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Wikipedia publishes guide to spot AI-generated entries

Wikipedia editors have published a guide titled ‘Signs of AI Writing’ to support readers and contributors in detecting AI-generated content across the encyclopedia.

The field guide distils key linguistic and formatting traits commonly found in AI output, such as overblown symbolism, promotional tone, repetitive transitions, rule-of-three phrasing and editorial commentary that breaks Wikipedia’s standards.

The initiative stems from the community’s ongoing challenge against AI-generated content, which has grown enough to warrant the creation of a dedicated project named WikiProject AI Cleanup.

Volunteers have developed tools like speedy deletion policies to quickly remove suspicious entries and tagged over 500 articles for review.

While the guide aims to strengthen detection, editors caution that it should not be treated as a shortcut but should complement human judgement, oversight, and trusted community processes. Such layered scrutiny helps preserve Wikipedia’s reputation for reliability.

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Atlassian bets on AI browsers with $610m deal

The proprietary software firm Atlassian is entering the AI browser market with a $610 million deal to acquire The Browser Company of New York, creator of Arc and Dia. The move signals an attempt to turn browsers into intelligent assistants instead of leaving them as passive tools.

Traditional browsers are blank slates, forcing users to juggle tabs and applications without context. Arc and Dia promise a different approach by connecting tasks, offering in-line AI support, and adapting to user behaviour. Atlassian believes these features could transform productivity for knowledge workers.

Analysts note, however, that AI browsers are still experimental. While they offer potential to integrate workflows and reduce distractions, rivals like Chrome, Edge and Safari already dominate with established ecosystems and security features. Convincing users to change habits may prove difficult.

Industry observers suggest Atlassian’s move is more a long-term bet on natural language and agentic browsing than an immediate market shift. For now, AI browsers remain promising but unproven alternatives to conventional tools.

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Weekly #228 Roadmap to the digital future: WSIS+20 zero draft paves the way

29 August – 5 September 2025

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Dear readers,

In 2003-2005, a landmark UN summit – the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) – outlined a vision for an inclusive information society, set out recommendations for making this vision a reality, and laid the basis for much of what we call today the global digital governance architecture. Twenty years later, UN member states are looking at progress made in achieving the goals set back then and areas requiring further effort, as well as at whether the WSIS architecture needs updates. This unfolding WSIS+20 review process will end in December 2025 with a high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly. In the lead-up to the meeting, negotiations and consultations are now focused on concrete text for what will become a WSIS+20 outcome document. This concrete text – called the zero draft – was released last week.

Digital divides and inclusion take centre stage in the zero draft. While connectivity has expanded – 95% of the global population is now within reach of broadband, and internet use has grown from 15% in 2005 to 67% in 2025 – significant gaps remain. Disparities persist across countries, urban and rural areas, genders, persons with disabilities, older populations, and minority language speakers. The draft calls for affordable entry-level broadband, local multilingual content, digital literacy, and mechanisms to connect the unconnected, ensuring equitable access.

The digital economy continues to transform trade, finance, and industry, creating opportunities for small and women-led businesses but also risks deepening inequalities through concentrated technological power and automation. Against this backdrop, the draft outlines a commitment to supporting the development of digital financial services, and a call for stakeholders to foster ‘open, fair, inclusive and non-discriminatory digital environments.

Environmental sustainability is a key consideration, as ICTs facilitate monitoring of climate change and resource management, yet their growth contributes to energy demand, emissions, and electronic waste. Standing out in the draft is a call for the development of global reporting standards on environmental impacts, and of global standards for sustainable product design, and circular economy practices to align digital innovation with environmental goals.

The Zero Draft reaffirms human rights, confidence and security, and multistakeholder internet governance as central pillars of the digital ecosystem. Human rights are positioned as the foundation of digital cooperation, with commitments to protect freedom of expression, privacy, access to information, and the rights of women, children, and other vulnerable groups. Strengthening confidence and security in the use of technology is seen as essential for innovation and sustainable development, with emphasis on protecting users from threats such as online abuse and violence, hate speech, and misinformation, while ensuring safeguards for privacy and freedom of expression.

The draft outlines a series of key (desirable) attributes for the internet – open, free, global, interoperable, reliable, secure, stable – and highlights the need for more inclusive internet governance discussions, across stakeholder groups (governments, the private sector, civil society, academia, and technical communities) and across developed and developing countries alike.

To advance capacity building in relation to AI, the draft proposes a UN AI research programme and AI capacity building fellowship, both with a focus on developing countries. In parallel, the draft welcomes ongoing initiatives such as the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance.

Recognising the critical importance of global cooperation in internet governance, the draft designates the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) as a permanent UN body and calls for enhanced secretariat support, enhanced working methods, and reporting on outcomes to UN entities and processes (which are then called to duly take these outputs into account in their work). The long-discussed issue of IGF financial sustainability is addressed in the form of a request for the UN Secretary-General to make proposals on future funding.

Finally, the draft looks at the interplay between WSIS, the Global Digital Compact and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and outlines several mechanisms for better connecting them and avoiding duplication and overlaps. These include a joint WSIS-GDC implementation roadmap, the inclusion of GDC review and follow-up into existing annual WSIS mechanisms (at the level of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development and the Economic and Social Council), and reviews in GDC-WSIS alignments at the GA level Speaking of overall reviews, the draft also envisions a combined review of Agenda 2030 and of outcomes of the WSIS-GDC joint implementation roadmap in 2030, as well as a WSIS+30 review in 2035.

Looking ahead

The Zero Draft sets the stage for intense negotiations ahead of the December 2025 High-Level Meeting. Member states and other stakeholders are invited to submit comments until 26 September. It then remains to be seen what a second version of the outcome document will look like, and which elements are kept, revised, or removed.👉 Follow the process with us on our dedicated web page, where we will track key developments, highlight emerging debates, and provide expert analysis as the negotiations unfold.

DW Team

Highlights from the week of 29 August – 5 September 2025

Switzerland launches Apertus, an open multilingual AI model

The model is designed to boost innovation while remaining fully transparent and accessible to all.

TSMC Semiconductors AI A14 logic process

TSMC faces curbs on shipping US tech to China

The USA revoked TSMC’s licence to ship advanced technology to China, adding pressure to global semiconductor supply chains.

Google AI Mode Search Labs restaurant reservations US EU

Google avoids forced breakup in search monopoly trial

The ruling bars Google from exclusive distribution deals for products like Search, Chrome and Gemini.

CJEU dismisses bid to annul EU-US data privacy framework

The EU General Court upheld the EU–US Data Privacy Framework, rejecting claims it lacks adequate safeguards and independence in oversight of US data practices involving personal data from the EU.

France and Germany announce a joint Economic Agenda

The document flagship outlines projects in AI, quantum, cloud, and space, promotes a Franco-German digital ecosystem for public services, and sets the stage for the 2025 European Digital Sovereignty Summit.

Salt Typhoon espionage campaign revealed through global cybersecurity advisory

A joint cybersecurity advisory details how Salt Typhoon exploited unpatched network-edge devices to infiltrate telecommunications, military and government systems across 13 countries.

SCO Tianjin Summit puts tech, AI, and digital governance high on the agenda

The SCO Tianjin Declaration emphasised cyber sovereignty, inclusive AI development, global cybersecurity norms, and stronger cooperation in the digital economy.

Nigeria drafts framework for AI use in governance and services

A global report found 63% of employers say AI has significantly boosted productivity at work.

View all updates

READING CORNER

BLOG featured image 2025 From summer disillusionment to autumn clarity

From summer disillusionment to autumn clarity: Ten lessons for AI – Diplo

As classrooms and negotiation tables fill again, a pressing question lingers: where is AI headed? This summer marked a turning point, as the ‘bigger is better’ narrative faltered. This blog captures ten key lessons from a season of AI disillusionment.

Why apprenticeship and storytelling are the future of learning in the AI Era – Diplo

Why apprenticeship and storytelling are the future of learning in the AI Era AI is forcing us to ask a deeper question: what is the real purpose of learning?

UPCOMING EVENTS

Diplo EVENT 2025 African Priorities for the Global Digital

African priorities for the Global Digital Compact – Diplo Event

The webinar will bring together African experts from technology, development, diplomacy and policy domains to discuss which digital issues must be urgently prioritised to keep Africa on course in a rapidly changing world.

UN Cyber Dialogue 2025 web banners 678x248px 1

UN Cyber Dialogue: Shaping the future global mechanism for cyber-stability – Diplo Event

In this one-hour session, several experts – Asoke Mukerji, Isaac Morales Tenorio, and Fan Yang will debate the future of global cyber negotiations — tackling obstacles, testing new ideas, and asking whether the UN dialogue can move from compromise to real progress.

Human Rights Council (HRC) 60th session

This session provides a key platform for the international community to discuss, promote, and protect human rights worldwide.

Decoding the UN CSTD Working Group on Data Governance online series

The event will discuss the progress made by the Multi-Stakeholder Working Group on Data Governance and the expectations for the next meeting, which will take place on 15-16 September.

DeepSeek prepares new AI agent model to rival US competitors

According to people familiar with the plans, Chinese startup DeepSeek is developing an AI model with enhanced agent features to compete with US firms such as OpenAI.

The Hangzhou-based company intends for the system to perform multi-step tasks with limited input and adapt from its previous actions.

Founder Liang Wenfeng has urged his team to prepare the release before the end of 2025. The project follows DeepSeek’s earlier success with R1, a reasoning-focused model launched in January that attracted attention for its low development costs.

Since then, DeepSeek has delivered only incremental updates while rivals in China and the US have accelerated new product launches.

The shift towards AI agents reflects a broader industry move to develop tools capable of managing complex real-world tasks, from research to coding, with less reliance on users. OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, and Manus AI have already introduced similar projects.

Most systems still require significant oversight, highlighting the challenges of building fully autonomous agents.

DeepSeek declined to comment on the development.

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IBM Cloud replaces free support with AI tools

The cloud computing services offered by IBM will end free human support under its Basic Support tier in January 2026, opting for an AI-driven self-service model instead.

Users will lose the option to open or escalate technical cases through the portal or APIs. However, they can still report service issues via the Cloud Console and raise billing or account cases through the Support Portal.

IBM will direct customers to its Watsonx-powered AI Assistant, upgraded earlier in the year, while introducing a ‘Report an Issue’ tool to improve routing. The company plans to expand its support library to provide more detailed self-help resources.

Starting at $200 per month, paid support will remain available for organisations needing faster response times and direct technical assistance.

The company describes the change as an alignment with industry norms. AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure already provide free tiers that rely on community forums, online resources and billing support.

However, IBM Cloud holds only 2–4 percent of the market, according to Synergy Research Group, which some analysts suggest makes cost reductions in support more likely. Tencent, another provider, previously withdrew support for basic users because they were not profitable.

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SCO Tianjin Summit puts tech, AI, and digital governance high on the agenda

Tech, AI, and digital issues were prominent during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin on 1 December. The resulting SCO Tianjin Declaration championed the principles of cyber sovereignty and equal rights for all nations in governing the internet and AI, outlining a clear agenda for regional and global digital policy.

Here are the key highlights:

Artificial Intelligence

The SCO endorsed a push for inclusive AI development, formally backing the UN General Assembly resolution on AI capacity-building, highlighting the “equal right to develop and utilise AI.” To operationalise this vision, the declaration supports two major initiatives:

The establishment of a Central Asian AI Centre in Dushanbe.
The creation of a dedicated SCO mechanism for cooperation in AI.

This commitment was reinforced by a separate statement issued during the Summit on deepening international collaboration.

Cybersecurity

In the cybersecurity realm, the SCO focuses on the central role of the UN in establishing global norms. The Tianjin Declaration specifically called for the signing of the UN Convention on Cybercrime, signalling the organisation’s preference for a UN-led framework for international cybersecurity.

Digital Economy

To foster regional growth, the summit advanced cooperation in the digital economy. Member states adopted a formal statement on strengthening digital economic development. A key outcome was the call to establish a dedicated SCO program to enhance cooperation on e-commerce among member states.

Higher relevance

As outlined by Chinese President Xi during the Summit, the Global Governance Initiative put forward five guiding principles: adhering to sovereign equality, abiding by international rule of law, practising multilateralism, advocating the people-centred approach, and focusing on taking real actions. As tech, AI, and digital governance are two of the focus areas of the Initiative, it remains to be seen how they will impact the UN and other processes and initiatives.

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Latvia launches open AI framework for Europe

Language technology company Tilde has released an open AI framework designed for all European languages.

The model, named ‘TildeOpen’, was developed with the support of the European Commission and trained on the Lumi supercomputer in Finland.

According to Tilde’s head Artūrs Vasiļevskis, the project addresses a key gap in US-based AI systems, which often underperform for smaller European languages such as Latvian. By focusing on European linguistic diversity, the framework aims to provide better accessibility across the continent.

Vasiļevskis also suggested that Latvia has the potential to become an exporter of AI solutions. However, he acknowledged that development is at an early stage and that current applications remain relatively simple. The framework and user guidelines are freely accessible online.

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China and India adopt contrasting approaches to AI governance

As AI becomes central to business strategy, questions of corporate governance and regulation are gaining prominence. The study by Akshaya Kamalnath and Lin Lin examines how China and India are addressing these issues through law, policy, and corporate practice.

The paper focuses on three questions: how regulations are shaping AI and data protection in corporate governance, how companies are embedding technological expertise into governance structures, and how institutional differences influence each country’s response.

Findings suggest a degree of convergence in governance practices. Both countries have seen companies create chief technology officer roles, establish committees to manage technological risks, and disclose information about their use of AI.

In China, these measures are largely guided by central and provincial authorities, while in India, they reflect market-driven demand.

China’s approach is characterised by a state-led model that combines laws, regulations, and soft-law tools such as guidelines and strategic plans. The system is designed to encourage innovation while addressing risks in an adaptive manner.

India, by contrast, has fewer binding regulations and relies on a more flexible, principles-based model shaped by judicial interpretation and self-regulation.

Broader themes also emerge. In China, state-owned enterprises are using AI to support environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals, while India has framed its AI strategy under the principle of ‘AI for All’ with a focus on the role of public sector organisations.

Together, these approaches underline how national traditions and developmental priorities are shaping AI governance in two of the world’s largest economies.

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Switzerland launches Apertus, an open multilingual AI model

Switzerland has launched its first large-scale open-source language model, Apertus, developed by EPFL, ETH Zurich, and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre. Trained on the powerful Alps supercomputer in Lugano, Apertus is designed to set a new standard for transparency and multilingual inclusivity in Europe’s AI landscape.

The model comes in two sizes, 8 billion and 70 billion parameters, and supports over 1,000 languages, with 40% of its training data drawn from non-English sources. That allows it to handle underrepresented languages such as Swiss German and Romansh more effectively.

Unlike proprietary AI systems, Apertus is fully open. Its architecture, training data recipes, model weights, and documentation are publicly accessible.

The model can be downloaded from Hugging Face or accessed via Swisscom’s sovereign Swiss AI platform, with both research and commercial use permitted under a permissive license. Developers highlight that its design ensures compliance with Swiss and the EU regulations, with careful filtering of training data for quality and ethical standards.

The release comes just ahead of the Swiss {ai} Weeks hackathons, where developers and researchers will put Apertus to the test. Organisers describe the model as more than a research breakthrough, framing it as a tool to drive innovation across society and industry.

Looking ahead, the Apertus project aims to expand its family of models, improve efficiency, and develop specialised versions for fields like law, health, climate, and education, further strengthening Switzerland’s role in shaping open, public-benefit AI.

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AI improves detection of dangerous plaques linked to heart risk

Researchers have shown that AI can analyse coronary scans after a heart attack and predict future risks better than traditional review. The findings come from the PECTUS-AI study, published in the European Heart Journal.

Using optical coherence tomography, the AI algorithm identified vulnerable plaques across entire artery segments.

Patients with these thin-cap fibroatheromas were found to have significantly higher rates of death, repeat heart attacks or unplanned procedures over two years.

Manual frame-by-frame review by specialists remains time-consuming and inconsistent, while AI delivers a faster and more standardised assessment.

Researchers say further validation is needed before routine adoption, but the technology could play an important role in secondary prevention.

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