Donald Trump threatens EU with tariffs and initiates a trade investigation after the European Commission fines Google €890m, also citing fines against Apple, Meta, and Amazon, claiming unfair treatment of US tech companies.
Over 20 US tech companies, including Nvidia, Microsoft, and Meta, sent a letter urging policymakers to avoid "premature restrictions" on open-weight AI models, arguing such limits could stifle competition and innovation. The debate intensifies amid concerns over Chinese models and intellectual property theft, with key players like OpenAI and Anthropic not signing the letter.
White House science advisor Michael Kratsios accused Chinese AI company Moonshot of building its Kimi K3 LLM by copying Anthropic's Fable and using export-banned Nvidia chips. Experts are skeptical about the distillation claims, while the chip allegations highlight black market concerns.
Beijing plans to increase its intelligent computing power to over 130,000 petaflops by late 2026 and implement new policies for its "token economy," accelerating AI adoption to compete with the US in the tech race.
Firmus Technologies, an AI data centre company, inadvertently published an internal note on its FAQ page revealing plans to use farm irrigation water for its proposed Wesley Vale facility in Tasmania. The company deleted the note after ABC inquiries, stating rainwater harvesting is the primary plan, but community concerns persist regarding water usage.
Google faces delays with its Gemini 3.5 AI model, impacting its market position, while Chinese startup Moonshot releases a free, open-weight model, intensifying US-China AI competition. Simultaneously, Silicon Valley workers are taking collective action, including lawsuits and petitions, to protect their jobs from AI automation amidst the industry boom.
Analysts believe a sharp pullback in SpaceX and valuation pressure on US tech giants will not significantly impact Hong Kong equities, citing distinct business models and less stretched valuations for local tech firms.
China is rapidly developing a national ecosystem for Chinese-language data to support its AI ambitions, viewing this as a strategic advantage amid US tech restrictions.
A second UK parliamentary committee has called for the NHS to terminate its £330m contract with Palantir, citing public mistrust and inadequate privacy protections for sensitive health data. MPs want an alternative to Palantir's federated data platform, echoing concerns from the science and technology committee and NHS staff.
An editor explores alternative photographic techniques like slit-scanning and digital flat-bed scanning to create experimental images of the World Cup, drawing parallels to historical sports photography methods and emphasizing photography's artistic potential.
Tech giants like Google and Amazon are seeing increased carbon emissions due to AI investments, jeopardizing net-zero goals. Meanwhile, Meta is exploring new revenue streams like cloud computing and prediction markets amid stock decline and legal challenges.
US tech firm Anthropic has embedded code in its AI models to identify and block Chinese users, citing national security concerns. The company accuses Alibaba of a massive "distillation attack" to clone its AI capabilities.
The AI industry is undergoing a financial stress test as global markets slump, with major tech stocks like Alphabet, Samsung, and SK Hynix experiencing significant drops. Concurrently, California's proposed billionaire tax is influencing political discourse, prompting Governor Gavin Newsom to propose a nationwide minimum tax on the super-wealthy.
Hackers stole over 630GB of confidential data from Apple supplier Tata Electronics in India, including details on the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro. The ransomware group World Leaks published the files, exposing supplier information and potentially impacting Apple's supply chain secrecy and India manufacturing strategy.
Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 100% tariff on any country that implements a digital service tax on US tech companies. The former president stated on Truth Social that these tariffs would override any previous agreements and named Europe as a potential target.
Apple increased prices for Macs, iPads, and other devices globally by up to 20% due to surging memory and storage costs driven by AI data centers, causing a US$260 billion market cap drop and a 6.15% share decline, with analysts warning of potential iPhone price hikes.
China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has introduced the first national standard for "Artificial Intelligence Agent Interconnection," aiming to create a unified identity management framework for AI agents to ensure secure cross-domain interaction and support enterprise AI adoption, according to CCTV.
Illinois lawmakers have passed a groundbreaking AI safety bill requiring third-party safety audits for companies like OpenAI and Google. Other news includes Xreal's Xbox-themed smart glasses, Waymo's expansion into Virginia, a new tiny octopus species discovery, and a massive bee colony found under a New York cemetery.
Major global corporations, including Amazon, AirTrunk, ABB, CPP Investments, Saint-Gobain, and Google, are committing billions of dollars in new investments to India. These commitments, totaling over $100 billion, signal India's increasing importance as a long-term growth market for cloud computing, AI, digital infrastructure, and manufacturing, despite global economic uncertainties.
360 Security Technology founder Zhou Hongyi called for China to develop its own AI cybersecurity model, akin to Anthropic's Mythos, to counter US technological advantage and cybersecurity risks. He described Mythos as a "cyber nuclear weapon" that has democratized cyberattacks, putting China at a strategic disadvantage.
China Telecom awarded a major server procurement deal for 2026-2027, worth up to $1.7 billion, to six domestic companies. Huawei indirectly benefits through its Kunpeng ecosystem, while other tech giants like ZTE and Lenovo secured contracts for C86 servers, reflecting a trend of state-owned carriers prioritizing domestic technology.
Washington's decision to block foreign access to Anthropic's advanced AI model, Claude Fable 5, has led to a global suspension and prompted businesses to reconsider reliance on US tech, creating an opening for Chinese competitors like Zhipu AI.
Iran and the US, with mediators, concluded successful technical talks in Switzerland, agreeing on arrangements for future negotiations, including working groups and implementation mechanisms, to end their over 100-day war.
48 Chinese iOS developers have filed a complaint with China's market watchdog against Apple, alleging unfair App Store commission rates and abuse of market dominance. They claim Apple failed to offer the lowest commission rate to the Chinese market.
