Rest of World

AI models can take up to 17 times more tokens to process non-Latin scripts than English, saddling users with a steep "tokenizer tax" https://restofworld.org/2026/ai-tokenizer-tax-non-english-languages-cost-inequity/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

While Western cities like New York ban generative AI in primary schools, the UAE has become the first country to mandate AI literacy for K-12 students as young as seven. https://restofworld.org/2026/uae-mandates-k12-ai-education-schools/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

China is rapidly gaining control of emerging technologies such as clean energy manufacturing, signaling its intent beyond AI, writes Steve Feldstein in his new book https://restofworld.org/2026/china-america-tech-ai/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

American and European developers have access to advanced chips, yet Chinese open-weight models are still outperforming them while running tasks up to 90% cheaper https://restofworld.org/2026/china-open-weight-models/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Tech giants are draining drinking water to cool AI servers, sparking backlash in drought-hit regions of Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil https://restofworld.org/2026/ai-datacenters-water-resistance-global/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

“A massive data center is trying to jump the queue and take our land, water, and energy.” https://restofworld.org/2026/south-africa-ai-data-center-protests/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1792961940

Chinese tech firms are building local alternatives to Hugging Face, but staying competitive still requires global open-source networks for its developers https://restofworld.org/2026/china-open-source-ai-hugging-face-modelscope-moark/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

While Western cities like New York ban generative AI in primary schools, the UAE has become the first country to mandate AI literacy for K-12 students as young as seven. https://restofworld.org/2026/uae-mandates-k12-ai-education-schools/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Raffi Krikorian explains that while consumers flock to ChatGPT and Claude, companies are increasingly turning to open models that they can customize and control https://restofworld.org/2026/open-source-ai-infrastructure-mozilla/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Meta and OpenAI want to take AI agents global, but fragile networks and language barriers pose steep hurdles across developing nations https://restofworld.org/2026/meta-muse-openai-dots-ai-agents-global-south/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Retraining alone won’t protect workers from AI-driven job losses, argues Alessandro Crimi. He calls for policies like basic income and taxes on automation to curb inequality https://restofworld.org/2026/robot-tax-ai-wealth-redistribution/?utm_campaign=row-social

AI data centers demand is driving up smartphone costs and squeezing cheap budget phones off the market https://restofworld.org/2026/ai-data-center-memory-chip-shortage-cheap-smartphones-digital-divide/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Chinese tech firms are building local alternatives to Hugging Face, but staying competitive still requires global open-source networks for its developers https://restofworld.org/2026/china-open-source-ai-hugging-face-modelscope-moark/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Tech giants are draining drinking water to cool AI servers, sparking backlash in drought-hit regions of Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil https://restofworld.org/2026/ai-datacenters-water-resistance-global/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Author Payal Arora explores how necessity-driven AI adoption across the Global South is unlocking creative tools and addressing public resource deficits, countering Western anxiety https://restofworld.org/2026/west-ai-anxiety-optimism-innovation/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

China is rapidly gaining control of emerging technologies such as clean energy manufacturing, signaling its intent beyond AI, writes Steve Feldstein in his new book https://restofworld.org/2026/china-america-tech-ai/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Meta and OpenAI want to take AI agents global, but fragile networks and language barriers pose steep hurdles across developing nations https://restofworld.org/2026/meta-muse-openai-dots-ai-agents-global-south/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

U.S. and European labs are rolling out new open AI models, but they still lag behind China’s cheaper and more efficient systems https://restofworld.org/2026/china-open-weight-models/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1792675500

Author Payal Arora explores how necessity-driven AI adoption across the Global South is unlocking creative tools and addressing public resource deficits, countering Western anxiety https://restofworld.org/2026/west-ai-anxiety-optimism-innovation/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

While rivals like Tesla rely on rented carriers to export from China, BYD is expanding its private shipping fleet to 18 vessels by 2029 to cut costs and avoid charter market swings https://restofworld.org/2026/byd-expands-cargo-ship-ev-exports/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Google, Meta and Microsoft are seeking backup internet routes around the Red Sea as ongoing conflict near Yemen threatens the submarine cables linking Europe and Asia. https://restofworld.org/2026/google-meta-red-sea-subsea-cables-houthi-yemen/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

AI data centers demand is driving up smartphone costs and squeezing cheap budget phones off the market https://restofworld.org/2026/ai-data-center-memory-chip-shortage-cheap-smartphones-digital-divide/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

While Western cities like New York ban generative AI in primary schools, the UAE has become the first country to mandate AI literacy for K-12 students as young as seven. https://restofworld.org/2026/uae-mandates-k12-ai-education-schools/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

“A massive data center is trying to jump the queue and take our land, water, and energy.” https://lnkd.in/etaqkrtb?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1792513807

Meta and OpenAI want to take AI agents global, but fragile networks and language barriers pose steep hurdles across developing nations https://restofworld.org/2026/meta-muse-openai-dots-ai-agents-global-south/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Author Payal Arora explores how necessity-driven AI adoption across the Global South is unlocking creative tools and addressing public resource deficits, countering Western anxiety https://restofworld.org/2026/west-ai-anxiety-optimism-innovation/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

American and European developers have access to advanced chips, yet Chinese open-weight models are still outperforming them while running tasks up to 90% cheaper https://restofworld.org/2026/china-open-weight-models/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Raffi Krikorian explains that while consumers flock to ChatGPT and Claude, companies are increasingly turning to open models that they can customize and control https://restofworld.org/2026/open-source-ai-infrastructure-mozilla/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Google, Meta and Microsoft are seeking backup internet routes around the Red Sea as ongoing conflict near Yemen threatens the submarine cables linking Europe and Asia. https://restofworld.org/2026/google-meta-red-sea-subsea-cables-houthi-yemen/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Samsung and SK Hynix dominate the high-bandwidth memory market. Now they're competing to become indispensable to Nvidia, OpenAI, and other U.S. AI companies https://restofworld.org/2026/samsung-sk-hynix-ai-memory-chip-war-nvidia-openai/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

The buzz around Apple's new phone launches is global, but the best deals haven't made their way outside the U.S. https://restofworld.org/2026/iphone-18-pro-global-prices/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1789682220

“A massive data center is trying to jump the queue and take our land, water, and energy.” https://restofworld.org/2026/south-africa-ai-data-center-protests/

While rivals like Tesla rely on rented carriers to export from China, BYD is expanding its private shipping fleet to 18 vessels by 2029 to cut costs and avoid charter market swings https://restofworld.org/2026/byd-expands-cargo-ship-ev-exports/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

When companies automate, they keep the savings while workers and governments bear the cost, writes Alessandro Crimi. He points to South Korea’s automation tax as one possible solution https://restofworld.org/2026/robot-tax-ai-wealth-redistribution/?utm_campaign=row-social

U.S. and European labs are rolling out new open AI models, but they still lag behind China’s cheaper and more efficient systems https://restofworld.org/2026/china-open-weight-models/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1792241220

AI data centers demand is driving up smartphone costs and squeezing cheap budget phones off the market https://restofworld.org/2026/ai-data-center-memory-chip-shortage-cheap-smartphones-digital-divide/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

After doubling its market share in high-bandwidth memory, Samsung is closing the gap with rival SK Hynix as both South Korean chipmakers compete to become indispensable to Nvidia and OpenAI https://restofworld.org/2026/samsung-sk-hynix-ai-memory-chip-war-nvidia-openai/?utm_campaign=row-social

While Western cities like New York ban generative AI in primary schools, the UAE has become the first country to mandate AI literacy for K-12 students as young as seven. https://restofworld.org/2026/uae-mandates-k12-ai-education-schools/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Author Payal Arora explores how necessity-driven AI adoption across the Global South is unlocking creative tools and addressing public resource deficits, countering Western anxiety https://restofworld.org/2026/west-ai-anxiety-optimism-innovation/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

After breaking ground on a $4 billion packaging facility in Indiana in August 2026, SK Hynix is deepening its roots in the U.S. to protect its lead as Nvidia’s primary memory chip supplier https://restofworld.org/2026/samsung-sk-hynix-ai-memory-chip-war-nvidia-openai/?utm_campaign=row-social

Saudi Arabia is launching its first homegrown electric vehicle brand to compete with global heavyweights, even while holding a majority stake in U.S. rival Lucid Motors https://restofworld.org/2026/saudi-arabia-ceer-motors-ev-exobot-pif-lucid-byd/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

China is rapidly gaining control of emerging technologies such as clean energy manufacturing, signaling its intent beyond AI, writes Steve Feldstein in his new book https://restofworld.org/2026/china-america-tech-ai/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

As commercial shipping rates soar, BYD is adding 10 cargo ships to its fleet by 2029 to cut export costs by up to 40%, gaining an edge over rivals like Tesla that still rent carriers https://restofworld.org/2026/byd-expands-cargo-ship-ev-exports/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

The buzz around Apple's new phone launches is global, but the best deals haven't made their way outside the U.S. https://restofworld.org/2026/iphone-18-pro-global-prices/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1792012022

While Western cities like New York ban generative AI in primary schools, the UAE has become the first country to mandate AI literacy for K-12 students as young as seven. https://restofworld.org/2026/uae-mandates-k12-ai-education-schools/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Retraining alone won’t protect workers from AI-driven job losses, argues Alessandro Crimi. He calls for policies like basic income and taxes on automation to curb inequality https://restofworld.org/2026/robot-tax-ai-wealth-redistribution/?utm_campaign=row-social

Google, Meta and Microsoft are seeking backup internet routes around the Red Sea as ongoing conflict near Yemen threatens the submarine cables linking Europe and Asia. https://restofworld.org/2026/google-meta-red-sea-subsea-cables-houthi-yemen/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Raffi Krikorian explains that while consumers flock to ChatGPT and Claude, companies are increasingly turning to open models that they can customize and control https://restofworld.org/2026/open-source-ai-infrastructure-mozilla/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

“A massive data center is trying to jump the queue and take our land, water, and energy.” https://restofworld.org/2026/south-africa-ai-data-center-protests/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1791913502

Chinese camera-maker Insta360 is racing to capture U.S. market share while its main competitor DJI remains hampered by national security restrictions. https://restofworld.org/2026/insta360-us-dji-sanctions-drones-cameras/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky