year.
Banks added safeguards on large digital withdrawals as part of wider anti-scam measures. Regulators introduced cooling-off periods, stronger information sharing and closer monitoring of suspicious activity. Authorities say the goal is to limit exposure to scams and reinforce public confidence.
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Chinese AI firm DeepSeek has released the first open AI model capable of achieving gold-medal results at the International Mathematical Olympiad. Math-V2 is now freely available on Hugging Face and GitHub, allowing developers to repurpose it and run it locally.
Gold-level performance at the IMO is remarkably rare, with only a small share of human participants reaching the top tier. DeepSeek aims to make such advanced mathematical capabilities accessible to researchers and developers who previously lacked access to comparable systems.
The company said its model achieved gold-level scores in both this year’s Olympiad and the Chinese Mathematical Olympiad. The results relied on strong theorem-proving skills and a new ‘self-verification’ method for reasoning without known solutions.
Observers said the open release could lower barriers to advanced maths AI, while US firms keep their Olympiad-level systems restricted. Supporters of open-source development welcomed the move as a significant step toward democratising advanced scientific tools.
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AWS introduced major AI upgrades at re:Invent 2025, led by new agentic capabilities in Amazon Connect. Companies can now automate complex service tasks while customers engage with natural, multilingual voice interactions.
Customer service teams gain deeper support as agentic tools summarise conversations, prepare documents and manage routine actions. AI also drives personalised recommendations by combining live clickstream data with detailed customer histories.
AWS expanded its multicloud strategy by launching Interconnect multicloud with Google Cloud. The partnership enables private, high bandwidth links that avoid the complexity of traditional cross cloud networking.
Deepgram strengthened its collaboration with AWS by bringing real time speech models to SageMaker, Connect and Lex. Enterprises now deploy rapid speech processing across their AWS environments with improved performance and flexibility.
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Japan is moving ahead with an extra budget to support AI and semiconductor development. Officials say shifting funding into regular budgets will offer stability. Parliament is expected to approve the plan quickly after cabinet backing.
The government seeks stable support for industries crucial to economic security. The new budget adds to earlier investments in domestic chip production. Officials aim to avoid delays that have slowed previous industrial programmes.
Japan’s long-running strategy includes support for Rapidus, TSMC’s work in Kumamoto and Micron’s facility in Hiroshima. The extra funding is meant to complement these commitments. Stable annual financing is considered crucial for long-term planning.
A significant portion of the allocation is handled by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The plan includes strengthening Nippon Export and Investment Insurance. The insurer is expected to back overseas projects under wider trade agreements.
Japan is also increasing support for critical mineral supplies. Funding will help secure rare earths and expand national stockpiles. Officials frame the combined measures as a shift toward steadier and more resilient investment.
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Vietnam has moved to expand its use of Chinese 5G technology, awarding Huawei and ZTE a series of new contracts. Under recent deals, the two companies will supply advanced 5G radio equipment to strengthen network coverage, while European vendors remain responsible for core systems.
Vietnam, which borders China, Laos, and Cambodia, previously echoed allies’ warnings that Chinese-made 5G gear posed an unacceptable security risk. Recent tariff frictions with the United States and shifting economic priorities have since pushed officials to reconsider that stance.
According to local reports, Huawei and ZTE have together secured contracts worth about 43 million dollars for non-core 5G equipment. Ericsson and Nokia are expected to continue supplying the 5G core, with Chinese vendors focused on antennas and related infrastructure at the network edge.
In April, a consortium including Huawei won a 23 million dollar deal to provide 5G gear, shortly after new US tariffs on Vietnamese exports came into force. Analysts say those measures have strained ties between Hanoi and Washington while nudging Vietnam to deepen economic and technological links with Beijing.
Vietnamese supply chain specialist Nguyen Hung says Hanoi is prioritising its own strategic interests, seeing closer ties with Chinese vendors as a route to deeper regional integration. US officials warn the deals could damage network trust and limit access to advanced American technology.
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OpenAI has rolled out an update to ChatGPT Voice that unifies voice and text in a single interface. Users can now speak, type or mix both without switching screens mid-conversation.
The redesigned chat window displays live transcriptions and responses in real-time. Users can scroll through earlier messages and view images, maps and other visuals while the exchange continues in one place.
You can now use ChatGPT Voice right inside chat—no separate mode needed.
You can talk, watch answers appear, review earlier messages, and see visuals like images or maps in real time.
Previously, voice required a separate mode that hid the main chat history and shared content. OpenAI says the unified layout should make longer, mixed-mode conversations feel more natural and less fragmented.
Voice and text can still be used interchangeably, but ending a voice session requires tapping ‘End’ before returning to text-only use. Those who prefer the old layout can re-enable a separate voice view in settings.
The revamped Voice experience is becoming the default on web and mobile apps as the update rolls out. OpenAI aims to make ChatGPT feel more like a flexible conversational assistant across various devices.
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OpenAI says a security incident at Mixpanel exposed limited metadata linked to the API interface. Mixpanel’s systems, not OpenAI’s, were compromised during the intrusion. No chat content, passwords, API keys, or payment information was affected.
Mixpanel told OpenAI that an attacker exported a dataset containing basic user profile fields. The information includes names, email addresses, coarse location data, and browser details. OpenAI has removed Mixpanel from production and is notifying impacted users.
OpenAI maintains that its internal infrastructure remains secure with no evidence of unauthorised access. Wider reviews across the vendor ecosystem are underway to assess potential risks. The company has raised security requirements for partners and continues to monitor for misuse.
Security teams warn that the leaked data could fuel phishing or social-engineering attempts. Users are urged to treat unsolicited messages with caution and verify communications sent under the OpenAI name. Multi-factor authentication remains strongly recommended for all accounts as an added safeguard.
OpenAI reiterates that trust and privacy remain core to its products and operations. The organisation has ended its use of Mixpanel and is reviewing supporting services to prevent similar issues. Impacted organisations will receive direct notifications as the investigation continues.
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The EU member states have endorsed a position for new rules to counter child sexual abuse online. The plan introduces duties for digital services to prevent the spread of abusive material. It also creates an EU Centre to coordinate enforcement and support national authorities.
Service providers must assess how their platforms could be misused and apply mitigation measures. These may include reporting tools, stronger privacy defaults for minors, and controls over shared content. National authorities will review these steps and can order additional action where needed.
A three-tier risk system will categorise services as high, medium, or low risk. High-risk platforms may be required to help develop protective technologies. Providers that fail to comply with obligations could face financial penalties under the regulation.
Victims will be able to request the removal or disabling of abusive material depicting them. The EU Centre will verify provider responses and maintain a database to manage reports. It will also share relevant information with Europol and law enforcement bodies.
The Council supports extending voluntary scanning for abusive content beyond its current expiry. Negotiations with the European Parliament will now begin on the final text. The Parliament adopted its position in 2023 and will help decide the Centre’s location.
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UNESCO is strengthening capacities in AI ethics and regulation across Ecuador and Latin America through two newly launched courses. The initiatives aim to enhance digital governance and ensure the ethical use of AI in the region.
The first course, ‘Regulation of Artificial Intelligence: A View from and towards Latin America,’ is taking place virtually from 19 to 28 November 2025.
Organised by UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences Sector in coordination with UNESCO-Chile and CTS Lab at FLACSO Ecuador, the programme involves 30 senior officials from key institutions, including the Ombudsman’s Office and the Superintendency for Personal Data Protection.
Participants are trained on AI ethical principles, risks, and opportunities, guided by UNESCO’s 2021 Recommendation on the Ethics of AI.
The ‘Ethical Use of AI’ course starts next week for telecom and electoral officials. The 20-hour hybrid programme teaches officials to use UNESCO’s RAM to assess readiness and plan ethical AI strategies.
UNESCO aims to train 60 officials and strengthen AI ethics and regulatory frameworks in Ecuador and Chile. The programmes reflect a broader commitment to building inclusive, human-rights-oriented digital governance in Latin America.
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