The European AI Board is discussing implementing the GPAI rules for the Code of Practice by the end of 2025. The code, which is voluntary but mandatory for companies like those from Big Tech firms, aims to provide legal certainty and ensure quality standards for general-purpose AI services. The Future Society sees it as a key part of the AI rule book, while Corporate Europe Observatory criticizes the role of Big Tech in delaying its implementation.
https://channelnewsasia.com/business/code-practice-help-firms-comply-ai-rules-may-apply-end-2025-eu-says-5218701Debevoise & Plimpton is developing a subscription-based program called STAAR, which provides AI adoption advice and guidance to businesses. The firm's second SEYence Fair aims to encourage innovation among its lawyers by introducing new categories for "half-baked" ideas and non-technical innovations. SmartEsq has released an AI-powered tool to automate the process of compiling side letters in fund formation, while Thomson Reuters reports that organizations in mainland Europe and the Middle East and Africa are investing more in AI than in the US. Fellows LaBriola LLP has announced that Erich Ritter is now associated with the firm.
https://www.law.com/legaltechnews/2025/07/03/-legaltech-rundown-aaa-partners-with-national-center-for-state-courts-wolters-kluwers-vitallaw-launches-esg-dashboard-and-more/The EU's proposed AI Act has sparked controversy among industry leaders and startups. The EU AI Champions Initiative, representing 110 companies across Europe, is urging a postponement of the code of practice publication to ensure legal certainty for industries. In contrast, over 30 European AI start-up founders and investors have signed a joint letter warning that the legislation could be "a rushed ticking time bomb" that would hinder innovation and competitiveness.
https://www.firstpost.com/world/european-firms-in-panic-over-eus-ai-act-44-ceos-urge-brussels-to-pause-the-law-13902725.htmlHSBC and Standard Chartered are testing a Chinese-made AI model in their systems, while Saudi Aramco has installed the same model in its main data center. In contrast, American tech giants like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google offer an alternative AI chatbot called DeepSeek to their customers. Despite this, OpenAI's ChatGPT remains the most popular AI chatbot globally, with 910 million downloads worldwide compared to DeepSeek's 125 million, according to researcher Sensor Tower.
https://nypost.com/2025/07/02/business/chinese-tech-firms-are-gaining-fast-on-silicon-valley-in-ai-race-report/Microsoft, Intel, and Google are cutting thousands of jobs due to cost pressures, restructuring, and AI-driven transformation. Over 9,100 Microsoft employees were laid off, affecting its Xbox and gaming units. Intel plans to axe up to 20% of its global workforce. These tech giants have lost over 100,000 jobs so far in 2025, with the layoffs continuing amid efforts to boost efficiency.
https://indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/tech-layoffs-microsoft-ibm-intel-continue-to-cut-jobs-over-1-lakh-jobs-slashed-in-2025-2749906-2025-07-03OpenAI has partnered with Google, bringing its technology into the mix to improve scalability and reduce costs. The arrangement is seen as a response to supply issues and pricing pressures around GPUs, which are crucial for AI deployment. OpenAI currently relies on Microsoft-backed Azure, but this new partnership adds flexibility and leverage in terms of cost and availability.
https://www.techradar.com/pro/openai-looking-beyond-nvidias-expensive-gpus-as-it-starts-to-use-googles-tpu-ai-silicon-but-will-it-be-as-easy-as-swapping-chipsOracle is set to lease an additional 4.5 gigawatts of data center power from itself to support OpenAI's Project Stargate, a $500 billion initiative that will more than double Oracle's cloud revenue in FY2028 with a $30 billion deal.
https://www.techradar.com/pro/openai-is-massively-upping-its-oracle-cloud-capacity-to-power-project-stargate-is-this-the-mystery-usd30bn-dealFung Yui Kong, Chairman of Pangaea Connectivity Technology Limited, attributes the company's record performance to the convergence of AI and green energy technologies. He highlights the growing demand for AI-enabled communications devices in data centers and high-performance computing (HPC) environments, which Pangaea is well-positioned to address with its products that meet AI's stringent requirements. The company plans to intensify investment to deliver high-performance, efficient, and scalable solutions, further strengthening its market leadership and technological edge as it enters the 1.6T era for AI infrastructure.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/07/03/tmt-newswire/media-outreach-newswire/pangaea-connectivity-announced-fy2025-results-revenue-increased-538-to-hk2128200000-driven-by-ai-optimized-connectivity-and-green-energy-technologies/2143138Singapore's consumer watchdog has identified a case where a third-party platform used artificial intelligence (AI) to generate fake online reviews for a product, marking the first such instance uncovered by the agency. The investigation found that the AI-powered system created numerous positive reviews for a specific product on an e-commerce website, potentially influencing consumers' purchasing decisions.
https://channelnewsasia.com/watch/car-grooming-firm-admits-posting-fake-5-star-ai-generated-reviews-sgcarmart-5219046