The European Commission is collaborating with the EU capitals to narrow the list of proposals for large AI training hubs, known as AI Gigafactories. The €20 billion plan will be funded by the Commission (17%), the EU countries (17%), and industry (66%) to boost computing capacity for European developers.
The first call drew 76 proposals from 16 countries, far exceeding the initially planned four or five facilities. Most submissions must be merged or dropped, with Poland already seeking a joint bid with the Baltic states as talks continue.
Some EU members will inevitably lose out, with Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, hinting that priority could be given to countries already hosting AI Factories. That could benefit Finland, whose Lumi supercomputer is part of a Nokia-led bid to scale up into a Gigafactory.
The plan has raised concerns that Europe’s efforts come too late, as US tech giants invest heavily in larger AI hubs. Still, Brussels hopes its initiative will allow EU developers to compete globally while maintaining control over critical AI infrastructure.
A formal call for proposals is expected by the end of the year, once the legal framework is finalised. Selection criteria and funding conditions will be set to launch construction as early as 2026.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
South Korea has secured a significant partnership with BlackRock to accelerate its ambition of becoming Asia’s leading AI hub. The agreement will see the global asset manager join the Ministry of Science and ICT in developing hyperscale AI data centres.
A deal that followed a meeting between President Lee Jae Myung and BlackRock chair Larry Fink, who pledged to attract large-scale international investment into the country’s AI infrastructure.
Although no figures were disclosed, the partnership is expected to focus on meeting rising demand from domestic users and the wider Asia-Pacific region, with renewable energy powering the facilities.
The move comes as Seoul increases national funding for AI, semiconductors and other strategic technologies to KRW150 trillion ($107.7 billion). South Korean companies are also stepping up efforts, with SK Telecom announcing plans to raise AI investment to a third of its revenue over five years.
BlackRock’s involvement signals international confidence in South Korea’s long-term vision to position itself as a regional AI powerhouse and secure a leadership role in next-generation digital infrastructure.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Te Whatu Ora (the healthcare system of New Zealand) has appointed Sonny Taite as acting director of innovation and AI and launched a new programme called HealthX.
An initiative that aims to deliver one AI-driven healthcare project each month from September 2025 until February 2026, based on ideas from frontline staff instead of new concepts.
Speaking at the TUANZ and DHA Tech Users Summit in Auckland, New Zealand, Taite explained that HealthX will focus on three pressing challenges: workforce shortages, inequitable access to care, and clinical inefficiencies.
He emphasised the importance of validating ideas, securing funding, and ensuring successful pilots scale nationally.
The programme has already tested an AI-powered medical scribe in the Hawke’s Bay emergency department, with early results showing a significant reduction in administrative workload.
Taite is also exploring solutions for specialist shortages, particularly in dermatology, where some regions lack public services, forcing patients to travel or seek private care.
A core cross-functional team, a clinical expert group, and frontline champions such as chief medical officers will drive HealthX.
Taite underlined that building on existing cybersecurity and AI infrastructure at Te Whatu Ora, which already processes billions of security signals monthly, provides a strong foundation for scaling innovation across the health system.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
The two US tech firms, NVIDIA and Intel, have announced a major partnership to develop multiple generations of AI infrastructure and personal computing products.
They say that the collaboration will merge NVIDIA’s leadership in accelerated computing with Intel’s expertise in CPUs and advanced manufacturing.
For data centres, Intel will design custom x86 CPUs for NVIDIA, which will be integrated into the company’s AI platforms to power hyperscale and enterprise workloads.
In personal computing, Intel will create x86 system-on-chips that incorporate NVIDIA RTX GPU chiplets, aimed at delivering high-performance PCs for a wide range of consumers.
As part of the deal, NVIDIA will invest $5 billion in Intel common stock at $23.28 per share, pending regulatory approvals.
NVIDIA’s CEO Jensen Huang described the collaboration as a ‘fusion of two world-class platforms’ that will accelerate computing innovation, while Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the partnership builds on decades of x86 innovation and will unlock breakthroughs across industries.
The move underscores how AI is reshaping both infrastructure and personal computing. By combining architectures and ecosystems instead of pursuing separate paths, Intel and NVIDIA are positioning themselves to shape the next era of computing at a global scale.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Three lawsuits have been filed in US federal courts alleging that Character.AI and its founders, with Google’s backing, deployed predatory chatbots that harmed children. The cases involve the family of 13-year-old Juliana Peralta, who died by suicide in 2023, and two other minors.
The complaints say the chatbots were designed to mimic humans, build dependency, and expose children to sexual content. Using emojis, typos, and pop-culture personas, the bots allegedly gained trust and encouraged isolation from family and friends.
Juliana’s parents say she engaged in explicit chats, disclosed suicidal thoughts, and received no intervention before her death. Nina, 15, from New York, attempted suicide after her mother blocked the app, while a Colorado, US girl known as T.S. was also affected.
Character.AI and Google are accused of misrepresenting the app as child-safe and failing to act on warning signs. The cases follow earlier lawsuits from the Social Media Victims Law Center over similar claims that the platform encouraged harm.
SMVLC founder Matthew Bergman stated that the cases underscore the urgent need for accountability in AI design and stronger safeguards to protect children. The legal team is seeking damages and stricter safety standards for chatbot platforms marketed to minors.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Scientists from Australian universities and The George Institute for Global Health have developed an AI tool that analyses mammograms and a woman’s age to predict her risk of heart-related hospitalisation or death within 10 years.
Published in Heart on 17 September, the study highlights the lack of routine heart disease screening for women, despite cardiovascular conditions causing 35% of female deaths. The tool delivers a two-in-one health check by integrating heart risk prediction into breast cancer screening.
The model was trained on data from over 49,000 women and performs as accurately as traditional models that require blood pressure and cholesterol data. Researchers emphasise its low-resource nature, making it viable for broad deployment in rural or underserved areas.
Study co-author Dr Jennifer Barraclough said mobile mammography services could adopt the tool to deliver breast cancer and heart health screenings in one visit. Such integration could help overcome healthcare access barriers in remote regions.
Next, before a broader rollout, the researchers plan to validate the tool in more diverse populations and study practical challenges, such as technical requirements and regulatory approvals.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Ireland has designated 15 authorities to monitor compliance with the EU’s AI Act, making it one of the first EU countries fully ready to enforce the new rules. The AI Act regulates AI systems according to their risk to society and began phasing in last year.
Governments had until 2 August to notify the European Commission of their appointed market surveillance authorities. In Ireland, these include the Central Bank, Coimisiún na Meán, the Data Protection Commission, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, and the Health and Safety Authority.
The country will also establish a National AI Office as the central coordinator for AI Act enforcement and liaise with EU institutions. A single point of contact must be designated where multiple authorities are involved to ensure clear communication.
Ireland joins Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Spain as countries that have appointed their contact points. The Commission has not yet published the complete list of authorities notified by member states.
Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has called for a pause in the rollout of the AI Act, citing risks and a lack of technical standards. The Commission has launched a consultation as part of its digital simplification package, which will be implemented in December.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
NVIDIA and the UK are accelerating plans to build the nation’s AI infrastructure, positioning the country as a hub for AI innovation, jobs and research.
The partnership, announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang earlier in the year, has already resulted in commitments worth up to £11 billion.
A rollout that includes AI factories equipped with 120,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs across UK data centres, supporting projects such as OpenAI’s Stargate UK.
NVIDIA partner Nscale will host 60,000 of these GPUs domestically while expanding its global capacity to 300,000. Microsoft, CoreWeave and other partners are also investing in advanced supercomputing facilities, with new projects announced in England and Scotland.
NVIDIA is working with Oxford Quantum Circuits and other research institutions to integrate AI and quantum technologies in a collaboration that extends to quantum computing.
Universities in Edinburgh and Oxford are advancing GPU-driven quantum error correction and AI-controlled quantum hardware, highlighting the UK’s growing role in cutting-edge science.
To prepare the workforce, NVIDIA has joined forces with techUK and QA to provide training programmes and AI skills development.
The government has framed the initiative as a foundation for economic resilience, job creation and sovereign AI capability, aiming to place Britain at the forefront of the AI industrial revolution.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
The Indonesia Investment Authority (INA), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, is sharpening its focus on digital infrastructure, healthcare and renewable energy as it seeks to attract foreign partners and strengthen national development.
The fund, created in 2021 with $5 billion in state capital, now manages assets worth around $10 billion and is expanding its scope beyond equity into hybrid capital and private credit.
Chief investment officer Christopher Ganis said data centres and supporting infrastructure, such as sub-sea cables, were key priorities as the government emphasises data independence and resilience.
INA has already teamed up with Singapore-based Granite Asia to invest over $1.2 billion in Indonesia’s technology and AI ecosystem, including a new data centre campus in Batam. Ganis added that AI would be applied first in healthcare instead of rushing into broader adoption.
Renewables also remain central to INA’s strategy, with its partnership alongside Abu Dhabi’s Masdar Clean Energy in Pertamina Geothermal Energy cited as a strong performer.
Ganis said Asia’s reliance on bank financing highlights the need for INA’s support in cross-border growth, since domestic banks cannot always facilitate overseas expansion.
Despite growing global ambitions, INA will prioritise projects directly linked to Indonesia. Ganis stressed that it must deliver benefits at home instead of directing capital into ventures without a clear link to the country’s future.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Swedish prosecutors have confirmed that a cyberattack on IT systems provider Miljodata exposed the personal data of 1.5 million people, nearly 15% of Sweden’s population. The attack occurred during the weekend of August 23–24.
Authorities said the stolen data has been leaked online and includes names, addresses, and contact details. Prosecutor Sandra Helgadottir said the group Datacarry has claimed responsibility, though no foreign state involvement is suspected.
Media in Sweden reported that the hackers demanded 1.5 bitcoin (around $170,000) to prevent the release of the data. Miljodata confirmed the information has now been published on the darknet.
The Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection has received over 250 breach notifications, with 164 municipalities and four regional authorities impacted. Employees in Gothenburg were among those affected, according to SVT.
Private companies, including Volvo, SAS, and GKN Aerospace, also reported compromised data. Investigators are working to identify the perpetrators as the breach’s scale continues to raise concerns nationwide.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
