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Anthropic opens Milan office, highlights responsible AI development

The US AI company, Anthropic, has announced the opening of a new office in Milan, expanding its European presence alongside existing locations in London, Dublin, Paris, Zurich and Munich. The company says the Italian office will support enterprises, developers and researchers adopting Claude AI while contributing to broader discussions about the societal impact of AI.

The announcement comes shortly after the publication of Pope Leo XIV’s AI-focused encyclical ‘Magnifica Humanitas’. Anthropic highlighted the participation of co-founder Chris Olah in the Vatican presentation, where he discussed the ethical challenges associated with advanced AI and called for wider involvement from governments, academia, civil society and religious institutions in shaping AI’s future.

Anthropic says its technology has already been adopted by several major Italian organisations, including Generali Group, Unipol Group, Angelini Pharma, Bracco Group, Enel Group and Pirelli.

The company also highlighted partnerships with Italian technology firms. According to Anthropic, JAKALA deployed Claude across more than 3,000 users, while Satispay and Bending Spoons have integrated Claude into software development workflows to accelerate engineering and product development.

Anthropic says the Milan office will help support the AI ecosystem of Italy while encouraging broader debate about how advanced AI technologies should be developed and deployed responsibly.

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Spain urges immediate action on global AI governance at UN laboratory launch

Spain has renewed its call for stronger international AI governance following the launch of the UN AI Governance for Humanity Lab in Valencia.

Speaking at the opening event, Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Administration Óscar López said AI must serve peace and people, and warned that governments and international institutions must act quickly if AI governance is to become more than an unfulfilled ambition.

López said science and democracy should work together to ensure AI helps reduce poverty and narrow the industrial divide between the Global North and the Global South. He described the laboratory as a further step in Spain’s commitment to multilateral, ethical, and trustworthy AI development.

The minister also pointed to Spain’s growing role in AI governance, highlighting initiatives such as the Digital Rights Charter, the Digital Rights Observatory, the Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence, the EU AI Act, and Spain’s recently approved law on the good use and governance of AI.

The new laboratory, operating under the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies, will act as a global coordination body focused on the impact of AI through international governance, risk assessment, multilateral cooperation, and support for the UN Global Digital Compact.

Based in Quart de Poblet, Valencia, the lab aims to build a shared understanding of how AI is governed across countries, advance interoperability among governance frameworks, and support implementation across regions and sectors. Through reports and recommendations, it will support international scientific panels and inform decisions by the UN General Assembly.

The lab will also support the Valencia Dialogues, a series of technical workshops designed to develop concrete and actionable contributions to the laboratory’s work.

Why does it matter?

The launch of the UN AI Governance for Humanity Lab gives the Global Digital Compact a more concrete institutional anchor for AI governance work. Its focus on risk assessment, interoperability, multilateral cooperation, and implementation across regions and sectors reflects a growing effort to move global AI governance from principles and declarations towards practical coordination mechanisms.

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ECB explores AI tools for monitoring financial stability risks

The European Central Bank (ECB) has examined how AI could support financial stability monitoring and communication, comparing traditional dictionary-based sentiment analysis with transformer models and GPT-based systems. The study was published as part of the ECB’s May 2026 Financial Stability Review.

Researchers analysed all ECB Financial Stability Review publications between 2004 and 2025 to evaluate how AI systems interpret financial stability risks and vulnerabilities. The study found that GPT-based models were better able to isolate explicit risk assessments and identify stronger signals during periods of financial stress, including the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ECB also introduced its SPOT indicator, an AI-powered system that uses large language models and financial news coverage to assess the severity and probability of potential financial stability triggers. According to the study, the system detected elevated risk levels ahead of several major geopolitical and economic disruptions.

Despite the growing capabilities of AI-based analysis, the ECB stressed that such tools should remain complementary to human expertise, vulnerability analysis and stress testing. The ECB stressed that financial stability assessments cannot rely solely on automated systems because forecasting shocks and systemic crises remains inherently uncertain.

Why does it matter?

Central banks are increasingly exploring AI tools to analyse large volumes of financial reports, market data, and news coverage. The ECB’s findings suggest that advanced AI models could help identify emerging vulnerabilities and support risk monitoring, while also highlighting the continued need for human judgement in assessing complex financial and geopolitical developments.

As financial systems become more interconnected, AI may become an increasingly important component of central bank analytical toolkits.

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ITU puts AI and creativity in focus at Geneva summit

The International Telecommunication Union will place AI and digital creativity in the spotlight during the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, where artists, musicians, filmmakers, and technologists will discuss how AI is reshaping creative industries.

The summit’s AI Creativity and Culture track will explore questions around ownership, authenticity, copyright, and the growing role of generative AI in artistic production. Sessions will examine how AI tools are affecting media, music, publishing, design, fashion, entertainment, journalism, and creative labour.

High-profile participants include John Legend, who will discuss AI and music with Universal Music Group’s Michael Nash, and will.i.am, who will focus on skills, education, and AI. The programme will also feature AI-driven art installations, robotic musical performances, and screenings during the AI for Good Film Festival.

The festival, now in its second year, has received more than 1,200 contest submissions, with selected films to be shown during the summit. The programme will also include the third edition of Canvas of the Future, ITU’s AI-powered art contest, focused on how AI is shaping the future of education and work.

Organised by ITU with partners across the UN system and co-convened with Switzerland, AI for Good is intended to demonstrate AI solutions for people, planet, and prosperity. The 2026 creative programme reflects growing international attention to how AI is changing cultural production, intellectual property, and the economics of creative work.

Why does it matter?

The programme shows how AI governance debates are expanding beyond safety, productivity, and infrastructure into culture, copyright, ownership, and creative labour. By bringing together artists, entertainment companies, technologists, and UN actors in a single forum, AI for Good is treating AI creativity as both an economic opportunity and a policy challenge.

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YouTube expands AI transparency rules with automatic content detection

YouTube is updating its approach to AI-generated content by introducing more visible disclosure labels and new automatic detection systems designed to improve transparency for viewers and creators.

The update follows growing concerns around realistic synthetic media, manipulated videos, and generative AI tools across major digital platforms.

Under the revised system, labels for photorealistic or meaningfully AI-altered or generated content will appear directly below long-form videos and as overlays on Shorts. Less realistic, animated, or slightly altered content will continue to be disclosed in expanded video descriptions.

The company is also rolling out internal AI detection signals to identify AI-generated content when creators fail to disclose it themselves. If YouTube’s systems detect significant use of photorealistic AI, the platform may automatically apply a label.

Creators will still be able to update the disclosure status in YouTube Studio if they believe their content has been incorrectly identified as AI-generated. However, disclosures will remain permanent in some cases, including content created with YouTube’s own AI tools, such as Veo or Dream Screen, and content that contains C2PA metadata indicating that AI fully generated it.

YouTube said the updated labels are intended to balance transparency with creator control. The company also said that a disclosure label alone does not change how a video is recommended or whether it is eligible to earn money.

Why does it matter?

YouTube’s update reflects a broader shift towards platform-level governance of synthetic media and generative AI content. As realistic AI-generated video becomes easier to produce, platforms face growing pressure to make synthetic content more visible to users while preserving creator workflows and avoiding over-penalisation. The move also shows how provenance tools such as C2PA and automated detection systems are becoming part of mainstream content governance.

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Anthropic co-founder discusses AI ethics after Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical

Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah warned that frontier AI development is increasingly shaped by commercial and geopolitical pressures. He said that during remarks delivered at the Vatican presentation of Pope Leo XIV’s new AI-focused encyclical Magnifica humanitas.

Speaking in Vatican City, Olah said advanced AI systems raise questions extending beyond computer science and engineering into ethics, philosophy, governance, and public policy. He argued that decisions surrounding AI systems and their societal impact should involve broader participation from public institutions and civil society rather than remaining concentrated within technology companies alone.

Olah also highlighted concerns about the social and economic effects of AI deployment, including possible labour-market disruption and unequal distribution of AI-related economic benefits. According to Olah, advanced AI development remains concentrated in a limited number of countries and organisations, while mechanisms for broader distribution of benefits remain unclear.

The remarks also addressed ongoing scientific uncertainty surrounding the internal behaviour of advanced AI systems. Olah said researchers continue to identify complex and not yet fully understood patterns within large AI models. He noted that some researchers have drawn comparisons between certain AI model behaviours and aspects of human cognition, while stressing the need for continued research and public scrutiny.

The remarks echoed themes from Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica humanitas, which called for stronger safeguards around AI governance, accountability, and protection of human dignity.

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Study says AI is rewiring global trade and reshaping economic power

A new Allianz Research report argues that AI is transforming global trade, supply chains, digital infrastructure, and geopolitical influence.

The report says AI growth increasingly depends on global semiconductor production, cloud infrastructure, hyperscale data centres, and cross-border digital services. It also argues that trade is increasingly shaped by who controls AI infrastructure, data flows, and cloud capacity.

Allianz Research says exports of AI-enabling goods rose from USD 1 trillion in 2014 to USD 3.8 trillion in 2025, accounting for 15% of global trade and far outpacing overall goods trade growth. Asia dominates the supply side, accounting for 65% of global AI-related exports and seven of the top ten exporters, led by China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

The report also highlights the United States’ role as a centre of hyperscale AI infrastructure. It says the US has tripled its AI-related imports since 2023 and is home to 5,427 operational data centres, equivalent to 45% of the global total.

Europe faces a different challenge. According to Allianz Research, the region has less than 10GW of operational data-centre capacity, compared with 60GW in the US, while US hyperscalers already control 35% of European computing capacity and are consolidating a 70% share of the cloud market. The report points to fragmented regulation, complex permitting processes, grid connection delays, limited funding, and the absence of a domestic hyperscaler as factors that reinforce European dependence.

The study also warns that AI diffusion could widen EU-US service imbalances by requiring recurring payments to American AI providers and cloud platforms. In a high-adoption scenario, annual payments by eurozone users to US AI services providers could rise from EUR 2.7 billion to EUR 34 billion, according to the report.

Allianz Research concludes that AI governance, industrial policy, export restrictions, subsidies, and digital trade regulation are becoming central components of global economic competition. Governments are increasingly treating semiconductors, cloud infrastructure, data centres, and AI services as strategic assets linked to national security, economic resilience, and geopolitical influence.

Why does it matter?

The report frames AI as a trade and industrial policy issue, not only a technology story. Its findings suggest that control over semiconductors, cloud infrastructure, data centres, and AI services could shape which economies capture AI-driven productivity gains and which become more dependent on foreign platforms, supply chains, and infrastructure. For Europe, the key concern is a possible double dependence on US cloud and AI services and Asian hardware supply chains.

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WhatsApp introduces private AI chat mode for Meta AI conversations

WhatsApp has introduced a new private mode for conversations with Meta AI that limits storage and retention of chat data. According to Meta, conversations are designed to disappear after chats end and are not stored on company servers.

WhatsApp head Will Cathcart said the feature responds to user demand for more private AI interactions involving sensitive topics. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the feature as an AI product designed without persistent server-side conversation logs.

Professor Alan Woodward of the University of Surrey reportedly raised concerns about how disappearing conversations could affect accountability and investigations into harmful AI interactions. According to reports, critics argued that limited data retention could complicate review processes in cases involving harm or misuse.

Meta stated that the feature will initially support text-based interactions and include safeguards intended to block harmful or illegal requests. The announcement comes amid Meta’s broader expansion of AI-related products and infrastructure investments.

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Google says AI Mode surpasses one billion monthly users

Google said its AI Mode feature has surpassed one billion monthly active users globally. The figures were published in a company blog post marking one year since the feature’s launch.

According to Google, AI Mode query volumes have more than doubled each quarter since launch. Google described AI Mode as combining traditional search functions with conversational AI interactions.

The company also reported increasing use of voice and image-based search features in the United States. Google said image-based searches and planning-related AI Mode queries have grown significantly in recent months.

The company also highlighted growth in exploratory and idea-oriented search queries. The update was released ahead of Google I/O 2026 and reflects Google’s broader focus on AI-integrated search experiences.

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Taiwan says power supply ready for AI growth

Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said the country is prepared to meet increasing electricity demand linked to the AI data centre expansion. The comments followed remarks by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang regarding the growing energy requirements of AI infrastructure development. Huang stated that sufficient power availability would be important for continued AI-related economic growth.

Construction of Nvidia’s planned Taiwan headquarters at Taipei’s Beitou–Shilin Technology Park is scheduled to begin this week.

According to officials, four gas-fired power plants are expected to gradually enter operation by the end of 2026, adding approximately 5.2 gigawatts of electricity capacity. Additional public and private power generation projects are also planned between 2027 and 2031.

The ministry said Taiwan’s experience supporting energy-intensive semiconductor industries has informed existing infrastructure planning. Officials stated that anticipated energy demand from AI-related industries had already been incorporated into long-term planning processes.

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