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Digital Decade report showcases Spain’s progress in AI and connectivity

Spain has strengthened its position as one of the EU’s leading digital economies, according to the European Commission’s 2026 State of the Digital Decade report.

The assessment highlights Spain’s strong performance in connectivity, digital public services, AI adoption and digital skills, with the country outperforming the EU average across several key indicators.

The report notes that Spain remains a European leader in digital infrastructure. Spain has the highest share of internet connections delivering speeds of 100 Mbps or more and ranks second in fibre-optic coverage across the EU. Fibre networks now reach almost 96% of the population, while 5G coverage exceeds 99% nationwide and nearly 96% in rural areas.

The Commission also highlighted investments in submarine cables and connectivity programmes that have reinforced Spain’s role as a key digital gateway between Europe, Africa and Latin America.

Spain also continues to rank among the EU’s top performers in digital public services. The Commission cited improvements to the ‘Mi Carpeta Ciudadana’ platform, which expanded services and incorporated user feedback during 2025.

Spain also ranks among Europe’s best performers in prefilled administrative forms, helping citizens interact more efficiently with public authorities. Digital services for both citizens and businesses remain significantly above the EU average.

The report also highlights the growing adoption of advanced technologies by Spanish businesses. AI adoption among Spanish businesses increased from 11.3% in 2024 to 20.3% in 2025, slightly above the EU average.

Data analytics adoption reached 47.1%, while digitalisation among small and medium-sized enterprises continued to improve through initiatives such as Kit Digital, Kit Consulting and Acelera Pyme.

The Commission also highlighted Spain’s commitment to quantum technologies, cybersecurity resilience and digital skills development, with 66.5% of the population now possessing at least basic digital skills.

Why does it matter?

Spain’s performance illustrates how sustained investment in digital infrastructure, public services and innovation can translate into broader economic and technological competitiveness. High levels of fibre connectivity, widespread digital public services and growing AI adoption provide a foundation for productivity growth and support the country’s position within Europe’s digital economy.

The findings are also relevant to the EU’s broader ambitions around technological sovereignty. As Europe seeks to reduce strategic dependencies in critical technologies, countries such as Spain are becoming important contributors to the bloc’s digital capacity through investments in connectivity, cybersecurity, quantum technologies and digital skills. Continued progress in these areas will be important for meeting the EU’s 2030 Digital Decade objectives.

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Spain’s data protection authority issues privacy guidance for video game industry

The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) has published a new guide outlining data protection recommendations for the video game industry, urging companies to embed privacy safeguards throughout the entire game lifecycle.

According to the AEPD, modern video games have evolved into complex digital ecosystems that collect, analyse and process significant volumes of personal data. This may include account information, gameplay activity, behavioural data and other user-generated information, creating potential privacy and security risks.

The guide notes that AI-enabled and online gaming services increasingly rely on data-driven business models, making compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) particularly important. The agency emphasised that privacy protections are especially important for children and other vulnerable groups, given their significant participation in online gaming environments.

The recommendations span the entire development process, from pre-production and design to post-launch operations, covering transparency obligations, data minimisation, profiling controls and cybersecurity measures. Privacy and responsible data practices should be integrated into games from design through to end-of-life in Spain.

Why does it matter?

The guidance reflects the growing importance of data protection in the gaming industry as video games increasingly function as connected digital platforms rather than standalone entertainment products. Online services, in-game economies, AI-powered features and behavioural analytics have expanded the volume and sensitivity of personal data processed by game developers and publishers.

The recommendations also highlight broader regulatory concerns around children’s privacy and responsible data use. As gaming platforms become more immersive and data-driven, regulators are placing greater emphasis on privacy-by-design principles, transparency and user control. The AEPD’s guidance signals that compliance with data protection rules is becoming an integral part of game development, not simply a legal requirement applied after products are launched.

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IWF backs Pope Leo XIV call for responsible AI development

The Internet Watch Foundation has welcomed Pope Leo XIV’s reflections on AI, arguing that AI systems must be developed with stronger safeguards to protect children from abuse.

In a blog post, the IWF said the Pope’s message that technology should serve the common good and remain subject to human judgement and accountability reflects the risks its analysts are already seeing online.

The organisation warned that AI is being used to generate highly realistic child sexual abuse images and videos at scale. It said the number of AI-generated child sexual abuse videos identified by the IWF in 2025 increased by more than 260%, with nearly two-thirds falling into the most severe category of abuse.

The IWF also raised concerns about AI-nudification tools, which can generate realistic sexualised images of children and other individuals. Following the Child Dignity in the Artificial Intelligence Era conference in Rome, the organisation joined more than 100 organisations and individuals in supporting calls for a global ban on such tools.

The IWF said AI safety should be built into products from the earliest stages of development. Through its Safety by Design work, the organisation is calling for companies to assess, test and mitigate risks before AI systems reach the public.

It also called for stronger regulation, global alignment and enforceable safety-by-design standards to prevent the creation and spread of AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

Why does it matter?

The IWF’s warning shows how generative AI is creating urgent child protection risks, especially through realistic synthetic abuse material and nudification tools. The issue is no longer only content moderation after harm occurs; it increasingly concerns model design, testing, deployment and accountability before AI systems reach users. That makes safety by design, developer responsibility and international coordination central to AI governance.

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EPO and Jio discuss AI, 5G and 6G patent strategy

The European Patent Office held a high-level online meeting with Jio Platforms to discuss patent quality, innovation and developments in the European patent system.

The meeting formed part of the EPO’s 2026 Quality Action Plan and wider user engagement with companies using the European patent system. Jio Platforms, India’s largest mobile network operator, is described by the EPO as an increasingly active user of the system.

Discussions covered AI, 5G, future 6G technologies, satellite communications and automation. Jio highlighted Europe’s growing importance for its patent strategy and outlined a global patent portfolio covering India, Europe, the United States and other jurisdictions.

A significant part of the exchange focused on standards and standard-essential patents. The EPO said the discussion explored developments in 5G and future 6G standards, as well as the Office’s recent work and research in the field.

The meeting also covered the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court. Jio does not currently use the Unitary Patent system, but the company expressed interest in assessing it as a possible option for future European patent protection.

Why does it matter?

The meeting highlights how patent strategy is becoming part of global competition in AI, 5G, 6G and digital infrastructure. For companies active in next-generation networks, standard-essential patents can shape market access, licensing power and participation in technical standards. Jio’s engagement with the EPO also reflects the growing internationalisation of Indian technology firms as they seek protection for innovation in European markets.

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US backs photonics expansion for AI data centres under CHIPS Act

The Department of Commerce’s CHIPS Program Office has signed a letter of intent to provide up to $50 million in direct funding to Coherent Corp. under the CHIPS and Science Act.

According to the CHIPS Program Office, the proposed funding would support the expansion of Coherent’s facility in Sherman, Texas, which it describes as the first and largest high-volume 150mm indium phosphide semiconductor manufacturing facility in the United States.

The expansion would add wafer fabrication equipment and cleanroom capacity to increase production of indium phosphide-based photonic components. These components are used in high-speed optical interconnects that enable rapid data transfer within advanced AI data centres.

The Department of Commerce said the project would create high-skilled manufacturing jobs and strengthen domestic supply chains for critical photonics technologies that support next-generation computing and AI infrastructure.

Why does it matter?

The announcement highlights the growing importance of photonics technologies in the AI economy. As demand for AI computing continues to rise, data centres require increasingly efficient methods for transferring vast amounts of information between processors, servers and storage systems. Optical interconnect technologies based on indium phosphide semiconductors are becoming a critical part of that infrastructure.

The investment also reflects broader US industrial policy goals under the CHIPS and Science Act. Beyond traditional semiconductor manufacturing, policymakers are increasingly targeting specialised components and supply chains considered strategically important for AI competitiveness, economic security and technological resilience.

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UK unveils AI tools to speed up planning decisions and housing delivery

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have unveiled two AI tools designed to modernise England’s planning system and accelerate housing delivery.

One new AI prototype is being tested by Barnet, Camden and Dorset councils and aims to reduce average decision times for routine householder planning applications from eight weeks to four. The system triages applications and provides planning officers with preliminary assessments to support decision-making.

A second tool, called Extract, has been made available to local authorities across England. It uses AI to convert decades of planning documents and maps into structured digital data, reducing the need for manual processing and allowing staff to focus on more complex cases.

The government said the initiatives support its target of building 1.5 million homes during this Parliament while improving the efficiency of public services through technology. Subject to successful trials, the new planning application tool is expected to be rolled out nationally in England from 2027.

Why does it matter?

The initiative illustrates how governments are increasingly using AI to address administrative bottlenecks and improve public-service delivery. Planning systems often face challenges related to outdated records, resource constraints and lengthy approval processes, making them a key target for digital transformation efforts.

The UK’s approach also highlights the growing role of AI in housing and infrastructure policy. If successful, the tools could help accelerate housing development, improve the use of public-sector resources and demonstrate how AI can support decision-making while leaving final judgments in the hands of public officials.

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New benchmark tests AI on unpublished mathematics problems

AI systems have demonstrated growing capabilities in advanced mathematics, according to benchmark results published by the non-profit organisation First Proof.

The organisation evaluated four frontier AI systems, including ChatGPT 5.5 Pro, against ten unpublished research-level mathematical problems contributed by leading mathematicians.

The benchmark found that seven of the ten problems received at least one solution judged to be correct by expert reviewers across the participating systems. One notable result involved a stochastic partial differential equations problem, where an AI system produced a correct solution using an approach different from the human-developed proof, drawing praise from expert referees for its originality.

Despite the progress, significant limitations remain.

Several problems remained unsolved, including a metric geometry challenge on which none of the systems made meaningful progress. Reviewers also reported that AI systems handled routine mathematical reasoning effectively but continued to struggle with the most challenging conceptual and creative aspects of proof construction.

Why does it matter?

The benchmark offers one of the most demanding independent tests of AI performance in advanced mathematics, a field often viewed as a proxy for higher-level reasoning and scientific problem-solving. The results suggest that frontier AI systems are increasingly capable of contributing to specialised research tasks and, in some cases, generating approaches that differ from those developed by human experts.

At the same time, the findings highlight the limits of current AI systems. While they can assist with complex reasoning and formal problem-solving, they continue to struggle with the deepest conceptual challenges that often drive mathematical breakthroughs. This suggests that AI may increasingly serve as a research assistant and discovery tool, while human expertise remains essential for guiding and validating scientific advances.

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INTERPOL report warns of rising cybercrime across Asia-Pacific

INTERPOL has published its 2025/2026 Asia and South Pacific Cyberthreat Assessment Report, covering the period from January 2024 to March 2025. The report documents a rise in cybercrime across the region, attributing the trend to expanding digital infrastructure, the adoption of new technologies and increasingly organised criminal networks.

More than half of the countries surveyed reported that cybercrime accounts for over 30% of all crimes recorded nationally. Phishing and related online scam techniques were identified as the most common and financially damaging forms of cybercrime, with 33 % of surveyed countries recorded over 10,000 such cases.

Neal Jetton, INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Director, said the findings demonstrate how cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting AI, ransomware-as-a-service models and sophisticated social engineering techniques. He noted that operational cooperation, information sharing, and cyber resilience are factors relevant to protecting communities and infrastructure as digital adoption in the region increases.

Growth in internet connectivity, mobile banking, cloud computing, and digital financial services has accompanied this cybercriminal activity, according to the report.

Survey respondents also highlighted challenges for law enforcement, including gaps in specialised forensic tools, cybercrime training and technical capacity. The report also notes differences in cybersecurity capacity across countries.

Some countries have established cybersecurity frameworks and institutional capabilities, while others, including developing countries and small island states, reported resource and capacity constraints.

The report identifies jurisdictions with fragmented enforcement structures, limited technical capabilities, and weaker legislation as more exposed to exploitation by cybercriminal actors.

The report was prepared through the Asia and South Pacific Joint Operations against Cybercrime (ASPJOC) project, funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). It draws on information submitted by 18 INTERPOL member countries in the Asia and South Pacific region, along with contributions from private sector partners, operational case studies, and analysis of emerging cyber threat trends.

It is one of several regional cyber threat assessments produced by INTERPOL, alongside similar reports covering regions such as Africa. The full report is available from INTERPOL.

Why does this matter?

The report highlights how cybercrime is becoming a major security, economic and governance challenge across Asia and the South Pacific. As countries expand digital infrastructure, online banking, cloud services and digital government initiatives, cybercriminals are finding new opportunities to exploit vulnerabilities and target individuals, businesses and critical sectors.

The findings also illustrate the growing role of AI in cyberspace. While organisations increasingly use AI to strengthen cybersecurity, threat actors are adopting the same technologies to enhance phishing campaigns, generate deepfakes and automate attacks. This accelerating technological competition underscores the importance of international cooperation, cyber capacity-building and information sharing to strengthen resilience across the region.

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ChatGPT set to join Pentagon’s GenAI.mil platform

Mohammed Husain, OpenAI’s Strategic Delivery Lead for Cyber, said at the Defense One Tech Summit in Virginia that the company expects to launch ChatGPT on GenAI.mil, the US Department of Defense’s enterprise-wide generative AI platform, in early July. The deployment would extend ChatGPT access to more than 3 million defence, civilian, and military personnel.

According to Husain, the version of ChatGPT deployed on GenAI.mil will be certified to handle Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and operate at Impact Level 5 (IL5), a Defense Department cloud security classification for systems processing sensitive unclassified information. Husain said OpenAI continues to coordinate with the Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) on the rollout.

The Department of Defense launched GenAI.mil in December 2025, initially centred on Gemini for Government, before announcing plans to integrate models from OpenAI and xAI. Outside GenAI.mil, federal agencies have had access to ChatGPT since at least January 2025 through ChatGPT Gov.

In August 2025, OpenAI and the General Services Administration reached a OneGov agreement that reduced the price of ChatGPT access for federal agencies. Most recently, OpenAI’s GPT-5.4 model became available to federal government users on Amazon Bedrock and AWS GovCloud earlier this month.

Husain said that as the Department of Defense adopts more capable models, token consumption, the units used by AI systems to process and generate information, is likely to increase, particularly for higher-value tasks.

He pointed to Amazon’s early June announcement that OpenAI’s GPT-5.5, GPT-5.4, and Codex models are now available on Amazon Bedrock as an example of broader access to more capable, token-intensive models.

Husain said token efficiency, measured by the cost of completing tasks rather than raw processing speed, is expected to become an increasingly important consideration in government AI deployments as model capabilities advance.

Why does this matter?

The planned rollout highlights how frontier AI models are moving from experimental deployments into core government and defence infrastructure. Rather than relying on a single provider, the Pentagon is building an ecosystem that includes models from OpenAI, Google and xAI, reflecting a broader strategy of integrating commercial AI capabilities into operational environments.

The development also illustrates the growing institutionalisation of relationships between leading AI companies and national security organisations. As advanced AI systems become embedded in government workflows, questions around security, procurement, oversight, interoperability, and strategic dependence on private-sector AI providers are likely to become increasingly important.

The deployment of ChatGPT on GenAI.mil, therefore, represents not only a technology upgrade but also a step in the evolving governance of AI within national security institutions.

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UNESCO-backed initiative promotes AI skills and workforce innovation in East Africa

Nearly 1,000 students from across East Africa participated in the AI4EAC Innovation Challenge, a regional initiative designed to strengthen AI skills while encouraging practical solutions to local challenges.

Supported by UNESCO Campus Africa and several regional and international partners, the programme brought together students from 57 universities across East Africa.

One of the programme’s central themes was employment and workforce development through the Skills2Job Challenge. Participants were tasked with developing AI systems capable of identifying suitable occupations based on an individual’s skills profile.

Using data from UNESCO’s Global Skills Tracker, students developed machine-learning models aimed at improving career guidance, workforce mobility and skills-based hiring.

The winning projects explored different approaches to matching skills with labour market opportunities. Several participants argued that labour markets across Africa continue to place significant emphasis on formal qualifications, often overlooking transferable skills that could support employment across multiple sectors and industries.

UNESCO said the initiative demonstrates growing demand for AI skills across the region while highlighting the ability of young innovators to develop solutions tailored to local economic and social challenges.

The programme forms part of wider efforts to strengthen links between higher education, innovation ecosystems and employment opportunities throughout Africa.

Why does it matter?

The initiative highlights how AI can be applied to address practical development challenges, including the gap between education outcomes and labour market needs. By focusing on skills-based matching rather than formal qualifications alone, AI tools could help improve workforce mobility, career guidance and access to employment opportunities.

The programme also reflects the growing importance of AI capacity development across Africa. As governments, universities and businesses invest in digital transformation, building local AI talent and innovation ecosystems will be essential for ensuring that AI solutions are developed in ways that reflect regional priorities, economic realities and social needs.

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