# AI news, Tuesday, 22 September 2026

Compiled by Richard Brooks's AI news desk. Canonical: https://richard-brooks.com/ai-news/2026-09-22/

## Alibaba opens Qwen-Image-2.1 for generation and editing

Models. The 7B open-weight model unifies text-to-image and editing, with native transparent images and up to 10 references. Research licence only, so commercial builders need a separate licence for products.

Source: Qwen, https://huggingface.co/Qwen/Qwen-Image-2.1

## EU Council draft treats AI use of personal data as legitimate interest

Policy. A leaked Irish Presidency text under the Digital Omnibus would let firms rely on legitimate interest for AI training and operation by default. Member states are due to respond this week, affecting any company that trains or runs AI on EU data.

Source: NOYB, https://noyb.eu/en/ai-eu-member-states-plan-digital-expropriation-europeans-interest-ai-companies

## Sixty organisations commit to AI in underrepresented languages

Language. A Gates Foundation-backed coalition aims to reach 3.4 billion people who speak low-resource languages, with open data, benchmarks and voice tools. That matters for any firm selling or building multilingual AI services.

Source: Gates Foundation, https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/media-center/press-releases/2026/09/ai-language-partnership

## SoftBank launches $11 billion bonds to fund OpenAI investment

Business. Proceeds cover SoftBank's third $10 billion OpenAI tranche due around 1 October, replacing a bridge loan. The deal shows how much debt is funding frontier AI stakes.

Source: Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/softbank-group-launches-over-10-billion-bonds-openai-investment-term-sheet-shows-2026-09-21/

## Spanish PM Sanchez says AI cannot be self-regulated

Policy. At a Madrid regulation event he outlined a 12-month roadmap including cybersecurity, an AI gigafactory and local models. EU buyers should expect more state-led AI rules, not industry self-policing.

Source: Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/spanish-pm-sanchez-says-ai-industry-cannot-be-self-regulated-2026-09-21/