Telecommunications infrastructure

Facebook and Instagram Reels get multilingual boost with Meta AI

Meta has introduced new AI-powered translation features that allow Facebook and Instagram users to enjoy reels from around the world in multiple languages.

Meta AI now translates, dubs, and lip-syncs short videos in English, Spanish, Hindi, and Portuguese, with more languages to be added soon.

A tool that reproduces a creator’s voice and tone while automatically syncing translated audio to their lip movements, providing a natural viewing experience. It is free for Facebook creators with over 1,000 followers and all public Instagram accounts in countries where Meta AI is available.

The expansion is part of Meta’s goal to make global content more accessible and to help creators reach wider audiences. By breaking language barriers, Meta aims to strengthen community connections and turn Reels into a platform for global cultural exchange.

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Google invests €5 billion to boost Belgium’s AI infrastructure

The US tech giant, Google, has announced a €5 billion investment in Belgium to strengthen its AI and cloud infrastructure over the next two years.

A plan that includes major expansions of its Saint-Ghislain data centre campuses and the creation of 300 full-time jobs.

The company has also signed agreements with Eneco, Luminus and Renner to develop new onshore wind farms and supply the Belgian grid with clean energy.

Alongside the infrastructure push, Google will fund non-profits to deliver free AI training for low-skilled workers, ensuring broader access to digital skills.

By deepening its presence in Belgium, Google aims to bolster the country’s technological and economic future. The initiative marks one of Europe’s largest AI infrastructure investments, reflecting growing competition to secure leadership in the continent’s digital transformation.

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Alibaba’s Qwen lab launches robotics unit to drive embodied AI

Alibaba Group has established a robotics AI team within its Qwen lab, marking a significant step in its strategy to expand into AI-powered hardware.

However, this move reflects China’s broader push to lead in robotics and embodied intelligence, increasingly driven by generative AI and multimodal foundation models.

Qwen researcher Lin Junyang revealed the creation of the robotics unit on social media, describing it as part of Alibaba’s efforts to move AI from the virtual to the physical world.

The lab’s Qwen series has already achieved global prominence, with seven models ranking among the world’s top ten on Hugging Face, including the multimodal Qwen3-Omni in first place.

Group chairman Joe Tsai recently stressed that success in AI depends less on model scale and more on how rapidly technologies are adopted. He argued that China is focused on cost-effective, open-source AI models that can enable faster integration than the high-cost approach pursued in the US.

Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu Yongming confirmed plans to raise AI infrastructure investment to 380 billion yuan over three years to become a full-stack AI provider.

The company also invests in robotics ventures such as Unitree Robotics and X Square Robot, aligning its expansion with national industrial strategies and the country’s accelerating robotics leadership.

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AI and cloud to drive Google’s partnership with LA28 and Team USA

Google has announced a significant partnership with LA28, Team USA, and NBCUniversal ahead of the 2026 and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The collaboration aims to create a more interactive and personalised experience for fans, athletes, and the 70,000 volunteers helping deliver the LA28 Games.

The agreement will combine innovations across Google Search, Gemini, and Google Cloud. AI tools will assist Team USA with training analysis, while viewers will benefit from more innovative search functions during NBCUniversal’s coverage.

Gemini will also support athletes and organisers with enhanced data insights and communication tools.

Google Cloud will power what is set to be the most technologically advanced Games in history. It will optimise event logistics, analyse performance data, and provide real-time analytics to NBCUniversal.

Meanwhile, YouTube will host exclusive Olympic content, expanding NBCUniversal’s storytelling reach through short-form video.

The partnership underscores how AI and cloud technologies are shaping the future of global events. Fans attending or watching from home will enjoy more immersive, on-demand access to the athletes, competitions, and stories driving LA28.

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Power grid spending surges as US braces for data centre and AI boom

US electric utilities are set to spend nearly $208 billion on the power grid in 2025 and more than $1.1 trillion over the next five years, according to the Edison Electric Institute. The surge in investment reflects rising demand from data centres, artificial intelligence, and wider electrification across the economy.

EEI data shows that investor-owned utilities spent $765 billion on capital projects in the five years to 2024. The new spending represents a significant increase and is aimed at upgrading and expanding infrastructure to keep pace with the accelerating demand for electricity.

The growing investment comes as demand from energy-intensive technologies continues to rise. Data centres and AI workloads are driving sustained growth in US power consumption, placing unprecedented pressure on existing infrastructure and prompting utilities to scale up their spending plans.

David Weeks, supply chain industry practice lead at Moody’s, warned that the escalating energy crisis could become a limiting factor across multiple industries. He said grid constraints and permitting delays must be factored into corporate supply chain strategies to avoid future disruptions.

As electrification spreads across the economy, grid reliability and capacity are becoming critical considerations for companies. The planned investment underscores the urgency of modernising the power grid to support economic growth while adapting to new technological demands.

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Gemini 2.5 Computer Use brings human-like interface control to AI agents

Google DeepMind has launched the Gemini 2.5 Computer Use model, a specialised version of Gemini 2.5 Pro designed to let AI agents interact directly with digital user interfaces.

Available in preview through the Gemini API, developers can build agents capable of performing web and mobile tasks such as form-filling, navigation and interaction within apps.

Unlike models limited to structured APIs, Gemini 2.5 Computer Use can reason visually about what it sees on screen, making it possible to complete tasks requiring clicks, scrolls and text input.

While maintaining low latency, it outperforms rivals on several benchmarks, including Browserbase’s Online-Mind2Web and WebVoyager.

The model’s safety design includes per-step risk checks, built-in safeguards against misuse and developer-controlled restrictions on high-risk actions such as payments or security changes.

Google has already integrated it into systems like Project Mariner, Firebase Testing Agent and AI Mode in Search, while early testers report faster, more reliable automation.

Gemini 2.5 Computer Use is now available in public preview via Google AI Studio and Vertex AI, enabling developers to experiment with advanced interface-aware agents that can perform complex digital workflows securely and efficiently.

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New AI tools make Facebook Reels more engaging than ever

Facebook enhances how users find and share Reels, focusing on personalisation and social interaction.

The platform’s new recommendation engine learns user interests faster, presenting more relevant and up-to-date content. Video viewing time in the US has risen over 20% year-on-year, reflecting the growing appeal of both short and long-form clips.

The update introduces new ‘friend bubbles’ showing which Reels or posts friends have liked, allowing users to start private chats instantly.

A feature that encourages more spontaneous conversation and discovery through shared interests. Facebook’s ‘Save’ option has also been simplified, letting users collect favourite posts and Reels in one place, while improving future recommendations.

AI now plays a larger role in content exploration, offering suggested searches on certain Reels to help users find related topics without leaving the player. By combining smarter algorithms with stronger social cues, Facebook aims to make video discovery more meaningful and community-driven.

Further personalisation tools are expected to follow as the platform continues refining its Reels experience.

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Anthropic launches Bengaluru office to drive responsible AI in India

AI firm Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI chatbot, is opening its first office in India, choosing Bengaluru as its base.

A move that follows OpenAI’s recent expansion into New Delhi, underlining India’s growing importance as a hub for AI development and adoption.

CEO Dario Amodei said India’s combination of vast technical talent and the government’s commitment to equitable AI progress makes it an ideal location.

The Bengaluru office will focus on developing AI solutions tailored to India’s needs in education, healthcare, and agriculture sectors.

Amodei is visiting India to strengthen ties with enterprises, nonprofits, and startups and promote responsible AI use that is aligned with India’s digital growth strategy.

Anthropic plans further expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, following its Tokyo launch, later in the year.

Chief Commercial Officer Paul Smith noted the rising demand among Indian companies for trustworthy, scalable AI systems. Anthropic’s Claude models are already accessible in India through its API, Amazon Bedrock, and Google Cloud Vertex AI.

The company serves more than 300,000 businesses worldwide, with nearly 80 percent of usage outside the US.

India has become the second-largest market for Claude, with developers using it for tasks such as mobile UI design and web app debugging.

Anthropic also enhances Claude’s multilingual capabilities in major Indic languages, including Hindi, Bengali, and Tamil, to support education and public sector projects.

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ChatGPT reaches 800 million weekly users as OpenAI’s value hits $500 billion

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has announced that ChatGPT now reaches 800 million weekly active users, reflecting rapid growth across consumers, developers, enterprises and governments.

The figure marks another milestone for the company, which reported 700 million weekly users in August and 500 million at the end of March.

Altman shared the news during OpenAI’s Dev Day keynote, noting that four million developers are now building with OpenAI tools. He said ChatGPT processes more than six billion tokens per minute through its API, signalling how deeply integrated it has become across digital ecosystems.

The event also introduced new tools for building apps directly within ChatGPT and creating more advanced agentic systems. Altman states these will support a new generation of interactive and personalised applications.

OpenAI, still legally a nonprofit, was recently valued at $500 billion following a private stock sale worth $6.6 billion.

Its growing portfolio now includes the Sora video-generation tool, a new social platform, and a commerce partnership with Stripe, consolidating its status as the world’s most valuable private company.

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A new AI strategy by the EU to cut reliance on the US and China

The EU is preparing to unveil a new strategy to reduce reliance on American and Chinese technology by accelerating the growth of homegrown AI.

The ‘Apply AI strategy’, set to be presented by the EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen, positions AI as a strategic asset essential for the bloc’s competitiveness, security and resilience.

According to draft documents, the plan will prioritise adopting European-made AI tools across healthcare, defence and manufacturing.

Public administrations are expected to play a central role by integrating open-source EU AI systems, providing a market for local start-ups and reducing dependence on foreign platforms. The Commission has pledged €1bn from existing financing programmes to support the initiative.

Brussels has warned that foreign control of the ‘AI stack’ (the hardware and software that underpin advanced systems) could be ‘weaponised’ by state and non-state actors.

These concerns have intensified following Europe’s continued dependence on American tech infrastructure. Meanwhile, China’s rapid progress in AI has further raised fears that the Union risks losing influence in shaping the technology’s future.

Several high-potential AI firms have already been hosted by the EU, including France’s Mistral and Germany’s Helsing. However, they rely heavily on overseas suppliers for software, hardware, and critical minerals.

The Commission wants to accelerate the deployment of European AI-enabled defence tools, such as command-and-control systems, which remain dependent on NATO and US providers. The strategy also outlines investment in sovereign frontier models for areas like space defence.

President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc aims to ‘speed up AI adoption across the board’ to ensure it does not miss the transformative wave.

Brussels hopes to carve out a more substantial global role in the next phase of technological competition by reframing AI as an industrial sovereignty and security instrument.

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