Over the past month, AI has unsurprisingly continued to dominate developments in the tech landscape, and Trump has continued to exert his influence.
Perhaps the biggest AI story right now is advancements in “reasoning” – the ability of AI to execute genuine, human-like reasoning – which the big players are keen to claim their models are now capable of.
Anthropic has released Claude 3.7, which has an “extended thinking mode” that “self-reflects before answering”, and xAI has launched Grok 3 AI, which it says is capable of “human reasoning” (and, amusingly, had to be censored to prevent it insulting Trump and Musk).
Trump’s harsh glare continues to invite peace offerings. In January the EU started to reassess its regulatory investigations into Apple, Google, and Meta.
Now Tim Cook’s Apple has announced $500bn investment in the US and 20,000 research jobs in the next four years.
And the UK’s Kier Starmer made a very timely pledge (just ahead of his US trip) to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 – which, pending the imminent Strategic Defence Review, could be a big win for UK defence tech.
Chinese tech has been busy too. Alibaba says it will invest “aggressively” in AI over the next three years, investing more in this period than it has over the past decade. And Huawei has announced it has significantly improved the “yield” of functional chips coming off its production line to 40%, despite US efforts to thwart Chinese chip breakthroughs.
Meanwhile, the UK’s tricky relationship with US Big Tech continues.
Apple has pulled its Advanced Data Protection tool from UK customers following a behind-the-scenes request from the Home Office for a backdoor into its encrypted cloud data.
And the UK’s Ofcom regulator announced it would name and shame social media giants in a drive to prevent online misogyny.
In Europe, opportunities and challenges abound. The opportunities? Germany has a new, pro-innovation, pro-business Chancellor. Meta’s chief AI scientist says Europe has the opportunity to attract the US’s best scientists, who fear a de-prioritisation of research under Trump.
And the EU is looking to extend its global leadership in green tech, with a mobilisation of €100bn proposed by block for the sector.
The challenges? Only defence, the health of its economies, and declining international influence.
Yahoo Finance: Apple to spend $500bn over 4 years.
Apple will spend $500bn in the US to build a new factory, double its advanced manufacturing fund, and hire 20,000 people. Read here.
Verdict: Alibaba to spend $52.4bn on AI.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba plans to invest $52.4bn in its cloud computing and AI infrastructure over the next three years. Read here.
BBC: Apple pulls its data security tool in UK.
Apple removes Advanced Data Protection (ADP) after the Home Office asked to access the data it is applied to. Read here.
Politico: EU pledges €100bn to clean industry.
The European Commission announced a €100 billion short-term relief package to cut industry emissions by 30%. Read here.
BNN Bloomberg: Merz’s economic revival plan.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz is campaigning for tax cuts and deregulation to restore Germany’s economic strengths. Read here.
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