Korea's economy contracted by 0.2% in the first quarter due to weak domestic demand. President Lee hopes an extra budget will boost the stagnant economy, but a long-term plan is needed for sustainable growth. The new president has pledged support for creative business activity and a regulatory environment that encourages entrepreneurship, with artificial intelligence identified as a key growth driver.
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-06-16/opinion/columns/Government-support-should-focus-on-small-firms-and-lowincome-households/2330299The unglamorous world of data infrastructure has become a hot target for tech companies in the AI race. Companies like Meta, Salesforce, and ServiceNow are seeking to acquire data processing firms that build advanced AI models, with OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic leading the competition. This trend is driven by the crucial role data plays in building AI, with experts stating that "data is having a zeitgeist moment right now driven by AI."
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/unglamorous-world-of-data-infrastructure-driving-hot-tech-ma-market-in-ai-race?utm_source=most-popular-businessAmazon is investing at least $20 billion in Pennsylvania to expand its data center infrastructure, building on previous investments of $10 billion in North Carolina and over $5 billion in Taiwan.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/06/16/business/foreign-business/amazon-to-invest-13b-in-australias-data-infra/2133620Mattel has partnered with OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, to develop AI-powered products. The collaboration aims to integrate artificial intelligence into Mattel's existing product lines, enhancing their capabilities and user experience. This partnership is part of Mattel's efforts to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving toy industry.
https://www.livemint.com/companies/barbie-uno-to-get-tech-makeover-mattel-partners-with-sam-altmans-openai-to-bring-ai-powered-products-11749900205113.htmlAMD has acquired Untether AI's team of AI hardware and software engineers, focusing on compiler and kernel development, as well as System-on-Chip (SoC) design. This move signals AMD's push into inference-specific technologies, a growing area in the industry due to declining GPU revenue from training-based applications. Justin Kinsey, president of SBT Industries, believes this acquisition proves that GPU vendors recognize the shift towards energy efficiency and inference performance over raw processing power. However, Nvidia still holds a lead in hardware efficiency and software ecosystem, with its Blackwell benchmark remaining the standard for AI workloads.
https://www.techradar.com/pro/amd-made-key-acquisitions-to-close-the-widening-gap-between-its-instinct-gpus-and-nvidias-blackwell-accelerators-but-will-it-be-enoughA political consultant, identified as Matthew Carstensen, has been acquitted in New Hampshire of charges related to sending AI-generated robocalls mimicking former President Joe Biden to Democrats last year. The incident raised concerns about voter suppression and impersonation.
https://www.ocregister.com/2025/06/13/election-2024-ai-robocalls-acquittal/The US government is taking steps to address growing concerns over artificial intelligence (AI). Representative LaHood has introduced a bill that directs the NSA to create a "security playbook" to counter Chinese threats. Meanwhile, Elon Musk and Donald Trump appear to have put aside their feud, with an expert warning parents about online predators using "lovebombing" tactics to target minors. The FBI is also working with big tech companies to develop a supercomputer to enhance national security. In another development, the CIA has released Mandarin-speaking videos on the dark web in an attempt to contact Chinese hackers. Lawmakers are debating AI regulation in Trump's spending bill, while Florida's AG defends a social media ban for minors amid a judge's block.
https://www.foxnews.com/tech/ai-newsletter-hollywood-studios-sue-bottomless-pit-plagiarismThe new telemedicine platform allows healthcare providers to concentrate on high-priority tasks, such as patient care and administrative duties, by outsourcing non-essential functions to AI-powered systems. This enables them to maintain high standards of professionalism and compassion in every interaction with patients, particularly those from vulnerable populations like the elderly and rural communities, who often face barriers to accessing quality healthcare services.
https://nerdbot.com/2025/06/13/reimagining-patient-engagement-the-new-frontier-in-healthcare-customer-experience/Amazon Web Services is increasing its investment in Australia to $20 billion over five years to meet growing demand for artificial intelligence, cloud-based storage, and other services from major companies such as the big four banks, Telstra, Optus, Atlassian, and Canva. The company plans to expand its 37 data centre "regions" across the world, including in Melbourne and Sydney, with a focus on power technologies like nuclear and renewables to support the increasing electricity demands of AI.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/amazon-boosts-australian-investment-to-20-billion-to-meet-ai-data-demands-20250615-p5m7h5.html