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By Rina Chandran India Innovation 5 March 2026 Meta’s Oversight Board races to govern the AI surge As generative AI explodes on social media, the board’s slow, human-led review model faces a breaking point. By Ananya Bhattacharya Iran Tech Giants 4 March 2026 Iranian drone strikes at Amazon sites raise alarms over protecting data centers Tech industry’s past focus on cyberattacks and natural disasters overshadowed threats of physical attacks. By Viola Zhou ChinaIranQatarSaudi ArabiaUAEUS Tech Giants 4 March 2026 Big Tech’s Gulf megaprojects are trapped between two war choke points The U.S.-Iran conflict has closed the only two routes for data in and out of the region. By Indranil Ghosh Colombia Innovation 4 March 2026 An AI avatar is running to represent Indigenous voters in Colombia "Gaitana" is the digital stand-in for two candidates who will use the platform to seek consensus from their communities on all legislative matters. By Mariel Lozada and Rina Chandran India Q & A 4 March 2026 Open-source AI hardware could weaken Big Tech’s grip on AI A new device unveiled in India shows how AI systems can run locally, support diverse languages, and reduce dependence on proprietary models. By Ananya Bhattacharya India Innovation 3 March 2026 India’s tech sovereignty is built on digital dependence In his new book, “Computing in the Age of Decolonization: India’s Lost Technological Revolution,” researcher Dwaipayan Banerjee argues that a focus on technical solutions has made the country dependent on big tech firms and failed to solve fundamental social problems. By Dwaipayan Banerjee ChinaIranQatarSaudi ArabiaUS The Rise of AI 2 March 2026 Iranian strikes test the Gulf’s trillion-dollar AI dream The region sold itself as a safe harbor for the world’s data. Amazon’s burning data center in the UAE has upended that pitch. By Indranil Ghosh United StatesVietnam Innovation 2 March 2026 Trump opens for Vietnam the chip door he locked on China Washington’s move to lift export controls could turn Vietnam from a chip assembly hub into a manufacturing partner — and a strategic alternative to China. By Indranil Ghosh ChinaUnited States Global Dispatch 27 February 2026 AI video finally works. But it’s dividing creators AI can now generate lifelike images for film. Can it generate originality? By Viola Zhou ChinaUnited States EV Revolution 27 February 2026 Why are Chinese EVs cheaper than Tesla? Scale, low-cost talent, and in-house manufacturing account for most of BYD’s cost gap with Tesla. By Ananya Bhattacharya United States Q & A 26 February 2026 The next AI whistleblower could come from anywhere in the world A digital safe allows workers to speak up about concerns even in places without strong whistleblower protections, Mary Inman, a founding board member of Psst, said in an interview. By Rina Chandran United Arab Emirates EV Revolution 25 February 2026 Dubai taps U.S. startups to go over, under, and around its traffic The city has signed major deals for tunnels, self-driving pods, and flying taxis — but whether unproven systems can ease real congestion remains an open question. By Indranil Ghosh ChinaUnited States Innovation 24 February 2026 Data centers are racing to space — and regulation can’t keep up Experts warn the move could shift critical infrastructure beyond national laws — deepening digital dependence for much of the developing world. By Damilare Dosunmu Somalia Labor 23 February 2026 Gig workers in Africa have been helping the US military. They had no idea Data labelers for the company Appen say they have little insight about how their work is used. By Niamh McIntyre, Edwin Okoth and Cam Wilson ChinaUnited States Global 20 February 2026 U.S. plans Peace Corps-style “Tech Corps” to counter China’s AI exports Washington to send volunteers abroad to promote American AI models as Chinese open-weight models are proving popular. By Viola Zhou IndiaUnited States Global Dispatch 20 February 2026 If AI is so smart, why are our children unsafe? It’s time to move the burden of safety from parents to platforms. By Itika Sharma Punit BrazilIndiaMalaysia Innovation 19 February 2026 Can social media age verification really protect kids? As countries start enforcing new age-limit laws, platforms like Roblox use facial technology — but critics warn of privacy leaks and surveillance. By Rina Chandran India Innovation 19 February 2026 Family deepfakes help people celebrate and grieve in India There is growing demand for recreating dead and absent family members for events using AI. By Hanan Zaffar and Jyoti Thakur India Ideas 19 February 2026 AI sovereignty won’t come from renting Big Tech’s models As leaders meet in New Delhi, the bigger AI question is: Who controls the stack? By Raffi Krikorian Indonesia Creator Economy 18 February 2026 Creators are cashing in on a “Facebook renaissance” And Indonesian creators are leading the charge. By Hazel Gandhi ChinaUnited States Ideas 18 February 2026 AI is giving tech companies power that once belonged to governments AI companies wield enormous economic, political, and cultural power globally, with states reluctant to regulate them, potentially leading to risks and greater inequity. By Simon Chesterman China EV Revolution 18 February 2026 China’s rare-earth dominance is hard for EV makers to escape Western automakers are chasing rare earth-free motors but China’s cost advantage remains difficult to crack. By Kinling Lo Bhutan Innovation 18 February 2026 Bhutan’s crypto experiment shows how hard digital money is in the real world Nearly a year after launching a nationwide crypto payment system for tourists, merchants say hardly anyone is using it — raising questions about who the experiment really serves. By Ananya Bhattacharya China Innovation 17 February 2026 Polymarket courts Chinese users despite strict online gambling ban The crypto-based prediction platform is hiring Mandarin-speaking staff and adding Lunar New Year bets, even as it remains blocked in China. By Viola Zhou China Global Dispatch 13 February 2026 I let Alibaba’s AI agent plan my holiday. I ended up doing more work For reassurance, experimentation, and low-pressure decisions, AI agents can feel helpful. For bigger choices, I still trust myself more. By Kinling Lo ChinaUnited States Innovation 13 February 2026 Chinese boxing robots win fans in San Francisco American companies are staging boxing matches with VR-controlled Chinese humanoids to enthusiastic fans. A researcher says it is just robot theater. By Rina Chandran ChinaUnited States Innovation 13 February 2026 OpenAI accuses DeepSeek of “free-riding” on American R&D The ChatGPT maker says the Chinese firm may be distilling its models, underscoring rising tech tensions between Washington and Beijing. By Kinling Lo ChinaKenya Innovation 12 February 2026 How cheap Chinese phones catapulted Kenya into the global digital economy In his new book “Silicon Elsewhere: Nairobi, Global China, and the Promise of Techno-Capital,” writer Andrea Pollio charts the growth of Chinese investment and companies in the Kenyan capital. By Andrea Pollio IndiaUnited Arab EmiratesUnited States Ideas 11 February 2026 Can India be a “third way” AI alternative to the U.S. and China? The AI Impact Summit in India, the first in a developing country, proposes an option that focuses on public good and development. But can it deliver without capitulating to Big Tech? By Amba Kak and Astha Kapoor GhanaNigeriaRwandaSouth Africa Innovation 11 February 2026 Google backs African push to reclaim AI language data A new 21-language data set gives African institutions ownership and control in a field long dominated by Big Tech. By Damilare Dosunmu United States Innovation 10 February 2026 Immigrant women founders face double hurdle in Silicon Valley Persistent racism and sexism in the venture capital industry are denying immigrant women founders an opportunity to participate in the AI boom. By Rina Chandran Morocco Innovation 10 February 2026 Morocco wants to build AI that speaks for Africa Morocco’s Minister of Digital Transition on governing AI when the rules keep changing, building language models for Africa, and why regulation can coexist with innovation. By Indranil Ghosh ChinaSouth Korea Global 9 February 2026 AI is dominating the world’s memory chips. That could make phones more expensive As chipmakers rush to serve AI data centers, consumer electronics are left in short supply. By Viola Zhou IndiaUnited States Tech Giants 9 February 2026 Silicon Valley can’t import talent like before. So it’s exporting jobs Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and other U.S. tech giants are ramping up India hiring. By Ananya Bhattacharya ArgentinaBrazilCanadaChinaIndonesiaThailand EV Revolution 9 February 2026 The great Chinese EV exodus A consolidation among Chinese carmakers is flooding markets from São Paulo to Dubai. By Kinling Lo Posts navigation Previous Next About us Privacy Policy Platforms Newsletter Donate Contact © 2026 Rest of World