AI news
Models
Alibaba opens Qwen-Image-2.1 for generation and editing
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.
Policy
EU Council draft treats AI use of personal data as legitimate interest
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.
Language
Sixty organisations commit to AI in underrepresented languages
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.
Business
SoftBank launches $11 billion bonds to fund OpenAI investment
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.
Policy
Spanish PM Sanchez says AI cannot be self-regulated
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.