Sustainable development

New AI and digital ministry in Kazakhstan to drive national transformation

Kazakhstan is stepping up its digital ambitions with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announcing the creation of a Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development. Speaking during his annual state-of-the-nation address, Tokayev said the move is part of the country’s goal to become a fully digital nation within three years.

The new ministry will lead efforts to modernise the economy through AI, big data, and platform technologies, guided by a forthcoming national strategy called Digital Kazakhstan. Tokayev stressed that digital transformation is not optional but essential for Kazakhstan, which he described as being at the crossroads of global technological shifts.

He warned that while opportunities are vast, challenges such as geopolitical tensions, economic inequality, and even AI-based weapons are on the rise. For Kazakhstan, he said, the priority is to ensure stability, prosperity, and a secure future for the younger generation by embracing decisive reforms and adapting to the new technological order.

A major part of this vision is the development of Alatau City, a planned innovation hub near Almaty. Designed as the country’s first fully digital city, it will feature Smart City technologies, digital payments, and cryptocurrency use. Tokayev revealed that land and infrastructure are already prepared, and international partnerships, including with a Chinese company behind Shenzhen’s rise, are set to drive the project forward.

To secure Alatau City’s success, the government plans to grant it special status under direct state supervision within days, followed by a new law defining its governance and financial structure. Tokayev emphasised that the project is not merely a showcase but a practical step toward positioning Kazakhstan as a leader in digital innovation, blending cutting-edge technology with modern urban living.

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China creates brain-inspired AI model

Chinese scientists have unveiled SpikingBrain1.0, the world’s first large-scale AI language model to replicate the human brain. The model reduces energy use and runs independently of Nvidia chips, departing from conventional AI architectures.

Developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, SpikingBrain1.0 uses spiking neural networks to activate only the required neurons for each task, rather than processing all information simultaneously.

Instead of evaluating every word in parallel, it focuses on the most recent and relevant context, enabling faster and more efficient processing. Researchers claim the model operates 25 to 100 times faster than traditional AI systems while keeping accuracy competitive.

A significant innovation is hardware independence. SpikingBrain1.0 runs on China’s MetaX chip platform, reducing reliance on Nvidia GPUs. It also requires less than 2% of the data typically needed for pre-training large language models, making it more sustainable and accessible.

SpikingBrain1.0 could power low-energy, real-time applications such as autonomous drones, wearable devices, and edge computing. The model highlights a shift toward biologically-inspired AI prioritising efficiency and adaptability over brute-force computation.

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OpenAI moves to for-profit with Microsoft deal

Microsoft and OpenAI have agreed to new non-binding terms that will allow OpenAI to restructure into a for-profit company, marking a significant shift in their long-standing partnership.

The agreement sets the stage for OpenAI to raise capital, pursue additional cloud partnerships, and eventually go public, while Microsoft retains access to its technology.

The previous deal gave Microsoft exclusive rights to sell OpenAI tools via Azure and made it the primary provider of compute power. OpenAI has since expanded its options, including a $300 billion cloud deal with Oracle and an agreement with Google, allowing it to develop its own data centre project, Stargate.

OpenAI aims to maintain its nonprofit arm, which will receive more than $100 billion from the projected $500 billion private market valuation.

Regulatory approval from the attorneys general of California and Delaware is required for the new structure, with OpenAI targeting completion by the end of the year to secure key funding.

Both companies continue to compete across AI products, from consumer chatbots to business tools, while Microsoft works on building its own AI models to reduce reliance on OpenAI technology.

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Albania names first AI-generated minister to fight corruption

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has unveiled the world’s first AI-generated minister, a virtual figure named Diella, who will oversee public tenders in an effort to eradicate corruption. The announcement was made as Rama presented his new cabinet following a decisive election victory in May.

Diella, meaning ‘Sun’ in Albanian, has already been active on the government’s e-Albania portal, where it has issued more than 36,000 digital documents and helped citizens access around 1,000 services.

Now, it will formally take on a cabinet role, marking what Rama described as a radical shift in governance where technology acts as a participant instead of a tool.

The AI will gradually take over responsibility for awarding government tenders, removing decisions from ministries and ensuring assessments are objective. Rama said the system would help Albania become ‘100 per cent corruption-free’ in procurement, a key area of concern in the country’s bid to join the EU by 2030.

Public tenders have long been linked to corruption scandals in Albania, a nation often cited as a hub for money laundering and organised crime. Supporters view Diella’s appointment as a bold step towards transparency, with local media calling it a major transformation in how state power is exercised.

Rama emphasised that the AI minister would have a special mandate to break down bureaucratic barriers and strengthen public trust in administration.

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UK launches CAF 4.0 for cybersecurity

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre has released version 4.0 of its Cyber Assessment Framework to help organisations protect essential services from rising cyber threats.

An updated CAF that provides a structured approach for assessing and improving cybersecurity and resilience across critical sectors.

Version 4.0 introduces a deeper focus on attacker methods and motivations to inform risk decisions, ensures software in essential services is developed and maintained securely, and strengthens guidance on threat detection through security monitoring and threat hunting.

AI-related cyber risks are also now covered more thoroughly throughout the framework.

The CAF primarily supports energy, healthcare, transport, digital infrastructure, and government organisations, helping them meet regulatory obligations such as the NIS Regulations.

Developed in consultation with UK cyber regulators, the framework provides clear benchmarks for assessing security outcomes relative to threat levels.

Authorities encourage system owners to adopt CAF 4.0 alongside complementary tools such as Cyber Essentials, the Cyber Resilience Audit, and Cyber Adversary Simulation services. These combined measures enhance confidence and resilience across the nation’s critical infrastructure.

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Egypt launches AI readiness report with EU support

Egypt has released its first AI Readiness Assessment Report, developed by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology with UNESCO Cairo and supported by the EU funding.

The report reviews Egypt’s legal, policy, institutional and technical environment, highlighting the strengths and gaps in the country’s digital transformation journey. It emphasises ensuring that AI development is human-centred and responsibly governed.

EU officials praised Egypt’s growing leadership in ethical AI governance and reiterated their support for an inclusive digital transition. Cooperation between Egypt and the EU is expected to deepen in digital policy and capacity-building areas.

The assessment aims to guide future investments and reforms, ensuring that AI strengthens sustainable development and benefits all segments of Egyptian society.

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Claude AI gains powerful file editing tools for documents and spreadsheets

Anthropic’s Claude has expanded its role as a leading AI assistant by adding advanced tools for creating and editing files. Instead of manually working with different programs, users can now describe their needs in plain language and let the AI produce or update Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF files.

A feature that supports uploads of CSV and TSV data and can generate charts, graphs, or images where needed, with a 30MB size limit applying to uploads and downloads.

The real breakthrough lies in editing. Instead of opening a document or spreadsheet, users can simply type instructions such as replacing text, changing currencies, or updating job titles. Claude processes the prompt and makes all the changes in one pass, preserving the original formatting.

It positions the AI as more efficient than rivals, as Gemini can only export reports but not directly modify existing files.

The feature preview is available on web and desktop for subscribers on Max, Team, or Enterprise plans. Analysts suggest the update could reshape productivity tools, especially after reports that Microsoft has partnered with Anthropic to explore using Claude for Office 365 functions.

By removing repetitive tasks and making file handling conversational, Claude is pushing productivity software into a new phase of automation.

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AI and AFM deliver real-time macrophage phenotyping

Macrophages drive immune responses, including inflammation, tissue repair, and tumour growth. Identifying their polarisation states is key for diagnosis and immunotherapy, but current methods, such as RNA sequencing and flow cytometry, are expensive, slow, and unsuitable for real-time use.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has emerged as a powerful tool for decoding mechanobiological signatures of cells. Combined with AI, AFM data can be rapidly analysed, but macrophage phenotyping has been relatively underexplored using this approach.

Researchers led by Prof Li Yang at the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology have now developed a label-free, non-invasive method combining AFM with deep learning. The system accurately profiles human macrophage mechanophenotypes and identifies polarisation states in real-time.

The AI model was trained on well-characterised macrophage subtypes and validated using flow cytometry. Results showed that pseudovirus stimulation mainly produced M1 macrophages, with smaller populations of M2 and mixed phenotypes, closely matching the model’s predictions.

The study, published in Small Methods, offers a promising diagnostic tool that could be extended beyond macrophages to other cell types. It could support new approaches in cancer, fibrosis, and infectious disease diagnostics based on mechanophenotypes.

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Photonic chips open the path to sustainable AI by training with light

A team of international researchers has shown how training neural networks directly with light on photonic chips could make AI faster and more sustainable.

A breakthrough study, published in Nature, involved collaboration between the Politecnico di Milano, EPFL Lausanne, Stanford University, the University of Cambridge, and the Max Planck Institute.

The research highlights how physical neural networks, which use analogue circuits that exploit the laws of physics, can process information in new ways.

Photonic chips developed at the Politecnico di Milano perform mathematical operations such as addition and multiplication through light interference on silicon microchips only a few millimetres in size.

By eliminating the need to digitise information, these chips dramatically cut both processing time and energy use. Researchers have also pioneered an ‘in-situ’ training technique that enables photonic neural networks to learn tasks entirely through light signals, instead of relying on digital models.

The result is a training process that is faster, more efficient and more robust.

Such advances could lead to more powerful AI models capable of running directly on devices instead of being dependent on energy-hungry data centres.

An approach that paves the way for technologies such as autonomous vehicles, portable intelligent sensors and real-time data processing systems that are both greener and quicker.

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Oracle and OpenAI drive record $300B investment in cloud for AI

OpenAI has finalised a record $300 billion deal with Oracle to secure vast computing infrastructure over five years, marking one of the most significant cloud contracts in history. The agreement is part of Project Stargate, OpenAI’s plan to build massive data centre capacity in the US and abroad.

The two companies will develop 4.5 gigawatts of computing power, equivalent to the energy consumed by millions of homes.

Backed by SoftBank and other partners, the Stargate initiative aims to surpass $500 billion in investment, with construction already underway in Texas. Additional plans include a large-scale data centre project in the United Arab Emirates, supported by Emirati firm G42.

The scale of the deal highlights the fierce race among tech giants to dominate AI infrastructure. Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Meta are also pledging hundreds of billions of dollars towards data centres, while OpenAI faces mounting financial pressure.

The company currently generates around $10 billion in revenue but is expected to spend far more than that annually to support its expansion.

Oracle is betting heavily on OpenAI as a future growth driver, although the risk is high given OpenAI’s lack of profitability and Oracle’s growing debt burden.

A gamble that rests on the assumption that ChatGPT and related AI technologies will continue to grow at an unprecedented pace, despite intense competition from Google, Anthropic and others.

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