Governance and Legislation

Armenia plans major AI hub with NVIDIA and Firebird

(DigWatch – 16 June 2025) Armenia has unveiled plans to develop a $500mn AI supercomputing hub in partnership with US tech leader NVIDIA, AI cloud firm Firebird, and local telecoms group Team. Announced at the Viva Technology conference in Paris, the initiative marks the largest tech investment ever seen in the South Caucasus. Due to open in 2026, the facility will house thousands of NVIDIA’s Blackwell GPUs and offer more than 100 megawatts of scalable computing power. Designed to advance AI research, training and entrepreneurship, the hub aims to position Armenia as a leading player in global AI development. – https://dig.watch/updates/armenia-plans-major-ai-hub-with-nvidia-and-firebird

Avoiding an AI Arms Race with Assurance Technologies

(AI Frontiers – 16 June 2025) As AI’s transformative potential and national security significance grow, so has the incentive for countries to develop AI capabilities that outcompete their adversaries. Leaders in both the US and Chinese governments have indicated that they see their countries in an arms race to harness the economic and strategic advantages of powerful AI. Yet as the benefits of AI come thick and fast, so might its risks. In a 2024 Science article, a broad coalition of experts from academia and industry raised the alarm about the serious threats that advanced AI may soon pose — such as AI misuse or loss of control events leading to large-scale cyber, nuclear, or biological calamities. Because these risks wouldn’t be constrained by geography, it is in everyone’s interests to mitigate them, hence calls by scientists from multiple countries for international efforts to regulate AI. However, an international AI development deal will only succeed if all parties — including rival nations — can ascertain that their counterparts are upholding their commitments. – https://aifrontiersmedia.substack.com/p/avoiding-an-ai-arms-race-with-assurance

Switzerland’s unique AI path: Blending innovation, governance, and local empowerment

(DigWatch – 16 June 2025) In his recent blog post ‘Advancing Swiss AI Trinity: Zurich’s entrepreneurship, Geneva’s governance, and Communal subsidiarity,’ Jovan Kurbalija proposes a distinctive roadmap for Switzerland to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of AI. Rather than mimicking the AI power plays of the United States or China, Kurbalija argues that Switzerland can lead by integrating three national strengths: Zurich’s thriving innovation ecosystem, Geneva’s global leadership in governance, and the country’s foundational principle of subsidiarity rooted in local decision-making. – https://dig.watch/updates/switzerlands-unique-ai-path-blending-innovation-governance-and-local-empowerment

Vietnam legalises crypto under new digital technology law

(DigWatch – 16 June 2025) Vietnam has officially legalised crypto assets as part of a landmark digital technology law passed by the National Assembly on 14 June. Set to take effect on 1 January 2026, the law creates a regulatory framework classifying digital assets as virtual or crypto assets. – https://dig.watch/updates/vietnam-legalises-crypto-under-new-digital-technology-law

Indonesia’s cyber strategy balances power and capacity

(DigWatch – 16 June 2025) Indonesia has taken a major step in decentralising its cybersecurity efforts by launching eight regional Cyber Crime Directorates across provinces, including Jakarta, West Java, East Java, and Papua. That marks a significant shift from a centralised system to one that recognises the localised nature of cyber threats, from financial fraud and data breaches to online disinformation. The move reflects a growing awareness that cybersecurity is no longer just a technical issue but a broader governance challenge involving law enforcement at multiple levels. The rationale behind the decentralisation is clear: bringing cyber governance closer to where threats emerge allows for quicker responses and better local engagement. – https://dig.watch/updates/indonesias-cyber-strategy-balances-power-and-capacity

Is Internet Content Too Engaging?

(Jane Bambauer – Lawfare – 16 June 2025) Social media companies are facing a new flavor of regulation. Across the country, lawmakers and litigators are attacking “addictive design” features like infinite scroll, autoplay videos, and algorithmic feeds. The theory is that these features are design defects under products liability laws. In the last two years alone, the momentum has been building. Utah passed legislation allowing minors to sue platforms when “excessive use” of curated feeds harms their mental health. California requires companies to identify and reduce “addictive” elements in their products. A coalition of 41 state attorneys general and several school districts have sued Meta over algorithms they claim hurt young users. Even the former Surgeon General wanted warning labels on social media—just like cigarettes and alcohol. What makes these approaches appealing to regulators is that they seem to dodge First Amendment concerns. By targeting design rather than content, they hope to regulate social media without constitutional roadblocks. These product defect theories have three major problems. First, state statutes and product liability lawsuits based on the selective display of content may be foreclosed by Section 230 immunity. Second, they probably run afoul of First Amendment protections. Home feed algorithms are a form of expression that should be protected for the users’ sake, if not the platform’s. And third, these laws and lawsuits clash with the policy goal of increasing competition in the digital marketplace. The Biden administration pushed to break up “Big Tech” monopolies to create more consumer choice, and the second Trump administration is continuing this mission. But the very features that regulators now condemn as “addictive” are the primary ways that platforms can compete with each other. These conflicting regulatory agendas reveal an incoherence in the popular legal treatments of media platforms, and a misunderstanding of what it means to compete in the digital media economy. – https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/is-internet-content-too-engaging

Security, Defense, Warfare, and Intelligence

Europe-wide takedown hits longest-standing dark web drug market

(Europol – 16 June 2025) Law enforcement authorities across Europe have dismantled ‘Archetyp Market’, the most enduring dark web marketplace, following a large-scale operation involving six countries, supported by Europol and Eurojust. Between 11 and 13 June, a series of coordinated actions took place across Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden, targeting the platform’s administrator, moderators, key vendors, and technical infrastructure. Around 300 officers were deployed to carry out enforcement actions and secure critical evidence. Archetyp Market operated as a drug marketplace for over five years, amassing more than 600 000 users worldwide with a total transaction volume of at least EUR 250 million. – https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/europe-wide-takedown-hits-longest-standing-dark-web-drug-market

Real-time, on-device security: The only way to stop modern mobile Trojans

(DigWatch – 16 June 2025) Mobile banking faces a serious new threat: AI-powered Trojans operating silently within legitimate apps. These advanced forms of malware go beyond stealing login credentials—they use AI to intercept biometrics, manipulate app flows in real-time, and execute fraud without raising alarms. – https://dig.watch/updates/real-time-on-device-security-the-only-way-to-stop-modern-mobile-trojans

AI tool ‘Rattlesnaq’ thinks at Mach speed to help fighter pilots dodge missiles

(Interesting Engineering – 16 June 2025) Forget radar sweeps and gut instincts — algorithms that think at Mach speed will win the next battle in the sky. At a simulator deep inside BAE Systems’ Warton facility, engineers are testing a cutting-edge AI system called Rattlesnaq, developed by Swedish defense tech firm Avioniq. Designed to map invisible missile threats in real time, the software doesn’t just alert pilots — it draws a live, dynamic picture of danger, pinpointing where enemy missiles can strike and where it’s still safe to fly. – https://interestingengineering.com/military/bae-avioniq-rattlesnaq-ai-eurofighter

Protecting Civilians in Cyberspace: A UN Security Council Imperative

(Allison Pytlak – Stimson Center – 13 June 2025) Every year in May, the UN Security Council (UNSC) holds its annual debate on the Protection of Civilians (PoC). In a concept note for the 2025 iteration held under the presidency of Greece, civilian protection was reinforced as a cornerstone of the UNSC’s agenda and as a core obligation under international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL). The note also highlights that the nature of armed conflict has undergone profound changes in recent years, including due to the emergence of new technologies of warfare and cyber threats. In a world of constant bloodshed and what feels like an increasingly inconsistent commitment to international law, it can be challenging to view cyber and digital security as being as dire of a threat to civilians in the way that bombs, drones, and blockades are. – https://www.stimson.org/2025/protecting-civilians-in-cyberspace-a-un-security-council-imperative/

Frontiers

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Predicts 2026 Insight-Generating AI in “Gentle Singularity” Essay

(AI Insider – 16 June 2025) Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, has published “The Gentle Singularity,” forecasting that artificial general intelligence will transform work, energy and research within 15 years. He wrote that 2026 will “likely” see AI systems capable of producing novel insights. Co-founder Greg Brockman said the new o3 and o4-mini reasoning models already kindle fresh ideas. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/06/16/openai-ceo-sam-altman-predicts-2026-insight-generating-ai-in-gentle-singularity-essay/

AI health tools need clinicians to prevent serious risks, Oxford study warns

(DigWatch – 16 June 2025) The University of Oxford has warned that AI in healthcare, primarily through chatbots, should not operate without human oversight. Researchers found that relying solely on AI for medical self-assessment could worsen patient outcomes instead of improving access to care. The study highlights how these tools, while fast and data-driven, fall short in delivering the judgement and empathy that only trained professionals can offer. – https://dig.watch/updates/ai-health-tools-need-clinicians-to-prevent-serious-risks-oxford-study-warns

OpenAI turns to Google Cloud in shift from solo AI race

(DigWatch – 16 June 2025) OpenAI has entered into an unexpected partnership with Google, using Google Cloud to support its growing AI infrastructure needs. Despite being fierce competitors in AI, the two tech giants recognise that long-term success may require collaboration instead of isolation. – https://dig.watch/updates/openai-turns-to-google-cloud-in-shift-from-solo-ai-race

Quantum computing threatens Bitcoin: Experts debate timeline

(DigWatch – 16 June 2025) Recent breakthroughs in quantum computing have revived fears about the long-term security of Bitcoin (BTC). With IBM aiming to release the first fault-tolerant quantum computer, the IBM Quantum Starling, by 2029, experts are increasingly concerned that such advancements could undermine Bitcoin’s cryptographic backbone. Bitcoin currently relies on elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) and the SHA-256 hashing algorithm to secure wallets and transactions. However, both are potentially vulnerable to Shor’s algorithm, which a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could exploit. – https://dig.watch/updates/quantum-computing-threatens-bitcoin-experts-debate-timeline

China’s new hypersonic heat shield beats thermal limits, withstands 6,512°F temp

(Interesting Engineering – 16 June 2025) Chinese scientists have created a new material capable of withstanding temperatures of up to 3,600 degrees Celsius (6,512 degrees Fahrenheit) in an oxidizing environment. In other words, the new material, a carbide ceramic, is capable of surviving temperatures exceeding the current thermal limits on hypersonic flight, a report from the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reveals. – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/china-heat-shield-hypersonic-flight

Beginner develops 3D-printed drone that could fly 130 miles in 3 hours

(Interesting Engineering – 16 June 2025) In a demonstration of individual ingenuity and rapid prototyping potential, engineer Tsung Xu has successfully designed and constructed a fully functional vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) drone with winged flight capabilities, using 3D printing and consumer-grade components. The fixed-wing drone could achieve a continuous flight distance of 130 miles (209.2 km) and an endurance of approximately 3 hours, based on flight test data, marking a significant feat in amateur aerospace engineering. – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/first-time-makers-drone-flew